Fantasy St. George's School for Young Hunters (closed)

[Mikotsuhime]

"I do not act for the good of mankind. I act for the good of the world itself," he said, then frowned. "But in the end, it is perhaps only selfish. I do not wish to renege on a decision I've made, especially one with such heavy consequences. Also, all civilizations have corruption and evil. To cut off the route of evil, one needs to destroy civilization itself."

He would have been more willing to argue with Bram about his plans, but then Alex came in and he immediately froze like a deer in the headlights. He knew who this one was; this was the boyfriend. Larry had no knowledge of romance or romantic relationships, but he knew that the boyfriend bond was a strong one, and that Alex would not react well to finding out that May was not actually present at the moment. Even worse, he had no idea how to tell him.

He went stiff as a board as he was hugged, looking more frightened than anything, before immediately trying to wiggle out of Alex's arms.

"I am not-- he is not-- that child is resting," he repeated, looking to accusingly because he could /help/, but he was choosing not to. Larry reevaluated the kindness he had attributed to the other man before, and decided that he was actually a troublemaker. Not evil, but trouble.

"I am not... May," he said slowly once he had extricated himself from Alex's grasp, and his face was redder than it normally was. "He is... sleeping right now. I am Larry."

 

[jones573]

Alex felt terrible when May’s body language suddenly and very clearly became that of someone who was very uncomfortable- He had messed up and taken things too far, he shouldn’t have assumed, why was he so /stupid/-



What



There was no dawning of comprehension across Alex’s face, but certainly a sunrise of confusion.


....Not May?



It seemed Alex had finally come across a situation in which his mother’s training failed, because he did not promptly introduce himself, thank Larry for his presence, and find some superficial but vaguely relevant topic of common interest they could trade small talk over.



“Oh. Uh- Hi. I’m Alex.” His face was quickly reaching the same shade as Larry’s.



Oh god, he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries with May, he’d completely taken advantage of someone else who May shared a body with-



Wait



Alex was pretty sure the only being May might potentially share a body with was a parasitic world-destroying entity. He wasn’t clear on the details but he was pretty sure it wasn’t named… Larry.



“It’s nice to meet you, Larry,” Alex said somewhat belatedly as his Yates instincts finally kicked in. He glanced nervously at Bram and Vlad, trying not to make his anxiety too obvious and very much failing. They were being suspiciously calm about the world ending or May having died, so… Those things were presumably not happening?



“Bram’s got waffle duty why don’t I heat up that blood for you Vlad,” Alex said in an uncharacteristic rush, if only so he could have something to do that didn’t involve openly gaping. Especially if that something involved opening the fridge and staring into its contents like they knew something he didn’t. He wouldn't be surprised at this point.

 

[Reynarda]

Bram looked back at Larry’s look of betrayal without an ounce of regret. That was exactly what he got for taking over May’s body. He supposed he did feel sorry for Alex and how confused and awkward the kid was now.

It was Vlad who took pity on Alex and explained, “May apparently tampered with the seal keeping the Serpent Guardian of the Fifth Month asleep in his attempt to get Jurriaan Leeuwen out of his will.”

“Larry,” Bram said. “That’s his name, now. My suggestion. Anyway, he’s gonna go back to sleep once he gets this waffle.”

Bram pointed at the toppings he had amassed. “Ok, so here’s peanut butter, cool whip, berries, bananas, syrup, and honey. I can also throw in some chocolate chips if you like chocolate.”

“I can get myself blood,” Vlad protested. It was a habit to let Bram do it as Bram was usually forcing it on him. He hadn’t gotten it for himself because he rarely actually decided he needed it.

Vlad attempted to uncurl himself from the chair, but Scarlet put all her weight on his shoulders to keep him seated. “Let other people help you, Vlady.”

Deciding that this was too caring of her, she quickly began attempting to braid little tufts of her sire’s hair. Vlad let her as it occupied her hands.

“Yes, that would be nice,” Vlad told Alex as he attempted to divine answers from the condiments. “Thank you. Once ‘Larry’ eats his waffle, he has agreed to return to his previous state. May will awaken, no worse for wear.”

At least Vlad hoped May would return no worse for wear. The mage’s mind seemed fine—if sedated. If not, he would personally murder “Larry”. How, he wasn’t sure yet, but such things as “how” had never stopped he and Bram before.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Larry nodded his head, because he had no idea what manners were or what the appropriate response was in this situation. He felt incredibly awkward, and cleared his throat.

“I am sure he would have appreciated your gesture of physical affection,” he offered weakly, because it was true, even though May’s mind rebelled against him because he was being embarrassing. He promptly ignored him.

He watched the waffle that Bram was making in great interest, though he looked a bit overwhelmed when the toppings were presented to him. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember Winona’s advice and separated it into quarters, applying the toppings the way she had suggested.

“I don’t know what chocolate is,” he pointed out. He kind of had an idea, from May’s memories, but he had no idea if he would like it or not. Deciding that he was going to be courageous and try it. He sprinkled a few chocolate chips onto his waffle and then went to the table.

“I will return after this, as I said,” he agreed. “He may be woozy for a few days or so. He has overloaded his own body with magic in order to summon me, and it will have exhausted him. But after a rest and a thorough magical draining he should be fine.”

 

[jones573]

Alex watched the mug rotate in the microwave for a few spins before taking it out- Warm, but not hot, seemed to be the desired temperature. He was too dazed by the information to note that the blood smelled…. Well, maybe not ‘good’ exactly, but a tad less squeamish than he usually found it to be.



“Chocolate’s good, most people like chocolate,” Alex offered politely on some automatic instinct of conversation-making as he set the warm mug down in front of Vlad, with a spoon and a metal straw as well. “I’m sorry, he… Summoned you? Like, he /tried/ to bring you out-? I thought that- I didn’t realize that was something he had the ability to do,” Alex eventually said, at least having the foresight to consider that ‘why in the hell would he do that’ was probably not the best phrasing.







Winona laid in bed until she could no longer hear the others in the hall, and then a bit longer besides. Her foot did still hurt after all.



Eventually she could no longer justify lazing about in comfort while Jurriaan still breathed, and shoved the blankets down so to resist the urge to fall asleep. She gathered her things up again and secured her bag on her back.



“Umm,” she said as she neared the door. “You don’t have to help me out,” she told the door hinge, feeling very silly. “But at least don’t… Make things harder for me?”



She frowned, feeling even sillier. She had minimal understanding of Vlad’s home and how its magic worked, and was going off of her vague inclinations. It was a lot like the Yates estate, in that she felt watched and judged…. But also very different. There had been no personality besides Annabelle in Alex’s home, like every creaking floorboard had been scrubbed of its own ambition and forced to report directly to her. But the castle was older and larger and Winona sensed- or hoped, at least- that it wouldn’t necessarily tattle on her to Vlad unless she truly had ill intent.



“He has to die, if they’re going to be safe,” she justified, hoping the castle agreed with her. “Vlad won’t do it. So I will,” she promised.



When she eased the door open, the hallway looked as she expected it to, and there was no member of Esme’s family waiting to scold her. So maybe the castle would help her, if only by not interfering.



“Uh. Thanks,” she said, unsure if she was just lucky or if thanks was really needed. Better safe than sorry, she supposed as she stole down the corridor.

 

[Reynarda]

Vlad sighed. Someone needing rest and magical draining was exactly not what they could afford right now. Having Winona laid up in bed because she stabbed her own foot was bad enough. Of course, he doubted she would actually remain in bed for long.

Besides May and Winona, Vlad knew Bram was drained. Not physically—Vlad was fairly certain it was impossible to drain Abraham Leeuwen entirely—but emotionally and mentally. Bram was holding it together well, but that was because he had his family to care for. Vlad was going to be sitting up long after everyone was getting their much-needed rest helping Bram get himself figured out.

And Vlad himself was more exhausted than he had been in a long time. He operated in a perpetual energy-deprived state, but this was different. Everything had been overtaxed, and he was left feeling numb and empty. He was also painfully aware of the slayer in his basement.

Bram quickly whipped up a full Southern breakfast, complete with enough eggs to feed and army and sausage biscuits (he was really glad he had frozen those a week ago). As he had personally renovated the kitchen in the castle, this went quickly. He liked having six gas burners and should really suggest it to Vlad for the townhouse again.

Once everyone was served, he hungrily tucked into his own serving, which really could have fed three other people. He nudged Vlad with his knee to get the vampire to playing with the straw and drink the blood.

Vlad shrugged at Alex’s stuttering. It was fairly clear that he was still trying to wrap his head around Larry. The young vampire just needed a few minutes to figure it out, so he kept silent.

Bram, however, was proud of that waffle he had made and so asked Larry, “Well? The best damn waffle you’ve ever eaten?”

“The only waffle he’s ever eaten,” Vlad muttered into his mug.

“And will ever eat,” Bram added with confidence.




On the one hand, the castle was absolutely horrified to find Jurriaan Leeuwen in its crypt ad was therefore totally on board to help Winona kill him. On the other hand, it also was tasked with protecting the family of the resident vampire.

Certainly, it was known to hold grudges—it still reminded Bram that it hadn’t forgiven him for his attempt on the life of its resident vampire—and this girl was certainly of the blood of the odious Von Batts family. But obviously its resident vampire had a bad habit of becoming close to previous enemies. It respected that. Vlad could choose his own family, and clearly had chosen this girl. So, it must keep her safe.

Which gave those old stones a dilemma. Jurriaan Leeuwen was a danger to the entire family, and the girl could solve that. But she could die, which would crush the family. It understood emotional and mental states as it was inextricably linked to the resident vampire’s mind and emotions. It had been there as each and every surviving Drakonii buried their kin. It had been there when Vlad had lost his parents, and then his goddaughter.

The castle could not risk anymore loss. It was too wearing on those old stones.

But it also needed to renew its resident vampire. In days gone by, the castle would have turned to the wife or husband, but it now turned to the best friend.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Larry made a noise of agreement as he looked down at the waffle in front of him and then at his fork, trying to work out exactly how he was supposed to eat it.

"I do not believe he knew it would work," he said with a little half shrug. "He was trying to borrow my power to protect this place. He did not realize that I would appear myself instead. Either way, our existences are interlinked. His magic is my energy. If too much of it builds in his body instead of being used, I will appear. Ultimately our existences will overlap and his will be snuffed out, but that will not happen for a few years yet."

He spoke plainly, as if they were discussing something that was simply inevitable. He knew May's thoughts about his own encroaching death were complicated, though, and did not feel the need to discuss it with people who were, to him, strangers. Besides, the waffle in front of him looked very good, and he had figured out the fork and the knife thing as well as he figured he was going to. He managed to tear off a small piece and popped it into his mouth, his face brightening a little bit.

"It is... good," he agreed, because it certainly was the best waffle he had ever eaten. He seemed a bit more cheerful as he took another bite, and then soon began devouring the thing, becoming more confident with his cutlery as he went.

 

[jones573]

Winona did not encounter any convenient shortcuts to the crypt as she made her way through the castle. But she didn’t encounter any obstacles, so she carried on with awkwardly patting the stone walls in acknowledgement when she turned a corner. Eventually she found herself in what she assumed were the catacombs, and the sounds of her steps went from very quiet to silent. She followed the sounds and lights coming from ahead, her fingers on the handle of her knife but the blade sheathed so it wouldn’t catch any light to reflect.








Alex busied himself with helping Bram, handing him more ingredients or utensils as needed, cleaning up as they went and occasionally sampling things to see if they needed more seasoning, though Bram was pretty good about that. He paused mid-chew of his own plate (having finally admitted he needed to stop hovering) at Larry’s explanation. “I mean,” he clarified. “More than a /few/- To folks who aren’t immortal or already 500 some years old, fifty or so years is a decent chunk of time.”



He didn’t really like thinking about May’s death- or the fact that as a vampire, he was going to outlive May, and the vast majority of everyone he’d ever met- but it was good to put it in perspective. A regular human lifetime was still a lot of time, even if it seemed short to someone who lived on a supernatural schedule.



Also probably-hopefully- enough time to figure out how to prevent Larry from destroying the world once May died, but that was /way/ too much stress for Alex to handle so he filed it under ‘things Maria is probably looking into’ and pretended that meant it was already solved.

 

[Reynarda]

When Alex cheerfully assumed that May would have a normal human life-expectancy, Vlad turned and gave Larry a look warning him that he would not clarify if he knew what was good for him. Yes, Alex was going to have to find out eventually, but today—when there were thousands of other things to worry about—Larry had best not be adding to Alex’s anxiety.

“I think fifty is quite a long time,” Bram agreed, either ignorant of Alex’s misunderstanding or willfully ignoring it for the young vampire’s sake. Vlad’s money was on the latter. “And I’m… older than all you guys.”

Scarlet had gotten herself blood and was slurping it loudly through a straw. “I’m quoting you on that next time you bring a girl home.”

“I will never, ever bring a girl home to see I have one nerdy vampire, one problem vampire, one worry-wort vampire, one Armageddon, one explosive mage, and two half-vampires all under my roof.”

“Larry doesn’t count,” Devon muttered.

“He likes my waffles. He counts.”

Bram was just eating, minding his own business, when his chair collapsed. “Son of a—”

Vlad shot Bram a look.

“Person,” Bram finished, standing up so the old wooden chair could reassemble. It was peevish about it, but its resident vampire shot it a look, and it finally reassembled. Bram sat back down.

Drat.

The table jostled, and Bram’s orange juice spilled all over his pants.

This drew a few very colorful swears in Dutch from Bram, who just wanted to eat. “I’ll be right back,” he grumbled. “Gotta go change my pants thanks to your grudge-holding castle.”

Bam stomped into the pantry—which was spacious and he loved it—and the castle graciously opened the passage to his room. He strode inside the narrow space—which was made with slight Drakoniis in mind and not broad Dutchmen—and the castle lit his path. However, it was definitely leading down, and, last Bram checked, his room was two stories above the kitchen. When he realized the castle was being stupid and taking him the long way around, he turned. The castle freaking sealed the way he had come.

“You have got to let it go,” Bram told the now-solid wall. “It was a really long time ago. Vlad has forgiven me.”

The castle groaned at him.

“I don’t know what that means. Please let me go to my room to change my pants.”

The jerk-castle moved the wall forward so that Bram had to take a step back.

Bram threw his hands up. “Fine. I’ll go this stupid convoluted way, you stupid peevish castle.”

The castle was just pleased that Bram wasn’t being particularly stubborn. It lead Bram down to the catacombs and spit him out into a side passage.

Bram paused. He knew where the castle had taken him, and he was no fool. Something was happening down here, and Bram figured his father was in the middle of it. Slowly, he drew a pair of knives.

He gave the stones a pat. “Thanks for telling me and not Vlad.”

The stones creaked and a ghostly light appeared at his shoulder.

“Okay, good to know you got my back,” Bram said as he entered the main passage.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Larry blinked slowly, and opened his mouth to correct Alex that it was five years, not fifty, but when he got sight of Vlad’s look he ended up closing it again. He didn’t know a lot about social conventions or what was appropriate to say when, but he figured out rather quickly that this was a ‘don’t say anything’ subject.

“I am older than you,” he said offhandedly to Bram, then tilted his head to the side curiously. It took him a moment to realize that he was being counted in their little family, and then his cheeks turned a bit pink as he looked back to his waffle.

“I... thank you. I think gratitude is the right thing to express right now,” he stumbled over his words a little, but then Bram’s chair collapsed and Larry found himself drawing back and hissing at it. He did not like this castle and it’s strange sentient magics. It put him on edge, and it took a few seconds for him to realize it was not attacking and that he could calm down.

Once Bram left, he turned back to his plate, which was already almost empty. He had promised he would return after eating...

He took the last bite of waffle before turning to Alex.

“I would like you to accompany me to his room, now,” he said. “He will be very groggy when he awakes.”

 

[jones573]

“I mean, you already brought Victoria here,” Alex pointed out absently. Bram no longer had any interest in … Impressing her, though, so perhaps it didn’t count.



Like Larry, Alex was… unsettled by Vlad’s castle acting out in such a way. He understood, hypothetically, that an ancestral home would protect its family, and could act outside the conscious control of the inhabitant. Hence Maria’s concern that Vlad and Bram should not be on Yate’s property when they only managed to agitate Annabelle, or the haste to get Scarlet recognized as a ‘guest’ when she’d crashed the New Year’s party- To prevent any potential misinterpretations of Annabelle’s moods or intentions. But Vlad’s castle was acting /contrary/ to his own feelings- or at least, Alex assumed Vlad was feeling fairly positive towards Bram at the moment, and that spilling orange juice on someone was not a sign of affection- and it really creeped him out. Like the castle was a separate being, and not just an extension of Vlad.



He didn’t get a whole lot of time to dwell on it, though, before Larry was asking him for an escort. Which was really good timing, because Alex had just been about to offer him a second plate out of habit.

“Uh, yeah, of course,” Alex said after a moment. He pulled Larry’s chair out for him as he stood, because it gave him a chance to get behind not-May and assess Vlad for signs of reassurance- Or at least, minimal signs of panic. If Vlad and Bram had decided Larry was safe to be in castle, he was probably safe to be alone with. Hopefully.



“I’m not sure if May ever got those extra blankets for his room,” Alex added to the others, even though he was quite sure May had thanked Esme earlier for the abundance of blankets she had supplied. “So he might like a few more.” It was the best code he could come up with for ‘feel free to follow me in a couple of minutes’ on such short notice.



“It’s, uh, down this direction,” Alex said as they left the kitchen behind and Alex led the way through the halls. This was fine. Larry was not hostile, he was going to return May, he was just a normal dude who needed some help finding his way through a large and unfamiliar castle. Also a dude who was owed an apology.



“Um. Sorry about earlier. With the... Kissing,” Alex clarified, because what this awkwardness really needed was further clarification, especially with how bright his face had become. “It was super inappropriate of me and –”



And what? He wouldn’t do it again? Alex really, really, really hoped he never had the opportunity to mistakenly kiss Larry instead of May again.



“I don’t just normally hug and kiss people I don’t know, honest,” Alex promised because it was somehow very important that the parasitic world-ending creature that lurked within his boyfriend’s body knew that Alex had /not/ been trying to take advantage of him.



“And thanks for like, not slapping me or anything.” Or smiting him. “And for helping May. And all of us.”

 

[jones573]

Winona ended up at the very impressive entrance, but she did not look very impressed. There weren’t any... Side doors into the crypt? Secret staircases under someone's grave like in that movie with the treasure people?


She closed her eyes and opened them after a beat to see if any such doors or stairs or passages might appear.



Nothing.



She closed her eyes and spun around.



Still nothing.



This was less than ideal, especially since Winona would be walking into a place she was unfamiliar with, teeming with potential enemies in unknown states of threat-level.



Presumably the castle would allow her entry as quietly as possible, but a silent door meant very little if they were all looking that direction anyways, which they probably would be if it was the only door…



“You got any baby angels you can topple,” she whispered, picturing big monuments with dozens of trumpeting cherubs on all sides- Even just one falling a few feet to the floor, on the opposite side of the door, would be a decent distraction.



She’d still have to go in with her weapons at the ready and on high alert, but if she could get in unnoticed and get hidden quickly, that could give her the opportunity she needed- Wait.



Far down the hall, maybe still around a few turns, was a faded light. And footsteps.



Someone was coming.



Someone who needed light to see in this level of darkness, and someone who was wearing boots. And used a long, confident stride that she was familiar with.



She had really not expected Bram to come visit his father, assuming it was not in his character to either gloat or torture himself with further attempts at conversation, and she allowed herself to be surprised for a moment. Half a moment, because she very quickly reached the conclusion that if she didn’t want Bram to see his father die, he needed to /not/ be in the crypt.



She moved so quickly she might have been burned, opening the door just enough to slip in and shut it behind her, and then jamming a blunt pencil into the key opening so that it would stick up the locking mechanism. Which trapped her in the crypt perhaps more effectively than it trapped Bram out, but she could remove the pencil from this side. Assuming she would have the chance to do so, after she was done.

 

[Reynarda]

Devon frowned at Alex over his eggs. He was pretty sure May had not only gotten extra blankets but had also stolen other people’s extra blankets. He opened his mouth to say as much, but someone kicked his chair. He looked around to figure out what jerk had done that and discovered Vlad giving him a tired look that just said “No”.

Okay? Now Devon was confused. First Vlad’s creepy castle kicks Bram out of the kitchen and now Vlad was kicking his chair.

Once May and Larry were gone, Vlad said, “Devon, go check on Alex and May in a moment.”

Devon made a face. “What for?”

“Alex is obviously worried he may have trouble with Larry.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

Mostly it was because Vlad didn’t really feel like dealing with any awkward displays of affection one might find once May had control of his body again, but he said, “Because I am trying to let my back heal.”

Devon scowled. He had no retort for that. “Fine.”

He stood and cleared his plate, sticking it in the dishwasher before following after Alex and Larry.



The magic in the castle walls had no idea what Winona was doing with her closing her eyes and turning and such. If she wanted the doors to open, she just had to put her hand on it.

It also had no concept of “baby angels” but it wasn’t hard to figure out Winona wanted a distraction. It obliged, loosening a few ceiling tiles in preparation to drop them. It had been dropping ceiling tiles and flipping up floor stones that were not grave stones for kicks and giggles. It wasn’t as if the castle was going to house a bunch of slayers and not plague them every few minutes. The slayers deserved it, and it would keep them in a state of high-alert that should keep them from many escape attempts. The castle had already thwarted one. Mostly by dropping half of the door on the person trying to pick the lock. That had been hilarious.

As soon as Winona touched the door, the castle dropped tiles on several slayers’ heads, causing a delightful ruckus as everyone tried to avoid the vindictive stones. The castle was having a grand old time, but then Winona stuck a pencil in its lock. Which was just insulting. It thought about just disassembling the door to remind Winona that it was the castle and it did what it wanted.

But Jurriaan Leeuwen had dodged all its attempts to murder him with rocks and was looking directly at Winona with an amused smile. The castle had bigger things to worry about than an irritating pencil.

“And what brings you down here, child?” Jurriaan asked as if he had no idea.



Bram stopped at the closed door. “What is it?” he asked the castle.

The castle groaned at him.

“I thought the slayers were escaping or something. It looks like they are pretty secure. Or are you saying you can’t keep them in there?”

The next creak sounded decidedly annoyed.

“Okay, then. What’d you drag me down here for, then?”

The lock lit up with the same creepy light that lit the rest of the castle, and Bram bent to examine it.

“What is that? A stick? Someone stuck a stick in the lock? Is that why you dragged me down here? Just snap it.”

The castle decided Bram must be tired if he did not see the obvious. The light at his shoulder floated down and began changing shape.

“Not light charades,” Bram groaned. “Um… dragons? No… person… Vlad? No, too tall. You’re not very good at this.”

The light flared. It was used to communicating with a magic-reading vampire. This was very complex magical manipulation right here, and Bram was not appreciating it.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Bram groaned. “Winona.”

The light flashed an affirmative.

“We need to teach you Morse code,” Bram said, pressing his ear to the door. “I can’t believe you let her down here—and don’t you dare be like, ‘they need to die’. Yeah, yeah, I know you came and got me instead of Vlad, but still. I’m still annoyed at you. Tell me when to burst in there and grab her.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Larry allowed Alex to get his chair for him, then followed him out into the hallway without complaint.

“It is alright, you did not know,” he said in response to the apology. Alex had been under the assumption that he was May, after all, so he had nothing to apologize for. “Besides, he quite enjoys the physical affection. You need not apologize for it.”

May was flaring up in embarrassment again, but Larry ignored him.

“It merely startled me, is all. I have never had a... a boyfriend? Is that the term? So I am unused to such actions.” Now it was his turn to be a bit embarrassed, but he hid it quite well.

They reached the bedroom quickly enough, and Larry opened the door, allowing Alex inside before following after him and taking off his shoes. He headed over to the armour to change his shirt, which was quite sweaty by now, and then glanced back at Alex before heading over to the bed and laying down.

“He will be very tired when he comes to,” he said. “I suggest you make sure he stays in bed.”

With that he closed his eyes and relaxed, breathing through his nose as he curled up among the blankets. After a few moments he blearily opened his eyes and looked up at Alex, though by the sheepish grin on his face he was definitely no longer ‘Larry’.

“Hi,” he said weakly. “That went better than I expected.”

 

[jones573]

Apparently the castle had understood her ‘distraction’ concept, but Jurriaan had not, so… Best mice plans of men, or whatever that saying was.



She tilted her head and returned the smile, albeit much slighter.



“Looking for the bathroom,” she replied evenly. “Got some shit to be rid of.”



She moved closer, careful and calculating so that he would have to turn if he wanted to keep her in view of his smug smirk, and fast enough to avoid any slayers who might think they had a chance even injured and weaponless.



She needed an opening, and was hoping forcing him to move slightly might reveal if he had sustained any new injuries – or no longer had the magic to ignore old ones- she might exploit. He was old and magicless and weaponless, and she was none of those things. But she didn’t want to be too confident.



“Why,” she prompted. “Gonna tell on me?”









Alex was sure that, considering the fact that his mother had intervened to ask a girl to prom on his behalf, he’d been more uncomfortable and embarrassed than this before. But it was a close thing.



So he just stood there awkwardly while his not-boyfriend ignored any possible qualms about undressing a body that /did/ belong to his boyfriend in front of him and tried not to look because he had no right to be checking May out when May wasn’t even there, and May would probably be even more annoyed if Alex was looking over him for injuries, even though that looked like a bad bruise but maybe it was just the lighting or something-



May enjoys physical affection, Alex tried to concentrate on. May had told him that, but it was nice to have it confirmed- Unless of course, Larry was /lying/, why would he care how May really felt-



“Uh- Sure. Thanks,” Alex told Larry one last time as he methodically tucked the blankets in around May in a way that was probably more suited to a toddler.



He should have asked Larry how long May would be out for, it could be hours-



“Oh. Hey there,” Alex said with a tone of surprise and soft delight, though his smile turned into a frown after a beat.



“I want you to know that I am suppressing my ‘oh dear god how were you expecting it to go and also WHY’ freak-out,” Alex said all in one breath because he had to at least acknowledge it or he was going to explode from the stress. “But. Do you need your water solution bath thing- I think you have some, but not very much, can we supplement it with something? Or call Gabe to get some? Do you need snacks? More blankets?”

 

[Reynarda]

“Well?” Scarlet asked, sensing Vlad release some sort of magic.

The elder vampire stretched, wincing when doing so pulled the healing scab on his back. “May is once again in control of his body. Thank goodness—I was about to go insane with Jurriaan chanting the old Guild moto in my head.”

Scarlet made a face and cleared the rest of the table.

“Have you contacted the Guild?” Esme asked.

Vlad nodded. “I sent them coordinates just outside the boundary. The trouble will be ferrying the slayers from here to there.”

“I’m sure the dragons will help,” Rue said.

“And my family,” Esme added. She held up a hand when Vlad opened his mouth to protest. “I doubt the slayers will try anything.”

“It is not the slayers I am worried about,” Vlad muttered.

Esme nodded firmly. “Leave tomorrow’s worries for tomorrow. You need rest—don’t you dare argue with me, Vladimir Drakonii.”

Vlad closed his mouth. He wisely decided not to tell Esme that it would be a cold day in hell before he slept when Jurriaan Leeuwen was under his roof.



Devon stood in the hall with his arms folded across his chest. Alex was fine. Vlad had just been giving him something to do. His eyes slid to the room Winona had been given. He frowned slightly. He wasn’t sure what, but something was amiss. He knocked on her door.

“Win?”

No answer. Maybe she was asleep?

He pushed the door open to find an empty bed. A quick search of her room proved that it was empty. She was gone.

And good riddance. All she ever did was cause pain and trouble.

Devon stood there with his arms crossed and his jaw set for serval minutes before sighing. He stepped out of his room and knocked politely on Vlad’s door. The door opened, and Devon stepped inside. Vlad was curled in his arm chair by the fire and Scarlet was sprawled on the floor, poking the fire with a stick. The elder vampire slid an eye open.

“Something wrong?”

“Winona’s gone.”

Vlad opened the other eye. “She is still in the castle.”

Devon felt stupid. “Oh.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Devon shrugged. “I’m just tired of her hurting everyone with her....” He waved his hands vaguely.

Vlad sighed. “What, you think I never caused my guardians grief?”

“‘Guardians’?”

Vlad smiled. “The dragons. They had to deal with my response to my parents’ death and my subsequent fight for my place on the Council.”

Devon shuffled his feet. He still couldn’t imagine Vlad as a teenager, despite the fact that he didn’t look much older than his mid-twenties at first glance.

“It just takes patience and persistent love. Everyone’s path is different. Get some rest, Devon.”

Devon decided that this meant he should grab some pillows from Vlad’s bed and flop on the floor next to Vlad’s chair. The elder vampire didn’t seem to mind, and Devon figured he should help Scarlet guard Vlad just in case.



Jurriaan Leeuwen almost rolled his eyes. Clearly, she had been spending too much time with Bram. Such vulgar comebacks. He stood perfectly still as she attempted to circle him. Mostly because he was used to the circling tactic—it was one he, himself, often employed. But also because his neck was achy from where the creature inside the mage had compressed his windpipe. And from when his son had pushed him off a roof. His magic was gone, but he was still genetically a Leeuwen, so he wasn’t particularly concerned with Winona leaving his direct line of sight.

The slayers around him watched, waiting. They had been given orders that the girl was to be allowed close to him, and the castle was still randomly attacking them. One yelped as a floor-stone leapt up and smashed into his foot.

Jurriaan chuckled. “Why would I tattle to your fathers when you are doing precisely what I want you to do? I must say, though, I’m surprised the castle didn’t stop you. It’s tied to its vampire, you know. Maybe Vlad doesn’t care about you as much as I thought he did.”

The castle found this very insulting and dropped a ceiling tile on Jurriaan’s head. The slayer just side-stepped, and the tile clattered to the floor before shooting back up to its spot in the ceiling.

“Perhaps you’re just his expendable tool, after all.”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May winced a little. Right. He should have known that his actions probably wouldn't have gone over well with the others, whether they had turned out alright or not, Alex least of all. But his boyfriend was just focused on his health and safety, and that was really sweet of him. May snuggled further into the blankets and peered back out at him. He was still feeling woozy and staticky, like he had too much energy but no way to actually expend any of it. But for the time being, he figured the best thing to do would be stay in bed until he was oriented enough to use magic again, to get rid of some of the fuzz in his head.

"Hm? Oh, I, uh, don't think that's a good idea. I mean, it is a good idea, definitely! And I think we do have some, and that'll help me feel better, once my legs stop feeling jello enough that I can walk to the bathroom. I just mean, like, topping it up. Gabe gave us all he has and to get more we'd have to talk to somebody back home, and uh... Well, I didn't want to say anything, because of everything that's been happening and stuff, but some people back home aren't very happy with me right now, and letting them know about all of this going on is only going to make them even more not happy with me," he said in a hurry, then allowed himself to smile a little bit, because Alex really was a mother hen. "And I've got enough blankets. Snacks... maybe in a little bit. For now I just wanna relax. You can lay down too, if you want? We can cuddle until I feel good enough to take a bath."

 

[jones573]

Winona snorted as she continued her circle, moving closer to her prey with each step. No obvious injuries that might hinder movement to exploit, but that was fine.



“Doubt it,” she said with a bit of exasperation at Jurriaan’s attempt to undermine her- By suggesting Vlad might be finally acting how she /wanted/ him too. “He’s not that smart.”



She moved quickly, lunging towards Jurriaan with a knife aimed directly at his heart. She only changed her direction into a slide at the last possible second, sweeping her legs against his shins to topple him instead and drove the knife at his chest from below his ribs.









“Um, yeah. Okay,” Alex agreed, though he didn’t like the idea of May not getting the help he needed because it would make someone unhappy. Alex was used to getting what he wanted, and especially what he needed- But he supposed he had his parents and a lot of money to protect him from any consequences of that. May had to suffer the ire of his hometown without any such cushion.



“Just a moment,” he added, poking his head out into the hall. There was no one there. Huh.



“Sorry, I had just hinted that someone should come check on us, I was a bit concerned that Larry might not actually be as honest as he promised about giving you back- Er, we named him Larry,” Alex explained, unsure of how aware May had been about what was happening around his body when he wasn’t in charge of it. “Or, Bram named him Larry,” Alex clarified.



“But I guess no one picked up on my hint,” Alex decided, squishing up a pillow the way he liked and stretching out on top of the blankets next to May. “Or they trust Larry. Or Vlad is watching us right now and knows everything that happens in this castle.”



Alex narrowed his eyes at a far corner of the room suspiciously. “Probably that last one.” Oh god he was rambling and May needed rest. “Sorry. Relaxing now.”

 

[Reynarda]

The slayers surrounding Jurriaan watched Winona circle their leader with little concern. None of them knew he had lost his magic, but even so, he was a slayer. He had been slaying for centuries. And he had dodged every single castle-attack while they had all been smacked on various parts of their bodies. So none of them were he least bit surprised when he side-stepped and caught her wrist in one fluid motion.

It was really kind of Winona to bring a knife with her, in Jurriaan’s opinion. It made his life easier. “I still am unsure why you feel the need to kill me.”

He twisted her wrist in the attempt to get her to drop the knife.



Bram was not having a good time. He could hear both his father’s and Winona’s voices. And now there was scuffling and his father still talking. Which was good, he supposed, because it meant they were both alive. But the door was refusing to budge.

“Why aren’t you letting me in?” He glared at the door. “This is all part of your plan, isn’t it? You’re hoping Winona will kill my father. That’s my father.”

The castle didn’t seem to care.

“You back-stabbing no-good pile of stones!” Bram growled, kicking the door. “Would you do this to Vlad if that was his father?”

Bram wasn’t sure if the castle was considering this or if it was just ignoring him. Or if it noted the obvious flaw in his argument. Either way, it wasn’t budging.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May nodded his head, then scrunched up his nose in obvious disgust.

"Yeah, I picked up on that. Bram and I are going to have /words/. Who names a being of ultimate destruction /Larry/? Larry is like the least threatening name ever. He should have named him, like, I don't know, Thogorath or something. Anything but /Larry/. But I think he was just happy to have a name? He'd never had one before." He shrunk down a little bit into the blankets, a pensive look on his face. "It's weird, because, like, he did do really bad things to deserve what happened to him, and I know that he'd do bad things again if he was given the chance, but at the same time I think he's just... Lonely? He's been by himself for a really, really long time, and even before that he didn't have any friends. I think living vicariously through me is the first time he's ever had something resembling a family. I think that's why he only wanted to protect everyone and didn't try to stay when he wasn't wanted."

He made a vague shrugging motion with his shoulders.

"It was kind of weird, because I could sort of feel what he was feeling and thinking and stuff, and he could sort of tell what I was thinking and feeling and stuff, and I could see what was happening but I just... wasn't in control. Felt like I was drunk, actually." He wrinkled his nose. "Don't tell Vlad and Bram that I know what that feels like, or I'll get the underaged drinking speech and I already got that from my /actual/ dad."

He shifted over and cuddled up to Alex, clearly quite content with their new positions as he made a pleased humming noise deep in his chest.

 

[jones573]

Winona had really been hoping that his magic had been a contributing factor in his overall health and wellness, and that without it, he would have also lost some of his speed and strength. Apparently, this was not the case. But she was accustomed to disappointment.



“Why, you planning on not bothering me if you live,” Winona asked with a grunt of laughter as she strained against his grip. Seemed pretty unlikely, especially since she’d already given him multiple chances to prove he might be worthwhile when she’d first broken into his room.



She put up the struggle for another few seconds before going slack and dropping the knife, and catching it with her other hand. She shifted her stance as she did so, and brought the knife in towards his back instead.







Alex couldn’t help but smile a bit at May’s consternation at the choice of ‘Larry’, even if he knew it was a relatively minor thing to take issue with considering everything that had just happened.

“I’ve been talking with Maria about… stuff,” he hedged. “And I dismissed the idea of ‘gods’ but she said- Well, that basically there’s a lot of stuff out there with power we can’t comprehend, and motivations we can’t relate to. But that if we’re lucky, sometimes they might try to relate to us instead.”



He wasn’t really sure where he was going with this.



“I guess if Larry has any interest in learning about ‘mortal business’ and humanity and stuff- Well, I guess I’m glad he has you as an ambassador. Like, it’s definitely creepy that something is living vicariously through you,” Alex agreed. “But if he was doing it through someone else- I don’t know. Maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to help us.”



Alex shifted a bit so May could get comfortable, slipping his arm beneath the pillows so he could reach over to the other boy’s far shoulder.



He snorted a bit. “I don’t know, I’m kind of interested in how Vlad and Bram would tackle that topic,” he admitted, because he felt Bram was self-aware enough to know he had little standing to scold people for over-imbibing. “But, yeah, I promise- My mom’s version was pretty focused on how to identify different types of alcohol by scent alone and what to do if I suspected someone’s drink had been tampered with. And a month of being suspicious of every liquid she handed me because she values ‘practical experience’,” he recalled.

“Most of the actual lecturing was about being aware of my own limits and not trying to drive after, and also a terrifying hour about what she would do to me if I ever tried to spike a girl’s drink. And then I had to learn about how different types of wine taste best in different glasses, but 'only when snobs are watching, darling, it's all just grape juice at the end of the day'," he quoted.

 

[Reynarda]

“You attacked me first,” Jurriaan said casually, as if he had not taken some of her blood and then used it to control her. “I don’t see why we couldn’t come to an agreement.”

Despite this, he didn’t seem to have a problem with fighting her. Dropping the knife was fairly clever, and as he twisted out of the way, something in his neck popped. That was not good. Dropping her wrist, he retreated a few steps.

“Since you obviously do not fit in here,” Jurriaan said, attempting to nonchalantly pop his neck. “I have no reason to kill you. My son doesn’t care about you, and you don’t care about him. So leave.”

He tilted his head and was relieved when the pressure in his neck disappeared. He smiled and strode within striking distance. “No reason to risk yourself here.”

He struck like a snake, grabbing her wrist again. Come on, over-protective castle. No reason to fail now. A sliver of jagged tile appeared in his other hand, and he drove it at Winona’s stomach. Not to kill. Just to damage. Just to make her bleed.

Regardless of his little distraction-speech, he knew his son, and he knew his son’s vampire. As soon as her blood dripped on these stones, Vlad would know, and the castle would be forced open that door to allow him to come to the rescue. And then everyone in this castle would die, starting with this child.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

May's cheeks turned a bit pink at Alex's praise, and he buried his face into the pillow in the hopes that would make it less obvious. Instead it made it even more obvious, and he cursed his foolishness.

"Well, I mean... I'm just a normal guy, you know? I think there are definitely nicer and better and cooler people than me out there, but in the end, I guess I'm glad that it was me too. I mean, that sounds kind of weird and selfish, and really, I would rather this not happen to anyone, because being a vessel for an ancient being set on world destruction kind of sucks, but I'm glad it's me and not somebody else. I think that Larry and I might have even come to a sort of understanding between the two of us, after today. I think I understand more about what makes him him, and he understands more about what makes me me."

He groaned at the thought of Vlad or Bram giving him a safe drinking lecture, then snorted when Alex described Anabelle's version. He could just imagine.

"My dad was pretty laid back about the whole thing. He was like 'I know you're gonna drink so just do it safely and don't drive', not that I have a driver's license anyways. But there were no practical lessons involved, or anything like that. And I don't drink /often/ or anything, so it's all fine."

 

[jones573]

“Maybe 'cause you ain’t offered anything to agree to,” Winona returned- She had approached him in the spirit of compromise, even though it had not been entirely honest. But still, he’d been very clear he was not interested in bargaining.



She rolled her eyes at his little declaration about how Bram didn’t care for her, or her for him. Honestly it was like adults were allergic to listening or something.



His swipe towards her middle was so shallow that it hardly registered as a true threat, but she ducked away slightly and grabbed at the makeshift weapon, catching it even though it pressed a red line into her hand. It would have barely broken the skin anyways- Wait.



Winona had a mission. She tended not to let things interfere with that. But she had also had gut instincts, and experience with what happened when she ignored those instincts in favor of completing her task. And this… Wasn’t right.



She understood the advantage of acting confident. She wasn’t shocked that the slayers seemed to have orders not to interfere. She had expected him to try and toy with her emotions. All of these things fit with the persona.



But… He wasn’t attacking her. Not like he should in a real fight. Not like he should if he was only fighting defensively. Not even like he should if he was testing her the way she had been him, getting a sense for movement and reaction times. He wasn’t even trying.



She narrowed her eyes suspiciously even as she released the tile shard and shoved both it and him away, wiping her blood on the denim of her jeans.



“Tell me what you are planning,” she demanded. Whether she was intentionally trying to invoke her familial inclination towards mind-related gifts was unclear, but her forceful command was certainly reminiscent of the ‘father’ she had spent the least time with.








“No,” Alex said decisively with an obvious tone of affection. “You’re not a normal guy at all.”



“Yeah, your dad sounds like he has a lot better grasp on today’s youth than Mom,” he agreed. Even if Alex was the kind to go out and party, he highly doubted his peers had an interest in the distinction between a port and a sherry, especially since Annabelle herself didn’t seem to care all that much and added several doses of blood regardless.



“Get some sleep,” Alex recommended, interpreting May’s shyness as exhaustion. “I’ll wake you if anything happens,” he promised, checking again to make sure they were both comfortable and pressing his lips to the back of May’s head and breathing in his scalp in a move that he might have considered creepy but honestly a lot of life-threatening events had just happened and it was reassuring to know May was there and safe and Alex wasn’t gonna beat himself up for it-



“Well. Anything that you need to be awake for,” he revised. Which in Alex’s opinion was pretty much nothing. Esme’s family would be preparing for the arrival of someone from the Guild, Bram would probably do something weird with his adrenaline high like think he should get a motorcycle, the dragons would probably go kill another cow that did not belong to them, but. May didn’t need to be awake for any of that. Especially the Guild- Alex had a feeling it might be best if May slept through that entirely.

 

[Reynarda]

Jurriaan smiled and allowed Winona to push him backwards. At her demand and the power behind it, he laughed.

“Well, well, I’m sure my son’s vampire is thrilled about that little trick. Unfortunately, it only works on weak and compromised minds.” He smiled. “Regardless, I thought I made my obvious: kill every single person in this castle—except for you, if you open that door.”

He gestured casually with the hand holding the shard of tile, flicking a tiny drop of blood on the floor. It was barely enough to identify DNA using modern technology, but an ancient magic castle was not bound by modern technology. It should be enough.

“Get out of my way, I’ll leave you alone. Get in my way, I’ll kill you.”

He would kill her either way, but telling people that usually didn’t get him what he wanted.




Vlad jerked, nearly scaring the crap out of Devon. At the elder vampire’s widened eyes, Devon scrambled to his feet. “What? What is it?”

Vlad pushed himself to his feet. “Nothing, sorry, I guess I just drifted off to sleep.”

“Where are you going?” Devon demanded, not believing him for a second.

Vlad gave him a concerned look. “To the bathroom. Is that acceptable?”

Devon glanced at Scarlet. The other vampire was fast asleep, so Devon assumed he was just being paranoid. “Yeah. Sorry. Uh, go ahead.”

“Thank you for your permission,” Vlad said, striding into the bathroom and closing the door.

The thing about his castle while it was in this state was that he could technically open a passage on any wall that concealed a passage behind it. At his touch, the stones of his shower shifted back, and Vlad stepped through.