Okay, it's been a while again, and I still have no excuses.
Chapter 9
"A blow to their forces, indeed. Excellent work, Seras. I am sorry I assigned you to such a remedial task, but our forces are so thin and untrained that it couldn't be helped."
"I understand, sir. I will continue to train the new men, but we still need men who are able to work with more investigative social situations such as this. " Integra nodded, knowing this herself.
"Yes, we have some candidates, they must be chosen more carefully than simple military brutes. You are dismissed." The brevity of the meeting suggested that she was extremely busy and preoccupied. This being the case, Seras promptly left through the door. She wondered if she should have used a portal, but not only was she still inexperienced in this practice, it would have looked as if she was aiming to impress.
She descended the stairs, at last letting her mind wander to her Master. His comment before her mission told her that he really may have meant what he said last night. She wondered when, if, she became his equal if she would still love him. How deep were her own emotions as compared to the link between them created by the deadly bite.
During her musings, she had gone as far as the entrance to the dungeons, where she was met with the subject of her thoughts.
"You have fed." he stated bluntly.
"Only for information." There was a beat where he looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"It's ideal, I suppose, Come with me." Bewildered, she followed.
"What about what you came upstairs for?"
"It can wait, this must be done after you have freshly fed from a live source. Who knows when that will happen again?" The last comment was said almost jokingly.
They stood within the cold hallways of the dungeons. "As you have most likely realized, your powers which separate you from humans often manifest themselves in a do or die situation. What I am about to teach you, however, can never be learned this way. The reason being that only my bloodline holds this power."
"Why?" said the younger vampire, hoping to seem eager instead of insolent.
"Because I developed it, and it became hereditary in my children. Many of the older bloodlines have developed powers known to no other midian. What I am about to teach you is how to change your shape. Not with shadows, as you can already manipulate them, for power in battle, at least. No, this is to physically change yourself."
"Yes, Master." Another unreadable expression crossed Alucard's face, a different one. She fleetingly wondered if she would ever really understand him. He continued.
"There are three forms which you can take. A wolf, up to fifteen bats, and a swarm of bugs." Attempting to seem unfazed, though truly disgusted, by the latter, she asked,
"But what about that dog, Cerberus? That couldn't have been a wolf." His mouth twitched into a smile of acknowledgment.
"That is a familiar, part of manipulating the Darkness. It will come to you in time. Your will is strong enough that I trust the experience not to kill you." Seras couldn't help the fear that crept into her eyes. Alucard's smile briefly became wilder and more sinister.
"The easiest for to assume is that of the wolf, as it is but one being. What you need to do is imagine yourself running, not with two feet, but with four paws. Running through a field under a pale moon. The wind in your face, ah yes. Feel your tail guiding your balance, feel the fur that warms your bones, feel your teeth that crush the skull of your prey. Imagine it." She did. "Feel it." She did. "Be it!"
Pain. Pain everywhere. Her bones were breaking and reforming, changing their size and shape. Her organs shrank and her skin readjusted it self to fit her new bone structure. All over her body was the feeling of pins pricking her as fur sprouted from her smooth skin. After a minute that felt like an hour she stood before her master as a golden wolf awkwardly wearing Seras Victoria's uniform. Alucard laughed heartily as he watched her attempt to remove it. She ended up tearing it off, to her sire's amusement. She attempted to speak, but all that came out was barking. In a rush of shadows a midnight black wolf replaced Alucard's powerful figure. Seras whined in confusion, muzzle on the ground covered by her paws.
'You must speak to me with your mind.'
'Oh...that makes sense.' A thought to herself as much as a reply. 'Hey, wait, where are your clothes? And you said that this hadn't to do with shadows...'
'An intelligent question, indeed, Seras. I used no shadows in changing my form. I did, however, use them to transport my clothes to a different location.'
'I see. Does it hurt every time?'
'Yes, but not as bad as the first time, and with repetition you become numb to it.' Seras experimentally walked around on her new legs. She was surprised how easily it came to her. She looked up at her Master, waiting for further instruction.
'Now that you have your bearings, would you join me on a hunt?' Shocked, Seras barked a bit before thinking,
'But...are you serious?'
'Animals, Seras, animals. It will be good for you. The blood is revolting, but you experience the same thrill of the chase.' Darkness shrouded both wolves as they transported to the grounds around the mansion. 'Alright, lets begin. Do you smell the sweet blood of the human troops on patrol?'
'Yes...'
'Ignore it, and search for less appealing blood, then allow your instincts to take over, but only when locked on the undesired blood. Don't lose yourself too much or you'll be partaking in the sweeter pray before you can control yourself.' She nodded. She wasn't sure if he saw her do this, but he seemed to know that she understood. She sniffed lightly for blood, trying her best to ignore the soldiers. Normally, she didn't breath at all, it was much easier to maintain her iron will. At last she got a whiff of something that was certainly blood, but smelled almost as bad as FREAK blood. It smelled something like sour dirt. She wasn't looking forward to the taste. Forcing herself to focus only on the stench, she unleashed her instincts. Instantly, she bolted through the grass. Weaving this way and that around training equipment and trees, she at last pounced upon an urban fox that had wandered into the grounds. She bit down, forgetting how unpleasant this was sure to be. The taste was worse than the smell and made her want to gag, but she drank. The fox's memories were hurried and frantic, the animal was in fear all it's life. Alucard watched approvingly, seated on his hind legs in the same spot they had originally appeared. 'Very good. You do not have to drink anymore if you don't want to. I certainly wouldn't. But I suggest we continue killing a few nuisances for the groundskeeper. It's really a thrilling feeling, the hunt.' And Seras couldn't disagree. Seldom did she let herself go like that, even when hunting for her own kind, for fear of hurting humans. She and Alucard hunted down a few more animals, such as squirrels or rabbits.
Most of their hunting took place at the front of the estate, but the squirrel Seras was chasing now was leading her back to the training grounds, a risk she didn't take into account, so absorbed was she in the chase. Alucard ran near her, but just behind, always observing. He was curious as to what would happen when she encountered her own troops while lost in her senses. She bobbed and weaved while catching up with the small creature, but she soon caught scent of new prey, she followed it eagerly, not at all thinking about the source. She pounced once the source of the scent was close enough.
The soldier screamed in horror as a wolf bit into his neck, but it gurgled and died away quickly. Other troops watched terrifyed as his neck was broken between the monster's powerful jaws. A few of them ran for their lives, but aimlessly as there was really no where to go on the grounds. The beast looked up from it's prey, lost in blood lust, it's eyes glowing a deadly red. It looked ready to attack another man until a massive black wolf tackled it and held it down on the ground, growling threateningly. The creatures fought angrily until in a sudden explosion of shadows that disappeared as suddenly as it came to be. They were gone.