Trevor 'The Bear Situation' Belmont (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
miraclewhip) wrote2018-11-23 08:39 pm
miraclewhip) wrote2018-11-23 08:39 pm
Entry tags:
(for cryptsleeper)
[ He remembers- maybe about half of what happened last night. A little more, perhaps. He remembers the comments that initiated the fight. Vaguely remembers being dragged back to the inn. Remembers throwing cold water on his face to wake himself up to do the terrible fucking job of stitching himself back up that he found himself with this morning (if there was ever a chance to keep that fucking cut from scarring, well, he's gone and botched it).
And he remembers telling the fucking vampire things that he probably should not have told the fucking vampire. He doesn't remember the specifics but he knows that he said too much. More than he's told anyone in a decade maybe. All for the sake of a petty victory that he doesn't even remember if he achieved.
He's uncharacteristically quiet today, even for being as hungover as he is. He forces the almost-solid porridge down his throat when it's pushed in front of him. He drinks half the water that he was using to wash himself last night and pours the other half over his head to wake himself up after maybe an hour of sleep. He only interrupts Sypha's long, long 'discussion' when she stares at him for an indication that he's still awake. It's after that that he's dismissed to the back of the wagon, either because Sypha can't stand his presence right now or because she doesn't trust him not to fall off and end up tangled under its wheels.
(Can't blame her, being tangled up under the wheels of a wagon sounds better than being in his own head right now, even without the throbbing pain.)
He doesn't sleep, mostly because he's been told not to and he is, even more uncharacteristically, on his best behavior right now. The day is mostly uneventful until sometime in the afternoon, when a particularly foolish highwayman sees a wagon driven by a single speaker woman and tries to take advantage of the situation. He's driven off within moments, of course, harmlessly to both them and himself, and the worst that happens is that the horses are startled by Sypha's display and the wagon lurches to one side, knocking Trevor onto his side against the wooden floor. It's only after everything has been confirmed okay, once the horses are calm and they're moving again, that he places a hand to his lower chest. ]
Fuck.
[ It's warm. And damp. He's gone and opened his shitty stitches, hasn't he? ]
And he remembers telling the fucking vampire things that he probably should not have told the fucking vampire. He doesn't remember the specifics but he knows that he said too much. More than he's told anyone in a decade maybe. All for the sake of a petty victory that he doesn't even remember if he achieved.
He's uncharacteristically quiet today, even for being as hungover as he is. He forces the almost-solid porridge down his throat when it's pushed in front of him. He drinks half the water that he was using to wash himself last night and pours the other half over his head to wake himself up after maybe an hour of sleep. He only interrupts Sypha's long, long 'discussion' when she stares at him for an indication that he's still awake. It's after that that he's dismissed to the back of the wagon, either because Sypha can't stand his presence right now or because she doesn't trust him not to fall off and end up tangled under its wheels.
(Can't blame her, being tangled up under the wheels of a wagon sounds better than being in his own head right now, even without the throbbing pain.)
He doesn't sleep, mostly because he's been told not to and he is, even more uncharacteristically, on his best behavior right now. The day is mostly uneventful until sometime in the afternoon, when a particularly foolish highwayman sees a wagon driven by a single speaker woman and tries to take advantage of the situation. He's driven off within moments, of course, harmlessly to both them and himself, and the worst that happens is that the horses are startled by Sypha's display and the wagon lurches to one side, knocking Trevor onto his side against the wooden floor. It's only after everything has been confirmed okay, once the horses are calm and they're moving again, that he places a hand to his lower chest. ]
Fuck.
[ It's warm. And damp. He's gone and opened his shitty stitches, hasn't he? ]
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[ That gets the first non-spiteful laugh out of him in a few days. He's not going to make Alucard do anything. He's just going to leave him with a bunch of unsorted junk and far too much free time, knowing that he is exactly the kind of extremely fastidious nerd who won't be able to just leave it in chaos.
Which is to say yes. He has to. ]
And- Belnades. Not Belmont. At least until they're old enough to decide whether they want to paint the target on their own back.
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[The words are said, dry as wine but that laugh is worth everything. It's chasing away the younger Trevor that required stabbing in order to bring about any real change. Not that a second stab wouldn't be considered in Alucard's thoughts, but it would be vetoed by Sypha.]
...Yes. That would be prudent. [It's a thought that Alucard hadn't taken into consideration. But that kind of foresight is proof that regardless of decisions made, in theory Trevor's mature enough to do this.] You realize that there's a fifty percent chance they'll just want to live in the library and the Hold, right?
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Well, far be it from either of us to complain about anyone else disappointing their father. [ Joking. He's joking. And it's- still both an insult and also self-deprecating, but the tone's at least softer now. ]
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That is the luxury we're afforded, through all of this. [The gesture is vague and delivered lazily. There's still one hand resting on Sypha's side under all the blankets, and the other is sticking out just behind where the end of Sypha's pillow meets the start of Trevor's. Movement is hard.] Both rock bottom and the highest heights have been achieved. Everything else begins anew.
[Dracula's defeat was one part of the equation. That there was a Belmont living in the castle and, for the lack of any better word consorting with a vampire was the other part of the equation.]
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[ He repeats that very quietly. Is that what this is? It- seems about right, if 'this' is taken as their time together, and not the ongoing situation. He turns onto his side again, so that his jaw rests against Alucard's hand, one hand against Sypha's back and the other reaching over her to rest against Alucard's hip. ]
They can read outside. They can't live in the fucking demon castle and also never see the sun.
[ That's entirely the wrong image to be giving. ]
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[Alucard closes his eyes for a moment. His own mediations on what all this is, what legacy is born of guilt, grief, and the contradictions of what brought the three of them together in the first place. There's logic to it, and it tries to acknowledge all the contradictions that surround them.
The weight in Alucard's hand causes his eyes to flutter open again. The thumb there gently rubs against Trevor's cheek, soft as can be.]
This may surprise you but I also was outside quite a bit as a child.
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[ It rarely was. Not never, but rarely. ]
I spent half of my time in trees, the other half of it with the dogs, and did exactly as much work in lessons as I needed to to avoid the cane and no more. Not really any surprises there.
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[Dracula, ladies and gentlemen.]
Mm. And I'm sure that you were dragged inside, kicking and screaming during the summer months, because you had to sleep for at least some part of the night.
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They gave up and let me sleep in the tree once or twice. Or on the kitchen floor, where the dogs slept.
[ He was Like This even when he had a house. He's quiet for a while, thinking, and then- ]
What about you? [ He's deliberately vague with what he's asking. It could be asking about Alucard's tree-sleeping habits. It could be asking about what conclusions he reached when he spent too much time thinking about what is owed to those old desires. It depends which he'd prefer to talk about. ]
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[Not, as one margin notes called it much later on the bone zone setting off an entire added page of furious commentary. Alucard did not enjoy reading most Belmont commentary on his father, but the Bone Zone page was a work of art.]
Hm. Should have just let you build a tree house and be done with....the floor. As a child.
[Alucard's real question is why does this information shock him at all? It shouldn't. Trevor's just always been Trevor.]
No trees. I did accidentally break a jar of mercury in the lab once, that was a bad day. [It's why the lab has rules now.] As for the rest, it's irrelevant. [This conversation is for Trevor's sake, not for Sad Vampire Hour edition 20531. Besides, there is something else that has occurred, and Alucard cannot help but indulge the thought.]
Truly though, there was that much uproar over not having two pieces of metal around your fingers?
[Is there a more overwrought way to say wedding rings? Probably not.]
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[ He has, in fact, always been Trevor. ]
It's not even been the worst of it. It's a good thing speakers are- you know- [ He tilts his head to gesture toward Sypha in a way that is utterly undescriptive. Dressed like boys, is what he means. ] -half the inns we've run into won't allow unmarried women to stay there at all. You should ask her to do her 'young man' voice for you sometime. It's hilarious.
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[Alucard has an Opinion on which one it is.]
There is an easier way to avoid that problem, if things are dire and you're in no mood to deal with the usual form of hostility towards Speakers.
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[ Because they were valuable, for everything from mundane hunting and tracking to seeing spirits to sniffing out the first hint of corruption in someone close to being turned. He chuckles softly at the thought of it, and it's amazing how quickly his tone changes from warm to cool when Alucard brings up a possible solution. ]
No.
[ Trevor he didn't even suggest anything yet. ]
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[He can't help but roll his eyes at Trevor's reaction. He knows where it's going, but really.]
It's practical. And it isn't as if this is going to change any time soon. You don't need to wear it constantly. Only when it is needed.
[this is the worst fucking proposal]
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[ They're tools. And the Belmont family has always taken better care of its tools than they did the ones who used them. Even as he was drinking himself to death, Trevor kept the whip as perfectly maintained as the day it was made. ]
And no. No. [ It's hardly a difficult bar to clear, but of the three of them Trevor is still very much the most religious. And also the most kind-of-technically-was-engaged-it's-probably-been-called-off-because-of-the-burning. ] I know this shit means nothing to you, but I still care.
[ The last three words anyone would ever expect Trevor to say. ]
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[But now this topic is going to be left behind, because this is a nerve struck upon in a way Alucard really didn't anticipate. He had it lined up and everything to, vengence for every damned princeling comment made because looking at the family genealogies revealed that technically, the Belmonts had the boyar rank whereas Dracula ceased caring about any kind of human hierarchy at all. In Lupu, they had been ordinary.
But no, that will have to come at a very different time now.]
...Words seldom uttered.
[He has no other wit, because those three words are too strange coming out of that mouth. And there's an apologetic tone immediately after jackassery.]
I hadn't considered. I apologize.
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[ Which is Trevorspeak for 'it's okay', and for 'thank you for the understanding'. The warmth is back in his voice, and he rubs his fingertips lightly against Alucard's side. ]
I know it's completely ridiculous. But it matters. Even now. But I can't- I can't just lie about something like that. [ Everything else, sure. Not this. ] And the alternative is hardly an option.
[ Because it's difficult to marry two people at once when nobody involved is allowed inside a church and one of them is a vampire and also you're already promised to someone. ]
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It isn't ridiculous. It simply is, and no one else gets to comment on it. [Not even him. Even if Alucard wonders why Trevor still puts any value in the church at all. On his God yes, perhaps, but the thing that excommunicated the Belmonts? The thing that unleashed the night hoards on Wallachia? And why would any God agree to be ruled by the decisions of such men?
Maybe when they're much older these are questions he can ask. But for now all Alucard can do is try to shrug the furs back up his exposed shoulder, and fail utterly at it.]
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[ Closest to what feels like the most likely point of entry, though there's little that could get into the castle doors without Alucard's leave. Instead of the most logical point of entry for anything that means them enough harm to try.
He doesn't offer any context to that statement but just leaves it in the air, the closest thing to an explanation that he can manage. It doesn't matter that it makes no sense anymore, because there was a time that it did. ]
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I had a far wittier response to all of this, you know. [He'll grouse about it, if only to try and chase any lingering mood away.]
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Goodness, you toothy gentleman. What a wonderful idea! I shall pretend to be married to the both of you, and that will solve all these problems.
[ ...Sypha's man voice is far, far better than whatever silly voice Trevor is trying to do right now. ]
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I was going to say something closer about a fair peasant maiden's heart being broken by a rude princeling.
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[ Probably when he was off brooding. He has no idea what Sypha and Alucard have been talking about over the last few days. ]
I thought it was just me.
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[Alucard smirks because he's a little too proud of this research.]
My father never bothered with the hierarchies of Wallachia, there was no point. Your family, however, did have status, House of Belmont and all that. You held land, there were people farming it meaning you had serfs, and you had a military function. Boyars.
[And if the how comes up, that's easy.]
Your family genealogy is very useful.
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[ Okay, they were functionally identical to serfs. At best, they were well protected serfs who had come to Belmont lands willingly to earn that protection. You need farms to fight a war against evil, okay. People have to eat. ]
-what I'm hearing is that my station is higher than yours. So I can just tell you to shut up.
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