Father Jacobs, out of respect for his nocturnal and unusual "guest", had chosen to stay up much later than usual. Normally, at an hour or so past sunset, he would be going to sleep, and rising slightly before dawn. But with a vampire, he had elected to stay up and keep it company far beyond his normal time of sleep. He'd grabbed a few short naps during the day in between telegrams and conversations, but he was still so tired, and so very glad that he had another day before having to give a Mass. Had this happened on a Mass day, or during the time when he prepared children for First Communion, he'd have been in a great deal of sleepy discomfort.
At least the vampire's visit had been at a convenient time. Even so, he was drowsy, falling asleep in his chair by the warm stove with a bloodsucking evil monster beside him. The vampire hadn't said much of anything after eating, but had taken the pillow and stretched out on the floor beside him. A niggling voice in the back of the priest's head told him that it was just waiting for him to sleep so that it could eat him...and that was keeping him from falling completely asleep.
And only that. With a sigh, he rose from the chair to fetch a book. He didn't have a great deal of reading material in the house, but with an unholy vampire staying with him, he felt a few hours with the Good Book would not be remiss. And, it would keep him awake.
Red eyes opened to watch him leave, but the vampire stayed stretched on the floor, clearly content and comfortable, cheek resting on the pillow. It was only a moment to take the Bible from his bedside, and a second thought had him lifting the vampire's blanket from beside the door. He tossed it casually over the vampire as he sat again, and watched the vampire squirm under it until the entire monster was covered, only the red eyes visible as they watched him under a flap of the cloth.
x x x x x x x
He'd tried to speak with it after it had eaten, for it was coherent again. Unfortunately, that hadn't lasted. He'd asked if it knew how to get home, only to find it entirely lost. The vampire had admitted rather sheepishly that it didn't know how far it had run, or even what direction it had come from. It didn't know the name of the place where it had lived, but it had describe a small manor or large and wealthy farmhouse. There were a dozen or more of those within easy riding distance of the church, and who knew how many more slightly farther out. If absolutely necessary, he thought he could probably track down where the beast had come from. But he'd rather its owner show up to claim it first.
He'd then asked if it thought Abraham Van Helsing was still alive, if the man was likely to come for the vampire, how he would find it, and it had gotten upset, deeply dismayed by the questions. And so he'd asked it about John Seward, and Lord Godalming. After all, he'd sent telegrams to the two of them, and there was a good chance that at least one of them was the man the vampire had spoken of. And then it had gone from miserably depressed to angry, defensive, and mute.
It had hissed, no longer speaking, glaring at the wall, clearly lost in angry and tumultous thoughts.
He'd felt cruel talking about such things, but after a full day with the beast and no one to claim it, he truly needed to know. He'd hoped it could simply follow its own scent back, but the vampire had been slightly scornful of this. Humans couldn't smell themselves, nor could dogs, nor vampires. How would one tell an old scent from the scent in one's nostrils that CAME from one's nostrils? Ridiculous! He'd smell absolutely nothing. Father Jacob had frowned at the slight arrogance the creature displayed...only to see the arrogance immediately vanish to be replaced by a cringing subservience.
And then it was frightened, angry, tense, nervous...and had taken yet more time to soothe and calm. He'd reassured it that he'd protect it, that he'd tell Abraham he'd removed the bracelets and not the vampire, that he'd keep it safe and hidden in the crypt, and it had relaxed to lie beside him once more.
x x x x x x
The blanket was soft, smelling comfortingly of the dirt of the crypt and the man beside him. The fire was almost uncomfortably warm, but also enjoyable, and he was nearly mesmerized watching the flames flicker through the grate of the stove. The pillow...such an odd sensation. Why had he never gotten himself a pillow? It was comfortable, thick, soft. The priest's heartbeat thundered a steady beat beside him, calming and peaceful, and the minutes drifted by. Still hungry, but nowhere near starving. The meal -freely given, hot, rich!- had provided him with quality, though lacking in quantity. So odd, that the priest would trust a vampire, would injure himself to feed a creature it should be killing.
Abraham, too. Abraham could have begun to study him, had made no secret of his initial plans. Instead...he'd taken the vampire outside. Made sure he had sufficient sleep. Kept him well-fed. Been patient, protective...even kind. He didn't deserve kindness, he knew what he was, he was evil. He had tormented so many people, simply for the joy of their pain. And yet...Abraham treated him gently. As Dracula, the vampire had had an active hand in Lucy's death, had attempted to control Mina, and his own people had killed Quincy as Dracula fled. Yet...Abraham didn't seem to hate him, treated him with an unexpected tolerance, gave him more than the barest necessities to exist.
And now, this man. He looked up at the priest, pondering. The man could have left him in the crypt, barricaded him in, and hadn't. And he certainly hadn't xpected to be fed, much less fed twice, and willingly. And here he was, in the priest's own home, soothed, fed, safe...even with a pillow and blanket, oddly human accoutrements but oddly pleasant.
He'd never met humans like this. Seward or Arthur, that kind he knew. They were intelligent enough to know what he was and could do, thus rightfully frightened of him, and they hated him, wished to kill him, to hurt him.
Abraham and the Priest...puzzling. Different. Intriguing.
He wondered if he'd still want their company once he'd recovered.
He rather suspected he would.
(wanted to continue this, but ran out of time. Sorry! Maybe tomorrow :) )