Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[jones573]

She didn't really need Rose to accompany her, but she supposed he had resisted poison-testing all her food, so she could compromise. Besides-

"You might as well," she agreed, "As you haven't met the Professor before."

She knew her mentor well- If she introduced both of the brothers at once, Cyn would be bombarded with questions and Delilah wouldn't even remember Rose's name.

They made it to the professor's quarters in short order, and Gigi smiled at Henryk.

"Thank you for the escort. And the wonderful meal," she told him. "I am sure your clan does not often dine in such a style, so the exception you made for us was very kind," she said. He hardly seemed as susceptible to flattery as his mother, but Gigi was nothing if not polite.

"Georgiana! Get in here," a voice barked from within the partially opened door, and Delilah rushed open and pulled it open all the way, tugging Gigi inside. She gave an apologetic smile to the two men, and went.

The large room was covered in all matter of things- Shelves of frog specimens, croaking away in their cages. Bottles of strange substances, labeled in cramped handwriting. Open flames with bubbling beakers set above them. Drawings of all sorts plastered on the walls.

"What do you make of these," the older woman asked, giving Gigi a mock kiss on each cheek before shoving a file of papers at her.

Gigi began to page through them with interest. "You've made progress," she said, impressed.

"Course I have! Ya didn't send me to twiddle my thumbs," Delilah retorted.

"I've brought someone for you to meet," Gigi said patiently, and Delilah looked up to examine Rose with a critical eye.

"This the other brother then?"

 

[Reynarda]

Henryk bowed only as low as was absolutely necessary. "My mother values her guests very highly, your highness."

He hadn't exactly liked Rose coming along and had felt his skin prickling as he lead the way to the professor's lab. And so, as he turned to leave, he gave Rose a wide berth.



Alyx gave Leo an unamused look when he asked they had seen the look on the clan's faces. The look only soured as he began coughing.

"Oh, come on, Alyx, stop being so... dour," Astrid said rolling her eyes. "You're proud of him--she's proud of you."

"I'm not," Alyx muttered halfheartedly, scowling. Her scowl only deepened. "He didn't wait until you had put Cyn in his room? That bloody hothead. I don't know why Lucia chose him as her heir. Brygida is far more agreeable even if she isn't as good with magic."

"Smart," Astrid said, when he explained he had let Henryk hit first. She frowned. "I thought going for the throat was a no-no."

"It is. He was trying to show how much--" Alyx cut herself off as Leo continued.

There was a brief second of silence before Astrid threw her head back and laughed. "You insulted his dick?" she wheezed. "What did you say?!"

Alyx was biting the inside of her lip very hard in the effort not to smile. She let out a laugh she attempted to disguise as a sigh. "Of course you did. I won't use all the wards. I am doing something about that neck, though."

She wrapped the ribbon loosely around his neck and activated it with a little more magic than normal. As the ward ribbon worked its magic, she caught his devilish smile, and her attempt to be the mature adult crumbled into a pleased smirk. "Well, good. Psychological trauma is always longer-lasting than physical trauma." Pulling away the ward ribbon, she snorted and patted his askew hair bow. "Good job. Don't do that again."

Astrid chuckled. "Told you she was proud. And anyway, he gets it from you, you know."

There was a polite knock on the door, and Astrid tugged it open. A young vampire bowed, muttered something, and handed her a bottle before darting off. Astrid closed the door. "We've been gifted with... wine?"

Alyx smirked. "That's not wine. Lucia probably sent it. She wants to make sure I don't change my mind about letting Leo hold all the cards."

"Ew," Astrid said, handing it to Alyx. "Where did they get it?"

Alyx popped the cork and sniffed it. It was definitely human blood. "Probably the town. Sometimes the more remote towns make agreements with the clans closest to them."

Replacing the cork, Alyx handed the bottle to Leo. "You're going to need this to heal the rest of that."

"What's tomorrow going to look like?" Astrid asked.

"There will most likely be morning preliminary talks," Alyx said after a second of thought. "Setting out the terms and conditions and all."

Astrid groaned.

"My thoughts exactly." But Alyx's lips curled into a smirk. "Except they won't be able to keep us out, thanks to Leo. The princess might stir up a fuss, but I should be able to weasel around it--claim myself Clan Draya's ambassador or something. Then a lunch break--for the humans, anyway. Then afternoon talks, formal dinner, etc., etc."

"That sounds like a nightmare," Astrid groaned. "At least there's food."

"Yes, but important." Alyx ran her hand through her hair. "I just wish I was better at politics. The maneuvering is easy, the execution, less so."

"You'll be great," Astrid said, squeezing her shoulders. She paused. She glanced at Leo, but after a second figured he would be hearing a lot of this sort of stuff anyway. "Why don't you want this alliance to go through? I mean... it would benefit your people."

Alyx rubbed her forehead. "What do you think the generals are going to do to the commanders and their squadrons once they hear about this alliance?"

Astrid's stomach filled with ice. "Oh."

"And several clans have had children turn eighteen in the past five years, so they could replenish the commanders they executed with little trouble." Alyx sighed. "I want the clans freed, but this will not achieve that."

Honestly, at this point, Alyx was just trying to survive and keep her friends alive. She had resisted, and look where it had gotten her. And, to be honest, she knew deep down that she couldn't feel proud of herself that she could turn her fledglings the proper way. That was all on Astrid not being a tyrannical monster.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose smiled politely as Henryk left. Leo just have gotten him good.

“I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself, Lord Henryk,” Rose said with a little half-smile. “You’re far from the first to get caught up in one of Lord Vesper’s... falls.”

He likely would not be the last, either, with how things had been going lately. But Rose did feel a little bad for him, even if he knew it was his own fault.

He did turn to follow Gigi into the room, bowing his head politely to Delilah when he he saw her. The resemblance to Crane was uncanny, though he did not show his surprise on his face.

“It is good to meet you, professor,” Rose said, offering a small smile. “My name is Rose. I assume that you have already met my brother Hyacinth.”

She had said ‘other brother’, after all.

He was a bit... surprised by the state of the room. He had seen Claude’s research space before when getting upgrades on his arm, but that had been stark white and perfectly clean, with little clutter or decoration. This in comparison was controlled chaos.


Leo grinned.

“All I said was that it was a good thing he wasn’t betrothed because he wouldn’t be able to satisfy anyone,” he said with a little wave of his hand. “He was the one who got all offended.”

He was very grateful when the ribbon was wrapped around his throat, and then the swelling in his throat eased, the scratchiness going away. It may not have been 100%, but it was close enough.

“Thanks, that was the worst part,” he grumbled. “And the ribs, but those are better after dinner. I had to take the hit to catch him off guard, but I didn’t expect it to hurt that much.”

He beamed when Alyx complemented him.

“No promises~” he said in a song-song voice, then let out a pleased groan when the blood was brought in. He could definitely use that. He took the bottle and, without bothering for a glass, tipped it back and took a big swig. It was good, and he groaned again as he settled back into his seat. He would have laid down on the bed, but he didn’t want to spill everywhere.

“You need any, or is this all for me?” He asked Alyx, hoping it was the latter. They kept him fed well enough on the Dragon, but it also depended on how many people they captured, and he had not been full before this whole debacle.

The next day’s events seemed to be pretty straightforward, if a bit tedious.

“Did you want me to be there? Or would that be inappropriate?” Leo asked. He was sure he could terrorize some of the vampires around the castle tomorrow if he had nothing else to do, but he’d leave that as a last resort.

“Oh yeah, one of Crane’s relatives is here. Henryk called her the professor. I imagine their family must have some sort of ties here, though I can’t imagine what they’d be,” he said, because he did not want Alyx to dwell too much on the potential what ifs. She would worry herself silly, and she needed to keep her wits about her.

 

[jones573]

Delilah looked unimpressed.

"Which one is the engineer," she asked. "I assumed it was the small one, but this one hasn't got an arm so I can't imagine he's much protecti-"

" 'This one' is named Rose," Gigi scolded. "And he has done a perfectly suitable job of protecting me without your critiques, thank you."

It could be useful to look through the Professor's spare parts though, and see if there was equipment suitable for reattaching the prosthetic.

Delilah offered a harrumph, but stopped her one-overing of Rose.

"And where is my brother? I thought he was intending to accompany you?"

Gigi swallowed.

"He.... Fell. He didn't make it," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

 

[Reynarda]

Henryk glanced at Rose, his cheeks flushing at the revelation that the big Allarian had at least an idea of what the fledgling had done.

He ducked his head and hurried off.



Alyx let out an undignified snort at Leo’s explanation.

“Has Gustav ever complained?” Astrid asked, the biggest smirk curling across her face.

Alyx spread her arms. “How the blazes would I know? I don’t keep up with their personal lives. Maksim would know,” she muttered under her breath. He knew everything about everyone.

She shook her head when Leo made no promises, but there was also an affectionate smirk on her face. When he asked about the blood, she waved her hand. “It’s all yours. I’ll be fine for quite some time.”

“You two are gross,” Astrid informed them, wrinkling her nose at the bottle.

“I don’t complain about what you drink,” Alyx sighed, flopping backwards into her bed.

“Yes you do,” Astrid said emphatically. “All the time.”

Alyx considered Leo’s question. She would like the moral support, and two heads were better than one. And the likelihood of them letting Astrid in was small. “I would like you there unless you don’t wish to be,” she said because she would get out of it if she could.

She pushed herself to her elbows at his revelation. “One of Crane’s relatives? Silver, how deep does this go? Thanks, Leo. Could you tell anything else about her?”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

If Delilah's obvious disapproval phased him, Rose didn't show it. He was used to people finding him intimidating, though that was admittedly a very carefully prepared image.

"My prosthetic was unfortunately damaged in the crash," he explained, because he didn't want her to think he had come out here with only one arm.

He did not say sorry to Delilah when she was given the news about her brother. He imagined that she might not appreciate it from a stranger, and moreover, it wasn't as though the words would do anything. He did bow his head politely, though, and look away, in case she wanted to show signs of grief.


Leo rolled his eyes at Astrid's comment.

"Please, he's probably a bottom anyways. Arrogant guys like that usually love getting bossed around in the bedroom," he said offhandedly as though they were discussing the weather. He made sure to look Astrid in the eye and smirk as he took another big swig, and a little bit dribbled down his chin. He wiped it with his sleeve, and then realized his shirt was kind of toast anyways, so he took it off. He hoped he could get new clothes at some point, but he figured after his performance a dinner, those would be coming around soon enough.

He set the half-empty bottle down on the nightstand beside him, thinking carefully. He didn't mind being there, but he needed a lot more information before he ever dared risk it.

"I can accompany you, but we'll need to prepare tonight. I need to know all the formal etiquette rules, who I'm allowed to speak to and how I'm allowed to address them. I've managed so far using Allarian customs, but if I'm to be there as your fledgeling, I should behave as that would be expected in any other circumstances," he said. "Reputation is important in these kinds of things, and we want to make... well, not a good impression, but a proper one, I suppose."

He did not want to appear stupid or uninformed. More importantly, he wanted to impress that he took his position seriously, and that he was not just playing the part during the wartimes.

He thought of Delilah, then tapped his chin with one finger.

"Her accent was quite local," he said. "She's either been here for quite a while, or she was born here. She also spoke on pretty even terms with Henryk, so I would say she's respected enough. I did think it odd that a human would be living in a vampire's fortress, though."

 

[jones573]

"He's... Fallen before," Delilah said, and Gigi shook her head.

"Not from that high," she said. "And- If he was able, he would have caught up to me by now." He'd always done so before.

"Well I'm sorry to hear it," the old woman said, awkwardly patting Gigi on the shoulder. "I know you two were close."

She turned back to Rose, apparently done mourning the loss of her brother.

"Anything mechanical or Allarian in nature that's been collected over the years is through there," she said pointing to a side door that led to a cavern of unorganized machines and odd parts. "If you find anything to... Arm yourself with, it's yours."

Gigi looked through an enhanced lens at a sample on a glass slide and hummed thoughtfully, turning back to the report the Professor had given her.

"This is all very interesting, and some of it quite promising, but do you have anything more... Actionable?"

Delilah scowled. "The demands of royalty," she muttered to Rose. "I toil away to come up with multiple, well-researched solutions to the vampiric problem, and she wants something more 'actionable'-"

"I'm just saying, the implementation of these is not practical- Where would we even get that much silver colloid? And this one," she said, turning the page to examine more data. Her frown deepened, and kept getting deeper until she let out a small gasp. The information was presented without a conclusion, so it was unlikely anyone without Gigi or the Professor's background would understand the implications. The rather gruesome implications.

"Professor Robins! This- This is practically a war crime," she said in shock, and the professor waved her hand airly.

"Oh, hardly! And don't worry, I checked," she assured the princess, who did not looked assured whatsoever. "Besides, we could never pull it off-"

"Well, just the idea of it certainly goes against what we are trying to achieve here! You will destroy all data pertaining to these findings," Gigi admonished, and Delilah rolled her eyes.

"That's all that remains of it, Princess, stop your fretting. That, and what I already sent on to your sister," she admitted, and Gigi couldn't decide if she was annoyed or relieved to have that particular decision out of her hands.

 

[Reynarda]

“Yeah, he does have bottom energy,” Astrid agreed wisely.

“Stop,” Alyx groaned. “That is not something I want to think about.”

Astrid grinned. That grin soured as Leo pointedly took a sip of the blood and let it drool down his chin. She made a disgusted face. She was actually quite used to vampires and their habit of drinking blood, but she wasn’t about to let anyone know that.

Alyx frowned as Leo elaborated on the professor. She was born here? "Sometimes humans live with and are protected by clans," she mused. "But that would mean that Crane would also have been Eldergaardian, and... hmmm."

“Would explain how Princess Georgiana knows more about vampire protocol than your fledgling," Astrid said as Alyx let out a long groan.

“I didn’t think we’d ever be in contact with clan vampires,” Alyx moaned. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Start with the bowing thing because I thought I had that down but then you bowed lower than I’ve ever seen you bow so...” Astrid shrugged.

“Okay,” Alyx said, pushing herself up off her bed and brushing her hair from her face. “Astrid, help me out.”

Astrid stood up tall and put on her best pompous face.

Alyx sighed and turned to face Leo, who apparently had decided he was too cool for shirts. “Okay, the depth of the bow depends on the status of the vampire you’re bowing to.”

“And the ranks in a clan are?” Astrid prompted.

Alyx nodded. “There’s the head elder—that’s Lucia. Then there’s the elders—her husband, for instance--other older vampires. Then there’s the heir—“ She snickered. “Whom you, uh, defeated.” She paused to smirk before continuing. “Then the heir’s children or fledglings—Hendryk doesn’t have any of those—then the elders’ children, their children, etc.”

Alyx paused. “You only bow lower to people who are ranked above you. You’re my fledgling, and I'm the heir of my clan, so that would be any of the elders and Hendryk, but honestly you can bow as an equal to Hendryk—nobody will fight you on your right to do that.”

She turned and faced Astrid. “So for the head elder, you bow like this.”

She placed her hand on her chest and bent about fifty degrees. Astrid affected a snobby expression.

“To any other elder, bow this low.” Alyx straightened her bow slightly, and Astrid adopted a slightly-less snobby expression.

“Technically you would bow this low to an heir,” she demonstrated, decreasing the angle once again.

"This is what heirs look like," Astrid said, adopting her snobbiest expression yet.

Alyx tried to ignore her, but a smile slipped through. "And to an equal--so, another heir's kids or fledglings... or, well, Hendryk--you bow like this." She curled her upper back only and dipped her head forward.

"I've seen that one a lot," Astrid said.

"And the last is to inferiors, but that's more of a nod, and we wait for them to bow first. That would be anyone else. Oh, and we kind of blink our eyes slowly." She demonstrated. "How exaggerated the nod is based on the inferior's rank. You probably noticed Lucia gave me a much deeper nod than she gave you." Alyx paused, thinking. "We don't do the whole bowing thing within our own clans unless other clans are watching or we're being respectful or showing submission to their decision. And I don't bow as low as you would because I'm a rank above you."

"You can also be sassy about bowing--ask me how I know," Astrid added with a grin. She bent at the same angle Alyx would bend to an elder, but maintained eye contact the entire time instead of dipping her head. "Like this."

Alyx rolled her eyes. "Yes, so bend as low as you would for their station but maintain eye contact. It's akin to sassing your superiors."

"I used to get those a lot," Astrid stage-whispered to Leo.

"As for the titles," Alyx said a little more forcefully than necessary, "that sort of depends. 'Elder' and then their given name would do for any of the elders. Everyone else goes just by their given names. Sometimes you call the heirs 'heir of [their clan name]' or 'young [their clan name]', but those are in pretty formal situations. In our own clans, we call people by their familial titles, and you may have noticed Lucia, Hendryk, and I using those terms as well." She ran her hand through her hair. "There's a lot of nuance there. I used 'aunt' on Lucia in an attempt for favor--she's not actually related to me--and she responded by calling me 'niece'. Now, she was being a bit condescending with it, and you may have noticed Hendryk and I using 'cousin' sarcastically."

"I'm lost," Astrid said, wondering if Leo was keeping up better than she was.

"I'm sorry, it is extremely complex," Alyx sighed. "Often familial terms are a thing that occurs between elders and heirs of different clans in the attempt to build relationships with elders they may have to work with in the future. For you, I wouldn't use the familial terms unless one of them does it first. If they do--and they might, depending on how bad Lucia is trying to make sure I don't tell the other clans her heir attacked my fledgling while we were guests--they may call you 'young nephew' or 'young cousin'. If they do, you would call Hendryk 'elder cousin' and Lucia 'elder aunt'. Honestly, if you want to call Hendryk 'cousin' to dig at him, you could. Any of the younger vampires you've seen running around could be called 'young cousin' or 'little cousin', they would probably like that. And the youngest of the clan gets a special spot even though they have the lowest rank, so to speak. That would be Lucia's granddaughter, and you would call her 'little sister' regardless of your rank."

"So much of your interactions with other commanders is making so much more sense now," Astrid said. "Here I thought everyone but Maksim Grivvin was your cousin. And he gives the you sassy bow all the time."

"That's because Maksim is a prick," Alyx said. "And he's not the heir of Clan Grivvin."

"Then who is? Isn't he the only Grivvin in the military? That would mean he's the only one of your generation, right?"

Alyx shrugged. "Clan Grivvin is a trash fire."

Astrid had questions about that, but Alyx was moving on.

"We're not really strict with who speaks when or to whom. If you're present, then you represent your clan, and so you have the right to add your thoughts. However, you wouldn't interrupt someone a rank above you, and you noticed that direct insults are frowned upon." Alyx sighed. "Honestly if you're unsure, just do what I do. Clan Draya is known for throwing the rules to the four winds and they would not be surprised at you behaving in a more forward manner. Oh, and if you're trying to talk to a superior and they are angry or holding something over your head, a bow might soften them up."

Astrid nodded, remembering how Alyx had suddenly become very submissive when Lucia had brought up Cyril being in the capitol. She prompted. "Any no-nos?"

Alyx nodded. "This may sound weird, but we don't show any... physical affection in the presence of other clans. It's considered very private--a family matter." She gave Leo a wry smile. "You may have noticed everyone adverted their eyes when I looked you over at the dinner table."

Then her face broke into a grin that turned into a laugh as she remembered what Rose had said about artificial insemination. "And--oh stars--we don't talk about intimate things with other clans. Or run around with no shirt," she added, remembering Cyn trying to take his clothing off. "Regardless of sex."

"That's do to vulnerability, right?" Astrid asked.

Alyx nodded. "We don't do displays of vulnerability in front of other clans. So that would include lack of clothing and displays of physical affection." She let out a long sigh and returned her gaze to Leo. "Any questions?"

"Were there no war," Astrid said, her tone curious, "and I visited your clan, how would they navigate all that?"

Alyx considered. "Well, you're human, but you're my best friend, so they'd probably inquire about your standing within your family, and then based on that, they'd treat you like the heir of your clan." Alyx shrugged. "Based on the fact that Cyril likes you, my Aunt Jahna would probably call you 'niece' regardless."

"Excellent," Astrid said.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose did not chuckle at Delilah's comment, because that would be inappropriate, though he did allow the tiniest hint of a smile.

"I am sure that your work has been very fortuitous," he said to be polite as he peeked into the room she had indicated. It was a bit of a mess, but he was certain that Cyn would have an absolute field day with it when he was rested and sober. "Admittedly, I am not a scientific sort myself, though Hyacinth will be very glad to get a look in here. It's possible that Cyn could even repair the prosthetic that I have with some of these materials."

It wouldn't have finger movement, but having a hand that didn't work was better than having no hand at all.

He very politely did not comment on research, though he was interested. War crimes aside, his inside source had given him... a little bit of insight into the position of the commanders in the army. It was not something he was in a position to share, but he certainly didn't think that killing a bunch of people who were essentially hostages was a good idea.

"How are you planning to deal with the vampiric problem?" he asked, then winced. It was not his place to know, and he hoped he hadn't offended them. He doubted it, considering Georgiana's general attitude and Delilah's... personality, from what he'd gathered so far. But still. "I apologize, that was out of line. I was just curious what general direction your research is going in, however I realize that isn't my place."



Leo felt like his head might explode, but he was trying his best to get everything down. It was a lot of information to digest at once, though. He decided formality and being proper was the most important, and sassing was definitely something he was going to avoid for once. Except maybe around Henryk. He deserved it.

He wanted to say that he understood everything, but... He bit his lower lip before he headed over to the bed and flopped down dramatically.

"I'm going to make mistakes," he groaned. "I don't have any questions, per-say, but it's a lot of information to perfect in one night. Are they expecting me to make mistakes? I feel like they already know about our... unique circumstances. I was trying to prove them wrong, but I might have just proved them right. I don't know." He did not like feeling like he was way out of his depth, but right now he felt like he was in the middle of the ocean without a life preserver.

Copying Alyx seemed like a good idea. He could do that. He had been doing it so far already.

 

[jones573]

"It seems that the majority of vampires serving in the Eldergaardian military do not wish to be there," Gigi said, starting with the principle argument for why she had come. "The majority of those not serving in the military also don't seem to want them there. Allaria certainly doesn't want them there either," she added, though that was obvious. "Especially since young Vesper's presence indicates... What I would have preferred to be untrue. But the clans believe they have exhausted all magical ways to free their children. We proposed we might look into... scientific ways."

"'Cept they aren't being 'kept' by entirely magical means," Delilah pointed out. "They're just being cowards-"

"They are being coerced and threatened, I'm sure," Gigi corrected impatiently. "There seems to be a lot happening behind the scenes, and it isn't all uniform by any means- The dynamic of the Dragon may be an oddity, but it wouldn't be tolerated if there wasn't already variance."

She was tempted to put Maskim and Jorgenson on the opposite end of the spectrum than Alyx and Astrid, but there were probably even worse pair ups.

Delilah rolled her eyes, but didn't object further.

"Which is all the more reason that anything we propose has to be... Solid," Gigi said, for lack of a better word. "Like this," she said, flipping back to an earlier page. "A gas compound that severs the obedience between fledgling and sire while it's in either's systems- That's good, but it's only temporary. Sure, even a few minutes could allow lots of vampires to free themselves... If that bond was the only thing keeping them in line. But I don't think it is."

"Well the permanent option isn't 'actionable'," Delilah countered, parroting Gigi. "You would have to inject every single fledgling with the solution."

"I can look at it- Maybe apply the multi-generational sequencing I developed for my mushroom experiments could be applied," Gigi suggested. "It would be a lot easier to inject the elders instead..."

"Good luck with that," Delilah snorted. "Fussiest bunch of research subjects I ever met. They seem to think giving me blood samples is 'beneath' them. The younger ones have been more helpful, but try asking questions about vampiric processes- It's all 'the miracle of life' and 'harmonious exchange' and 'the inheritance of the blood', ya-dah-ya-dah."

"But you've been working with vampires, haven't you," Gigi asked, turning her attention back to Rose. She may not have known the details, but she wasn't completely in the dark about how the mercenary spent his time. Nor did she particularly care. "You might have better insight as to the folks more involved on the ground level operations and how they funciton. How would you go about dealing with this... Dilemma?"

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx smiled and sat on her own bed. "There's nothing wrong with making mistakes. They are aware of our 'unique circumstances' as you put it but... pretty much everything you've done so far is what they would expect from of fledgling of mine," she admitted, running her fingers over the dragon Cyrl had insisted on embroidering onto her scarf. "But, yes, they probably are expecting you to be a bit ignorant. Before your little showdown with Hendryk, Lucia might have pointed out your mistakes, but she might not, now."

Astrid flopped down behind Alyx and kicked off her boots. "Well, I think they also were not expecting Leo to be..."

"Legitimate?" Alyx supplied.

"Eeeeh, I was trying to think of a better way to say that," Astrid admitted. "But yeah... I guess."

"You'll be fine, Leo," Alyx assured him.

"You know what would be good right now?" Astrid asked. "A bottle of fire whiskey."

Alyx rolled her eyes and glanced back at her captain. "Why, is there a battle tomorrow?"

"In a manor of speaking," Astrid said with a grin. "We can lie on the floor, you could take, like, two sips, and then Leo and I can drink the rest. Dang, I did not know drinking age was 21 in Allaria. Weird." She rolled over onto her side to look at Leo. "Speaking of, congrats on being an uncle. That was some pretty big news, you alright?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose eyed the papers Gigi was reading, though it was a lot of jargon that he didn't really understand. He could see where they were coming from, but he wasn't sure how effective it would be in the long-run. Severing the fledgeling-sire bond could prevent some damage, but the fledgelings were often just... people who had been abused to the point of breaking. If they were robbed of that one last lifeline that seemed real to them, the last bastion of control, it might do more harm than good.

He did freeze when Georgiana mentioned his work. He did not think she was completely unaware of what he did. If she worked closely with Finn at all, it wouldn't be difficult to put together. But it was also putting him on the spot in a big way. Admitting he had knowledge he had not shared with the crown was a fair offense.

But they were doing this to try and end the war. Gigi may have been a princess, but she was also a scientist.

Lanea had told him that the children of the clans were promised to return after the war. At the very least, it seemed like Gigi wanted to help that happen rather than killing them all.

"I think you might be thinking about it the wrong way," he began slowly, as though he were just testing the waters. "Eldergaard has smaller numbers than Allaria. They've been supplementing their forces with a consistent stream of fledgelings, but by blocking off that stream, they would be unable to do that once their footsoldiers were taken down."

He pursed his lips, because he could imagine that some people might not like this idea.

"Instead of thinking of how to incapacitate the vampires, it might be worth it to look at our forces instead. If we could generate some form of immunity, or a vaccine, something to block the turning process, we could distribute it among our soldiers before sending them to the front lines. Of course, there's the possibility that Eldergaard could turn to turning their own civilians instead. Any sort of measure would have to be something we could distribute to their citizens as well. Some villages might welcome that sort of thing, but..." he turned to Delilah and frowned. "I admit you are likely more well-versed in the local political climate. I have sources in the capital, and a few elsewhere, but the remote areas like this are likely where the army would strike, and they're fairly cut off. Another option would be to essentially neuter the commanding officers. If we could find a way to inhibit their ability to turn others somehow, that might be worth looking into."

He went very quiet, then took a deep breath.

"Some of the commanders may be willing to work with us. As you said, they do not want to be in their roles." Of course, the big question was, if they were neutered and unable to produce fledgelings, would Eldergaard return them to their homes, or would they just dispose of them. It could go either way, and the possibility of such might make the clans less likely to agree to such a proposal.



That, at least, made Leo feel a bit better. He turned back and gave Alyx a little grin, though it was a bit less confident than he was used to.

"Does that mean that you're as big a troublemaker as I am?" he teased. "Or have the years mellowed you out a bit? Were you a crazy rebellious teenager, because I know I was."

The reasons for that were not exactly overly pleasant, and the results of it had not helped him at all. But, in a way, they had brought him here, so he could make peace with it. He was much happier now than he had been at sixteen, that was for sure.

"I am perfectly used to being illegitimate, so it's fine," he told Astrid with a roll of his eyes. He shifted so he was sprawled out on the bed like a content starfish, humming a bit. "Yeah, you can gamble and marry once you reach eighteen, but to drink or smoke you have to be twenty-one. It's a bit silly. Of course, in the poorer districts it isn't really enforced as much. If you go to a bar in a slum at sixteen they'll just give you a nod and say they don't know you."

It was something he'd done before, though he wasn't too proud of it.

He did feel a bit of heat rise to his cheeks as he flushed with pride at the mention of his little nibling. He had no idea if it was even a boy or a girl, but he was pleased all the same.

"It is big," he agreed. "But I'm happy for them. Claude was always a bit depressed that he couldn't have children of his own. He struggled a lot with the loss of the use of his legs. The past few years before I left, he was doing a lot better, but not being able to produce an heir really weighed on him. Knowing that he has an actual legitimate child now is... I'm glad."

He had some mixed feelings about it, but he /was/ glad, for the most part. It just made him feel a little useless. He had only been adopted since Claude couldn't continue the family line, and knowing now that he could and did, it meant that Leo had never been needed at all. But he was trying not to let his own feelings of inadequacy ruin his brother's good news.

 

[jones573]

"We've begun trials, giving soldiers on the frontlines small silver colloidal pills once a week," Gigi admitted. "But that was very recently, I don't have any data on its success. Or failure."

It was going to be tricky to measure regardless. She knew Eldergaardian forces had been taking steps to obscure how many bodies they were actually leaving behind, so the missing soldiers wouldn't be so obvious. The bodies Allaria could recover- They had no way to know if they'd died in battle, due to a failed turning, or something else entirely.

They'd been shifting their battle strategy to be more long-range over the course of the war as well, as it became more and more clear Allarian forces couldn't win an up-close fight with vampires. But when they lost an airship battle, they lost the people and the ship, so.

"Is that something you've explored at all? Making them unable to sire new fledglings," Gigi asked Delilah curiously. It seemed like a decent idea.

"Considered it, but I don't know if it's practical," Delilah admitted. "Turning people- That's vampire magic, unique to them. I understand how it works even less than regular, normal magic," she said, and Gigi shook her head at the phrase. 'Normal magic', sure.

"And I suppose they are not forthcoming about it either?"

"Oh, they've explained how they do it," Delilah said. "But I don't think they know how it works. And even if we could do it- It would have to be applied to each commander individually, I reckon."

"So even if they are willing to work with us," Gigi figured, obviously less certain of that 'if' than Rose. "The logistics of implementing it would be far too difficult to pull off."

"Unless you can figure out a way to apply your multigenerational fungus model," Delilah said, and Gigi twisted her lips in a grimace. Somehow she didn't think the elders would go for that- Neutering their heirs was one thing. Neutering themselves- and any other children they had- seemed like another.

"How much time do you think we have before the other clan leaders arrive," Gigi asked. She was a princess- She might be able to get answers and samples where Delilah had been less successful.

"They've already started getting here," Delilah said, and Gigi winced. She'd hoped she'd have a few more days at least.

"You oughta be getting your shut-eye," Delilah advised. "Could be they wake you up tomorrow at sunrise, to kick things off."

 

[Reynarda]

To Astrid's surprise, Alyx's cheeks darkened at Leo's teasing. "I had my moments," she said, studying her scarf with interest.

Astrid snorted. "I'm sorry, Alyx, I love you, but I am not letting you get away with that." She sat up in a position that would enable her to gesture. "Your commander was the worst vampire in the ENTIRE first cohort that came through the training grounds."

"Astrid!" Alyx moaned, covering her face with her hands. "Don't tell him that!"

But Astrid was not letting up. "The sergeants hated her. She would refuse to do anything the proper way."

"You didn't even know me then!" Alyx groaned from behind her hands.

"Oh please," Astrid snorted. "Everyone knew of her. We made bets on when--not if--she would be sent back to her family in a pine box." Astrid held up a hand, "I didn't know her, or I might not have lost so much money. Anyway, she made several sergeants quit. Word on the ground was that she would do everything in a manner that was wrong but not wrong enough they could punish her for it. Drove them mad--especially since her team always won the war games. The other midshipmen and I would go watch the vampire kids running war simulations when we were on shore leave, so I saw her from a distance on several occasions. Why is it you always won, Alyx?"

Alyx had lowered her hands and was scowling. She pursed her lips. "I don't like to lose," she muttered.

Astrid grinned and flicked her attention back to Leo. "Alyx would have been about your age at the time. And when it came time for her to be assigned, no one wanted her. Did you know Admiral Jorgenson suggested assigning her to me to hinder me? And then my mom--"

Astrid trailed off, her smile fading. She hadn't ever told Alyx what her mom had told her to do, but she figured Alyx had guessed, anyway. Her smile returning, she rested her elbow on Alyx's shoulder. "But look where we ended up. She was an ass when she was first assigned to me, but I charmed her after a while."

Alyx rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, Astrid got perfect grades in the academy," she said, and Astrid put a hand over her mouth.

"Sh! Don't tell him that. He doesn't need to know. I told you that in the strictest confidence."

"Responsibility mellowed me out," Alyx said once Astrid removed her hand.

"Lies," Astrid said. Thinking about ages for certain activities, she shook her head. "Dang, I can't believe that. Leo is old enough to get married but you're not, Alyx," she added with a grin.

Alyx ignored Astrid because Leo was not old enough to be married--that was preposterous. "That is very exciting news," Alyx said. "Children are always a blessing."

"Until they're rebellious teenagers," Astrid added with a smirk. "Am I the only good kid in this room?"

"Well, I certainly didn't get good grades at the training grounds," Alyx said with a snicker.

"Shut-up, it's not my fault my dad's the head mage." Astrid settled back onto Alyx's bed and closed her eyes. "Let's hope the kid doesn't take after their uncle--I heard he's a real troublemaker."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose listened with interest, though his expression was grim. The two women understood the scientific part of the situation far better than he did, so he doubted that he could offer much insight to them that they wouldn't already have.

He did have a thought, but he wasn't certain he wanted to bring it up. It was possible that Lanea could have some insight that the others wouldn't, as a young vampire serving in the Eldergaardian military, but he might not be willing to give it. Moreover, Rose had sworn that he would never, ever reveal his identity, and he intended to keep that promise. In order to get his opinion, he'd have to get a message to him, and that in itself could be difficult. They had a spot they met up at every three months, but that was several weeks away, and Lanea didn't always show regardless, depending on how heavy his duties were.

Involving him might be too dangerous, and would risk his safety. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"I'm afraid that the only insight I can give is from a tactical standpoint rather than a scientific one," he admitted. "And I don't think that would be particularly helpful to you at the moment."

When Delilah suggested that Gigi get some sleep, he made a noise of agreement.

"It is getting rather late," he agreed. "I do not presume to give orders, but it has been a very long and stressful few days. Perhaps a good night's sleep might refresh your mind."


Leo grinned unashamedly as Astrid dragged out Alyx's past in front of him, flipping over and leaning forward on his elbows so he could hear better.

"You know, somehow I'm not surprised," he said. "You've always been pretty stubborn."

He couldn't say that he was much better in that regard, but still. To say that Alyx hated to lose was a bit of an understatement, from his observations.

When Alyx mentioned Astrid got perfect grades, he snorted through his nose.

"Oh, man. That's pretty rich. My private tutors hated me. Which isn't really my fault, because they made stale academia even more boring than it usually is." He made a face. "Even personal combat and self defense training was so /boring/. Everything based on rules and protocol and how it's appropriate to attack somebody and how it isn't. As if any of that matters in practice."

He rolled his eyes and flopped down again, enjoying how comfortable the bed was. It wasn't quite on the level of the goose down mattress back at the vesper estate, but that had been too extravagant for his tastes anyways.

"I may or may not have given my teacher a stomach ulcer. He said teaching me was too stressful, so my father brought Rose on instead. At least he knows how to actually fight somebody for real."

Rose had tried teaching Leo the proper methods of fencing and martial arts, but it was very clear after a week that he was never going to be the kind to win in formal competitions. His father had been angry, but agreed that real combat was more important, after a bit of wheedling.

He was starting to relax, already feeling a bit sleepy as he kicked his feet back and forth.

"Well, I can't argue there. But it's fine, everyone needs a fun relative. Claude is too good and proper, and kids need to have an adult they feel comfortable around, otherwise they stop running their stupid schemes by people and just do them."

 

[jones573]

Gigi rubbed her temples, but she knew they were right. She'd been feeling energized, being able to talk with the Professor, but that wasn't going to last. And she still wanted to talk with Alyx.

Another vampire was summoned to escort them back to their rooms, and when Gigi asked if they might have a few changes of clothes for Rose and Cyn, he hurried to comply.

"I won't ask you to betray any loyalties you might have," she told Rose abruptly. It had occurred to her only belatedly that he might not want to reveal information, simply because he didn't feel comfortable saying where he had gotten it from. It seemed prudent for him to know that Gigi did not particularly care. "But I will ask you not to make any new ones," she advised, glancing at the door to Astrid, Alyx, and Leo's room.

She might have gotten along with them, under some other situation- But this was not some other situation. This was a war, and these were there enemies, no matter how friendly they acted. Despite what she had just said though, she knocked twice on the door.

"Commander Draya," she called. "This is Princess Georgiana. I would like to invite you to my room to speak with me," she said. It was not an order, as Alyx was not her subject, but it wasn't really a suggestion either. "I'll try not to take up too much of your time."

 

[Reynarda]

"I am not stubborn!" Alyx insisted.

Astrid snorted. "I've seen mules who are more agreeable." She glanced at Leo. "Yeah, private tutors are the worst. I lucked out because my dad's the top academic in the country. He taught me a lot before I even applied for the academy. But, in my defense, good grades meant I got my pick of ships, and Captain Loaksen was the best captain there ever was. She was fierce but kind--and she and my mom were friends, so I didn't get tormented like I would on some of the other ships."

At his explanation of his initial combat training, Astrid arched an eyebrow. "The only rules of combat are 'don't die''.

"Of course Rose trained you," Alyx sighed, rubbing her eyes. That meant that Rose would know all his tricks, and if they found themselves on opposite sides again--perhaps she should say 'when'--he could grab Leo and get her to surrender again.

Astrid chuckled, but it turned into a yawn. "So true, though. I'll need you two to be the fun relative for all my kids, okay?"

Alyx was about to declare she would be delighted to be the Auntie to Astrid's twenty children, but there was a knock on the door, and then Georgiana announced herself.

"The silver does she want?" Alyx groaned, dragging herself off her bed.

"And why is she announcing herself?" Astrid asked with a yawn. She didn't bother getting up. "Does she think we forgot what she sounded like in the past hour?"

"She's being a royal," Alyx muttered. Pulling open the door, Alyx leaned on the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked Georgiana up and down. "I'm not one of your acolytes that you can summon, princess. You can probably just stand there and say whatever you want to say."

Astrid glanced at Leo. "Didn't she just say she wasn't stubborn?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose could not hide the stiffness in his shoulders when Gigi mentioned the thing that he had been avoiding. It might have made him feel better, to know that she didn't really care about his sources or what he did for Finn and what that entailed. But it didn't, really.

"I assure you, my loyalty is first and foremost to Allaria and her people," he said stiffly. And it was true, as much as he hated it. Too much rode on his shoulders for him to be sentimental about loyalties, and he knew that if he had to choose, eventually, between his mission and cause or his family and loved ones, he would choose his cause. He hated himself for it a little bit, though.

"I will see you in the morning, princess. Sleep well," he said, trying to soften his tone so he didn't sound bitter.



Leo huffed.

"I didn't even learn how to read until I was adopted," he said, sounding not at all bothered by it. "I knew all the slum symbols, so there was no point in knowing how to read books and shit. History was ok, sometimes, but it only focused on kings and nobles and fancy people, and they're all boring." He stuck out his tongue to show his distaste, then nodded at Astrid as if to say 'see? she gets it'.

"Right? Nobody cares if you're a championship fencer or how many points you can score in a competition. There's no point in bothering to learn all that stuff when you're destined to join the military and kill people for a living." He rolled his eyes, because combat as a sport was something that he would never, ever be able to see the point of.

"His sister Camellia taught me too," he added, because it wasn't /just/ Rose. "She focused on weapons, he taught hand to hand. He actually had two hands, then."

He was still bothered that he didn't actually know what had happened to his arm. It felt like something he /should/ know, just like being an uncle was something he /should/ have known about. He'd been cut off from his family and friends so long that there was an untold mountain of things he /should/ have known but didn't, and it scared him, to not even know its size.

He was glad that Georgiana knocked on the door before he could get too morose. They were having a fun conversation, and he didn't want to ruin it with melancholy. Besides, he could always ask Rose about his hand one day. It wasn't like he was dead, the way Leo had half-feared he might be.

 

[jones573]

Gigi raised an eyebrow. She didn't have... 'Acolytes'.

"I just thought we might be more productive in private," she said with an even shrug. "With your crewmates here, we might just end up talking more about your mysterious fiancé. Truthfully," she said, lingering for just a moment on that first syllable. "I'm sure we'd all love to know more."

She wasn't sure if it was Maskim, or if she'd interpreted the gist of Maskim's... abilities correctly. But hopefully the threat of having to discuss her engagement any further would encourage Alyx to move things to Gigi's room.

Or get the door slammed in Gigi's face. But she was fairly certain that Alyx wanted too badly to tell her off to miss an opportunity to speak to her without their host's interference.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx had expected the princess to be all huffy at her refusal, she had not expected this. Her eyes widened just a fraction.

Behind her, in the room, Astrid sat up. "YES," she said, drawing the word out.

Alyx stepped into the hall, pulling the door closed behind her. She gestured towards Georgiana's room, and, without even thinking, gave her one of the "sassy bows" Astrid had taught Leo. "Of course, your highness, lead the way."


Astrid flopped back down, laughing. "They've spent barely two days together and the princess already knows how to dig at her," she said. She glanced over at Leo and gave him a smile. "You, young vampire, should get some sleep. You have a full day of navigating clan ettiquette tomorrow. I, on the other hand, will most likely spend the time exploring."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo’s eyebrows shot up at Gigi’s threat, and then he grinned as Astrid did when the door was shut on them. He did not giggle, but it was a close thing.

“Yeah, she’s playing her like a fiddle,” he said, though he was a bit worried. Gigi had shown to be resourceful and smart. She would be a formidable opponent, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to face her.

Astrid had a point though. He did need to sleep.

“Ugh, that sounds nice,” he mumbled, though he would never leave Alyx to the wolves alone. “Maybe someday soon. I don’t actually think we’ll be leaving for at least a few days.”

 

[jones573]

"There's no need to glower at me," Gigi told Alyx airily. "It won't have much effect, I'm quite used to being glared at. And besides, I wouldn't have pulled that if you had just come in the first place," she pointed out.

She took a seat in one of the armchairs and nodded to indicate that Alyx should feel free to do the same.

"I wanted to speak with you because I had an unusual conversation with your... midshipman the other night," Gigi said. "She seemed to think that if I were here to broker some sort of alliance, that you would be against it. I hardly expected her to feel warmly about such a concept," Gigi admitted, her careful language still not confirming or denying why she had come. "But it struck me as unusual that her reasoning lay entirely on the logic that 'Alyx disapproves and therefore it must be bad'."

Gigi raised an eyebrow. She knew that if the relationship between the two were to be described as 'subservient', that was not the direction the power flowed.

"But I doubt she knows your mind on every issue," Gigi allowed, a subtle invitation for Alyx to try and prove Gigi wrong. "So: Why would you be so against such an idea?"

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx rolled her eyes. "Still not your subject to bow and scrape to you, princess."

Alyx sat and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other as if she were perfectly relaxed instead of on her guard.

"Yes, I heard part of that," she said, because there was no real reason to pretend that she, a vampire, had been asleep when there had been a hissed argument close by between a friend and an enemy.

Arching an eyebrow, she leaned her elbow on the arm and rested her chin in her palm, her index finger extended along her cheek bone. She caught herself activating a small energy field between them and immediately dispelled it. Georgiana had set her on edge with her little comment about her betrothed. She had been confused by the word choice, but after running it through her head several times, she had realized what the princess was getting at. This was not some vampire with spirit magic, this was an observant human princess.

But Alyx knew what had driven Astrid to be worried about what she assumed was an alliance, and Astrid's faith in her never ceased to warm her a little. So Alyx smiled. "Perhaps not," she allowed, fixing her eyes coolly on Georgiana. "But whether or not I would be against an alliance hardly matters if there is no alliance, hmm?"

She should have left it there--Maksim would have left it there--but Alyx was a little less patient than Maksim. "Regardless, I will be representing my clan tomorrow. I can learn what you're doing, and you can learn what I'm doing."

 

[jones573]

Gigi suppressed a sigh. It was easy to forget- People who hadn't grown up in her family didn't tend to recognize the difference between practical antagonism and the genuine thing.

"I apologize, I should have been clearer," Gigi admitted, ducking her chin. "I'm not asking for your insight so I can trick you into revealing... Whatever secrets you think you need to protect from me," Gigi said with a wave of her hand.

"I'm asking because- regardless of outcome- there will likely be consequences," Gigi acknowledged somberly. "And our hosts are not in a position to understand those consequences- At least, not nearly so well as you," she pointed out.

"I would prefer to mitigate those consequences if I can, so... I thought I should speak to someone more tangibly involved in the war. You have lost your freedom, your family, your future and more for Eldergaard," she observed sadly. "What else will you lose, by trying to take those things back?"

It was not a hypothetical, but an actual question.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx's eyebrow arched before dropping down into a frown. Was the princess asking her about the consequences of an alliance? Now? When it was too late? Alyx had a derisive comment prepared for that, but then Georgiana listed off what she had lost.

Alyx stiffened. After a few seconds of silence, she arched an eyebrow. "What is it you told my midshipman? 'Do not mistake my willingness to pretend we are not enemies for friendliness', or something like that?" Alyx rolled her eyes. "You think our goals are the same when you know nothing about me or any of my compatriots."

She briefly thought about standing up and storming out, but she decided she'd been wanting to give the princess a piece of her mind for two days. So instead, she flicked her eyes to the ceiling as if seeking patience before dropping them to Georgiana. "You come here with the intent to make an alliance with a bunch of clans who have no blood in the game. I made my feelings on the matter very clear, and now here you are, asking me why? And you think I'm just going to tell you how your decisions hurt me and mine? You presume much and understand little."

Alyx scoffed before turning a mirthless smile on Georgiana. "Regardless, you have shown repeatedly that you will hold the needs of your country above everything else. Cyn and Rose might die because of this. Crane did die because of this. My firstborn fledgling is most likely taking blood from the rest of your crew, and Astrid's first officer may decide to just get rid of them. So tell me, princess, why the silver would I think that you care about what one lone vampire commander stands to lose? For all I know, you could be digging for information to use against me to keep me from thwarting you." She chuckled darkly. "You could always bring up my betrothed, but the clans already know about that, so it might not do much."