[The statement is teasing. He isn't concerned overly about sharing. Thus far, D has only proven to be trustworthy.
Alucard shrugs off his coat, leaving him in his trousers and tunic. Coat set aside, he settles next to D comfortably.]
And I to you, of course. [He smiles a little more sincerely.] My father is a scientist, a philosopher, an engineer -- centuries of him gathering knowledge that would otherwise be lost to time and war by humanity. My mother sought him out to learn how to be a doctor, a proper one. She all but barged into his castle and demanded to learn. Remarkable was she to earn his agreement, as well as his heart.
I rather looked up to the both of them. I think a part of me wanted to be more like both, but I don't know that such a thing is possible now.
[The smile slides away, and he reaches out to gently trace his fingers over D's cheek.] Were you always a hunter?
[ D isn't accustomed to anyone teasing him. They're never quite comfortable enough for that. He shifts his legs to make room, wanting Alucard to sit next to him on the bed. Close enough for conversation and so that the hunter can show the dhampir that he's willing to be open with him. ]
Why is it impossible now?
[ His father was the vampire, his mother the human. How bold of his mother to demand knowledge and win the Noble's heart in return. It would be romantic if D didn't know that unions between the species hardly ever ended well. Someone would grow angry, the vampire would lose control.
He leans into his hand, lashes fluttering. It's difficult to allow himself contact but he finds pleasure in Alucard's touch. ]
No. It all started with him. All the dreams, and all the tragedies. [ His eyes flit away, darken, remembering. ] I was a twin. Both of us called D. Created by the Sacred Ancestor, deep beneath the village of Sedoc. He was a Noble who experimented on humans and vampires.
I left and my brother was lost to me.
[ Years and years ago. ]
Humans pay me to kill the Nobility that destroy villages and kidnap their daughters.
[For a moment, Alucard's hand stills at D's question. He will answer it eventually, but he waits to hear the other dhampir's tale instead.
He knew the question was a gamble to make. He wishes circumstances were happier for D, but he had admittedly doubted it.]
You call them Nobles. I know them just as vampires. Is there a difference?
[His hand relaxes against D's cheek once more.]
The Church called my mother a witch and took her away to be burned at the stake while my father was traveling. My father... Vlad Dracula Ţepeş swore to destroy the countryside for their actions. I highly doubt he would stop there.
[Reluctantly, he raises his tunic, his scar visible and apparent.]
[ He didn't find displeasure or great sadness in his past, not anymore. He's found a way to continue living without allowing it to burden his every action. D wasn't certain how he would respond if he met the Sacred Ancestor again, if their paths crossed, but sharing this with Alucard gave him some peace. ]
There isn't. Nobles are full vampires, which I am not unless I feed.
[ D tried to refrain from doing so. Bloodlust was difficult to overcome and he'd rather not risk it in a city where he hasn't yet found anyone other than Alucard who could stop him. ]
Your father seeks retribution. [ Which he understood but innocent lives were lost in the process. Alucard was hurt trying to stop his own parent. ] If he is beyond reason then you have to keep trying.
Human life is fast, fleeting, but not so insignificant. The longer you live the less you value living.
[ He reaches out to brush his fingers over Alucard's scar. ]
This mark is compassion. Empathy. I may not know how you feel or felt, but I respect that you chose a path that couldn't have been easy.
[That earns a genuinely concerned look on his face.]
...I know. My mother would not have wanted this. Despite everything, she loved the potential of humans. She'd want me to be better than those who killed her.
[He smiles faintly at D's touch, but he does feel profoundly tired at the topic. Still, if he would share it with anyone, it would be him.]
I fear I might not be so different from my father if I had not heard her pleading on their behalf. I suppose I won't know one way or another. Regardless of what's to come, I know what I must do.
[ The LIEs staff provided him with enough for three meals a day and while the pills weren't as sufficient as what he could get back home, they did the job. ]
I put them in a glass of water and drink it. They have plasma and nutrients.
[ Feeding from a human came with a different set of problems. Capsule v. live and the capsule would always win. Maybe if it were offered freely and he knew it wouldn't turn him Noble, but that wasn't the case. ]
That your mother could beg him as they did her such harm, it's.. [ Sad. Commendable. Something most couldn't do. ] It is people like her that are the reason why vampires can't win.
[He looks a bit alarmed, his brows raised. Then, he grows thoughtful.]
Would you be opposed if I could study one? If I could find a way to replicate it, it would be immensely helpful.
[He smiles faintly, more with regret than anything else.] I know. People like her that are worth saving. Even if there are only a handful of humans, it is worth that effort.
[ D stretches out to the table beside his bed and pulls out a pouch. ]
Of course.
[ He takes out a few capsules and places them in Alucard's palm. There was more than enough for him to get by and if the dhampir could use them, he'd want to help with that. ] If you need more let me know.
[The capsules are taken and Alucard smiles warmly, his appreciation clear alone on his face. They're put away into a pocket for now.]
I will keep you informed. I hope to make more for those who don't wish to drink the blood of others. There are so few like that, but I would encourage their moralities.
[There's a pause, then he smiles crookedly as he tucks hair behind an ear.]
Oh? And what else? [Alucard smiles and reaches out, running his fingers through D's hair.] You can ask me questions, if you would like.
[ Alucard was putting effort into reforming those that might not want it. He found it admirable, the attempt, and hoped he would succeed in swaying some to take that approach. ]
I want to know you. [ He leans into Alucard's touch. D had forgotten, had never allowed it before, what it could feel like to let someone be so close. Playing with his hair. Smiling at him. Unafraid and so comfortable nearby. ] What do you do to occupy your time?
Would you spend it with me?
[ D kisses Alucard's wrist. ]
Do you know that I would change my habits if it meant that we would see each other more often?
[Bit by bit, he relaxes more in D's presence, the warmth on his expression still just as sincere as D remains affectionate with him.
Is it selfish, he wonders, to want to have the other dhampir more often with him. He knows how dangerous it'll be to have such connections, but he does want it.]
I used to paint, before everything else. Here, I wish I could say my time was just as constructive. Though I suppose I could easily find supplies here.
[He smiles again, leaning over to rest his forehead a moment against D's shoulder before he looks at him again.] I would relish more of your company -- and I'm flattered to know you would have more of me as well.
[ D believes they've avoided this as long as they could. That course was spent. Having intimate connections was dangerous but more necessary than he would want. It meant exploring territory that was unfamiliar. He was willing, though, to try. ]
If it's space you need we can turn this room into a studio.
[ He lightly touches Alucard's cheek. ]
I'm no fool. We have a lot we can learn from one another.
[ And D would give up the time he spent elsewhere to do so. He only hoped that the city would allow them that much. ]
[ D would like that. Sharing with Alucard was a prospect for the future that he hoped wouldn't be denied them. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to share himself with Alucard. He had no hobbies to speak of. No likes or dislikes. ]
No.
[ His fingers flex against Alucard's face and then he lowers his hand back to his lap. ]
I haven't been this free with my time my entire life. Thousands of years and I don't have an answer to your question.
[It seems that, perhaps, D has felt as if he has no choice but to have lived his whole life as nothing but a hunter. No other passions, no hobbies -- but he couldn't blame him for that.
There is, after all, a part of Alucard that acknowledges that eventually the rest of his own life will be spent sleeping in a coffin from the rest of the world when all is said and done.
But to him, it feels more important right now to share what fragments of his old life are left with D. Alucard shifts how he's sitting, closer to D and gently laying his head onto the hunter's shoulder.]
I want to explore what you may like. To find what makes you feel reignited to enjoy something outside of your usual life.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[The statement is teasing. He isn't concerned overly about sharing. Thus far, D has only proven to be trustworthy.
Alucard shrugs off his coat, leaving him in his trousers and tunic. Coat set aside, he settles next to D comfortably.]
And I to you, of course. [He smiles a little more sincerely.] My father is a scientist, a philosopher, an engineer -- centuries of him gathering knowledge that would otherwise be lost to time and war by humanity. My mother sought him out to learn how to be a doctor, a proper one. She all but barged into his castle and demanded to learn. Remarkable was she to earn his agreement, as well as his heart.
I rather looked up to the both of them. I think a part of me wanted to be more like both, but I don't know that such a thing is possible now.
[The smile slides away, and he reaches out to gently trace his fingers over D's cheek.] Were you always a hunter?
no subject
Why is it impossible now?
[ His father was the vampire, his mother the human. How bold of his mother to demand knowledge and win the Noble's heart in return. It would be romantic if D didn't know that unions between the species hardly ever ended well. Someone would grow angry, the vampire would lose control.
He leans into his hand, lashes fluttering. It's difficult to allow himself contact but he finds pleasure in Alucard's touch. ]
No. It all started with him. All the dreams, and all the tragedies. [ His eyes flit away, darken, remembering. ] I was a twin. Both of us called D. Created by the Sacred Ancestor, deep beneath the village of Sedoc. He was a Noble who experimented on humans and vampires.
I left and my brother was lost to me.
[ Years and years ago. ]
Humans pay me to kill the Nobility that destroy villages and kidnap their daughters.
no subject
He knew the question was a gamble to make. He wishes circumstances were happier for D, but he had admittedly doubted it.]
You call them Nobles. I know them just as vampires. Is there a difference?
[His hand relaxes against D's cheek once more.]
The Church called my mother a witch and took her away to be burned at the stake while my father was traveling. My father... Vlad Dracula Ţepeş swore to destroy the countryside for their actions. I highly doubt he would stop there.
[Reluctantly, he raises his tunic, his scar visible and apparent.]
I tried to stop him, and failed.
I will not fail again.
no subject
There isn't. Nobles are full vampires, which I am not unless I feed.
[ D tried to refrain from doing so. Bloodlust was difficult to overcome and he'd rather not risk it in a city where he hasn't yet found anyone other than Alucard who could stop him. ]
Your father seeks retribution. [ Which he understood but innocent lives were lost in the process. Alucard was hurt trying to stop his own parent. ] If he is beyond reason then you have to keep trying.
Human life is fast, fleeting, but not so insignificant. The longer you live the less you value living.
[ He reaches out to brush his fingers over Alucard's scar. ]
This mark is compassion. Empathy. I may not know how you feel or felt, but I respect that you chose a path that couldn't have been easy.
no subject
[That earns a genuinely concerned look on his face.]
...I know. My mother would not have wanted this. Despite everything, she loved the potential of humans. She'd want me to be better than those who killed her.
[He smiles faintly at D's touch, but he does feel profoundly tired at the topic. Still, if he would share it with anyone, it would be him.]
I fear I might not be so different from my father if I had not heard her pleading on their behalf. I suppose I won't know one way or another. Regardless of what's to come, I know what I must do.
no subject
[ The LIEs staff provided him with enough for three meals a day and while the pills weren't as sufficient as what he could get back home, they did the job. ]
I put them in a glass of water and drink it. They have plasma and nutrients.
[ Feeding from a human came with a different set of problems. Capsule v. live and the capsule would always win. Maybe if it were offered freely and he knew it wouldn't turn him Noble, but that wasn't the case. ]
That your mother could beg him as they did her such harm, it's.. [ Sad. Commendable. Something most couldn't do. ] It is people like her that are the reason why vampires can't win.
no subject
[He looks a bit alarmed, his brows raised. Then, he grows thoughtful.]
Would you be opposed if I could study one? If I could find a way to replicate it, it would be immensely helpful.
[He smiles faintly, more with regret than anything else.] I know. People like her that are worth saving. Even if there are only a handful of humans, it is worth that effort.
no subject
Of course.
[ He takes out a few capsules and places them in Alucard's palm. There was more than enough for him to get by and if the dhampir could use them, he'd want to help with that. ] If you need more let me know.
Tell me of other things, Alucard.
no subject
I will keep you informed. I hope to make more for those who don't wish to drink the blood of others. There are so few like that, but I would encourage their moralities.
[There's a pause, then he smiles crookedly as he tucks hair behind an ear.]
Oh? And what else? [Alucard smiles and reaches out, running his fingers through D's hair.] You can ask me questions, if you would like.
no subject
I want to know you. [ He leans into Alucard's touch. D had forgotten, had never allowed it before, what it could feel like to let someone be so close. Playing with his hair. Smiling at him. Unafraid and so comfortable nearby. ] What do you do to occupy your time?
Would you spend it with me?
[ D kisses Alucard's wrist. ]
Do you know that I would change my habits if it meant that we would see each other more often?
no subject
Is it selfish, he wonders, to want to have the other dhampir more often with him. He knows how dangerous it'll be to have such connections, but he does want it.]
I used to paint, before everything else. Here, I wish I could say my time was just as constructive. Though I suppose I could easily find supplies here.
[He smiles again, leaning over to rest his forehead a moment against D's shoulder before he looks at him again.] I would relish more of your company -- and I'm flattered to know you would have more of me as well.
no subject
If it's space you need we can turn this room into a studio.
[ He lightly touches Alucard's cheek. ]
I'm no fool. We have a lot we can learn from one another.
[ And D would give up the time he spent elsewhere to do so. He only hoped that the city would allow them that much. ]
no subject
[He closes his eyes and leans faintly into his palm.]
That I fully believe.
Was there anything that you did other than hunt?
no subject
No.
[ His fingers flex against Alucard's face and then he lowers his hand back to his lap. ]
I haven't been this free with my time my entire life. Thousands of years and I don't have an answer to your question.
[ He'd been a hunter. That was all. ]
no subject
[It seems that, perhaps, D has felt as if he has no choice but to have lived his whole life as nothing but a hunter. No other passions, no hobbies -- but he couldn't blame him for that.
There is, after all, a part of Alucard that acknowledges that eventually the rest of his own life will be spent sleeping in a coffin from the rest of the world when all is said and done.
But to him, it feels more important right now to share what fragments of his old life are left with D. Alucard shifts how he's sitting, closer to D and gently laying his head onto the hunter's shoulder.]
I want to explore what you may like. To find what makes you feel reignited to enjoy something outside of your usual life.
You're allowed.