♠ 20 [[audio]]

[hiscountess]

What is... Oh, I see, brilliant.

[sloshing sound of water]

This is absolutely ridiculous and far too bloody early to bother me over something like this.

[[Alucard]]I'm positioned on water, Alucard. Stay where you are and I do hope that your current location is in fact the cushioned comfort of your coffin. Do not seek me. Is this clear to you?

Comments

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

[Eden's spare apartment may not be a luxury hotel, but Frankie could swear the beaten-up couch was more comfortable last night than it is now. And warmer. And less dark and dank.
Which means, obviously, he isn't there anymore.]

Fuck, again?

[With the snarled curse he tries to orient himself, the motion rocking the-- boat? He's on a boat, yes, and as it wobbles he wobbles with it, grumbling, not yet having noticed that he isn't alone.]

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

You will get used to this.

[The voice is fairly dry and comes from the depths of the shadows of the extreme opposite of the boat. The light of Integra's communicator illuminates her long blonde hair and the brim of her spectacles. She didn't need those, not as she required the patch over her left eye, but she kept them out of nostalgia.]

Curse day, I'd assume.

[She is nonchalant as she can spare with all the water around her. While, she isn't bound to the limitations of most Nosferatu just like Alucard isn't, copious amounts of water body and sunlight aren't amongst her favourite settings. Cranky Integra being forced to a boat trip so early in the morning before her breakfast does not make the kindest journey companion, but even then she shall not attack a bystander. Even if his blood smelled appealing, she had standards of behaviour.]

We shall stay like this until midnight, so make yourself comfortable. This would be a long journey until we reach the end.

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

[It's obvious by the way he starts that he didn't see her before she spoke. He doesn't look scared, just unsettled-- mainly because this the second time in a day or so that he's ended up in an unfamiliar setting, with no warning. But he's trained to react, to stay calm, and so he doesn't panic.]

This is still the city then?

[He squints. Damn but humanity has a lot of downsides. She sounds familiar, though.]

You were on the computer yesterday, right? We talked?

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

Correct in all accounts.

[Integra doesn't even observe his reactions, she's busy typing a reply to Alucard with her device, with her eye focused on the screen. She assents when the man asks if they have talked. She recognizes his voice from one of the most recent arrivals.]

I told you about the curses.

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

Right.

[Hard to make out the details, just the gleam of glasses and a faint sense of the features beneath her hair.]

Guess this is one in action? Where are we?

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

Some sort of tunnel. We are not in the middle of the sea. I can tell you as much.

[For once, she stops her replies and surveys the vicinity again.]

It appears we are occupying a vessel in shape of a swan, sailing within a tunnel.

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

Like a carnival ride from Hell. Great.

[He shifts on the bench, looking rather sullen.]

Guessing you don't know where the tunnel goes.

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

Oh, absolutely, I take rides like this every single day.

[She doesn't bother to conceal her sarcasm.]

Pay attention to the Network. We will know our destination by the boats that reach it before us.

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

I don't have my thing. Didn't know to pack.

[He gestures loosely towards her communicator, frowning slightly. Must be back in the apartment, with what little he has to call his own in this world. And borrowed guns.]

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

Duly noted.

[That makes him completely useless, Integra allows the silence grow as her displeasure. Casting her aggravation aside, she chooses to introduce herself. Hoping he'll cooperate until this ends.]

I am Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. What is your name?

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

[Being useless is Frankie's specialty. He doesn't react to her frustration; it's hardly his fault that they're here. She can be as haughty about it as she likes.]

Frankie. Frankie Dalton.

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

[Integra locked her entry and gave the device to Dalton. Someone has to check the Network.]

Don't lose this one, Dalton. I will be alert to our surroundings while you take the device and keep a close watch to the Network. Can you do this?

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

I didn't lose it. It's probably still in my jacket.

[In spite of the protest he takes her device, the meager light illuminating the stubborn set of his jawline. She's authoritative, though, and he's inclined to follow orders, given that Integra knows the situation better than he does.]

Is it likely to be dangerous?

[Already scrolling through posts he glances up at her, calm but curious to know what he's up against.]

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

The result is the same, isn't it?

[She dismisses his defence case immediately. She prefers to focus in what could be done than what could have been done. Without warning, she stands over the vessel, having no issues with her balance. She remains standing, trying to discern the destination with her third eye.]

It could be. I am unaware of the effects of this curse. Hm.

[Her blue eye narrow, starting to glow in a eerie red light. Without turning to her companion, she says.] Did you hear that? [Murmurs in the dim light. Where do they come from?]

[Action!]

[never_very_good]

[He stops when she says that, sitting stock still, communicator forgotten in his hand, listening. There is something-- barely audible to him. Everything seems a little duller, a little dimmer, through human eyes.]

Another boat?

[He stands too, steadier now that he's got his bearings, and slips the comm into his pocket.]

[Action!]

[hiscountess]

No. Something else out there.

[No pulse odourless. She fishes a cigar up the pockets of her trousers to chew on. She doesn't light it yet, she waits and listen.]

Stay down!

[She barks her order through gnashed teeth. She doesn't know what it is, but if it's dangerous there is little space to fight or protect this man.]

Until I know is safe, stay down and look for answers in the Network.