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Fandom Castlevania: Night's Dirge [Closed]

" Before the demon hoards things were better, man was better." Aveline mused, she had never stopped to think about how things had changed over the years other than for the demon hoards. But now that the question was in front of her she couldn't remember too many problems with traveling between Dracula unleashed his hoards. " It has happened more lately, but things are bad right now, and bad times always bring out the worst in people. I don't blame the men that tried to stop me for what ever reason."

She had run into men that were truly horrible people and talked about selling her or using her for some perverted reason, those were the men that she had no problems scaring off or putting in their place. But she had also run into men who held daggers with shaking hands and grumbling stomachs, they apologized for what they were doing but their families were starving and anything she had would be better than nothing. Those were the encounters that ended with her leading the men to a 'secret grove' she had found on her way there with fresh fruits or vegetables, and normally a pat on the back was enough to give them a boost of good luck.

Helping people even in these dark times gave her a reason to be thankful for what she was and what she could do. Traveling allowed her to see the good she could do, her own curse and distaste for her heritage was able to be pushed aside and replaced by a kind of fondness when she saw people fill their bellies for the first time in weeks.

" That is a very forgiving thing to say." Johann said, slightly shocked but at the same time for what he had figured out from being around Aveline for a few days she was the kind forgiving type. He didn't know if he could forgive someone who had tried to take advantage of him or steal from him.

" What we need right now Is some forgiveness and kindness. I think if we hadn't forgotten that, then things wouldn't be like they are now." She had heard about what had started Draculas war on humanity, who hadn't? People said the church burned a witch and with draculas hoards sweeping across the land it was like the church was being vindicated, but the church hadn't killed a witch. They had killed a wife and mother.

Maybe if the church wasn't on a war path of its own all this death and destruction wouldn't be happening. But that was a lot of maybes and the past was in the past. What they had to do was laid out in front of them, regardless of how much they might want to change it.


Trevor looked a bit shocked that Lucia knew it had been him to find most of the scraps," I told her to keep that part to herself," he mumbled. He was aware that the two of them were on some weird rocky ground, trying to figure out where they stood but he could see how much that cloak meant to her and after the joke he made earlier he didn't want to press anything. " Everyone complains about my personal hygiene I didn't want you worried i'd stink it up." he joked with a small chuckle.

He pulled his own cloak a bit closer, it going unsaid that this was something they shared despite how different they were. They were as different as night and day, but this was a sentiment he could understand and couldn't deny her.

" I'm sorry I couldn't find more." He confessed, it had been eating him since he handed what he could find to Danica. He had wanted to head back into the forest and keep looking, and seeing how little of the original length was here he cursed himself for not trying harder." Maybe if we had gotten out of that forest sooner more of the pieces would of been in the area," But he had searched high and low. But he would of walked until his feet were sore if it meant finding more pieces.

But Trevor chuckled hearing Lucias joke, he hadn't thought she had the energy to joke around. He honestly suspected that despite feeding twice last night and sleeping today that she was still very tired and very hungry, the fact they were heading into a town probably wouldn't do her any good. " There are other clichés you could get into, but I think the red cape is my favorite." He laughed lightly, trying not to wake up Sypha or Danica.

" Are you feeling better?" His eyes glanced at her arm and the red bandages that hid the wound from his sight. It was odd, the weird twist in his stomach, and it took a moment to place the feeling as guilt. Animal blood wouldn't heal her quickly or give her everything she needed, and he was the reason she was holding back. When they had first started their journey he had been happy that she had gotten the shitty end of their deal, but now he actually regretted it. He felt the urge to make it right, but how he wasn't sure yet.
 
So it had not been for long, but it had been often, Alucard thought as Aveline clarified that it only got severe after the demons started to show up. That did not surprise him. This kind of situation made mankind desperate, willing to do much because they thought it was the end – what would it matter? “I still blame them,” Alucard noted, not quite as forgiving.

It was still their decision.

He did not want his father to get off light with the words ‘I don’t blame him’ or ‘I would have done the same’. Plenty of people imagined they would commit atrocities if a loved one was killed…but most would not. Few had the ability to go so far as Dracula. It still should not forgive them when they began to involve innocents in their troubles.

“I agree with you…more kindness in this world is necessary,” on that much, he would certainly agree. “More…understanding, more communication, less force,” but he knew what happened when it broke down. The wound he bore on his chest was to be a constant reminder that talking only went so far. “But I do not like the idea of excusing them all because it is a bad time…not if they cannot be reasoned with first.”

He was unaware of the ones that Aveline had reasoned with and given food to. He would have been happy for that. He shook his head a bit as they got closer to the town. Its doors were closed, but unlike Gresit, they had guards standing outside, and did not seem as bad. The reason evaded Alucard, much as it did Johann – both, oblivious to the fact another had come to help the town only a couple days ago.

“I wonder if the Speakers made it here already?” Johann asked aloud, and Alucard shook his head, uncertain, but doubting it.

~***~

‘There’s no reason….’

A Belmont was sorry he couldn’t find scraps of a vampire’s precious cloak. It was a comedy, and Lucia might have wondered if she was delirious still from the whip, confused, but she knew better. He used jokes, much as she did, to try and cover some of the important details and truths to actions. Yet, he still said it more plainly than her.

He wanted to find more of it. “I would have thought you’d prefer another of the tropes, though I suppose that would depend on if it applies,” Lucia chuckled herself, expression remaining gentle as Trevor asked after her. “Mm. Well enough,” she could feel that she hadn’t healed completely. How she woke, she didn’t know.

Perhaps her body simply knew it wasn’t going to work. Something was going to remain to bother her from that whip’s strike, though she couldn’t quite see it, given that Danica was resting on that arm. Otherwise she might have pulled it to take a look at it. She’d see it soon enough. “I’ll heal in time.”

He didn’t need to worry. She wasn’t worrying. It wasn’t like this was the worst she’d been through – though admittedly that sudden pain she could only compare to sunlight.

Her eyes shifted again briefly to Sypha, as if to assure herself the other woman was asleep, before she noted, “It…feels rather unfair that you found so much of the cloak and don’t even know what it means. I know about yours,” heard it through the carriage, “Your sisters…I’m sorry. Truly. As terrifying as your family may be to my kind, it was undeserved, and your family’s done much good.” Just as they had done some bad, but who was perfect?

Her gaze shifted to the wall, “This was a gift. Saturnalia. I had gone to see to the fires for the public banquet…I was a Vestal Virgin, keepers of the flame. Apparently some men thought that role was to be reversed,” some things never changed. “But not all – there was a centurion,” the only one who would ever dare to wear his blood-red cloak in Rome when it was forbidden, the only asshole who could get away with it, “who overheard and just…strode in, dispersed them, and walked me back to the Temple of Vesta. He left me with his cloak. Supposedly it would protect me – it protected him in battle. I think all it’s really good for is hiding blood, but…I kept it.”

All those years. It wasn’t the first time, nor the last time, she saw him. After all, occasionally he needed to grease some hands to make things go smoothly, and making sure that the Vestal Virgins were in favor of all that Caesar was doing was absolutely necessary. The omens had to be to his favor. Vesta on his side. He seemed to remember her each time, just as well – though he remembered them all, in truth, it had still made her stupid teenage heart feel special.

When Caesar had died…he became a wreck. She knew what happened to him, of course. His tragedy was infamous…but she hadn’t been there to see his end.
 
Aveline chuckled softly hearing Alucards blunt words, they seemed like something he would say. " Not all the people that tried to rob me were bad people. I was able to talk to a lot of them, and once you find out a persons motivations it can change things. Some of the men that tried to rob me were just hungry and needed a ear to listen to them," She wondered how those men were doing. She remembered one man with a sick daughter and how he hoped food would chase away what ever illed her, but that was a desperate mans illusion. She had left them with food and herbs that would hopefully help his daughter, but this world wasn't fair by any means. Even with the right herbs and loving father that girl could be dead for all she knew, but Aveline frowned and hoped that wasn't the case.

" I also don't think there isn't a man out there who doesn't carry some guilt because of past actions." She knew it was naïve, but she liked to think that in the future when the world was better and times were good those men she had helped would remember how low they had sunkin' and learn from it. Maybe sewing some kindness in the soil will allow someone else to reap the benefit years down the line when they needed it most. " I think most of those men learned their lessons."

The conversation shifted, however, as they neared the gates of the city. " I don't think the speakers went this direction." She hummed with a small frown. Surely if the speakers were headed this direction they would of seen signs of their caravans or even traveled together for some time. " But maybe this is a good sign. Maybe some one here remembered the old folk lore and legends that spoke about killing demons."

Seeing a town not ravaged by demons and looking moderately well off shouldn't made her stomach twist the way it did.

" Maybe we'll be able to find out while we're here." Johann said softly, they were nearing the guards and didn't want to do anything that would keep them from opening the gate to them.

The guards motioned for the carriage to stop, the two were cautious and curious about who wanted to enter their town. " State your business. We're trying to keep out the riff raff." One guard said as his eyes moved between Alucard and Johann, trying to size them up. It was almost nightfall what was a carriage doing traveling around so late into the evening?

" We're just here to resupply, we'll be out come sun up tomorrow." Aveline promised as she poked her head out from between the two, while this world was horribly unfair to women she wasn't a fool. There were few men that a sweet young girl with a smile on her face couldn't charm.

The guards shared a look before the first guard nodded to them. " Alright you can come in, but no funny business. We're just started to get our feet back under us, we won't tolerate any trouble." He warned as the second guard called out to men stationed behind the door, " Open the gate!"

As the carriage made it way past the guards and through the gates Aveline called out behind them " We'll be on our best behavior!"


Apologies were foreign to Trevor, maybe it had been too long since someone thought he was worth the breath, but hearing Lucias apology dug up feelings he thought he had buried. What did it say about the state of the world that a vampire, the very kind his family specialized in killing and feared, was apologizing to him for his lose? It would make any man wonder who the real monsters were, and in the least out of everyone in the party Trevor felt like the real menace. " Thank you, but you're not to blame for what happened to my sisters. The people I want most to hear apologize believe they did nothing wrong." The hand on his knee clenched, the knuckles turning white.

How could he get across how much the memories hurt without coming off as weak? He didn't think he could talk about how his sisters had never picked up a sword but it was their lives that were taken. If they wanted to end the Belmont line they should of made sure to kill him, but instead he was alive and his sisters death were basically meaningless, that fucking mob hadn't even accomplished what they had set out to do. But he couldn't find the words, and even if he could he wouldn't say it here, not when Sypha and Danica could wake up at any moment, but oddly enough he didn't mind the idea of telling Lucia.

While listening to Lucias story Trevor found himself tangling his hands in the fabric of his own cloak. " I had a feeling the first time I saw you with your cape and the way you took care of it that it meant a lot to you," he wouldn't of guessed just how she got her cape but despite how different their stories were the fact remained that each of them had almost nothing left of their pasts and the people that cared for them. Time went on, people died and where did that leave them? Survivors with just some fabric they could use to try and bundle up all their memories where they would be safe.

" It was a gift to you, like my cloak was to me, that makes it special no matter how little of the original fabric is still left." He didn't know how many stitches in his cloak were still in his sisters neat hand. His cloak had been ripped and dirtied so many times over the years, and no attempt of recreation of his part was never good enough to deceive him, but still his cloak meant the world to him. " I'm happy I was able to help return your special memento to you. But all I did was climb a few trees and stick my hands into rabbit burrows when ever I thought I saw something. Danica was the one who put it together so well." He looked away and rubbed at the back of his neck, he didn't deserve much in this world and Lucias thanks felt too good.

If he wasn't careful he would get used to people actually treating him like a person and not a parasite the church had failed to kill off.

" I think we've arrived, hopefully the others will pull us into the shade somewhere and we can see what time of day it is."
 
“Let me take over here,” Johann spoke to Alucard, and they managed to readjust themselves inside the city. He felt more comfortable being the one to navigate in the city, and he kept his eyes on the lookout for anything that seemed to be an inn. It didn’t take too long to find one, they were always near entrances. He drove the carriage closer to it, and put it into the shade of the building. “I’ll go see about rooms and handle any business here, let the others know where we’re at.” Johann said as he hopped down, “Manete!” He told the horses, before he saw another young man approaching to see about tending to the horses.

Which, no, he was not going to be allowed to do. Johann made sure to take his arm, and quickly engaged him in questions about the stable space and rooms while leading him back towards the inn itself.

Alucard observed him head off, and then moved to get off the bench himself. Once on the ground, he turned to offer his hand to help Aveline step down, “We should let the others know about this town,” that they were here, of course, and that it seemed oddly safe, secondly.

He was grateful for it, but it was certainly notable. Especially with the sort of luck they’d been having. He could imagine this was not necessarily good. Maybe the town was offering sacrifices? Would that even work? He didn’t know, but others had thought killing Speakers would work…he wouldn’t put it past humanity.

~***~

‘Then maybe that can be fixed.’ Unlikely, no doubt any confrontation of those responsible would only lead to another attempt on Trevor’s life – but perhaps if that was the case they didn’t deserve their own. Lucia couldn’t say she was a fan of genocide in any form. She wouldn’t be here, on this mission, if she believed genocide was the way to solve anything.

She could see his anger clearly in the grip of his knuckles, but he relaxed – just a bit – with the story. A minor distraction that spoke to the strange similarity they had in a simple piece of cloth. Yet, he seemed uncomfortable with the gratitude. Was it because it came from a vampire? Was it so foreign to him in general?

She didn’t know, and didn’t ask, as the gait of the nightmares did seem to slow. They must have looked normal enough – Lucia did hear some conversation outside. She gave a slight nod at Trevor’s statement, “Hopefully,” she agreed, before shifting a bit, “Danica,” she spoke, as the woman stirred under her shifting. “Danica, wake up,” gradually, the other woman did, rising with a yawn, “I think we’re in town now.”

“Oh, already?” She murmured, “I hardly feel like I slept.” Still, she stretched out and up as much as she could, unfortunately disturbing Sypha, who had been so deep asleep.

“Mur? Uh…what time is it?” She started to reach for the door, not fully awake, but Danica caught her wrist. It all came back quickly. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t even remember,” a sheepish blush crossed her face. “I am not yet used to traveling so….” With a vampire.

“It’s all right,” Lucia said, as the carriage came to a stop.
 
Aveline took Alucards offered hand easily and jumped down from the carriage bench and onto the ground, " A town that isn't scrambling under the threat of demons is a bit weird," she agreed. She would be more than happy if this was a sign that towns were learning and fighting back, but they had only seen Gresit devolve into a mob before being shown how to defeat the demons by Trevor. She had high hopes for people but even the church didn't seem aware that praying wasn't going to make things better, they needed to be proactive somehow.

Walking to the back of the carriage Aveline knocked on it gently to make sure the others were up before she spoke, " We're in town, Johann parked us in the shade and is looking into rooms at the inn. It's almost sun down, we'll make sure to get you when it's safe to come out Lucia," The rest of the gang carefully made their way out of the carriage, all making sure not to open the door to wide or do anything that would cause Lucia more discomfort than she was already in because even the shade left things a bit too bright for her.

Trevor stepped outside the carriage and looked around, surprised to see a lack of dead bodies and towns people looking ready to snap. " This actually looks a lot better off than I expected," comparing it to Gresit was like night and day. When he had snuck into Gresit he had seen bodies being thrown over bridges, people crying in the streets and slipping in tents but there was none of that here.

" That's actually something we're kind of worried about." Aveline said as the group pressed together to talk without, hopefully, being over heard by the townsfolk. " There were guards at the gate that said the town was getting back on its feet, which would normally be great! But-" Aveline frowned and Sypha picked up on her concerns " It leaves the question of how these people learned to survive the hoard."

Smaller villagers didn't really have as many worries when it came to the hoard, the demons were going for major cities for the most part, where as villages might have to worry about a rogue group of demons running through and causing trouble. Vanator wasn't a small village by any means though, and finding it getting along so well was shocking.

" So either these people figured things out on their own or someone told them what to do." Trevor concluded. " That's good, though I suppose we're running the risk that they made a deal with something even worse than a demon hoard to protect them," he rubbed at the scruff on his chin and wondered just what could keep a hoard of demons away. Certainly nothing he wanted to fight.

" I think the best way to find out would be to do some scouting. A inn is a great place to find things out," Sypha said, it seemed like they were in just the place they needed to be if they wanted answers to their questions. " It's also a great place to get into fights if the locals think you're up to something, and strangers asking questions are almost always up to something. Like we are literally right now." Trevor could still remember a bar fight he got into a few days ago and the abuse his balls too. He really hoped today wouldn't be one of those days.
 
Danica hated to see the way that Lucia recoiled when the sun came through those curtains, but they were all quick to get out, and she went around the back to make sure to get Lucia new clothes. Most towns weren’t keen on having a vampire within them to start with. Given what Dracula was doing? She didn’t think Lucia was likely to be received any better here, even in the company of a Speaker and a Belmont. Alucard was going to be lucky to be well received, once people noticed what he was.

At least his skin wasn’t so pale.

As she came back around with a cloak and dress for Lucia, she overheard the conversation the others were having about the town. She slipped the attire within, before joining the huddle.

Danica bit her bottom lip, “Perhaps we should just let it be?”

Alucard’s attention snapped up, hardly expecting that, “We’re on a bit of a time crunch to save the world, aren’t we?” She reminded, “We can’t go around solving every town’s problem when we have to do that…and this town has it handled.”

“I agree they have it handled, but if they have some method that is protecting them, it is information we could spread to other cities,” Alucard noted, “It could also, potentially, save us time in the long run if it is something we can use when we’re not in a town like this.”

Sypha agreed with that one, nodding, “And if it’s something bad, we can stop it!” She wasn’t too worried about fights, apparently.

Danica didn’t seem sold on it, but she could tell when she was outnumbered. That, and Johann returned, and his expression seemed worried.

Even if he threw a smile on his face. “So I got us three rooms – all they had left.” He told them, “I was thinking that Danica, Aveline, and Sypha could share a room, Trevor and I could share another, and Lucia and Alucard could share the last one.” Not that they needed to sleep, but it somehow seemed proper to put them together in a room. “But if that seems like a bad idea or doesn’t work for anyone, we can figure it out.”

Danica shook her head, not bothered by it, “Though I don’t see why we three have to share a room. Why not me and Lucia, Sypha and Aveline, and you three men?” She teased. She understood how he divided. Humans together – and then the bloodsuckers together.
 
" I don't care about arrangement, i'm just excited to sleep in a bed laying down." Aveline said as she bounced in place slightly. " The carriage is great and Danica you really did a great job repairing the seats but sleeping sitting up is weird and kind of hurts," she explained sheepishly, but Trevor and Sypha were right there with her nodding. Sypha was used to having Caravans to lay down in and even though Trevor was used to traveling on his own two feet at least on the ground he could spread out.

" I understand, it took me a while to get used to," Danica assured them, but she had been traveling with Lucia long enough that she knew it took some time to get used to traveling this way. Johann had struggled with it as well when he first started out, but time would help the three get used to the new situation.

Truthfully for a moment Aveline did feel a bit jealous that Alucard and Lucia would be sharing a room together, but she hadn't seen any signs that Lucia and Alucard held romantic feelings for one another and the teasing she'd get if she asked to room with Alucard would probably kill her so It was best not to focus on the thought.

" Hope you don't mind snoring, Johann," Trevor teased as he playfully bumped shoulders with the younger hunter. " Sypha snores in the carriage I imagine it'll only be worse once she's laying down- Ow!" Trevor grunted as he rubbed at the spot Sypha elbowed him in. " I hope Johann doesn't mind your smell. While we're here for the night we should see if there's a wash basin some where that we can dump over your head."

" He'd smell like wet bear if you did that," Aveline joked, " Your right, they'd probably kick us out." Sypha chuckled behind her hand. " See if I save either of you next time you need me to." Trevor glared at the two, but neither looked worried about what he said. That was just Trevor pouting a bit when they pulled at his pig tails.

" I'll be inside where people don't make fun of me, and i'll grab us a table where hopefully we can over hear something useful.." Trevor pulled his cloak close and make sure to hide his family crest as he stepped inside the inn, where immediately he was greeted by warmth and the smell of something cooking. He wasn't sure what it was but it was probably meat with some local herbs, and it smelled wonderful.

Scanning the room he found a empty table in the back corner that looked like a good place to go unnoticed, and Christ did this feel familiar. Back corner tables in inns and taverns were like a second home to him at this point, but this time around when the man behind the bar asked him if he'd like anything he had to say " Just water for now," It made a shiver go up his spine. But now that it had been a couple of days without ale he was kind of surprised by how often he thought about ale and wanted some. He felt like a bit of a slave to it now that he put it at arms length.


Outside with the others Aveline gave Danica and reassuring smile as the sun finally sunk below the horizon and nighttime fell on them. " We probably won't stay that long if it makes you feel any better. " Just a night at the inn would be the most in theory, but if they did notice something up then it would be worth investigating. If vanator really did just figure things out on their own they'd be out of here in no time.

Danica thanked Aveline for her kind words then gently knocked on the carriage doors to let Lucia know it was safe for her to step out. " It's night now, and we're going to hide into the inn. The others want to see If there's any information to gather."

" Oh and i'd like to grab some dinner too. I can smell something cooking from out here," Sypha added as she took a sniff of the air then let out a content sign. Their meals out in the forest had been wonderful but few things were better than what smelled like meat that had been slow cooked in herbs all day. " But information gathering and dinner getting are definitely going to happen."

" I hope they have roasted vegetables." Aveline chirped as she, Sypha, and Johann went on ahead as their stomachs led them inside. " We'll save you guys seats." Aveline called back.
 
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Lucia honestly hated how dependent she was on the others to know when it was night, but she appreciated that some had stayed back to alert her to it. She had changed back into a black dress, though she tied the red cape around her waist like a makeshift belt. After leaving it once and seeing it get shredded, she wasn’t so inclined to leave it behind again.

Not that it could be seen. She was still cloaked, hood up, to help mask her unnatural shade and her eyes. She almost wanted to tell Alucard he should do the same, but refrained. He did greet with, “We’re sharing a room,” seeming amused as he said it, aware neither of them would be sleeping. It would hold space for them.

Lucia wouldn’t comment on the waste of money, but she might mention it next time. “You can pick up the key. I’m going to do my own sort of investigation,” she said as her eyes shifted to follow the others turning the corner, “After I see to the nightmares.” They were going to need food before they bit some foolish stable boy’s hand off. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Do you need any help?” Alucard offered, and Lucia shook her head.

“But it’s appreciated.”

He smiled, and assisted in helping her untack the horses, and lead them around to stalls in the stable. “I can feed them,” Danica was the one to speak on that, having stayed behind, “if you intend to do any sort of investigation, you may want to go ahead with that.” Her time was limited, after all. She wasn’t sure how useful information they’d get in an inn was, but she was aware that with the ability the shadow-step and shift into an owl, people would reveal information without knowing they were being listened to.

She’d seen it often enough, and it wouldn’t be too hard to order meat for Aveline and take it from her to feed the horses.

“Thank you,” Lucia smiled, “make sure Trevor doesn’t drink,” she added, before taking a glance around, then shifting into an owl. Thankfully, her arm had healed enough that she was able to fly, and she was able to quickly locate what looked to be guard barracks – if there was going to be any information, it was going to be around the guards who had to defend the place, after all. Any talk of being uneasy, or any joy at not having to worry would be spoken.

At least, that was the thought.

As Lucia came to perch on a branch, she soon realized she might not need to hear anything as among the guards were a few of those in silvery armor, with insignia Lucia would never forget. ‘Carmilla….’ But why? She nearly shifted on the spot to demand an answer from one of them, but decided instead to try and glean information by listening first.

~***~

Inside, as the first group joined Trevor at his table and the waiter came back to get their drink orders, the guards from the gate came in, clearly having ended their shift with nightfall. One was saying, “Are you sure we can just go home?”

“’Course we can. We would have been able to last night, too. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Sypha heard that, and glanced sidelong to Trevor, realizing he might have been right about this inn thing.

“I don’t know….”

“Hey, Bob, you’re not worried tonight, are you?” The guard addressed the innkeeper.

“I’m worried – but I don’t think we need to board up and leave town anymore if that’s what you mean. The usual, boys?”

“Yeah,” the unbothered guard agreed, and two pints of ale were filled and set before them as they picked a table. “Come on, drinks, and then home. I’m sure your wife will appreciate you not staying out all night worrying with that new baby at home.”

The other allowed a light smile to creep onto his lips. Of course he wanted to stay out to defend the town from the demons, but it was definitely taking time away from watching his daughter grow up.

Alucard and Danica returned then, and went to the table, Alucard taking the seat open by Aveline as Danica sat down by Johann, “Aveline, would you order some meat when you do order food? It’s for the…um…for me?” She didn’t want to say ‘Nightmares’ after spotting the guards. Then her gaze went to Trevor, “And what are you drinking?”

“It’s water!” Johann was first to defend Trevor, “Where’s Lucia?”

“Scouting,” Danica answered.
 
Trevor gave Sypha an ' I told you so' expression as soon as the guards conversation drifted over towards them. He was certain that out of everyone in the room that he had more experience in inns and taverns than any of them, so he was the expert who know just what went on in places like this. Of course drinks and OK food were a stable, and in the more seedy ones you could hear someone fucking, but it was almost universal that people liked to come together and drink to relax or talk about their troubles.

Inns and taverns were actually a great place for him to get jobs, people loved to get wasted and complain about what ever thing was ruining the town or killing their animals. When taverns went from a place for work to a place where he'd also drown his sorrows he wasn't sure.

" Thank you for protecting my honor Johann," Trevor said a bit dryly as he took a sip from his water to show Danica that it really was just that. He understood the concern, but was a bit insulted that some members of the group thought he'd break so easily. It had been what, two days without a drop of ale? He wasn't about to pull out his hair or start a fight for a pint.

In a hushed voice Sypha leaned toward a bit to talk with the others, a curious look on her face " It sounds like something did just happen suddenly to improve living conditions here," the Innkeeper didn't think they would have to abandon town anymore and that would be a bold stance for any other town to take given the times.

"Then why don't we just ask?" Aveline asked curiously before pushing herself up from the table and heading to the counter. " Wait, what?" Trevor said and blinked owlishly at Avelines retreating figure. " I don't think she knows how information gathering works," he groaned quietly.

" Excuse me, but my friends and I would like to order some of what ever you're making, it smells really good!" Aveline said cheerfully as she leaned against the counter and smiled at the Innkeeper. " That would be the goat roast my wife put in the oven this morning," The innkeeper said with a chuckle, and Aveline could only imagine how excited Danica was to hear that.

" Me and my friends are all really excited to have some good warm food. We've been making stuff on the road but Inn and tavern food is the best, though we haven't been able to hit up many places lately. Things have been so horrible lately and so many towns are deserted," She put a hand over her heart and frown deeply. " Aye, I hear you." The Innkeeper agreed and the two guards at the counter with her hummed their own agreement.

" This is the first town we've come across that is so well together though! It's really impressive, when we were coming down the street it was like things were almost back to normal." She leaned her forearms on the counter and ignored the fact the unmarried guard took a moment to appraise her from head to toe.

" We can't take full credit for that," The guard said as he turned to face Aveline " A woman came into town just a few days ago, she had extra men to lend to our defense and showed us how to fight off those monsters. Lets just say salt can be used for more than seasoning food," he chuckled, trying to be charming. " And they showed us a few moves, but mind you there wasn't much that we didn't already know when they arrived."

" Sounds like this town is in good hands," Back at the table Johann held in a snicker, he didn't realize men were so easily to manipulate until he finally saw it in action. He hoped he wasn't that easy to control, now that he thought about it.

" I'll help you take this to your table Miss." The Inn Keeper said once the plates were prepared. " Keep up the good work gentleman," Aveline called over to the guards before helping the Innkeeper bring the plates back to her table.

" You play those men like some sort of instrument," Sypha said when she was sure no one was listening to them, " It was wonderful!"

" I feel kind of bad," Aveline admitted with a sheepish chuckle as she pilled her own portion of meat onto Danicas plate for the horses, and with a little more shifting of plates Trevor pilled his vegetables on Avelines plate, he hadn't forgotten that he owed her.

" It worked out in the end, we know some woman with extra soldiers and supernatural knowledge came here, though it doesn't sound like she knows anything life changing," Trevor pointed out. He had known the salt trick as well, and he could only imagine her men had taught the guards in this town how to fight properly as a unit. Most towns didn't have their own organized soldiers, but even a little bit of education went along way when you were trying to survive.

" So do we just move on?" Sypha asked curiously as she cut into her own hunk of goat.

" Excuse me miss, this is from the man at the counter," The Innkeeper returned and sat a tankard of ale down in front of Aveline, who blinked owlishly at it before looking back at the counter. The unmarried guard who had checked out her ass a few minutes ago winked at her before turning back to his friend to keep talking.

" Yeah I wouldn't mind leaving," she said as she pushed the tankard into the middle of the table for someone else to drink, she was more of a wine person herself and she didn't miss the implications of accepting a drink another man bought for her.
 
Danica made sure to separate one leg for the horses, before she dug into her own chunk, impressed as well, though she couldn’t help but notice that the worry she’d seen on Johann’s expression returned. “Perhaps we should find out who this woman is,” he said, causing Danica to arch a brow, but before she could comment on that, the drink was brought over, and she giggled, unable to help it.

“My, my, you’re popular!” Of course she was, young and beautiful and outgoing – it was useful to these situations. Danica was not so young anymore, and Lucia was, well, a vampire – beautiful, yes, but plenty of people would hesitate to offer anything. Sypha was dressed as a Speaker…dressed as a boy. She had visibly feminine qualities, but the odds were more in favor of Aveline.

“I’ll take that,” Alucard said, giving a glance towards the guards as he reached for it, and made sure to hold eye contact when the winking guard took a look back, and he downed some of the pint. ‘Stay the fuck back.’ He told himself he would have done it for any of the women in the party.

Especially after hearing Aveline’s story of how bad things were increasing in frequency. Perhaps those two weren’t bad – he didn’t think so – but a clear sign not to harass any of them needed to be made.

When he pulled it back from his lips and looked away, though, he wore an expression of disgust, “Ugh. I forgot the kind of quality in these places,” this ale was nearly stale. He kept his voice quiet so as not to offend – he really wasn’t much of an ale drinker in the first place. He’d take mead or wine over ale any day. He’d take water over ale, and almost offered to trade Trevor.

He caught himself before the words came out. He’d finish the pint. Just because he felt the need to.

At least the goat would wash out the taste a bit.

Danica turned it back to Johann’s earlier statement, “Why do you want to find the woman behind this?”

He bit the inside of his cheek briefly, before, “How far are we from Austria?” He’d heard it in the inn when he was getting rooms, a comment on the accent of the new guards. He knew one person in Austria. He knew one woman in Austria. Not personally, but Lucia had made a point to mention her, given a tumultuous history.

~***~

Carmilla’s guards were mostly the quiet sorts, and also, vampires. Fucking vampires. Plenty of fucking vampires. Lucia was honestly trying to wrap her head around it as she flew over them and tried to pick up what she could. Was it possible no one in the town noticed? If they only took the night shift, certainly. The armor covered up much, after all – but weren’t people being attacked? Did Carmilla bring servants for the vampires as well? Were they eating animals?

Did the town know and accept this?

Stalking them was not getting her near enough answers. They weren’t exactly discussing it. Though one comment did finally catch her attention, and she perched again, this time nearer to the wall, as a pair of guards stood on top of the wall. “…soon we can return to Styria?”

“Soon as Carmilla says, you know she needs us closer to Braila, without being in it.” Not yet, anyway. It couldn’t be too obviously a trap.

‘Braila?’ The owl canted its head, unable to ask anything, of course. Still, from the sounds of it, they were waiting orders to move. That didn’t mean Carmilla was there, of course, she could send word by letter. ‘This is getting me nowhere.’ Just more frustrated. And with the sinking feeling that she should leave the town immediately. Her last meeting with Carmilla hadn’t exactly been positive. Carmilla had tried to laugh off her attempted invasion of Chernihiv, claiming she thought Lucia was returning to Rome, and, well, someone needed to occupy Chernihiv.

They didn’t really talk after that.

Lucia flew up and landed on the head of one of the soldiers, “What the—? Stupid bir—” And the ‘stupid bird’ turned into Lucia, and the soldier’s head was slammed against the ground, held there by one boot that threatened to crush his head to literal dust, though she didn’t threaten the other one who jolted back, just gave him a lazy smile.

“Where’s Carmilla?” It was said all too sweetly, and as the guard’s hand started to inch towards his weapon, she added, “as soon as you touch it, your friend is dead, and then you.” As she lifted her hand, her shadow extended out with it, shadow-fingers caressing what little was exposed of his cheek, “I won’t ask again.”

His hand didn’t go for the blade. “She’s in town. She’s waiting for a Lucia Belun.”

“Belune.” Damn her. “Where can I find her?” No, wait, stupid question, they wouldn’t know, “Never mind, I think I have an idea.” She was bound to go somewhere Lucia would return to, or someone Lucia knew – the horses. Lucia didn’t even bother dismissing herself, just shifted right back into owl form, and flew on back towards the stables.

With all the guards here, Carmilla would know by now she’d arrived.
 
Danicas eyebrows knitted together in confuse for a moment but then her expression morphed into concern. Austria wasn't very close at all, but for a vampire traveling with vampire soldiers who didn't need to rest like humans one then distance wasn't that big of a hurdle.

" You think Carmilla in involved?" She asked Johann softly, like saying Carmillas name too loudly would summon her here.

" Who is Carmilla?" Sypha asked, she never did like to be out of the loop.

" She's a duchess in Austria and one of Draculas generals," Danica began, suddenly her appetite was ruined which was unfortunate because the goat really wasn't that bad, " she's also someone who has a very colorful past with Lucia. She's not someone you want to be your enemy,"

" Any general of Draculas is bound to be bad news," Trevor commented, but he didn't have much he could add to the conversation. His family had kept track of all the higher up vampires that they knew were too powerful for them get to, but the last time he had seen that list was about 10 years ago and he hadn't been the best at studying it. But if this Carmilla woman really was a duchess then she was most likely on that list and had all the resources that a duchess would have plus the advantage of vampire abilities. " Or well I mean any vampire that is working with Dracula is bound to be bad news," he tried to fix his blunder.

With Lucias resources and power he was sure that she was also a Duchess, but it probably wasn't the best idea to insult her and Alucard the whole time they were on this trip. He was trying, it was just hard to start filtering yourself when you were raised a certain way.

" Carmilla is particularly nasty though," Johann added in, remembering what Lucia had told him about her. " She looks for a weakness in anyone and exploits it. If you think she has your back then you're mistaken."

" Have you met any of your fathers generals, Alucard?" Aveline asked him curiously. If this Carmilla woman was the person where helping people then maybe she wasn't all that bad. Clearly Lucia and Alucard had turned against Dracula, it was possible Carmilla planned to do the same and could help them. But at the same time she didn't know her or if she could be trusted, Danica and Johann looked pretty certain Carmilla being involved in anything meant something bad. " Specifically have you met Carmilla?" If Alucard trusted her then she didn't see any reason to not do the same, but if they were in the dark then caution would be best.

" If Carmilla is involved or if we even think she's involved we need to warn Lucia as soon as possible." Danica insisted, but she wasn't sure where she would be. Lucia had gone ahead to scout on her own, but if they could give Lucia some heads up then maybe they could surprise Carmilla before they were surprised themselves.

" Do Carmilla and Lucia not get along? You two seemed worried." Sypha could pick up the subtle anxiety that Danica and Johann were giving off. They must fear any confrontation with this Carmilla.

" No, or they used to get along very well, but things changed between them. It's not really my place to say," Danica gave them a small tired smile. It would make things easier to tell them the truth, but the history between Lucia and Carmilla was something Lucia should explain when she felt comfortable enough with the group.

In general Danica was seeing a lot of progress with Lucia but she wasn't going to ruin it by forcing Lucia to open up before she was ready.

" Well if you're both that worried about it then lets finish eating, and afterwards we'll all head out to look for her," Trevor suggested before popping a piece of goat in his mouth. There was the chance they'd be able to find out more if they went wandering around town, and if they found Lucia during the process then everything should turn out just fine.
 
Had he met Carmilla? “Yes, when I was younger,” before Dracula was insane, he recalled that Carmilla had come around. Lisa despised her. He could see it in their exchanges, even if they had been…civil. He could recall the way Carmilla always called his mother by any name but her own – Leesy, or something else that might have seemed affectionate to the untrained ear. Even Dracula hadn’t seemed to notice.

Alucard might not have, were it not for his mother’s tension.

“I know she originates from Rome as well, and I know she and my mother did not get along, though I don’t know why,” he answered, “I know my father always held her in some regard, even if she was a mere provincial leader,” less than most, and yet, viewed cautiously by the majority, too.

Everyone knew she killed her sire – a fact most vampires would have kept secret.

“Didn’t Lucia mention a vampiress general of Dracula’s who would not support him?”

“And would not be an ally,” Alucard reminded, “She may have meant Carmilla, though I honestly do not know. She seemed a good friend to my father,” he admitted, though he knew that Carmilla could be fairly charming when she wanted to be.

“She meant Carmilla,” Danica agreed, frowning. It was the one thing that Lucia and Carmilla had in common, a certain disdain for ‘mad old men’, a shared history, even if Carmilla had chosen her curse and Lucia hadn’t. “I can wait until we finish – I’ll feed the Nightmares and then we can go look for her.”

“You realize she’s liable to be offended, or mock us, for our concern?” Alucard could imagine it, anyway. They let her go wandering off on her own to feed, but couldn’t leave her be in a safe town, because maybe Carmilla was involved? He did have to wonder at the history for Danica to be so adamant about it, though, but he ate a bit quicker all the same.

Danica tried to eat, but it just wasn’t settling well anymore. “Well, maybe the Nightmares can have both legs,” she said, more to herself. She’d regret it later, but she’d just make sure to have a large breakfast to make up for it.

~***~

“Oh, you’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?”

Latin. Classical Latin flowed fluidly in a voice too-familiar to Lucia. She couldn’t hold the guise of the owl as she came into the stables, dropping it immediately and settling her eyes on Carmilla as the woman had a pale hand outstretched to stroke the muzzle of Marius, while another hand held food for him to eat, which he was doing, greedily.

Her laughter was still musical, lilting as his nose seemed to graze her hand, “And greedy,” there was something dismissive in the way she said it, as if it was wholly expected. When he snorted into her hand, and lifted his head, seeing Lucia, she turned as well, the smile remaining curled on her lips, even in the face of Lucia’s blazing glare, and the sensation of all the shadows seeming to come to life.

It chilled the air.

The other horses seemed to notice as well, becoming immensely uneasy.

Carmilla, of course, feigned ignorant as her blue eyes lifted to meet Lucia’s own, that smile remaining on her lips, “Who is this sweetheart?”

“None of your concern.” Lucia’s voice was ice – or rather, it tried to be ice, “What did you feed him?”

“Him,” she cooed it back, “I thought as much,” she took a few steps forward, “Only a bit of pork, my men have been eating it, but they do nothing with the meat. Best not to waste it, hm?” She paused, not far, but not yet close enough to reach out. Her gaze seemed to soften, assessing Lucia.

She didn’t look well. There was a darkness around her eyes that spoke of a certain physical ailment, a dimness, but Carmilla was becoming familiar with that sight already in her soldiers. Strange for Lucia, though – she always had those human pets around her, ready and willing to provide. Though, it might help her cause if that was the case, if Lucia was trying to be something she wasn’t. Pathetic as it was, it wasn’t the first time Lucia had faltered and caved to the whims of others to make them happy.

A useful trait in her own game, of course. “You’ve grown up.” A statement that might seem odd between vampires, given they didn’t age. Given their appearances hadn’t truly changed – and yet, it had. The last she saw Lucia, she certainly didn’t hold herself so regally, and she hadn’t quite figured herself out after the loss of Dimas. “You know, I have always admired you,” a little honey…, “Oh, don’t look so surprised.”

Lucia had arched a brow, “If you admired me, you shouldn’t have tried to take Chernihiv.”

“Oh, are you still holding on to that old grudge?” Carmilla let out an exasperated sigh, “I’ve grown up, too. I always felt so wretched after that, and that we had it between us. I was never certain how to reach out to you, and make it up, but,” she took those two steps she needed, faster than necessary, to reach a hand up to cup Lucia’s cheek, “I think this tragedy could be the best thing for us.” There was a slight flutter, Lucia’s eyes momentarily shutting, momentarily recalling….

And then she slapped Carmilla’s hand away and stepped back, all that fire back. ‘But it’s in there.’ That question – that doubt – that longing. All of it was still there. They had ended things in tattered questions with no answers.

Carmilla could weave those tatters into a proper narrative. Close it up all nice. Give Lucia back the woman she, too, had admired – the one who helped her. “Don’t touch me.”

Carmilla pouted her lips a moment, then shrugged, but walked forward once more, this time keeping a wider berth in the half-circle she started to make, “I heard you were going to Gresit, and then a little bird,” she giggled at the phrasing, given who was present, “told me you were headed this way. I’ve been moving soldiers around Romania. It helps keep the demons from annoying me,” she waved her hand in the air as if just batting them away, “but it also seems to do wonders for these towns. Not that they need my help. I heard how Dracula was repelled from Gresit – that you had a hand in it,” a sly smile came to her lips, “We’re of the same mind here, in wanting to stop Dracula, and Dracula has his head so far up his own ass he probably doesn’t even know who’s opposing him.” As she turned, she brought her hands together, “I want you to come with me when I go to join him. Your efforts would be better spent there, in his company, disrupting things properly. Not on this…fool’s errand.”

“And you know where his castle is, do you?”

“Mm. I have a man on the inside,” her smile was playful, “he still thinks I’m going to fuck him.” Lucia rolled her eyes, but Carmilla saw the threat of a smile there. She dared another step closer, but didn’t reach again. No, she couldn’t. Lucia would have to be the one to do that now. “I’d sooner fuck a human than him.”

“You have fucked a human.”

“Oh. Right. I almost forgot.” She shrugged it off, “But no matter – I’m here to apologize…to show you I’ve grown, too. You inspired me, Lucia, with how you rule Chernihiv. With how many others you’ve given second-chances to, and new lives, and how safe and happy the others are. I…I knew I was doing things wrong, lashing out at people who did not deserve it in Styria, trying for more. I want you at my side in this, I want your help. When Dracula falls, we could take control of things among our kind…change things…for the better of all.”
 
" If Lucia does get upset then we just have to explain ourselves. It's natural to worry about a friend." Aveline said with a confident nod of her head. She would take any mocking from Lucia if it meant playing things safe. " I know she's strong and can handle herself, but we're a group now and we should face everything together."

Trevors interest was peaked hearing that Carmilla was from rome, but that was only because of the importance Rome seemed to play these days. " If Lucia didn't think this Carmilla would be an ally then there's probably a reason for it." He said as he also hurried up trying to finish his meal.

Carmilla could be a strong ally and Lucia wasn't someone to not think things through, she had weighed the pros and cons of the situation and found that traveling with their rag tag group was a better idea than allying herself with Carmilla which spoke volumes to Trevor. It told him Lucia had faith in her plan to stop Dracula with Alucard, and in theory their odds of victory should only go up now that everyone from the prophesy was together. But the reality of the situation also told him a lot about Carmilla, like she couldn't be trusted no matter what web she tried to weave. Her presence in Vanator was also most likely not something she did out of the kindness of her heart, but was most likely a way to protect herself given Draculas plan to kill all humans. A vampire had to eat, after all.

" There's a reason for it," Danica assured him as she finally pushed her plate away, even having it too close to her made her nervous stomach do flips.

" Well hey that means that we're not as bad off as I thought we were at least," Aveline said with a smile as she popped a cooked carrot into her mouth. " What do you mean?" Sypha asked with a arched eyebrow. " Well I thought that us all coming together to defeat Dracula meant we were pretty desperate to stop him, since we're not that most conventional group-" a short gesture to all of them helped her get her point across"- But if we're actually rejecting potentially powerful allies when we're not hurting that bad."

Trevor stared at Aveline for a moment before snorting and going back to his meal, " Well I suppose that's one way to look at it," he agreed. " Given what our end goal is, I think we should really celebrate the little victories." That got another snort from Trevor.

" Are you sure you don't want some vegetables, Danica? They're not as rough on the stomach." Aveline said as she pushed her own plate full of cooked vegetables towards her, but Danica shook her head softly. " Thank you for the offer but I'll eat when all this is settled. Or when we leave this town behind." Aveline nodded after a moment, clearly she wasn't going to push the issue, but she did promise herself to make Danica some more mint tea when they got the chance. Her tin of tea had survived the demon attack, so not everything was going badly for them at the moment.

With their meals done the group took their empty plates to the counter for the Innkeeper to deal with, though Danica kept hers with the goat legs on it with the promise to return it in a moment, and Aveline speed walked out of the Inn so she didn't have to worry about that flirty guard talking with her.

" If we're going to split up, then we best keep to the alleys and shadows. I doubt any guards would take kindly to strangers wandering around their town at night." Trevor said as the fresh air hit his face and chilled the tip of his nose. " That's advice for yourself, Trevor." Aveline chuckled. " You're a hulking figure wearing a fur coat with a whip on his hip, you scream danger." Trevor would have the most trouble trying not to attract unwanted attention.

" You think I look dangerous? I'm flattered." He fluttered his eyelashes playfully and Aveline had to stifle her laugh, they were trying to be quiet.

" Just let me feed Marius and Sulla, then we can figure out who is going where with whom." Danica said as she lead the way to the stables. They didn't all need to go inside the stables but it was dark and now that they knew an unfamiliar vampire was very possibly in the area they weren't going to risk Danica running into one by herself.
 
They were certainly not the most conventional group. That was putting it mildly, though Alucard did have some faith in them. They were not an unskilled group, after all. They all had their capabilities, in combat, and outside of it. Still, Aveline’s point came across – Carmilla was powerful, and having her on their side could have helped.

Yet Lucia did not think it was a good idea.

Was it proper to trust that judgment?

Still, he couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips at Aveline’s declaration. Even Trevor found the humor in it, “At least you can find the silver lining to anything.” Even something like this. He finished his meal first, and brought it up with the others once they’d all finished, sharing a concerned look with Johann over Danica. She clearly knew more about this situation with Lucia and Carmilla than she was saying. More than Johann knew.

Outside, they talked of splitting up – but not before Marius and Sulla were fed. “We couldn’t just have normal horses that could eat the oats the stable would have provided,” Alucard was only teasing in his complaint, and it did seem to amuse Johann a bit.

“They’re so much trouble in stables sometimes,” apparently not that time.

Well, that was what Johann thought, until he heard the sound of something shattering, and a gasp that couldn’t be muffled. Johann and Alucard didn’t even exchange a look, just rushed forward immediately, Alucard’s hand going for his sword.

~***~

Lucia knew she should have tuned Carmilla out, but there was no denying the marks that Carmilla left. Lucia wouldn’t even be here, without Carmilla’s influences, without her help, with her belief – false or otherwise – in her. Carmilla’s strength had once inspired her…and though it was stupid, she yearned to believe the same in Carmilla.

People changed. Vampires changed.

“Join me.” It was said as Lucia did reach out this time, to take one of Carmilla’s hands. Hesitant, and yet…the grip was there. “If you know where his castle is from an insider, we can go to him, and destroy him, without any of this politicking and backstabbing.” Just a straight fight – when he wouldn’t be expecting it. They would go right to him.

While Carmilla was glad she had reached out, this wasn’t the response she was expecting. She thought Lucia would sooner leave her companions, steal away from the shame of even thinking they could work together, and work with her alongside Dracula. It’d certainly remove the possibility of Lucia rejoining the group, and if rumors were true and a Belmont were with them…well, that was not an ally Lucia needed to keep.

And so, that laugh escaped her, “Oh, Lucy – no,” she shook her head a few times, bringing her other hand to her lips to help stop it, calmly placing her nails against them, “It would fail. Miserably. Dracula has entire legions at his disposal of both vampires and demons. The only way we’re going to succeed is through those underhanded methods – and who better than us? We saw the masters at work,” her eyes shone, “we’ve deposed them, too. Mad men like him,” she crept closer, her hand moving from her lips to rest on Lucia’s bicep, while her fingers further entwined, “He wouldn’t see it coming at all, and then his legions, and his armies, are ours.”

Just as before. Just as with their sires. They’d taken it all. “These people you’re with, while I’m sure they’re lovely, are just….”

There was a gasp, a plate drop, and Carmilla turned her gaze away to see who had shown up. One woman. Older. Probably 40s, definitely human, and probably Lucia’s newest confidant. It was usually maternal women. She wasn’t creative in that respect.

Moments later, as Carmilla straightened a bit but added absolutely no distance, others showed up – some blonde boy with familiar eyes, a woman in a Speaker robe, Alucard himself, some sort of fae thing who looked human but smelled far more pleasant than any human could, and some bear of a man with a whip at his hip – vampire hunter. ‘Belmont.’ Even though she couldn’t see the crest, she’d killed enough of that line to recognize their scent.

“Carmilla?” Blonde boy said it, surprised, and clearly taken aback.

“Who are your friends, Lucia?” Carmilla asked, tilting her head a bit in interest. She almost said ‘pets’. She caught herself in time, thankfully. That would have lost her quite a bit of progress. “Oh, I know him. Alucard,” she gave him a smile, “I’m surprised you’re still alive. I heard what happened to you. It was a cruel thing your father did.”

“…Yes. It is a cruel thing he continues to do,” Alucard found his voice stiff, not certain what he’d just walked into, “So you are against him, too, then?”

“Oh, but of course! Going on a genocidal rampage over the death of his wife is atrocious. Now, taking revenge on the church, or those responsible, I could understand, but this?” She lifted one of her hands up, “he’s lost his mind. It’s a pity, truly…he was such a smart man…I cannot imagine the pain you must be in right now. I wonder if you’ll truly be able to raise your hand against him….” The doubt was meant for Lucia’s ears, to remind her that she was with foolish people destined for failure, caught up by their emotional whims, “Oh, but excuse me, I am being rude,” she finally stepped forward, touch lingering in a graze before she gave a slight bow to the others, “I am Duchess Carmilla, of Styria.”
 
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Aveline felt a chill the moment she stepped into the stables, but it wasn't from the cold it was from the woman standing in front of them with Lucia. Clearly she was a vampire and sounded like she was the Carmilla woman that had Danica all worked up, and she just looked cold. Part of herself wanted to say it was just because of her appearance, vampires were naturally some what ashy and combining that with her long white hair and those icy blue eyes she was pale, her red dress only highlighted the fact she was really devoid of color. It was something deeper than her appearance that left Aveline unsettled, those eyes were cold and there was just an atmosphere of the woman that screamed ' regel' and ' I know i'm better than you'.

" Styria?" Trevors broke through the awkward air that had begun to suffocate them, " You know I've been wondering ever since I heard the name Carmilla why it was familiar. See my family kept a list of names, only the worst of the worst got on that list, and they expected me to remember it but its going on 10 years now since I last saw that damned thing," he chuckled a big self deprecatingly at that but he continued talking, " Of course Dracula was on there and my father liked to put the names of church officials every now and then to spite my mother, But Duchess Carmilla of Styria, I can clearly remember your name on there as well."

" Well that's not surprising," Carmila said she straightened herself up and looked down her nose slightly at Trevor and the others that were clearly trying to get between her and what she wanted. That simply wouldn't do, " But I do believe the Belmonts held a bias against anything vampire or supernatural related. I wonder how they would react seeing who you're running around with these days."

" I think they'd make an exception given our goal." " Oh yes I've heard, you all think you can defeat Dracula," Carmilla had to bite back a laugh, but she couldn't keep a slight smile off her face at the thought. " but like I was telling Lucia he has an army at his command and a legion from his already assembled generals, and out right attack would fail spectacularly."

" You've never seen us fight," Sypha said, speaking up this time. They had fought well together in Gresit and they had survived the bewitched forest. " If you joined us then we'd have a real chance." But this time Carmilla couldn't keep her laughter down.

She laughed long and hard, doing her best to silence herself but her laughs were left to naturally fade until there were just slight giggles that she tried to hide behind her nails. " I'm sorry to laugh it's just, you really think you have a chance." Her eyes took on an icy shine as she stepped forward past Lucia slightly.

" You have a boy- sorry girl speaker, a matron in her 40s, A boy that doesn't look like he'd last a minute in a fight without someone to watching over his shoulder, a half breed that shouldn't exist, and a Belmont that should of burned," Her words were scalding to those they called out, " Lucia and Alucard wouldn't be able to carry all of you through the fight while fighting off an army of vampires and Dracula himself. Even if I joined your cause you'd hold us back." The words were crisp and sharp like freshly sharpened blades.

" The best way to defeat Dracula is to out maneuver him, and then to make sure this never happens take his resources and hand them over to someone who can make proper use of them," She concluded, and while she didn't say who would be given all of Draculas power and knowledge the hand she had rested squarely on her own chest gave them all a good idea of who she had in mind.

" Thank you for clearing some things up," Trevor said, a sneer working its way onto his face. " You don't want to help or save lives, this is a political uprising with you at the head."

" Come now, Belmont don't try and wrap your head around something your tiny mind wouldn't fully understand," Oh no this wasn't some political uprising, this was the first step towards an empire. She'd make Rome and all that it had been seem like the quaint country side after she was done.

Still stinging from Carmillas cruel words and equally worried that the others would be suspicious of her now Aveline couldn't help but scoff at Carmilla. She hated people who looked down their nose at others. " It sounds to me like we'd just be replacing our enemy instead of stopping them,"

" And it sounds to me like you should stay in the forest where you came from little girl. The adults are talking," Carmilla quipped easily before looking over her shoulder at Lucia. " Do you really think this is the group you should throw your lot into? They're clearly childish and honestly Lucia, a Belmont? That's no ally for you, he'd stab you in the heart the moment he was done with you."

But Trevor tried to catch Lucias eye from across the room, and despite the fact he had one hand on his whip his other hand pulled on his cloak slightly. She couldn't possible think that could she? When they started out together he'd understand, but did she really think he'd be honest with her about his past, his family, and how much his cloak meant to him if he was going to just stab her in the back? Did she think him searching high and low for any piece of her cape that he could screamed 'untrustworthy' or 'unreliable'?
 
Carmilla’s sweet always came at a price, one Lucia was steadily reminded of with her well-placed insults to each individual, sans Alucard and herself. The one that seemed directed to Aveline was briefly distracting, though. ‘A half?’ She had already begun to suspect it, based on scent and stories of the fae.

The others were starting to question it now, too, as Johann glanced her way. He didn’t seem as bothered by the comment that Carmilla had thrown his way. Better to be underestimated, really, though Danica looked like she might grab one of the shards of the plate. The only insult on her lips would insult Lucia, too. Age commentary really didn’t work when her ally was an older vampire.

Lucia wouldn’t speak to it. With any luck Carmilla wouldn’t notice the questioning looks, focused instead on her goal of turning Lucia and now spectacularly failing.

Carmilla made her points. The group she was with didn’t seem to have as much of a chance as Carmilla herself did, as the intrigue she presented could be, “It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Lucia asked, rather than rise to defend Trevor’s honor. No, she didn’t believe he would do so anymore, but she wasn’t a fool, either. And she hadn’t thought Carmilla would betray her. Or Dimas. Or a host of others in her life.

Perhaps her judgment was questionable. She certainly felt more than a little off right then.

“I’ve made my choice, Carmilla. You can join us, or you can walk. No one is going to hinder you,” but so help her if she did try to become the next Dracula.

Carmilla’s expression shifted, briefly into surprise, before it settled back on that nearly mourning gaze, “And I thought you’d changed….”

There was the knife, though Lucia tried to pretend she didn’t understand the implications, tried to keep her expression stoic when Carmilla turned from the group to her, “You’re still that same, lost little girl, looking for someone to guide her. Who is it now?” Teasing, playful, but far from nice, “You haven’t drank any actual blood in a bit…it must be the hunter. You think it’s impressing him?”

“I don’t care if it is or isn’t.” Damn it, why didn’t she just say it wasn’t the hunter? Damn it.

Carmilla’s smile was sorrowful, pitying, as she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth, “Poor Doll.”

There went the shreds of Lucia’s self-control in a word, and she stepped forward to slap Carmilla, but the other vampire caught her wrist before it made contact, and wrapped her other hand around it, “It’s okay. I forgive you. I know you can’t fight your nature, I was a fool to think you could. It’s my mistake for being so hurt, but…I thought you’d be smart enough to recognize putting your trust in a Belmont was stupid. He’s only using you because he needs someone to absorb Dracula’s wrath. If you don’t die to Dracula, he’ll finish you off – start his own genocide.”

Lucia snapped her hand away out of her grip again. “Well, I’ve never had the best judgment, have I? I thought you were a great idea, once. I told you. I’ve made my decision, and I’m taking back my invitation. You can’t join us.”

Johann smirked, just a bit, but it faltered off when Carmilla’s seething gaze ran over them, before stopping on Aveline, “I’d suggest you run from this group as well, girl, but I don’t really care if you finally cease to exist,” her voice was airy, “You and Alucard both don’t belong in this world.”

“What the hell is wrong with them?” Johann snapped.

“They’re both good people!” Sypha added.

“Yes, I’m sure. Both with such soft, human, hearts. But it belies their truer natures.”

“Aveline is human! And what I’ve seen of at least vampire shows Alu—” Sypha defended, to more laughter from Carmilla.

‘Oh no.’ Alucard and Lucia shared the same thought.

“It doesn’t matter what she has to say,” Alucard broke in, “Let’s go,” he extended his hand out to Lucia, to invite her to cross the threshold and come to their side of the stables. Lucia moved immediately.
 
" You don't know a damn thing about me," Trevor growled, he wasn't going to let Carmilla drag his name through the mud or ruin all the hard work he had put in with the group. It was hard being around people again, but they were growing on him and he liked where things were going. He liked the banter, the jokes, and the kindness they offered one another, he wasn't going to let Carmilla come in and destroy the bond they were building with a few well placed words.

" Oh I know enough about you," Carmilla assured her, her eyes bored but intense, " I've killed enough hunters to know they're all the same, misguided fools who justify their actions for ' the good of humanity', " she scoffed slightly at just the thought. " I can only hope that you believe that dying will also better humanity, so that the world can finally be rid of the Belmont name."

Trevor didn't flinch at her words, just glared. " Thank you, for giving me another motivation to live through my upcoming fight with Dracula. I'll consider my life a waste if I don't put a blade through your heart before I die."

"Oh lonely Belmont," Carmillas voice was full of fake pity and condescendence, " Your life is already a waste, no amount of blood shed will change that."

Trevor growled in anger and went to unleash his whip, but Danicas hand stop him. They couldn't fight in this stable, it was too cramp, and as long as this town was filled with Carmillas soldiers they couldn't fight here. It would be suicide for them and as good as signing away the lives of every innocent person in town who would get swept up in the fight. Despite thinking of the greater good Danica seethed with anger at the way Carmillas eyes lit up with a twisted joy seeing them back down from a fight.

" Let us see, Lucia-" She began as she walked through the stables and to the door " - who will get what they want by the end of things." but she was confident she would be the one to come out on top, she almost always was and when It came to Lucia she knew how to play her easily enough. She would of had her right now if it wasn't for the others running in when they did, but she had done well enough even if she wasn't leaving with Lucia in tow.

Because as she left the stables she locked eyes with the fae girl for a moment, and smirked at how quickly she looked away. Yes she had still accomplished something here today.



Aveline had gravitated towards the back of the group after Carmilla basically exposed her, her instincts telling her that her world was over. Alucard had accepted her easily but he was in a similar position as her, he'd be a hypocrite otherwise, and it wasn't Alucard she was worried about. She didn't have the courage to look at Trevor, she was afraid of what she'd see in his eyes, and hearing Sypha defend her made her wince with guilt. ' she called me human," she thought in passing and curled in around herself a bit, the weight of the occasional glance from someone becoming too much.

She wanted to run from the stables and glanced at the door when Carmilla was leaving, their eyes locked and she looked away just as quickly. She hated her for what she had done and the way she made her feel.

But Carmilla was gone and the group seemed to let out a breath they hadn't known they were holding, and Aveline used that lull to hurry out of the stable doors to collect herself.

"Aveline-" Trevor started, if she wasn't human he wanted to know. Carmilla wouldn't of thrown that out if it wasn't true, or maybe she would just to fracture the group, but regardless Aveline running did nothing to help her case.

" Trevor i think we need to give her time," Sypha said as she looked at the door." If what Carmilla said held any merit then we should hear the truth from her when she's ready to tell us."

" If Aveline isn't human then we deserve to know. There are precautions we need to take and things we need to discuss," He insisted. If aveline wasn't human it was possible that she was a risk to them, but they were also a risk to her. They needed to know how to not hurt her, and they needed to know what to be on guard again. Plus there was the whole other discussion about combat tactics, who knows what doors would open to them once they knew what she was capable of.

" And we will, in time," Sypha insisted. " We all just started traveling together, we all have the right to keep secrets," But a part of her did feel a bit hurt that she hadn't been told. She and Aveline had known each other for almost a month before they started together on this journey, but she put her feelings aside for now.

Trevor threw his arms up with a sign, but clearly he wasn't going to press the issue. This wasn't worth starting a fight or causing disunion in the group.
 
‘Don’t make me kill you.’

It was a fleeting thought as Carmilla exited. Perhaps Lucia should have hated her for the way she behaved, but she wasn’t certain she ever could, actually, hate her. Any act against her would be grudging, but performed, all the same. If Carmilla insisted on getting in her way, or wreaking any more havoc on the group, Lucia would see to her end.

It didn’t need to be someone just thrown into the fight due to association. She wasn’t going to let Carmilla drag the others down like – not Trevor, Alucard, Aveline, or any of the others. If she wanted her, then Lucia would make sure to be the one to deal with it.

After Dracula. At least she reminded Lucia there was going to be a sudden power vacuum in their world, and she knew Carmilla would try to fill it. Lucia would have been content to let it be, but…well, now it seemed she had to think about that, too. On top of the raw nerves, and self-doubt.

The matter of Aveline was also in the air. Rather like Trevor, she thought that they did deserve to know what Aveline was, then and there. The secret, mentioned, was only going to further wreak havoc on the group. “Some secrets,” Lucia agreed with Sypha on that point, “There are others we can’t afford to keep from a purely practical viewpoint. What she is, is one of them.”

“We can give her some time, it has not caused us any problems until now,” Sypha retorted. “And you kept this from us.”

“You knew I was aware of Dracula’s generals, and I gave what names I could. I did not mention her because I did not think she would join him…and I was right.” Lucia stated bluntly. “Do you need to know the names of every vampire that may or may not join him, general or not?” Her eyes burned into Sypha, “or every vampire I may or may not know, in general? It’s a rather long list.”

Sypha put her hands on her hips, “Maybe. If they’re all going to be like her.”

“No,” there was a bitter laugh in the answer, “Hardly.” Carmilla was a fairly special case. “I did not know she was going to go out of her way to recruit me to her plan. Had I, I would have told you.”

“But you didn’t come to us when you knew it was her.”

“…No. I thought a direct confrontation would be better. I was wrong.” She agreed, “this isn’t about my error, this is about preventing another error of ignorance. We can’t all predict everything, but we can predict that if we don’t know what Aveline is, it will come to bite us.”

Alucard was the one to interject now, not letting Sypha do this alone. “I understand your concerns,” he began, “but Sypha has a point. Let us at least give Aveline the day. She has just been outed rather harshly, and we are all still dealing with Carmilla’s grand entrance,” his tone was bitter, angry. He could see now why his mother never liked her. “We should all take a breather, we’re all angry, and that’s not going to be good for any communications.”

Danica agreed immediately, “Tomorrow then, when we get out of here, we can try to talk to Aveline…away from all of this. Okay?” She looked pleadingly between Trevor and Lucia, though Trevor had already seemed to consent.

Lucia just huffed, but stormed off. “Fine.” She spat back, she’d agree to this, but she wouldn’t hold her tongue for longer than that.

Alucard stepped back from the others, "I'll find Aveline... make sure she's alright." Best not to let her get too far given the situation in this town.
 
" Well that went great," Trevor said bluntly after the whirlwind had finished sweeping through the stable. Carmilla had caused trouble and shaken the group up, they already all felt close to scattering to the wings.

" Given the situation I think we handled that the best we could," Danica said as she watched Lucia storm off. She would need to talk with her and make sure that she was alright, she had been told about Carmilla but seeing the effect she had on Lucia in person was very different. " I'm content with the fact we did start a fight." she added as she walked over to Sulla and Marius to feed them the hunks of goat that had fallen to the floor. Luckily neither of them were too picky when it came to meat.

"Yes about that, I can't believe you were going to fight her Trevor," Sypha said as she smacked Trevors side, he let out a grunt she hit surprisingly hard for a mage. " Where would that of gotten us? You swinging around your blessed whip in a stable full of vampires, nightmares, and who knows what else!"

" Yes well you try to keep your cool when someone tells you that you're a piece of shit that should of burnt up years ago," He grumbled, just that thought still pissed him off. His hands clenched slightly and he finally moved as Sypha realized that what Carmilla said hit him harder than he showed. People gave Trevor a hard time more often than not and it had been years since his family had died, she knew it was still something he was sensitive about but he never showed how badly it effected him. Right now though he looked tired and wracked with guilt, and for a moment she worried that he wished he had died with his family as well.

" I'm going to our room in the inn." He said, he needed some alone time, before he also stormed off.

" Oh Trevor," Sypha said softly and clasped her hands together in concern.

" Danica what are we going to do?" She asked her, and Danica frowned with her as well. Carmilla really had wrecked havoc on their little group.

" We're going to do our best to mend this Sypha, it's all we can do."


Outside the stables Aveline had hurried away from the inn and snaked her way down what ever winding path was in front of her, she just wanted distance. She could hear Trevor calling out her name in her head on repeat, if she hadn't ran away when she had she was certain things were going to get bad. Her mind went to the worst possible things, like them hating her and kicking her from the group. If the group needed to trust one another to succeed against Dracula she doubted they'd keep her around, who could trust her for keeping something like this from them?

She ended up in an alley that ran directly along side the wall protecting the village. She leaned back on the building and could see the bright stars on the other side of the wall, if she wanted she could avoid being kicked out of the group by running away first. They couldn't get rid of her if she got rid of herself first. But she knew she wouldn't do that, she was too attached to them, she wouldn't leave unless they told her to.

The Halija blood in her veins told her to protect them, she had found people she liked being around and she had imprinted on them in a way, she wouldn't leave unless they drove her off with cruel words and cold iron.

Sliding down the wall she ended up sitting down, but pulled her hood over her head and tried to confront the reality of the situation. " I'll have to tell them the truth," Telling Alucard had been hard enough, and she had only done that because he had found out on his own, but he had an idea of what she was going through.

She clutched at her hair, plants growing through the cracks of the cobble stone and surrounding her like some type of armor, not sure if she could put herself out there like that. Would they accept her, or think she was one of those fae that stole children and boiled people in soup? If they would hate her after she told them the truth, then maybe it wasn't worth telling.
 
Alucard had already gone after Aveline. That was one down. “I can handle Lucia,” she’d known her longer, and had some idea of the history here, “You can perhaps see to Trevor?” She did not know if Trevor was the sort who needed to cool down first, or one to be chased after immediately. “Or, Johann?” He still lingered there. “You have to go to the room you share, and you need to sleep to travel tonight – you could check in?”

“Er…I…yeah.” He sighed. He supposed he could, “If I need back-up I can go get Sypha, but otherwise, perhaps just in the morning we can make sure to all reconnect? Preferably a little before dawn….” Though he knew Lucia might be fine sulking in the carriage while the others regrouped.

He had seen that switch hit a few things, where she just shut down and moved forward. He knew they were at risk of that, which would mean she’d shut them all out until Dracula was finished with. Even him and Danica, at the risk they’d talk to the others.

Sypha still looked anxious. She clearly wanted to do something to help, “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do now? Maybe with Lucia?” If not Trevor, perhaps she could be of some help as an outsider to Lucia’s situation, “What…happened with Carmilla?”

As she spoke, Johann moved back towards the inn. His duty was set no matter what. If Trevor didn’t want to speak, he at least needed to sleep. There was no getting around that part.

~***~

Alucard did not know where to go, in truth, and he wandered rather aimlessly for a while. The plants seemed to cover up her scent now, or something was – he couldn’t seem to locate her by his extra senses alone. It took a bit of walking, and the strategy to go from the outside, in, that eventually led the dhampir to where Aveline had rooted herself.

Almost literally.

“Would you mind the company?” Alucard called out, lifting his voice a bit as he paused, halting himself some feet away to make sure he wouldn’t get too far into her space if she did not want anyone there. “I’m sorry…for what Carmilla did. For not seeing it and interrupting,” he should have interjected earlier, perhaps, for all of their sakes. He should have tried to dominate the conversation and not allow Carmilla to run it, but instead he let her lash everyone in the group, and build that mistrust and suspicion, and so much more.

What he could do now, was make sure Aveline was safe, and reassured that no one would leave her behind. He also needed to warn her of Trevor and Lucia who, while likely well-intentioned, would not let her keep that secret for long.

She would need to prepare to finally tell them all, now that Carmilla had outed her. If he could help her get to that point, or at least brace her…he thought he would be doing his part to keep the group united.

~***~

Lucia had considered storming off, far from the inn, far from the others. Somewhere where demons might be. Violence shouldn’t be a stress reliever, but here she was, contemplating it. It wasn’t like she could drink some drunk and forget about this, though that wasn’t a healthy thought, either. ‘You’re better than that.’

Or she wanted to be, and wanting to be at least fed her inner discipline to try.

So instead of running off, she gave her name to the innkeeper and asked if there were any bathing tubs, or bathing rooms, available, all while keeping her eyes down so the hood would shadow her as best it could.

It seemed the least destructive option at the moment. Then she just had to get through the rest of this mission. That was all, just get through it.

She heard the inn door open, but ignored it. The innkeeper had let her know there was a room, and he would have the basin filled. He’d come back to get her when it was prepared, so Lucia didn’t intend to move from the counter or acknowledge others. They were all torn up by what Carmilla said, this was obvious.

The group had at least been right on that.

She would need to cool off before speaking with Aveline, because she wasn’t actually mad at her for keeping any secrets. No, she was mad at…well, Carmilla. Herself. Mostly herself.
 
" What happened between Lucia and Carmila is their own history, and one that you should hear from Lucia not from me." Danica said with a small shake of her head. It didn't feel right to put Lucias business out there, and she knew that Lucia wouldn't be happy with her if she did. She wouldn't betray the trust that was put in her. " But I will tell you that they were close, they went through some things that are very important to Lucia together, and in the end Carmilla showed her true colors and betrayed Lucia. But even after all these years its clear they still hold some amount of sway over one another,"

Danica hated to think about what would of happened or what Lucia would of agreed to if they had walked in on them when they had, but they had certainly been standing close enough to give her an idea.

" But please don't tell Lucia that I told you even what little i did. It takes her a while to open up to people, i'm sure that if we can still stick together like we have that you'd find out from her one way or another," Sypha frowned at Danica for a moment but it was more out of concern then anger, then finally she nodded.

She would keep her nose out of the business that wasn't hers with the hopes that eventually Lucia would tell them. If carmilla kept interfering with them then she would probably need to tell them at some point anyway.


Aveline was startled by a voice, and peaked out from under her hood to see who it was, then slowly relaxed seeing that it was Alucard. Out of everyone that could of come to find her he was the one she'd prefer. So she nodded and motioned him over to sit with her.

" You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. That was all Carmilla," She signed as she ran her hands through her hair to try and smooth it out. " You didn't know she'd be able to figure out what I was, or that she was going to tell everyone." she hadn't expected to be singled out like that. When Carmilla had gone around insulted everyone she had expected a joke about looking like a child, not for her to say exactly what she knew ' I shouldn't exist'.

" And I shouldn't of ran either, I already know that but i couldn't stay in there. Everyone was closing in and it felt like I couldn't breath. I heard Trevors voice when I was leaving though, he sounded angry," she frowned and pulled her knees up to her chest. " Did you hear anything they said? Did they talk about kicking me out of the group because i didn't tell them the truth? Or that I was some agent sent to stop them? Because i'm not!" Her mind had clearly gone to some crazy places when she had been left alone.

Her shoulders slumped and she leaned her head against the brick building behind her. " What Carmilla said hurt, but she didn't hurt your feelings did she? She said the same thing about you, that neither of us belong here." Carmilla had talked about their human hearts like it was a bad thing, when it was her human heart that kept her sane most days. This human heart made her different than her mother, better than her mother.


Stepping into the Inn the cold air from outside left Trevor red faced, and it closed the door behind him with a loud 'Slam' like it new he was in a fool mood. He felt pent up with anger, Carmilla had really pushed his buttons, and even worse he had let her. He had been ready to start a fight with her in that room despite how it would effect the others and the town around them.

But Carmilla had also pointed some things out to him that he hadn't noticed, there were some weak points in their group that unless they figured out then there was a good chance that they wouldn't be able to defeat Dracula. But he refused to hold anyone down, so he was going to use this whirlwind of energy to try and set as much right as he could. Aveline would have to wait until tomorrow ' she gets a day to tell us, if she doesn't i'm going to find out from her regardless,' he told himself, and he knew Lucia would have his back in that regard. She seemed to agree with him that Aveline needed to be honest with them for the good of the group.

Looking around the inns lobby he saw Lucias hooded figure at the counter and without thinking he strode over to her confidently before he could rethink this. " Lucia," He said once he was near, he stood side by side with her keeping his voice low, " We need to talk in private," He insisted.

Pushing back from the counter he walked out the back door of the inn and into the alley behind it. It was more private than one of the rooms they had rented, which any member of their party could walk into at any time so it was better than nothing.
 
It was true, Alucard hadn’t known that Carmilla would figure it out so quickly, though he should have. The fact Lucia said nothing had made him believe the knowledge might not be so common, or the scent so obvious. He didn’t think to the possibility that Lucia had noticed and just said nothing. “No, but still…,” still he felt guilty, as he came to take the seat that she patted for him.

He took it, drawing his own knees up and crossing his arms over his knees, leaning towards her, toes pointed towards her.

Alucard wouldn’t lie to her, “I think Lucia and Trevor are angry, but that may be more at Carmilla than you,” misplaced anger, “They’ve agreed to give you a little time to explain yourself, but no one mentioned kicking you out of the group,” a slight smile touched his lips, as he reassured, “A Belmont is already working with a vampire. I doubt he’s going to think you have to be kicked out. A prophecy has convinced him to tolerate myself and Lucia…you’ll have far better luck.”

Secret or not – certainly Trevor could understand the need to keep identities hidden?

Carmilla wasn’t the only one who thought those who were half-blooded didn’t belong. Even humans thought breeding with others of the same species was somehow less, just based on ethnicity. This was nothing new. Nor the first time he’d heard it. Not all of Dracula’s vampiric friends were so…accepting. Not all of those remained friends for long, either. Carmilla had feigned it well before.

“No one thinks you’re an agent sent to hinder us. I don’t think that,” he added. Perhaps he couldn’t speak to the others, but he knew what he thought. “But I know it hurts…to have that doubt. I know the others must hold it against me, as well, even if they do not speak it.” He wasn’t just any dhampir. He was Dracula’s son.

Carmilla had made it clear – his resolve could break. He did not believe it would. He would not allow it. But he’d be a fool to think the others didn’t worry about it.

“I have heard her words before…about what I am. I cannot live in my mother’s world, it was why I was not there when she was taken. Nor can I live in my father’s world. There is not a place for me. Humans are repulsed by the need of blood and my father’s name, and vampires are variously jealous of my ability to go out in the sun or eat of other food, or they just find me to be an abomination of what they see as bestiality.” Those who saw humans as truly nothing more, who forgot where they came from. “I’ve always known others held those thoughts about me.”

Perhaps it was a fresher wound for Aveline. She had not been the child of some prominent figure in her society…had not been so exposed and seen…at least, from her stories, he had not gathered that, but then, he hadn’t heard many of them.

~***~

Lucia’s mind filled with a thousand vulgarities as she heard the steps approach, but she still refused to turn her head in the brief thought that Trevor might just walk by her. Did he? No. He asked for a private word, and Lucia only glanced after him when she was sure his back was turned, a withering and exasperated look sent at his back. ‘I just wanted a damn bath.’ Now the water was probably going to be cold.

She could ignore him.

She had the power to ignore him.

She didn’t. She just pushed hard away from the counter and walked after him, exiting the inn just seconds before Johann would enter it. “This is your idea of private?” An alley, where anyone could stroll on down it. Still, Lucia supposed it was better than some options.

‘Tone.’

Lucia pushed her fingers up through her hair then, pushed some of the dark strands back as she shut her eyes and tried to steal a single moment to get a grip again.

She tried to find some sort of calm, before letting her hand drop back down.

She didn’t apologize, but spoke again, voice forced-calm, “What is it, Trevor?” Never mind the rhetorical question about privacy before, or the tone it came out in. She tried to revert back to her calmer demeanor, to what she had to be for this group to function. She’d have to find that calm before Aveline came back, and Trevor didn’t deserve any more grief after what Carmilla had said to him.

None of them did.
 
" Yes but you and Lucia were honest from the beginning," Aveline pointed out with a small frown. She knew it wouldn't be totally up to Trevor to kick her out of the group, if everyone else could handle being around her then she'd most likely stay, but she was worried about the broken trust. Lucia and Alucard had honest from the beginning about who and what they were, though it would be hard to hide given how they had all met one another. They both had accepted what they were, but she didn't think she was there yet.

To offer up her fae heritage like it was nothing, or to wear it like a badge of honor, felt a bit like accepting her mother. But how could she get that across without telling everyone the truth? She didn't think it was possible.

" I suppose it isn't possible to continue without telling them the truth," She signed hearing that Trevor and Lucia were giving her some time to come clean, but not much." I suppose they deserve as much," The group had only ever been kind to her and it would be a weight off her shoulders to not have to nervous hide her abilities or steer conversation away from anything fae related. Still there was that fear of bias, and the possibility that they didn't trust her like they once did. If that was the case then it was no ones fault but her own, she'd have to deal with the consequences.

" You've never spoken of it before, but i had a feeling that being a Dhampir wasn't ease for you," She said softly after hearing what Alucard had gone through. It just proved to her that you could do everything right but people would always find a reason to hate what wasn't normal. In front of her was Alucard someone so strong, so thoughtful, and so beautiful but there were still people that rejected him. She couldn't understand it, but she could relate to what he had been through.

" My father wasn't allowed to live in my mothers village in the mountains, it was only for the Haltija so he had to build a home out on the mountain to live in by himself if he wanted to be in my life and my mothers," She explained, " I was allowed to live in the village but by the time I was 7 I convinced my father to let me live with him permanently. The children were horrible to me, and so were some of the adults. Some did their best to tolerate me, but they were the minority. I only used the village for learning or trade, I stayed with my father where he didn't care what I was, and for a while my mother didn't care either." She frowned as she tried to figure out the best way to continue.

" But I think the villagers wore my mother down, my grandfather is the leader of the clan and her having a human lover plus a halfling child was a scandal. She used to visit us all the time, but the visits became less frequent until I didn't want her to visit anymore. I've seen the worst of my mothers people and they didn't want me, but my father always accepted me. He gave me a heritage to be proud of."

She only had the best memories of her father and he was what she strove to be like, where as the qualities that stuck out the most about her mother were vile. She didn't want to give her mother the satisfaction of still causing her distress even now that she was on her own, but that was petty she suppose.

" I think-" She started with a self deprecating smile, " Being what we are comes with parental issues." she tried to joke. " But maybe it's time I stop running from what I am and just suck it up. I mean I told you what I was and that didn't end badly." she said, trying to find a bright side like always.


" It's late at night, there's a lot less foot traffic through back alleys than you'd expect," Trevor said with a shrug as he crossed his arms over his chest, " Besides I didn't want the others to over hear us if we went to one of our rooms," The issues that were between him and Lucia felt like something that they needed to deal with in private, he didn't want the others butting their noses into places they didn't belong.

" Listen," he started, though where to start he wasn't sure" What Carmilla said in there, while most of it was utter horse shit, did make me realize some things that I either didn't see or was choosing to ignore. When we agreed to work together it was clear neither of us were happy about it, and so far we've worked as best we could together while expecting a knife in the back," Or a clawed hand in the back in his case, " But if we all want to kill Dracula and survive then we need to get some things out of the way."

" I'm not going to try to kill you or Alucard when this is all said and done," the words unreliable and untrustworthy were seared in his brain and he wanted to assure Lucia that he was far from it, " I thought that went without saying, but the group has done too much assuming and it's hurt us and what we can achieve. But we've agreed to work together and as cliche as it sounds-" his lips quirked up into a slight smile when he realized what he was about to say," You're a decent person. Actually you're more than a decent person, hell I think you're a better person than me by miles, but I didn't see it because of what you are. I'll admit that my family did train that bias into me, but I've seen the way you've handled yourself. You really care for the well being of anyone under your charge, and I respect that. I wouldn't rob the world of someone like you."

" I'm not good at all this talking stuff," He said a moment later, " I'm used to letting my whip do the talking for me. But I wanted to make sure you knew I was someone reliable, so in the future when you're about to run into a situation that might be in over your head you can feel confident in coming to get me to have your back." He was sincere, his eyes were bursting with honesty and he was really laying himself bare here in front of her.

But after what Carmilla said the issues between him and Carmilla were clear, he wanted to resolve them for both their sakes but also to rub it in Carmillas face if they ever ran into her again.

" My ancestors are probably rolling in their graves right about now, but I trust you and you're judgement, Lucia. And i'm going to continue to try to earn your trust as well, but i didn't think that was possible until I put all my cards on the table."
 
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Alucard chuckled, “Lucia was an owl at the beginning,” he didn’t exactly give her a chance to hide, not that she could. She was a full vampire. Perhaps under other circumstances, he might have been able to mask what he was, but levitation and golden eyes in plain sight? No, that wasn’t going to work out. Neither of them had much of a chance to give an introduction as they may have liked.

He did shake his head as she spoke of not being able to continue the lie. No, she would have to come clean now. He did not think it would be so bad – not in this group, anyway. “I think they will be more curious, than anything. They will want to know why you felt the need to hide it, and they will understand,” at least, that was what he hoped, and he wanted her to be encouraged by the thought.

When she mentioned how he hadn’t spoken much of being a dhampir, he shrugged. ‘This group hardly needs another sob story.’ At this rate, Sypha was going to be the only one with a happy history. He didn’t know Johann or Danica’s histories well, but he generally knew one thing about those who came to be employed with Lucia: they were outsiders, for one reason or another.

Besides, who was he to complain? His parents had loved each other. He had been happy, up until a year ago. Even with others looking down at him, or trying to make him feel unwanted, he always had the support of both parents. Even now, if he went back to his father, he knew he’d be accepted. If he claimed to see things his way…but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

His mother would be crying to see Dracula like this.

Even Aveline had known a period of joy, it seemed, when her mother had not been so pressured by her people. “I can’t imagine the pain you went through,” he said, as it concluded, “my parents…were never under such pressure. Not to the point that it broke them up, or lessened their love for me. I knew I had them. Well…,” a bitter laugh, “I suppose the past tense is appropriate.” His mother was dead, his father was insane.

It did come with parental issues, but it hadn’t before. “For what it is worth, I think it is better to embrace it. I cannot stop being Dracula’s son. I cannot stop being half-vampire. Fighting it would only make me loathe myself further, and weaken me,” on more than one level. “If I ever want to have happiness…I have to find it in myself.” His father had found it in Lisa, but Lisa had been happy, even before….

She had just embraced more happiness, more opportunities…she was, truly, a beacon. “My mother tried to teach me that. She never wanted me to hate either world…hers, or my father’s. I think she truly believed that the differences could be bridged one day.” He tilted his gaze back up to her, “I wouldn’t ask you to try and be so much, but I would ask you, to accept yourself. I hope my faith in this misfit group isn’t misplaced, but,” he chuckled, “I think they will like you just fine, Aveline, and you’ll find your place.”

Because she belonged. Here. Just as he did. He was proof that change could happen in the worlds they existed in, proof they were not so different, and didn’t need to be, either.

~***~

‘Listen.’ How often did that word begin anything positive? Not often. Lucia listened, though – tried to listen through the noise in her head, anyway. Tried to hear Trevor’s voice above the poisonous words and thoughts reignited by Carmilla’s presence.

He tried to speak to the fact he wouldn’t kill her or Alucard, something she wanted to believe. The cloak should have proved some of his loyalty to her and the cause, but how could she forget all of Carmilla’s whispered promises, and the care she took in actually making Lucia feel like she existed? She owed Carmilla her life, not in the literal sense, but in the only one that mattered – she’d still be Doll were it not for Carmilla.

Of course, Carmilla only convinced her to live, so that she could take advantage of the supposed power vacuum in Chernihiv when Dimas died. She could spout all her pretty lies of a misunderstanding, but Lucia was still positive she had meant it as an invasion.

She tried not to deafen her ears with those dark thoughts.

But Trevor’s words of her being a decent person? ‘I admire you.’ Carmilla’s voice seemed to play over it. His claimed biases recalled Carmilla’s talk of growth. He promised to have her back the way Carmilla spoke of us.

His eyes though looked sincere. He was sober and, well, not nearly as well composed as Carmilla had been. He had no time to really plan this out, did he?

‘Words are wind.’ But there were actions in his case, actions that meant something. “You really…shouldn’t trust my judgment. I’ve made some horrible decisions.” And she wasn’t trusting herself right then, on anything, fighting against dismissing his words entirely or accepting them – even a piece of them. “Regardless I…appreciate you approaching me to clear the air, as much I as hope you will understand that I have no intent to lie to you.”

Because if he had truly laid himself bare, this might sting. “You have some of my trust, until you fuck up…because I cannot deny that thought is there. I am not going to simply ignore you or not take your advice in situations, and I may end up relying on you – but that second thought doesn’t go away so easily. You live as long as me, you get fucked over enough times. You either become jaded and untrusting, or…you realize you’re not going to get anywhere without trying to trust, without giving people the benefit of the doubt. But I can’t lie and say you have my trust entirely. After what you’ve just said, that would be…wrong. But I don’t mistrust you.”

It was a strange middle space, to be expecting betrayal while not anticipating it. “I just learned I couldn’t live my life without…trying. I would not have Danica or Johann in my life, or others, if I just assumed the worst.” She tried to assume better, “and you’ve given me no reason to think ill of you. You’ve gotten my cloak, you’ve trusted me to have your back with the demons, and you’re still sober…I like you, Trevor Belmont. If things continue this way, I may come to trust you more.” She kept the ‘but’ from being spoken.

It wasn’t necessary to remind either of them it hung there. “But I promise now I won’t lie to you, and I will continue to be as reliable to this group. I promise, I won’t jump ship and join Carmilla.” Hopefully that would be…the right judgment call here.

Well, it’d probably be less painful to be murdered by Dracula than whatever Carmilla had in mind.
 
" I know I've said this before, but your mother sounds wonderful," When ever Alucard talked about Lisa it was only with good things to say. The woman sounded like a beacon of knowledge and wisdom, which made this whole situation worse. Lisa had been what the world needed, but instead she was killed and now they were here on this quest. " I think I would of really liked to meet your mother."

She could remember when her own mother was kind like that, telling Aveline that she was wonderful or the light of her life. She could remember her mothers smiles and her fathers strong arms hugging her tightly when she was upset. Maybe if she focused on the good times with her mother, like Alucard did with his, she wouldn't feel so worthless.

But this all came back to accepting herself for what she was and accepting her place in the world. She didn't think it would be ease, but Alucard didn't say it would be. He was kind of a beacon to her now that she thought about it, he accepted his place in the world even if it meant others looked down on him and he wouldn't belong in either of his parents world.

" I guess i have a journey of self discovery in front of me then, which is funny because i'm more scared of that when facing Dracula and an army of vampires." She said with a soft chuckle. " but I can try to be more open, If I stop treating my heritage and what i am like something to be ashamed of myself i'll trick myself into being proud of it." It was all she could do, because despite how badly she had wanted to run away a few minutes ago she knew she wouldn't do that. She'd use the time that Trevor and Lucia were giving her to get herself together, then she would tell the group the truth because they earned it.

Her foot reached forward slightly and nudged his boot, and when she caught his eye she smiled softly at him. " Thank you for coming to talk to me Alucard. We have bigger things on our plates right now, and it feels selfish to worry about myself when you must be going through a lot too, but I really appreciate it. I needed to talk to someone," she stood up and dusted the dust off of the butt of her cloak, " I was actually thinking about scaling that wall and running away before you showed up. I doubt I would of done it, but still maybe I would of if you hadn't come and talked me off the ledge." She joked, though the smile she wore was thin around the edges.

Today had been so suddenly emotionally draining, she just wanted to sleep and try to figure out what to say to everyone else, but the fact she knew what she was going to do gave her some real direction and that was a good place to start.

Alucard stood to join her and she caught the sleeve of his coat as he started to walk, then she pulled him into a hug. It had been spur of the moment but she was a physically affectionate person and her simple ' thanks' hadn't felt like enough to get across how much Alucard taking the time to talk to her had really meant. " You were too kind to me tonight Alucard. letting me bend your ear like that. I can't understand all of what you're going through, but if you ever need to talk to someone then please feel free to come to me. I'll listen."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trevor snorted slightly hearing Lucias admission to not having the best judgement, " We've all made some bad decisions, I don't trust a man or woman that's claims to be perfect,"

This felt like a start. It was stupid to hope for her whole hearted trust, and it felt like he would have to really stay on top of things if he ever wanted Lucia to stop expecting a stake in the heart, but what ever middle ground they found would be a good place to start. If they were listening to one another and relying on one another then soon it would become instinct to trust one another fully. Didn't mean that him stepping out of his comfort zone didn't sting a bit hearing his speech didn't do much. But it had told her where he was and she had given him an idea of the ground he was standing on, it was more stable than he expected.

" I appreciate your honesty Lucia, and the fact you're willing to try is something I can work with. Hell 'm still trying to work with Alucard," he joked, though there was truth in it. He hadn't spent as much quality time with Alucard as he had Lucia, or in the least he hadn't had some weirdly deep or honest talk with him like he was having with Lucia, but they were all trying and that meant there was hope for after all.

" And speaking of me being sober and that deal we made," he said, ready to jump onto his next topic, " When we made that deal I wanted to screw you over honestly, I kind of thought we'd go a lot longer without getting hurt and hoped animal blood would be good enough to keep you going, but if i'm being honest you look...well less than good. Pretty terrible actually," it was mostly his fault she looked like this. Had she not made the deal with him then she would be full of delicious human blood and would be much better off, but all her wounds and the animal blood she had been drinking left her looking tired and a bit worn around the edges.

" So we need to fix or amend this deal somehow," Like he said he had enough trust in Lucia that he felt a bit more comfortable trying to tackle the next problem for the group, though he was sure his dead fathers ghost was going to appear in his dreams and try to kill him for encouraging a vampire to feed, " I'm well aware that my ale drinking is...a problem. I started using it to stay warm before I went on hunts, but at some point it numbed something in me that I didn't want to face, that I still don't want to face. I know it'd be a problem facing Dracula, so i'm still going to keep to my promise of no ale until all this business is laid to rest," The 'but' that was coming didn't even need to be said.

" You need human blood, which is what I imagine Danica and Johann are partly for," Having loyal human servants for blood, steering the carriage, and helping her when it was day time was brilliant, but thinking that made him squirm a bit.

Part of him thought about getting rid of the deal totally, but he knew that he wasn't ready for that. This deal was the thing keeping him from high tailing it into the inn for an ale. The others knowing of the deal and keeping an eye on him was annoying, but helpful. Hell earlier tonight he had felt a bit proud when Danica found him drinking water instead of ale, she had given him a proud smile that warmed him in a way that was almost better than ale ever did.
 
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