Puppies
Disclaimer: Hellsing belongs people who are not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Alucard . . . then he'd be mine.
Rating: PG-13
Authoress note: Loneliness is easily beaten when one knows how.
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Seras Victoria was lonely. That was not unusual, for she was and had often been lonely. She had been lonely when young. The death of her parents had damaged her more than she would like to admit. Witnessing the act had scared her terribly. The children of the orphanage couldn't physically see that scar, but they knew it was there and avoided her because of it. She had been lonely when she had joined the police. None had truly thought she would survive long and had not tried to integrate her. She had been lonely when she first joined Hellsing. The men had hated and feared her; they had treated her like the monster her master wanted her to be. It had made her hate herself; she hated the fact she had not chosen to die as a human. It made her hate her master for not allowing her to die as a human, for not allowing her to keep her soul. She was lonely still even after the men accepted her. Their acceptance was hollow. They could not truly accept her, no matter how she tried, the fear of what she always hides just under the surface of their smiles. She came close to true insanity in those early days, but then Pip had arrived. At first he had been 'wary', but he seemed to look behind her crimson eyes to see the girl hiding behind them. But lately, even Pip seemed to ignore her. This mess with millennium was putting everyone on edge. Pip had become exposed to what vampires were capable of. Alucard's actions at Rio did NOT help the situation. The captain must know that she had to be capable of such acts, such monstrous murder. So, once again, she was lonely. Wandering down the empty hallways towards her room, she sighed.
"Is it my fate to forever be alone?" The words were not her own, taken from a film she had watched when young, but she thought the words suited her. Her room was empty and cold. As a vampire, the cold could not hurt her, but she could still feel it and it could still cause her discomfort. But at the moment it wasn't the cold that caused her discomfort, but more what the cold meant to her. She was alone, cold and alone.
"Police girl." Alucard's voice was flat as it came from the shadows. Seras sighed loudly and walked to the bed. In the past she would have jumped at his voice, she would have fruitlessly searched for him. Now, however, she was used to his 'appearances' and she let him come to her.
"Master." She felt him slip through the wall behind her. She turned to face him. "Was there something you wanted from me?" She asked, sitting down on the mattress. To her surprise, Alucard blinked at her in a confused way, either baffled by her question or her tone.
"No," he said. "But you're radiating again." He often said she was radiating, meaning he could feel her emotions a mile off. Seras doubted she 'radiated' secretly. She suspected him of dipping into her mind every so often. But with that in mind he must do it often, for whenever she was even mildly upset he would appear, sometimes making her feel better, other times snapping at her for wallowing in self-pity.
"I'm sorry." Her master snorted.
"Did someone say something?" Seras shook her head. "Did someone die?–Shake of the head- Someone shoot you?—shake of the head- someone... this is dull police girl, tell me."
"Master, no one did anything. Nothing's wrong." Seras lifted her pillow and hugging her face to it.
"Then why…" Alucard pulled the pillow down a little so he could see her eyes, which were looking red. "Do you look like you are about to sob?"
"I do not look like I'm about to sob! Master nothing is wrong," Seras snapped
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No." She hurled the pillow at him, knocking his hat and glasses to the floor. Her master sighed and, after glancing forlornly at his fallen glasses, looked back to his fledgling and was silent.
"You really want to know?" Seras gave up after a minute or two of silent, staring. She knew telling him would be a bad idea, but if she didn't, he would keep badgering her until either she cheered up or told him. Her master nodded in answer to her. "I'm tired of being alone," she admitted.
"But you're not alone." Alucard looked mildly hurt. Seras swallowed heavily, feeling her eyes burn. She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes tight. She would not cry in front of him, she would not cry in front of him, she would not cry in front of him. A gloved finger brushed over her cheek, wiping away a tear she wasn't aware that she had shed, Seras opened her eyes confused, the small tender action seemed to break through all her defences in a way she thought nothing ever could and a floodgate of emotion raged through her. Before Seras was even aware of what she was doing, she sobbed openly into her master's shoulder. Realising this, she went to pull back, expecting harsh words or cruel teasing, but before she could draw away, an apprehensive hand settled on her shoulders and pulled her head under his chin. He was warm and smelt faintly of gunpowder and cloves. Seras let out a long breath and closed her eyes, waiting for her tears to stop, absently feeling her master's free hand rest on the back of her head, playing with the ends of her hair comfortingly. After what felt like a small age, Seras pulled back, glancing up at him sheepishly. Fear bolted through her for a second when she looked down to where she had been resting. Blood had soaked into his shirt, staining the white fabric a brilliant red. Vampire tears were bloody, and she felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry about your shirt," she mumbled. Alucard blinked, then looked at his chest before smirking at her.
"You really think this is the worst my clothes have suffered?" He raised an eyebrow. Seras smiled a little. "Now, how shall we fix your minor problem?"
"Fix?" Seras asked
"Yes, fix." Alucard shook his head as if he found his child stupid. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your life feeling like this?"
"Well I," Seras started
"What fixes this?" Alucard make a soft sound of thought. Seras sighed and looked to her knees. There was no way he could fix her current 'mood'. The only way to fix it was with a friend. She had friends here, but she needed someone more like herself, someone she could go outside with, go shopping, and maybe see a movie. She smirked to herself, remembering last time she got lonely and had said something like wanting to see a movie. Alucard had dragged her to the cinema. Long story short, they were banned now and one person was receiving therapy curtsey of Integra Hellsing.
"Master, there's nothing-" Seras began, but was interrupted.
"Well, in my time, oh dear God, I sound like Walter, damn." Alucard sighed and put his head in his hands for a moment before pulling himself back together. "They often left women to their own devices, my lady Elizabeta, my Beta she."
"Well," Seras asked, Alucard blinked at her for a few moments and then appeared thoughtful. His sudden smile made her jump. She watched, confused, as he lifted his right hand and pushed it against an invisible wall. He appeared as if he were a mime artist. Seras yelped when he opened a portal in the air and reached inside it. He rummaged around. Then, after a moment of searching, he made a pleased sound and put both arms into the portal, lifting something as if it were fragile or precious to him. Seras laughed out loud when he pulled a tiny black puppy from the portal.
"When Beta was lonely, I gave her a puppy." He handed the small black fuzz to Seras, who took it with much enthusiasm.
"Really?" Seras held the small black fuzz protectively, as if she thought he would suddenly snatch it back from her.
"Of course." Alucard shrugged. "Now, what will you call him?" He asked, looking pleased with himself as Seras blinked.
"Name him?" Seras asked. Alucard frowned at her. "I can keep him?!" she asked incredulously.
"I gave him to you," Alucard muttered. Suddenly, a black bow appeared on the puppy's head.
"I can really keep him!" Seras squeaked and before she was actually aware of her movements she'd placed the black fuzz on the bed and flown over and wrapped arms around her master "thank you!" she continued to squeak "I'll take good care of him, I'll feed him and play with him every day," she drew back, "Oooh he's so cute," she lifted the black fuzz again. Alucard blinked at her, wondering briefly what it was with women and animals. Integra, when she was younger, had always loved his hellhound form. The small puppy twisted and struggled in Seras' hands. The fledgling set him down, giggling as it found standing on the mattress difficult. When the puppy finally found its feet, it yipped happily before struggling across the bed to land on Alucard's knee.
"What can we call you?" Seras' voice was even squeakier than normal as she addressed the puppy, which was now trying to eat Alucard's trousers. "Fluffy,"
"You had better be bloody joking." Alucard gently nudged the drooling black mess towards Seras. "You are not calling a part of me fluffy, or snookums, or Mr Tinkle or any stupid, vapid prissy name."
"This is part of you?" Seras asked, grossed out. The idea of having the puppy no longer appealed.
"Sort of," Alucard admitted, "I make him from my energy, but if you fear I am the one chewing on my fingers, then you have nothing to worry about."
"What can I call him then," Seras snapped, returning to the problem at hand, "I thought he was supposed to be mine," she muttered
"He is yours but have sense girl all the other demonic dogs would laugh at him if you called him Mr fluffy-bell," Alucard muttered Seras sniggered at the name
"Alright... George... no... um Roger, oh this is hard... what would you name him?"
"He's your dog. You name him."
"But you know what the other evil doggies won't laugh at,"
"I was just making that up Seras." Alucard deadpanned Seras glared. "You know Santa's not real don't you," her glare intensified, "just checking. The Easter bunny too?"
"Master," Seras growled, lifting the puppy and staring at it. Two red eyes blinked back at her. "But really, what can I call him?" Alucard shrugged at his fledgling and smirked.
"Well, fine. If you're going to be this helpful, then I'll ask someone else," Seras smirked before standing with her new pet and stomping from the room. Alucard shook his head when she was gone.
"Women."
Pip was in the shooting range, which was empty. Despite his location, the captain hadn't picked up a weapon as yet and was staring at the target. He was daydreaming, wondering how despite all his best efforts, despite all the time they spent together, Seras still did not understand the feelings he held for her. Stupid vampire. Despite all his actions, Seras still just followed her master around like a love-struck puppy. The captain sighed loudly and went to lift his weapon. While it was true, he had said nothing to Victoria. He'd dropped enough subtle and unsubtle hints in the girl's lap. Pip aimed his gun and fired, missing the centre by a wide berth. Pip's subtle hints included certain ways of wording things, trying to hold the girl's gaze while unsubtle hints included looking up her skirt when she was aiming her cannon, wolf whistling and howling. Seras seemed to dislike the unsubtle hints, or at least she pretended to dislike them. The primary reason Pip believed she was pretending about her dislike was because of his 'rival'. A ghost of a smile spread across the gunman's lips at that thought, wondering briefly about the master vampire's reaction to being dubbed his rival. But Pip had learned something by watching the vampires together. Seras didn't object to rough treatment. This was why he believed Seras to be pretending to dislike his lack of subtlety. Looking up a girl's skirt was nothing compared to the verbal abuse Alucard put the poor girl through occasionally. Pip frowned and fired the gun again, once more missing the target. Why did Seras get all 'snippy' about his casual glances under her clothing yet turn a blind eye to Alucard's faults, it drove the gunman insane, it wasn't fair!
"Not fair," the mortal muttered again as he fired.
"PIP LOOK AT MY PUPPY!" Seras raced into the shooting gallery, making the poor man almost leap from his skin, "isn't it cute?" She asked, pressing the small furry creature an inch away from the captain's nose. Tiny red eyes narrowed at him from black fur before a tiny little tooth closed hard on his nose.
"It's, ouch, got red eyes." Pip managed after Seras had pulled the small black creature away and began nuzzling its belly with her nose.
"Yeah, master gave him to me. I can't think of a name, though." Pip's eyes went wide.
"Wait, Alucard gave you a puppy! That spooky bastard?" Pip asked jaw open wide in surprise, "you sure that things, not a zombie or something? OUCH!" he snapped as Seras hit him. He knew that in her eyes the girl had only tapped him, but his head span. However, pride would not allow the mortal captain to admit how much that small slap had hurt.
"Yes, master gave him to me, and no, my puppy is not a zombie." Seras smiled at the fur ball. "No, you're not are you, no."
"If it talks back, I'm leaving." Pip's head was still spinning.
"I can't decide what to call him." Seras looked at the gunman for help. "Master is useless at picking names. I wanted to call him fluffy, but Master said that all the other demonic doggies would laugh."
"I imagine they would," Pip agreed, "well it's not very manly now is it Seras, call him something powerful, like Arnold, after that German movie guy, you know, terminator."
"I'm not naming my little puppy after a movie star unless it was Johnny, I suppose," Seras looked dream struck for a moment before she regained her senses. "Maybe Integra will have some good ideas considering you men are useless." She turned to leave.
"I'm not useless," Pip muttered, knowing she could hear him, "I have many uses that I would be pleased to show someone as beautiful as you." The slam of the door was his reply.
Walter was in the kitchen that was most defiantly not unusual. What was usual was the fact that he wasn't doing anything work related?
"Got any threes?" the butler asked.
"Go fish," Alucard muttered back, glaring at the mortal over the cards held in his hand. His eyes moved to Seras, and the glare intensified. "You have got to be joking with me," he grumbled before looking at the table. Walter frowned at the elder vampire before turning and looking at Seras, who was smiling.
"Good evening miss, what's, oh." The butler looked confused for a moment before he recognised the black bundle in Seras' arms, "let me guess, a gift from you," Walter asked Alucard.
"I DID NOT put the bow on it." Alucard took the cards out of Walters' hand and stacking the deck before shuffling in a bored fashion. "Now the other demonic dogs will laugh," he snapped at Seras, who poked out her tongue in reply.
"I was having difficulty with the name but," Seras began watching as her master slowly assembled the cards in the style of a house, carefully placing one on top of the other.
"Call it Steve police girl," Alucard muttered. Seras blinked at him and the master vampire shrugged. "Steve's a pleasant name."
"I don't think Steve would suit," Walter managed. Alucard made a sulking sound and Seras sighed before continuing.
"Integra said I should call him Vlad," Seras murmured. Alucard snorted. "She said lots of pets are called Vlad." The now scarily tall house of cards collapsed.
"Now that's just mean," Alucard muttered, then sighed. "But I suppose I should be grateful. At least Integra doesn't put bows on my head." Seras frowned at her master for a few moments before shaking her head in dismay and placing Vlad on the table. The tiny puppy yipped excitedly before exploring the table with great fascination.
"What do I feed him?" Seras asked, watching her new pet. "Is he a vampire? Considering you made him." She 'accidentally' flicked the bottom card out from under her master's now slowly rebuilding house of cards. Alucard glared and hit Seras with one of the toppled cards.
"Now, now children play nicely." Walter stood and moved over to a fridge. "And no Miss Seras. As you ask, one hound can eat almost anything if what I have seen has any value." He moved to another cupboard after the fridge and pulled down a plate.
"They don't eat mud." Alucard sulked, absently knocking the small puppy to its back, running gloved fingers across its belly. Walter sighed and put the plate on the table, nudging it towards the tiny puppy. On said plate sat a small slice of raw beef. "Do you Steve?"
"His name's not Steve."
"I've never seen you incarnate one this young before," Walter said, watching as Alucard started once more to rebuild his house of cards.
"Before?" Seras asked. Walter nodded.
"Yes, your master has a habit of incarnating these 'dogs' when he is very bored or at war," Walter shrugged, watching as the slice of beef, which had been bigger than the puppy, was rapidly devoured in a noisy mess.
"Why did you have them in war?" Seras asked Alucard, who blinked at her a few times before answering.
"Fully grown, they are more like wolves than dogs and they are hunters. I used to have hunting dogs and war dogs when I was mortal and now it feels strange going into battle without them," he smiled. "They are also very good at finding things."
"Things meaning half-alive people in the wreckage," Walter summed up.
"Like rescue dogs," Seras squeaked excitedly, imagining her tiny puppy saving men from harm. Alucard snorted loudly and once more the house of cards went tumbling.
"Bugger." Alucard turned to face Seras. "No, child not like rescue dogs, more like vultures I suppose." Seras took a moment to realise what this meant. Her expression dropped "isn't that right Steve." Alucard smiled as the puppy finished tearing through the meat on the plate.
"His name's not Steve!"
{ONE WEEK LATER}
"So do you think, Steve? Oh forgive me, Miss Victoria, I meant to say, Vlad. Do you think he would like minced lamb this evening?" Walter asked Seras as the pair sat in the kitchen close to sunset. Seras smiled, knowing the butler had made an honest mistake as to the name of her puppy. Bloody Alucard was continually calling the poor thing Steve. Seras didn't understand. First, he'd made a tremendous fuss about her naming him because he was her dog, and then he ignored her choice of name. No doubt I did purely it to annoy her.
"Walter, I doubt there are people who eat and my dog." Seras smirked. Walter nodded.
"Well, there's no harm in feeding someone," Walter muttered. "Integra complains when I put too much on her plate. You and your master don't eat 'normal' food. Little Ste, I mean Vlad, is the only one who appreciates food." The tiny puppy was now looking at Walter with big watery red eyes. It had been staring at the aged human since he had mentioned the word Lamb. Walter seemed now to notice this and stood to walk towards the fridge.
"I like your cooking," the voice of Alucard preceded the ancient beast into the kitchen.
"Microwaving blood in a cup isn't cooking, Alucard." Walter fished out some mince from the fridge. The little puppy leapt down from the table onto Seras' lap and from there to the floor. The tiny ball of black fluff proceeded towards Walter as he lifted the 'Dog' bowl from the side and tipped the cold mince into it before placing it in the microwave to heat through a little.
"Walter, there is more mince there than Vlad."
"Steve can handle it." Alucard smirked.
"His name is not Steve!" Seras snapped. Walter, seeing a small feud beginning, lifted the mince filled bowl and placed it on the floor for Vlad aka Steve. Before looking up to the two vampires were now in full swing of the 'his name is ...' argument.
"Alucard, forgive me for pointing this out, but isn't it rather early for you to be conscious?" he asked, hoping to divert the argument before he threw objects. But he was too late as Seras hurled a salt shaker at Alucard. The offending item hit the elder vampire's shoulder and spun off onto the floor, the sound startling Vlad aka Steve.
"Master, where are you going?" Seras asked, frowning at the master vampire as he retreated. This was odd. Normally, he was far more stubborn than her when these games began. She couldn't help but be disappointed with his lack of interest today.
"I'm going to watch the sky Police girl," Alucard smirked at his fledgling before fading out of sight. Seras frowned and looked at Walter, who shrugged.
"Someone's feeling nostalgic," Walter muttered and looked down when he felt a slight weight on his foot. Vlad aka Steve had already devoured the minced Lamb and was looking for more.
"I think Vlad should come on a mission with me," Seras said decisively. "I mean, the poor thing is getting bored around the mansion and didn't Master say that he used to keep these dogs for hunting?"
While only a week had passed, Vlad had grown. When Seras had first received him as a gift from her master to quell her loneliness, he was little more than black fluff with small red lights for eyes. Now his wolfish heritage was showing. His nose was longer and his coat richer. He was losing the fluff of puppyhood quickly. Too quickly for a normal dog, but Seras had already realised Vlad was less than normal. She wasn't surprised, in fact, she remembered stories about Alucard getting a kitten from somewhere, calling the poor thing Twig and keeping it until the tiny cat was dragging home fawns from the grounds as presents for its master. Alucard had been touched by the kitten's gifts, but Integra had made him put it down before it killed a person. So with that in mind, Seras was not surprised when her puppy was less than normal. She hoped Integra wouldn't make her put him down.
"I doubt he would be ready for a battlefield yet Miss Victoria," Walter mused remembering in his youth when he and Alucard had been assigned jobs together, he remembered watching the wolfish dogs hunting through the wreckage of battle devouring those still alive and sometimes snacking on the corpses when live meat could not be found. It had turned his stomach, but now it seemed only natural. He had been desensitised to the whole thing. But still he found it hard to imagine the tiny puppy now curled in Seras' arms as one of those dogs, Vlad aka Steve, didn't have the same eerie intelligence as the hounds, nor the vampiric bloodlust. Alucard had made Vlad aka Steve slightly more 'normal' for his fledgling.
"I think I will ask Miss Hellsing," Seras smiled. "I'm sure she'll be more than pleased that we will have another set of eyes on the field."
"I doubt Miss Integra would approve," Walter muttered, but Seras was already out of the door, bouncing her way up to Integra's office. Walter sighed. He found it very hard to imagine the tiny puppy being an active help on the field, but then again. Briefly, he remembered a time long since passed when he and Alucard had been on the field and Walter had taken a shot in his right thigh. He had fallen with a cry and had curled in on his injured leg. One of the enemy's numbers had smiled to himself upon seeing the Angel fall and had started towards him. Alucard, having heard the cry, had turned and had gone running to his friend, but the hounds had beaten him there. They had protected him. Walter shrugged to himself. Maybe Vlad aka Steve would be a help, despite his youth.
The night did not pass quickly for Integra. In fact, it went slowly; the time dragged, measured out by cups of tea and frequent trips to the window to see if her vampire had moved from the rooftop. Integra was unsure why she was so suddenly interested in Alucard's activities. Normally she thought little if at all of her vampire, unless he was making a nuisance of himself or she needed him for a mission. Integra was wrenched from her thoughts by a knock at the door. Calling the visitor to enter, she smiled slightly to see Seras Victoria.
"Miss Hellsing, I have a request," Seras spoke quietly but relaxed as Integra gestured for her to enter her office properly. Seras entered, a small black dog following her. Integra had suggested the name of Vlad. The irony was not subtle, but it amused her none the less. However, she constantly heard people referring to the puppy as Steve. Integra sighed loudly. Truth be told, she was a little jealous of Seras Victoria. Seras openly needed Alucard. She did not hide it, and sometimes he had shown that he needed her. They were slightly less dramatic than Seras' needs. But they were needed none the less. While Seras needed him to come and rescue her from the danger, he needed her to come and save him from complete emotional breakdown. The idea of Alucard having an emotional breakdown made Integra smile, but that was obviously the reason he had made Seras. Often he played it off, saying he was bored, and she was little more than an entertainment, but Integra could see that he needed her to balance him, to keep him sane, and to remind him what it was to be human. Integra bit her lip, drowning out what Seras was saying. It wasn't right, Seras wasn't human. She shouldn't be the one reminding Alucard what it was to be human. It should be here, Integra Wingates Hellsing 'the human'. Integra halted as she was hit with a piece of knowledge. Seras was more humane than she was. Dear lord God, a vampire was more human than she was. Seras was small and delicate, frightened and slow to take violent action. She was female. Integra was imposing and rough, bold, brave and quick on the trigger of her gun.
"Miss Integra?" Seras' voice brought Integra out of her thoughts. "Can I?"
"I'm sorry Seras, you can." Integra was unaware of what it was she had said yes to. Seras gave a squeak of delight and bolted for the door in a flurry of blondish hair and blue uniform, followed by a yipping black puppy. Integra couldn't help but smile. There was something about Seras that made you smile. You just couldn't help it. She was cute. Maybe that was why Alucard needed her?
"Integra said yes!" Seras bounded into her master, who was currently perched on one of the small garden walls, having moved from the roof. The force of the collision knocked both vampires to the ground. Where the tiny black fluff of Vlad aka Steve bounded around the pair as if he was on speed.
"I'm so glad," Alucard murmured around a mouthful of blonde hair. Gently, he pushed his fledgling up off him and got to his own feet, brushing himself down. Absently, an elegant paper now crumpled fell from his pocket. "Would you care to tell me what she said yes to?"
"Vlad can come on the next mission with me!" Seras squealed delightedly as Vlad aka Steve leapt into her arms. "Your gonna be my guard doggie aren't you, boy?"
"You're taking Steve on a mission?" Alucard lifted his crumpled piece of paper. "He's too young."
"What's that?" Seras asked, pointing to the piece of paper that Alucard was now straightening.
"Just a reminder from an old friend of mine. Now, if you are determined to take poor Steve on a mission, there are some things you need to know."
"Vlad! Here boy, Vlad!"
Sere Victoria's voice carried through the now dangerously constructed building. Huge chunks of wall littered the surrounding street and inside large chunks of the floors and they had knocked out ceilings because of large amounts of gunfire. This had just a few moments ago been a battle zone, but now the enemy was gone, their remains nothing more than ash and the zone silent save for Seras' cries.
"Vlad come boy. Dinner, Come on."
"I told you not to bring him," Seras turned at the sound of her master. Alucard approached from behind his fledgling. His guns still smoking, coat torn, hair tangled and bloody. "I said he was too small." Seras looked ashamed and down to the floor.
"I just, Walter told me stories of the hounds protecting you!" She was crying now "he said they were strong, and I, I thought if I had Vlad."
"Steve." Alucard corrected
"Vlad, to protect me then I wouldn't have to keep bothering you," Seras voice was slowly changing, the panic of before disappearing into grief, she'd killed her dog.
"Did Walter mention that in these stories, my hounds were fully grown? They were about four times the size of Steve," the master vampire sighed. "I made Steve more docile. I did not think you would want a killer. I made him to be company for you, not protection. I'm here for the protection."
"But you al... Always shout." Sera's words were becoming racked with sobs now, stopping her from talking properly.
"I do not always shout," Alucard muttered, "and if I do, then most likely it's because you did something dumb and frightened me," he nudged his child. "You do a lot of stupid things, police girl."
"Like bring my puppy to battle." Seras controlled her sobs. Alucard smiled a little.
"You realise how dumb it brought that little thing into this mess?" he asked. Seras nodded. "Alright then. I suppose I'll let you have him back." Seras jerked at the words as Alucard reached into his pocket, pulling out a very battered and frightened puppy, "I found him hiding under part of the wreckage on the third floor," Seras squealed loudly reaching for her battered puppy, gently taking him from her master. The poor creature whimpered loudly, leaving the secure grip of the one who had created it. Seras made soothing sounds, laying the tiny creature in her lap and examining him from nose to tail tip. He appeared alright, despite a dirty coat and a few nasty looking cuts. Vlad had pulled through fairly well. But the cuts looked bad. Some already looked infected, as yellow puss was welling up. Seras felt her chest tighten. She had done this. This was her fault. An epiphany suddenly hit her. Maybe this was how her master felt about her. When she was hurt, Alucard would often wear a strange expression, half grieved, half annoyed. Maybe that was what he saw her as, a tiny defenceless creature, a pet.
"Oh, don't start that again police girl," Alucard muttered standing, "we've been over this eight times. Are you ever going to stop doubting yourself?"
"But I let him get hurt," Seras breathed as Vlad nuzzled at her, desperately trying to find warmth and sleep.
"Well, sitting in the dirt will not help him," Alucard snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Take him home and help him." Seras looked at the tiny bloody creature in her lap and nodded to herself. She should stop being so selfish. She didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was getting Vlad home cleaned and comfortable.
"Alright." She stood standing and walking to her master. "I'll take him home." with those words she felt the darkness close about her and the battlefield disappeared into nothingness as they moved into the space that was nowhere.
{A WEEK LATER}
Walter opened the door and stopped. With a loud sigh, he spoke softly and calmly, although it was clearly forced.
"Just because you're poorly doesn't mean you can trash my kitchen!" The words became a bellow towards the end. The kitchen was in shambles, cupboards lay open with deep claw marks marring them. Food lay littered across the floor, half eaten and stepped on, and in the centre of it all was Vlad. Seras little puppy, red eyes glowing with pride.
"Walter doesn't be mean to Steve." Seras paused for a moment. Realising what she had said before, hands clasped over her mouth, she gasped and Alucard laughed behind her.
"HA! I WIN." The elder laughed aloud, nudging his fledgling "his name is Steve!" The elder continued to laugh his victory, but was cut short by Walter, who was now clambering around the kitchen tidying things away.
"You were in here letting him trash my kitchen!"
END
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My first Novel, Grey Wings has now been released!
GREY WINGS
Jason is stranded in a dark city, and is in desperate need of help when he has no idea how he will get home.
So, when he collides with Aurelius, an Angel only in the mildest sense of the word – who has committed a crime worthy of great punishment, but has been handed a rare chance at redemption – Jason can see a way home.
However, their journey will be hampered by Fallen Angels, Earth Spirits, and Griffons – and none can say if everyone will make it home.