[closed] Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

[cryptsleeper]

Character(s): Trevor+Alucard
Status: Closed
Location(s): Mountains outside of Krimnos at a certain falling apart home
Date(s) 22 March - End of the month
About: Clearing out the castle and generally trying to make it home again
Warnings: Probably allusions to patricide; finding a dead body; others to be added



Note: Castle is not representative of Usir canon castle, just roll with me on this

[They had been here once, in the dead of winter, all bundled up and trudging through the snows to simply see what had become of a home whose three spires pierced through the forest's treeline. What remained was a shell of the home built by Alucard's father, still imposing and with a single spire remaining, but precious little else. Within the halls were destroyed pieces of furniture, looted rooms, and broken glass, along with signs that it had been a place of shelter for travelers over the years.

It could be salvaged though, with enough time and money. That had been clear, and now with the matter of Einjar completed, time and money was an option. Not much, but enough. Enough for there to be firewood in the kitchen, enough daylight to spend clearing out room after room, enough to buy stones to secure unstable things and ensure a delivery. Most importantly: enough to buy new locks, making it clear that the ruin is no longer deserted.

The work is slow. Careful. Limited, but that was expected.]

Comments

[miraclewhip]

[ Firewood in the kitchen is all it really takes for the castle to seem like a home, in truth. Firewood and a little work to clear away things so broken to be genuine dangers. Just the kitchen, warm and mostly clean and usually smelling of whatever dinner was, with the collection of curtains and rugs and blankets near the fireplace to sleep on at night, is a luxury. Moreso than any of the inns they've stayed at, even with Alucard going out of his way to find places that could accommodate him.

He's used to what he's used to, and the rug by the embers of the kitchen fire will always be more comfortable than any bed could be.

There's one more essential task to be done, before the work can move from ensuring that the kitchen is safe and the walk to it from the front door can be made without risk of tripping or other injury to clearing out and reclaiming the remaining parts of the castle. And- maybe 'essential' is a strong word. 'Important', perhaps.

Making it clear from the outside that the place is now a home.

He leaves installing the locks to Alucard, his own hands being unsuited to the delicate work that it requires. For his part, he's clearing the path to the front door of all of the things that the avalanche brought with it. Fallen wood, animal bones, stone from the broken parts of the castle. All of it needs clearing away. ]

Poor bugger.

[ It's not a frozen animal corpse this time, but someone who must have been on the mountains at the time of the avalanche. Human. ]

Alucard! When do we next head into the city?

[cryptsleeper]

[The journey back to Krimnos proper takes two days, but the identity of the frozen corpse is confirmed the first night when the two stop for the night in the same village they always stop over in. There's a name given for next of kin and a rough address (a city quarter). A perfectly middle class family with strong ties to the part of the city that thrives on invention, and that is that. The rest of the trip is grim, as is the handing over of the body itself. There's tears from the next of kin, there's relief to know what happened, but it's all tiring to go through.

The night they spend in the city, Alucard thinks he sees a movement beyond himself. When he turns, it's just his own shadow, cast long in the fading sun. Longer than it ought to be, but he's emotionally exhausted, and struggling not to react to that fact. There's been flashes of gold in his eyes already today. He's clearly seeing things.

Two days to get back home. A few hours to put all the new supplies away, fifteen minutes spent watching Dog hiss at the little box with a blanket Alucard's set up for the possum, allowing it to have it's own little bed near the kitchen's fireplace. Then dinner, and putting it all away. There are high shelves, and the dhampir isn't above using his ability to float to reach those places.

He lands, and his shadow is not where it ought to be. It's a curiosity this time, and it sees the dhampir occupied for the rest of the night, seated in front of the fire and trying to see exactly how this all works.

The conclusion? He needs to tell Trevor. Which means waiting until bedtime, or whenever else Trevor reappears in the kitchen. When that happens, the constantly worried dhampir attitude is back, hidden under that usually calm exterior.]

I...have discovered something that I am not exactly sure I should be able to do.