a little touch of heavenly light [OPEN]

[reposing]

» WHO? Alucard & YOU
» WHEN? After the gravity has been reinstated.
» WHERE? Various locations, see within!
» WHAT? Catch-all for June. Prompts within.
» WARNINGS? Mention of blood, will update as needed.



❧ i. gym (man)

[Less than 11 months to go.

It's been too long already, and none of them have gotten any closer to finding a way off this wretched place. He's hardly had time to rest, drink, recover, and time is slipping away. He can't continue to wait like this, and it weighs on his heart terribly.

Alucard is presently in the gym, an incredibly long sword in his hand as he swings at the air, elegantly swiping at invisible opponents in his mind. He does not wear his jumpsuit, but rather a pair of black trousers and white tunic instead with his coat draped over a chair nearby. The focus is clear in his eyes, golden irises bordering on red.

Time is running out. How in the hell is the Sleeping Soldier meant to wake and find his scholar and hunter like this? How is he going to be able to--]

Hn!

[Abruptly, Alucard drops his sword and clutches his chest, baring his clenched fangs. He sinks down to his knees, trembling, dots of red appearing on his shirt.

There is nothing to prepare him.

A beastly noise escapes Alucard as he snarls, slamming his fist on the floor.

All he can do is continue forward, or die trying.]


❧ ii. gym (wolf)

[The pool is crystal clean.

There is nothing that could help Alucard feel comfortable enough to bare himself before others right now. It isn't as if he's ashamed of his wound, but he would rather keep it to himself. He doesn't want to think about it, its origins, what it means.

And having fur helps cover the truth of it.

If someone were to come into the gym and approach the pool, they will definitely find a large wolf throwing himself into the water and swimming away merrily. Once he reaches the end of the pool, he gallops around the edge to get back to where he started.]


❧ iii. observation deck

[The lack of windows in the station makes him feel trapped. Claustrophobic. Alucard is certain that he isn't the only one who feels the same way. The closest thing that they have to anything giving them the sensation of being open is either the gym, or this.

Alucard can be found within, calmly floating, his legs crossed lazily. Clinging to his golden waves of hair is a bat, who seems terrifically delighted to be where it is. Oddly, Alucard seems fairly preoccupied typing away, as if he's writing to someone's inbox. On occasion, he glances back up to look out the window, as if captivated by the darkness and stars out beyond.

Once he hears the door open, Alucard's shoulders slump and he sighs. The bat perks up and lets out an angry shriek, baring her fangs.]

Enough, Charlotte. [The bat continues her glaring, but settles back into his hair.]

If you wish, I can take my leave. [He tries to sound stern, but he just sounds exhausted.]

Comments

[reposing]

A man enslaved will always seek his freedom, even if it is impossible. It is important to his heart, but he knows the truth of his fate, no matter their shackles.

[Charlotte climbs over the back of Alucard's hand, but his clenches his fingers together tightly, as if stressed.]

There is a thing I must do in my homeland. I wish to not do it, but I cannot change the fact that the duty falls to me.

[possidetur]

( so freedom. it's her guess at least. whilst it may not be the concept of freedom entirely his words do at least give her some clue as to what he wishes. the way people phrased things was telling )

And here that duty cannot be fulfilled. ( not if it is specific to his homeland ) Perhaps here you are free of it.

[reposing]

You would doom humanity as such?

[Alucard exhales slowly, loudly, struggling.]

I have less than a year to ensure that I return to Wallachia to prevent my father from killing humans in my homeland. There is no promise he would even stop there.

I am bound. I have no freedom from this task.

[possidetur]

We're not in your time.

( and even if they could find a way to leave this place vanessa doubted that getting to their own time was possible. she didn't know how they'd arrived here but getting back would seem far more difficult )

Whatever you were to do has passed.

[reposing]

[There is a flat chuckle, humorless.]

Are you attempting to comfort me?

[possidetur]

( ... yeah that did sound comforting, now that she reflects on it. honestly, she has no idea what she's trying to do. other than get answers )

I was stating the truth. Others here have been kind enough to remind me this isn't my time.

( "kind" enough )

[reposing]

[Alucard shakes his head a little, still mildly amused.]

I must return to Wallachia. I have ten months to do it.

That, or all of the humans there will be slaughtered. Perhaps even the world is in peril. If nothing else, I must do everything I can to return.

[possidetur]

( she'd never heard of wallachia but the rest of that statement visibly concerned her )

What will do that?

[reposing]

[Alucard exhales, and with a bit of a pained look on his face he says:] My father, Vlad Dracula Ţepeş.

[possidetur]

( there's a pause, almost as if she recognises something but then it passes. the name dracula is too repressed in her memory for a simple mention to bring it back )

Is he also a vampire?

( it was the slaughtering humans part that gave it away, but equally he could not be and it was just a giant disaster )

[reposing]

[She knows about vampires, but not the name Dracula.

Fascinating.]

The most powerful there is.

I am not full blooded. My father married a human woman. It is because of her that I will do everything I can to protect the humans.

[possidetur]

( oh. well this was unexpected )

Why will he slaughter everyone?

( other than because he's a vampire. vampires killed but nothing to go so far as to make her fear a slaughter )

[reposing]

[The question causes Alucard to go silent. He doesn't feel that he necessarily owes Vanessa anything, much less the truth.

But if he could make her understand, he thinks Mother would approve of that.]

My mother was a doctor. A woman of science, true science. She wanted to heal people, help them. My father taught her everything she would know.

So the humans of Wallachia thanked her by burning her at the stake.

My father has gone mad with grief, determined to slaughter humanity. He's given them a year to make peace with their God.

I have ten months to return to Wallachia, and stop him.

[possidetur]

( she does understand, at least his mission. she also understands why dracula threatened such a thing, she wishes she didn't.

vanessa's silent as she digests it, looking conflicted. she believed him, believed that he would try to save everyone, though part of her still couldn't get past his nature as a vampire. experience had given her nothing pleasant and yet here he was, being honest when he didn't need to be )

I'm sorry.

( her words are a whisper, eyes avoiding him for a moment. a few more seconds pass before vanessa finally looks up, taking a step towards him )

I hope that you do find a way to return home -- that we all do.

[reposing]

[The apology is not one he anticipates, especially not from someone who looked at him with loathing after discovering what he is.

Not that he could entirely blame her.

He looks at her quietly, then closes his eyes.]

Agreed.

If I could, I would not have this burden. But I must. For the sake of Wallachia.

We are never truly free of the duties that linger over our heads.

[possidetur]

The paths that are written for us are never kind.

( vanessa had had her own 'destiny'. she'd hated the thought, fought against it. part of it was over but it didn't feel finished. they will hunt you till the end of days )

But that does not have to be all there is.

( surely he'd have life still after )

[reposing]

[Bit by bit, Alucard's expression softens. She is not unkind, and he can recognize that now.

He's glad he remained patient.]

For me, it is all that waits. There is no promise I will live, and if I do, there is nothing after anyway.

Should I live after defeating my father, I will sleep eternally. The world has no need for such cursed blood, unless you disagree.

[possidetur]

And if I didn't?

( she knows that it sounds cruel )

You may have noble intentions but not all would. ( vanessa had met no other vampire that she could say the same about ) Are you the only other?

[reposing]

[At the very least, he doesn't seem offended. Alucard closes his eyes a moment.]

No.

My father was a good man, once. For a time, he killed those who attempted to kill him, then became a recluse. My mother brought out the best in him.

Without her, I suppose there is nothing left.

There are demons and other beings who do not thrive on the suffering of others for petty fun. There are good and wicked among all of us, regardless of our origins.

[possidetur]

Then the demons you know are very different to what I am familiar with.

( and considering how intimately familiar that was-- granted it was a small sample, as with vampires, but her experiences had marked her )

[reposing]

A demon would have no reason to interact with a human, unless with ill intent or ordered to do so.

I wish I could say I was surprised, but I understand your reluctance and anger.

[possidetur]

( oh, vanessa could laugh. ill intent? ordered? if only she could say that wasn't the case )

Do you?

( it's a little quick, harsher than intended. she's curious, wondering how he can understand how she feels. perhaps he's seen it in others given his father's actions. she wants to know just how far that extends )

[reposing]

Yes.

Much in the same way I am reluctant to trust humans. I suppose that is an unfair assessment, and it is much easier to condemn a creature of the night than a mortal.

Yet I find myself more in the comfort of other creatures like me aboard this station. They know how wretched every being can be, man or otherwise.

But they can also be beautiful, and loving. It is often easy to forget that.

[possidetur]

( a night creature. she doesn't know it yet just how much that phrase will change things in her future, or how true it was. she was the scorpion, a night creature. if you believed the prophecy, which she didn't, it expanded that more. amunet reincarnate. the mother of all evil. how much she would hate such things )

All creatures can surprise you. ( vanessa knew how cruel people could be, though with the path her life had taken, with the recent cruel acts conducted by demons, witches, vampires, it brought that more into focus. but hadn't a man tried to kill her, and ethan? had she not also killed? ) I have found that recently.

( she means him. he had been kind before she'd known he was a vampire and still he was changing her opinion, still showing patience, understanding. a vampire was not all that defined him )

You are not the man I would have expected. I assume you know that.

( the shift in her tone through their conversations should hint a small part to it )

[reposing]

[Her words do not escape him, and he comprehends their meaning. Alucard smiles wryly and nods.]

I surmised you meant me.

I would not have begrudged you terribly if we did not come to some sort of understanding. But I know I am not always what one might expect.

Still. You remind me that people can eventually understand. I, too, should not forget that.