Catch All

[cryptsleeper]

Comments

[conductives]

The London social circuit is not for all, and even more so for some. How long have you been in London? I think your coffee and baklava would be very appealing to a certain crowd.

[Speaking of which, she will absolutely help herself to a piece - thank you very much. It really would be rude not to and not simply because she has a sweet tooth.]

Both. [Vanessa smiles as she brings the delicate pastry to her lips.]

[cryptsleeper]

A month or so? Perhaps slightly longer. I'm unsure of how permanent the move is, in truth. If it's only to be a few months, then I doubt there's much value in spending time attempting to elbow into such circles.

[Alucard? Not wanting to deal with people? Shocking, truly.

But Vanessa says both, and Alucard lets out a tired sigh.]

Organizational hierarchy then, that's easier to begin with. Most stories agree that there is an element of territorialness to the creatures, and so large swaths of land are often theirs and theirs alone - like nobles carving up land to farm and place serfs on and raise cattle. In this metaphor, the cattle are humans, whereas the serfs are the occasional other undead. If a person is turned, they have a built in hierarchy to who was responsible for the act.

Do you follow thus far?

[conductives]

One would hardly think the weak slap fights and the passive aggressive behaviors worth combating for such a short time. Where do you usually reside if not in London?

[The question catches her off guard. Not because she wasn't following but because she finds it rather easy to follow. His framing makes it incredibly easy for her to grasp. Have others not? A sip of Turkish coffee washes away the sticky sweet of the pastry.]

Of course, please do go on.

[cryptsleeper]

I don't have a usual residence yet. Being so freshly removed from Romania, it'll take me time to decide where to stay in the longest terms.

[Alucard waves one hand over his own coffee cup, letting the steam accumulate on his palm. There's a purpose there, to make sure his body temperature still feels human.]

The matter of turning is also where the other hierarchy comes in - that of age. Usually the younger undead is, the less powerful they are. As a result, they have far less in general - less territory. Less respect. Fewer hunting skills. If the vampire who turned them is invested in their well-being, that may change quicker.

But there is where most tales cease to agree.

[conductives]

Yes, our mutual friend mentioned that you were in flux. How did you happen to end up in London, so far from home, Mr. Tepes?

[Vanessa has worked out a system of small nibbles, brief sips and quick short hand in order to catch more of the pressing facts.]

These younger creatures, these newly formed. Do they possess any supernatural powers, or can they be redeemed?

[cryptsleeper]

Since the start of the century, Romania has been the subject of invasion and revolution. Even now as a Kingdom, things are not settled. My family's age, at the moment, is against it. There are distant friends here, and so it felt safer to be on an island for a bit.

[Alucard's honestly impressed by the system, even if he says nothing of it. The pause allows him at least a moment to sip his own coffee. Then all but drain it.]

Redeemed as in returned to a human state? [He shakes his head no.] Undead is still a form of dead.

[conductives]

[The Vanessa Ives brow furrow is in full effect here as he shares a bit of his backstory.] I am sorry to hear that. I hope that peace returns to your land so you can return as well.

[As for the juggling, everyone has to have some talent. Things calm down a bit when the coffee is finally finished but before the caffeine takes full effect.]

Ah. Yes, that is what I was curious about. Is there any way to save a person from the vampire's thrall?

[cryptsleeper]

That is very kind of you. We'll have to see where my countrymen direct our collective fate.

[It is very hard to tell, truly. But the matter returns to the real purpose of Vanessa's visit, and Alucard tuts softly.]

If they haven't been turned into a vampire, yes. But the quickest way to release that hold is to kill the vampire. [Moreover...] You're asking for practical purposes.

[It isn't a question.]

[conductives]

[Maybe a small noise of derision there. Fate in the hands of men, how poorly the world fares.

Well, damn.

She should have been more on guard, more careful with her questions, paid closer attention. Less attention on him and more on her asking. Maybe too much coffee, she can feel her heart race the jitter starting there and radiating outward. Maybe it's just fear for her friend. For any desperate hope that they can save Mina.

Vanessa regards him steadily, searching for a read, for anything. Because vampires aren't real, obviously - ha ha ha...]

That would mean these monsters were real...

[cryptsleeper]

Yes. And folklore comes from places of truth.

[Alucard's response is cool and measured, giving nothing away. Making sure his fangs are well hidden.

He leans over, placing his coffee cup back on it's tray. When his eyes meet Vanessa's again, they're still cautious. Curious.]

Even if vampires are not real, someone believes they are effected by them. So that much qualifies as a reality in my mind.

[conductives]

[It is difficult to disagree with him, the idea that belief equals reality. She knows those who would certainly disagree with him, but then again they would disagree with her as well. Vanessa Ives has dedicated her soul to an entity that is actively silent when demons shriek freely.

All of those racing thoughts don't help her now as he remains cool and removed. Impossible to read. But he hasn't laughed, his look isn't full of contempt...]

Yes. My friend Mina, she has been taken by a fiend, fiends such as we speak about.

[cryptsleeper]

[And so asking about Romanian folklore from a stranger. Alucard can follow the logic, although it gives no comfort.

Even if he begins with an attempt.]

I'm sorry the circumstances are as such.

[But to fight it. That's the question.]

Taken only in spirit?

[conductives]

[Finally pulling her eyes away from him and returns them to the safety of her clasped hands. Fingers entwined, clinging to one another as if there was nothing else solid in this room.]

In body and spirit. We search for her, she calls me, leads us...

[cryptsleeper]

[On this one, there's no hiding the reaction. Alucard hisses softly, and it has a sympathetic enough undercurrent. But there's also a cringe, unmuted.]

In body is where I begin to truly worry then. How long has she reached out for? How many days?

[conductives]

[It's still difficult to talk about, the pain, the guilt, the fear. Her head bows and she works to calm her breathing, to hold back the emotion that is not appropriate to express at this moment.

When she finds her calm, when she hears his hiss of breath Vanessa raises her head to regard him.]

It, it is not consistent. Sometimes she appears, or speaks to me through dreams, through the tarot.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard's gut is to say that he can be of no more help. Whatever is going on, it is likely too far gone. It will require the woman Mina's death, and that is a cruel thing to voice.

But he nods along. Says nothing for a moment, then clicks his tongue softly.]

And there is no set schedule. Our stories have not touched upon such circumstances before.

[conductives]

[It is Vanessa's turn to nod along this time as she gazes first at him. And when she feels the heat and tears sting her eyes she diverts her look to the half empty book shelves.]

But you believe that there is no hope. That there is no way to wrench her free of the vampire's grasp but through death?

[cryptsleeper]

Any time the undead and the living become entangled, it ends badly.

[He says it softly. And for the first time in all of this, there's actually a note of something personal in the statement. Alucard is pointed as he averts his own gaze in an attempt to offer Vanessa an inch of privacy.]

How long has this been going on for?

[conductives]

Do you have first hand experience with this?

[There is something merciful in him being as frank and honest as he is with her. It settles a cool calm on her aching heart. For the moment it feels as though she can take deep, full breaths once more.]

A month, if not longer. We fear that she is a pawn in a very awful and dangerous game.

[cryptsleeper]

In my way.

[There's no point in trotting out a sob story at the moment, and so Alucard focuses on the issue at hand. Not the past. Not the aching stupidity of everything that happened because an ambitious man of the cloth wanted to advance his place in the world.]

Your instincts are likely correct. But the cat-and-mouse element is uncommon enough.

[But that is not why Alucard is being consulted.] The state the obvious part is that she needs to be found first, because you cannot apply appropriate protections to severe the bond remotely.

[conductives]

I am sorry. It is a nightmare situation that I would not wish on anyone.

[It feels as though he has let her in on some great, untouched, part of his life with his minor confession and to continue to prod would be a great unkindness after all he has shared with her this afternoon.

A wetting of her lips and another nod. He had brought this up previously and it struck her as something to return to later.]

We have nearly had him in our grasp only for him to slip through our fingers. Such is the game of cat and mouse. I was not there but she was nearly in our grasp.

[cryptsleeper]

Thank you.

[Alucard's words do not dwell on the matter any further, and that's a silent request that Vanessa follow suit. The dhampir has no doubt that she'll respect the wish though - she has proven more than respectful to such things so far.

Onward, ever onward, he has to listen and nod.]

Nearly, which was the point. Has your foe offered name or at least alias?

[conductives]

[This time when Vanessa looks down again it is to open her notebook to a previously marked page with a slow sketch of a hieroglyphic.]

We believe that one of his names is Amun-Ra. An ancient name.

[cryptsleeper]

Egyptian?

[Well, that does take Alucard by surprise. Visibly so, golden eyes widening.]

Of course using a name like that doesn't mean that they're from the ancient days, only that they have knowledge of the language. But if the case is that they are from before the present era, that's unusual even to my ears.

[conductives]

[His response is mildly unnerving. It's not every day someone takes the news of abduction by vampire with calm and aplomb only to be surprised by the Egyptian spin. But she understands - the undead become more powerful with age.]

Very true. Unfortunately there is sufficient evidence to suggestion that this is no modern day impostor. If he is, he believes in an equally ancient legend which he is trying to fulfill.