[There's a heavier and heavier exhaustion that settles over Alucard as Trevor keeps speaking. His shoulders slump, his head tilts downwards even more, and the moths on his shoulders don't even react to their sudden presence.
He brings his free hand up, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.]
It's a lot, yes, but understanding it all is important. [The only important thing.]
Is there any way to extend the keeping her away from immediate family? [There is a sidelong look to Trevor, one that clearly means Alucard is speaking of his mother. Dracula might be able to control himself with this. But harm coming to Lisa? Oh...the world wouldn't survive that rage.[]
[ He actually goes still at that, his hand going loose in Alucard's- he's not seemed particularly bothered by any of this so far, but talk of Lisa- ]
-she's safe. She's- shit, she's as safe as anyone can be. You saw what happened when I tried to go near her home when she wasn't in it, let alone if she'd been there.
[ He's clearly agitated by talk of Lisa, but he tries. He frowns and he thinks and- ]
-what do you think she would do, if something she didn't understand tried to threaten her? And what do you think most humans would do? Or your father? Or you? Anyone else would attack it, or run away from it, or try to do what it wanted. She'd ask what it was and try to figure out how it worked and-
[Alucard opens his mouth to protest that his father is a scientist too, that he works to understand but that isn't entirely true. He'll understand the natural world, but rarely the nature of others. He has the things he will go into rages about, and the safety of his family is the number one thing. Threaten them and...
...they've both seen that result.
Trevor's assessment is entirely true. But there's another quiet realization.]
My mother is her antithesis, and thus always immune and safe.
[He and his father aren't that exact antithesis. And thus, Alucard is here.]
And so I'm the easier candidate to needle him towards even dancing around the thought of war.
[The sigh he lets out is exhausted, and there's a note of pain in that too. Being used against one's own family, that's...that's a hard thing to bear.]
[ He rubs the back of his head with his free hand. The weight on Alucard's back shifts a little to form wings of his own, black velvety ones with a trim of gold. ]
Leon thought that was why I wanted you for my husband. That I'd just say it so that it was said and then leave you be, so that you couldn't be targeted. I hadn't even realised. [ He chuckles, a little sheepishly. ] He was furious.
[In the heat of summer, Alucard hadn't been wearing his usual coat. The weight of suddenly something being on his back is bizarre, but his state of mind doesn't really allow for questions. He just pulls the edges of those wings closer towards his chest, like he would with his coat.]
Mm. I think I see why - it's harder to rectify the matter now because my father is the way he is.
[Local bat dad complicates everything news at 11.
There's a moment where Alucard's eyes glance around.]
Is there anyplace more...inside...that we can sit? Forgive me if sitting anywhere in the opens leads to a feeling of vulnerability here.
[ ...though it's not like Alucard particularly wants to be here. ]
There are places, but they're- [ for people who want privacy for kissing reasons, and enchanted appropriately ] -liable to mess with your head. We can go further into the woods, if that would help.
[ He stands, pulling Alucard to his feet, and those wings coil around him as bast they can. The wooded area is strange. It isn't so dense that it should be difficult to see far ahead, and yet things keep appearing suddenly. Trees, beds of flowers. Eventually, a silvery structure spun from what appears to be spider thread, hanging from one of the larger trees. Trevor tilts his head at it. ]
That- shouldn't be there.
[ On the one hand, he doesn't like it. On the other, it is a hidden place. And it doesn't seem like it's one of the sex tents. ]
[Alucard's already accepted the wings as a sort of shield for the time being. He may not be proud of the fact they give him a measure of comfort, but that's where they're at this point. He will take any scrap of comfort as he can get it.
His hand remains in Trevor's as they move through the woods, looking down every so often to ensure the forest floor isn't so dense. Instead, the world expands under his feet and...]
If it shouldn't be there, then I don't think we ought to trust it.
[Then he stops, looking at Trevor with a greater concern in his eye.]
We are. Keenly, if this is any indication. You said you wanted an inside place, and-
[ And one has appeared. Because of course. ]
I think this is as alone as we're going to get. [ And then after a moment, because he has no idea how long they've been walking. The sun doesn't move. He doesn't really grow hungry or thirsty, he's too on edge to grow bored. ] How are you feeling?
She might lose interest, if we have it done with. You could rest then. [ But tired is good. Tired isn't hungry. They dont' have to resolve that issue yet. ] But- it's probably going to be shitty. It's your choice.
[Alucard considers this. He considers it for a very long moment, and then he straightens up entirely. The wings that were curled around himself are moved back to where they ought to be, and when he steps forward (Trevor's hand remains in his, he understands that this is required) it's with the same kind of stalking movement that Dracula relies upon.
If the goal is to be bored, then what is more boring than simply aping Dracula being bored and zoned out from whatever the situation at hand is?]
Onward then. If you suspect the structure is impacting perception, remove me from the space immediately.
[Those are commands. Alucard's learned how to issue them from Sypha, but rarely has it been in Dracula Voice.]
[ It’s an order. He doesn’t get those often, not unless Sypha thinks he’s in danger. Trevor freezes for a moment and then his arms hook around Alucard’s back and the back of his legs, lifting him.
It’s a poorly worded order. ‘Remove me’, not ‘Lead me away’. ]
[ He's quick to put Alucard down, taking him by the hand again instead. ]
Yeah, you- need to be specific with that shit. Even Sypha struggles with it sometimes.
[ They probably have failed at the aim of not being interesting, but he leads Alucard away from the structure, as far as he can without looping back closer to the queen. ]
I'll try and improve. Forgive me if there's a steep learning curve.
[The tent is almost silver. That feels like mockery too.
With each step towards it though, there's a visible shift in Alucard's demeanor A stiffness, a posture that borders on looming, shoulders back, eyes dead ahead, body temperature even lower than normal. Be boring. Be predictable. Be every inch Dracula's son, and something willing, that will be the end of it.
There is no one else in the tent, which does not put the vampire at ease. Oh, there are soft furnishings everywhere, beautiful rugs that would put the Persians to shame, the golden thread flickering from the light that comes in on the other side, and tapestries of great feasts and hunts line every wall. There is no dais in the center, but ringed around the space are low cushions, the kind that the Turks lounge on in their own opulent palaces.
Alucard's gaze, now a cold and hardened thing, moves to Trevor. In that look there is a single question is this safe?]
[ Oh course they find themselves back at the tent. He enters first, turning his head about to feel at the air for the thick, syrupy sensation of magic. And it's here, but no more than it ought to be. Nothing that should alter anyone's behaviour. He lets go of Alucard's hand, sighing. ]
Nothing that'd make anyone act- different. [ Horny. ] And- something blocking surveillance. That part could change, if she wanted it to, but it's-
[ -exactly what Alucard claimed to have wanted, which means there must be some catch. For example, the minor catch that Dracula might find his son untraceable by any magical means and be upset about this. ]
[Which is, in fact, what is happening now in the outside world. Word has been passed along down the line, and deep in his crypt (Dracula stays there during the longest day of the year as a matter of course, as much as he loathes to be out of his bed), there is a rage that even gives Lisa pause.
The rabbit wouldn't have even made it to a stick.
At Trevor's analysis, Alucard sighs, but he does not let his guard down. The most he does is take a seat to the left side of the tent, ramrod straight and eyes lingering towards the door.]
If you exit, are we returned to the same place we were moments ago?
...that seems like testing it would be an easy way to separate us.
[ But he can spare a finger's worth of moths, at least. He sends them out of the doors of the spidersilk structure. Sure enough, they can't return. Not immediately. Maybe they'll be back once they find where the structure's left them and moved to. ]
It'll move us somewhere else, if we leave. To- [ He freezes as he tries to look through the eyes of his missing moths. ] -to her side. Of course.
[That's the other shoe dropped then, if Alucard had to hazard a guess. He's wrong, but he doesn't know that yet.]
Then we're trapped here until circumstances change.
[There's a curious lack of any emotion in the vampire's voice, whereas not moments ago he had been all fear and raw vulnerability. Golden eyes blink, and Alucard then carefully removes the sun glasses and wide brimmed hat he had been using as armor earlier. They don't have a place with channeling his father.]
I think that if that is the case, I'd feel safer with you next to me.
[ It's something he already knows is true - this is a dangerous place and he and his family have proven themselves allies of sorts to Alucard. It doesn't mean anything special, that Alucard feels safer with him than without. His heart still swells to hear it. He smiles despite everything, sitting one seat away from Alucard. Not directly next to him, but close enough to reach over the empty space between them to touch if he needs.
It's fond, the way he looks at Alucard in the absence of immediate danger. Even now. The same impossibly fond way he looks at Sypha, as if whatever part of him is moths is transfixed by light. He's precious, even if he's too precious for Trevor to have. ]
You'll return home whole at the end of this. I swear it.
[Alucard understands that oaths with fae carry weight. He imagines in spaces such as the one they are in now, those oaths must be even more weighted. There's a moment when he closes his eyes, centering all of himself for whatever is bound to come through that door. This seems more about humiliation than anything else, and that means treating it as an endurance run.
When his eyes flick open again, he catches Trevor's expression out of the corner of his eye. In any other time or place, he'd be deeply concerned about it, that Trevor might try something again.
Now though, it just feels like extra insurance.]
This still doesn't feel like the whole of what this place is meant to do to me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He brings his free hand up, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.]
It's a lot, yes, but understanding it all is important. [The only important thing.]
Is there any way to extend the keeping her away from immediate family? [There is a sidelong look to Trevor, one that clearly means Alucard is speaking of his mother. Dracula might be able to control himself with this. But harm coming to Lisa? Oh...the world wouldn't survive that rage.[]
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[ He actually goes still at that, his hand going loose in Alucard's- he's not seemed particularly bothered by any of this so far, but talk of Lisa- ]
-she's safe. She's- shit, she's as safe as anyone can be. You saw what happened when I tried to go near her home when she wasn't in it, let alone if she'd been there.
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[Alucard still isn't sure how.]
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[ He's clearly agitated by talk of Lisa, but he tries. He frowns and he thinks and- ]
-what do you think she would do, if something she didn't understand tried to threaten her? And what do you think most humans would do? Or your father? Or you? Anyone else would attack it, or run away from it, or try to do what it wanted. She'd ask what it was and try to figure out how it worked and-
[ He actually shudders at that idea. ]
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...they've both seen that result.
Trevor's assessment is entirely true. But there's another quiet realization.]
My mother is her antithesis, and thus always immune and safe.
[He and his father aren't that exact antithesis. And thus, Alucard is here.]
And so I'm the easier candidate to needle him towards even dancing around the thought of war.
[The sigh he lets out is exhausted, and there's a note of pain in that too. Being used against one's own family, that's...that's a hard thing to bear.]
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[ He rubs the back of his head with his free hand. The weight on Alucard's back shifts a little to form wings of his own, black velvety ones with a trim of gold. ]
Leon thought that was why I wanted you for my husband. That I'd just say it so that it was said and then leave you be, so that you couldn't be targeted. I hadn't even realised. [ He chuckles, a little sheepishly. ] He was furious.
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Mm. I think I see why - it's harder to rectify the matter now because my father is the way he is.
[Local bat dad complicates everything news at 11.
There's a moment where Alucard's eyes glance around.]
Is there anyplace more...inside...that we can sit? Forgive me if sitting anywhere in the opens leads to a feeling of vulnerability here.
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[ ...though it's not like Alucard particularly wants to be here. ]
There are places, but they're- [ for people who want privacy for kissing reasons, and enchanted appropriately ] -liable to mess with your head. We can go further into the woods, if that would help.
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I understand. [Both the reason why, and that Trevor is explaining this to him for an awfully good reason.]
Please lead on.
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That- shouldn't be there.
[ On the one hand, he doesn't like it. On the other, it is a hidden place. And it doesn't seem like it's one of the sex tents. ]
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His hand remains in Trevor's as they move through the woods, looking down every so often to ensure the forest floor isn't so dense. Instead, the world expands under his feet and...]
If it shouldn't be there, then I don't think we ought to trust it.
[Then he stops, looking at Trevor with a greater concern in his eye.]
We've being watched, I presume.
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[ And one has appeared. Because of course. ]
I think this is as alone as we're going to get. [ And then after a moment, because he has no idea how long they've been walking. The sun doesn't move. He doesn't really grow hungry or thirsty, he's too on edge to grow bored. ] How are you feeling?
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[Alucard lets out a long, tired noise at that. He can't pull the wings closer around himself, not anymore.]
Tired. I'd try to nap, but I doubt that would solve any of the problems at hand. If anything, it might create new ones.
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She might lose interest, if we have it done with. You could rest then. [ But tired is good. Tired isn't hungry. They dont' have to resolve that issue yet. ] But- it's probably going to be shitty. It's your choice.
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If the goal is to be bored, then what is more boring than simply aping Dracula being bored and zoned out from whatever the situation at hand is?]
Onward then. If you suspect the structure is impacting perception, remove me from the space immediately.
[Those are commands. Alucard's learned how to issue them from Sypha, but rarely has it been in Dracula Voice.]
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It’s a poorly worded order. ‘Remove me’, not ‘Lead me away’. ]
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Crap, he's still terrible at this.]
Okay, okay, lead me away, not this!
[It's probably a good mistake to make with eyes on him. It makes him look slightly stupider, and easier to underestimate.]
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Yeah, you- need to be specific with that shit. Even Sypha struggles with it sometimes.
[ They probably have failed at the aim of not being interesting, but he leads Alucard away from the structure, as far as he can without looping back closer to the queen. ]
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[The tent is almost silver. That feels like mockery too.
With each step towards it though, there's a visible shift in Alucard's demeanor A stiffness, a posture that borders on looming, shoulders back, eyes dead ahead, body temperature even lower than normal. Be boring. Be predictable. Be every inch Dracula's son, and something willing, that will be the end of it.
There is no one else in the tent, which does not put the vampire at ease. Oh, there are soft furnishings everywhere, beautiful rugs that would put the Persians to shame, the golden thread flickering from the light that comes in on the other side, and tapestries of great feasts and hunts line every wall. There is no dais in the center, but ringed around the space are low cushions, the kind that the Turks lounge on in their own opulent palaces.
Alucard's gaze, now a cold and hardened thing, moves to Trevor. In that look there is a single question is this safe?]
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Nothing that'd make anyone act- different. [ Horny. ] And- something blocking surveillance. That part could change, if she wanted it to, but it's-
[ -exactly what Alucard claimed to have wanted, which means there must be some catch. For example, the minor catch that Dracula might find his son untraceable by any magical means and be upset about this. ]
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The rabbit wouldn't have even made it to a stick.
At Trevor's analysis, Alucard sighs, but he does not let his guard down. The most he does is take a seat to the left side of the tent, ramrod straight and eyes lingering towards the door.]
If you exit, are we returned to the same place we were moments ago?
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[ But he can spare a finger's worth of moths, at least. He sends them out of the doors of the spidersilk structure. Sure enough, they can't return. Not immediately. Maybe they'll be back once they find where the structure's left them and moved to. ]
It'll move us somewhere else, if we leave. To- [ He freezes as he tries to look through the eyes of his missing moths. ] -to her side. Of course.
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[That's the other shoe dropped then, if Alucard had to hazard a guess. He's wrong, but he doesn't know that yet.]
Then we're trapped here until circumstances change.
[There's a curious lack of any emotion in the vampire's voice, whereas not moments ago he had been all fear and raw vulnerability. Golden eyes blink, and Alucard then carefully removes the sun glasses and wide brimmed hat he had been using as armor earlier. They don't have a place with channeling his father.]
I think that if that is the case, I'd feel safer with you next to me.
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It's fond, the way he looks at Alucard in the absence of immediate danger. Even now. The same impossibly fond way he looks at Sypha, as if whatever part of him is moths is transfixed by light. He's precious, even if he's too precious for Trevor to have. ]
You'll return home whole at the end of this. I swear it.
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[Alucard understands that oaths with fae carry weight. He imagines in spaces such as the one they are in now, those oaths must be even more weighted. There's a moment when he closes his eyes, centering all of himself for whatever is bound to come through that door. This seems more about humiliation than anything else, and that means treating it as an endurance run.
When his eyes flick open again, he catches Trevor's expression out of the corner of his eye. In any other time or place, he'd be deeply concerned about it, that Trevor might try something again.
Now though, it just feels like extra insurance.]
This still doesn't feel like the whole of what this place is meant to do to me.
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