abraxaslogs | [open] Late September/Early October catchall

It's still in progress.

[There's a gentle shrug. No one is rushing him along at the moment, and the needs of Libertas are much greater. When this is over, there can be music. For now, he has a useful skillset, and it is wiser and kinder to use it on behalf of others.

Alucard wills the little model to spin, and spin it does. Slow. Certain. Showing off all the little flourishes Dracula placed into the thing, meant to scare and to protect in equal measure.]

Of course it isn't. It's meant to scare people off. If not that, the staircases and impossible architecture wear one out before they even approach the residents. Or, if there's a vampire hunter at the door, one moves the structure entirely.

[That last one was important. But...chicken legs?]

I've only heard a few stories from neighbors further north. Interesting that that crosses universes.

[Jaskier huffs in amusement.] I believe I can easily imagine the sort of man who creates a spectacle that he intends to keep people away. It's a nearly enviable type of arrogance. Or he simply did not understand humanity in the least.

[A cloud of what may be bats flies past the moon and around the castle -- another little touch by Jaskier because he finds it all very fitting. Alucard obviously inherited the ability from somewhere.]

Seeing this, it makes me like your mother all the more.

[He has not forgotten how Alucard told him his mother marched up to this to obtain knowledge to help her fellow people. Anyone who would approach such a monstrosity with such headstrong determination is... well. That's truly enviable.

Jaskier holds his hand out in turn, fingers uncurling to show a hut walking to nowhere, bearing long, crooked bird-like legs.] I dare not speak her name even here, but -- I have a friend who has encountered her in the flesh. So it is not just idle stories. I would not be surprised to find such creatures are capable of such a thing... though, to be fair, it is said that only unicorns are still able to cross to other spheres.

You will not be shocked to learn that you're correct on both accounts. [Dracula? Arrogant? Of course. Out of touch and unwilling to deal with humanity? His calling card, after a while.

The florish of bats puts a faint smile on the dhampir's lips, and it's lovely that Jaskier remembers little details. They're almost always the ones that matter most.] You'd had loved her. She balanced kindness without standing for any nonsense, and was always quick to berate that nonsense when it arose. You know she told my father off within two minutes of entering the castle? She was disappointed at his lack of hospitality.

[Alucard was raised with that particular point in mind. It's still funny, even if it leads to painful recollections.]

Understandably so. I won't offer the name I know the story as, just in case. I can't recall what our world's stance on unicorns is.

[No, he's not entirely. It's not exactly arrogance that has him feeling that way (though he is normally always correct, of course); it's that over the years, Jaskier has acquired a very high level of skill at understanding others. It's how he reads a crowd, after all.

Or the history of a man's parentage.]

I absolutely would have loved her. As you know well, I often get along with those who are no-nonsense.

[Because Jaskier absolutely recognizes how much nonsense he himself can create.

Jaskier cruses the hut in his hand, leaning back against the rocks once more. He swallows several gulps of wine.] No, I appreciate your just in case as real caution. There is power in a name like that. [He smiles, though. Unicorns are not exactly benevolent in some cases, but...] What? You don't have unicorns?

And she would have absolutely indulged you.

[Jaskier has a good heart, after all. Few things made his mother as happy as seeing that. Alucard is confident that it would have been friendship almost immediately, with the occasional spat of good natured bickering.

There is, for a moment, the thought that some place might summon her here. Alucard stiffens at that realization, but it is easy to shake.]

This is what I'm saying, I'm not sure. I've seen items cataloged at unicorn horns, but I've not been able to determine if they're genuine or not. Could be from another horned animal, or it might be genuine. As I've not met one myself, the matter could go either way.

And indulged in me making fun of you, I hope.

[What's the point of befriending a man's mother if he can't use the opportunity to pick at them? (Not to bring up that Jaskier has definitely befriended mothers for other reasons but, of course, for one, he would not risk cucking Dracula, of all people. It seems like a very ill-advised idea.

He does not even bring that thought up.)]

I suppose I have never met a unicorn myself... though I rather convinced myself I've seen one. However, at the time, I was slightly inebriated from a rather heady mixture of wine and herbs, so...

[Look. Things happen at university.]

Oh, doubtlessly. You, her, and Sypha in a room is a worst case scenario for such a concept.

[He can't even imagine what would come of that, besides chaos and blows to his ego. But his mother would enjoy Jaskier for the wit, if not shut the flirting down immediately because well.

Jaskier doesn't need to know exactly how into each other his parents were.]

So you don't know if they're real either. You were drunk.

[He throws his head back and laughs. And yes, it's a bit touched with drink. That's the point of this. And if he lets the drink settle, he can dissuade his mind from lingering on terrible, inconvenient things. He's certainly set on doing so. Except he says into the quiet:] Ah, Sypha. I miss her.

[He knows Alucard must, too.

Hector, not so much. All of these people he's so found of from a sphere he will never visit. He drinks, swirling after merely for something to do with his hands. It's a funny thing, isn't it?]

No, I'm quite sure they are. We're taught about them in university, you know; I mean, as much as one truly learns about the beasties of the world beyond "you must never attempt to encounter a single one of them, because they will all likely kill you." I never met a vampire on the Continent, but I never doubted their existence. I believe it is more rational to believe in the impossible than to be perplexed when one finally encounters it.

[Alucard is now well-acquainted with Jaskier's attempts at philosophy when the wine truly hits.]

[To that, Alucard can only nod. He's not discussed her departure, nor does he see any reason to do so with others. She was here, they repaired things and made progress, and doubtlessly there is more to do in Wallachia. She is better equipped for it than he is. That's the simple truth of it all, and he while he might be upset, it is not the worst thing that has happened in his life by far.

He huffs, taking the point. How dare vampires be the example though???]

Fine, fine. They're real in your world. Does the lore about having to be a virgin to see one exist in your world? Because that could explain why you've never seen one.

[Alucard, did you really just do that???]

[They're always relevant when one's closest friend is a vampire!]

Actually, it does! Of course, I believe only old wives believe such a thing. There are surely elves that have seen unicorns, I should suspect, since they're both old beings. [Of course this is all speculation, but it's what Jaskier believes. Or what he'd like to.

It makes for good stories.]

I -- [He'd simply gone on with it without having every word hit his mind.] That's an incredibly silly joke when you know, very well, how far from a virgin I am.

[Well, not personally, but Alucard has certainly had chances otherwise to find out. Despite it, Jaskier snorts, flicking water in the dhampir's face.] You're drunk.

[Alucard offers a sideways grin once Jaskier realizes what, exactly, the dhampir has said this. It took him long enough, and frankly the reaction is worth it. He leans back, water sloshing as he uses his arms to brace himself against the side of the springs.]

Only in our shared imagination. But yes. And it's good wine, so why not indulge?

[It's one of those moments where Alucard is actually unclenched and acting like an actual person, rather than the stick up his ass dhampir scion he always puts on as. The break is nice, and he wouldn't do this in just anyone's company. Jaskier has earned it and then some. He's probably the only person who has.]

[open] Late September/Early October catchall

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