symphonyofthenight | [the last voyages] ic inbox

No.

I shall make my way there then.

[And so he does.]

[ Her wind-battered door stands out, and she appears there to let him in quickly. The cat always knows there are visitors before she does. Entering her foyer comes with the smell of happy, damp plants. She leads him to the left, where she has a seating area and small kitchenette. ]

What kind of tea do you like? Caffeinated, herbal?

[It's nice. Quaint. Reminded him of a hedge witch's cabin. He didn't seem to pay much attention to any of the details, but he noticed it all.

He sat with relaxed movement.]

...Black.

[The word "caffeinated" did not exist in his time and did not quite translate. He had no idea what she was saying in other words.]

[ Her electric kettle is one of her prized possessions, and there is water ready and tea steaming quickly. She sits down across from him. She's young, and though she's pleasant throughout, her manners are restrained. She emotes through her eyes more than through expressions. ]

I'm glad you were available to come. How is the ship finding you?

[Alucard appeared young, within his early twenties at most, but in actuality he was over three hundred years old. He spent much of that time isolating in a self-imposed submerging of his dark powers. In other words, he slept in his coffin for a majority of those years. He was an old soul, but still quite young in some ways. Similar to Ilde, he didn't express much outwardly and his face usually remained impassive.]

I find no grievance.

[Translation: he didn't really think about it. He was here and that was that. At least he was here because he agreed to come.]

[ Rare that she encounters others with the same kind of quiet. She's certainly not complaining. ]

Good. Is there anything that you would like while you are here? Necessities are provided as a matter of course, but you also have the opportunity to... ask for personal comforts.

[ She gestures at the room at large. ]

When I was an inmate, I requested the entire cabin be refitted to better house more plants.

[Alucard took another look around the room, this time in a much more obvious manner. He had not thought much of his room. It was mostly bare, but that was how he made his place to enter his almost eternal slumber anyway, and his room here was clearly made to mimick it. He assumed the Admiral thought that was all the dhampir needed. And Alucard was fine with that.

He had no clue that perhaps maybe he shouldn't be. Living was less his goal so much as righting the wrongs he committed. That would probably need to change in the future, but currently Alucard did not realize this concept could be for him.]

I see. It is nice. [If one liked such an environment.] I do not require personal comforts. I have gone centuries with little more than my coffin.

[ She waits quietly as he looks, and she listens with a nod when he declines. She's not really here to push anyone into anything, but she too had thought she didn't need much. It's not really about need, however. ]

I am happy if you are content with the accommodations. It is important aboard the Barge to have a space that makes you comfortable and able to... recover after something jarring occurs. Jarring things will occur often.

So, if you think of something in the future that would please you or bring you peace, I am always available to help you achieve that.

['Comfort' didn't really compute. 'Comfort' was luxury and such things were for a prince that didn't commit patricide and further murder.]

I am able to rest in my coffin which was replicated here in my assigned room. Though- ironically, it much harder to induce sleep without my powers.

[The irony being he forced slept to rid the world of his powers. And here he was without them and sleeping less. It was for the best--much more human for one thing--and less time he could hide away for another. But perhaps indicative of other issues as well that Alucard was not considering.]

Why a coffin?

[ There are vampire-like things in the stories from her world but she really doesn't know a lick about the Earth-lore kind. ]

If you do not mind my asking, that is.

I thought it fitting.

[He said wryly. Then resumed more seriously.]

I am a dhampir, a half vampire. Vampires typically sleep in coffins with the soil of their native land surrounding them. Especially to recover their full strength after exertion. [Or getting heavily wounded and needing time to heal. He didn't need that anymore, but it had become his...'home' wasn't the right word, but his place to sleep eternally nevertheless. Familiar, that was the word. Familiar and convenient.]

[ She listens with utter earnest. She knows that there are 'vampires' on the ship, but they never seem to cross her path. She should perhaps learn more so she is prepared for such things?? ]

I see, so it should be quite a comfort. Your coffin has what you need, your soil? I apologize for not knowing more. I am from a different world than many of you.

No. Originally it was kept underground on my native land, and that was enough. This is not my native land and there is no soil here.

[He held up a hand to ward off any further offers.]

But I don't really need it. As a dhampir it's not as important to my strength, and nor am I recovering from any ailment. [Somewhat more wryly:] And currently I may as well be more human than vampire with the way things are here.

[ She notices that all offers of comfort are waved away. She can stop asking for now but makes the observation. She mulls over how to ask her question without offering something. ]

You're at peace with that?

At what?

[He asked for clarification, head slightly tilted to one side as he gazed at her with his unnaturally yellow eyes.]

Feeling more predominantly human at this time.

[Alucard considered this for a moment.]

It seems appropriate.

['Seems appropriate' and 'sounds satisfied' were not quite the same thing. If anything, the youth sounded conflicted in his answer.]

I am here to earn redemption, and that would be more easily achieved without access to my dark lineage. Would it not? I cannot easily harm others or escape punishment for my actions with these limitations put upon me.

['I can live as my mother would have' goes unsaid. That thought gave him comfort. And yet- he was also uncomfortable, not for the lack of strength or powers or the familiarity taken from him, but for the lack of those things when it came to protecting others. He didn't think he would need such things, but he'd been here just long enough now to realize there would always be some reason to shield others from darkness like his own. And as the saying went: fight fire with fire, or darkness with darkness.

He was trained as a soldier, he could always go back to being one. Was it more blessing or curse?]

[ Curious. Vampires have been both inmates and wardens alike, so it cannot be dark by course alone? But that feels like a question that will take several perspectives to better understand. For now, it seems most appropriate to accept that this is how Alucard feels on the topic. ]

I think there is some merit to that. To have peace of mind that you can do little harm while you consider your situation and learn to trust yourself anew.

[ It's familiar to her, even. And she gave her defensive-only knife to Jinx for the same reason. ]

[Alucard merely nodded in response at first. He seemed to sink into thought for a moment to take in her words. There was comfort there, hearing someone else mirror his thoughts on the matter. A part of him relaxed at the validation.

Another part of him gnawed at the cage. He shoved it deep down, attributing it to his dark heritage rather than any practicality on his inner self's part. He was part vampire, he would always have these conflicting pieces within him, this darkness warring with the light. He accepted that for what he thought it was.

He nodded again.]

Yes. I think so.

[Or perhaps I hope so.]

I know that the next month is a very inconsequential amount of time. I always found my temporary wardens very irritating.

[ She know! How many temp-wardens had she told to stop badgering her to graduate and go away? A whole handful! ]

But I am always here to help, even if it is just to listen or serve a cup of tea.

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