The baby slipped off to sleep, heavy and full with the red nectar. Abraham's paper rustled as he turned to the next section while the vampire soundlessly slipped off his other glove and swaddled the little creature in its embrace. With his back to the fire, Alucard left his damaged glove as it was, using the clean part as a second layer, to cover the baby that suckled on the cloth left in its mouth occasionally, its body trying to make sure that it would be there when the bat woke up.
Fangs tightened, pressing together as the vampire looked at the pathetic sight. The man could at least offer a cloth for the bat, instead of forcing him to make do with his gloves. Against his better judgment, he looked up from the bat. "Master."
Blue eyes appeared from behind the newspaper, filled with unusual interest meant for the circumstances rather than for the vampire.
Alucard continued. "A cloth or small wash towel would be better for warming it."
Abraham left the newspaper in his lap as he gazed at the little bundle, a crooked smile lifting his lips. "It really looks like a tiny baby now." He chuckled, making the hair on the back of Alucard's neck stand on end. Humor from his master rarely resulted in anything positive for the vampire, but he figured that he was safe for the moment, so he relaxed. Abraham was getting up, so the vampire stood and went to him, walking softly so as not to disturb the sleeping baby. Hellsing looked at the little head and his finger brushed over one of its ears. Without a word, the man left the room.
Alone, Alucard's eyes drifted over to the curtains covering one of the windows. Quietly, he made his way over to them and slipped a finger between the overlapping cloth and pulled it back so he could look at the sky. The dreary, wet weather explained the fire's presence during the late summer. Scarlet reflected back from the glass as the demon's gaze lingered on the clouds, holding onto his freedom to do so while his master was absent. Hearing the man's return, he dropped the curtain and walked across the room. He was standing near the fire when the man opened the door. With no cloth in sight, the vampire assumed that a house servant had been sent to fetch one. Alucard stood like this, his eyes wandering about the floor as he waited for footsteps to come into the hall.
Hellsing, who was reading his paper, began to lose interest in an article, so he was turning to the next section to see if he could find something more to his taste, but his eye glimpsed the quiet figure standing before the fire and he paused. Alucard stood perfectly still, holding the white bundle to his vest as his eyes wandered aimlessly, as if he was lost. "What are you doing?"
The nosferatu blinked and his eyes lifted to the man. Nothing about his face changed anymore. "I'm waiting for the cloth, Master."
The man had nothing to say about this so he was mute, blue eyes descending to the bundle. The little creature's ears were the only thing he could discern from the white. "It's not being smothered, is it?"
Red dropped to the bundle and then blinked to the blue again. "No, Master."
"Hm." Abraham's eyes stayed with the vampire for a moment longer, then went to his paper. "Good then."
Minutes went by before footsteps sounded in the hall and a hand tapped at the door. The cloth was presented to Abraham who went to the vampire once the maid had gone. He gave the wash cloth to the pale hand and waited. The man watched as the baby was unraveled gently, not even causing it to stir, and then re-wrapped. It was a tiny baby, in his opinion, with wrinkled skin that seemed to be too big for it, but already the red nectar had done wonders for its health. Its stomach had rounded off with a slight bulge now, whereas an indent had been in its place earlier.
"Good." Abraham nodded to himself and returned to his chair to finish reading his paper. Alucard stood there until Hellsing turned to a different section in his newspaper. Then the vampire returned to the fireside and sat down quietly, the bundle held in his hands, pressed against his empty chest.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
Abraham Van Hellsing was a man who disdained those who let time slip by, unaccounted for, never used to better one's self or another, and so, he filled his schedule with things he deemed to be productive in some way. With his life organized by the hour, he soon forgot about the bat his vampire was caring for as a few uneventful days passed. But the bat was living within his home, so it was only a matter of time before he would be reminded of its presence.
Abraham had finished giving his orders to a leader among his hunters when his slave appeared, unasked for. The man tracked the departing hunter's progress over one of the beast's red shoulders. After the hunter was too far away to overhear them, Hellsing frowned at the demon's blank features. Then a white shape caught his eye and he let his eyes fall upon the interlaced gloves. The inquisitive black eyes peering from the mass of peach fuzz constituting as the little bat's head made the man remember what he had forgotten. Hellsing lost his frown, brought to childish curiosity as the creature watched him with its ears standing stiffly raised and alert, directed towards him. The body was hidden in the clasped hands, leaving all attention limited to the little head. It jerked now, towards the stranger it saw, timidly attempting to catch his scent. All of this passed in silence.
Abraham broke it with a hum, the idled gears in his mind moving once more. "It seems to be healthy." He commented, giving the vampire permission to state his business.
Alucard let a respectful pause separate his voice from his master's, and then he spoke in a nearly apologetic manner that could be heard within his monotone. "Master. I am supposed to join your men tonight. What would you have me do with the bat?"
"Oh." The aged man's eyes widened and then blinked to allow them to remain open for several more seconds. "I suppose you can't take it with you." Hellsing's chest rose with the intake of air he then released in a sigh, gazing down at the bat. The creature reacted to his breath, its ears twitching back and its head pulling halfway into the confines of the gloves. But when no threat came from the moving air, the bat's head leaned out towards the man to sniff and watch him. "Then I'll have to keep it for a few hours." Both unwilling to take the bat and interested in examining the beast, Abraham showed his palms, ready to accept the responsibility.
Alucard slowly responded, opening his hands while shifting the bat onto one of them. The startled creature fidgeted as it traveled through the air, but when the hand stopped and something tugged at its body, the bat flattened itself on the vampire's palm and hooked its claws deeper into the fabric. The nosferatu gently pried the bat away, ignoring the anxious chirps it squeaked, breaking the grip the claws had on his glove. Once transferred into the man's hand, the bat called desperately for the vampire that stood before it, red eyes dimly taking in the sight. Abraham closed his hands around the bat, encasing it in a firm and alien grip, while Alucard turned away and left them behind.
The bat cried for the vampire, its small voice piercing the air with a sense of need universally recognizable in any language. The fragile body struggled vainly to escape, but Abraham did not relent his hold on the baby, watching it with an analyzing stare. The blue eyes warmed steadily, giving compassion to the scene while he consented to his prior decision to go to his study to read either a newspaper or a newly published medical journal he had acquired the other day. The noise drew out house servants that followed the progression of the man's journey until he was out of sight, and then they remained to listen to the bat's cries. Curiosity was kindled among the women and they spoke of the strangeness of what they had seen as they worked.
When Abraham reached his study the bat was quiet, but it chirped in alarm when he took one of his hands away and opened the door. It fell back into silence as the air rushed passed its ears, filling them with a whispering howl. Abraham sat in his chair, a newspaper in one hand with the bat in his other. Giving one last glance to the bat, Hellsing crossed his legs, propping up a knee to help hold his newspaper steady, and began to read.
The bat lay curled in the cupped hand, absorbing the warmth radiating from it while fear kept the creature paralyzed, the black eyes closed tight. It did not move as the arm holding it did when Hellsing shifted through the news articles, allowing itself to rock with any motion. Then everything settled for a time and the black eyes reappeared beneath the peach fuzz and the tiny snout sniffed the hand. The dark wings unfolded, spreading out from the furry body as the creature explored the glove it was resting on. Coming across some familiar wrinkles, sharp teeth nipped at the cloth, checking to see if it was a threat that should be avoided. When nothing happened, the bat eased itself over the ridges and sucked on one, testing it out.
Outside of the bat's knowledge, Abraham had lowered his paper and had been watching the bat since it had bitten his glove. With one brow cocked, Hellsing smirked. "So you're hungry." A thumb bent to stroke the creature's back, forcing a yelp-like chirp to tear its mouth from the glove. The thin wings shuffled over the palm, one slipping off the edge of the hand, and the bat turned in a half circle before calming, shrinking into a protective crouch. Abraham peered down at the shape while his paper folded into itself and was set aside.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
The rapid fluttering of the dusty wing made the moth into a solid whirlwind, moving down the slope of the fingers and towards the bat. One of the insect's wings had been torn off to make sure that it could not fly away, but now Abraham debated whether or not he should remove the other one as well as the baby bat retreated from the flapping fury, fearful of the moth. The bat squeaked pitiably and ducked away from a wing that hit its ear. Then the moth gravitated to the side of the palm and fell, only to be caught by Abraham's other hand.
Hellsing moved to set the moth on his glove once more, but he froze, his body growing cold as he failed to come across the bat. Then he blinked as he recognized a weight that was tugging on his glove. He rotated his hand and found the little beast hanging by its feet. Its head stretched out curiously to sniff him when he maneuvered the bat closer to his face, still dangling from the glove. Hellsing chortled at the sight, causing the bat to flinch.
"Learned to do that all on your own, have you?" He smiled and moved his hand to watch the creature swing a little.
The frantic moth was held up by its remaining wing, underneath the bat's nose. The beast showed no interest in the bug after sniffing it, so Abraham went to a tin waste basket he used for discarding useless papers and dropped the moth into it. Hellsing looked at the hanging bat again, still humored by it. "Then you'll have to wait for Alucard, then. I don't have anything to feed you."
The bat did not respond and rocked slightly as the man retreated back to his chair. Then he changed his mind and went to his desk instead. Pulling out a drawer, the bat was lowered into it and then detached from the glove entirely. When the bat scuttled into the dark corner hidden beneath the ledge of the table, Abraham decided that it would be fine to close the drawer, leaving a small crack to make sure that the baby had enough air. Then the man returned to his newspaper and passed the time quietly.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
Alucard stared at the desk as he waited patiently for the hunter speaking to his master, to finish. When the man was gone, the red eyes shifted to the master who smirked at them. "It's good to hear that you behaved yourself." Alucard nodded when it seemed like the man was waiting for him to respond. Lines appeared beside Abraham's eyes as he went on, amused by what he was going to say. "The bat appeared to be comfortable in the drawer, so that is where I kept it. It also needs to be fed." He added as he stood up, taking his folded newspaper from his knee.
Alucard observed the man for a moment and then murmured. "Master. The bat is no longer in the drawer."
"What?" Hellsing tossed his paper onto the seat of his chair and moved towards the desk. He stopped abruptly and smiled. The bat was hanging comfortably from the handle of the drawer, oblivious to the eyes watching it. "Bats are interesting creatures." He chuckled and turned away to put store his newspaper and retire for the night. Alucard's muscles instinctively twitched at the sound, but they relaxed as the man moved farther away. He vampire quickly turned to face his master when he continued to speak. "The bat was intimidated by a crippled moth I gave it."
Alucard blinked stoically, hiding his unease as the man appeared to be carrying on a one way conversation with him. But then the conversation ended and Hellsing left the room.
Blinking again, the vampire stared at the door. Moving soundlessly to the desk, a gloved hand brushed up against the bat, exciting the creature that immediately moved onto the offered hand and attached itself to the vampire. It licked his glove once before curling into the cave created when both of the demon's hands came together to protectively carry the baby from the room.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
The vampire was used to the quiet stares that came from the humans dwelling in the Hellsing mansion. He was no stranger to antipathy and biting insults that had recently lost their sharpness. But when he was standing beside his master as the man spoke to a hunter who had a fabricated complaint against the demon, the timid humans that had been watching the creature came out of hiding.
Three maids, eyes darting anxiously from the vampire to the hunter, to Hellsing, and then back to the vampire, came to the group, wringing their hands with flushed cheeks. They were all young, independent working women, and these traits gave them what was required to overcome their fears. Outside society's 'Cult of Domesticity', they were women who defied the norm.
Abraham was distracted by their presence, as was the hunter, so they became quiet and waited for the young women to speak.
"Sir…there's a rumor going around that you have a baby…bird….or a bat." One said breathlessly, feeling some shame for what they were doing, and then another continued for her.
"We would like to see it, Sir."
The men stared at them blankly while the vampire's hands twitched by his side, suddenly conscious of the bat in his pocket. He had been hoping to keep it a secret from the hunters, but now he knew that was impossible as he felt two blue eyes fall upon him.
"There's no harm in showing it to them."
Alucard received the unspoken order, and he brought the bat from his pocket, cradling it in his hands when it moved around, excited by all of the humans and scents. It tried to hide near his sleeve, but the vampire scooted it towards the center of his hand and then cupped two hands under the creature again. The hunter gawked at the bat as Alucard watched him out of the corner of his eye. His eyes darkened as he saw some malice flit across the man's face, and Alucard remained oblivious of the women who gasped and remarked on how cute it was, and fretted around the shy little beast that curled up to hide from them. Abraham was the only one who seemed to be paying the women any attention.
"It thinks he's its Mommy doesn't it?" "Awww. So cute." "I didn't know that bats could be so endearing."
Abraham chuckled, catching the nosferatu's attention, and the red eyes darted to his face. "You've been dubbed the bat's mother, Alucard."
Alucard stared at him dully and then glanced at the women. "Master, but I'm not a female."
"You don't have to be. You feed it and raise it. You're practically its adoptive mother." Abraham smiled good humouredly and held out his hand. "Let me see the bat. You can come and get it from me later. Go, for now."
The muscles in the vampire's jaw tightened a bit. "Yes, Master."
Alucard left the room with the hunter's eyes glued to his back. Soon, the men began to discuss the existence of the baby bat, and those with the strongest distaste for the vampire named the creature. They called it the 'vampire's bastard child'. Alucard's eyes narrowed when he first overheard the reference, but he did not react to their taunts.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
"Aw." A wizened old hunter tuned in with the cooing women, mockingly, and he tilted his head towards the vampire as he gained the maids' attention and snickers from the hunters beside him. "I always wondered what would come out if a vampire had a baby." He chuckled hoarsely while the women blushed or frowned and the other hunters let out a chorus of laughter. The old man leaned forward, one hand behind his back while the other gestured loosely to the vampire as he turned to it. "Who is the father, might I ask?" Laughs rung out and the man smiled disagreeably. "We've all been wondering who the father of the vampire's bastard could be."
The women gave a start and some of the younger ones left, too embarrassed to stay, and the men laughed again, finding the joke to be hysterical. Alucard, meanwhile, was perfectly still, seemingly unaffected by the crude humor. Then the red eyes blinked and the beast responded flatly as his hands closed around the baby bat, never looking at any of the men.
"The father is Van Hellsing."
And then the demon left the stunned humans, killing every last ounce of their humor. It left the men outraged, and they soon passed on this feeling to Abraham Van Hellsing himself.
*~*~::..+..::~*~*
"Master." Alucard stood in his appointed cell within the confines of the dungeon beneath the Hellsing manor. His feet acted on their own accord, moving him back, away from the aura of malevolence emitted from his approaching master. "Master, I did not mean to offend you. I will be in better control of my tongue next time, Master."
"Next time?" A cruel, humorless sneer stole across the aged face, an alien expression compared to the calm one that had become accustomed to the man's features. "You are not to expect any form of mercy here, Alucard. You should have controlled your tongue then, at that time, not hoped to do so in the future afterwards! I can't afford to spare you the rod, demon! You know that I can't and have not during your time here!"
The red eyes were wide, locked onto the man's sparking blue glare. His lips were parted but useless as they refused to move. They unveiled his fangs which were also useless now, like how a dog's fangs are made useless against their master. He was clutching the bat in his hands, keeping it completely hidden from view. But Abraham knew it was there, and he extended his hand towards the vampire, forcing the demon to back farther away and flatten against the wall. He never blinked, even as he managed to close his mouth.
"Give it to me." The hard voice thundered in the throbbing silence that would beat down upon the demon's undead heart after each word the man spoke. The bat was given to the human hand, and the baby cried a little as it was moved to the other side of the cell, by the door. As the man stepped farther away, fear and trepidation in the forsaken creature escalated and his hands held onto the un-uniform stones of the wall behind him. A whimper cut into the pounding quiet, giving it more strength to torment the vampire as it saw the man return, taking out a long, silver rod with a balled tip and a familiar white syringe that drew a scream from the vampire.
"Master! I meant nothing by it! I did not mean to insult you! I had no intention…! The men…! I could not control myself at that time! Forgive me! I did not want to…!" The rod slammed into the open mouth, rearranging the layout of the beast's teeth. Alucard was quiet, though he shook violently and his eyes screamed out his terror with a voice louder than any that could have ever been born from a throat of bone and flesh.
"Are you saying that they made you angry, Alucard?" The rod fell again, on the crown of the beast's head. "You do not need anger! You do not need hate! You do not need anything! Feel nothing! Obey and remain obedient and you will be spared from my punishments! Diverge from this, act upon your own incentive, and you will suffer the consequences! That is no great secret! It is a truth that should guide all your choices, Alucard! Your 'life' is so simple when compared to others! Obey and nothing bad will happen to you!" The man swung the metal instrument, bellowing his words with a rage that colored his face and blazed in his gaze. He uncapped the syringe and pulled down the beast's collar to touch the needle to his pale neck. Alucard quaked with pleading, fearful eyes, but did not make a sound though he crushed himself against the stones until they split the skin on the back of his head as he trembled, creating friction against them. The needle plunged into his neck and the man's thumb expelled its contents into his slave's veins.
Mangled cries poured from the demon's reddening mouth, tainted by blood that crept up his throat and filled the spaces between his teeth, and the vampire threw himself at the stones, rolling and beating himself against the floor to fight the agony of the chemicals and Holy baptism oils. He brushed strokes of red across the grey stones as he moved wildly, mindlessly, tortured by every sense he possessed. Sight burned his retinas with the light they absorbed and the fumes that touched them. Sound pierced through his mind, a lance shooting through it at each scream he heard. His smell and taste caught the chemical fumes and Holy scents and his own tainted blood, all of which rose up past his cries. Touch gave him all of the pain of the mixture that attacked his insides and the assault he inflicted upon himself from the outside.
Abraham didn't watch the vampire, for his measure of disgust, and marched to the door, slipping the rod and empty syringe into his trench coat. Blue eyes shot at the area where the bat had been discarded, and found the trembling form tucked into the corner of two meeting walls, under a jutting stone. The screams damaged the sensitive little ears, hurting the baby so that it jerked constantly. Hellsing, who had no intention of punishing the animal, went to it and pried the bat out from its hiding place, and then removed it from the cell.
He introduced the baby to a quiet world where hands were warm and smooth female fingers caressed its soft fur and fed it warm milk whenever hunger bothered the tiny creature.