middaeg | Alucard, March catch-all [open]

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teen wolf: stiles stillinski

Alucard, March catch-all [open]

Who: Alucard + ????????
When: Throughout the month
Where: Garden class, caves, and around Aef itself.
What: March catch all for activities and adventures
Warnings: Added as needed

Garden classes, start of the month
[Gardening feels like something safe to begin with. Not that plants can't go terribly wrong in so many ways, but because it's so connected with earth and the physical. Getting over the brand of witch has taken far too long. This is a solid place to start.

Today's focus on growing through magical means rather than mundane ones is honestly enjoyable. Alucard's sat with a small spreadsheet he's made himself, walking through various growth rates on daises with spells.

Daises he's run out of, because of course. His eyes move around, and there's a frown suddenly on his face.]

We're entirely out of experimental plants for the day? Or are we meant to reset any we're working with as not to cause additional waste?

Northern Outpost, middle of the month

You're in my light, I'm afraid.

[Alucard knows it sounds rude. Pretentious even for himself, but the act of copying the cave art that is embedded in the cliff face demands exacting light so that the details can be just right, and all without ruining the art long term by light damage.

It's a nice thing to do, to sit in the cave and reproduce section after section. Moreover, he's good at it, the current chunk of painting coming along quite well.]

Or if you could just move off to the right a little, please?

[He isn't that particular.]

Here, there, and everywhere else within Aefenglom
[While he isn't around at all during the full moon - there is a vigil to sit, and a fully vampired Trevor to help through the first day of the worst of all of this - Alucard makes a point to get out of the house at least once a day.

Mostly that means finding a spot in a park or at one of the bars to people watch, doing precious little else. He's been better at people lately, but this entire world? After everything it's thrown himself and the other two into? That demands holding everything at arm's length.]

Wildcard
You know the deal

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[ Stiles just casually assumes that this man must not be from Earth; it’s common enough among the Mirrorbound that he doesn’t stop to wonder if maybe instead Alucard is from an earlier time period. Shakespeare was timeless. Obviously. Or something. ]

“Ever oncoming darkness?” [ he repeats skeptically, with a modicum of judgment audible in his tone. ] I dunno, dude. How about a long swath of black that gets darker and darker the closer it gets to the main focus of the painting?

[Oh shut up drama runs in his veins.]

Yes, that's an option. But if you think of the thing as a living entity, why not make it more animal-esque?

[ You do you, Adrian. Dad would be proud. (Questionable.) ]

Because there are already Monster people! Why confuse the message with similar imagery?

[ These cavepeople? Yeah. Stiles would like to have a word with them and their artistic choices. ]

If it’s the Cwyld…is it living?

They might have understood it to be.

[Give the cave people a break!!]

It's understanding their perspective that's important.

Yeah, that makes sense.

[ Though it’s difficult for him to step back and stop analyzing the paintings through his own biased lens. He runs a hand through his hair, feeling particularly burnt out on the effort. ]

You can call me Stiles, by the way.

There's too many options, truly. There has to be more refined study first.

[Ah, right. Names. Alucard nods in acknowledgement of that.]

I am Adrian Tepes.

[ A snort. ]

Țepeș? What, like Vlad the Impaler?

[ After his best friend was bitten by a werewolf, Stiles did extensive research on the history of supernatural creatures and their associated mythology. ]

…Wait. [ Oh god, is this like Marie Antionette and Ozymandias. ] …Are you a heroic spirit?

My father was Vlad Dracula Țepeș, yes.

[He's far too serious to be remotely playing with this fact, although the other question?

That actually does take Alucard by surprise ~~because he doesn't have CR in that department~~]

Whatever that is, the answwer is no.

[ Stiles blinks owlishly, staring at Alucard in blank speculation as he tries to determine whether or not the other man is teasing. Without a previous relationship with Alucard, he really can’t say; for all he knows, this guy could have the world’s best poker face. But Stiles has always had a good gut for these things and his gut tells him this isn’t a joke – ridiculous as the claim may be. ]

Just so we’re clear, [ he begins, slow and hesitant, ] we’re talking about Dracula, as in lord and king of all vampires?

[ Brown eyes drop, looking with unsubtle curiosity at Alucard’s mouth. ]

[Alucard pauses, debating the best way to clarify even an inch of things. He still has no joy in talking about his parents and the circumstances that Dracula threw Wallachia into - avoids it, especially with strangers.

But his father's name was always going to carry weight. So that much must be respected.]

Vlad Dracula Tepes, who summoned the hoards of Hell to Wallachia in the 1470s. And yes, that title among others.

[Rude??? Alucard knows that if he talks, a flash of fang will show.]

I am not inclined to entertain questions about him.

[ Oh. Oh, yes. Those are indeed pointy canines. Stiles fidgets, torn between fascination and doubt; if this is actually the son of Dracula…holy shit, badass. But it would be such an easy claim to make, in a world where Vampires do exist as Monsters. Maybe this guy is slowly turning into a Vampire and is just trying to fool Stiles. ]

Um. Alright. [ The accent is fairly convincing. ] If you’re telling the truth…uh, I should probably – [ How does he put this. ] Okay, I’m from the twenty-first century? And vampires don’t exist. But Dracula is like, one of the most well-known characters in vampire mythology. I’ve gotten in trouble before for making light of shit that’s fictional in my world. So…just letting you know.

[ Still sorry about singing a song from The Prince of Egypt to Ozymandias. ]

[21st-- okay. That Alucard can live with, and the idea of Dracula as fiction is....okay. He can roll with that too, truth can sometimes become folk tale.]

Very well. With all due respect, because my particular feelings towards him are currently complicated, I would appreciate no joking about the matter. [And then, almost as an afterthought:] I've been designated a witch by this world and it's whims, lest you find some of this suspect.

[stiles p l z]

[ That detail arrests his attention immediately. A vampire who was made a Witch? Just like Derek, a werewolf who was also made a Witch. Why? It lends itself to his and Sasuke’s original theory about subjects under stress being forced to learn control, but… Still, bizarre. ]

So, what happened to your vampirism, then? [ he asks, intrigued. ] Like, you obviously still have the equipment. [ A finger draws his own lip back, indicating his teeth. ] But do you still need to drink blood?

Technically, I'm a dhampir. [That part is rattled off with a cool certainty, because this part is just reciting facts.] My mother was human, my father was not. Blood has never been a particular need, and I'm a plenty skilled cook.

All other abilities that were inherited are inaccessible, as this place tends to do.

[ Dhampir is another familiar word that has surfaced in Stiles’ research, though reading about it on Wikipedia and obscure websites is nothing compared to allegedly meeting one. He starts to open his notebook, ready to begin jotting this information down. ]

I know someone who’s turning into a Vampire here. Would you mind if he contacted you to ask about it? It’d…help. A lot.

[ The request is deeply earnest, more sincere than Stiles usually is; this is important to him. ]

[There's a moment's hesitation. Technically, Trevor's the right person to talk to. He's gone through the transformation already, but no. It isn't Alucard's place to offer someone else's experience.

So he keeps Trevor's name out of his mouth for now.]

Pass me your book then. [He gestures briefly.] I may have some documentation. I can't speak to how much comfort that can give though.

[ Stiles takes note of that hesitation, wondering if he’s overstepped. When the Witch agrees, he brightens marginally and moves closer to offer the notebook to Alucard; though the man has declared himself the son of Dracula, there’s no indication that Stiles is afraid of him. The title has only made him more fascinating to the teen, if anything. ]

Documentation? [ he echoes curiously, peering at what Alucard is going to write. ] Sure, whatever you’re able to provide.

I did research about what the vampiric transformation process is like here for my own edification.

[It's a polite enough lie about why he really has it - Trevor's path to vampirism here was terrifying and they all needed to understand what was coming. No need to mention that.

He writes down an address and his name, Adrian Tepes, then hands the book back.]

I'm not sure how much comfort information can bring.

[ The lie is convincing. Stiles thinks little of it as he accepts the notebook, staring at the name and address. ]

He isn’t looking to be comforted, [ he responds, a withheld sigh audible in his voice. ] Just for information on what to expect and how best to prepare for it all. What’s your network name?

Then he's fallen into a little bit of luck. [[That was all Alucard had gathered for Trevor at first, the two at such odds when they first arrived.]

The network has given me the same name Wallachia's people did. Alucard.

[ A semordnilap! Previous research once again provides relevant context for Stiles. ]

You can change it, [ he offers, trying to be helpful; if the people of Wallachia coined the name, it probably wasn’t done out of kindness. ] In the watch, I mean. I could show you.

[ And then, after a beat: ]

Adrian.

[ A little heavy-handed, to be sure. But an effort is being made. ]

--Ah,I didn't realize that it was possible.

[Shows how much he uses them, really.]

I'd appreciate that, thank you.

[ Using his own comm watch as an example, Stiles demonstrates how to do so for Alucard. ]

I mean, no pressure to change it or anything, [ he adds once finished. ] But the option is there, if you want it.

[Alucard's good at learning, and the whole process is mercifully simple. He nods once to show he's got it.]

It's a good thing to know. Thank you. I also apologize for my initial tone.

You’re fine, dude. Don’t sweat it.

[ Taking a moment to stretch out the kinks in his back, Stiles sighs. ]

I should probably head. [ Staying awake during the day has become increasingly difficult. ] I’ll see you around, Adrian. Thanks for letting me bend your ear about the paintings.

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cryptsleeper - 2020-03-26 15:06 (UTC) - Expand

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