[open] But I know I'll land here again

[cryptsleeper]

Character(s): Alucard + Open
Status: Open
Location(s): Krimnos -> Home in the mountains
Date(s) Start of April -> Einjar Expedition II, Electric Boogaloo
About: General catch all log
Warnings: To be added



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

[Krimnos is mostly for picking up supplies these days, then departing for home. Alucard's affection for the city has grown slightly, such as it is. Any place that encourages such dedication to technological development has earned that much, just as it has focused it's efforts on exploration and understanding. Einjar was proof of that. But he doesn't linger in the city, not when home is two days away.

Those looking for him there are most likely to find him in market spaces, or else in the part of the city dedicated to invention. He does little but observe in the latter space.

On the road between home and Krimnos, Alucard is all too keenly aware of the world around him. There is, of course, the little hamlet that marks the half-way point between home and the city, and he rests there between his trips. With warmer evenings out, he takes advantage of the one inn that boasts of a patio for evening meals, and can be found there with food remaining on his plate and a glass of probably too-dark wine in hand, barely drunk. For all the world, they look closer to props that let him settle in for a time, taking in the world around him.

Home is still a crumbling castle, whose remaining spire still reaches up towards the heavens. It is aged, save for the new lock on the door that makes it clear that this long thought cursed relic is inhabited by the living.]

Comments

Closed

[cryptsleeper]

[Returning for Krimnos meant picking up both supplies and special orders, such as they were and such as could be afforded at the moment. There were precious few requirements now, what with Trevor being the type to eschew furniture all together and Alucard trying to learn basic woodworking for the time being. But there was one or two items that, with current arrangements, still had to be bought. Alucard had received word that the order was in, and thus it was off to the city proper to retrieve it.

Here, now, it is just before dusk. This month means that the sun stays overhead for longer, and that it is possible to walk later at night. Staying in the same stop over village as he and Trevor have become accustomed to for the trip, Alucard walks the streets quietly, then out along the road to examine the path that they will be taking come morning. It is a fair thing to scout ahead, what with the more dangerous flowers of the Bloom a potential trip hazard.

Ellis is with him, as she always is, bounding ahead just a little. Her nose is far more reliable for picking out concerning scents, but it is the way her whole body perks suddenly that gives Alucard pause.]

Someone you recognize?

[fuga]

[ The forest had been becoming home for her; Lauralae had made a place for herself, tucking her new dragon in the depths of her hood any time she had to step out. With Rav'ahm at her side and Urmyria needing to be protected the only thing she has been able to do with her new horse is help calm it and endear it to her, which had been a feat in itself. She hasn't even named it yet, even if she wants to, because no name seems fitting enough.

What happens when the sun sets and dusk comes is Urmyria makes a sound that's a little bit too sharp, a little bit too much, and the horse bolts. All Lauralae can do is gather her things quickly and rush forward, chasing after it - without being able to transform into her wolf form there's not too much she can do because she has to keep her dragon safe.

Crashing through the forest, whistling, she reaches out for the makeshift reigns that she had made for the poor horse, trying to reach for them and soothe them, and they break through into a clearing just as her hands grip at the leathers, her hand lifting to stroke at the horse's soft snout, whispering to it quietly before she even hears the voice behind her.

Urmyria makes a soft noise around her neck and she breathes out, eyes wide, stepping back to press her small body into the soft side of her mount, pale skin going whiter. ]

Alucard.

[cryptsleeper]

Lauralae.

[This is awkward and the height of absurdity. Alucard is standing with the hamlet behind him, cool mountain air still winding it's way down as spring begins in earnest. She's still in the wilderness, at least wilderness along this particular path. The horse is a surprise.

A dhampir and a dhampir meet in the woods. It sounds like the set up for some kind of joke, and yet...no. This is reality. Awkward, awkward reality. He doesn't move. The horse might spook. There's...there's a hatched dragon, so that's just a lot in and of itself, and Ellis is unmoved.

Things change too quickly.]

You look well. All of you.

[fuga]

[ There's a moment where it looks like she's going to turn around and run in the other direction. She is genuinely terrified of what he might do to her, and that is not something she has ever felt in his company before now; she had always had faith in the kindness he had shown her, in the feeling of companionship that she had been bereft of for such a long time.

Her eyes flare and her teeth are bared, just for a moment, before she realises the impact it is having on her horse. Reaching up, Lauralae strokes over his mane and body, calming him down gently and whispering in his ear before she steps around him to look at Alucard again. Rav'ahm is settled in the trees, talking worriedly in her mind, and Urmyria hides in her hair, small, flicking tail falling out of her hood.

She swallows. ]

Please do not hurt her.

[cryptsleeper]

I do not break oaths.

[He had promised, after all. As furious as he is (and oh, he is furious) about the return of dragons, about there being any hatchlings, as wise as it would be to strike pre-emptively, he made a promise. Alucard has too much value in his own words to ever, ever prove himself a liar on such a thing.

He's far calmer than their last meeting, but that's no particular achievement.]

The horse is new.

[fuga]

[ Some of the tension falls from her shoulders and she relaxes, bowing her head for a moment. There's no denying just how worried she had been, how nervous she was, but at least she thinks she can trust Alucard's word. She wants to believe in him, she wants to believe that he would not hurt her or the baby she had taken into her arms, even if Urmyria might be something he hated with his whole being.

Slowly, she steps out from around the horse, nodding slowly. ]

I found him in the forest and he has learned to care for me and Rav'ahm.

[ A wild animal, somewhat tamed, just as she is.

Hesitating, she leans down and holds out her hand. ]

Will - Ellis?

[cryptsleeper]

That's a rarity in and of itself. Most will bolt.

[They're dancing around so much. It's awkward, but awkward is better than angry by any stretch of the imagination. Alucard remains standing where he is, and in truth, he doesn't want to get closer. There's no trust in himself to still not have a strong reaction to the presence of the dragon (he can't know the name, he'll say something one day to the wrong person).]

That's for her to decide.

[But the wolf doesn't show any sign of moving. She's too connected to Alucard to bound over, all joy and big paws tripping over themselves. He's tense. He's been tense since the pit. She's better for Trevor's presence, but that's about it. There is a dragon here. It's the thing that makes the dhampir irrational. She cannot move in good faith.]

For Trevor

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard knows this is probably the wrong thing to do, or at least that it is a risk. He knows the goliath, knows that things like gift giving can be something that quickly turns sour. But their current arrangement seems to be a permenant one, and there's no comfort to be had sleeping on a stone floor. Even if one's used to it. Even if there will be a fuss. It is unfair and incorrect for Alucard to have come to use the Belmont as a mattress, and to give the Belmont no comfort in return.

So he ordered a rug. One big enough for Trevor to sleep on and then some, because a bed would never be used. And he's made Trevor help carry it back all the way from Krimnos, but he's hardly said a word about what it is or where it is to go. There have been other things to discuss (some happy things, like the fact someone has begun to put a great number of books into a portable library).

Now is the awkward part. They're walking through the castle corridors with the giant rolled up rug, and Alucard's turned into the room that has become theirs.]

If you could unroll it by the fireplace, please?

[miraclewhip]

Mmm.

[ Wait. The fireplace is where he sleeps. And now there's going to be a rug there. So that means- ]

Sending me back to the kitchen to make room for the decorations, hmm?

[ The most thick-skulled man alive here, ladies and gentlemen. He only sounds a little hurt by the idea of being kicked out - it was going to happen sooner or later. It's not like the kitchen is a bad place to sleep, and he unrolls the rug without objection anyway. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Why would I send you to the kitch...

[The response is automatic, because the vampire enjoys contradicting the Belmont. It's only after the words leave Alucard's mouth that he realizes what Trevor's assuming, and really?

Alucard huffs. The rug itself is a foot or two larger than Trevor himself, the texture of it soft and while it isn't exactly shag, there's more pile to the carpet than most. It's a tawny brown, nothing too remarkable. Mostly, it's warm.]

Of course not. I simply imagined that after a near month of sleeping on cold stone, you'd want at least some relief for your back.

[It's a gift. A practical one. Alucard can only pray that the practical nature will help.]

[miraclewhip]

But there's a rug here. So where do I-

[ -oh. Oh. He sighs, rubbing the back of his head. It might be 'nothing too remarkable', but it's still a good many times nicer than anything he's ever owned.

Gifts are always difficult. ]

It's- the stone is fine, really. This is nice, I can't just go around lying on nice shit.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard's quiet for a moment. He can't force Trevor to just accept this. He wouldn't be Trevor otherwise.]

You can. I'm using you as my perpetual mattress at this point. It's unfair for me to have something warm and comfortable underneath me and for you not to, not when this is your home as well as mine.

[miraclewhip]

s'fine. It's already nicer here than I'm used to, you don't need to-

[ The rug's already bought, there's not a lot that can be done now. And in truth, it might be nice to sleep on something other than the floor. He's just stubborn. Stubborn and bad at accepting things that are given to him. ]

-it's nice. Thanks.

[ That's how one expresses gratitude, right???? ]

krimnos

[redwhaling]

[ Krimnos. Billie hasn't had a chance to step foot in this city in over a hundred years and she's finally been given a reason to, even if it did mean hauling a dragon along with her. A dragon that is, thankfully, stuffed full of food and being babysat at an inn by an overbearing tern right now. It's weird to think along the lines of 'finally, a few hours without the kid' but here she is, doing just that...

But more importantly, she's also tracking down knights of Krimnos to harass, which inevitably brings her to Tinkertown, familiar red coat — if cleaner from what it was in the pit — and all. More than a few of the knights are also inventors in their own right, considering the city's own interests. It'll just be by luck alone that she tracks down a pair of them lingering near where Alucard is observing from.

Overall, the conversation isn't going too well. The knights seem somewhat offended that they're being bothered at all. ]

Come on, I just need you to think back a few years. [ She still tries. ] They ditched Krimnos, anyway, so what would you be protecting?

Re: krimnos

[cryptsleeper]

[It's the voice that Alucard recognizes, more than the color of Billie's coat or anything else. His min had been fuzzy for too much of that cursed pit, but voices, those rang out clearly even back in that hellscape. So he hears it from across the road as he concludes a long conversation, having learned about a few additional means of travel that are in the works. It's the kind of thing that may make his own soujourns from home to Krimnos proper go much faster, and that in and of itself is something to encourage.

He catches a snippet of the conversation, such as it is, as he walks over. Alucard, when not in pits, carries himself with a nearly overbearing noble sort of demeanor, the kind that sometimes helps in these conversations. There's precious point in trying to lure Billie away to figure out what she's asking after. This is about trying to take the side of one group while playing them for the benefit of the other.]

Friends and bonds are worth their weight in gold, ditching a particular home or not. It is, I'm sure, a matter of respecting what was, as well as matters of sworn secrecy, is it not?

[redwhaling]

Provided those bonds exist in the first place, sure.

[ But having someone who looks vastly more noble than Billie Lurk could ever hope to suddenly enter the conversation, on the side of the knights no less, does stir one to grimace some, as if he might like to say something more but doesn't. If it were Alucard questioning them, the outcome would likely have been different. Since it's Billie, who for all appearances may as well be a thug from the docks, this has been less than useful.

In any case, the second knight — older than the first, grimacing one — simply agrees that gossiping about their own brethren would indeed be beneath them, even if he doesn't know them personally. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard is careful to listen to the knights as they speak. He notes the near look of one of them speaking, but it doesn't last. A phantom to follow up on, perhaps with Billie around the corner. As it is, Alucard waits for the right moment to try and further it along.]

It is a shame that they left though. Is it truly gossip to ask after the general nature of their departure?

[A slower approach, but maybe this'll work. He's guessing wildly about what Billie's information quest might have been after, but the knights have hinted enough to be helpful.]

[redwhaling]

[ It is when some stranger from out of town asks, the older knight decides to claim. Someone here is taking offense at the drop of a hat and it's pretty clear who that is at this point. Billie just rolls her eyes at that and lets her attention flicker over to Alucard for a second or two.

She recognizes him easily enough, though she doesn't change her expression, nor do anything that might betray that they've met before. If anything, the way she wrinkles her nose after just looking at him might suggest an immediate dislike — it matches up with how she's looking at the two knights, in any case, if only to label him as 'one of them'. ]

Not a very welcoming city, is it? [ But then she's eyeing the pair again, a short moment longer, before finally throwing her hands up and turning to go. ] Fine. I'll take a hint and move along. I don't have all day to argue over this...

[ Which she does actually do, stepping back into the flow of foot traffic through Tinkertown. Only, she won't vanish into the crowd. She'll carry on at a leisurely pace instead, one that won't at all be difficult to track. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard extends the conversation a few minutes more, steering it towards topics lighter and more practical. He asks after the knights' work within Tinkertown, and speaks of far more pleasant things like the new greenhouse. It's enough to earn some good will back, and then the dhampir excuses himself entirely.

It is indeed easy to find Billie after all is said and done. Alucard is smart enough to not run to catch up with her, or even change his usual pace. There's just suddenly Alucard a few inches away on her left side, frowning.]

May I ask what information you were trying to pull from them?

Closed

[cryptsleeper]

[Sypha's presence in the castle has stirred up many emotions for all involved. The anger of her being dragged back, the relief in seeing her face, the sheer awkwardness of the fact that Alucard and Trevor had started at...something that might in the eyes of others be an actual relationship that came from having to look after each other in Sypha's absence. In all of that though, two things were clear.

The first? Nothing was happening to Sypha if the other two could help it. That meant if they weren't in the room with her, an animus likely was. The second was that their room was her room too for as long as she wanted it that way.

But joy of reunions wear out, eventually. There are parts of reawakening that need far more adjusting to, and for that there is no quick and easy fix, no words to be vowed to make the problem go away. There is only space, and there is only time.

Alucard's outside at the moment, clearing overgrowth from the path that leads up to the castle itself. With the spring comes all the pesky plants and vines, and he'll not have any of the three of them get injured simply walking up to the house.]

Re: Closed

[idonoevil]

[ Space and time are both good and necessary things, but for a Speaker who has just come back from the dead after losing her entire family, being alone for too long in the big, empty castle is enough to make her feel like the walls are closing in. Her heart is beating a little harder than she'd like to admit when she clambers out the front door to take a deep breath of fresh, crisp air.

In all of the overgrown, gloomy scenery that seems to surround the castle, Alucard isn't hard to notice. He's a gleaming, golden spot against the dark backdrop of the wooded path, and she's drawn to him immediately, tail swishing as she walks out to meet him.

It's been a few days now, and she's still getting settled, but to be here with him and with Trevor is still a novelty to her. This domestic situation isn't something she'd ever imagined for herself, but here she is, happy to be in one place for the first time in her life.

As she approaches Alucard, she calls his name and gestures to the work he's doing. ]

Let me help you with that.

[cryptsleeper]

Hm?

[Alucard has a formidable looking shovel in hand, and beside him is a pile of the more dangerous greenery that always takes up residence during spring. He hasn't exactly specified where the shovel came from beyond I found some ruins of one of the other spires, and there's a few other nastier looking things that he's using for digging up stubborn roots. They're...definitely not ment to be hoes, he knows that much.

Sypha's presence is something he's adjusted to quickly, just as he's adjusted to Trevor's. He's still angry that someone has done this to either of them, but it's so easy to mute all of that in favor of the stupid looks of adoration he's given Trevor in the few days between their first...official declaration of whatever the hell this is and Sypha's return. With Sypha, there's only the quiet relief for her presence and how the house feels that much warmer.]

Oh uh. Please, yes. You'd probably be better at it than I anyway.

[idonoevil]

[ While not opposed to manual labor, the judicious application of magic is just the thing to take a tedious task and make it slightly less so. She urges Alucard to back up slightly before pointing her fingers and crossing her arms over her chest in the classic form of the Speaker magicians.

With a flick of her wrists, a swathe of errant greenery is frozen over, rimed with ice thick enough to make branches droop and sag. In the next movement, the ice shatters, breaking all the crystalline plants into tiny shards. A sweeping motion of her hand sends all the fragments blowing away, tumbling over each other into the distance.

She grins at Alucard once it's done, her tail curling in amusement.]

Does that about do it?

[cryptsleeper]

[Sypha's magic is always a wonder. They hardly ever had time to appreciate it before, but oh, it saved them so many times. She's a powerhouse in a way that Alucard's sword and Trevor's fighting skills never could be. A few motions, all intent, and...this.

Alucard's face is one that betrays the wonder of it all, and then it crosses into polite anxiety as it always does when he has to stop looking awestruck and function like an actual person.]

Well, you just saved me an afternoon's worth of work, so yes. Yes it does.

[idonoevil]

[ She beams at him, pleased to be doing something useful instead of sitting around navel-gazing. It's nice to use her magic for something helpful that isn't murdering vampires and hellish hoards. Even better, they're there together, and his expression in that brief moment before he clams up again makes everything seem worth it.

Gesturing farther down the road, she asks: ]

Why don't we do more? It doesn't take long with magic, and we could... spend some time together. [ A bit of an awkward finish, but she's made her request known. ]