Coffin Comparison

Seras stared at the ceiling, taking in the white of the paint as she lay in her coffin. She had the night off while her sire was on a mission that required the gathering of information from a special source that Seras wasn't briefed on, and she sighed as she remembered how she was told she would just get in the way. She supposed it was all the better then, considering how overworked she was.

She almost laughed. A vampire? Overworked? Nonsense! Though all the same, she felt she could use the time off to gather her senses and rest. That was, until her thoughts moved to a specific black casket sitting in the room down the hall from her.

"No… That would be suicide…" She muttered to herself, but the more she thought about it, the more the thought was appealing to her.

She sat up, and climbed out of her own coffin, not bothering to put the lid back on as she wasn't used to using it anyways. Seras then proceeded to the door, opening it with ease and slipping out into the hallway. She padded down the long path before she stopped in front of her master's chamber. She sensed for him, to see if he was back early perhaps, to detect nothing.

Good.

The large door creaked open loudly, and Seras winced as the noise met her sensitive ears. She grimaced, and peeked her head into the large, dark room, trying to see if her master was there. She couldn't sense his presence, but that never guaranteed anything. Slowly, she pushed the door opened further, and slipped her body into the room after close inspection of her surroundings, and closed it behind her, pressing her back to the shadows of the wall. She had the feeling of being hunted, but was sure it was all in her mind. She had to do this.

She shuffled along the wall as silently as she could, but even to her own hearing, every movement sounded loud. She could almost hear her muscles pulling and releasing, her bones creaking. Her own heartbeat was enough to just about make her jump, but she continued on with confidence. This was only her master's room! Her evil, sadistic, menacing, and demented master... Seras shuddered at this thought, suddenly having doubts. Her sire was, after all, very protective of the belongings he had; especially her current target; his coffin.

Once Seras reached the shortest distance from the wall to the coffin, she paused, considering how this would be a now or never, life or death situation. If Alucard caught her, he would most certainly have her head on a pike, and devour the rest of her, regardless of what the rest of Hellsing wished. She pushed off the wall, stalking towards the coffin, and watching everything around her with bated breath.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

She took these five steps, and stopped in front of the perfect shimmering black wood, and knelt down, reading the words engraved on it.

"The Bird of Hermes is my name, Eating my wings to make me tame." Seras muttered.

It was a poem, that much was obvious, but she had no idea who it was by. Pushing these thoughts to the back of her mind, Seras put her hands on the lid and pushed it off onto the ground lightly. She stared into the coffin, taking in the red velvet interior and soft, white pillow. Seras smiled slightly. Master's coffin had to be one of the best-decorated things in his room, next to the simple, yet elegant throne. It smelled like him too.

Just like him. Gunpowder and his age-old blood; it was a heady scent. Seras found herself leaning closer before she caught herself and pulled back with a blush, a trait she was able to retain on a good day. She closed her eyes and considered her situation, before deciding that she's already come this far, what harm could it be. Seras climbed into the coffin and laid down on the soft fabric, resting her head on the pillow. Instantly, a wave of comfort and something else overcame her, and she found her eyes grow heavy. She flipped onto her back to look up at the ceiling, noticing there wasn't a trace of dust anywhere. Seras figured that Walter probably came in at some point and chased off the cobwebs with some sort of duster. That would be just like the elderly butler, even if Alucard hadn't requested it.

She closed her eyes, and quickly dozed off, all thoughts of punishment lost in her mind, safely in the confines of her sire's coffin.

Seras awoke a few hours later to the feeling of being unceremoniously dropped on concrete. She groaned, and sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She looked around groggily before she found herself face to face with the bottom of a red trench coat, polished black shoes, and black trousers. She cast her eyes uneasily upwards to her master's cold, expressionless face.

"Master..." She muttered in quiet greeting. This was not good.

"Why should I not leave you out to burn to death in the sun?" Was the cold response.

Seras winced, noticing that the sun was just coming over the horizon. He wasn't bluffing. Seras tried playing dumb. "What do you mean?"

Alucard remained silent, waiting for a response, his gaze intensified the longer Seras was silent.

"Master, I..." Seras stopped. Would he understand that she just wanted to try his coffin? That it was calling to her? He would know a lie. That would be worse. She opted for the truth.

"I... Just wanted to see what your coffin felt like... To compare the two..." She mumbled.

Alucard's gaze was still hard, and Seras looked at the ground like a kicked puppy, hoping this was enough.

"You were comparing our coffins." It wasn't a question. Alucard sighed, shaking his head. "Police Girl, I have never heard a more idiotic thing in my life."

Seras looked up, shocked, having expected some sort of aggressive assault on her part. She stood slowly, afraid that this might enrage him though he was calm now. If anything, Alucard seemed mildly amused. He created a portal, to which he directed her into before stepping through himself. They were now in her room, and he sat in the only chair, leaving Seras to stand before him.

"Tell me, then, what you have found." He crossed his legs and leaned back, watching Seras. He didn't seem terribly interested, she noted.

"Erm, well, my coffin, of course, is supposed to sustain me. Right?" Alucard nodded, and she kept going. "Well, when I go in it, I feel my strength come back slowly, as I assume is supposed to happen. I feel stronger, and I am able to sleep soundly, you see… "

"And my coffin?" Alucard prompted.

"Your coffin… Aside from smelling like you…" Seras said with some difficulty as her face flushed. "It had an overwhelming sense of comfort, and… Something else. It made me sleepy, overly so. I can't describe what happened. Even when I sleep normally, I can wake up when someone or something touches me. Before, I didn't wake up until you dropped me… And that was after picking me up and walking a good 10 yards, presumably not very gently."

The elder vampire nodded in understanding. "You are correct in that the coffin is meant to sustain our kind, however over time, as you become stronger, so does the coffin. It has to exert more energy in order to sustain you. The reason my coffin literally made you 'sleep like the dead' is because it was healing you and making you stronger at an alarming rate, which is only a very mild change for me, as I am so old... Tell me, how do you feel?"

Seras took in his words intently. "So, does that mean my coffin would do nothing for you as you are now? And I feel like I've been asleep for ages. Like I could function for the next few days without issue."

"Your coffin is no different than any other box to me. I wouldn't even need it to shield myself from sunlight."

Seras huffed at the boasting tone her sire took. "Of course…"

Alucard continued. "However, this 'strength' you feel won't keep me from forcing a blood bag down your throat if need be."

Seras slouched, but obediently said, "Yes, Master…"