So this is the latest chapter, and out two faves are reunited! Next chapter is gonna swing back to Interga and Anderson, who I know a few people have been missing! Don't worry though I can promise the action, drama and even a fluff will still be maintained. As always I hope you enjoy, and please leave reviews, I love to hear what you all think! Ciao x.
A/N. I am really sorry for the confusion this one, I'm trying to upload the new chapter but Fanfic keeps deleting after it goes up. Hopefully it will work this time round. Please leave a review letting me know if you can read this, as it appears my end of things isn't working.
Chapter 15 - Reunited ( re-upload)
Alucard looked down, amazed to see his Seras amongst the rubble and dust of the cavern. Her face was scorched on one side and bruises and cuts covered the exposed skin of her arms and around her neck. Even though he could see his fledgling her mind was still barred from his own. For a moment he could hardly believe she was real, nothing more than a hallucination of his desires.
"Master!". Her voice called to him; all other sound in the room melted around it. A bolt of relief shit through him. His Seras was safe. She was really there before him.
Before Alucard knew it he was by her side, his gloved fingers hovering over her injuries, examining every wound and hair out of place. He swore at every one, cursing whatever creature dared harm what was his. He leant down, licking her wounds clean. His cool breath caressed her marred cheek, his tongue traced along her neck, caressing the marks left by his fangs all those moons ago . He expected Seras to flinch away from him, but she was motionless, her eyes gleaming into his own.
"Seras…." He whispered, voice low and soft. He felt his chest throb and he longed to touch her, but was afraid it would cause her further pain. "…My Seras… what have they done to you?". He let his fingers stroke through her hair, the golden strands dirtied with blood and stone dust. She had clearly seen her fair share of pain this evening.
"Master." Seras let her fingers curl under the lapels of her masters jacket. She could sense his shadows curling around her; tending to her wounds and offering soothing caresses. The feeling was familiar and comforting, and she desperately wanted it to remain in it forever. She smiled at the feeling, raising her fingers to tenderly grasp his own. "Alucard…" his name passed her lips so sweetly; he could have mistaken it for prayer. She nestled her face into his palm, and he swore he felt her lips kiss the exposed skin at his wrist.
Alucard leaned into her caress, drunk on the feel of her skin against his. It was chaste and simple, but it sent fire through his veins. A growl escaped his throat and he pulled her closer, his nose brushing against hers. He could feel his shadows writhing about them, uncontrolled and hungry, playing with her own. He was losing control of himself, but he couldn't help himself.
From the moment she had fallen through the ground their connection had been severed, cut away like it had never been there at all. No longer had he felt the soft touch of her mind against his own, the comforting assurance of her presence. He feared she had died, and the loss had pained him like no physical wound ever could.
But even here, with his Seras wrapped in his arms, their mental connection had failed to return. It was like being separated by some impermeable forcefield, hoping she was on the other side, but unable to call out or know if she were still there.
His heart thrummed beneath his chest, and he fought to contain the unspoken emotions that bubbled beneath his skin. He was acting entirely too emotional towards his little fledgling, his mask was slipping, and he knew it. He forced himself to school his features and step back.
Seras' mouth opened slightly, confusion and sadness creeping into her features, clearly unhappy that he released her.
Suddenly the bronze woman Alucard had thrown, shrieked behind them and drew both vampires back to reality. He whirled around, glaring down the creature, whilst Seras instinctively fell into a fighting stance. The Hellsing soldiers were no-longer standing, most had left the plush interior of the room, the rest were scattered around the room, clearly dead or seriously injured. The bronze woman was crouched over what remained of the silver creature, weeping and gently caressing what seemed to remain of the woman's face.
Alucard pushed Seras behind him, readying himself to pounce. Despite his attempts to protect her, Alucard could feel Seras trying to push her way around him. He glowered down at her, feeling his frustration grow at her resistance.
"Police Girl, remain behind me". His growl was low and aggressive, capturing her gaze in the corner of his eye. She glared back up at him, defiance sparking in her beautiful eyes
"I'm not a little girl, Master. I came here to fight, goddamnit let me do it!" she hissed her reply, unwavering in her determination. She pushed around him, squaring her shoulders and blatantly avoiding his eyes. She roughly rubbed at the spots on her face where he had touched her, as if to free herself of his touch. Alucard couldn't help the stab of betrayal that he felt at the sight, and he snarled slightly before turning away from his defiant fledgling.
Seras took a brief moment to re-load her weapon, her gun cocking loudly in the quiet cavern. She un-hooked a small bag from around her waist and gently threw it to the side. Alucard could have sworn he saw a skull in the bag, but his attention quickly returned to his fledgling.
He watched in slow motion as she levelled her weapon at the creatures face. Before he could stop her, his fledgling pulled the trigger and launched them both back into the throngs of battle, her teeth bared; bloodlust sparking in her irises.
Time moved in slow motion as she let four shells sink into the bronze woman's flesh. The gun was soon empty, and Seras threw it to the ground, launching herself forwards, her shadows whipping savagely towards her enemy. He couldn't deny the beauty of her in that moment, covered in blood and fighting for her life against impossible odds. He smirked, realising the idiocy of trying to keep her from combat. This was how she should always be, how he'd always wanted her. Up to her elbows in death and warfare, a Valkyrie in flight.
The bronze woman, face stained with fresh tears, met Seras with equal zeal and rage. Her face contorted in battle fury, her wounds tearing open with the expression. Blood ran in rivulets across her metallic body, and the jagged protrusions along her spine and shoulders shifted under her skin. Alucard had seen her kind before. Morrigans.
The two women met in clash of animalistic snarls, tooth and claw alike ripping flesh from bone. Seras seemed to have the upper hand, managing to straddle the bronze woman and repeatedly bashing her head against the floor. Seras gave a victorious cry, quickly cut off as the morrigan stuck a clawed hand into her side and snapped a single rib off the draculina's spine.
Seras screamed in pan and threw herself off the woman, rolling across the blood stained rugs that covered the floor. Alucard heard his fledgling give a shill, mewl-like noise as she put pressure on her fresh wound. The bronze woman cackled, and threw the rib back at Seras, her smile tauntingly cruel.
"Look at you, you stupid girl. You are weak!" The morrigan spoke, her voice grating against the vampires' ears. "You killed my beloved Nime! You have invaded our home, and you have killed her! For her murder I shall see you suffer a thousand times over! I will make sure to torture you before giving you to him"
Alucard shuddered, a foreboding sensation creeping along his spine. Something was wrong, but his mind was foggy and unclear. Before he could stop her, Seras surged forwards, taking advantage of the woman's distraction.
Seras grabbed her own bloodied and butchered rib, and ran forwards, burying the sharp end of the rib in her opponents eye. Alucard watched as the eyeball popped, its fluids slowly trickling out around the bone and down the morrigan's cheek.
"Magnificent!" he cackled, pulling his own guns. The Jackal and Casul glimmered in the lamp light. Seras pulled her own rib out from the woman's skull and jumped back, resting before her next strike. The injured woman tried to crawl up a wall, intent on escape, but Alucard shot her down, his tirade of bullets leaving gaping holes across her back. He would pause occasionally, to let Seras tear at the woman with tooth and claw, like the vampire he knew she could be.
Seras couldn't deny the bloodcurdling cries gave her an undeniable sense of power. In a heady peak of mania she threw the woman across the chamber by the ankle, her claws ripping bronze flesh from the bone. The blood trickled between her fingers, oddly cold and rancid to her senses. Seras instantly recognised the putrid smell as the same she had tasted in the rats and boggarts in the village. Her eyes widened as she looked over to where the woman had landed.
"You're the one who controlled the boggarts! You stole those children!" She screamed her accusation at the creature, sneering in disgust. The woman glared back, scrambling backwards. Seras wanted to tear the woman's throat open, but she felt the strong hand of her master on her shoulder, holding her in place. His guns had returned to underneath his coat, and all his blood lust seemed to have faded. He was ending the fight. Their opponent was done.
Snarling in anger Seras angrily stepped backwards, resisting the urge to kill the bitch that was curled before her. Now they weren't fighting Seras could see her far more clearly. Her shining bronze skin rolled across soft features, with full lips and round eyes. The prettiness of her face was ruined by the jagged rocks that protruded through her skin, like a rough exoskeleton.
"And I would do it again! I'd do a thousand times over, if I could. It was only way to get Nime's cure. He would give us the medicine for the children!" The woman choked her retort through blood, scrambling across the floor. "It made her better, nothing else would. The children were easy to come by. They were worthless compared to her! But you ruined it! You whore! You murdered her!". The morrigan was crying now, tears staining her cheeks; the last of her energy was being used up to grieve.
Her small, bronze hands reached out for what remained of the silver lady, the so-called 'Nime'. The body's silvery skin was dry and peeling, the flesh already rotting and liquifying. The bronze woman tenderly caressed the rotting skin, weeping as it came apart in her hands. Her leg was bleeding profusely. Now that she remained still Seras could see multiple wounds all across her body. She was hurting far more than her previous ferocity had shown. At this rate she'd bleed out in a few minutes.
Seras felt her rage drop away, saddened by the pitiful sight. There would be no honour in killing her like this. Alucard walked forwards, clearly he had had his fun and was content to watch her die from the side-lines. He held something in his right hand, Seras almost vomited when she realised what it was. It was what remained of the Silver woman's head. The boulder had severed it just under the chin, he must have picked it up during the fight. The eyes were horrifically wide, its icy white hair was mussed with dirt and blood. The skin along the cheek still held claw marks from where Seras had attacked her.
He tossed the head back to the bronze lady, letting it roll across the floor before it stopped at her feet. The woman picked it up, caressing what remained of the desiccated features. The fish-like scales came off in her fingers, but she didn't seem to mind. She coddled the head in her arms, and whispered comforting nonsense down at the remains. Alucard nodded, as though this confirmed something.
"You were Morrigans, weren't you?" He asked the bronze lady glared at him, but nodded sadly. Her eyes were becoming glassy, and Seras knew there wouldn't be much time left. She stepped forwards, intent on asking her own questions.
"Why did you steal and kill those children?". She couldn't keep the vitriol from her voice, but the woman seemed too occupied by the severed head to pay her much attention. When she didn't reply, Seras repeated her question with a sharper tone.
"He said it would help her" The bronze lady murmured. "He promised…he said she'd live forever". She began weeping again, swaying slightly. She planted a small kiss on the lips of the head. "She was sick, we didn't know how, he said he would cure her. The children were traded for his medicine, but she always need more…". She looked up, staring Seras right in the eye. "He said that if we wanted a cure we'd have to give him more."
"More? More children?" Seras asked. The woman shook her head, a putrid smile spreading across her features.
"No, no more children. He wanted something new. He wanted you"
"Me?" Seras stepped back, caught again by the firm hand of her master in the small of her back. She looked up to him, but his gaze was locked onto the two creatures.
"Who is this man? Why did he want my fledgling?". Alucard's voice was laced with an anger that hadn't been there before , possessiveness leaking into every fibre of his being.
"We didn't ask why", the bronze woman practically screamed. "He said that once he got her, he'd give us a permanent cure. We just wanted to be left alone! We have survived together for centuries without conflict. But you vampires! You bring nothing but death in your wake!. The fates have told me the prophecy. Your fledgling bitch deserves what's coming to her!".
"Who is he!? What prophecy!?" Alucard yelled his questions at the woman, stepping forward, as if to hit her. But it was all for nothing. The morrigan's sad smile slackened and her fingers loosened around the head of her beloved Nime. A small laugh bubbled through her blood soaked lips and she quietly gagged on the liquid. Small droplets splattered onto her lovers face. She remained smiling as the light left her eyes her body slumping backwards, crumpling against the dirt and rubble left from the explosion.
As soon as her body crumpled Seras felt the blockade around her mind crumble and shatter. Her Masters thoughts penetrated her mind like a knife. She recoiled away from him, her hands pressing against either side of her head. Alucard, too, seemed to have noticed the change, and flinched at the feeling of his fledgling's mind. Instinctively, her sent out mental branches to reach her, but every time his mind touched hers, she let out a visceral shriek. Despite his longing to connect with her mind, he forced himself to stop.
He watched as Seras' eyes watered, and she curled into herself, hands covering her ears. It seemed, unlike him, more than just her telekinesis had been subdued by the Morrigan's powers. Her vampiric senses were returning to her all at once, like a new-born on its first night. There was a reason the process turned the victim unconscious. It was incredibly painful to realise one's powers all at once.
Alucard stepped towards her, using his own powers to shield her from the harsh smells and auras that surrounded her. Shadows encircled her and Seras calmed slightly, shooting him a small look of gratitude before straightening out to stand. She caught her master's eye and felt her heart thump in her throat. The Morrigan's words echoed inside her mind, sending shivers down her spine and trembles into her limbs.
"He wanted something new. He wanted you"
Seras tried to fight the shaking she could feel in her limbs, but it seemed impossible. The wound in her side was heeling, the rib slowly re-growing with her limited energy reserves. The adrenaline in her system was suppressing the pain, but her whole body was quaking from its effects. That, mixed with the fear that some unknown man was searching for her, almost made her bones rattle against each other.
"Seras. Come here." Alucard opened his arms, motioning for her to come forwards.
She gave him an apprehensive look, but dutifully walk forwards on shaking legs. Eventually he caught her in a comforting embrace, hands moving upwards to caress her hair and stroke along her spine. Seras suddenly found she was completely unable to support her own weight anymore, and leaned fully against him. The entire weight of her body resting against him, didn't seem to phase Alucard, who barely moved an inch under her partial collapse.
When it became clear that Seras' legs had truly lost all use, Alucard bent slightly before picking her, clean-up, off the ground. The way her small body nestled against his chest reminded them both of that first night together in Cheddar. Master carrying servant. He would carry her anywhere she pleased; they both knew it. He would do whatever she asked.
Their faces drifted close to each other; gazes locked; neither could look away. Seras knew they could have stood like that for centuries and they wouldn't have moved, if it wasn't for the sound of her soldiers stirring around them. Both vampires whipped their necks around to face the humans, regaining what little distance could be managed in their position.
Clearly the men who had retreated had taken the silence as a sign that the battle had ended and had taken it upon themselves to re-enter the chamber. A rather confused group of men walked in, all pausing at the sight of their Captain, wrapped in the arms of one of the deadliest monsters on the planet. It was Private Blake who spoke first.
"Mum? Are you all right?" He stepped closer to the pair, but a sharp look from Alucard stopped him in his tracks.
Seras shifted slightly to give a small thumbs up to her men, an action that gained her a reprimanding growl from her overbearing master.
"Quite all right, boys. Just a little worse for wear after this particular battle" She tried to be cheery, but the pain from her rib was growing and was sending rippling spasms up her spine with every word she spoke. "Damage report, stat". Her voice sounded far more commanding than she felt, and the men before her instantly snapped to attention.
"Looks like everyone took a beating mum. Some more than others." There was a brief, and collective, look in her direction before the soldier continued. "We lost a couple of good men tonight…" Blake's voice wavered slightly, as he spoke. He likely wouldn't have witnessed this much death before. She offered him a sympathetic look and let out a breath.
"Who was it? Can we get them back to base camp, or do we need a clean-up crew?" Seras hated being so dispassionate, but she had seen the Silver woman tear the arm off one of her men, and she doubted any of them could have survived that.
Coleman stepped forward to answer, pushing the younger soldier back towards the rest of the group. "I'm sorry Ma'am. The younger ones aren't used to all this yet." The older man's professional tone gave Seras no uncertain amount of comfort. He also, thankfully, seemed completely unfazed by the embarrassing situation she was currently in. She reckoned that over the years in the Hellsing manor he would have definitely seen worse. "We lost Private Watts and Lance Corporal Newman. Both sustained injuries earlier in the night, and it seems that gave the monsters something to exploit. Both men suffered partial dismemberment and blunt force trauma, but we should be able to get their bodies back before the clean-up crew gets here."
Seras nodded, saddened to know there had indeed been multiple deaths. Absentmindedly she tugged on her masters coat, finding comfort in the softness of the fabric..
"Thank you Sargent. I trust you will take charge of the men and get them back to base camp?"
"Yes ma'am. You're not joining us on the ride back to the cottage?"
"No. We've been down here longer than you think. The sun will rise soon, and I'm too weak to travel in sunlight." Seras looked up, as though the meters of rock and dirt above her had given way, allowing her to see the sky. With her powers returned she knew that sunrise was only minutes away, and without the help of her master, she would be spending the night in this accursed cave system. She shook her head and turned back to Coleman "My master and I will find our own way back. You just focus on getting the men out of here."
Seras felt Alucard's arms tighten around her, and she glared up at him. She was in enough pain without him forgetting his strength. She gently swatted at his chest and mouthed the word 'ow' at him. This did have the beneficial effect of him loosening his grip, but also the rather dismaying one that he had now decided to put her down altogether.
He walked the short distance to the pool of water, where he placed Seras down on what must have been one of the few un-tarnished rugs in the whole room. Seras wasn't sure of the point of this as she would likely bleed all over it herself, but she accepted the oddly kind gesture, nonetheless. He shrugged off his large overcoat and offered it to her, watching as she tucked tightly around her shoulders
Alucard then, in a surprising bout of helpfulness, decided to help the remaining soldiers escape the cavern. He gave the Sargent instructions on how to leave the cave through the giant hole he had blown through the wall. Apparently it lead to a steep, but manageable climb out of the tunnel system. Once they were above-ground the troops would radio basecamp, and get picked up within the hour.
Coleman gave a small nod, before barking orders at the men that remained standing and competent. Seras watched them all move like tired ants around the room. Alucard moved the heavier equipment with his shadows, though he left the bodies for the humans to move. She saw Hicks and Blake limp past her, each sporting their fair share of war wounds. Both shot her tired but friendly looks as they made their way to the exit Alucard had smashed through the wall.
Stevenson even offered her a small smile, before following the rest of the troops out the exit. Alucard growled lowly.
"I do not like the way that human looks at you" He muttered down at Seras as he walked back towards her. Alucard was unsure if Seras fully understood the reasons some of her human comrades were so friendly to her. He knew of Seras' attractive qualities, and he was certain the humans had noticed too. As if to convince him of her ignorance she gave a playful, small laugh.
"Don't worry about him Alucard. He is bit of a flirt, but he's of no harm to me. Anyways, I've got a punishment set out for him later, he's got a bit too comfortable toeing the line of insubordination. "
Alucard offered no reply, other than evasive grunt. Seras was in no mood to decode the plethora of noises her master could make, and instead decided to make herself comfortable. She pulled a few of the fluffier looking pillows towards herself, and propped herself against them. It was better than laying directly on the hard floor. During all the commotion of everyone leaving, Seras had also managed to scoop up the satchel that contained Delma, and had the skull cradled in her lap.
Eventually her men had all managed to leave through the exit, taking their two fallen comrades with them. She was thankful Alucard had decided to give her the coat. As soon as the last morrigan had died, the lamps and fires around the room had slowly begun burning out, making the chamber awfully cold without them.
Delma didn't seem to have sustained any damage from Seras' poor handling in the battle, but she had felt badly all the same.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked the skull, gently rubbing a smudge of dirt of the temple area.
"Oh yes dearie. I've survived many battles before, and even a few wars. Don't you worry about me. It'll take a lot more than a small throw to harm me". Delma's voice rang with its normal cheeriness and her eyes were glowing the same lilac they always seemed to. Seras shrugged and accepted the assurances. She was just about to doze off on the plush pillows when she felt something tap the side of her boot.
She instantly shot awake, fangs extended, worried another creature had come to attack her. To her relief it was her master, peering down at her, with the most peculiar look on his face.
"My dear little fledgling, what on earth do you have there?" He tilted his chin towards Delma, a smirk playing along his lips. His voice seemed more amused than anything, so Seras assumed he knew perfectly well what Delma was, and was simply teasing her. His glasses and hat still remained on, and although he'd bent down to her level he gave indication he was about to get comfortable. It was strange to see him without the customary overcoat, but Seras was not about to give up her only protection against the cold. He was older and could probably bear it better. It was worth being selfish sometimes.
"Oh this? It… she- is Delma. She's a talking skull! She helped me get out of the lower cave system. And helped me find my troop!" She smiled, blinking up at her master, feeling much like a child asking to keep a stray cat it had found in the street. "She's very nice".
"Hmmmm. I'm certain that she is." Alucard didn't sound convinced by her statement. He crouched down further, sitting on the floor beside her, lounging on the remaining pillows as casually as if he owned the place. Without asking, he picked Delma up from where she had been sitting in Seras' lap, turning the skull from one hand to the other.
"I prefer not to be manhandled" Delma protested to the disorienting treatment.
Alucard snorted impolitely. "I do not care. I will not have something malevolent take advantage of my fledgling." He stoked one slender finger along the smooth forehead of the skull. The small runes carved on the surface didn't react to the caress.
"I am not malevolent, you aged buffoon!" Delma seemed to have lost all patience with Seras' master, opting for outright insults. Alucard merely laughed, clearly unphased, and continued his monologue.
"My Seras can be awfully naïve, as I'm sure you noticed." He shot Seras a look that was stuck somewhere between amusement and mockery. His glasses slipped down his nose and his eyes caught her own. He lazily let them scan over her, never stopping in once place too long. Seras herself tried to keep her own eyes on his face and her pulse level, but it seemed neither wanted to cooperate with her. Her own gaze wandered to the bare skin of his neck and broad shoulders. Her pulse beat hard and heavy through her veins. Her breathing taught as he scanned over her body.
Before she could completely melt into her master's observations, Alucard turned away and resumed the conversation. The moment passed by like it had never happened at all, save for Seras' slightly laboured breathing.
"I've head of your kind, but I am surprised to find you all the way down here.". Alucard almost sounded interested in the creature he held before him.
"Well it was hardly my fault! I was held captive! And I am not any 'kind', not like you are. I am human, my soul just hasn't moved on like it normally does. There are more like me, if that is what you are suggesting, but I have never met one. We are too uncommon for that.
"There are others like Delma?". Seras couldn't help her eager tone, her previous line of though was abandoned in the quest to know more.
"Of course, Seras." Delma's eyes rolled around to look at the draculina. "Although I am surprised your master did not educate you on this already. Vampires are normally so nosy about these sorts of things". If it was possible for a skull to give an eye-roll, Seras was certain Delma was attempting it. The lilac flames flickered slightly in her eye sockets, arching in a semi-circle
"How and what I teach my fledgling is none of your business skull!" Alucard snarled the words, clearly on the defensive. Seras let out a quiet huff and shook her head. She was the last person to defend her master's so-called teaching abilities. Sometimes she wondered if he was deliberately keeping her ignorant sometimes.
Not wanting to be discouraged by Alucard's usual caginess and inability to socialise, Seras pressed on with more of ger own questions.
"So how are chattering skulls made then?" She looked to both her companions imploringly, hoping one might take the bait and actually educate her for once. Alucard sighed, but seemed to accept her question, dropping the aggressive attitude as quickly as he picked it up.
"Your dear skull here is, what is officially known as, a 'chattering skull'. A curious creature, only really found in Britain. It is rumoured that many millennia ago, certain individuals were born with the ability to have prophetic visions. These prophets were highly sought after by kings and warlords alike, often kidnapped at a young age and forced to become oracles and seers for different leaders. As it always is, over time, these seers began to die out. Facing the panic of fighting their battles like real men, rulers found ways to preserve their prophets far beyond their natural life span, even into death. Thus the chattering skulls were created, but at a heavy price. All the kingdoms who had once boasted their powerful seers, quickly disappeared from history. War, famine and pestilence rolled across their lands, wiping the people from existence. The talking bones of the seers were all that remained. Some say the skills prophecies were cursed. Others say the old kings payed the price for trying to change the fates designs. Either way many skulls were destroyed or hidden, deemed too dangerous to use."
A whimsical smile played across his features, highlighting the handsome contours of his face. "I once sought one such skull, back when I ruled Wallachia. I had received rumours of one surviving in Britain, but my men could never retrieve it. Even when I came to London all those years ago, I could find no trace of it." He shot Seras a smile with far too many teeth, fangs shining even in the dim light. She felt a shiver roll over her body and fought to keep still. "But here, my dearest fledgling just falls onto of one, entirely by accident. I wonder what the chances of that are?".
There was a brief silence as Seras wondered if Delma was truly cursed. She desperately wanted to ask more questions, to understand more about the history, but she could tell her master probably wouldn't be much more forthcoming. Instead, she asked a question no one seemed to expect.
"Delma? Now that your masters are dead, what are you going to do? Where are you going to go?"
The skull seemed to consider her words, tilting slightly from where she sat in Alucard's palm.
"You know, I am not entirely sure. I honestly didn't think I'd get this far" The burning flames in Delma's sockets rolled between the two vampires. "I suppose I could come with you two?", her voice betraying a hopeful quiver in the request.
"Yes!" Seras instantly replied, cutting off her master before he could protest to the idea. He glared at her, but she refused to give into him. She pulled the skull from his grasp, cradling in her own arms. "You can of course stay with us. Or me at the very least. So long as you promise not to curse me that is".
"Oh that's just a silly old ghost story. My prophecies don't cause people to die. People make up anything when they're scared"
"Oh right, well, that's good". Seras gave a small smile and put Delma back into the side satchel. Alucard remained unusually quiet, seemingly indifferent to her decision. "I'll let Integra know, as soon possible". She announced, as though anyone had asked.
"If you're taking that thing back with us, then you shall leave it upstairs. I do not want near me when I sleep". Alucard grumbled/
"But-"
"No allowances Seras. Until I can trust it, it stays where it can be monitored. Am I clear?". Despite his more commanding words, his shoulders were not as rigid as they should have been, and the edges of his eyes were showing signs of strain. Seras knew the signs, clear as moonlight. Her master was getting tired.
She wasn't entirely surprised, having almost nodded off herself. By this point in the day, the sun would be fully out, and the soldiers would have all returned to basecamp. It was about time they returned to the cottage basement.
Pushing herself up, Seras pulled her masters coat tighter around her shoulders before turning to face him again.
"Master, it is late in the morning, I think we should head back and get some rest." She looked at him, holding out a single hand. Her skin was covered in grime and blood, and she knew she needed a good bath. Perhaps one of the cottages would still have running water? She hoped so.
Alucard sighed and gently caressed her hand into his own. Even in her fatigued state, the touch sent bolts of unwelcome excitement through her bones, pooling in her chest and ears. He pulled himself to his feet, and flicked some imaginary lint off his shoulder. Seras put it down to an old habit, as he seemed perfectly spotless to her eyes.
"I'll teleport us both to the cottage basement," He said gruffly. "but you put that skull outside, or I put you both out" His words sounded unkind, but the playful edge let her know that, if she wanted, he'd let her have her way. Either way, she still planned to leave Delma in the care of her men. Despite everything, there was just something instinctively uncomfortable with the idea of Delma being there whilst she slept. Seras wondered if it was a side effect of being a vampire, or just feeling vulnerable during the daylight hours.
She shrugged the feeling off, and stepped forwards, nestling into her masters chest. She knew the teleportation would be quick, he never liked to dawdle during daylight hours, but she still wanted to be in close proximity. The last shadow jump had left her more than a little queasy, and she was in no mood to lose any more blood after the horrendous evening she had just had.
The last thing she felt was the small rumble of her masters laugh against her torso, before his shadows pooled around them and surrounded them in darkness. There was a brief surge in energy, and the darkness dissipated, leaving the cavern empty once again, save for the bodies of the creatures it had once called mistresses.