The impromptu training that Trevor Belmont had given to the remaining citizens of Gresit had aided them immensely. Though it was still night as the trio stepped out of those catacombs and onto the streets, the amount of violence had significantly subsided, the night creatures either having all been slain, or backing off substantially. The wind was cool, the moon still just a faint sliver of light in the sky above. Alucard, as he now thought of himself, tilted his head up, catching that breeze and considering the last time he’d even had a breath of fresh air.
The act drew Sypha’s gaze up as well, and she let out a disgruntled sound, causing Alucard’s golden gaze to shift back down, “What is it?”
“You remember the prophecy,” Sypha said, for they had just been speaking of it within his resting place, “That it involves a Scholar and a Hunter?”
“Yes…,” his tone suggested some mild exasperation with the dwellings on of a prophecy that seemed to be well underway. Still, he would not stop Sypha from continuing about it. Perhaps she had a suggestion for a better hunter, or perhaps she was uncertain about herself?
“Well, there was another part, about a New Moon. It’s kind of a funny story,” she gave a chuckle that indicated it perhaps was not as funny as it ought to be, “You see, when I went down to find you on my own,” and got turned to stone, she left that out, as she gestured upwards, “it was on a new moon, and now, it is very clearly not a new moon.”
Alucard arched a singular brow. “And yet I am awake.” He never considered moon phases much into his awakening, anymore than he considered the date he would awake. Such things had been rather far from his mind with the loss of his mother, and his father lashing out so violently against him that he had to rest…and even then, he was still left with a scar.
Either a testament to the weakness of his human blood, or to the strength of his father.
“Yes,” she said, noting they were finally nearing the Speaker’s encampment, “you are, but we are also missing our Seeker of Faith. Something feels off.” Though, as she said it, she snapped her fingers, “Trevor, you had someone bless the water, maybe—” she wanted to send Trevor to go find that person. They hadn’t been in priestly garbs, which at this point Sypha considered a good thing. The clergy of this town were wretched.
Yet, before she could so much as finish that direction, her attention was caught by someone shouting out, “Adrian!” and then a flutter of wings. To her surprise, but not to Alucard’s, an owl had chosen to perch on his upper arm, which he held out as soon as he caught sight of the bird.
He still gave it a somewhat irritated look, “Must you?”
The dark owl only preened, while a man with blond hair and hazel eyes stopped on front of their group, “We were worried,” the boy’s Romanian was heavily accented. Sypha’s nose wrinkled just a little in trying to determine if she knew the accent, only to notice there was another carriage by the Speakers…with two, rather tall, black horses, that seemed to have manes of smoke.
Not just in color, she’d almost swear it was literal smoke, though at this distance she was not so sure. Just as she wasn’t entirely sure if they had fangs or not, but they were unnerving enough at first glance, even if they seemed to be standing peacefully around the other Speakers and their party.
“You know them, Alucard?” She assumed the owl was the man’s. Was that a German accent? No, no, that wasn’t quite right? What was it?
Johann seemed a touch distressed at the use of ‘Alucard’ over ‘Adrian’.
Alucard sighed, “Yes, this is Johann Sterling,” he introduced, not bothering to introduce the owl. If Cassia felt like being introduced, she could be proper about it, at the very least. Alucard took note of the flash of familiarity in Sypha’s gaze, and wasn’t surprised. Sterling was among the better known hunter families, though for werewolves, not vampires. He probably wouldn’t be much help against Dracula.
Still, Alucard offered, “Another hunter,” he added as an afterthought. Perhaps to suggest they didn’t need Trevor, after all.
“Another?” Johann glanced between the two with Alucard, nixing the woman from the list immediately. Without his family’s house symbol in sight, Trevor wasn’t ringing any bells of familiarity. Then again, Johann wasn’t from those parts – and the Belmont family had been extinguished when he was still a child.
The act drew Sypha’s gaze up as well, and she let out a disgruntled sound, causing Alucard’s golden gaze to shift back down, “What is it?”
“You remember the prophecy,” Sypha said, for they had just been speaking of it within his resting place, “That it involves a Scholar and a Hunter?”
“Yes…,” his tone suggested some mild exasperation with the dwellings on of a prophecy that seemed to be well underway. Still, he would not stop Sypha from continuing about it. Perhaps she had a suggestion for a better hunter, or perhaps she was uncertain about herself?
“Well, there was another part, about a New Moon. It’s kind of a funny story,” she gave a chuckle that indicated it perhaps was not as funny as it ought to be, “You see, when I went down to find you on my own,” and got turned to stone, she left that out, as she gestured upwards, “it was on a new moon, and now, it is very clearly not a new moon.”
Alucard arched a singular brow. “And yet I am awake.” He never considered moon phases much into his awakening, anymore than he considered the date he would awake. Such things had been rather far from his mind with the loss of his mother, and his father lashing out so violently against him that he had to rest…and even then, he was still left with a scar.
Either a testament to the weakness of his human blood, or to the strength of his father.
“Yes,” she said, noting they were finally nearing the Speaker’s encampment, “you are, but we are also missing our Seeker of Faith. Something feels off.” Though, as she said it, she snapped her fingers, “Trevor, you had someone bless the water, maybe—” she wanted to send Trevor to go find that person. They hadn’t been in priestly garbs, which at this point Sypha considered a good thing. The clergy of this town were wretched.
Yet, before she could so much as finish that direction, her attention was caught by someone shouting out, “Adrian!” and then a flutter of wings. To her surprise, but not to Alucard’s, an owl had chosen to perch on his upper arm, which he held out as soon as he caught sight of the bird.
He still gave it a somewhat irritated look, “Must you?”
The dark owl only preened, while a man with blond hair and hazel eyes stopped on front of their group, “We were worried,” the boy’s Romanian was heavily accented. Sypha’s nose wrinkled just a little in trying to determine if she knew the accent, only to notice there was another carriage by the Speakers…with two, rather tall, black horses, that seemed to have manes of smoke.
Not just in color, she’d almost swear it was literal smoke, though at this distance she was not so sure. Just as she wasn’t entirely sure if they had fangs or not, but they were unnerving enough at first glance, even if they seemed to be standing peacefully around the other Speakers and their party.
“You know them, Alucard?” She assumed the owl was the man’s. Was that a German accent? No, no, that wasn’t quite right? What was it?
Johann seemed a touch distressed at the use of ‘Alucard’ over ‘Adrian’.
Alucard sighed, “Yes, this is Johann Sterling,” he introduced, not bothering to introduce the owl. If Cassia felt like being introduced, she could be proper about it, at the very least. Alucard took note of the flash of familiarity in Sypha’s gaze, and wasn’t surprised. Sterling was among the better known hunter families, though for werewolves, not vampires. He probably wouldn’t be much help against Dracula.
Still, Alucard offered, “Another hunter,” he added as an afterthought. Perhaps to suggest they didn’t need Trevor, after all.
“Another?” Johann glanced between the two with Alucard, nixing the woman from the list immediately. Without his family’s house symbol in sight, Trevor wasn’t ringing any bells of familiarity. Then again, Johann wasn’t from those parts – and the Belmont family had been extinguished when he was still a child.