Some hours later, hours after dark and Leon managing a bout of fitful sleep in his coffin on the floor of his rooms after sending off his BPRD team under Abe's command with Hellboy and Liz in tow, finding his heart felt as though Alucard had punched through him and torn it out. One such session between the two while Leon trained as a vampire had seen Alucard actually doing so, which had led them to understanding more about his second heart, and left Leon more than a bit unsettled by the sheer amount of strength allowable to them.
Leon realised moments after waking, that Walter waited for him to wake, slightly agitated, pacing lightly in the room. Making a show of stretching, Leon's coffin lid slid aside and he sat up, wings flaring out stiffly as he yawned. Walter simply stopped mid-stride, smirking slightly as he straightened up and waited as Leon stood, coffin lid righting itself without his conscious acknowledgement as he worked more sleep kinks from his body.
"Sleep well, Master?" Walter asked, punctuating the words as he had grown accustomed to Seras doing with Alucard. Leon rolled his eyes and smirked.
"I did, yes, though my dreams were, not very restful." Leon blushed, as his dreams had been entirely consisting of Abe and their interactions, though he briefly recalled seeing Nuala, as she had been in the Library that one night, though he swore she had blood seeping into her dress just below her ribs. Walter smiled knowingly, bowing his head slightly as Leon gently preened through his feathers with his fingers before he raised a brow pointedly at his sireling.
"OH, I uh. Ahem. I was concerned about your... frustration." Walter blushed furiously, but straightened up and visibly relaxed when Leon waved it off as nothing. "I did want to ask, did you feel anything from... him, when you were first sired?" He sounded more concerned still, but realised his voice quivered lightly.
"I didn't, no, though he has several hundred years on me, he likely knows how to keep it more under wraps than I do... Sorry Walter, things I need to learn and, I suppose, I should give Alucard a chance to redeem himself somehow, yeah?" Leon mused, chuckling as Walter nodded, smile widening slightly.
"And your, companion? He seems rather quiet, unlike Mr. Bernadette." Walter asked, the two stepping out of Leon's rooms and into the hall before proceeding downstairs.
"Kuno? He's being cautious. I caught him surface-reading Integra, which I quickly put an end to, but he wants to be sure he's not overstepping before he says or does too much. I'm glad for it, certainly better than I expect Seras is dealing with." Leon grinned toothily, Walter laughing lightly.
"Yes, Mr. Bernadette has had his share of corrective interactions throughout his time here prior to the events of last week. It was amusing, watching the petite Police Girl flicking her fingers and sending the one-eyed mercenary flying. She's learning just as you likely had when you were sired, only you had some knowledge of your abilities and how to manage yourself with them." Walter motioned for Leon to preceed him on the stairs, Leon rolling his eyes and chuckling lightly as he did so. "I wont lie, it's been as though learning to do things all over... I had to be extra careful this morning, I almost snapped a spoon stirring tea."
"Oh gods, yeah, I did that too. I actually almost left indents in my sword once before I made it one of my familiars. Weird process, but I'm certain you've already attuned your garotte wires?" Leon grinned, Walter nodding almost sheepishly. "Good, we'll try doing more, like finding what kind of animals are most attuned to you and phasing. I know I had issues most with phasing through walls."
"And shifting back from animal form, if I remember correctly." Walter grinned, Leon laughing boisterously as he hopped over the railing of the last flight of stairs to the lobby, wings flaring as he landed lightly next to Seras as she emerged from the door to the basement.
"Morning Seras, Mercenary." Leon greeted, smirking lightly at the exasperated ramblings that Seras only blushed at as they sounded inside her head from the groggy mercenary Pip Bernadette, who now resided with Seras as Kuno, former doctor of Millennium, did with Leon.
**Dial it back Pip, good lord. You'd think I'd snuck into her dreams or something.** Leon sent to Seras and Pip pointedly, winking at Walter to let him know things were alright, before gently wrapping a wing around Seras and pulling her along to the dining room, able to hear Integra speaking inside with someone else. Pip went suddenly quiet, realising that he was probably just as loud if not louder for Seras, who thanked Leon with a grin for helping her out. Walter then disappeared into the kitchen while Leon padded into the dining hall, Integra visibly relaxing as he appeared, Shelby Penwood sitting in a chair before her. Seras ducked out after saluting Integra briefly, heading to do her evening jogging round of the manor grounds.
"There you are, I was about to go wake you myself." Integra greeted, straightening up and grinding out the cigar she had been angrily chewing on while waving off the smoke to dispell it more quickly.
"All you would have needed to do is tell Walter you're smoking, and I'd be here. Horrible habit, I hope you plan to quit?" Leon chuckled, brief glare replaced with a knowing smile, moving easily through the hall to stand next to her, idly flapping a wing to clear the air further, as he absolutely hated the smell, and it bothered his chest slightly as he breathed. He subconsciously remembered his inhaler, that Kuno expertly advised was in his right pants pocket, as he moved to wrap a wing around Integra and pull her into a hug. She fought him lightly, playfully, but relented after a long moment, gently curling her arm around under his wing, being extremely careful around the bases of them. **Thanks, for at least trying to avoid those spots... I keep forgetting about them myself, hopefully they heal better soon.** He mused, sharing his thoughts with her privately.
"I did, even before your return home. Just more incentive, knowing what I know now about what happened to you before father's death." Integra jabbed, offering a slight smirk at his thought-speech comment, lightly stroking the wingtips curled gently around her arm.
"About that, I thought I would let you know, Alexander Anderson has taken up the position within Section Thirteen Iscariot vacated by the late Enrico Maxwell, and is now recognised as a Cardinal by the church, but is otherwise now acting as liason to the Queen and Hellsing, most specifically, and has offered an olive branch as well to the BPRD of America." Shelby cleared his throat lightly and smiled, Integra raising a brow and turning to look up at Leon who wore a massive grin.
"Seriously? Wonderful news. Alex had too much stigma and mental conditioning beforehand that made it impossible for him to deal with politics. I helped him out with a spell that broke any compulsions and will help him suppress some of his war-remnant reactions. I'm certain I'll get a letter or email later about it." Leon let out a light huff when Integra lightly jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow, which Shelby chuckled at and nodded.
"Thankfully, yes, he does seem much more mild mannered than any of the prior interactions we have had with Iscariot and the Vatican." Shelby smirked, though appeared to fidget a moment before speaking again. "Leon, as much as I trust you and your choice to keep him alive, is it really wise to keep your retainer on after what occurred? He's gone against you twice now, can we really trust him?"
Leon straightened up and released his hold on Integra, eyes narrowing dangerously. Few dared question his choices, fewer still could do so without raising his ire, and Shelby was no exception despite being a loyal friend to his father and the family. Leon took in a deep breath, to calm his rage, which still roiled in his gut, though he was uncertain it was entirely his emotions and trusts being questioned and perhaps more something to do with what had happened when he used the spell in London earlier.
"I do, and it should be noted that he cannot do anything against Hellsing while he is my Sireling. I may not know what all it entails being as such, however I can assure you he and I are of the understanding that he will continue as he always has as the family retainer and will make no attempts to undermine or sabotauge Hellsing or London in any manner." Leon stated in a low warning tone, Integra raising a brow further at him and crossing her arms at his demeanour. Shelby raised his hands placatingly and offered a smile and light, yet uneasy, chuckle.
"Alright, I accept you trust him. Sorry to bring it up, you know how Irons can be, yes?" Shelby appeared to shrink almost, Integra glowering lightly at Leon who slowly relaxed, realising that he was being intimidating without intent.
"I do, apologies Shelby, I suppose it's been a long time since I've been challenged in such a manner, and I'm not entirely relaxed being home after so long..." Leon blushed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously. Integra visibly side-eyed him, turning to Shelby who chuckled simply, lightly waving off Leon's apology.
"Understandable, it's been what over a decade since you were here? I'm surprised at how comfortable you appear, oh, and I wanted to thank you again for saving my hide." Shelby stood cautiously, carefully, shifting his stance to get his crutches under his arms. Leon chuckled, shaking his head.
"It's the least I could do, to repay you looking out for her all this time I've been away. Despite how difficult she can be I'm sure." Leon hopped away quickly before Integra could jab him in the ribs again, her smirk betraying the angry glower pointed at her brother. They then bid Shelby farewell and waved him off as he hobbled down the manor steps to his waiting towncar, his escort following as it sped away and disappeared out the gate that closed behind it. Integra then sighed, looking up at Leon a moment before slipping back inside and heading for the dining room as Leon turned, closed the door and moved to follow, nodding to one of the two remaining mercenaries sitting on the sectional Hellboy and Liz had been on earlier in the day.
Leon paused at the kitchen to check on Walter, who simply waved off his unspoken concern and went back to near dancing about the kitchen as he baked, cooked, steeped and prepped meals with more ease than he had been able to for years. Leon saw Integra almost collapse into her chair, leaning back lightly with a hand over her face lightly, glasses taken off and placed on the table before her. While concerned, Leon knew better than to verbally ask, instead moving to sit in the chair closest to her, the one Shelby had sat in minutes before.
"Are you certain you are going to be alright Leon? I don't remember you being so, overprotective." Integra asked at length, relaxing and moving to gently pick up her glasses again, placing them back on her nose. Leon noticed her eyes dialate slightly, as though straining, realising she was likely needing a different prescription on the glasses that looked exactly as he remembered them. He sighed, moving to gingerly pluck them from her nose, smirking at her frown, before her eyes widened and brows raised back up, as the strain on her eyes eased, and she could see him perfectly fine without.
"I was still just as protective, if not moreso, of you. You just don't remember it that way, likely because of how long I've been gone, and how infallible I tried to make myself out to be..." Leon sighed, closing the glasses and putting them aside. "You likely wont need these again, not for a long time, because of the healing spell I used on you after the crash. If you start having issues again though, let me know. I have plenty of options to keep you comfortable and healthy a long time, without actual magic and spells, promise." Integra frowned slightly, but nodded, lips pursing ever so slightly as she tried to remember the years he had been home, had been around and a part of her life, only to find the dark memory that had torn them apart in the first place as the one that she remembered most. Leon bowed his head, wings visibly drooping.
**I wish I could change that day, and every day we've been apart...** He said privately to her, gaze on the glasses on the table held lightly under his hand, hair falling forward over his shoulders lightly. Walter shortly entered with a plate for integra, a delightful appearing and almost immaculately presented palm-sized steak, baked potato with butter melting atop its exposed innards, and lightly steamed asparagus with a small glass of red wine. Leon chuckled, shaking his head at Walter's offer of a plate for him as well, their retainer quickly departing to let Integra eat and the two talk.
"You aren't the only one. Honestly, Richard deserved worse than what he got." Integra mused, gently taking the cutlery and cutting into the steak, small trickles of juices seeping onto the plate as Leon idly watched. He felt suddenly as though kicked in the gut, stomach roiling and had to turn his gaze elsewhere, lest he potentially gag. Integra noticed his attention suddenly shift away, eyed him, but continued with her meal, inwardly thankful Sera'phna, one of Leon's good friends, had managed to purchase and deliver fresh meats and vegetables for the manor. Even if it was only her and the two Mercenaries remaining at the moment needing such, it was a definite plus to have instead of dry rations and bottled water.
"His afterlife is likely showing him that folly, we can only guess ourselves." Leon mused, smiling at her lightly as he sighed and stood, wings quivering lightly. "My stomach is unsettled with me, I'll see you after you've eaten?" Integra paused, putting her cutlery down and watched him with concern a moment, but nodded her agreement.
"Your room?" She asked, smiling herself once she was certain enough he was physically alright, just likely needing to rest more, sadly watching him leave as he nodded simply and walked into a wall. Integra sighed once he had disappeared, turning to finish her meal, concerned by the fact that he seemed so put-off by her eating in front of him.
Little did Integra know, that it was entirely something else that Leon had yet to figure out about himself.