[Alucard looks up from his desk, and his eyes say only one thing: I am so fucking tired. In fact, this entire venture has left him exhausted ever since the first forgemaster showed up. Ever since then, he's made a point to walk through the closet door in his office and go home whenever possible, trying to leave the stress of the city in the city itself.
He's dressed down to his tunic and trousers - another sign of exactly how much he himself isn't in the mood to be dealing with this. Wearily, he offers Hector a piece of paper.]
The proposed schedule. You provided me with all the information I needed, as did Isaac and this should suit you both. You'll lecture for two Sundays this month, he'll have the alternative Thursdays. I've taken the liberty of alternating Tuesdays between you both so that neither of you are in the same space as each other.
If there are mixed up days, I expect maturity from you both.
[Hector's at least managed to dress himself properly for this meeting. Scholar's robe and hat, as is proper for a meeting with his absent lord's son. Maybe Alucard can't be assed, but Hector is making an attempt to go through the proper channels and not burn bridges here.
He takes the schedule and looks it over. It's mostly pretty equally divided, except...]
We need to switch the first two Tuesdays. Raman is supposed to give her talk on the necromatic traditions of India this day. Last time I got to attend one of her days, Godbrand showed up.
[That infamous night he'd burst in, uninvited no less, Godbrand had monopolized the rest of the night sloshing around terrible beer and ranting about the best technique for making flesh-skin boats. Immoral, gross, and most egregiously, unscheduled. It had thrown the whole agenda off for weeks.]
We've figured out how to bar him entry through magic, by the way. It shouldn't happen again in your lifetime.
[It is a very tiny consolation prize, and any joy in sharing that detail is dashed with Alucard's heavy sigh.]
I had a feeling that particular lecture was going to be a point of contention given the topic.
[Alucard doesn't motion for the schedule back. He has his own copy, and his gaze goes to it. There's a soft tut, and his fingers gently drum against the top of the desk.]
I can ask her if she'll give it a second day. The only other option is that you two be in the building at the same time. [That option? That option has a pained noise.] Which I don't think any of us are inclined towards.
[Hector frowns a little at that 'your lifetime'. The immortals who attend the talks are forever working in ways to mention their immortality, usually in conjunction with how much more qualified they are to lecture than some mayfly humans.
But still they clamor to hear those same humans speak on their studies. The thing about such a relatively short time alive is that it spurs the mortals on toward innovations with an urgency the vampires lack. The vampires excel at history, and the humans, in discovery.]
Isaac is the one who causes the problems, not me. I could get along with him if he stopped insisting all forging is necromancy. It is certainly not, and he's the one being bull-headed about it.
[Hector you are disproving your own argument so badly right now.]
[Alucard actually cracks a smile. If there's one universal thing done in this house, it is ripping on Godbrand. One night, they'll just have to invent stand up and dedicate it to Godbrand jokes.
But then Hector ruins everything again, and any levity in Alucard is crushed. He rubs at the bridge of his nose very slowly, because this??? Again???]
Stop. I don't care about the academic merits of the argument on either side, I only care about the fact that you two use your differences to antagonize each other and make and discussion impossible because both of you have to have the last word. If it wasn't going to be a loss to the sciences and magic I'd say you two should just duel and get this over with.
[Also, Isaac would probably win. Hector's a pain in the ass, but he can at least be funny. Alucard doesn't know if he's even seen Isaac so much as smile.]
The only other option I see is I ask Raman if she can come on your other Tuesday and give you a personal version of the lecture you're missing. It would mean no group discussion, but you get a more personalized version and more time to pick her brain after.
[Hector grows sulkier as he gets lectured by Alucard on the forgemaster's feud. But he perks up again at his suggestion. A private session? That is much better than Isaac will be getting. Never mind the lack of an audience, at least half of the group 'discussion' is just vampires blathering on about precedents and wasting valuable time.]
Do you think she would agree to it? A private, unchaperoned session?
[Because the other reason for having their talks in groups is to prevent any one supernatural being from getting the forgemasters alone and trying to recruit them (or eat them). (Some had made attempts anyways, but none had succeeded.) Which has increased Hector's safety, but cut down on his access to potential sources of knowledge. He weighs one as a much greater priority than the other.]
It won't be that. It'll be during the Tuesday open floor session, and -- [Alucard pauses, and tilts his head ever so slightly. There is something in Hector's question that's blindsided him, but not in a way Alucard ever suggested.]
Hector, do you think that anything said in this house is actually private or goes unheard?
[But elsewhere, on the rare occasions where one of more scholar go off into another room, yes? Some surely report to the absent lord, but it isn’t though there are eyes and ears in every room.]
This is a wing of my father's house, Hector. If he chooses, he can listen in on every room. Hear any conversation he wishes to turn his attention to. Think of this as just another appendage on the body. One rarely used, but one you're perfectly aware of.
[He then frowns, realizing maybe that isn't the best metaphor to be using around an actual necromancer.]
Point is, my father is present remotely most of the time.
[Well, excuse Hector for now knowing about SENTIENT FUCKING HOUSES, Alucard. But wait... His eyes go wide.]
So he really listens in? Has he listened to my talks? What did he say about them?
[He's so desperate for any sort of recognition from their elusive host. Dracula is revered by their community as the preeminent scholar in EVERY field.]
He listens in as it suits him, but he isn't inclined to give commentary.
[He shrugs, leaning back in his seat just a little.]
I don't talk to him about events here unless he brings them up first, and very rarely does he do that. If you want my honest opinion, I think you're more likely to catch his attention thanks to your behavior with regards to Isaac rather than your work at this point. One day he may be in a mood and take the fighting and pettiness as a matter of disrespect of his home.
[Dracula would probably do that. But it also feels like a potential way to mute some of the drama between the two forgemasters.]
Then what's the point of his arranging these salons?
[Hector believes that if there is a God, he is absent and unconcerned with the affairs of mortals, but to think that the world's greatest scholar is so similarly disinclined to involve himself is almost heartbreaking.
He wants to punch Isaac in the face then and there, if only to KNOW that Dracula will see him, even if only briefly. But Alucard is here cautioning him against it.
He deflates, voice going soft.]
So he... he does not care about my studies, my research?
[Alcuard opens his mouth, but the truth doesn't come out. He's old enough to know that tone of voice. The question. It requires a gentler approach, and Alucard may be many things, but cruel is not one of them. Hector doesn't need to know that the salons are only done to keep the night world from breaking down the door.]
It's more complex than that. You know that when a man of status leaves home, he is bombarded with attention, yes?
[He bristles as Alucard answers him. Is he being pitied? He doesn't need Alucard's pity. He squares his shoulders and forces himself to ignore the hurt.]
Yes, I'm not a child. A man of status curates his visitors, but he still sees some of them. Does your father meet with any of the attendees?
[Hector had been so certain at least some of the speakers got to Dracula's inner circle, and that he just had to keep innovating and researching until he earned the lord's ear himself.]
On two separate occasions, he's had me deliver notes. If he has had contact with anyone else, I'm ignorant of the means.
[It isn't pity, Hector. Just insight as far as Alucard is concerned. He pauses to push down a few flyaways, then continues.]
It doesn't mean you should stop your work or that he is indifferent to it. Just...if you're seeking something from him, stop. Take it from me on that front, you'll be disappointed. [Aware that this all might cause Hector to outie entirely, Alucard is careful to add:]
I won't tell you be satisfied with your current acclaim either, that slows innovation.
[Not to Isaac, not to Isaac, for the love of all that is dark and unholy, NOT TO ISAAC.]
I wouldn't simply stop my work. [His tone is offended. The mere thought of that is ridiculous.] It is too important, even if it's unappreciated.
[He might just... stop coming to the salon. Maybe. A few of the vampires ask relevant questions and listen intently when he speaks, he supposes. He should probably at least finish out the current schedule... and then the special talk he has planned with his pets as a demonstration on postmortem musculature regrowth....]
The first to one of Carmilla's sisters who had the idea that trying to drink my blood was a valid experiment to see if dhampirs provide any nutrition. [Alucard's sigh with that makes it clear that he didn't see the matter as a threat, just tiresome. Framing it as science meant that Dracula didn't murder anyone, just banned them.
the answer was yes but no one needed to have that information.] The second was to someone who gave a historical based lecture and got some details wrong that changed the interpretation of the information in an important way.
[Not Isaac. But Alucard hears something rattle from the closet off to his left and. Hm. Seems someone is indeed listening in. But the word unappreciated makes it clear what this is all about.
Alucard stands up at that, and he walks towards one of the windows. It looks out over the city, and it feels appropriately dramatic for how Hector's dragging this all out into a stupid academic drama.]
You have people that engage with your work, ask you good questions, and who look forward to your demonstrations - with or without your pets present. You have appreciation from all parties except the one you want to impress most, and for some reason you take that as a reason to disregard everyone else. I advise that you don't.
[So their patron only intervenes when someone is wrong? How disheartening.
But he can't dwell on that when Alucard is walking his under-dressed, over-dramatic ass to the window. He... isn't terrible to watch. And Hector does watch.]
'All parties except the one'...? So do you appreciate my work, Alucard?
[He seizes onto the idea as a balm against the hurt of Dracula's indifference.]
I'll continue on, if you attend one of my lectures. No ducking out early like you always try to do.
I respect it. Necromancy is not a particular subject of mine, but it's impossible to say you haven't done the work. Dedication I do regard in high esteem.
[Sorry Hector, senpai won't notice you and--
Excuse you Hector? Are you bribing him?]
Hector, I duck out at literally every lecture to prepare the food. [There would be a riot if he didn't provide food.]
But if your dog decides to sit on me and keep me anchored, then I can't do anything about it. I suppose that--
[Alucard's head snaps towards the right suddenly, like a cat seeing some invisible thing. He frowns, and begins to walk towards a small closet that sits in the corner.]
[Bribing is a valid strategy! Gotta get a sempai somehow, in this economy.]
Do you not have vendors for that?
[Alucard cooks? Hector does not know what to do with this information, so he files it away. But certainly the Lord of Darkness has a budget for his science parties, and Alucard could pay some local with a food stand to do a little work for him after hours.
It's not super encouraging that Alucard likes Cezar more than him, but it's also fair. Hector likes Cezar more than anyone too.]
Sure, go on.
[Hector doesn't know what he intends to do in that door that clearly doesn't lead out. Vampire nonsense, probably.]
[He likes it. It brings him joy, and it balances the stress of managing the actual personalities involved at all of these salons.
With that, Alucard stands.]
Thank you.
[In the future there'd probably be some stunning joke about closets to make here. But for now, it's just an underdressed dhampir going into a door with no actual exit, and staying there.
And staying there.
And staying there some more, until Alucard emerges 20 minutes later looking no different than before. But just before he emerges, something appears on the desk. There's no poof of magic, no sparkling spell work, no cloud, only simple aportation. Two envelopes, the handwriting perfection itself. One is written in Arabic, the other reads Ἕκτωρ.
Alucard reaches the desk, and simply offers the one in Greek to Hector. He knows the contents, but he can keep a poker face for now.]
[He's mostly grumbling to himself as Alucard ducks through the door. Weirdly, the glimpse of the space Hector sees through the frame is larger than logic dictates it should be.
He paces around Alucard's office while he's away, warring with his impulse to snoop. The walls have eyes, apparently. He slips off his hat and cards his fingers through his hair. Alucard is gone some time, and Hector doesn't know if the length of his absence is a good sign or ill.
When the dhampir finally comes back in, Hector shoves his hat back on and hops to claim his letter. Apparently, what it took to get noticed by the Master was complaining. That stupid saying about squeaking wheels wasn't far off.
He's already tearing the seal as he replies to Alucard's question.]
[Alucard seats himself back behind his desk once Hector has the envelope. Keen gold eyes watch, because his father is absolutely going to ask about each man's reaction.
In Greek, the handwriting precise like a printing press, is the briefest of notes.]
Hector--
You and Isaac will meet me on this upcoming Wednesday at 8 PM. Adrian will permit you into the building.
VDT.
[That's it. That's the whole note. No indication of why. What to discuss. Anything. Just to be there and that Isaac will also be present.]
[The virtue of humility has skipped the Tepes bloodline entirely. Hector huffs out a sigh. Maybe 'extra' was an inherent trait for all vampiric entities. Hector's certainly never met one lacked it.
He reads through the note, and raises an eyebrow.]
Adrian?
[He knows Alucard the way he's introduced himself to the salon attendees.
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He's dressed down to his tunic and trousers - another sign of exactly how much he himself isn't in the mood to be dealing with this. Wearily, he offers Hector a piece of paper.]
The proposed schedule. You provided me with all the information I needed, as did Isaac and this should suit you both. You'll lecture for two Sundays this month, he'll have the alternative Thursdays. I've taken the liberty of alternating Tuesdays between you both so that neither of you are in the same space as each other.
If there are mixed up days, I expect maturity from you both.
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He takes the schedule and looks it over. It's mostly pretty equally divided, except...]
We need to switch the first two Tuesdays. Raman is supposed to give her talk on the necromatic traditions of India this day. Last time I got to attend one of her days, Godbrand showed up.
[That infamous night he'd burst in, uninvited no less, Godbrand had monopolized the rest of the night sloshing around terrible beer and ranting about the best technique for making flesh-skin boats. Immoral, gross, and most egregiously, unscheduled. It had thrown the whole agenda off for weeks.]
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[It is a very tiny consolation prize, and any joy in sharing that detail is dashed with Alucard's heavy sigh.]
I had a feeling that particular lecture was going to be a point of contention given the topic.
[Alucard doesn't motion for the schedule back. He has his own copy, and his gaze goes to it. There's a soft tut, and his fingers gently drum against the top of the desk.]
I can ask her if she'll give it a second day. The only other option is that you two be in the building at the same time. [That option? That option has a pained noise.] Which I don't think any of us are inclined towards.
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[Hector frowns a little at that 'your lifetime'. The immortals who attend the talks are forever working in ways to mention their immortality, usually in conjunction with how much more qualified they are to lecture than some mayfly humans.
But still they clamor to hear those same humans speak on their studies. The thing about such a relatively short time alive is that it spurs the mortals on toward innovations with an urgency the vampires lack. The vampires excel at history, and the humans, in discovery.]
Isaac is the one who causes the problems, not me. I could get along with him if he stopped insisting all forging is necromancy. It is certainly not, and he's the one being bull-headed about it.
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Hector you are disproving your own argument so badly right now.]no subject
But then Hector ruins everything again, and any levity in Alucard is crushed. He rubs at the bridge of his nose very slowly, because this??? Again???]
Stop. I don't care about the academic merits of the argument on either side, I only care about the fact that you two use your differences to antagonize each other and make and discussion impossible because both of you have to have the last word. If it wasn't going to be a loss to the sciences and magic I'd say you two should just duel and get this over with.
[Also, Isaac would probably win. Hector's a pain in the ass, but he can at least be funny. Alucard doesn't know if he's even seen Isaac so much as smile.]
The only other option I see is I ask Raman if she can come on your other Tuesday and give you a personal version of the lecture you're missing. It would mean no group discussion, but you get a more personalized version and more time to pick her brain after.
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Do you think she would agree to it? A private, unchaperoned session?
[Because the other reason for having their talks in groups is to prevent any one supernatural being from getting the forgemasters alone and trying to recruit them (or eat them). (Some had made attempts anyways, but none had succeeded.) Which has increased Hector's safety, but cut down on his access to potential sources of knowledge. He weighs one as a much greater priority than the other.]
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Hector, do you think that anything said in this house is actually private or goes unheard?
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Not during the open forum....
[But elsewhere, on the rare occasions where one of more scholar go off into another room, yes? Some surely report to the absent lord, but it isn’t though there are eyes and ears in every room.]
Are you suggesting there are eavesdroppers?
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This is a wing of my father's house, Hector. If he chooses, he can listen in on every room. Hear any conversation he wishes to turn his attention to. Think of this as just another appendage on the body. One rarely used, but one you're perfectly aware of.
[He then frowns, realizing maybe that isn't the best metaphor to be using around an actual necromancer.]
Point is, my father is present remotely most of the time.
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So he really listens in? Has he listened to my talks? What did he say about them?
[He's so desperate for any sort of recognition from their elusive host. Dracula is revered by their community as the preeminent scholar in EVERY field.]
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[He shrugs, leaning back in his seat just a little.]
I don't talk to him about events here unless he brings them up first, and very rarely does he do that. If you want my honest opinion, I think you're more likely to catch his attention thanks to your behavior with regards to Isaac rather than your work at this point. One day he may be in a mood and take the fighting and pettiness as a matter of disrespect of his home.
[Dracula would probably do that. But it also feels like a potential way to mute some of the drama between the two forgemasters.]
I'd advise against drawing his ire.
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[Hector believes that if there is a God, he is absent and unconcerned with the affairs of mortals, but to think that the world's greatest scholar is so similarly disinclined to involve himself is almost heartbreaking.
He wants to punch Isaac in the face then and there, if only to KNOW that Dracula will see him, even if only briefly. But Alucard is here cautioning him against it.
He deflates, voice going soft.]
So he... he does not care about my studies, my research?
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It's more complex than that. You know that when a man of status leaves home, he is bombarded with attention, yes?
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Yes, I'm not a child. A man of status curates his visitors, but he still sees some of them. Does your father meet with any of the attendees?
[Hector had been so certain at least some of the speakers got to Dracula's inner circle, and that he just had to keep innovating and researching until he earned the lord's ear himself.]
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[It isn't pity, Hector. Just insight as far as Alucard is concerned. He pauses to push down a few flyaways, then continues.]
It doesn't mean you should stop your work or that he is indifferent to it. Just...if you're seeking something from him, stop. Take it from me on that front, you'll be disappointed. [Aware that this all might cause Hector to outie entirely, Alucard is careful to add:]
I won't tell you be satisfied with your current acclaim either, that slows innovation.
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[Not to Isaac, not to Isaac, for the love of all that is dark and unholy, NOT TO ISAAC.]
I wouldn't simply stop my work. [His tone is offended. The mere thought of that is ridiculous.] It is too important, even if it's unappreciated.
[He might just... stop coming to the salon. Maybe. A few of the vampires ask relevant questions and listen intently when he speaks, he supposes. He should probably at least finish out the current schedule... and then the special talk he has planned with his pets as a demonstration on postmortem musculature regrowth....]
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the answer was yes but no one needed to have that information.]The second was to someone who gave a historical based lecture and got some details wrong that changed the interpretation of the information in an important way.[Not Isaac. But Alucard hears something rattle from the closet off to his left and. Hm. Seems someone is indeed listening in. But the word unappreciated makes it clear what this is all about.
Alucard stands up at that, and he walks towards one of the windows. It looks out over the city, and it feels appropriately dramatic for how Hector's dragging this all out into a stupid academic drama.]
You have people that engage with your work, ask you good questions, and who look forward to your demonstrations - with or without your pets present. You have appreciation from all parties except the one you want to impress most, and for some reason you take that as a reason to disregard everyone else. I advise that you don't.
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But he can't dwell on that when Alucard is walking his under-dressed, over-dramatic ass to the window. He... isn't terrible to watch. And Hector does watch.]
'All parties except the one'...? So do you appreciate my work, Alucard?
[He seizes onto the idea as a balm against the hurt of Dracula's indifference.]
I'll continue on, if you attend one of my lectures. No ducking out early like you always try to do.
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[Sorry Hector, senpai won't notice you and--
Excuse you Hector? Are you bribing him?]
Hector, I duck out at literally every lecture to prepare the food. [There would be a riot if he didn't provide food.]
But if your dog decides to sit on me and keep me anchored, then I can't do anything about it. I suppose that--
[Alucard's head snaps towards the right suddenly, like a cat seeing some invisible thing. He frowns, and begins to walk towards a small closet that sits in the corner.]
Could you excuse me for a moment?
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Do you not have vendors for that?
[
Alucard cooks? Hector does not know what to do with this information, so he files it away.But certainly the Lord of Darkness has a budget for his science parties, and Alucard could pay some local with a food stand to do a little work for him after hours.It's not super encouraging that Alucard likes Cezar more than him, but it's also fair. Hector likes Cezar more than anyone too.]
Sure, go on.
[Hector doesn't know what he intends to do in that door that clearly doesn't lead out. Vampire nonsense, probably.]
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[He likes it. It brings him joy, and it balances the stress of managing the actual personalities involved at all of these salons.
With that, Alucard stands.]
Thank you.
[In the future there'd probably be some stunning joke about closets to make here. But for now, it's just an underdressed dhampir going into a door with no actual exit, and staying there.
And staying there.
And staying there some more, until Alucard emerges 20 minutes later looking no different than before. But just before he emerges, something appears on the desk. There's no poof of magic, no sparkling spell work, no cloud, only simple aportation. Two envelopes, the handwriting perfection itself. One is written in Arabic, the other reads Ἕκτωρ.
Alucard reaches the desk, and simply offers the one in Greek to Hector. He knows the contents, but he can keep a poker face for now.]
Would you like a moment of privacy?
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[He's mostly grumbling to himself as Alucard ducks through the door. Weirdly, the glimpse of the space Hector sees through the frame is larger than logic dictates it should be.
He paces around Alucard's office while he's away, warring with his impulse to snoop. The walls have eyes, apparently. He slips off his hat and cards his fingers through his hair. Alucard is gone some time, and Hector doesn't know if the length of his absence is a good sign or ill.
When the dhampir finally comes back in, Hector shoves his hat back on and hops to claim his letter. Apparently, what it took to get noticed by the Master was complaining. That stupid saying about squeaking wheels wasn't far off.
He's already tearing the seal as he replies to Alucard's question.]
No, here is fine.
[Now to find out what Dracula has to say to him.]
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[Alucard seats himself back behind his desk once Hector has the envelope. Keen gold eyes watch, because his father is absolutely going to ask about each man's reaction.
In Greek, the handwriting precise like a printing press, is the briefest of notes.]
Hector--
You and Isaac will meet me on this upcoming Wednesday at 8 PM. Adrian will permit you into the building.
VDT.
[That's it. That's the whole note. No indication of why. What to discuss. Anything. Just to be there and that Isaac will also be present.]
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He reads through the note, and raises an eyebrow.]
Adrian?
[He knows Alucard the way he's introduced himself to the salon attendees.
He taps the note with a finger.]
Do you know what this says?
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[He raises an eyebrow, and folds his arms at that. C'mon Hector. Really?
The pose doesn't change with the question either.]
I'm aware of his plan, yes. I disagree with it, but I also am not going to argue about something so minor with him.
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cw: opium use because that stupid tfln thread is now canon in at least one au
slightly tweaked AU, since Alucard has the dog
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should we wrap here?