[It's enough for Alucard to be a wolf and get his snuggles that way. Better in some respects, because he thinks less in that form. He can simply be fluffy and warm and be doted on, all without needing to verbalize anything. It's nice.
Everything else continues apace. A few things come up and are set down. The low key attempts for priests of the Saint to provoke fail, and they all remain on the other side of Wallachia's border.
There's to be an hour after this meeting for Alucard and Trevor to eat, and then one more meeting before the night is over. But the castle? It knows there has been a change of plans.
Alucard moves closer to Trevor, but not before drawing out his sword. A series of slamming doors is the castle's response to Trevor's command.
Then there's movement in the dark. Over Alucard's shoulder and to Trevor's right.]
[ His own sword is a court sword, more for dress than for use, but it's meticulously kept and sharpened and it's still a sword. He'll go back to the shortsword he favours after this, the reminds himself. It looks a little less stately but it would feel a lot more comfortable in his hand when facing down an assassin.
And it is an assassin, or else the nobility they're hosting have a terrible sense of humour that's going to get them killed. He catches that movement, a vampire floating ahead. Undetected by the castle, because they've done something to it to keep it from sensing people unless their feet touch ground.
They move into a shadow, and then? They're gone. Not difficult to see but entirely gone, dissolved into the shadow. ]
Castle. The door we just passed through. Open it to the princes' quarters. Keep the light closest to the door lit, even if you have to burn something to do it.
[The castle does as asked, but it's Alucard who moves first. He can see that movement in the shadow, and he forcibly yanks Trevor's arm. It's just in time, because there's a sharpened blade that would have struck the Belmont that emerges from the darkness.
Alucard can see pale green eyes staring back at him, and it's at that moment that the door to his own room opens.
It's so easy, grabbing the extended arm of the assassin, using it to gain the upper hand, and then bodily throwing them at the door. Forcing them into the light.]
[ Well, shit. He'd been meaning to just tell Alucard to go through the door, but now the assassin is between them and it. He catches his balance again after being dragged out of harm's way.
Even revealed, as they are when they're thrown into the light, it's hard to tell much about them. They wear the face-obscuring uniform of one of Dracula's men. Moving through shadows isn't the most common gift among vampires, but it's not rare enough to narrow down a list of suspects in the moment.
What will be enough to narrow down suspects later is the way that, rather than running or trying to destroy the light, they raise their arm so that the blade is in the way of the light. As the shadow of its point travels across the wall there's a terrible scraping sound. It leaves a shallow gouge in the stone.
He grabs Alucard before it strikes either of them, and the hand at the back of Alucard's coat doesn't feel like Trevor's when it lifts Alucard effortlessly. It's small. Feminine. The hand that punched Godbrand across the great hall when they were both children. Saint Sara's. Usually he might use a connection to her to fight a vampire, but right now he just kind of needs her to yeet one.
He tosses Alucard at the door, away from the blade's shadow. ]
Castle! Lock that door! Make it lead somewhere else.
[ Get the prince safe, then he can deal with the assassin. ]
[Alucard's mouth works before his brain does. There's something about the movement that unsettles, and a part of him does weight the fact that this isn't just a prince and his bodyguard anymore. It's the current king and his minister of intelligence, who holds the kingdom's secrets and foreign affairs all in his head.
They're both potential targets. So neither of them can be alone.
Sara's touch doesn't deter him. He reaches out and grabs the assailant by the back of their garment, and with more strength than needed, slams their head down onto the stones.
There's no movement. But that doesn't mean anything yet, they could be playing dead.]
[ He isn't taking chances. His hand, along with the smaller, glowing one overlaid onto it, presses down on the assassin's back. In a contest like this, Sara can match a vampire's enhanced strength easily. Concious or not, the vampire won't be standing. ]
[ Before Alucard can respond, he pulls back the hood and mask. The vampire beneath them is female, by the looks of it, with dark hair pulled back tightly and sharp features and the sort of shallow scars that don't tend to form on vampires because of their healing, the sort one only really sees on vampires that have seen a life of battle before they turned.
Her green eyes are very much open.
Her head bends back in a horrible, inhuman way, far enough that her teeth can close around Trevor's wrist while his hand is still close to her head from pulling back the hood. Then, with a sharp movement, she tosses him like a doll with her teeth, throwing him between herself and the light.
And making a shadow, of course. Which she proceeds to dart into. ]
Castle! Redirect her into a cell that blocks that magic.
[Alucard snarls that much out, and the castle rumbles angry in response. It takes more effort to track someone through that magic, but it takes. The way the ground under Alucard's feet confirms that she's been captured.
The dhampir rushes to Trevor immediately, hand grabbing Trevor's wrist and clamping around it to stop the blood flow.]
[ And she’s gone. Trevor swears under his breath, checking the cuts from the assassins teeth. Deeper than he’d like and longer with a lot of blood, but probably no cut artery. Thank fuck. Alucard’s hand enters his vision, closing around the wounds. ]
Shit. You okay?
[ Trevor why would you ask that while bleeding all over the place. ]
[ He stands, letting Alucard drag him to his feet. He doesn’t really feel injured. It hurts, but his mind hasn’t yet caught on that he might need any medical attention. Right now, he’s still stuck on the fact that Alucard didn’t run. That’s the only thing that he can think about right now, the only thing that his mind can register as potentially worrying. ]
Work begins with ensuring you aren't compromised in any way.
[Alucard's stern and unyielding with that much, and when he drags
Trevor into the prince's quarters, the castle has the good sense to open it
to the bathroom. Trevor is dragged over to the sink, and only there does
Alucard let go. He reaches into the space below the sink to take out the
first aid kit, and that's put aside for just a moment.
He's pointedly not responding to Trevor's comment about running. Instead
he lowers his mouth to Trevor's wrist and brushes his tongue over the
wound. It's easy, tasting for poison. For vampire blood. For anything
that might mean Trevor harm.
[ He doesn't resist when Alucard drags him about. He can't, not against vampire strength without calling upon Sara again. He continues to complain about Alucard's failure to run until his mouth touches his wrist. They haven't kissed since before Dracula left, and he freezes.
That is, however, not the most pressing issue. There's a strange, stale taste to the blood. A poison of some sort. ]
[Alucard picks his head up, spitting the blood out immediately. He
knows better than to digest anything, and so his eyes fall on Treovr in a
muted panic.]
It's poisoned. We're going to the labs. Now.
[He doesn't let go of Trevor. If anything his grip tightens, and so
the castle shifts. It can't be a long walk, and Alucard is aware that they
have to work so very fast.]
[ That brings him back to the situation, at least. If their assassin was using her teeth to deliver poison, then it was likely a poison that wouldn't affect her. A poison that would affect a human, but not a vampire-
-shit. He really was the target, wasn't he? ]
Fine, fine. [ It's not like he has a choice here, as he's being led around. It's- honestly the most physical contact he's had with Alucard in a long time. Now that reality is actually sinking in- it's nice. He's missed it. ]
[And there. The castle has shifted the labs to be just through the door, and Alucard drags Trevor through with a cold, clear purpose. He's like that in the heat of moments, all ice and determination. It's only afterwards that the emotional toll of it all takes over, leaving the vampire spinning.
The lab is all white and pale, perfectly prepared. Alucard takes out a few boxes from a drawer, then a syringe, and draws out just a little bit of Trevor's blood. It's quick enough to put it on a strip of paper, and then he waits.
And waits.
And waits just a little more until the paper turns a dark blue. Alucard nods quietly and walks over to a cabinet.]
We should have an antidote for that one due to it's nature. If not, I know we have the compounds to make it.
Fuck. So they really were after me. That one doesn't do shit to vampires.
[ It's dazed, the way he says it. He's been a little dazed for a while. All of his thoughts have been a little disjointed, haven't they? That's probably a symptom. ]
You still need to get out next time something happens. Promise me. Please.
[That's all he is going to promise. Alucard's attention is on the cabinet and all it's neatly labeled bottles. His father's handwriting. His father's paranoia of someone trying to do harm to Lisa. He had every antidote on hand for things that could be used against her and--
--there. A clear liquid, the notes, and the color test paper it ought to match. Alucard takes the jar down and gets a clean syringe.]
I'm injecting this into your neck. It'll disperse into your blood stream fastest, okay?
[It is not a good thing to fight with needles out. So Alucard concentrates on the fiddly things first: sterilizing the area. Injecting the needle and making sure every ounce of antidote gets into Trevor's system.]
Sit. We'll give it ten minutes to go into effect and I'll test your blood again.
[ He waits until the syringe is gone then perches on a stool, raising his arm. He'd been making sure to keep it below his heart until ow, to keep the poison from spreading too fast, but now the danger of that is dealt with and bleeding too much is more of a concern. ]
If your father returns and you've been harmed, I'm dead anyway.
[Alucard goes about getting bandages. Applying them. Fussing at them, and it isn't until Trevor reminds him of a simple and ultimate truth that he's given real pause. Because Trevor is totally right - Dracula will destroy Trevor slowly and painfully if harm comes to Alucard.
With that, with bandaging done, Alucard sits across from him and sighs.]
I know. [He hates it.] But I also know that you're now far more than just my...whatever people used to see you as. Your position has far more gravity to it, and I can't allow you to come to harm either.
Your pet. [ He offers, then shakes his head. ] Always hated that one, didn't you?
[ It's the most commonly used word. Was, before his promotion. He vaguely recalls it bothering him once, when he first came here. It hasn't for a while. He is what he is. ]
You may have to. It's not like I mean to let some fucker kill me, but- [ ugh. ] -we know that something leads to Dracula getting really fucking mad. Something happening to me wouldn't do that. Something happening to you? Would.
I hated all of them, but that one did grate in particular.
[Alucard only thought of Trevor as his when someone tried to be rude or degrade Trevor. Treat him as anything but a person. It's something that's so very contradicted in Alucard's gestures, all possessive and protective, but that has always been for the world. To try and get it to fuck off.]
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Everything else continues apace. A few things come up and are set down. The low key attempts for priests of the Saint to provoke fail, and they all remain on the other side of Wallachia's border.
There's to be an hour after this meeting for Alucard and Trevor to eat, and then one more meeting before the night is over. But the castle? It knows there has been a change of plans.
Alucard moves closer to Trevor, but not before drawing out his sword. A series of slamming doors is the castle's response to Trevor's command.
Then there's movement in the dark. Over Alucard's shoulder and to Trevor's right.]
no subject
And it is an assassin, or else the nobility they're hosting have a terrible sense of humour that's going to get them killed. He catches that movement, a vampire floating ahead. Undetected by the castle, because they've done something to it to keep it from sensing people unless their feet touch ground.
They move into a shadow, and then? They're gone. Not difficult to see but entirely gone, dissolved into the shadow. ]
Castle. The door we just passed through. Open it to the princes' quarters. Keep the light closest to the door lit, even if you have to burn something to do it.
no subject
Alucard can see pale green eyes staring back at him, and it's at that moment that the door to his own room opens.
It's so easy, grabbing the extended arm of the assassin, using it to gain the upper hand, and then bodily throwing them at the door. Forcing them into the light.]
no subject
Even revealed, as they are when they're thrown into the light, it's hard to tell much about them. They wear the face-obscuring uniform of one of Dracula's men. Moving through shadows isn't the most common gift among vampires, but it's not rare enough to narrow down a list of suspects in the moment.
What will be enough to narrow down suspects later is the way that, rather than running or trying to destroy the light, they raise their arm so that the blade is in the way of the light. As the shadow of its point travels across the wall there's a terrible scraping sound. It leaves a shallow gouge in the stone.
He grabs Alucard before it strikes either of them, and the hand at the back of Alucard's coat doesn't feel like Trevor's when it lifts Alucard effortlessly. It's small. Feminine. The hand that punched Godbrand across the great hall when they were both children. Saint Sara's. Usually he might use a connection to her to fight a vampire, but right now he just kind of needs her to yeet one.
He tosses Alucard at the door, away from the blade's shadow. ]
Castle! Lock that door! Make it lead somewhere else.
[ Get the prince safe, then he can deal with the assassin. ]
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[Alucard's mouth works before his brain does. There's something about the movement that unsettles, and a part of him does weight the fact that this isn't just a prince and his bodyguard anymore. It's the current king and his minister of intelligence, who holds the kingdom's secrets and foreign affairs all in his head.
They're both potential targets. So neither of them can be alone.
Sara's touch doesn't deter him. He reaches out and grabs the assailant by the back of their garment, and with more strength than needed, slams their head down onto the stones.
There's no movement. But that doesn't mean anything yet, they could be playing dead.]
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You were meant to run.
[ How dare you rescue him?????? ]
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[It's a good question to ask. One that means Alucard ignores the crack in the thing's back.
He's more interested in unmasking whoever this is anyway.]
Show me their face.
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[ Before Alucard can respond, he pulls back the hood and mask. The vampire beneath them is female, by the looks of it, with dark hair pulled back tightly and sharp features and the sort of shallow scars that don't tend to form on vampires because of their healing, the sort one only really sees on vampires that have seen a life of battle before they turned.
Her green eyes are very much open.
Her head bends back in a horrible, inhuman way, far enough that her teeth can close around Trevor's wrist while his hand is still close to her head from pulling back the hood. Then, with a sharp movement, she tosses him like a doll with her teeth, throwing him between herself and the light.
And making a shadow, of course. Which she proceeds to dart into. ]
no subject
[Alucard snarls that much out, and the castle rumbles angry in response. It takes more effort to track someone through that magic, but it takes. The way the ground under Alucard's feet confirms that she's been captured.
The dhampir rushes to Trevor immediately, hand grabbing Trevor's wrist and clamping around it to stop the blood flow.]
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Shit. You okay?
[ Trevor why would you ask that while bleeding all over the place. ]
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[Alucard rises, dragging Trevor up with him.]
Let's get you patched up now. I need to test your blood to make sure she didn't infect you first.
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[ He stands, letting Alucard drag him to his feet. He doesn’t really feel injured. It hurts, but his mind hasn’t yet caught on that he might need any medical attention. Right now, he’s still stuck on the fact that Alucard didn’t run. That’s the only thing that he can think about right now, the only thing that his mind can register as potentially worrying. ]
If that happens again, you have to run.
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Work begins with ensuring you aren't compromised in any way.
[Alucard's stern and unyielding with that much, and when he drags Trevor into the prince's quarters, the castle has the good sense to open it to the bathroom. Trevor is dragged over to the sink, and only there does Alucard let go. He reaches into the space below the sink to take out the first aid kit, and that's put aside for just a moment.
He's pointedly not responding to Trevor's comment about running. Instead he lowers his mouth to Trevor's wrist and brushes his tongue over the wound. It's easy, tasting for poison. For vampire blood. For anything that might mean Trevor harm.
The dhampir concentrates.]
no subject
[ He doesn't resist when Alucard drags him about. He can't, not against vampire strength without calling upon Sara again. He continues to complain about Alucard's failure to run until his mouth touches his wrist. They haven't kissed since before Dracula left, and he freezes.
That is, however, not the most pressing issue. There's a strange, stale taste to the blood. A poison of some sort. ]
no subject
Shit.
[Alucard picks his head up, spitting the blood out immediately. He knows better than to digest anything, and so his eyes fall on Treovr in a muted panic.]
It's poisoned. We're going to the labs. Now.
[He doesn't let go of Trevor. If anything his grip tightens, and so the castle shifts. It can't be a long walk, and Alucard is aware that they have to work so very fast.]
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[ That brings him back to the situation, at least. If their assassin was using her teeth to deliver poison, then it was likely a poison that wouldn't affect her. A poison that would affect a human, but not a vampire-
-shit. He really was the target, wasn't he? ]
Fine, fine. [ It's not like he has a choice here, as he's being led around. It's- honestly the most physical contact he's had with Alucard in a long time. Now that reality is actually sinking in- it's nice. He's missed it. ]
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[And there. The castle has shifted the labs to be just through the door, and Alucard drags Trevor through with a cold, clear purpose. He's like that in the heat of moments, all ice and determination. It's only afterwards that the emotional toll of it all takes over, leaving the vampire spinning.
The lab is all white and pale, perfectly prepared. Alucard takes out a few boxes from a drawer, then a syringe, and draws out just a little bit of Trevor's blood. It's quick enough to put it on a strip of paper, and then he waits.
And waits.
And waits just a little more until the paper turns a dark blue. Alucard nods quietly and walks over to a cabinet.]
We should have an antidote for that one due to it's nature. If not, I know we have the compounds to make it.
no subject
[ It's dazed, the way he says it. He's been a little dazed for a while. All of his thoughts have been a little disjointed, haven't they? That's probably a symptom. ]
You still need to get out next time something happens. Promise me. Please.
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[That's all he is going to promise. Alucard's attention is on the cabinet and all it's neatly labeled bottles. His father's handwriting. His father's paranoia of someone trying to do harm to Lisa. He had every antidote on hand for things that could be used against her and--
--there. A clear liquid, the notes, and the color test paper it ought to match. Alucard takes the jar down and gets a clean syringe.]
I'm injecting this into your neck. It'll disperse into your blood stream fastest, okay?
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[ But he nods, tilting his head to one side. they can discuss this once his head's clearer. ]
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[It is not a good thing to fight with needles out. So Alucard concentrates on the fiddly things first: sterilizing the area. Injecting the needle and making sure every ounce of antidote gets into Trevor's system.]
Sit. We'll give it ten minutes to go into effect and I'll test your blood again.
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If your father returns and you've been harmed, I'm dead anyway.
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With that, with bandaging done, Alucard sits across from him and sighs.]
I know. [He hates it.] But I also know that you're now far more than just my...whatever people used to see you as. Your position has far more gravity to it, and I can't allow you to come to harm either.
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[ It's the most commonly used word. Was, before his promotion. He vaguely recalls it bothering him once, when he first came here. It hasn't for a while. He is what he is. ]
You may have to. It's not like I mean to let some fucker kill me, but- [ ugh. ] -we know that something leads to Dracula getting really fucking mad. Something happening to me wouldn't do that. Something happening to you? Would.
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[Alucard only thought of Trevor as his when someone tried to be rude or degrade Trevor. Treat him as anything but a person. It's something that's so very contradicted in Alucard's gestures, all possessive and protective, but that has always been for the world. To try and get it to fuck off.]
....I dislike it. But I understand.
[And he sounds so defeated for it.]
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