SPOILER ALERT!! : I use info from the game endings!! I changed it a little....but it's close enough that it could still spoil two of them. I kept seeing Richter and Alucard on a...err you'll see...no need to ruin that part of the story. OOC (at least I think it's out of character) alert as well. I just needed a stress relief fic since the two fics I'm supposed to be working on are straining my brain. (I'll get back to Irvy, I swear .)
Oh, and I don't own Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (well not the copyright anyway) so all the characters remain the property of Konami. I just borrowed them (without permission) for a little fun in my playroom. This part will be shounen-ai. Which means it hints at two men getting together. If that disturbs you (boy are you in the wrong place) please hit the back button and return to your safe little world. (Sorry ladies and gents....no sex just yet.)
CasualOtaku
hamina_hamina@yahoo.com
"Aren't you going after him Maria?" asked Richter as they watched Alucard run into the forest. She sighed and listened to the rumbles as the last remains of Castle Dracula sunk into the lake's inky black depths. "No...I...I think it's best that I don't." she said a little sadly. Richter shook his head, "Well I'm not going to stand by while he goes off to sleep eternity away. I owe him too much." Maria gasped and turned back to him, "What about Annette?" The Belmont shook his head, "I'm sorry Maria, but she deserves better. Some part of me allowed Shaft to control me. I need to find that part, and vanquish it before I can return." The young woman nodded then sighed, "Very well, good luck Richter. I will explain to my sister." Richter smiled and gave her a quick embrace, before heading into the woods as well.
Alucard frowned as he sensed someone following him. It was daylight now, and his powers were severely limited in the open air. He really didn't feel like fighting anymore, his heart still hurt from his final confrontation with his father. The patricide would weigh heavily on his soul for a long time to come and he didn't want to be awake for the pain. Better to enter torpor, and sleep away the ugly thoughts. He took a huge jump, dimly thanking whatever alchemist had invented the gravity boots and landed high in a nearby tree. He would ambush whatever was coming his way.
Richter stopped running through the woods, his danger sense tingling. Something was watching him, he just knew it. He looked up and locked gazes with Alucard. The halfling shook his head and gave him and odd sort of smile before he turned into a bat and flew away. Richter fought the urge to stomp his foot. *How the hell am I supposed to follow him when he does that?* He took a cleansing breath, and decided to head into the closest town, Alucard wouldn't be able to get too far with the daylight sapping his powers.
Alucard panted slightly as he reverted to his human form on the rooftop of a local cathedral. His called on his fairy familiar, and she giggled slightly before she settled on his shoulder, "What is thy bidding my master?" Alucard replied, "Please locate an inn, I need some sleep before I can find a new resting place." The fairy gave him and odd look, before she fluttered off to obey the part of the command that made sense. Alucard wondered over the expression for a moment, then let out a rueful chuckle. *I need sleep to get sleep, only a vampire...* He absently stroked the large stone gargoyle at his side and sat down to await her return.
Richter took one of the more intact tables in a local tavern and hailed a barmaid. "Yes, mi'lord?" she replied bobbing a quick curtsey. "Ale! The strong stuff, I've no use for the watered-down swill those others are drinking." She pouted slightly, if this one wasn't so handsome she might have taken offense at such a remark. It was true, but that didn't mean he had to point it out. She returned a moment later, with the pure drink. Richter took it and handed her a few gold coins. "A bit of information and you can keep the rest." She nodded, the money would be much more than she earned in a week with normal wages. "Have you heard stories of anybody odd tonight? A man with pale skin?" The girl frowned, "Many have such skin, 'tis the curse o' living under the shadow of that hated place..." she replied, shuddering at even the mention of the recently sunken castle.
Richter shook his head, "Abnormally pale, like moonlight." She frowned even more, "Any such as that would not be welcome in this place, and those who ask after such might not either." Richter took the hint and shooed her away. She took the money and quickly put some distance between her and the stranger. The barkeep smiled as she came towards him. "You look as if ye've seen a ghost lass." She bit her lip, "That man..." she began. "The Belmont?" asked the barkeep. The girl gasped, "He's a Belmont?" The large man chuckled heartily, "Did ye not notice the whip lass? 'Tis the mark of the Belmont clan...aye he's a Belmont sure as I'm standing 'ere." The girl shuddered even more, if a Belmont was looking for a man with pale skin...she didn't want to think of the possibilities.
Alucard snapped awake from his light doze when he felt the flutter of wings against his cheek. "Hmm? Ahh, you've returned, what news do you bring?" The fairy bit her lip, she hated to disappoint her master. "I could only find one room, and you would have to share it with another." Alucard frowned, he didn't like the sound of that. He stood up and almost fell down again as a wave of exhaustion ran through him. The fairy let out a little gasp and tossed a potion over his head. Alucard frowned, he was a little injured, but healing didn't do a damn thing to cure tired. "It appears I have no choice." he whispered in his deep baritone. "Where is this inn?"
Richter frowned as he heard a knock at the door to his room. He opened it saw the son of the innkeeper looking a little nervous. "I apologize for disturbing you mi'lord, but Mother has asked me to inform you we need to take an additional boarder, you did not request a private room so..." Richter sighed, "So they'll be staying with me...very well. At least bring me an extra blanket to make the dais more comfortable." The boy nodded, relieved the man had not reacted angrily. That whip looked dangerous.
The child went back down the stairs quietly, avoiding the spots that would creak. He stopped on the bottom step to get another look at the new tenant. The stranger was completely enshrouded in a dark robe, only a few strands of long white hair and his dark, dark eyes, peeking out. He was unsettling to say the least. If the man hadn't tossed them enough money to feed them for a month, his mother would surely have turned him away. The stranger turned and their gazes met briefly. The boy gasped, their was no malice in the gaze, but it held some sort of raw power. Even one as young as he sensed this was not a man to be trifled with.
"Have you any bags mi'lord?" asked the innkeeper. *Please say no, please say no..* thought the boy, terrified to walk alongside one with such presence. "None that would require assistance." came the deep voice. The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Very well, your room is upstairs on the left. The man inside is an odd one, but he seems nice enough." Alucard nodded, "Thank you my lady." he replied and began walking towards the stairs.
The boy gasped and quickly vacated the area, wondering if the feeling that man was not moving quite normally was all in his imagination. Alucard heard a sound and looked towards the corner where the boy was hiding, he smiled slightly. *Children always see more than most...* "I'll be gone in the morning, no harm done." he mouthed, knowing the child understood by the slight blush followed by a little nod. He sighed and began climbing the stairs, deliberately slowing down, his normal pace, and it's ensuing motion blur would only frighten the boy more. *I just hope my roommate isn't as observant.*
Richter fought the urge to turn around when he heard the door shut behind his back, instead he pulled the blanket a little tighter over his shoulder. He doubted the other would crawl into bed with him, but just in case, the extra blanket he'd requested was set on a nearby dais as a hint. "Belmont." whispered the unseen stranger. Richter gasped and rolled over, he knew that voice! "Alucard?!?"
The two stared at each other, Richter with a look of thinly disguised surprise, and Alucard with open disgruntlement. "What are you doing here Belmont?" Richter smiled, "I was planning on sleeping, and you?" Alucard sighed, "That was my plan as well." Richter shrugged and slid over, "Then grab that blanket and hop in." The halfling frowned, "I'm not in the habit of sharing my bed." he rumbled. The image was stuck in his mind now though, and it didn't involve sleeping. *I definitely need some rest, I'm not thinking straight.*
Richter chuckled, "I won't bite." Alucard frowned even more. "Okay, okay, bad joke." Richter continued as he slid off the mattress. Alucard fought the urge to gasp when he saw the vampire hunter only wore his breeches, leaving the impressive chest open to the night air. The nipples were erect from the sudden exposure to the chilly room and the long hair had a very sexy tousled look. *What am I thinking? I can't be attracted to him, can I?* thought Alucard.
"You need your rest more than me. Take the bed, and I'll sleep on the dais." continued Richter unaware of the slight glint that had come into his companion's eyes. Alucard thought to refuse the offer, to even go sleep in the woods, but now that a bed was right in front of him...."Go on Alucard, I'll be fine. A night on a dais is nothing, consider it a little payback for trying to kill you." Alucard shook his head and said "That wasn't your doing." Richter shrugged, "So we'll call it valor, take the bed Alucard." The halfling nodded and began to remove his clothes.
Richter sat down on the dais, glad it was well padded. It wasn't quite long enough for him to stretch out, but it would suffice. He looked up and noticed Alucard was still removing his clothing, even with supernatural speed it was a time-consuming task. "How did you fight in such confining clothes?" Alucard lifted a brow, "I managed well enough." replied the halfling before returning to the task at hand. Richter sighed, he should have guessed the man wasn't one for small talk. Maria had been telling him of the few times she'd met him within the castle, and of course he'd grown up hearing stories of the half-vampire's exploits with his ancestor Trevor. He watched as the porcelain skin was slowly exposed, and suddenly realized just how beautiful Alucard was. He shook away the thought, and tried to think of his wife, but that only caused him a painful stab of grief. How could he ever face her again?
Alucard noticed the sharp scent that only came with despair, enter Richter's blood. He had a sudden urge to try and comfort the man, to tell him it would be okay, that he would heal. He sighed, how could he, when he wasn't sure it was the truth? He watched as Richter gathered the blanket around him and curled up on the small padded bench. It would be best if he left before the hunter woke again. He began digging through his item pouch, until he located the demon card, and activated the relic. "I'm ready to serve master!" rasped the little winged beast as it entered the physical plane. Richter sat up and stared at the unusual purple creature. "What is that?!?" asked the hunter.
Alucard smiled, "One of my familiars. He will guard us while we sleep." The demon grinned and brandished his little spear. "None shall pass without my permission!" (ooh Labyrinth flashback...umm, sorry...back to the story.) Richter blinked a few times then flopped back onto the dais. If Alucard said it was safe, he would trust him. The hunter rolled onto his side as lethargy finally took it's hold. He was asleep before he finished closing his eyes.
The half vampire smiled slightly. Richter looked so much different with the mad gleam gone from his eyes, almost angelic. He felt another twinge of desire and ruthlessly buried it. Yes, it would definitely be best if he left by morning. He turned to the demon and put a touch of sleep potion on the end of it's spear. "If you see him waking up, give him a small jab and wake me." The demon chuckled, "Only a jab master?" Alucard nodded firmly, "Yes! I do 'not' want him hurt. I just don't want him to wake before me." The demon sighed, disappointed at the restriction, but nodded. He had to obey his master. Alucard pulled the blankets over himself, and took a moment to enjoy the warmth and scent of the body that had occupied them before him. *Mmm, he smells so nice.* thought Alucard, before he fell asleep as well.
When he woke up the next morning the first thing Richter noticed, was that Alucard was gone. The second thing he noticed was a small set of puncture wounds on the inside of his arm. He touched them curiously, it wasn't a bite, of that he was sure. A vampire's bite was very hard for him to ignore, a little fact he'd picked up while he was still under Shaft's influence. He cut off the thoughts, he really wasn't in the mood to think about those things.
The vampire hunter sat up and sighed heavily, it appeared he'd have to hunt the halfling down again. He wasn't certain why he was so determined to stay by Alucard's side, but his instincts were urging him to follow. He crossed to a small table and poured some water out of a pitcher so he could wash up a bit, fighting the urge to request a bath. The trail would grow colder with every passing moment.
Meanwhile, Alucard stopped by a gleaming river and pulled out a meal card. "Well, let's see what I get." he said as he tossed the item into the air. It fluttered to the ground and turned into a silver platter with hot tea, and biscuits with butter and jam. "Ah, morning set...how apropos." He sipped at the hot tea, and nibbled on a biscuit. As always his body insisted it would taste better with blood, and as always he ignored it for now. Instead, he did an inventory check, he wanted to have an idea just how long he could go without purchasing supplies. The less often he had to stop at a shop, the smaller the chance Richter could catch up to him. He didn't want to add desire to the violent swirl of emotions he was experiencing.
Long ago, his father had told him about desire, had even encouraged him to taste of the pleasures of the flesh as soon as his body matured enough to allow it. He'd even offered to provide him with his choice of slaves, male or female, even other halflings. Sometimes he wished he'd accepted, he really did want to know what it was like. But he didn't want it to be with someone who did it out of duty or fear. He was so caught up in his thoughts it took a moment to realize one of his familiar cards was missing. *Fairie! I must have left her at the inn somehow!* He mourned the loss of such a loyal companion, but he couldn't go back now.
Back at the inn, Richter kneeled beside the rumpled bed, making certain he wasn't leaving anything behind. He found a shiny card underneath the blanket, and picked it up curiously. It had an amazingly life-like drawing of a fairy on it. It must have been Alucard's, it certainly wasn't there before. He traced a finger along a delicate wing, marveling at the detail. Suddenly, the image vanished. He gasped, wondering what he'd done to ruin such a lovely work of art. A breathy voice sounded behind him, saying "I'll follow you any...you're not my master!!" Richter spun around and gaped at the small creature that hovered before him. The fairy frowned, "You better not have hurt my master."
Richter blinked, a threat from such a tiny thing seemed absurd, but he'd learned by now not to judge by appearances. "No, I would never hurt Alucard. I'm trying to find him." replied the hunter. The fairy gave him a considering look. She recognized this face, but it didn't seem to be the same person she'd helped her master fight. "Why?" she asked. Richter shrugged and replied, "I'm not sure...I guess I just want to thank him for saving me. That and I don't want him to feel so alone." The fairy smiled, she'd sensed her master's loneliness, but it was something she couldn't cure. This one might however. "I'll help you find him." she replied and perched on his shoulder. Richter nodded numbly, as the fairy began toying with his hair, he'd never worked with a familiar before. She let out a little giggle and said "Come on, let's go!"
A/N: Oh dear, it wasn't supposed to be a multi-part....Ah well, how can a girl say no to those two. I just wish they'd let somebody else take a turn. I really need to get back to Irvy.
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