Catch All

[cryptsleeper]

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[cryptsleeper]

Go. Be safe.

[Only the second one is a command. And then there's the little sigh as Trevor's hands withdraw, and the dhampir has to try and look at books as a distraction.]

[miraclewhip]

[ In reality, it should probably take longer to walk through the castle to the stables and saddle the horse than it would to ride the mile or so. Should. The castle is helpful like that, and the library doors suddenly lead to the entrance hall and the horse is already ready. So it isn't long, really, before- ]

Reading anything interesting?

[ The thread shakes with magic, and Trevor's voice is in Alucard's mind. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[All Alucard does when Trevor leaves is pace. It is hard to pay attention to anything at the moment, as all he has is the worst anxiety in the world. Given enough time, he could wear a pathway into the wood.

But Trevor's voice cuts in. Alucard's concentration wraps around the thread and he attempts a response:]

Of course not. Where are you?

[miraclewhip]

Clear enough, doesn't sound like anything's interfering. I'd like to do a more complete test but this'll do for now.

[ None of that is actually an answer, Treffy. ]

About a mile and a half out. Going to bring the horse back now.

[cryptsleeper]

Mmmm.

[He can see that non-answer, Treffy.]

How cold is it out?

[miraclewhip]

Colder than it ought to be for this time of year - going to need to take that into consideration, if we're working with the speakers. Figure out how to make sure they don't just fucking starve without making it clear that we're aiding them.

[ He's talking to himself there. ]

If the snow was going to interfere, it would have by now. You manage to speak to your father yet?

[cryptsleeper]

Mmm. I suppose so.

[Cold. He can live with that.]

No, I was waiting for your experiment to conclude. I'll go do that now.

[miraclewhip]

Go on. I'll be back before long.

[ A long pause, then- ]

-good luck. I'll be with you soon, if he's in a shitty mood.

[cryptsleeper]

It's today. Of course he'll be in a poor mood. Er. How does one end the connection?

[miraclewhip]

[ What a weird question. ]

You just stop using the magic to- oh. Right. Castle. Shit.

[ He won't be actively using magic to maintain the connection the way Trevor is, because the castle's probably taking on that burden for him. Being helpful in an unhelpful way. ]

I'll stop on my end. And figure out that detail when I get back.

[cryptsleeper]

Come back safe.

[So Alucard does go. He finds Dracula, and the man is in a poor mood. A somber one. It's one that prompts Alucard to say nothing at all and simply hug his father. A gesture that is surprisingly returned, and so they go for a while in silence until Dracula dismisses his son. I've half an hour before departure. Be safe in my absence.

Not well. Safe. Alucard understands, and he withdraws to his room for the time.]

[miraclewhip]

[ He heads for the library when he returns, but doesn't end up there. The castle likes to put things where they ought to be, after all, and the way to the library instead takes him to Alucard's room.

He knocks. He doesn't do that often. ]

Adrian. I'm back.

[cryptsleeper]

Come in.

[Alucard is sitting in the little window nook of cozy furniture in his room, blanket draped over his legs. It isn't cold, and the way Alucard's hands run over the fabric, it's about the texture and comfort rather than warmth.

He looks up at Trevor and smiles weakly.]

So you are.

[miraclewhip]

[ He moves over, standing by the window rather than sitting in one of the chairs, looking down over the half-froxen world below the castle. The castle's windows don't always line up with where the room is. This afternoon this window was looking out to the south. Now it's night, and it overlooks the main doors of the castle. ]

You're going to watch him going?

[cryptsleeper]

I'll be at the main gate. I can't not be.

[Alucard didn't ask things like how his father would transport into Faerie and how he'd avoid landing in sunlight. He's happier not knowing.]

Will you please come with me?

[miraclewhip]

[ He knows, or at least knows how Dracula came by the bulk of that knowledge. Belmonts make good threats for interrogations, after all. ]

Of course. Lead on.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard sighs.]

In a few more moments.

[He pats the spot beside him.]

We didn't yell or fight or anything.

[miraclewhip]

[ He sits down, tugging the blanket over the both of them. ]

And that’s- a good thing? A bad thing? A- just a thing?

[ Some days getting the shit beaten out of you by Dracula seems like a more comfortable prospect than interacting with Dracula in any other way. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Good. I think.

[Alucard's hand slips under the blanket, and there. There's Trevor's hand.]

He's scared too. Won't admit it, but it's there.

[miraclewhip]

[ He closes his hand around Alucard’s, and it’s something he’s done a thousand times before but it’s never felt quite so much like being a kite string in a hurricane before. Not since Lisa left. ]

We’ll see to it that he has no reason to be.

[cryptsleeper]

[If the window wasn't there, he'd lean over and kiss Trevor. Alucard stays so very still instead, running his thumb over Trevor's knuckle.]

I believe you.

[But a few minutes march by, and Alucard feels his shoulders slink.]

I think I need to put the damn thing on and go downstairs.

[miraclewhip]

Right.

[ He stands first, pulling the blanket away and folding it before hanging it from the arm of the seat. Then he heads for the dresser. He picks up the crown, bringing it over. ]

Bow your head?

[cryptsleeper]

Hold on.

[Alucard's hair has been hanging down all day, and he isn't going to fix that now. He simply makes sure that he has hair framing his face on either side, and that the rest of the hair in back is orderly. Once satisfied, Alucard does as instructed.]

We'll have to sit in court the rest of the night.

[miraclewhip]

[ Slowly, he lowers the crown onto Alucard’s head. The weight of it is followed by a light, delicate kiss to the forehead. ]

My Prince.

[cryptsleeper]

[The crown doesn't weight too terribly much. It's enchanted to make it so, but the weight is present all the same. When Alucard lifts his head up, it's with the last little bit of himself before he has to be Everyone Else's Prince.]

My Belmont.

[He kisses Trevor's forehead in turn.]

Do you have what you need?