[Alucard insists that the speakers not worry about payment. We can afford it, please, and I would rather ask after a particular story in return. I’ve heard murmurs in Europe about more witches being tried and burnt, how true is--?
He has to stop. Hearing Trevor’s voice puts him on immediate guard, and the speakers notice it too. Alucard doesn’t ask if they have fae among them. He knows. The sudden change in his demeanor helps no one either, because the speakers know exactly whose son he is. Have known since he first entered the camp, but Lisa’s kindness has far outweighed his father’s cruelty for the past twenty two years.]
Travel with that thing carefully.
[It’s said softly, out of genuine concern more than anything else. Alucard pulls his coat tighter around himself, then resumes the questions he has of witches in Europe, and how badly the public sees it as a threat.
His eyes dart to the sound of Trevor’s voice every so often though, discomfort well hidden under his usual composure.]
[ The eldest of the speakers tuts over 'that thing', but nods. He calls his granddaughter over to help with giving information, and the woman with Trevor approaches, Trevor himself in tow as she tells him to settle down and check her information is correct.
And instructions are instructions, so he raises his head and concentrates, sniffing the air for burned man-flesh and misplaced justice. It's a little difficult, with his antlers cropped like this, but both are terribly distinctive smells. Before long he's mid-squabble with the speaker woman about whether or not Arelat still exists (it hasn't in a century, but his kind never cared much about borders. It's a wonder, a wonder and perhaps Leon's centuries-out-of-date influence, he knows it existed in the first place). With some effort between them, the speaker woman manages to give Alucard a fairly complete list of witch burnings and their probable locations.
Trevor grows more and more agitated and confused as this goes on, though. All of the speakers are conversing with someone who doesn't exist, and he doesn't like that at all. Eventually the woman scolds him again, telling him to calm down, and he does immediately. ]
[The cold iron and it’s wards work. That is the best thing that can be said in all of this, and Alucard grips the link of chain that rests heavy in his coat pocket for some time. There is guilt that the fae seems genuinely distressed about the matter, and his antlers unsettle Alucard more than he’d care to admit. (He did not see what was left at Yule. His father has put all of those things away, deep in the castle and under so much more iron. The antlers provided help in crafting the ward.)
His face is grim by the end of all of this, but he thanks the speakers all the same. The information is important. It keeps people safe, and he hopes that they’ll be careful as well.
It is only then that he turns to the young woman that has clearly been the one arguing with the fae, the one who he actually seems to listen to, and with that, Alucard is far more quiet and concerned.]
How is it that you’re controlling that fae right now?
[ The speaker seems a little confused by the question - she is kind, and it it wouldn't even occur to her that she could do something like controlling someone against their will. And so it seems a terribly obvious thing, really. Trevor has realised by now that there is someone here he cannot see, and is instead sniffing at the air. ]
We are helping him with a hunt, and he is trading work for our aid.
[Alucard frowns at that. He wants to know what the fae is hunting, but there's something else far more important. He looks to the speaker, and while he can't explain the full of the sitution, he knows it will become apparent very soon.]
He has made unwanted advances towards me in the past, assuming the ways of his kind means that he can declare without consideration of consequences. [Kidnapping Dracula's son is a bad life choice.] With your permission, I'd like to speak with him. If not, I'll depart without any further protest and you will have my gratitude for years to come.
Oh, you must be- [ She just about manages to hold back from chuckling, and only then because it rather sounds like Alucard was not entirely accepting of this 'husband' business. Someone's been telling speakers ALL ABOUT HIS WONDERFUL HUSBAND. ] Trevor, our guest wants to speak to you.
Sounds kind of fucking difficult. [ He grumbles. ] Can you make me hear them, at least? Not going to be much of a conversation otherwise.
Don't say that word, please. [He sounds genuinely pained at the mere thought.
With that, Alucard walks over, and sits himself down on the ground. He has no qualms about that, and with the fire, it is a warm enough spring night. It is only then that Alucard removes the chain from the pocket of his coat and puts it aside.
The ward wears off at once. Alucard is not obscured anymore, but he is still that thing of ice that has always shown it's face to Trevor.]
[ The change is immediate. The agitation returns, but this time it's excited. And he's barely opened his mouth before the speaker whispers something in his ear.
It isn't really a reasonable request, not to call his husband his husband. But he follows it regardless as he scrambles to sit at Alucard's side, positioning himself to be sat close but not touching. ]
You missed me. [ There's a note of satisfaction to it, and Sypha winces just a little. ]
I'll- let you talk. [ It's for Alucard's sake, mostly, so he doesn't have to have the pressure of an audience for this conversation. ]
Thank you. [And to Sypha, he adds a request, that she stay within earshot. Speakers would understand the real meaning of "we need to talk," after all, and this one seems to understand the situation.
Alucard turns a little, so that he's sitting more across from Trevor than before. So he can hold full eye contact.]
Fae. [He doesn't have the man's name, after all.] Do you know how courting differs between this world and your own?
[ He considers the question. He understands that humans have their own rituals for courtship. Leon had had a bride once, a human one. Some of the speakers are married, or at least a speaker's version of such. But those examples are few, and the ones that he has hunted down are many. ]
Humans beat their wives and husbands and put poison in their meals.
[ He says it matter-of-factly, like that's simply his understanding of human courtship. Until the speakers, and side from Alucard, his time with humans has been limited. He only really sees the ones he hunts, which means he only really sees the monsters. ]
[Alucard breathes out. This is harder than he thought.]
My father did not walk up to my mother in the middle of the night, declare her his wife, and take her with him. Such action, that would be considered monstrous by many. They were friends first. They knew who each other were, and then they decided they wanted to be husband and wife.
[He wants that part to connect.]
You can't walk into my life, declare a thing, and expect it to be so.
That's....okay, that is in fact correct, but beyond that, you've proven my point.
[Alucard's glad for the speaker's presence. That much he knows for sure.]
I don't want happy to be your focus. I don't want marriage to be your focus. These kinds of things, they happen naturally or they don't happen at all. And...
[Alucard breathes out.]
Do you understand that what you say normally terrifies me?
You understand what it is to hunt monsters. You say those things, and to me it sounds like another hunt, even if your intentions seem good on your end. You haven't asked if I wanted any of those things either.
[He leaves aside the fact that it'd be a terrible idea because he's the son of Dracula.]
I like being here. Doing things for myself. Having the freedom to pick what I do and don't want. What you're describing sounds like death to me.
[ He is quiet for a long while, turning that over in his head. Humans like to be safe. They like knowing that there will be a next meal, and that nothing will hurt them. They like being given things that make them happy. He knows all of this. It's strange that Alucard wouldn't want those things. ]
You- want to be free to go to places that aren't safe. if you want to?
But then you would go away and not come back. Or be hurt.
[ He frowns at that, even if he is overjoyed that his husband is talking to him! Properly! And not even stabbing him! There are a lot of things that hurt people, in the world. He never would have run into Alucard if there weren't, after all. ]
[ He brightens, as if he's found a really obvious solution to this, but the sudden laughter from Sypha seems to indicate that he's misunderstood. Frowning in concentration, he tries a little harder. ]
You like- that you could be hurt. But not the being hurt?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He has to stop. Hearing Trevor’s voice puts him on immediate guard, and the speakers notice it too. Alucard doesn’t ask if they have fae among them. He knows. The sudden change in his demeanor helps no one either, because the speakers know exactly whose son he is. Have known since he first entered the camp, but Lisa’s kindness has far outweighed his father’s cruelty for the past twenty two years.]
Travel with that thing carefully.
[It’s said softly, out of genuine concern more than anything else. Alucard pulls his coat tighter around himself, then resumes the questions he has of witches in Europe, and how badly the public sees it as a threat.
His eyes dart to the sound of Trevor’s voice every so often though, discomfort well hidden under his usual composure.]
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And instructions are instructions, so he raises his head and concentrates, sniffing the air for burned man-flesh and misplaced justice. It's a little difficult, with his antlers cropped like this, but both are terribly distinctive smells. Before long he's mid-squabble with the speaker woman about whether or not Arelat still exists (it hasn't in a century, but his kind never cared much about borders. It's a wonder, a wonder and perhaps Leon's centuries-out-of-date influence, he knows it existed in the first place). With some effort between them, the speaker woman manages to give Alucard a fairly complete list of witch burnings and their probable locations.
Trevor grows more and more agitated and confused as this goes on, though. All of the speakers are conversing with someone who doesn't exist, and he doesn't like that at all. Eventually the woman scolds him again, telling him to calm down, and he does immediately. ]
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His face is grim by the end of all of this, but he thanks the speakers all the same. The information is important. It keeps people safe, and he hopes that they’ll be careful as well.
It is only then that he turns to the young woman that has clearly been the one arguing with the fae, the one who he actually seems to listen to, and with that, Alucard is far more quiet and concerned.]
How is it that you’re controlling that fae right now?
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[ The speaker seems a little confused by the question - she is kind, and it it wouldn't even occur to her that she could do something like controlling someone against their will. And so it seems a terribly obvious thing, really. Trevor has realised by now that there is someone here he cannot see, and is instead sniffing at the air. ]
We are helping him with a hunt, and he is trading work for our aid.
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He has made unwanted advances towards me in the past, assuming the ways of his kind means that he can declare without consideration of consequences. [Kidnapping Dracula's son is a bad life choice.] With your permission, I'd like to speak with him. If not, I'll depart without any further protest and you will have my gratitude for years to come.
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Sounds kind of fucking difficult. [ He grumbles. ] Can you make me hear them, at least? Not going to be much of a conversation otherwise.
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With that, Alucard walks over, and sits himself down on the ground. He has no qualms about that, and with the fire, it is a warm enough spring night. It is only then that Alucard removes the chain from the pocket of his coat and puts it aside.
The ward wears off at once. Alucard is not obscured anymore, but he is still that thing of ice that has always shown it's face to Trevor.]
We need to speak.
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It isn't really a reasonable request, not to call his husband his husband. But he follows it regardless as he scrambles to sit at Alucard's side, positioning himself to be sat close but not touching. ]
You missed me. [ There's a note of satisfaction to it, and Sypha winces just a little. ]
I'll- let you talk. [ It's for Alucard's sake, mostly, so he doesn't have to have the pressure of an audience for this conversation. ]
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Alucard turns a little, so that he's sitting more across from Trevor than before. So he can hold full eye contact.]
Fae. [He doesn't have the man's name, after all.] Do you know how courting differs between this world and your own?
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Humans beat their wives and husbands and put poison in their meals.
[ He says it matter-of-factly, like that's simply his understanding of human courtship. Until the speakers, and side from Alucard, his time with humans has been limited. He only really sees the ones he hunts, which means he only really sees the monsters. ]
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[Alucard breathes out. This is harder than he thought.]
My father did not walk up to my mother in the middle of the night, declare her his wife, and take her with him. Such action, that would be considered monstrous by many. They were friends first. They knew who each other were, and then they decided they wanted to be husband and wife.
[He wants that part to connect.]
You can't walk into my life, declare a thing, and expect it to be so.
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I know who you are. You are half of a vampire. And you like books. And you like stabbing me. And you don't like me touching your hair.
[ HE KNOWS SO MANY GOOD ALUCARD FACTS. Is that good enough to do a marry???? ]
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No. You know things about me. Facts. What do you know of my personality? Why I am the way I am?
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[ There's a snort of laughter from Sypha, and he glares at her. Rude. He's trying! ]
If I learned more about you, would that make you happy?
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[Alucard's glad for the speaker's presence. That much he knows for sure.]
I don't want happy to be your focus. I don't want marriage to be your focus. These kinds of things, they happen naturally or they don't happen at all. And...
[Alucard breathes out.]
Do you understand that what you say normally terrifies me?
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[ So no. No, he doesn't. ]
I do. But I wouldn't.
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[ He seems genuinely confused by it. ]
I wouldn't hurt you. And you would be safe and I would bring you books and food and blood and whatever else you wanted.
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[The response is emphatic. Underlining the word.]
You understand what it is to hunt monsters. You say those things, and to me it sounds like another hunt, even if your intentions seem good on your end. You haven't asked if I wanted any of those things either.
[He leaves aside the fact that it'd be a terrible idea because he's the son of Dracula.]
I like being here. Doing things for myself. Having the freedom to pick what I do and don't want. What you're describing sounds like death to me.
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You- want to be free to go to places that aren't safe. if you want to?
[ It's a difficult concept. ]
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[Alucard doesn't know how much of this is really getting through. But it feels like the fae is making an effort. That is worth an awful lot]
You'll learn more from being around other humans as well.
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[ He frowns at that, even if he is overjoyed that his husband is talking to him! Properly! And not even stabbing him! There are a lot of things that hurt people, in the world. He never would have run into Alucard if there weren't, after all. ]
I don't like it.
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[ He brightens, as if he's found a really obvious solution to this, but the sudden laughter from Sypha seems to indicate that he's misunderstood. Frowning in concentration, he tries a little harder. ]
You like- that you could be hurt. But not the being hurt?
[ This makes so little sense to him. ]
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[He very much likes this speaker. She has a good humor to her.
Alucard pauses, considering how to make sense of this for the fae.]
When you hunt, is there a thrill to it? Where does that sense come from?
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