[ They win. It's Alucard who lands the killing blow, in the end. The forgemaster is nowhere to be found, even if the evidence of his work is all around them.
Once he can stand again, Trevor buries what the forgemaster left of his sisters. He leaves the two of them in the place where the castle and the hold meet, and he'd be done with this if Sypha hadn't asked him to come back with news from her people. And so he returns. He's almost looking forward to it.
He's never been alone before. Always had his siblings. Even at the church he always had the interrogators there, even if they didn't care much for him. And for better or worse he always, always had Dracula's presence in the back of his mind, burned into him. Loneliness is new. He doesn't care for it. It's- nice, returning to the castle. Comforting (and isn't that an odd thing for a Belmont to feel). Even when there's nobody there to greet him.
They'll be at the library. They're always in the fucking library. ]
[Alucard spends a week in his father's coffin, after all is said and done. It amplifies the guilt, yes, but it lets him rest. Recover. Reconcile the man he grew up with with the face of the monster the rest of the world knew. He's wrapped up and protected there, safe. He'd stay there forever, but Sypha comes down and drags him out, telling him he must live in the world. At least for a life time.
He protests. But Sypha's a force of intent, and so he does not remain in the coffin. She barely lets Alucard be, and he wants to hate it on principle.
But he can't, because Sypha is impossible to direct anger at for any real length of time, and he soon gets used to the presence of another. They are in the castle after all, and it is safe.
She worries about Trevor. Wants to know where he is, what he's doing, and in that Alucard feels an awful pang of guilt. He should have insisted they both go together. Let him in the coffin but...
...and then he returns. The castle tells him that the Belmont is at the door, and Alucard tells it to let him in. Then he's out of the library entirely to meet Trevor halfway.
Alucard turns a corner and Trevor is there. For his own part, Alucard's returned to a healthy weight. He's clean. The cloak is not on his shoulders, for it's too warm. His dress is still plain though, and bare feet scruff over the floor.]
Of course she has. Pretty sure the day she doesn’t fuss over something is the day we’ve found a shapeshifter taking her place.
[ His armour is flecked with the mud and dirt of the road, but it’s bloodless and doesn’t look to have suffered the kind of scrapes that would imply a nasty fight recently. ]
She’s still making you stay awake, then. Wasn’t sure you’d be here when I got back.
[She'd be better off with Trevor anyway, wouldn't she? He was the soldier, the knight in slightly-not-shining-armor-at-the-moment that solved all her problems. What good is a sad vampire, in the end?]
There's a side room here so you can get out of all that metal.
Pretty sure you’re meant to marry me before you ask me to undress the moment I get home.
[ He’s still laughing at his own absolutely-just-a-joke as he moves into the side room and sets about loosening the many, many straps holding all of the metal on him. Jokes aside, it’ll be good to be free of the weight of it all.. ]
She’s at sea, best as I can tell. A vampire called Godbrand made port back at Braila to gather what remained of her forces. They expect her to need at least another year before she can leave her coffin safely, let alone do anything more. [ He sighs, setting down a pauldron. ] Sorry I couldn’t do more. Hard to catch up with a boat by horse.
[It goes over Alucard's head, and that's mostly because Alucard's understanding and comprehension of sexuality is incomplete at best. Sypha's not rushed him into anything (biting is about food and getting used to just having someone around, or so it is for not), and he isn't ready for it. That's for sure.
Carmilla though. That brings the weight of the world down on the dhampir's shoulder, and even though his cloak is no where upon him, he still reaches up to his shoulders to try and pull it tighter.]
That's more than we knew before. I...thank you, Belmont. She'll make her way here eventually.
[ He continues the long, involved task of taking off the armour, occasionally tutting at a piece that needs maintenance of some sort. Eventually he’s down to a padded gambeson, which he sets about unbuttoning. The castle is always strangely warm, even when the world outside it is cold. He doesn’t need this much padding. ]
I’ll keep an ear out, then I next leave, but- [ He thinks for a moment, staring into space. ]
[Alucard lets the thought go. He's not curious enough to ask Sypha, although perhaps Sypha will ask the Belmont. (She very much will.) For now, Alucard moves the armor off to the side, keeping it in careful order from head to toe. Not a single piece out of place.]
[ His voice takes on a distant tone, like he’s not quite talking to Alucard. ] i can manage that.
[ He remains still for a moment, as if frozen in time, and then suddenly starts again, digging about in his pack for a plainer tunic. When he speaks, it’s directed at Alucard more properly. ]
I still think you should stick me in the coffin and leave it all be.
[It's almost a joking tone. That is an improvement for Alucard, all things considered, but there's a dark undertone to it all making it clear what his real feelings are.
Then she’d show up here and you’d be asleep. That’s not better.
[ He shrugs off the gambeson, revealing- well. What’s left of his torso after the year of captivity. Even now it’s not exactly a pretty sight. The most dramatic mark, though absolutely not the only one, is a large chunk of flesh missing from one side of him, where a quarter of the spell to seal Dracula used to be carved before the church cut it off his body. ]
Nothing you’ve not seen - and put back together - before.
Mm. Fighting means she might kill by accident rather than capture.
And all the same--
[Alucard does avert his eyes, although not quite fast enough. He's seen the scars before, in fleeting glances like this one. It's always awful, and the missing hunk of flesh is the worst of it. He's never asked what happened.
[Whatever at this point. Alucard sighs, and idly reaches up to tug at some of his hair. It's the replacement I am uncomfortable and don't know what else to do gesture for the cloak's absence.]
[Being a people is tiring today. Alucard takes a few steps forward, and he's not a people at all. He's a wolf, one who is happy to guide Trevor to Sypha's sofa in the living room. She gives the wolf a glance down, and understands what the form means. There's a nod from her, and the wolf goes over and curls itself up in the library's far corner. He's present, but can't do more than that right now.
At the end of the evening, Alucard is a person again, one guiding Trevor to a bedroom. He stops in front of the door, then pushes it open.
It isn't much. A soft bed. A fire place. A night stand with an electric light, and a trunk at the foot of the bed. His armor has already been moved in.]
[ There is a dog he can’t pet and this is the worst.
Sypha has a hundred thousand questions, and he talks to her well into the night until he practically falls asleep against her and she declares that they can continue tomorrow. He’s still partially asleep as Alucard leads him through the castle. ]
It’s perfect. I-
[ Look he hasn’t had an actual bed in so long. This is wonderful. ]
-I know this is hard. And I know you’re trying. I- thanks. I appreciate it.
Sypha's in the room there. [He indicates the room on the right.] When she isn't asleep in the library.
[Alucard doesn't specify where he is sleeping. He has a coffin, one of his own, and it's away from Sypha. That's all he needs. The castle tells him if she's awake and needs him.]
A bed is the easiest thing I can give, Belmont.
[The house is big. There's plenty of space.]
Everything else....yes. It is hard. [Sypha's seen the little cracks. The moments where grief takes over, and he curls up into a tiny wolf ball and she has to wait to even try and approach him.
But she never really lets him alone through the worst of it either. Alucard isn't sure how he feels about that, even now.]
[ Sure enough, he sleeps through both breakfast and lunch, and all attempt to wake him are met with exhausted, incoherent grumbling. It’s mid-afternoon when he finally rises, which is shameful.
He drags himself to the library. No doubt at least Sypha will be there, going over some book or another. And then he freezes in the doorway, one hand reaching for a whip that isn’t on his belt right now. The other slowly curls into a fist, short nails cutting into the flesh of his palms. ]
[Alucard sleeps as well, snug in his coffin and too tired from the additional conversations. Sypha's deep, heady talks about theory are often enough. Trying to be nice to the Belmont (and managing!) is something else.
Sypha gives up on waking the Belmont halfway through the day. Alucard murmurs that it's good, he probably needs the rest, and he says not a word more. His own diet needs a little attention.
It works simply: he only takes from Sypha once a month. Every other meal is animal blood from the things in the forest. He gets what he needs, and Sypha's convinced that this is the way to get the vampire used to having other people touch him. Alucard's not entirely sure about that, but he knows that if Sypha touches his hair while he takes from her, he doesn't jump. Not really. Not in any meaningful way.
His fangs aren't in his neck when Trevor walks in on them both. Alucard's tongue is pressed to the bite wounds instead, carefully lapping up the blood that comes out. It is a task that demands concentration, and it's why he doesn't notice Trevor's presence immediately.
Sypha? She does. She tenses, eyes locking on Trevor's.]
We can explain--!
[Only then does Alucard pick his head up, the hand that rests on Sypha's left side immediately moving to apply pressure to the bite.
Almost immediately though, his head hangs low. There's no explanation here. Not a good one, at any rate.]
[ He’s seen vampires feeding before, from people unwilling and compelled into obedience. This isn’t any of those. After the initial shock passes, and the initial shock is a lot, that much is clear enough.
And so this is- fine. It’s fine. Sypha is, as Alucard said before, more than capable of making her own choices. This is fine. Good. He’s happy for them.
The shock passes, and his fists unclench. His shoulders sink, then rise again. ]
It looks- fine. I just spooked, that’s all.
[ He pauses, thinks, and then seems to come to a conclusion. ]
I came to tell you I’d be in the hold. Have work to do there.
[ It’s true. It just became true. They deserve to be happy. There’s one thing he can do to give that to them before he can leave without worrying. ]
[Words fail the vampire. But they don't fail Sypha, who shrugs Alucard's hand from where her shoulder meets her neck. She doesn't even bother to take bandages from the orderly pile next to her.[
I'll go with you! There were a few things there I had questions about, and I can't think of anyone else who can answer them!
[It's clear Sypha won't except anything else but an all right.]
[And so it goes. Sypha sticks to Trevor like tiny, willful Speaker glue all day, and even night until she falls asleep in the library.
Alucard? He's back to being distant. He cleans up the supplies for drinking, and then he takes to his wolf form, curled up in a far corner of the castle and waiting until all are asleep. Only then does he slink about the human part of it, mostly in the kitchen to get regular people food.
He is so quiet as he cuts himself a little bit of bread. Some cheese. Nothing more.]
[ Sypha doesn’t give up, just follows him about. She doesn’t even stop trickling blood until it threatens to get onto the books and she finally at least cleans up. And he’s gladder for it than he’d like to admit. Her presence is easier than Alucard’s, even with the awkward situation taken into account.
He just- hates it. Hates that he can’t bring himself to dismiss her, that he’s here wasting something so precious when her brilliant presence could do so much more good. Hates himself for wasting time basking in her presence when he could be doing something worthwhile for the two of them. When he carries her back up from the hold, it’s with armfuls of books from Enid’s collection. Maps. Star and sea charts. Spells. A thick almanac.
The ship holding Carmilla will have to make port somewhere, either for blood or for supplies to feed whatever prisoners are being used to provide blood. If he can figure out where-
He falls asleep in the small hours of the morning into a collection of spells for tracking creatures, in the middle of trying to make sense of them, and wakes up in terror barely an hour later. No sense trying to sleep any more. Food will keep him alert.
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Once he can stand again, Trevor buries what the forgemaster left of his sisters. He leaves the two of them in the place where the castle and the hold meet, and he'd be done with this if Sypha hadn't asked him to come back with news from her people. And so he returns. He's almost looking forward to it.
He's never been alone before. Always had his siblings. Even at the church he always had the interrogators there, even if they didn't care much for him. And for better or worse he always, always had Dracula's presence in the back of his mind, burned into him. Loneliness is new. He doesn't care for it. It's- nice, returning to the castle. Comforting (and isn't that an odd thing for a Belmont to feel). Even when there's nobody there to greet him.
They'll be at the library. They're always in the fucking library. ]
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He protests. But Sypha's a force of intent, and so he does not remain in the coffin. She barely lets Alucard be, and he wants to hate it on principle.
But he can't, because Sypha is impossible to direct anger at for any real length of time, and he soon gets used to the presence of another. They are in the castle after all, and it is safe.
She worries about Trevor. Wants to know where he is, what he's doing, and in that Alucard feels an awful pang of guilt. He should have insisted they both go together. Let him in the coffin but...
...and then he returns. The castle tells him that the Belmont is at the door, and Alucard tells it to let him in. Then he's out of the library entirely to meet Trevor halfway.
Alucard turns a corner and Trevor is there. For his own part, Alucard's returned to a healthy weight. He's clean. The cloak is not on his shoulders, for it's too warm. His dress is still plain though, and bare feet scruff over the floor.]
She's been worried about you.
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[ His armour is flecked with the mud and dirt of the road, but it’s bloodless and doesn’t look to have suffered the kind of scrapes that would imply a nasty fight recently. ]
She’s still making you stay awake, then. Wasn’t sure you’d be here when I got back.
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[She'd be better off with Trevor anyway, wouldn't she? He was the soldier, the knight in slightly-not-shining-armor-at-the-moment that solved all her problems. What good is a sad vampire, in the end?]
There's a side room here so you can get out of all that metal.
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[ He’s still laughing at his own absolutely-just-a-joke as he moves into the side room and sets about loosening the many, many straps holding all of the metal on him. Jokes aside, it’ll be good to be free of the weight of it all.. ]
She’s at sea, best as I can tell. A vampire called Godbrand made port back at Braila to gather what remained of her forces. They expect her to need at least another year before she can leave her coffin safely, let alone do anything more. [ He sighs, setting down a pauldron. ] Sorry I couldn’t do more. Hard to catch up with a boat by horse.
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[It goes over Alucard's head, and that's mostly because Alucard's understanding and comprehension of sexuality is incomplete at best. Sypha's not rushed him into anything (biting is about food and getting used to just having someone around, or so it is for not), and he isn't ready for it. That's for sure.
Carmilla though. That brings the weight of the world down on the dhampir's shoulder, and even though his cloak is no where upon him, he still reaches up to his shoulders to try and pull it tighter.]
That's more than we knew before. I...thank you, Belmont. She'll make her way here eventually.
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[ He continues the long, involved task of taking off the armour, occasionally tutting at a piece that needs maintenance of some sort. Eventually he’s down to a padded gambeson, which he sets about unbuttoning. The castle is always strangely warm, even when the world outside it is cold. He doesn’t need this much padding. ]
I’ll keep an ear out, then I next leave, but- [ He thinks for a moment, staring into space. ]
-will you both manage, if she does?
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...No.
[It's the honest answer.]
You witnessed it once already.
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[ His voice takes on a distant tone, like he’s not quite talking to Alucard. ] i can manage that.
[ He remains still for a moment, as if frozen in time, and then suddenly starts again, digging about in his pack for a plainer tunic. When he speaks, it’s directed at Alucard more properly. ]
I’ll be here.
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[It's almost a joking tone. That is an improvement for Alucard, all things considered, but there's a dark undertone to it all making it clear what his real feelings are.
There's a sigh, and his eyes notice the tunic.]
Do you want me to step out so you can change?
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[ He shrugs off the gambeson, revealing- well. What’s left of his torso after the year of captivity. Even now it’s not exactly a pretty sight. The most dramatic mark, though absolutely not the only one, is a large chunk of flesh missing from one side of him, where a quarter of the spell to seal Dracula used to be carved before the church cut it off his body. ]
Nothing you’ve not seen - and put back together - before.
[ Look away, vampire. ]
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And all the same--
[Alucard does avert his eyes, although not quite fast enough. He's seen the scars before, in fleeting glances like this one. It's always awful, and the missing hunk of flesh is the worst of it. He's never asked what happened.
He never wants to know.]
Do you strip around everyone, or am I special?
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[ But he pulls on the tunic quickly. No sense in making the vampire uncomfortable. ]
She’s not going to be killing or capturing anyone. I’ll see to it.
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[Whatever at this point. Alucard sighs, and idly reaches up to tug at some of his hair. It's the replacement I am uncomfortable and don't know what else to do gesture for the cloak's absence.]
Just don't be foolish about it.
[Don't die. Sypha will kill you.
Quietly, Alucard shifts his weight.]
Shall we head to the library then?
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[ He finishes fastening the tunic, nodding. ]
Lead on, then.
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[Being a people is tiring today. Alucard takes a few steps forward, and he's not a people at all. He's a wolf, one who is happy to guide Trevor to Sypha's sofa in the living room. She gives the wolf a glance down, and understands what the form means. There's a nod from her, and the wolf goes over and curls itself up in the library's far corner. He's present, but can't do more than that right now.
At the end of the evening, Alucard is a person again, one guiding Trevor to a bedroom. He stops in front of the door, then pushes it open.
It isn't much. A soft bed. A fire place. A night stand with an electric light, and a trunk at the foot of the bed. His armor has already been moved in.]
I hope this will be enough for at least tonight.
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Sypha has a hundred thousand questions, and he talks to her well into the night until he practically falls asleep against her and she declares that they can continue tomorrow. He’s still partially asleep as Alucard leads him through the castle. ]
It’s perfect. I-
[ Look he hasn’t had an actual bed in so long. This is wonderful. ]
-I know this is hard. And I know you’re trying. I- thanks. I appreciate it.
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[Alucard doesn't specify where he is sleeping. He has a coffin, one of his own, and it's away from Sypha. That's all he needs. The castle tells him if she's awake and needs him.]
A bed is the easiest thing I can give, Belmont.
[The house is big. There's plenty of space.]
Everything else....yes. It is hard. [Sypha's seen the little cracks. The moments where grief takes over, and he curls up into a tiny wolf ball and she has to wait to even try and approach him.
But she never really lets him alone through the worst of it either. Alucard isn't sure how he feels about that, even now.]
Do you need anything else?
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[ Sure enough, he sleeps through both breakfast and lunch, and all attempt to wake him are met with exhausted, incoherent grumbling. It’s mid-afternoon when he finally rises, which is shameful.
He drags himself to the library. No doubt at least Sypha will be there, going over some book or another. And then he freezes in the doorway, one hand reaching for a whip that isn’t on his belt right now. The other slowly curls into a fist, short nails cutting into the flesh of his palms. ]
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[Alucard sleeps as well, snug in his coffin and too tired from the additional conversations. Sypha's deep, heady talks about theory are often enough. Trying to be nice to the Belmont (and managing!) is something else.
Sypha gives up on waking the Belmont halfway through the day. Alucard murmurs that it's good, he probably needs the rest, and he says not a word more. His own diet needs a little attention.
It works simply: he only takes from Sypha once a month. Every other meal is animal blood from the things in the forest. He gets what he needs, and Sypha's convinced that this is the way to get the vampire used to having other people touch him. Alucard's not entirely sure about that, but he knows that if Sypha touches his hair while he takes from her, he doesn't jump. Not really. Not in any meaningful way.
His fangs aren't in his neck when Trevor walks in on them both. Alucard's tongue is pressed to the bite wounds instead, carefully lapping up the blood that comes out. It is a task that demands concentration, and it's why he doesn't notice Trevor's presence immediately.
Sypha? She does. She tenses, eyes locking on Trevor's.]
We can explain--!
[Only then does Alucard pick his head up, the hand that rests on Sypha's left side immediately moving to apply pressure to the bite.
Almost immediately though, his head hangs low. There's no explanation here. Not a good one, at any rate.]
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And so this is- fine. It’s fine. Sypha is, as Alucard said before, more than capable of making her own choices. This is fine. Good. He’s happy for them.
The shock passes, and his fists unclench. His shoulders sink, then rise again. ]
It looks- fine. I just spooked, that’s all.
[ He pauses, thinks, and then seems to come to a conclusion. ]
I came to tell you I’d be in the hold. Have work to do there.
[ It’s true. It just became true. They deserve to be happy. There’s one thing he can do to give that to them before he can leave without worrying. ]
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[Words fail the vampire. But they don't fail Sypha, who shrugs Alucard's hand from where her shoulder meets her neck. She doesn't even bother to take bandages from the orderly pile next to her.[
I'll go with you! There were a few things there I had questions about, and I can't think of anyone else who can answer them!
[It's clear Sypha won't except anything else but an all right.]
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[ He really ought to tell her not to let him interrupt them, but it’s hard to say no to Sypha. Just about impossible, actually. ]
Yeah. I’ll- I’ll try.
[ And he does. Try, at least. He heads toward the hold, answering Sypha’s questions with quiet mumbles or words of one syllable. ]
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Alucard? He's back to being distant. He cleans up the supplies for drinking, and then he takes to his wolf form, curled up in a far corner of the castle and waiting until all are asleep. Only then does he slink about the human part of it, mostly in the kitchen to get regular people food.
He is so quiet as he cuts himself a little bit of bread. Some cheese. Nothing more.]
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He just- hates it. Hates that he can’t bring himself to dismiss her, that he’s here wasting something so precious when her brilliant presence could do so much more good. Hates himself for wasting time basking in her presence when he could be doing something worthwhile for the two of them. When he carries her back up from the hold, it’s with armfuls of books from Enid’s collection. Maps. Star and sea charts. Spells. A thick almanac.
The ship holding Carmilla will have to make port somewhere, either for blood or for supplies to feed whatever prisoners are being used to provide blood. If he can figure out where-
He falls asleep in the small hours of the morning into a collection of spells for tracking creatures, in the middle of trying to make sense of them, and wakes up in terror barely an hour later. No sense trying to sleep any more. Food will keep him alert.
Except that the kitchen is occupied. ]
-Oh. I’ll- come back later.
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time for some EXTREME MOOD WHIPLASH
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