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.
[ Trevor has to test the next few words. He had orders, of course he had orders, once the merchant learned who he was selling him to. He can't discuss the things that were for sale. But the words are gone, and the orders with them. ]
-he was selling fledglings. Young ones, the kinds whose minds will never develop fully. It was always either going to be your father or Leon who put an end to him, for that.
[Alucard is guessing. He can't be sure, not really, but he has a horrible sinking feeling about what is going to come to pass soon.]
My father met one on his travels. If it is the same man, then he has more reason to be cruel than simply the matter of fledglings. It may be best if Leon stays away.
Him? [ He takes interest briefly, then shakes his head. ] Didn't see who he went to, or I'd tell you.
[ He lets his weight shift onto Alucard. It doesn't quite feel natural, to lean into the feeling of weakness and allow Alucard to make him feel safe rather than fighting it, but it feels nice. ]
I can't be there. And unless he means to be merciful about it, I don't think I can know the details. It'd be fucking embarrassing for something like that to do me in, after all of this.
[Wherever they are (it's just outside the cave at the moment, in the last beautiful fleeting moments of autumn light), Alucard leans back against something solid. The wind ruffles at his hair softly, and it makes the moment feel better.]
Mercy for the merciless. [ There's a strange quality to his voice when he says that, something like utter certainty but far more powerful. ] Even the wretched deserve a painless end.
[....But isn't aren't all of Trevor's siblings? All the beliefs that mark where Leon and Matthais' paths split and their lives were never going to be linked together again. Alucard shudders at that thought, the cool wind suddenly becoming colder.
He squeezes just a little harder.]
You won't know any additional details. I swear it.
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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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[It's fine, holding Trevor like this. Being the bulkwark against any sort of agony, because it means he is trusted and loved enough to merit it.
He nuzzles the top of Trevor's head gently, murmuring nothing in particular.]
There are few days left in his life.
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[ Trevor has to test the next few words. He had orders, of course he had orders, once the merchant learned who he was selling him to. He can't discuss the things that were for sale. But the words are gone, and the orders with them. ]
-he was selling fledglings. Young ones, the kinds whose minds will never develop fully. It was always either going to be your father or Leon who put an end to him, for that.
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[Alucard is guessing. He can't be sure, not really, but he has a horrible sinking feeling about what is going to come to pass soon.]
My father met one on his travels. If it is the same man, then he has more reason to be cruel than simply the matter of fledglings. It may be best if Leon stays away.
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[ He lets his weight shift onto Alucard. It doesn't quite feel natural, to lean into the feeling of weakness and allow Alucard to make him feel safe rather than fighting it, but it feels nice. ]
I can't be there. And unless he means to be merciful about it, I don't think I can know the details. It'd be fucking embarrassing for something like that to do me in, after all of this.
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Whatever you need to be ignorant of, just tel...
[He tilts his head.]
Do you in?
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[ That's the problem that Alucard's having trouble with, right? The slang. ]
It wouldn't be enough, usually, but things are a little shit right now.
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Belmont, you've never told me what powers you.
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[ He's silent for a long moment after that. ]
I doubt your father agrees.
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[....But isn't aren't all of Trevor's siblings? All the beliefs that mark where Leon and Matthais' paths split and their lives were never going to be linked together again. Alucard shudders at that thought, the cool wind suddenly becoming colder.
He squeezes just a little harder.]
You won't know any additional details. I swear it.
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