He's retrieved. That's more than we should ask of an outsider. The rest- [ And there is a 'the rest'. She isn't seething for vengeance, not in any obvious way. Their oldest sister will be. And- well. dogs always like to have meat. ] -can wait until this work is done.
[ Juliet's demeanor is usually jovial. Not now. She shakes her head. Alucard didn't ask, but- ]
I'll do all I can, but doubt I can be closer than this. I can call our patriarch, if the two of you need help. He is the eldest. Part human. He could be close enough to help.
[ She tugs at one of her ears in thought, weighing options. ]
You do- like him remembering you, yes? Most humans like being remembered, I've found. It's convenient for them.
Salt water- [ Her face twists into a grimace. Iron on him is one thing. It doesn't need to be rusted, just removed. Salt water implies iron in him. ] -That would work. I'm the fastest. Messengers really ought to be the fastest, you know. I can fetch it.
[ She's babbling. That's normal, but there's a more manic quality to it now. It's not that she simply likes to fill silence. She's panicked. ]
Normally, if one of us were badly hurt, we would just go through the rebirth instead. You know. With the- stabbing. It's easier than recovering the human way, especially from iron. A lot less painful. But his last rebirth was so recent. He might not pass everything on to himself. So if being remembered is important, I suppose that makes it a bad option.
[Alucard's face makes it clear that he doesn't like the idea of rebirth. It disturbed him deeply the first time, and he can't imagine a second one in the short time frame would be wise.]
Think of it this way: figuring out how to reverse the problems would allow for the information to be applied to much smaller problems too. [Is he applying science to this? Yes.] It's...we can make something good come of it.
[They're wasting time. They're both panicking.]
Meet me at the mouth of the cave, or else as close to the front of it that you can get. Okay?
An hour. If I ride the lines, I can be to the sea and back in an hour.
[ The unicorn is waiting in the forest somewhere, audible but difficult to see, white against white snow. Juliet doesn't waste any more time, heading to climb onto the creature's back.
True to her word, she is back within the hour. Sypha spends the time finding the worst of the orders - some demand obedience, others calm. Some, like the command to stand, no longer seem to be binding and can be left for last. She doesn't care to leave any of them for last, but some have to come before others. Methodically, she smears the ink over each one. It's a horrible process, leaving Trevor more bruised than not, but it's also one that erases most of the commands themselves and leaves only the damage.
Juliet arrives about where she was before, not entirely sure about getting closer, a large clay pot in her arms. ]
[It's all the words Alucard has left, in truth, and once Juliet departs, he returns to the mouth of the cave. He yells in, tells Sypha that what she's requested is en route, and that for now, all they can do is wait.
He spends the next hour watching her work, trying to understand what it is that she is doing and how the spell has worked in the first place. The writing, that makes sense, but there must be an underlying base to the spell that makes the writing take effect.
But then he hears the unicorn, and he runs out to meet Juliet.]
I have. They will not come here unless called. It might go poorly if they did, I fear. She sets the pot down. They have seen much more of your father than I. Hunted him longer. They might- place blame unnecessarily.
[ Her tone isn't quite as grim as her words. The journey has done her some good, shaken her out of her shock. ]
It would be unnecessary blame, yes? If he needed so much iron to contain our youngest, I think perhaps I would be concerned for him.
[Alucard hefts the put up into his arms, and the way he holds it, he's treating it as if it is some sort of lifeline. Sypha hasn't specified what the salt water is required for, but he understands that it is important.]
It would be very unnecessary, as he had nothing to do with this. This was all a human's doing, independent of anyone else.
A human. [ She isn't happy about it, but for a moment she seems to grow brighter. Eyes sharper. The dull paleness that the presence of iron brought to her skin gone. Nothing is truly prey. ]
That is for the best, perhaps. Our queen cannot make war upon humanity. Were it any other manner of creature, she might see fit to use this. To drag your father into it somehow.
[ It's not the best of bright spots, but it's one. She's sticking to it. ]
Shall I wait here for news? Or is there anything else you need?
Depending on what else comes of this, I can't make promises or predictions with regards to my father's future actions. [He saw his father's eyebrows react to the words forgemaster. He's heard the word once or twice before, when his father returned home and spoke of travels. In all of Alucard's anger, that he noted.] I don't know what else to say on that topic.
[Alucard's not terribly good at controlling his own fury right now. He's only managing because Trevor's recovery is the priority, not his own anger.]
There's nothing else we need yet. I'll try and contact you in a few hours with an update of progress, if that's acceptable?
I fear any payment I tried to offer you would be seen as suspicious by your father, so I will give only my thanks. Whether the speaker's treatment succeeds or not, even if he must be reborn, this is better. He is free, and we could not have made him so.
[ Inside the cave, Sypha is still busy. She's digging through Alucard's possessions as if they were her own - she's grown up with communal possessions and nobody has ever stopped her from doing it. ]
The alcohol your mother uses to clean blades for surgery - did you bring any with you?
[It's with dhampir speed that Alucard returns with his new precious cargo, the jar of salt water still in his arms. It isn't a surprise to see Sypha digging through his things - that's Sypha, that's what she does. Besides, now is absolutely not the time to be worrying about whose things are whose.
Alucard sets the water down, crouches beside Sypha.]
Hold on.
[He reaches behind one of the leather bags that hold all kinds of supplies for this particular emergency, and tugs out a clear glass bottle with the label clearly written. He offers it over, tilting his head.]
What do you need it for, and what do you need me to do?
I want to rust the iron. I will make an incision and soak it with salt water. When I move on, you need to agitate the iron with the magnets until all of it is rusted.
[ She wipes the blade of a knife down with the alcohol. Even the cloth she uses glancing against the blade leaves a long cut in it - she's been making sure to sharpen the thing the the point where it's so sharp that the incision, at least, won't cause any pain. the rest, she can do little about. ]
Some of the iron will be pulled out by the magnets. What can't be will be made useless by the rusting. I don't think your mother would care much for the idea of rust in the body, but it's- better, at least.
Just by his head. I will start with the arm again, it seems safest.
[ She kneels, making a shallow cut over the length of the dark purple smear that had been an order before. Soaking a cloth in the salt water, she rests it over the cut for a few seconds before taking it away and handing the cloth over to Alucard. ]
Use the magnet to draw out what you can and move what you can't around. Then soak the cut again.
[ Already parts of the purple smear have lightened and warmed in colour to a shade a little darker than Sypha's hair. That's probably a good thing, no matter how uncomfortable it looks. ]
[It feels wrong, cutting their boyfriend open. Hell, it is wrong, but it's the only thing they can do now. Alucard retrieves the magnets as he is told, and his hands are rock steady as he waits.
Sypha signals for him to do the work, and Alucard does. He presses the magnet to the cut, and holds it for a few moments. It has new weight, and when he moves the magnet up, there is green soaked metal. He looks around for a spot to discard it all, and settles for making an awful pile next to himself.
He uses the magnets again and again, until there's just not enough iron to draw out. The rest is moving it all around, watching skin bruise and riot for the motion, but then it's...
[ It's a long, repetitive process. Make the cut, soak it, draw out what metal they can and rust the rest to uselessness. But it's working, at least a little. The bruises are ugly oranges and greens, but they're no longer that dark colour. The words that were there are impossible to find. Sypha grows weary but not sloppy. Her hands don't shake as she sews the cuts she's made back together once Alucard's work is done. Moth silk, at least, they have no shortage of. ]
That may be all we can do for now. [ She says, washing the place on the ground where the pile of iron was with the salt water. Just to be safe. ]
[Alucard wants to collapse by the end, but to see Trevor on the mend feels like a victory. They did...something. Something that's worth resting after, and Sypha seems like she needs it more.
He crouches beside her, offering a hand for the wash rag.]
[ She nods, clambering under the furs to be next to Trevor. Her arms around around him - she doesn't dare to risk opening the cuts she just sutured closed, but she leans the flats of her palms against his shoulders and that will have to be enough for the moment.
[ Here, at least, he is mostly whole. The marks from the ink are gone, here, but rather than being smudged and rusted they have simply gone from him. They leave new skin where they had been, the edges of the letters darkened like they are holes burned in paper.
Something had been here before Alucard came, something massive and dark and suffocating, but it vanishes as soon as he arrives. Trevor pushes himself to his feet to move over to Alucard, pulling him close. ]
[ Sypha didn't take the medicine - it'd keep her from waking if anything went wrong. It's sad, not having her here, but not a sign of anything terrible. ]
You never promised to. Neither of you ever promised. But I knew you would figure it out anyway. Find your way to me. Just a matter of waiting.
[ He smiles. It's weak, but it's genuine. He knew. It means a lot to his kind, to trust that someone will do something without their words binding them to it. ]
My part's the easiest, really. Just waiting. Just trusting you both. Nothing to it at all.
[Alucard lets out a sigh, and it sounds like a tired summer wind ready for the sun to go down so it can rest. He shifts, shifts so he can press a kiss to Trevor's forehead.
He stays there.]
Waiting seems...never mind, I don't think I have the words.
[ He sinks into Alucard's arms at the kiss. He doesn't want to be weak like this here where he's whole. Where he's barely anything worse than tired. They're both tired. They're all tired.
But here they are. Apparently Alucard and Sypha have to be the strong, safe ones for now, even if he's whole physically. ]
I met him in the flood. He was stuck on a roof, and wouldn't come with me to safety. Said he was afraid. Promised him that no harm would come to him while I was there. [ He sighs bitterly. ] Don't know if the whole thing was planned or if he just found a lucky opportunity.
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[ Juliet's demeanor is usually jovial. Not now. She shakes her head. Alucard didn't ask, but- ]
I'll do all I can, but doubt I can be closer than this. I can call our patriarch, if the two of you need help. He is the eldest. Part human. He could be close enough to help.
[ She tugs at one of her ears in thought, weighing options. ]
You do- like him remembering you, yes? Most humans like being remembered, I've found. It's convenient for them.
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[Alucard folds his arms over his chest, trying not to bite at his lip over much.]
Why do you ask about remembering? [Alucard's lips thin.] What did you have in mind?
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[ She's babbling. That's normal, but there's a more manic quality to it now. It's not that she simply likes to fill silence. She's panicked. ]
Normally, if one of us were badly hurt, we would just go through the rebirth instead. You know. With the- stabbing. It's easier than recovering the human way, especially from iron. A lot less painful. But his last rebirth was so recent. He might not pass everything on to himself. So if being remembered is important, I suppose that makes it a bad option.
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Think of it this way: figuring out how to reverse the problems would allow for the information to be applied to much smaller problems too. [Is he applying science to this? Yes.] It's...we can make something good come of it.
[They're wasting time. They're both panicking.]
Meet me at the mouth of the cave, or else as close to the front of it that you can get. Okay?
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[ The unicorn is waiting in the forest somewhere, audible but difficult to see, white against white snow. Juliet doesn't waste any more time, heading to climb onto the creature's back.
True to her word, she is back within the hour. Sypha spends the time finding the worst of the orders - some demand obedience, others calm. Some, like the command to stand, no longer seem to be binding and can be left for last. She doesn't care to leave any of them for last, but some have to come before others. Methodically, she smears the ink over each one. It's a horrible process, leaving Trevor more bruised than not, but it's also one that erases most of the commands themselves and leaves only the damage.
Juliet arrives about where she was before, not entirely sure about getting closer, a large clay pot in her arms. ]
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[It's all the words Alucard has left, in truth, and once Juliet departs, he returns to the mouth of the cave. He yells in, tells Sypha that what she's requested is en route, and that for now, all they can do is wait.
He spends the next hour watching her work, trying to understand what it is that she is doing and how the spell has worked in the first place. The writing, that makes sense, but there must be an underlying base to the spell that makes the writing take effect.
But then he hears the unicorn, and he runs out to meet Juliet.]
True to your word and your sense of timing.
[They're words that drip with gratitude.]
Have you told your sisters that he's back?
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[ Her tone isn't quite as grim as her words. The journey has done her some good, shaken her out of her shock. ]
It would be unnecessary blame, yes? If he needed so much iron to contain our youngest, I think perhaps I would be concerned for him.
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It would be very unnecessary, as he had nothing to do with this. This was all a human's doing, independent of anyone else.
[Which is worse, isn't it?]
That human does this to others like us.
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That is for the best, perhaps. Our queen cannot make war upon humanity. Were it any other manner of creature, she might see fit to use this. To drag your father into it somehow.
[ It's not the best of bright spots, but it's one. She's sticking to it. ]
Shall I wait here for news? Or is there anything else you need?
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[Alucard's not terribly good at controlling his own fury right now. He's only managing because Trevor's recovery is the priority, not his own anger.]
There's nothing else we need yet. I'll try and contact you in a few hours with an update of progress, if that's acceptable?
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[ She bows. ]
I fear any payment I tried to offer you would be seen as suspicious by your father, so I will give only my thanks. Whether the speaker's treatment succeeds or not, even if he must be reborn, this is better. He is free, and we could not have made him so.
[ Inside the cave, Sypha is still busy. She's digging through Alucard's possessions as if they were her own - she's grown up with communal possessions and nobody has ever stopped her from doing it. ]
The alcohol your mother uses to clean blades for surgery - did you bring any with you?
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[It's with dhampir speed that Alucard returns with his new precious cargo, the jar of salt water still in his arms. It isn't a surprise to see Sypha digging through his things - that's Sypha, that's what she does. Besides, now is absolutely not the time to be worrying about whose things are whose.
Alucard sets the water down, crouches beside Sypha.]
Hold on.
[He reaches behind one of the leather bags that hold all kinds of supplies for this particular emergency, and tugs out a clear glass bottle with the label clearly written. He offers it over, tilting his head.]
What do you need it for, and what do you need me to do?
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[ She wipes the blade of a knife down with the alcohol. Even the cloth she uses glancing against the blade leaves a long cut in it - she's been making sure to sharpen the thing the the point where it's so sharp that the incision, at least, won't cause any pain. the rest, she can do little about. ]
Some of the iron will be pulled out by the magnets. What can't be will be made useless by the rusting. I don't think your mother would care much for the idea of rust in the body, but it's- better, at least.
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[Not the point, vampire. Not the point. He shuts himself up, then nods.]
Understood. Where are the magnets?
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[ She kneels, making a shallow cut over the length of the dark purple smear that had been an order before. Soaking a cloth in the salt water, she rests it over the cut for a few seconds before taking it away and handing the cloth over to Alucard. ]
Use the magnet to draw out what you can and move what you can't around. Then soak the cut again.
[ Already parts of the purple smear have lightened and warmed in colour to a shade a little darker than Sypha's hair. That's probably a good thing, no matter how uncomfortable it looks. ]
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Sypha signals for him to do the work, and Alucard does. He presses the magnet to the cut, and holds it for a few moments. It has new weight, and when he moves the magnet up, there is green soaked metal. He looks around for a spot to discard it all, and settles for making an awful pile next to himself.
He uses the magnets again and again, until there's just not enough iron to draw out. The rest is moving it all around, watching skin bruise and riot for the motion, but then it's...
it's repetition. He soaks the cut.
He begins again.]
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That may be all we can do for now. [ She says, washing the place on the ground where the pile of iron was with the salt water. Just to be safe. ]
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He crouches beside her, offering a hand for the wash rag.]
I can finish up here. You should sleep.
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Alucard is alone. ]
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Either way, he's in dreams, and for that, he is glad. The rest is needed and--
---shit. Sypha promised Trevor that Alucard would find him in dreams.
He reaches out, feeling for that right texture. Feathery soft wings, soft silks, the texture that's only Trevor's.]
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Something had been here before Alucard came, something massive and dark and suffocating, but it vanishes as soon as he arrives. Trevor pushes himself to his feet to move over to Alucard, pulling him close. ]
You're here.
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(Alucard sighs with relief. Amazing how a four word exchange can bring such relief.
Sypha isn't here though. That worries him, but in Trevor's embrace, one can't see.)
Sorry we took so long.
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[ Sypha didn't take the medicine - it'd keep her from waking if anything went wrong. It's sad, not having her here, but not a sign of anything terrible. ]
You never promised to. Neither of you ever promised. But I knew you would figure it out anyway. Find your way to me. Just a matter of waiting.
[ He smiles. It's weak, but it's genuine. He knew. It means a lot to his kind, to trust that someone will do something without their words binding them to it. ]
My part's the easiest, really. Just waiting. Just trusting you both. Nothing to it at all.
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He stays there.]
Waiting seems...never mind, I don't think I have the words.
May I ask what happened?
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But here they are. Apparently Alucard and Sypha have to be the strong, safe ones for now, even if he's whole physically. ]
I met him in the flood. He was stuck on a roof, and wouldn't come with me to safety. Said he was afraid. Promised him that no harm would come to him while I was there. [ He sighs bitterly. ] Don't know if the whole thing was planned or if he just found a lucky opportunity.
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