Until Next Time
-Title: Until Next Time
-Rating: PG-13
-Characters mentioned: Gustav
-Pairings: Alexander/Sophie
-Summary: Sophie gives into the call of the night to go for a walk after the sun has set, fully aware that doing so puts her at risk.
The night sky beckoned Sophie from the relative safety of the city on many an occasion, but sometimes her need to walk when the sun was set overrode her sense of self preservation. Gustav would have admonished her for being out after dark considering all the things she knew were at home in the dark of night. Lucard was only one of the most popular reasons to stay at home with a cross nearby. Gustav would probably think her renting her own flat closer to the university campus was also asking for trouble as well, but she had done that anyway.
Sophie walked the quiet path out of town, following the trail her feet knew without light. The moonlight was fading as the moon sank deep into the sky for an early set. The sliver of the moon's crescent slid down across the horizon like a low burning candle, fading into deep amber and then into nothing at all. The crickets continued their song heedless of her footsteps, serenading her trek through the darkened woods.
She arrived at the overlook after what could have been minutes or hours. The light of the city was long behind her and the silhouette of the castle was equally far from sight. There were times when she could almost forget her worries out amongst the trees and under the pathways of stars. Her eyes scanned the stars to find the great bear and the star that never wanders. With a heavy sigh, she sat on the makeshift stone seat that had been created by some fallen stones and leaned back to admire the band of the Milky Way brushed across the night sky like some Old God's celestial paintbrush.
A hand upon her shoulder caused her to jolt, but the touch was light and familiar and she leaned into the touch automatically as if in half apology. The soft touch of fingers brushed across her temples as Alexander pulled his cape about her and sat back against the rocks with her. Sophie pulled the cape about her a little closer as the night's chill became a little colder, but she made no effort to leave her seat at the overlook.
"Not so long ago to one such as I, the skies were even darker and the stars seemed even more vast to the lowly mortals below," Alexander's voice broke the quiet with a half purr in his voice. "Even now, they seem to prove how insignificant we still are."
Sophie smiled silently and leaned closer, pulling the cape over her shoulder to chase away the cold. "Hello, Alexander," she whispered.
"Hello, my dear," Alexander said softly. He pulled Sophie closer, allowing her head to rest against his chest, tucked under his chin. One hand covered hers, his pale skin seemed to glow softly in the dark even without the moonlight. His fingers wove against hers, and her fingers gently traced the edges of his recently emerged claws.
If there had been any reason to be fearful of his vampire features, it was lost in the truce of this particular meeting place. He let a soft hiss escape his mouth as his arm pulled her close, his head pressed against hers as his teeth clicked together softly. Lucard's eyes glowed eerily in the dark like stars of his own making until he closed them, using his free hand to wrap around Sophie's back.
"So weary for one so young," Alexander said quietly. "Are your classes so tedious?"
"Mmm.." Sophie replied, half muffled against his shoulder. "Gustav called me tonight. He wants me to be extra careful this next week. Something about... oh.. something," her voice trailed off with a heavy sigh of resignation. "He's never really approved of me moving out of the house where it is safer."
"Well, technically, it would be safer," Lucard mused. "at least from vampires."
"I can take care of myself better than I used to," Sophie grunted. "Usually."
"Of this I have little doubt," Lucard agreed, not missing the note of weariness in Sophie's tone of voice. "As the image of a young woman braining me with a crucifix, and covering my new suit with holy water, and pushing me over a ledge as she rescues my dinner guest seems to spring to mind." Dracula sensed the blood rushing to Sophie's face as her head lay against his chest. "My dear, I do believe you are blushing."
"I..." Sophie began. "I am sorry about that. I think. She's my musical theory professor - one of the few professors I really like."
Lucard's face twisted into a half smirk. "I would hope that after all the trouble you went through rescuing her that your grades would be assured."
"Alexander!" Sophie's voice cracked a little with astonishment at his suggestion that her grades be influenced by a rescue rather than skill. "She had no idea it was me, anyway. You fuzzed up her brain so well, she called me Rebecca for 3 days."
Lucard's chuckle held a ray of amusement that defused Sophie's indignation, and she took a moment to beat her head against him a few times. Dracula touched her cheek with his palm and felt her lean into his touch with a sigh. "I shall endeavor to avoid dining on faculty lest you push me off another balcony." He was rewarded with with a deeper blush than before, which amused him greatly. Lucard pressed his nostrils to her hair as he cradled her head against his chest and inhaled, taking in her scent. "Sophie," he said softly with a slight purr in his voice.
"Mmm..."Sophie hummed, half-asleep against his chest.
Lucard made no attempt to finish his train of thought outloud. He held her in silence until the sound of her breathing changed into the deep inhales and exhales of sleep. He touched her temple a moment, using his mind to sense the outer layer of her thoughts, the corner of his mouth lifting as her thoughts were blissfully free of troubles - free of Helsing's usual influence and the crusade that usually came with it.
The war between him and the House of Helsing had never truly died in all the years, but Sophie's once clear cut vision of good and evil had become blurred thanks to Vincent's teenage vampiric conversion. Even after the "cure" and miscellaneous adventures after, there was still a part of Sophie that still heard the song of the night.
It would be so easy to influence her unguarded mind and bend it to his own will... but the feel of her hand against his unbidden and uninfluenced was enough to stop that train of thought before it continued further. Instead of pushing into her mind uninvited, he opened his own to allow hers to subconsciously connect to his, the soft brush of her awareness slipping into his thoughts as she slept. It was through such things he could always tell when to meet her here on the overlook and when the call of the night was strong in her -- a part of her had tapped into his mind and whispered to him exactly what she wanted him to know but could never admit to her waking self.
When had this place become a place of truce? He could not remember, strangely enough, but the outcome had been a hundred such rendezvous and a countless small touches that had become a comfort to them both. Perhaps he had intended to use it as a way to manipulate her at first, but such thoughts were as foreign to him now as wanting to break the fragile truce that had formed.
Lucard stood, cradling Sophie in his arms like a frame from a classic monster movie. He walked down the pathway towards the town, his footsteps barely making a noise against the damp earth.
He stood at the door to the small flat Sophie had rented near the university for her classes and placed his hand on the stone near the door. Closing his eyes, he lowered his lips to her sleeping ear and whispered a question barely audible. Sophie stirred a little, murmuring a response, but not fully awakening. Lucard's hand twitched slightly as the door opened and he stepped inside. A part of him chuckled inside at what he knew Helsing would call vampire trickery. At least he never needed a key to her flat, he mused to himself, as long as she kept inviting him in.
He followed the hall to the small bedroom in the dark, avoiding a vase and a pile of books sitting by a study desk and a wide collection of holy symbols with care. With practiced hands he prepared her for bed, lay her back against the mattress, pulled a pillow under her head, and pulled the comforter over her. His hand lingered to touch her temple, brush hair from her face, and caress her cheek tenderly. He bowed and touched his lips to her forehead lightly before pulling away.
Had Helsing been there, Lucard mused to himself, perhaps he would have seen side of his enemy he had never seen before -- right before he would start brandishing holy symbols, calling him a monster, throwing around holy water, and waking up Sophie. The man's timing was irritatingly annoying at the very least, and the last thing he wanted at this point was to give Gustav more fuel to force Sophie to move back under the Helsing home's talisman and cause her even more emotional unrest. He could wait as long as she needed to answer the call of the night.
Alexander turned and walked out of the flat without a sound, locking and closing the door behind him. He looked up and gazed upon the stars overhead and let out a soft sigh. "Until next time." Lucard spinned suddenly as his body became a swirl and a lone bat winged silently into the night sky.
-Rating: PG-13
-Characters mentioned: Gustav
-Pairings: Alexander/Sophie
-Summary: Sophie gives into the call of the night to go for a walk after the sun has set, fully aware that doing so puts her at risk.
The night sky beckoned Sophie from the relative safety of the city on many an occasion, but sometimes her need to walk when the sun was set overrode her sense of self preservation. Gustav would have admonished her for being out after dark considering all the things she knew were at home in the dark of night. Lucard was only one of the most popular reasons to stay at home with a cross nearby. Gustav would probably think her renting her own flat closer to the university campus was also asking for trouble as well, but she had done that anyway.
Sophie walked the quiet path out of town, following the trail her feet knew without light. The moonlight was fading as the moon sank deep into the sky for an early set. The sliver of the moon's crescent slid down across the horizon like a low burning candle, fading into deep amber and then into nothing at all. The crickets continued their song heedless of her footsteps, serenading her trek through the darkened woods.
She arrived at the overlook after what could have been minutes or hours. The light of the city was long behind her and the silhouette of the castle was equally far from sight. There were times when she could almost forget her worries out amongst the trees and under the pathways of stars. Her eyes scanned the stars to find the great bear and the star that never wanders. With a heavy sigh, she sat on the makeshift stone seat that had been created by some fallen stones and leaned back to admire the band of the Milky Way brushed across the night sky like some Old God's celestial paintbrush.
A hand upon her shoulder caused her to jolt, but the touch was light and familiar and she leaned into the touch automatically as if in half apology. The soft touch of fingers brushed across her temples as Alexander pulled his cape about her and sat back against the rocks with her. Sophie pulled the cape about her a little closer as the night's chill became a little colder, but she made no effort to leave her seat at the overlook.
"Not so long ago to one such as I, the skies were even darker and the stars seemed even more vast to the lowly mortals below," Alexander's voice broke the quiet with a half purr in his voice. "Even now, they seem to prove how insignificant we still are."
Sophie smiled silently and leaned closer, pulling the cape over her shoulder to chase away the cold. "Hello, Alexander," she whispered.
"Hello, my dear," Alexander said softly. He pulled Sophie closer, allowing her head to rest against his chest, tucked under his chin. One hand covered hers, his pale skin seemed to glow softly in the dark even without the moonlight. His fingers wove against hers, and her fingers gently traced the edges of his recently emerged claws.
If there had been any reason to be fearful of his vampire features, it was lost in the truce of this particular meeting place. He let a soft hiss escape his mouth as his arm pulled her close, his head pressed against hers as his teeth clicked together softly. Lucard's eyes glowed eerily in the dark like stars of his own making until he closed them, using his free hand to wrap around Sophie's back.
"So weary for one so young," Alexander said quietly. "Are your classes so tedious?"
"Mmm.." Sophie replied, half muffled against his shoulder. "Gustav called me tonight. He wants me to be extra careful this next week. Something about... oh.. something," her voice trailed off with a heavy sigh of resignation. "He's never really approved of me moving out of the house where it is safer."
"Well, technically, it would be safer," Lucard mused. "at least from vampires."
"I can take care of myself better than I used to," Sophie grunted. "Usually."
"Of this I have little doubt," Lucard agreed, not missing the note of weariness in Sophie's tone of voice. "As the image of a young woman braining me with a crucifix, and covering my new suit with holy water, and pushing me over a ledge as she rescues my dinner guest seems to spring to mind." Dracula sensed the blood rushing to Sophie's face as her head lay against his chest. "My dear, I do believe you are blushing."
"I..." Sophie began. "I am sorry about that. I think. She's my musical theory professor - one of the few professors I really like."
Lucard's face twisted into a half smirk. "I would hope that after all the trouble you went through rescuing her that your grades would be assured."
"Alexander!" Sophie's voice cracked a little with astonishment at his suggestion that her grades be influenced by a rescue rather than skill. "She had no idea it was me, anyway. You fuzzed up her brain so well, she called me Rebecca for 3 days."
Lucard's chuckle held a ray of amusement that defused Sophie's indignation, and she took a moment to beat her head against him a few times. Dracula touched her cheek with his palm and felt her lean into his touch with a sigh. "I shall endeavor to avoid dining on faculty lest you push me off another balcony." He was rewarded with with a deeper blush than before, which amused him greatly. Lucard pressed his nostrils to her hair as he cradled her head against his chest and inhaled, taking in her scent. "Sophie," he said softly with a slight purr in his voice.
"Mmm..."Sophie hummed, half-asleep against his chest.
Lucard made no attempt to finish his train of thought outloud. He held her in silence until the sound of her breathing changed into the deep inhales and exhales of sleep. He touched her temple a moment, using his mind to sense the outer layer of her thoughts, the corner of his mouth lifting as her thoughts were blissfully free of troubles - free of Helsing's usual influence and the crusade that usually came with it.
The war between him and the House of Helsing had never truly died in all the years, but Sophie's once clear cut vision of good and evil had become blurred thanks to Vincent's teenage vampiric conversion. Even after the "cure" and miscellaneous adventures after, there was still a part of Sophie that still heard the song of the night.
It would be so easy to influence her unguarded mind and bend it to his own will... but the feel of her hand against his unbidden and uninfluenced was enough to stop that train of thought before it continued further. Instead of pushing into her mind uninvited, he opened his own to allow hers to subconsciously connect to his, the soft brush of her awareness slipping into his thoughts as she slept. It was through such things he could always tell when to meet her here on the overlook and when the call of the night was strong in her -- a part of her had tapped into his mind and whispered to him exactly what she wanted him to know but could never admit to her waking self.
When had this place become a place of truce? He could not remember, strangely enough, but the outcome had been a hundred such rendezvous and a countless small touches that had become a comfort to them both. Perhaps he had intended to use it as a way to manipulate her at first, but such thoughts were as foreign to him now as wanting to break the fragile truce that had formed.
Lucard stood, cradling Sophie in his arms like a frame from a classic monster movie. He walked down the pathway towards the town, his footsteps barely making a noise against the damp earth.
He stood at the door to the small flat Sophie had rented near the university for her classes and placed his hand on the stone near the door. Closing his eyes, he lowered his lips to her sleeping ear and whispered a question barely audible. Sophie stirred a little, murmuring a response, but not fully awakening. Lucard's hand twitched slightly as the door opened and he stepped inside. A part of him chuckled inside at what he knew Helsing would call vampire trickery. At least he never needed a key to her flat, he mused to himself, as long as she kept inviting him in.
He followed the hall to the small bedroom in the dark, avoiding a vase and a pile of books sitting by a study desk and a wide collection of holy symbols with care. With practiced hands he prepared her for bed, lay her back against the mattress, pulled a pillow under her head, and pulled the comforter over her. His hand lingered to touch her temple, brush hair from her face, and caress her cheek tenderly. He bowed and touched his lips to her forehead lightly before pulling away.
Had Helsing been there, Lucard mused to himself, perhaps he would have seen side of his enemy he had never seen before -- right before he would start brandishing holy symbols, calling him a monster, throwing around holy water, and waking up Sophie. The man's timing was irritatingly annoying at the very least, and the last thing he wanted at this point was to give Gustav more fuel to force Sophie to move back under the Helsing home's talisman and cause her even more emotional unrest. He could wait as long as she needed to answer the call of the night.
Alexander turned and walked out of the flat without a sound, locking and closing the door behind him. He looked up and gazed upon the stars overhead and let out a soft sigh. "Until next time." Lucard spinned suddenly as his body became a swirl and a lone bat winged silently into the night sky.