Fandom In Endless Night ;; 1 x 1 Castlevania RP ;; malfortuna & lucyfer

[Lucyfer]

Trevor didn’t move immediately. He was warm, of course, a sensation Lucia always missed, always craved. He did move, though, shaking off the words, but curiously – not riled. Not angry. Depressed. Still.

Lucia rolled her eyes, “You clearly did not hear me when I mentioned how I’d be the envy of the world if I had your support,” every vampire would reconsider striking out at her. It wasn’t vampires that did the Belmonts in, after all. “You’re one of the few hunters actually willing to talk – though I’ll thank Alucard for that,” Trevor would have killed her on sight otherwise.

“You shouldn’t lose that edge. Or mistrust. You haven’t even known me a night,” she grinned, “and Valerian has me banned from Rome, Belmont. You should consider what kind of terror I am that Valerian is afraid.”

It was actually more superstition – any defiled ‘vestal virgin’ couldn’t be in Rome.

No matter how homesick.

“You do not know me well enough to be throwing in with me, and you have far more power than you realize to go squandering it on someone who might be planning to destroy you,” she smiled serenely, the threat there.

It was false. She meant him no harm.

But he really should know better than to trust that. Vampires were master manipulators.

~***~

Alucard was startled by the pinch. It didn’t hurt, and the commentary – rude – made him think of Sypha. He let his brows raise, realizing what he’d done with a touch of embarrassment tinting his cheeks red. “Oh—my apologies, I….” living in the world of immortals, being ancient was something bragged about.

He forgot normal women didn’t like that question.

That confirmed she wasn’t centuries old, but she was still substantially older than him. He blinked in surprise, but then relaxed a bit. Of course, she only looked young, because of when she was turned. “I hope it will all be that wonderful in the morning,” Alucard smiled fondly at how Jillian remembered everything. “I suppose we should try to see your brother then, as well. Especially if our visit to his barn caused any trouble….”

They couldn’t be sure, but they likely owed him the visit, as well, if Jillian’s mom didn’t immediately go to fetch him.

He glanced away as he realized he should even the odds a bit, “I am…twenty.”

Just twenty.

It felt a bit awkward. He was painfully aware he was the youngest one there.

 

[malfortuna]

Trevor didn’t seem to falter when she told him that he didn’t know her well enough. That much was true, yes, but he believed he was often able to tell when someone was really bullshitting him or not on some grand, near impossible scheme. They were either lying or mad, or very rarely, telling the actual truth. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her “empty threats”, pressing a hand up to the side of his head. “Yes, well, it has been years since I last have been paid a compliment like that. Where were you when news of our excommunication started to spread?” It was kind of a bad joke but there was no helping it. He was used to being thrown out many an establishment on his ass when a flash of his family crest revealed itself beneath his robes.

“Belmont or not… I don’t think you would consider destroying me. At least not yet,” Trevor considered almost casually with a wave of his hand in a dismissive motion. “You are here with us planning to take on Dracula. If you do that much, destroying me would be the least of your worries.” He was one to talk. They had no idea how the world was going to be once the Count was gone, or what would even be left of it. “But if you insist, we can revisit the idea once we get killing him over with. Just because I say I support your ideas does not mean I fully trust you. But like you said… you talk. I talk. And thus progress is made,” he looked at her with a slight smirk. “...Besides, what did you do in Rome that had Valerian in unease? I take it for all the power behind the scenes he wields, his paranoia is the only thing that could match it.”

—

Jillian could not help but laugh a little as Alucard stumbled a bit over his apology, waving a hand, “Don’t worry. I am sure that is not going to be the last time I hear that question,” she shook her head. She crossed her arms and bowed her head thoughtfully as he mentioned seeing her brother as well. “I did steal his spare key… Though you must admit, quite unsafe to be hiding it all of this time in the same spot,” she closed one eye in a bit of a cheeky wink. And then he mentioned his rather young age, which proved to make Jillian quirk an eyebrow. Well, considering his mother was a human, it made sense. “...Well, there will be plenty of time to not be twenty,” she joked slightly with a snicker, mainly just to relieve some of the awkwardness that came with his admission.

She then pointed to herself with a soft smile, “I wouldn’t say I have done much maturing in my time running with werewolves. Have you seen any of those brutes? I am lucky I have some of my sanity intact. Besides that, I changed when I was nineteen.” She chuckled a little bit and then placed her hands together behind her once more. “...Dead before twenty if things had gone the way I had wanted it to. But hopefully having my mortality rudely manipulated will have some use in the near future.”

 

[Lucyfer]

“Chernihiv,” Lucia answered the rhetorical – she had indeed been there, where his family wouldn’t have been considered excommunicated. Orthodox Churches usually loved to spite the Pope in Rome. It was one advantage to her area against Valerian. But she wasn’t considering destroying him. She had no reason to, and it was evident she rubbed shoulders with hunters, with no problem.

She did match his smirk at ‘revisiting’ the idea. “We will, I am sure of it,” whether it was in a more positive light, or negative one, was yet to be seen. Lucia wasn’t one to run from a hunter, either. She’d try to talk it out, but if they couldn’t be reasoned with – well, Trevor wouldn’t be the first she slew.

He might be the first to succeed.

It only took one.

At the mention of why Valerian was uneasy, she sighed, “You would be right, his paranoia knows no match. We’re both Roman, you see,” she noted, “I’m all too familiar with the politics and paranoia, even if I wasn’t allowed to play it back then,” no, no, women didn’t get to, “not…overtly. I had power in another way, and that I exist, is the reason Valerian won’t let me enter Rome.”

She sighed and shook her head, “He…I would not say he still believes in Iupitor or Pluto. I do not think he believes in the Christian God, but some superstitions remain. I…was a Vestal Virgin when I was in Rome. Any vestal who is defiled, willingly or not, is sentenced to death, but there’s…traditions around it. They cannot die in Rome, and they must go willingly,” none went willingly, but coercion was a huge part of things. “To let me back into Rome would be a terrible taboo for poor Valerian, and he certainly believes it would spell ill tidings. I happen to love Rome a bit too much to doom it in such a way,” she admitted, “but I’m not willingly dying, and burying me underground won’t really kill me,” she chuckled, “so we are at a bit of a standstill. He accepts my existence as half-dead, so long as I stay out of Rome.”

~***~

It probably was not at all going to be the last time. He didn’t know if Lucia would ask, but Trevor might. Usually, Trevor was the one to make these blunders, after all. Blessedly, she let the conversation be changed to her brother, and seeing him – before joking of his own age. He chuckled, a bit.

“Several hundred years not to be twenty, I suppose,” and how many of those years would he wish he was 20 again? Hopefully none. 20 sucked. He wished to be many centuries away already, where the pain of the losses were already faded to memory, and he could think of his father without feeling such heart-wrenching agony at the man he loved, and what he became. At all that was lost to the world, with the mistake of killing Lisa.

“I am sure that you will find yourself grateful to have lived through these years in time, Jillian,” Alucard said, “I already wish it was several centuries ahead,” a joke, in poor tastes, but true in many regards, “there must be something you appreciate about being a werewolf, though. Not for the others, but for yourself,” he noted, curious to what she did find to be the positives.

It would be good to say them.

Good to remember there were aspects worth keeping around, when she did find her freedom, and had to convince herself it was worth going on. “Besides the long life, of course,” that was a curse and a blessing, depending on the year, it seemed.

Not that he yet knew.

Not truly.

But he knew from Dracula, and he knew from Lucia, and other vampires he’d spoken with.

 

[malfortuna]

Trevor smirked to himself as Lucia agreed that they most likely would turn around and try to kill one another if their relationship would go south. He expected that sort of thing from Alucard as well even though he had yet to be proven untrustworthy. He could just picture the image of his dear old dad’s rotting corpse in the ground turning over in his grave, if he had one, at the thought of a Belmont working alongside a vampire, much less one and a half of one. Hopefully it would not come to blows but Trevor could admit that he did not have the best record of keeping favorable company… But then the conversation turned towards what seemed to be the background she and Valerian shared. His eyes seemed to cloud over as she explained her predicament. So, she too had been driven from home, though at least she had love for it. But he supposed that would just make it hurt all the more.

He believed if she had wanted to go into greater detail than that, she would have and so he opted to not ask what she could mean by defiled. He also did not ask if it was her choice as from what he had heard, Vestals were chosen to serve. He could not help but to scoff ruefully when she finished, “And so you are committed to an unofficial exiling. But I am sure he would be glad to demand the few that are so high and mighty to meet only in Rome.” He glanced back at her, falling into a short moment of silence before deciding to pry only a little, “...What is it that makes you love Rome so?” He ventured, turned in order to lean his upper back more comfortably against the tree. “Surely you have lived longer than Alucard. Is there something to go home to if you are able?” He’d like to think there might still be something left for him when they returned to the Belmont Hold. But he knew better than to invest into wishful thinking.

—

Jillian returned the small smile and she raised an eyebrow at his words, intrigued at his fascination with living a life a couple hundred years in the future. It was almost too much to even consider, depending on what kind of world they would be in at that time. “I suppose by that time, this short stretch will seem nothing more than a blink of the eye,” she relented with a light shrug of the shoulders, not seeming too intimidated by the idea of living in the world that long if it might mean she could do anything else other than what she had been with her endless amount of years. Perhaps he wanted it to hurry up and get to that point so that the pain of doing what he needed to in this time would have long since faded. One could hope. She would have gotten lost in thought if not for the fact that he asked her yet another question she had yet to ever be asked about herself and she took a step forward, expression seeming to light up slightly as she thought it over.

“Well… Have you ever gone for a run as a wolf?” She questioned, recalling again that he was able to change into the animal at will. “Without any true reason, just running and allowing yourself to focus on what is around you? I like to set forth and keep moving until I can’t anymore. And then I try to think about all the sensations I’ve experienced. I really get to hear and feel them in that form. You get to experience so much others may take for granted simply because they do not possess the same level of senses as the werewolf. It’s difficult to explain…” She hummed slightly. “...As savage as they may be, you cannot say they lack devotion to those they care about. I’ve seen families of multiple generations traveling with us the entire time I was with my pack. Couples stayed together even centuries after they had married. Strangely romantic and sentimental,” she chuckled, shuffling her feet underneath her skirts.

 

[Lucyfer]

“He might,” Lucia grinned, “but Amon enjoys spiting him, so I think I can count on Amon to dictate it be elsewhere,” Amon might feel like spiting her on occasion, but that was to be determined. She didn't really have many issues with Amon. So long as she wasn't questioning his beliefs, he was quite amicable.

Insane, but amicable.

As for Rome, though….

Lucia let out a sigh.

Her smile was faint, but fond, as she looked skyward. “Do you not still love your family, Trevor, even if they are not there to return to? Are there not still fond memories of warm meals, and secret hiding spots, in your home?”

She assumed, anyways, that he didn't hate his family and his past as he wore the crest. “There is nothing in Rome that waits for me, but I love all that it was for me. That love does not fade with time. It would be like asking me why I miss my first lover,” she chuckled and shook her head, “I cannot have him back, and I've grown into a woman he would not recognize, and may not love him now – but I did love him, and he remains a part of me, as Rome.”

As the lovers after him, some loved better, some worse, but love was constant.

“I would love to see what Rome has become, and how she has grown. Perhaps it is worse, perhaps it is better, but it is Rome.”

And love never left.

It did not leave for Dracula, either.

“Certainly that at least makes sense?”

~***~

That was what Alucard hoped – that this seemed small, in comparison to all the life he led. That he grew around it, and this moment, this pain, felt so small and insignificant in comparison. What else could he hold onto?

Thankfully, Jillian did not linger on it, but took the bait of what it was to enjoy being a wolf. It seemed there was plenty – she enjoyed running, she enjoyed the sensations, and she enjoyed the romanticism that some exhibited. “I am not sure that is exclusive to wolves,” of course, Alucard considered his own parent’s love, "but...it is nice to see it," to hope to experience it. Alucard doubted it. After witnessing all that he had, he wasn't sure he wanted to pursue a love so consuming. If he turned out to be like his father....

Well, he didn't want to think of it.

Their love would have lasted until Lisa died -- though even then, it would have lasted for Dracula, for his eternity, for Lisa did not want to become a vampire, and Dracula respected that. He could have accepted letting Lisa die a mortal death, of old age, but not of murder. That, clearly, was too far for him.

“I have never just gone running my wolf form,” he said, imagining it was quite different. It was a form he took, but it was not as much a part of him as her werewolf nature was. “What was it like, to first experience the change in sensations?”

He’d had it all the time; he hadn’t been turned, after all, but he knew those humans turned vampire experienced a sudden shift, as well. Their senses sharpened, too. Their sense of smell was likely still nothing compared to the wolf, but still – he was curious what that change must have been like for Jillian.

He was unlikely to ever experience any sort of significant change like that.

 

[malfortuna]

He didn’t know much about this Amon individual, either. It seemed like he was moreso on the unpredictable side and perhaps she had that at least to count on if there were any tensions to rise between her and Valerian. It was a problem and she would cross the bridge when she came to it, he supposed. Trevor was a man to be counted on for looking at things with a glass half empty perspective but if it meant that a new outlook on coexisting with humanity in such a way that both parties did not have to live in so much fear of one another, to continue the endless cycle of hunting and being hunted. He shook his head slowly and instead focused on such fond words of recollection.

Trevor found his gaze downturned to the ground at his feet, a heavy sensation twisting and pulling within his chest as she asked if he missed his family. “Yeah…” He quietly agreed under his breath. The warm, nostalgic feeling of being wrapped up in the encouragement of a mother who comforted her young son after a difficult day of upbringing by a father and others sharing the family name. But at the same time he understood why they all had been the way they were. He was born cursed to face such danger all of his life simply for having the Belmont name. “I don’t know if I could say I represent the good family name well or not. Most likely not. But better late to the call than never, right? Maybe that gives father some peace.” He joked slightly and raised his chin, grinning at her. “I’m sure your home misses you too. With devotion like that, I daresay she might even crave it one day. What would you hope to see if you did get to return…?”

—

Jillian let off a soft chuckle as he pointed out that being monogamous was not just limited to werewolves, “Yes. They seemed very happy. It was almost an infectious sort of joy,” she responded, though she could not say she had experienced such a thing for herself. Quite the opposite. Her own mother once had been married but once they had tried and failed to conceive a child naturally, the man abandoned his home. And so, Natalya had taken in a couple of strays before they could even be made aware of the fact that they had been unwanted by their birth parents. She harbored no ill will about it as she had at least managed to have a fairly warm childhood as a result.

But then he questioned how it was when she first experienced the enhanced abilities that came with becoming a werewolf. “Oh… Mm, well… It is different for everyone, they say. My circumstances were not so pleasant. I was very weak at the time as a human. I fought but I barely recall the bite itself. Everything after felt terribly hot. The sounds around me kept growing louder and I felt like my head was going to split open. I remember crying for days as I adjusted on top of other factors.” She shrugged rather stiffly at that, smile fading somewhat but still present. “But after… It was exhilarating. It was overwhelming, certainly. I sometimes still find myself in disbelief of what I am capable of. Almost like I had been sleeping for a long time and just woke up.”

 

[Lucyfer]

The sorrow was apparent, but this time, it was tinged with warmth. Lucia was pleased to see that Trevor’s thoughts hadn’t drifted too far into the negative, as she kept her own mentions light, on happier thoughts, things that made one nostalgic.

Everything she could want from Rome was gone. The people she had known, the language, the locations, the food – and yet, she missed it, desperately, and somehow thought she’d find enough of it in what Rome was now. “If your father was anything like Geoffrey Belmont, I doubt it,” she rolled her eyes, “but I hope he was more…accepting than that.”

Geoffrey was ages ago.

Dead at her hand. A nuisance Belmont who trekked all the way to her home to deal with her, after she’d dealt with her sire, likely thinking she’d be easy. He was a fool.

“I am not sure what I’d like to see. I do not think it’s seeing, so much as being there,” she chuckled, “perhaps that’s where that rumor of vampires needing soil from their home to sleep on, started,” she shook her head a bit at that ridiculous thing. Alongside coffins, humans created such bizarre myths about vampires. “But what was your father like, Trevor?” he’d mentioned it, and he bore the name, “I’m not going to insist you make him happy if he was a racist asshole, but I’m curious if he is worth…honoring.”

~***~

The experience was not a pleasant one to recall. Alucard had hoped it might at least be not bad, but what Jillian spoke of was just…bad. He winced a bit in sympathy, regretting asking and bringing up such an unpleasant thing – even if she turned it to end on a happier note. “I’m sorry to have brought up such a bad memory,” he apologized, looking down a moment, before back at her. “You have a way of turning everything towards a silver lining.”

It was encouraging.

Nice.

“That must be how you’ve made it so far,” able to see the hope, even in a hopeless situation. Able to even consider joining them, to consider they stood a chance against Dracula. It was a strength he…didn’t quite have, but he could admire it. He could be practical. He couldn’t be sunshiney or silver liney.

But practical worked, for now.

“Were most in your pack like you? Forced to go along under threat of some sort?” it sounded like there were people she admired, or were inspired by, like the lovers and their large family. He wondered what held such a group to a terrible pack, or if they were terrible people who just happened to be loyal to each other.

 

[malfortuna]

“Hm. The familiarity of being home, I s’ppose…” Trevor ventured lightly in response to her words about being home. Trevor was unsure if he had shared the same sentiment as there was most likely nothing but the Hold left of the Belmont Estate but perhaps there was something deep down within him that had wished somehow, somewhere, there could be a way in which his family’s legacy had been regarded more highly than a betrayal to their country. It was probably nothing more than wishful thinking, though. That much he wondered if Lucia could agree upon. Wishful thinking that they would have been welcomed back in some way as they were right now even though they knew the likelihood of such a thing was near impossible.

“Oh? You’ve met one of us before? I am sure that impression was very impressive, then…” A lot had changed since that man’s time. Sometimes he even wondered if they were truly related to some of his earlier ancestry. However, focus shifted moreso to his father, which for a moment he seemed to struggle within his mind on settling on words to describe his relationship to the old man. “My father was probably the best of them all, to a fault,” he finally replied sincerely as he looked up to her, a mixture of calm recollection and forlorn in his gaze as he bitterly smiled. “He did not care for titles or any sort of knighthood. He simply wanted to protect those who he held dear. He rid himself of titles so he could save his first fiance from a vampire but she was changed before he could.” He pursed his lips together and settled his fingers against his forehead, looking downward.

“He was strict but despite all of the shit he dealt with he still trained our family to protect the world. I think he died believing he could still do much more even though he long had done enough for humanity, even when persecuted. “I can’t call him the most loving father figure. But I did respect him. After all he had done, he did not deserve the fate brought down by the Church on him.”

—

Jillian could not help but to chuckle a little at his words, lifting her shoulders and shaking her head to indicate that no harm had been done with asking such a question. “Please. I honestly have not been asked such things before, perhaps I find it refreshing to say these things out loud for once after all this time,” she reasoned. Decades had gone by where she had buried her thoughts and feelings within herself. Her protests of what happened, what was happening, fell on deaf ears as she adjusted to her new life. Eventually she ceased to say anything at all. To admit that she had not wanted to be changed, to feel sadness for it at first, that was something she had to keep to herself unless she wished to be punished or worse.

“Do I?” She wondered lightly. Jillian tilted her head to the side and smirked slightly. “Well, it would be nice to put all of these silver linings to better use in the real world. One cannot live on dreams and ego alone,” she joked a little before he questioned her fellow pack members.

“I’m not sure…” She said after a moment, her voice lowering slightly. “I would think many of them stayed together out of necessity but there were some who I recognized who had been taken from my village before I had been. I think at first it was out of fear that some of the others may have gone along with orders. We did not wish for what was left of our human lives to be destroyed, or anyone else to suffer the same fate as we had.” Though there were some who were willing to change on their own. Like Nikolai. Those types of people were the ones who were truly terrifying. “It’s easy to forget your humanity with time, though. There are aspects of such togetherness that I may compliment but a majority of it was killing or being killed. In the end, I suppose there were many who resigned themselves to that being just the way of things. I don’t necessarily blame them. It’s survival. But is it truly living?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Lucia’s lips twitched just a little. Impressive wasn’t how she’d put it. Geoffrey had annoyed her more than anything. He’d been skilled – Lucia would grant him that – but he hadn’t known the powers he was dealing with. The Belmont family, it seemed, may never have picked up on it with his death. No one else ever came for her, at any rate.

She opted not to engage that too much.

Trevor’s father, it seemed, was of a similar bend as Geoffrey. Hardened by his work, and unwilling to compromise that work. Discarding whatever got in the way. Trevor would likely be ousted, the way Johann was ousted, just for humoring her.

Alucard, at least, was half-human. He was half-tolerable. “No. I daresay any of you deserved that fate. Some of you may have deserved brutal deaths, but,” she shrugged, “so do plenty of my kind,” so it was even on that. Except, of course, now there was just one Belmont. “I am glad his memory can serve as something for you to look towards now, even if it may not have provided you the love you craved as a child. I cannot say the same of my own parents,” she chuckled and shook her head, “but shouldn’t you be resting, Belmont? It is getting late, and you have to meet people tomorrow, and perhaps drive that cart.”

She didn’t know how their cart arrangement worked, but sticking Sypha with all the work was cruel regardless.

~***~

It was easy to forget humanity. Dracula did it in an instant when Lisa was killed, but Alucard knew that even before. The endless march of time took its toll on all immortals. There were some who could maintain lucidity – Lucia and Dracula had been the two examples he knew of. They spoke of others, including Carmilla, Valerian, and Amon, but those seemed on the other side of sanity, even if they held lucidity.

Humanity.

“I am glad to allow you a space to vent your thoughts, if you need to, now that you are free to speak them aloud,” he offered. He would likely wish for the same all too soon, when Dracula was dead.

Trevor wasn’t going to want to hear it.

“But perhaps not all will be lost with others you knew. Some may be able to find their own life again, when everything is done with Dracula,” he could hope, “though I will not say it is easy to retain humanity with eternity ahead. Most vampires do not make it long with their humanity intact. I imagine, much is the same for werewolves.”

A depressing thought. Was his own future to head in that way? “I wonder what it is that keeps someone inhuman…human?” he mused.

 

[malfortuna]

Impressive certainly wasn;t the word he would have used either, at least not with a lot of sarcasm behind the word. Trevor knew that earlier generations of the Belmont clan may have practiced old-fashioned beliefs much like some of the churches of today did. It was the way the world had once worked and he was sure that it had been to some degree a driving factor of how his lot had managed to be supported by the clergy for that long. But those beliefs had become diluted overtime with each passing generation, the more they came to know of the night creatures and how intricate consciousness and emotion ran for some of those capable of intelligent thought and reason. Dracula was certainly a testament to what horrible power such a creature might possess and just how devastating it could be if it fell into the wrong hands.

Perhaps that was what made the average man fearful of the Belmonts in the end. They believed that at some point they had turned against their own kind and were probably planning something nefarious and so they tried wiping them out at the source before they could even chance such a thing coming to pass. He only gave a stiff shrug in response to Lucia as she paid what condolences she could. “Who knows. Perhaps we stuck our necks out for people far too often. I don’t blame them for believing we may have been doing it for some ulterior reason in the end. We like to make up stories for the questions that we don’t have the answers to.” But he wasn’t going to be crawling back to the Church. It would be a cold day in Hell before that were to happen.

He let out a forced chuckle a bit at the mention of rest, “I can assure you no amount of sleep is going to fix how much I would like to be doing anything else,” he admitted, though he would play nice so long as those of Jillian’s family thought to do so. “But you’re right. I’ll be leading us tomorrow…” He sighed and pushed off from the tree to stand up straight again, “I’m sure you won’t be missing anything too intriguing. Though if you want anything specific from the village, would it help to have an excuse for an early escape from any small talk that goes on when we get there?”

—

Jilian did not know if Alucard would understand it as he had yet to truly experience such a long passage of time to feel it begin to wane on the good voice in the back of the head that tried to steer one clear from terrible choices. Not that it mattered as much. Those who held immortal souls might be able to do one horrible thing that had lasting consequences on something mortal but they did not have to worry about such a thing for long, as that mortal thing may wither and die in what could be seen as a mere blink of the eye to the immortal being. She had assumed that was the way that her alpha had lived after all of this time. He also had plenty of expendable underlings to take the fall for him should things go awry.

Jillian did not want to resign herself to something like that quite yet, though. She knew that it was possible that there may come a day where doing the right thing or finding any sort of fulfillment in life would lose its luster. “I could only think… and hope,” she added seriously as she thought about his question, “That there would be things that come in and out of our very long lives that remind us to not become closed off to the rest of the world,” she smiled back to him slightly, “I’m sure that would be extremely difficult. But I think that might be something that we are going to have to find out for ourselves. It probably means different things for everyone…” She looked almost apologetic, because she knew it was a bit of a non-answer. “But I do wish the best for everyone else if they do want to live a different sort of life.” She looked over her shoulder back to the camp. It looked like Trevor might have been on his way to parting ways with Lucia and calling it a night. “...Well, feel free to vent into this safe as well should you ever need it. I cannot say I will be able to understand all of it. But I could at least listen, should it help at all.”

 

[Lucyfer]

“I don’t know is a legitimate answer, Trevor,” Lucia said.

Sure, he moved away from that, but that was something worth pointing out, before the opportunity passed. He wouldn’t have to lie to her. He could just claim not to know. At his query of wanting anything from the village, Lucia arched a brow.

“I…won’t be partaking in the small talk,” did he forget? Perhaps being around Alucard had caused him to forget, “when day comes, I will not be able to leave the carriage. I will get my own rest during that time, and Danica knows what to grab in town,” she didn’t need to announce anything.

Everything would be taken care of.

“You should try to enjoy what bit of normalcy you can grab before the journey continues,” it would, all too soon, and he might miss this break to see Jillian’s mother.

He might not.

~***~

Hope.

That was something Dracula had lost. That very human thing, might be what could keep one from losing their sanity in the same way. Hope. He didn’t know how difficult it was. He had evidence for the majority of vampires losing their sanity, but as Jillian looked back to camp, there was evidence for one who didn’t lose it.

Lucia Belrun herself, well over a millennia old, and still quite sane.

Hope.

He hummed at the offer to listen to his venting. “I will keep that in mind,” he agreed, “but perhaps you should rest. You have a big day tomorrow,” reuniting with her family. “You may need some sleep to prepare yourself.” He smiled lightly at the suggestion.

He ought to sleep, as well.

 

[malfortuna]

“I don’t know" is a truthful answer. A lot of people don’t like to seem like they don’t know,” Trevor may have been slightly joking though the notion certainly led to a lot of trouble in their world. He frowned when she brought up that she wouldn’t be joining them for the visit into the village. He could almost be jealous of Lucia being able to retreat to some cramped box in the back of a cart. Or he supposed she had a more dignified way to sleep considering she had her own carriage that was perhaps more lavish than the cart… “I knew that. I was simply offering- ah, forget it,” he sighed, lifting his hands slightly. He supposed that there was no point or reason to start peeling back that layer just yet. “Sure. Normalcy,” he parroted, though he didn’t really know what normalcy was meant to be. “Well… enjoy your night.”

—

Jillian gave a nervous chuckle wondering if sleep would even be able to come to her this evening when considering what awaited her back in the village in the morning. “Very well. You better keep it in mind, lest you wish to be pinched again,” she teased lightly before she turned to face in the direction of camp. “I hope you have a good night, then, Alucard.” With her goodnights said, she retreated back to the camp to see Trevor trying to settle in as well. She made a place for herself and soon enough a restless sleep did take her, though it was in the much later hours of the evening.

—

The sun had to rise too early for the last of the Belmonts as they all began to stir. He had said his version of good night to Lucia in the meantime, figuring that he shouldn’t say anything along the lines of ‘sleep well’ as they both knew that sleep would not be happening for her, not in the evening hours. Trevor was often in a constant state of tiredness especially in the mornings. The early hours of the day was probably the only time when Sypha and Alucard had respected his need for peace and quiet, maybe nursing a headache thanks to whatever drink he found the night before or simply because he seemed like a grumpy brown bear who lumbered around before he had a spot of breakfast.

And they did have a quick breakfast. Eggs and bread, simple but enough to get them by for the time being. Trevor could always eat something greasy in order to coat his stomach but it was amusing to see how less snarky in the morning he seemed to be. Jillian didn’t utter a word about her observation but it had been noted. She felt rather tired herself but sleep was a luxury they could not afford for a number of reasons at this time.

Unlike Trevor, she found herself somewhat picking at her breakfast simply because now that the day had officially arrived, she could not help but replay the scenarios that she had created within her head of all of the possible outcomes they may face once they returned to her home. With breakfast finished and riding back into town, the group took a much more subtle approach with their arrival this time around, parking their carts near the stables once again and carrying themselves the rest of the way on foot. Trevor seemed to just be going through the motions as they soon found themselves standing at the front of a nicely kept home, a little bit bigger than one reserved for a single family, but still humble by all standards. There were even a couple of potted flowers below the front window, blue and yellow, a bright visage in a rather bleak world. Jillian found herself looking at the front door, hands settled at her sides. She clenched and unclenched her fists a couple of times, feeling as if her voice was now caught in her throat. “...Better to be here now then not at all, right? They’ll look at things from that perspective… hopefully.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Lucia retreated into the carriage at just the hint of dawn, though she was awake through most of the breakfasting – awake, in fact, until the carriage was left. Danica whispered in to her, “We’ll be back soon,” and that was enough for Lucia to know she had some time to fall asleep before the carriage started to bump around.

Danica didn’t join the group – she went to go shopping.

So it was Johann of Lucia’s party who remained with them to see what would await at Jillian’s old home, prepared to leave swiftly if it was needed.

Alucard wasn’t so prepared. Tired, but then again, he always felt tired. Sleep did him little good when all his dreams were nightmares. He was restless.

He wasn’t the one to offer encouragement first. That was Sypha, who placed a gentle hand on Jillian’s back, “Yes. Better to be here than not at all,” she agreed, “So let’s go knock on the door!” Despite the enthusiasm, her tone was soft. She wouldn’t be pushing Jillian or marching up to it, she would let Jillian move at her own pace.

But she was willing to walk at her side, whereas the men seemed to want to hang back.

Alucard could only clear his throat and offer a, “Yes. Let’s…meet your family, Jillian.”

It was going to go a lot better than meeting his family.

 

[malfortuna]

Jillian knew they meant well by softly encouraging her to go knock on the door. She took in a deep breath, mumbling something inaudible to herself before she willed her legs to start moving up to the front door and she raised a pair of knuckles to indeed knock but she found that she paused after lifting her hand as the door swung wide open. Gray eyes almost doubling in size, she was met with a tall figure, a bit lanky, but still looking somewhat tested with age. He had some shaggy brown hair on the top of his head and a light beard going on. At first glance an onlooker would surmise that he did not resemble Jillian whatsoever but a look to the expression he wore showed that he did indeed know her.

For a quiet, tense moment, the two stared at one another, unmoving. Sypha had walked alongside Jillian up to the door and found herself with her hands pressing together up against her chest, trying to wear a friendly smile as she looked from Jillian to the man and then back again, as if hoping to nudge either of them so much as exchange a word. And then the bearded man reached into his pants pocket and with a quick flick of the wrist, something wet hit Jillian in the face. Jillian instinctively shut her eyes to avoid getting the liquid in them and made a sound. Whatever it was, he had managed to douse her face fully in it, some of it hitting her bangs and hair on either side of her face and then wetting her shoulders, down to her arms in little droplets. She held her arms out a little to either side of her, surprised, but quickly noting that the liquid did not smell much of anything.

“...Holy water? Really?” Jillian finally spoke up, opening her eyes after wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

“Holy fucking Jesus, you’re real,” the man noted in exasperation, stuffing the bottle back into his pocket, face starting to go a hint of red from a mixture of emotions flooding his system. Sypha had closed one eye, being caught a bit in the splash radius. “H… How are you… Why are you still like you were!”

“Astute observation, baby brother,” Jillian smiled a bit shyly at this, though still wet. She wanted to be cautiously optimistic considering his initial shock and the fact they were not being cast away just yet. “Why are you still a jackass?” It was a sarcastic quip but she couldn’t say anything more as she soon found herself being scooped up into the tightest hug she had ever experienced, odd as her brother wasn’t the hugging sort, not with her.

“You get away with only that one,” he chuckled dryly as he embraced his sister, expression seeming to soften. “God, we thought you were killed…” Looking over her, she saw they had plenty of other company, though. “...And you brought others…?”

Trevor really was not someone who could be seen as reliable emotional support and so he figured the best thing he could personally do to ease into things was to stay quiet as Jillian braved her way up to the door, which surprisingly swooped open. Trevor immediately put his hand to the handle of his whip, fingers twitching slightly as his first thought was that they were about to be met with some nasty greeting. Well, it could have been seen as nasty in a way. The next thing he saw was Jillian being splashed with something. He was quick to put two and two together and straightened, almost letting out a little snort at the sight as finally Jillian voiced what he had suspected it to be. Well, he had to give the man credit for… ah, considering things at least in the right direction. Close, but not quite accurate.

Poor Sypha got a bit wet as well and he chose to step up to the Speaker and pulled out a loose cloth he had tucked within one of his sleeves and offered it to her, allowing Jillian and her brother to have their brief moment of affection. Despite the name calling it seemed her brother was pleased to see her, if a bit overwhelmed. He supposed he should count that as a blessing but he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward as the attention was turned to the company she kept. He lifted a hand in greeting, as if to show they meant no harm.

 

[Lucyfer]

Although Alucard was not in the splash zone, he still took a step back as the water was tossed. Holy water did not actually hurt him, but regardless, he didn’t care to get wet. ‘If she’s out in the sun, why did you think that would work?’ Then again, humans had all sorts of strange rituals to deal with things they didn’t understand.

Tossing holy water on anything was likely one of those, although who just had access to holy water like that? Well, there was a lot to learn about Jillian’s family, as her brother noticed the rest of them.

Johann put on a bright smile, as Sypha accepted Trevor’s cloth and dabbed at some of the wetness. He lifted his hand, “’Ello! I’m Johann,” he figured his surname would mean nothing here, and wasn’t relevant, so he didn’t offer it, “I’m a new friend of Jillian.”

Alucard nodded, “Alucard,” he introduced.

“Sypha, thank you,” she said, handing Trevor back his cloth. The ‘thank you’ wasn’t really for Trevor, dripping in sarcasm as it was for being wet. She still smiled at Jillian’s brother, and clasped her hands together, “Is Jillian’s mother home? She has a lot of explaining to do, and I think it’d be good to just do it once.”

“Syhpa….” Alucard didn’t like the way it was addressed, but didn’t say more on that as Sypha seemed to be optimistic and cheerful though it. Teasing, even, about Jillian explaining things. Which, obviously, she needed to do – but at least she was keeping it…light?

Perhaps that would better help with everyone digesting it. So, he sighed, and nodded.

 

[malfortuna]

Trevor shifted his weight from one foot to the other in an effort to keep still rather than turn on his heel and excuse himself from the group. He did arguing and questioning of his family quite well, not hugs. When the cloth was offered back to him, he took it with a curt nod and stuffed it into a side pouch instead, realizing that it was his turn to make introductions. Right. “Trevor,” he stated his name simply. As they went around in their small group, Matthew made brief eye contact with each and every one of them, nodding his head in recognition though when it was finished, he looked back down to his sister, eyes blinking a couple of times as if making an effort to try and fix his vision, believing his eyes to be playing tricks on him. Trevor knew that look all too well.

It was the apprehension that difficult news was soon to follow. It was also that look of being forced to coming to grips with seeing something that was hard to believe, like a relative gone missing for many years and returning, looking no older than the day they left. It could be worse, though. He could be terrified.

“Ah - yes, she is here… Would you… excuse me so I may try and ease her into all of this? It is her sunset years and I don’t think we’d want to-” Matthew began but before he could finish his proposal, a slightly hunched figure slinked up from behind him and then a hand came out at his side, using their arm to push the brother figure aside. Matthew made a noise of surprise but knew better than to stand in the old woman’s way. Once he had side-stepped, there stood an older woman with deep wrinkles embedded into her face, salt and pepper hair tied back into a bun. She used a wood cane to get around, holding onto the knob at the top of the cane tightly in order to keep herself steady as she came to see who was visiting her home.

“I’m about to give that Mister Julius a piece of my mind if he has come to ask about that damn shed again-” she spoke up before she saw who was actually standing in the doorway and she paused, eyes widening as her mind absorbed the visage of her long-dead daughter and her company. “...Welcome home, my little bit,” her expression softened and she smiled gently before she stepped forward and she reached up with her free hand, placing it to the side of the blonde’s face who seemed to now be the one to not know what to do or say. Her hand was warm and welcomed. Jillian reached up and placed her hand over her mother’s and gave it a light squeeze.

“Glad to be home,” Jillian finally found her voice again as she took her hand and held it between the two of them. She turned slightly and motioned back to their small group. “Ah- these are some friends of mine. They came for… emotional support?” That felt like an odd thing to say, though she supposed it was the truth. But why… wasn’t she berating her with questions and screaming about what happened?

The mother figure chuckled a little as she looked around at their tiny band once more. “How exciting. It has been a long time since I’ve had so much company. I’m uncertain if we would have enough cups for tea but we will certainly try to make do. Come along, now. Let’s not crowd the doorway,” she coaxed and turned to step into her home. Trevor watched this whole exchange with crossed arms, eyebrows lifting very close to his hairline. Just like that, they were welcomed into this woman’s home?

“...What just happened,” Trevor spoke aloud, wondering if everyone else was thinking of the same thing.

 

[Lucyfer]

There was no need for Matthew to fetch Jillian’s mother. She heard the commotion and came out herself, only to be momentarily stunned into silence. It didn’t last long. Jillian was welcomed immediately, a touch passing between them as they held hands, and the rest of them were invited in for a meal.

Even Alucard was surprised, and glanced for some understanding, only for Trevor to voice his confusion.

Johann chuckled as Sypha followed in, already listing off the names with descriptors so Jillian’s mother would know who they all were – and so they wouldn’t have to go through it again. “It’s something we’ll never experience,” Johann said, mostly to Trevor, “a happy reunion,” even if Trevor’s family had been alive, there was likely plenty of question whether they’d welcome him back.

That wasn’t how hunter families were.

And he was sure that’s why it was so baffling to Trevor.

Alucard let out a bit of a huff at that, tinged slightly with amusement at Johann’s rather bluntly honest answer, as the hunter followed after the others. “Come on, Trevor. Let’s get some tea,” he wasn’t sure he wanted tea, but he supposed he could humor them.

Trevor probably hated tea.

That’d be worth watching, as Alucard followed in after Johann.

 

[malfortuna]

Trevor slowly raised an eyebrow as Johann replied with such a simple answer that he figured that he must have seemed like an idiot to even ask about it. Simply put, such joyous occasions came few and far between with people like him and the company that he was keeping right now and so it was taking his mind a moment to catch up to the fact that this older woman was so open as to take one look and assume the blonde girl before her was truly her daughter and that they were all being treated as welcome guests. It was not like he had a choice as everyone else filed along inside and with a sigh, he shuffled in as well.

It was certainly a well kept home despite the woman’s older state. It was enough space for a smaller family. There was no man in the house inside besides Jillian’s brother. Inside, the home was quiet but in a peaceful way. As if there was light within the home. Jillian had missed this feeling, like a warm blanket wrapping around on a cold winter night. Trevor in the back was busy looking around to take in his surroundings… no weapons, no tapestries. It was a far cry from what he had grown up in.

“Now that we are all inside with that door closed,” Natalya spoke up, hobbling over to a wood stove in one corner where the little kitchen seemed to be. She poured some water into a kettle and placed it upon one of the burners, the stove already going as a big pot of something was cooking away, fragrant aromas of spices and vegetables rising in a light steam. “Do tell me… what does one do to prevent the wrinkles and aching that comes with aging? Perhaps I would still be a beauty if I knew your secret much sooner.” She turned around and looked across the way to her company expectantly.

Jillian had thought she had prepared her explanation before coming here but found the words jumbled in her throat at first when she was expected to answer. “I’m sorry, Tally,” she knew she owed her that much but knew it had no way of making up for what they all must have felt. Sypha found her hand reaching out and touching Jillian’s arm. It was a nice gesture considering the anxiousness that plagued her mind when she finally spoke up again, “I was taken away and changed into something else against my will. I knew if I came back, it might have been trouble for you.”

Natalya listened but as Jillian spoke, that friendly smile slowly grew into a sullen expression. With her cane in front of her, she pressed her hands one over the other on top of it. Her brother looked uncertain of what to say but she looked downwards, voice softer, “I see.” When she looked up again, there seemed to be another emotion there. Heaviness, forlorn. “...It was that damn boy, wasn’t it?”

Jillian thought she would have to be one to explain. But then she had to bring up him. She raised a hand to the side of her face and looked down, feeling like her heart had been squeezed as hard as possible in her chest. It was a long time coming but finally she felt her eyes warm with the decades of regret she tried keeping buried down. “I’m so sorry. I tried fighting. I wasn’t strong enough. No one would listen or help me… I screamed and nobody came. I didn't do enough, I'm sorry."

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Vampirism.’ Alucard immediately thought with the question Tally posed. He didn’t say it – it wouldn’t do any good for her now. He did find it strange that Jillian didn’t call her any variant of ‘mother’, though, and tilted his head a bit as he listened to their conversation, and enjoyed the scents that were heavy on the air.

‘Tally’ seemed aware of who was responsible, in any case.

Either ‘that boy’ spent a lot of time around, or he had made it obvious he wasn’t human. Hard to know, now. “No, no, no, it is not your fault,” Sypha interjected with all the apologizing spewing from Jillian’s mouth, stroking Jillian’s arm, “you cannot blame yourself when someone else does atrocious things. Blame them!” It had such venom to it, such vehemence.

Sypha was likely familiar with it.

She was a woman, who had to dress as a male speaker and keep her hair short, to avoid such problems.

“I agree,” Alucard said, “you are not to blame. I’m certain your family recognizes that,” he still gave them a sidelong glance to see how they’d weigh in, but it already seemed fairly obvious they were on her side.

 

[malfortuna]

Jillian could feel her entire body freeze in place as Sypha eagerly came to her defense, looking back at the Speaker in surprise that she would be willing to stand up for her so adamantly after knowing her for such little time. Perhaps she had spent too long during her years traveling piling all of the blame of what had happened upon herself that she had yet to hear such words from anyone. She had not spoken of it in such a long time in order to give anyone that chance. However, as Sypha ensured that being changed was something out of her control. She turned her head quickly to look back at how her brother and mother must be reacting, waiting with bated breath as Natalya hummed lowly to herself and then stepped forward.

She hobbled slowly in her age but eventually stood in front of her adoptive daughter, reaching up over Jillian’s shoulder and wrapping her arm about her in order to lay her hand against the back of the blonde’s head. “I am glad to know you are in good company, Jillian. No matter what has happened and no matter how long it takes, you are my daughter at the end of it all.”

Jillian seemed beside herself with those words. She found herself staring a head, shell shocked by such affection after all this time. Overwhelmed by her emotion, she could feel a wetness begin to roll down her cheeks wordlessly and when they pulled away, she lifted a finger softly to wipe at one of her eyes, chuckling dryly in being somewhat embarrassed for seeming this way in front of everyone.

Trevor didn’t know how to feel about this display of unconditional affection. He could not help but to liken some of it back to his own family, his own mother who may have not been his father’s first love but still tried to love and support the family they had made all the same. He shifted his gaze to the side, a thoughtful expression coming across his features. He recalled the conversation he had with Lucia just last night and… found himself actually missing his family. It was a peculiar sensation that gripped his chest. He did not move or say anything aloud, though, politely letting mother and daughter have their moment.

“Now, now. Let’s not have any tears,” Natalya smiled as she pulled away from Jillian and then looked back to her whole company. “Come, let’s have a sit and you must tell me what is going on out there. You must be a busy band… considering you are among a Belmont and a vampire that can walk in the day, no less. I did not believe I would live to hear or see one of you with my own eyes,” she chuckled a little. Trevor’s blue eyes blinked once, lifting his eyebrows in surprise as he was placed on the spot, much more so because he was recognized. The family crest on his clothes, of course. The old woman just chuckled as it seemed Trevor was stumbling over what to say in response. “Please don’t worry. We may just need a Belmont in these dark times,” she turned and walked toward a chair in the room. Matthew chose to help with trying to clear space so they all could have a place to sit, by the window as well. “Now, why don’t you entertain this old woman for a moment. Tell me your stories.It truly must be the end times if a vampire and Belmont are in the same room and not fighting each other,” she sounded amused more than anything.

 

[Lucyfer]

Alucard looked startled as he was somewhat recognized, and so was Trevor. The bane of wearing a crest. Even so, Alucard went to take a seat, gracefully sitting within the main area as Johann helped Matthew clear space before taking a seat by the window, no doubt because he wasn't a part of their group.

His own people were busy, or sleeping.

“I'm not a vampire,” Alucard corrected Jillian's mother, “my name is Alucard, I'm a dhampir…half human,” he emphasized that part, of course, “though there is a vampire in our party, she couldn't make it for obvious reasons. Belmont hasn't stabbed her yet,” he said it with some humor, though he still held concern it could happen.

Not really any concern that Lucia would start it. She wouldn't.

“Unfortunately, Dracula has decided all humans need to die, and we're not in agreement with that,” Alucard continued, “we're going to stop him.”

Sypha nodded, after taking her own seat, “It's dangerous at night now. Er, more than usual. But we are going to stop it! But please, do take care – that holy water will work on these creatures but try not to need it,” Sypha flashed a smile at Matthew.

 

[malfortuna]

Jillian found herself slowly sinking into the seat that had been set aside for her and she settled her hands uneasily together within her lap, watching closely as Tally and Matthew both seemed to exchange a look once Alucard confirmed for them the rumors they had heard from a number of travelers who chose to stop through their tiny village. It was Matthew who opted to speak up this time, turning to face their group as he positioned himself behind Tally’s chair, a hand settled atop the back of it. “Well, the tip on the holy water is all well and good but I doubt that a tiny flask would be able to fend off that number of monsters…” He didn’t even know if the village had the proper defenses for an onslaught such as what Dracula might have at his disposal. They all were probably thinking the same thing that if his army were to come here, it would be a slaughter of all the people here.

Trevor did not choose to have a seat. It really wasn’t his type of activity to sit about and make conversation with others. As such, he found himself lingering closer to Johann and listening in until Matthew made his comment. It took what willpower he had to refrain from scoffing in agreement, crossing his arms. “Well, we live in strange times. I do not need to stab what few allies we have in this. But we are going to look for a way to locate the castle.”

Tally held onto her cane as she slowly took her seat once again and hummed thoughtfully, “What a responsibility you all have chosen to shoulder.” She slowly looked back over to her daughter who knew what her mother figure was thinking even without saying the words out loud.

“I’ve been a werewolf long before Dracula decided to condemn humanity to death,” Jillian told Tally, squeezing her hands together. “I wasn’t sure I would be able to find some decent purpose with the way things had turned out but I believe I could help them, even if it is the smallest amount.”

Tally’s lips slowly formed a faint smile at this and she gave a little nod to her daughter in return before looking back to the others. “And it is just you lot that is about to go and fight Dracula?” She questioned. An awkward silence fell between the group, answered enough for the older woman. Making a soft sound under her breath, she stood once again and turned to proceed to hobble over to the stove where her pot was cooking a fragrant mix of meats, vegetables and spices. “Well,if it is, the best way I am able to help is to ensure that you go away with a good round of meals and plenty of sustenance for the journey to come.” She picked up what appeared to be a wooden ladle and dipped it into her mixture, drawing circular motions into the pot. “Have you already eaten? I might be able to pack up a few portions for the road. There is nothing quite like a tasteful meal that can soothe the heart.”

“But th-” Jillian looked up in slight surprise as Tally tutted a few times in their direction. Trevor frowned slightly, looking startled himself. They had just informed these two people that humanity was doomed to extinction with the way things were going and yet the old crone decided to feed them?

Matthew did not seem taken aback by these developments and with a sigh, he took the place of Tally in the chair she once took up and leaned toward their group a bit. “Don’t bother. She is going to try and stuff you like birds if it is the last thing she does in this world,” he informed them all before the hint of amusement in his expression slowly faded. “There was not one else with you, was there?”

Jillian seemed to know who Matthew was asking of. She gave a slight shake of her head, answering this time a bit more quietly, “Nikolai is dead.”

Matthew sat back a little more in his seat at that. “Well, good. If he was still alive I might have seen to killing him myself.” He then glanced back over to their group. “He was the village’s pompous know-it-all who probably hadn’t taken a step out into the real world of his own volition,” he explained with a dismissive wave of the hand. “If I didn’t know any better, he was probably the one letting the wolves take our villagers in exchange for a false sense of security back when we were being picked off one by one by them. But for whatever reason, he took a liking to my sister and decided that the term “no” meant he simply had to convince her otherwise. That’s who took you and had you changed, right?” Jillian had reached up and placed a hand to the side of her head, the frown deep on her lips as she looked away from her brother’s prying gaze. It was not a subject she had spoken much about and having it being repeated out in the open so directly managed to make the werewolf lose her ability to speak in the moment. “...”

 

[Lucyfer]

“Oh! Thank you,” Johann, apparently, was not thrown off by the kindness, “we had a bit to eat before coming here, but not too much. We didn’t get time to shop in town, although my friend Danica is doing so now,” Johann offered as Tally agreed to feed them, and set them along with some goods. His easy acceptance of it did earn a look from Alucard.

Was this really that normal from humans? Sypha and Trevor didn’t seem nearly as at ease with it, nor did Jillian, so Alucard doubted it was common. Perhaps Johann had different experiences – or had simply become an optimist. Hard to say; Alucard didn’t know him nearly as well as Danica, and even that was limited.

Alucard sighed at Matthew’s addition, “I suppose it won’t hurt,” they could use more sustenance. It would help with the travel. He knew they weren’t in a position to deny it, “we shall have to pay you back for the loss of supplies once all of this is over, however.”

Johann nodded, eagerly agreeing, “There’s a chance we’ll have to come back this way, anyways,” getting back to Chernhiv would require some backtracking, after all.

But then the topic shifted to a Nikolai, and everything grew tense. Apparently, Nikolai was dead, but he was also the one who caused harm to this town, and it seemed, Jillian. It also seemed she didn’t want to speak of it, given the way she avoided answering, and looking at her brother. Alucard cleared his throat, “It doesn’t bode well to speak ill of the dead,” no matter how deserving they were of it, “it seems this Nikolai will trouble you no more, regardless,” the topic could be cut off as unimportant.

If Nikolai was responsible, Matthew couldn’t take revenge.

Why vent anger when it ought to be happiness instead?

Sypha caught the drift of Alucard’s interruption, and steered it a bit away, though not a hard shift, “Do you still struggle with the wolves?” That might be a good thing, Dracula could be avoiding the area if loyal werewolves used it.

Not that it was great news, but it could prevent devastation from one attack.

 

[malfortuna]

“Oh, do sit down, mother. I am capable of serving our guests in your stead,” Matthew spoke once the weathered woman had begun to shift in her chair in order to stand once again to feed her visitors pleasantly, to which she gave her adoptive son an intense case of side eye in response. Jillian followed shortly after as Matthew had only two hands to work with, passing her mother by with a brief glide of her hand over Tally’s shoulder as she passed to dish out some of the stew that had been prepared.

Tally had to relent with a sigh at her children jumping up at the chance to ensure she didn’t overextend herself and with a tight smile, she turned her attention back to the others as Alucard took the initiative to shift the conversation to another possible issue, humming low in agreement. “Indeed. We cannot do any worse to that boy than what has already been done,” she spoke politely before her gaze settled back upon the Speaker.

“We have a predatory animal sneak in and kill the stray sheep every once in a while. The people of the village understandably sometimes wonder what has happened to them but a majority probably assumed that they had moved on to a more sustainable place for their numbers.” She did not need to theorize anymore as Jillian was standing before them as one who had moved with the pack when they chose to travel on. “I believe the last time we lost anyone to something that resembled a wolf was almost a year back. A farmer and his son had gone outside to fetch a horse that had gotten out. Poor thing was startled and ran off.”

Jillian and Matthew returned to their circle with bowls of vibrant stew, the light steam and scent of cooked spices and ingredients wafting lazily from the bowls. Trevor reached out and took one of the bowls carefully, feeling his stomach protest not having the delicious meal already within itself. He fought back the urge to allow his stomach to growl loudly in front of everyone and instead duh his spoon into his meal without waiting for anyone else and shoveling the spoonful into his mouth. *Delicious*. For the first time that day, Trevor’s expression seemed to light up. After swallowing, he took a pair of knuckles and pressed them to his lips as if to wipe his mouth. “So, what happened to them, then?”

“They disappeared for a few days, to which our watch went out to look for them. Poor things were found a mauled mess a half day’s walk away along with the horse. I believe it was nearing fall at the time… It was quite chilly,” Tally explained before quietly thanking her son as Matthew offered him a bowl as well.

Jillian turned to face them once she had gone around and helped to serve bowls to the others, the color of her cheeks paling ever so slightly as her lips fell into a concerned frown. “Fall?” She asked, pushing her mind to recall where she and the other wolves had been at the time. The reality of the situation slowly settled in and she found herself holding her spoon with a firm grip as she felt the sensation of her heart falling within her chest. “We were close by at that time. If any of the wolves I was with were responsible for such an attack, then it would mean that Mihal did not keep his word. We left with him willingly to keep the village safe.” This was concerning news for her indeed.

 

[Lucyfer]

The food was brought out as Tally spoke of the incidents in the area. It seemed the werewolves may have truly moved on. Alucard could only hope so, as he took his own bowl with a, “Thank you,” before bringing the spoon to his lips to sip at the broth first. It was good. Quite a bit better than anything they’d had on the road.

He didn’t dig in like Trevor, and gave the hunter a sidelong glance of disapproval. But, he did eat, and perhaps a bit faster than normal, as Johann and Sypha also ate what was offered to them and listened to Tally go on about an incident a year ago.

Johann did give Jillian a sympathetic look for the possibility. “It’s possible it is just a coincidence,” though he doubted it, and it showed in his tone, as well as expression.

Sypha scoffed, “Please, anyone who uses threats of violence to keep people in line, is never true to their word,” she said, “they don’t need to be when people fear them,” a sad truth, she’d seen it too many times. However, she quickly cleared her throat, “Not that I think you were foolish to trust – it likely has prevented greater damage.”

The ‘but’ went unspoken.

The damage would never be nullified completely.

Alucard could only sigh, and agree, “Sypha likely speaks the truth. I doubt this farmer and his son were the only ones harmed, if Mihal took a liking to this village.” It seemed to make for easy sport, unfortunately for the villagers.