cryptsleeper | Catch All

[Alucard doesn't watch Trevor goes. He runs into the clinic with the woman in his arms, places her with enough supports on her head and neck to ensure that she will be able to breathe, and then departs. Vampire speed is not something he dares use in civilization unless he must, and now is one of the situations that demand it.

He finds his mother tending to a dying man. After a terse discussion, that care becomes Alucard's charge, and she runs back to the clinic as quickly as her own legs can carry her. The wind has already blown away the corpses of dead moths.

The man does not make it through the night. Alucard returns to his mother's side at three in the morning, exchanging the bad news for the good. The woman will endure, but she will need a new home. If those moths on the lawn were anything to go by, we may end up giving her this one Lisa says, because Dracula is nothing if not predictable.

It is slightly before dawn that Alucard finds Trevor. He's tired, and it shows in the slump of his shoulders and the fact he has his hair up in the messiest bun. His eyes regard Trevor, and he cringes slightly. His father's magic has always been powerful, but the effect of this is disturbing to behold.]

She'll be fine, but she can't return to her home. The cost will be her life if she does.

[ It is a good thing that Lisa's book was published anonymously, they'll learn, when the woman is well enough to speak. Her copy of it, and her attempts to teach herself to deliver children, was the decisive piece of evidence at the short trial.

Trevor nods, and when he speaks his tone is careful. ]

The Speakers sent me ahead. They'll be a week, yet. They have news. About the burning.

[ Kind of stating the obvious, there. It would be kind of weird if he'd brought a witch trial victim and didn't have news. ]

Very well. Will you be able to return to them on the road between now and then?

(There is a quiet concern on the wuestion, all born of the fae's current statem)

I cannot vouch for your safety if you remaon here.

I- think so. [ He looks down at his hand, opening and closing the fingers that are present. ] I'm not sure. This is new. You really didn't want me there, did you?

[ He sounds a little put out, by that. But not as hurt as he was when they last spoke. And not at all, thankfully, anything like one would expect of an insulted fairy. ]

How far do you want me to go?

My father is extremely protective of our family, and a skilled magician in addition to many, many other talents. All of that was his work and his reaction. It is my understanding is that he...[Alucard doesn't know the full of it. His father has only let hints slip out.] He's had run ins before, and fears losing me fiercely.

[Alucard cringes as he looks at Trevor's hand. His father's work has always been a thing of cruelty when it wanted to be, and this is a warning more than anything else.]

A few towns over at least, if you can manage that. Masking your scent would afford you greater protection.

[ That’s a little better, at least, than the thought that Alucard did this himself. He looks up from his hand with an anemic smile. ]

So you want me to- go somewhere safe, so a bad thing doesn’t happen.

[ He does understand that this is a different, non cage situation. But it’s close enough, at least in his eyes, to tease. ]

If you'd like my father to murder you or worse, then by all means, stay.

[Alucard knows very well what the consequences of Trevor's remaining in the town would be. His father's never been a man known for subtle behavior, and of late he has been on edge for other reasons.

It means he isn't teasing back. He isn't being comforting. Just honest.]

Like I said. If you can return to the speakers, that would be best.

[ In truth, he seems more dejected about his teasing being shot down than the damage done by the wards. The weak smile is gone almost instantly. He looks back at his hand to avoid looking at Alucard when he speaks. ]

There’s no sense in going to them, if I can’t be here. They’re coming here.

[ He returns his hand to his side, but doesn’t look up from the spot in the air where it was. ]

I’ll move on. Tell her I’ll find them when I can.

Compromise. [Alucard doesn't know why this is what has finally made the fae deflate as he has, but there's scant hope that the next few words might help. The speakers, at least the one who's truly working with him, they seem to be good for the fae.

Dwelling on why isn't something Alucard has the luxury of time to indulge in at the moment.]

Go back to them until you're a day out from here. Then they can go and come back to you as is safe for everyone. No wards and my father will be ignorant.

[ He doesn’t want to go back to the speakers. Not like this, at least. It’s embarrassing, to have missing body parts, and he’s coming to care more about what Sypha thinks of him than he does most people. But Alucard is asking him to, and trying to do human interaction isn’t working. Maybe just following instructions will be better. ]

I’ll try. [ A long, awkward pause. ]...Thank you for helping her.

Whatever you do, do it in the interest of your own safety and well being. Please.

[And that isn't an instruction. It's a request, one that has real concern. With that, Alucard nods, and he pulls his coat tighter around himself.]

It is the very least we could do. We'll look after her. Promise.

[He is sincere. He is so tired.]

Speaking of, it's likely my turn to do just that so the doctor can rest.

[ He nods, and then he is gone. It’s only after he’s become moths that he remembers that people traditionally say goodbye instead of just vanishing when the conversation seems done. The moths themselves don’t seem to be in great condition, some of them flying in odd ways, a couple even dropping out of the air even now. But as far as methods of getting around go it’s either this or walking.

Sypha arrives a little over a week later, out of breath, having made the journey quickly ahead of her caravan just to demand to know why the fairy is missing so many parts. ]

[The week at the Tepes household passes by both all too slowly and far too fast. Lisa rests while Alucard remains awake to care for their erstwhile patient, whose recovery is quick enough. They all avoid the question of how she managed to get to the clinic from half of the country away (the words moth wings are said and Lisa Knows.)

Dracula returns that night, a vampire's skull in one and and white human heart stored in a jar. They're both thunked down upon one of Lisa's work benches, and there is a deep hiss of fury that means Carmilla was not captured - only one of her kin, her best loved, and the only benefit to such an action is that it might force her work to be sloppy in the future.

It is then and only then that he asks why the wards against the fae have been disturbed, and all hell breaks loose. He returned?! is shoved aside for dealing with People are dying because of something I wrote and people are dying as witches, that could come to our door. It is the last two that are favored, Lisa horrified by the reaction of a few stupid men and too headstrong to back down from wanting to stop the work and Dracula knowing that such a reaction imperils everyone's safety. The question of what to do? rages for a week.

Sometime in there, the Speakers arrive with more concrete information. Well, one Speaker does, demanding to know why the fae was harmed as he was, and Alucard has to run with her away from the house to have that discussion before he learns of the particulars of the burning. THe latter he shares with his father, and there is a very tired sigh.

Your mother has agreed to retreat for at least a week in order to determine how to handle this situation. If the problem in Wallachia is limited in scope, then do what you must to protect this family.

So that brings him here. Now. To Gresit, where a fool in charge of a flock has declared certain books to be the work of heretics, and whose legacies must be burnt away for the safety of the whole of Wallachia. He preaches not from a pulpit inside of his church, but in the city's main square, and there are too many people listening.

Alucard retreats from those assembled. He knows when the burning is to begin, and there are worse implications in what the priest has said. He mentioned flesh.

The Speaker, her name is Sypha, and the fae, they've found a hidey-hole in an old abandoned building for now. It's there that Alucard goes, knocking on the door five times before entering.]

The burning will take place tomorrow at midday.

[ The worst of the damage from Dracula's wards has subsided, and Trevor is not yet whole, but is at least regaining body parts instead of slowly losing them. His ribs are back, which is always good, and all but one of his fingers. His wings are more whole than they were before, though still ragged and unsuitable to carry his weight. The eye hasn't quite started to recover yet. There's a wooden box of larvae in their hiding place, ones that Sypha managed to buy from a fisherman. Some have cocooned already, and with any luck he'll be able to add them to himself within the fortnight.

The magic holding the door barred lowers when Alucard knocks, just for long enough to let him inside. Trevor is alone there, for now, with his wooden box of what will eventually be parts of him. ]

She's at the church, to see if she can overhear anything. [ He doesn't get up. He seems agitated, but that's more concern for Sypha than excitement about Alucard's presence. ] She's safe, for now. She doesn't smell afraid.

[Sypha's initial rage over the state of Trevor had only added to Alucard's sense of guilt on the matter. The fae, for as uncomfortable and threatened as he did make the vampire feel, didn't deserve a response that extreme, that was a truth. Especially not after they had managed to have a more reasonable discussion. But Dracula was Dracula, and there was no convincing him of anything. He was growing far too worried these days besides.

The guilt lingers. Especially with Trevor's eye, Alucard isn't sure why that it is. All he knows is that right now, he's ready for this misadventure to be done, and to return home as quickly as he can.

Alucard walks over to the nearest window. Oh, it may be boarded up, but he can still see out of it's cracks.]

She's been there far too long. I don't like it.

[Sypha was headstrong. Sypha was also the only one of them that could enter a church in the first place.]

And we'll need to destroy the bishop, that much is clear to me.

[ In truth, Trevor is probably the person here least concerned about the state of Trevor. It's embarrassing and inconvenient, not being able to fly, but the only real reason he's upset about it is that it means he can't try his luck with going into the church. If its word is being used to harm people, it may not count as sanctuary anymore. But in his current state, Sypha isn't about to let him test that theory.

And that means she has to go alone. ]

Can't. Not unless he's broken his vows.

[ It's a fairy thing, in part. More than that, though, it's a Leon thing. His hurting people should be enough to make hunting him acceptable, but it's a risky thing to test in his current state.

He wants Sypha back. He doesn't want to be alone with the man-who-is-not-and-never-was-his-husband anymore. ]

She smells like- quiet. [ He says after a moment's concentration. Quiet is good. Quiet means she's still trying to listen, that nothing's happened. ] And anger.

You mean you can't. I don't have such restrictions, at least not on that particular subject.

[Alucard may not be able to step foot into a church, but oh so long as the priest has no holy symbols upon his person, or if they're knocked away, the vampire is not restrained by vows or words made into promises.

There is no one outside of the windows. No threats. Just the two of them, and it is a truly awkward thing. The status report gives Alucard a little to latch onto though, and he hums thoughtfully at the word anger.]

She's right to be. [They're all angry, in their ways.] He's hurting people. He's denying them knowledge that could help improve their lives. Let them be healthier. Live longer. Be safer against disease and against ignorance.

[He sighs, and murmurs an after thought.]

I printed so many of those books he's destroying.

You should kill him, then. He leaves the church, sometimes.

[ ...okay, so maybe it's slightly more complicated than THAT. But he doesn't see how there could be fallout from killing him. He isn't particularly good at 'actions have consequences'.

He draws his knees up against his chest, curling his body around the little wooden box of insects that Sypha gave to him and occasionally twisting his head from side to side to follow new scents. ]

The books. She said they were for making childbirth kill fewer people. Is that true?

If only it were that easy. The things priests carry, crucifixes and the like. Those can do me harm. Besides. [Alucard breathes out.] They could find someone worse to take his place. If he dies, the way it happens matters. It should look like the judgement of their God, not the work of some cheap thug.

[Alucard finally withdraws from peering out the window, and when he does, he paces instead. His arms are crossed over his chest, his shoulders are tense, and he is naught but a ball of anxiety.]

Yes. Among other things. My mother is the one who wrote it, and she has made such advanced in medical science that the only right and proper thing is to share her knowledge with the world. She feels compelled to, for the betterment of everyone.

[Alucard pauses, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear.]

Resistance to the new is inevitable, but this kind of reaction? This venom? It's unbelievable. My father wants to abandon the venture all together, she won't have it, and they've been fighting about what to do ever since.

Leon forbade us from hunting childbirth. Even if it hurts people. Even if it kills them. Because it does good as well.

[ The world can thank Leon for keeping his children in line at least somewhat. And just be thankful in general that the Belmonts are the only ones of their kind who care about justice instead of just lashing out at random things, because fairies attempting to do good are honestly scarier than the alternative.

He frowns, trying to remember the way that Sypha explained it to him. The concept of 'books' is still a little shaky to him. One of his sisters hoards them, but they just seem like squares of wood, sliced very finely. ]

There are tricks to make it do only good. And the books teach them to people?

If you eliminated the concept of childbirth, you'd eliminate people all together. That was probably the logic there.

[Fae logic is...hard. Alucard can follow it if he tilts his head and squints, trying to be literal, but he doesn't like it one bit. It's too alien, and he was a thing raised by scientists who wanted to add nuance and question every part of the world. The fae are the opposite of that.

At the word trick, he tries not to automatically correct. It's easier, he's found, to try and find what Trevor's latched onto and then elaborate on it. Speaking with authority, but clearly understanding the fae's perspective. It works. Or seems to.]

Essentially, yes. There may still be complications, as nature is impossible to predict, but there are techniques and ways to improve it. And other parts of human health too, that helps stop the spread of things like the plague and other illnesses. But because it's so new, and because it flies in what is thought to be true, you...a man can tell others it is all witchcraft and devils, and they'll take him at his word because in their eyes, he is a man of God and thus an authority.

[With that, Alucard's shoulders slump forward.]

My father would have him strung up in his own church, given the chance. [HE IS NOT HERE. Alucard can see it now.] Then it would be the devil lending credence to the man's argument, and thus making the problem so much worse.

[It could still happen. Alucard loves his father, but the flair for the dramatic is a problem at times.]

Is she still safe?

They are weapons, then, the books? That humans can hunt the things that hurt them with.

[ This, he understands. This, he approves of. He becomes a little more open as he rocks forward, inclining his head toward the church, and then his newfound ease fades immediately. ]

She smells of anger still. And words, now. Poisonous ones. Her heart is too fast.

[ Arguing. She's arguing. Because of course she is. ]

Think of them as...written instructions and training manuals. Ways to impart the information if a person isn't around to explain it themselves.

[There's a stillness that overcomes the vampire as Trevor explains what's going on. Talking. Shit. That's not good, that could be trouble. He turns on his heel, moving to the door at once.]

If she's talking, she's been found, and that could be trouble in and of itself. C'mon.

[ He nods, putting his box of insects down and pulling glamour over himself like a blanket as he leaves. There isn't a lot of difference. The antlers are gone. The collar and wings are still very much there, but at least look more like a ragged cloak than what they really are. His good eye looks normal instead of a solid icy blue, though the other one is still entirely pearly white and unblinking. That, they'll just have to hope nobody notices.

Not that it would take Alucard a lot of effort to see through the glamour. ]

She's running, now. [ Shit. ] One of us makes a distraction, the other gets her back to the hiding place. Which would you rather do?

I'll distract them.

[It's an easy call to make. Trevor's in no condition for a fight, that much is clear. Alucard will let the fae take the lead, and that's only because he knows the exact location that Sypha is in. Beyond that, well. He hasn't drawn his sword yet.]

Which way is she?

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