Trevor. [ And then, more awkwardly, pulling his hand back for a moment - he knows this is relevant and he knows it'll spook Alucard. ] ...Belmont.
[ And before Alucard can say anything, he leaps to justify everything. He knows he's fucked up, and that there'll be consequences for this in the future. He doesn't want to think about that. Now? Now is nice. Except for the 'Alucard having recently been on fire' part. He'd like to stay at now for a little while longer. ]
I didn't know it was you before I brought you here. [ Then softer, stroking again. ] But you're here now.
[Yes he is absolutely in Hell. Trantoul. Belmont. Names that hung heavy in his own family's history.
Be it stress, exhaustion, anxiety, or some combination thereof, that's what finally does Alucard in. If he was standing, he'd swoon. Such as it is, he only falls back against the pillows and stays there.
He flits in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Waking up if he's offered food or water, but otherwise just letting rest claim him. It's good for his body to have food and little movement, and by the end of the week, he has some weight back to him.
It's at the end of the first week that he well and truly gets out of bed to do something more than use the bathroom or wash his face. He walks the bedroom that he's been confined to, trying to make sense of it.]
[ Early winter isn't the worst time to have to use only real, human food, but it's close. He's not failed to return with food yet, he's too proud to return empty-handed, but his ventures away from the house-shaped cage that Alucard is confined to take longer than they might earlier in the year. It would be easier if one could just feed humans on meat, hunting living things is simple, but plants that humans might be willing to eat are growing more and more scarce.
The place is- not entirely finished. It didn't exist until he needed a place to put the human, and now it's in a state of existing only as much as it needs to. The bedroom and washroom and kitchen exist, yes, but other doors lead to nowhere. The parts of the walls Alucard wouldn't have been able to see from his bed shift about, because he hasn't decided what should be there yet. the world outside the windows is too bright to really see. In this state, it's easier to see it for what it is - a thing constructed to be an ideal. To make someone want to stay there. No doubt that one of those nothing-doors would prove to lead to a reading room if Alucard suggested a fondness for books. Or lead outside into a garden.
It's a little much to call it an illusion - it's real enough for all human purposes. But it's a thing built for Alucard. A thing built to keep him in. ]
You're- shit.
[ Trevor puts down a basket of plums as soon as he enters - no meat today. Two days ago he returned with a deer and they don't eat that quickly - and turns his attention to Alucard instead, concerned. He's awake and moving about. Should he be? Are humans even allowed to walk around if they're hurt? ]
Are your feet healed enough to be walking around like that?
[If Alucard didn't know where he was, he'd be far more alarmed with how the place shifts and moves with him. Doors that go no where. Walls that move with him. Nothing outside the windows besides an approximation of sunlight.
Alucard understands. It's a jail cell. Just with more comforts than he usually has in such places.
He's still too worn to panic. Part of him? Part of him wonders if maybe he should just stop questioning it and be confined here. It's a nicer place to spend his days, although it isn't clear what the Belmont wants from him yet.]
Most likely not, and yet.
[He's ignoring the pain because he has to move around. He can't be in bed forever.]
How long does time pass here compared to the human world?
[That wasn't what he was asking, but it is good to know all the same. Alucard considers it and--
--a few months. The worst of winter will pass at least, and he can make deals until then. Little ones. Ones that let him survive, just as they always have.
Alucard doesn't take the offered arm. He simply sees himself back to bed, carefully lowering himself onto it.]
I see. That's good to know.
[He settles at least, then crosses one leg over the other so he can look at the soles of his feet.]
Why did you break the agreement between our families?
[ He was going to repeat that he didn't know. But he knows well enough that ignorance is no excuse, and also? It's not the truth. He was listening through that whole confession. Alucard gave his name. He knew. He pulls the reading chair closer to the bed, sitting in it to join in the examination. ]
-I tried to be indirect, and it didn't work. So I decided I didn't care about the agreement.
[Alucard's feet are no longer red and raw blisters. So much of them now is thick skin trying to heal. Struggling. He shouldn't have walked at all, but Alucard feels caged enough. Staying in bed? Makes it worse.]
What made you want to break it in the first place?
[ He goes quiet, at that. He doesn't like where this just went. He stands and collects the jar of poultice - a mixture of clay and something floral-smelling that dries hard and grey. Enid's verdict - and he trusts her, because she's clever - is that medicines are only food if they're taken by the mouth. Poultices and ointments for the burns are Not Food. He places it next to Alucard, and returns to silence.
[The jars at least catch his attention. He can distract himself with them, and he's careful when he examines the first of them to determine it's contents. And so on down the line.]
The opportunity passed. There will be others, I'm sure.
[One of the jars? That's very familiar. He opens it slowly.]
The two who date back to my own ancestor. Are they aware I'm here?
[ He's glad to be away from the FIRE topic, but this is also a bad topic. He doesn't like having his family being so angry with him. It's a bad feeling. ]
...do you want me to take you back? I know it won't mean the agreement isn't broken, but- I can.
[ He was kind of assuming that he'd be able to keep the human, at least for a while. Until he was strong enough to go. But if he doesn't like this and wants to be on fire, then he doesn't like this and wants to be on fire. ]
[Inevitably. Alucard sighs, and for a few moments, ignores Trevor entirely in favor of applying the salve to the soles of his feet. He hisses and twitches at the work, but it doesn't matter. He has to work through it.]
[ He watches. And he wants to reach out, to put a hand on Alucard's back or squeeze at his shoulder or offer some kind of comfort. But he's learned that he flinches away from contact and that that makes it worse. ]
I've never had a husband of my own before. And you're very handsome.
[ ...he's not bathed in at least three weeks and he's somewhat burned. Trevor's taste might be questionable. ]
[ He tilts his head. It's not like he's a stranger to making deals, but this is the wrong way around. Being in a cage is usually the price paid, not something that one has to pay for. ]
I just want you to be here for a little while. With me.
[Alucard's eyes narrow. It sounds far too unlikely in his estimation, but he's in such a bad position. Not only does the faerie control access, Alucard is still recovering. Will be recovering for a time.]
He does touch Alucard this time, hands reaching out before his mind quite catches up with them. They're on Alucard's shoulders, resting there lightly. He catches himself before he pulls Alucard against him, though, and just stays there a little awkwardly. ]
A month. [ He's delighted??? ] If you want for anything-
[A month will see the burn on his hand taken care of entirely. His feet will need longer, but they'll be better off. It's strategic and
and the faerie is touching him, so he goes stiff and so very uncomfortable. The look he gives Trevor is a muted....something. Specifics unclear. But he forces himself through it.]
[ He does draw his hands back, at that, and sets about drawing a bath. There is touching involved, though he tries to keep it to a minimum. He isn't at all certain about the idea of Alucard walking on his burned feet yet, and so he insists on carrying him to and from the bath. The bathing, he allows him to do in private. The water is hot and scented using a bag of dried leaves, which is absolutely more effort than Trevor puts into bathing himself. .
Things continue like that for the next few days. He touches Alucard only when necessary, but when he does he's clearly overjoyed to do so. He brings books on a range of subjects for him to read, nearly all of them difficult to find in uncensored form in the outside world (Enid's recommendations for 'good books' tend to be based on controversy). He hunts for meat and forage and tries to feed Alucard slices of plum and pear and tea made from nettles and late-season rosehips. Today he has been staring at Alucard since he returned, which isn't unusual in itself. But there's an intent to it. Maybe- maybe he could just ask first. Maybe that would make touching okay. ]
May I kiss you?
[ He just asks with no sign of self-consciousness. ]
[The bath is so very sobering. Left alone with his thoughts and injuries, Alucard keys into how very terrifying the situation is and how likely it is he'll be here for a long time. A month, the fae had said, but he was the only ferry between Alucard and the world.
Do you even want to go back, Adrian?
It was a question that weighed on him as the days continued. Countering it were the memories of a woman whose husband Alucard had treated, and who paid him well. She insisted that he remain in the house until her husband recovered, and soon she was pressing against Alucard. Taking him into her bed at whim, smirking and calling him a good boy when he did as instructed. He was a thing, treated as a pet with a few additional skills and very little more.
Even the books contributed to it, although they were also...pretty nice to read, all things considered. Uncensored medical texts and observations of the world. Wonderful.
He's finished eating when Trevor asks. The tray is off of his lap. Yet here it is. Alucard had been waiting for the question.]
[ He stops to think about that. He hadn't quite considered that far ahead. How much would be too much to ask? He likes to think he's been behaving himself nicely. He doesn't insist on sharing the bed, instead sleeping as moths upon the walls and ceiling. He only touches when it's necessary or when he gets excited and forgets, but he's only done the latter a few times. ]
I want to kiss your lips.
[ A pause. It's a lot to ask. He knows it's a lot to ask. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Sleep. Unless I go hunting, I'll be here.
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What's your name?
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[ And before Alucard can say anything, he leaps to justify everything. He knows he's fucked up, and that there'll be consequences for this in the future. He doesn't want to think about that. Now? Now is nice. Except for the 'Alucard having recently been on fire' part. He'd like to stay at now for a little while longer. ]
I didn't know it was you before I brought you here. [ Then softer, stroking again. ] But you're here now.
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[Yes he is absolutely in Hell. Trantoul. Belmont. Names that hung heavy in his own family's history.
Be it stress, exhaustion, anxiety, or some combination thereof, that's what finally does Alucard in. If he was standing, he'd swoon. Such as it is, he only falls back against the pillows and stays there.
He flits in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Waking up if he's offered food or water, but otherwise just letting rest claim him. It's good for his body to have food and little movement, and by the end of the week, he has some weight back to him.
It's at the end of the first week that he well and truly gets out of bed to do something more than use the bathroom or wash his face. He walks the bedroom that he's been confined to, trying to make sense of it.]
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The place is- not entirely finished. It didn't exist until he needed a place to put the human, and now it's in a state of existing only as much as it needs to. The bedroom and washroom and kitchen exist, yes, but other doors lead to nowhere. The parts of the walls Alucard wouldn't have been able to see from his bed shift about, because he hasn't decided what should be there yet. the world outside the windows is too bright to really see. In this state, it's easier to see it for what it is - a thing constructed to be an ideal. To make someone want to stay there. No doubt that one of those nothing-doors would prove to lead to a reading room if Alucard suggested a fondness for books. Or lead outside into a garden.
It's a little much to call it an illusion - it's real enough for all human purposes. But it's a thing built for Alucard. A thing built to keep him in. ]
You're- shit.
[ Trevor puts down a basket of plums as soon as he enters - no meat today. Two days ago he returned with a deer and they don't eat that quickly - and turns his attention to Alucard instead, concerned. He's awake and moving about. Should he be? Are humans even allowed to walk around if they're hurt? ]
Are your feet healed enough to be walking around like that?
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Alucard understands. It's a jail cell. Just with more comforts than he usually has in such places.
He's still too worn to panic. Part of him? Part of him wonders if maybe he should just stop questioning it and be confined here. It's a nicer place to spend his days, although it isn't clear what the Belmont wants from him yet.]
Most likely not, and yet.
[He's ignoring the pain because he has to move around. He can't be in bed forever.]
How long does time pass here compared to the human world?
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Right now? Probably about the same. Maybe a little slower, but not much. It always goes about the same, if you have something to measure it by.
[ He moves forward, offering his arm to take Alucard’s weight. ]
You’re not going to heal faster here, if that’s what you mean.
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--a few months. The worst of winter will pass at least, and he can make deals until then. Little ones. Ones that let him survive, just as they always have.
Alucard doesn't take the offered arm. He simply sees himself back to bed, carefully lowering himself onto it.]
I see. That's good to know.
[He settles at least, then crosses one leg over the other so he can look at the soles of his feet.]
Why did you break the agreement between our families?
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[ He was going to repeat that he didn't know. But he knows well enough that ignorance is no excuse, and also? It's not the truth. He was listening through that whole confession. Alucard gave his name. He knew. He pulls the reading chair closer to the bed, sitting in it to join in the examination. ]
-I tried to be indirect, and it didn't work. So I decided I didn't care about the agreement.
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[Alucard's feet are no longer red and raw blisters. So much of them now is thick skin trying to heal. Struggling. He shouldn't have walked at all, but Alucard feels caged enough. Staying in bed? Makes it worse.]
What made you want to break it in the first place?
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[ That comes out flat. Look he adores you but that's a stupid question. ]
I thought it was bad that you were on fire.
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[He did. Still does, mostly, although the novelty of being in a place where that's liable to not happen is...nice.]
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[ He goes quiet, at that. He doesn't like where this just went. He stands and collects the jar of poultice - a mixture of clay and something floral-smelling that dries hard and grey. Enid's verdict - and he trusts her, because she's clever - is that medicines are only food if they're taken by the mouth. Poultices and ointments for the burns are Not Food. He places it next to Alucard, and returns to silence.
For a little while. ]
Do you want that? I can- find a fire for you.
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[The jars at least catch his attention. He can distract himself with them, and he's careful when he examines the first of them to determine it's contents. And so on down the line.]
The opportunity passed. There will be others, I'm sure.
[One of the jars? That's very familiar. He opens it slowly.]
The two who date back to my own ancestor. Are they aware I'm here?
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[ He's glad to be away from the FIRE topic, but this is also a bad topic. He doesn't like having his family being so angry with him. It's a bad feeling. ]
...do you want me to take you back? I know it won't mean the agreement isn't broken, but- I can.
[ He was kind of assuming that he'd be able to keep the human, at least for a while. Until he was strong enough to go. But if he doesn't like this and wants to be on fire, then he doesn't like this and wants to be on fire. ]
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[Inevitably. Alucard sighs, and for a few moments, ignores Trevor entirely in favor of applying the salve to the soles of his feet. He hisses and twitches at the work, but it doesn't matter. He has to work through it.]
What do you gain by having me here?
[The ultimate question. What do you want?]
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[ He watches. And he wants to reach out, to put a hand on Alucard's back or squeeze at his shoulder or offer some kind of comfort. But he's learned that he flinches away from contact and that that makes it worse. ]
I've never had a husband of my own before. And you're very handsome.
[ ...he's not bathed in at least three weeks and he's somewhat burned. Trevor's taste might be questionable. ]
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[Trying to pin down the deal is the only thing Alucard can think of for right now. The rest he ignores because it's a lie.
God, he should really bathe, shouldn't he?]
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I just want you to be here for a little while. With me.
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We'll start with a month.
[That'll buy him more time and energy.]
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He does touch Alucard this time, hands reaching out before his mind quite catches up with them. They're on Alucard's shoulders, resting there lightly. He catches himself before he pulls Alucard against him, though, and just stays there a little awkwardly. ]
A month. [ He's delighted??? ] If you want for anything-
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and the faerie is touching him, so he goes stiff and so very uncomfortable. The look he gives Trevor is a muted....something. Specifics unclear. But he forces himself through it.]
I think that right now, I just need to bathe.
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Things continue like that for the next few days. He touches Alucard only when necessary, but when he does he's clearly overjoyed to do so. He brings books on a range of subjects for him to read, nearly all of them difficult to find in uncensored form in the outside world (Enid's recommendations for 'good books' tend to be based on controversy). He hunts for meat and forage and tries to feed Alucard slices of plum and pear and tea made from nettles and late-season rosehips. Today he has been staring at Alucard since he returned, which isn't unusual in itself. But there's an intent to it. Maybe- maybe he could just ask first. Maybe that would make touching okay. ]
May I kiss you?
[ He just asks with no sign of self-consciousness. ]
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Do you even want to go back, Adrian?
It was a question that weighed on him as the days continued. Countering it were the memories of a woman whose husband Alucard had treated, and who paid him well. She insisted that he remain in the house until her husband recovered, and soon she was pressing against Alucard. Taking him into her bed at whim, smirking and calling him a good boy when he did as instructed. He was a thing, treated as a pet with a few additional skills and very little more.
Even the books contributed to it, although they were also...pretty nice to read, all things considered. Uncensored medical texts and observations of the world. Wonderful.
He's finished eating when Trevor asks. The tray is off of his lap. Yet here it is. Alucard had been waiting for the question.]
What kind of a kiss?
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I want to kiss your lips.
[ A pause. It's a lot to ask. He knows it's a lot to ask. ]
But only a little. I promise.
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