Seras tried to listen as carefully as she could, as Integra ran over the new information that Bethany had granted her, however she found it hard to concentrate on the stern, blond woman's words, as a fine layer of smoke seemed to consume all of the space around her and the air in the room seemed warmer and more humid than usual. Perhaps Integra had smoked a whole bunch of cigars just before summoning them all. Glancing, in turn, at her master, Walter and then back to Sir Integra, she noted that none of them were complaining about the strange room temperatures or lack of visibility, not a single window had been opened to relive the conditions. Perhaps this was usual? Gritting her teeth she decided to suck it up and wait for the mini-conference to be finished, soon she go outside and cool off in the sweet night air.
When she was finally released from the choking room, Seras practically sprinted out of the large office doors and all the way through the mansion so she could get outside before she suffocated on the smoke heavy air that had dominated the room and a large amount of the manor tonight. She slowed her pace as she walked along the edge of the garden that bordered the house. The house itself was situated on slightly raised ground, and the grass, which sat behind the old building, sloped downwards steadily and was met by simple, but beautifully maintained garden. In the centre of this was a small clearing, surrounded by low hedges laid out in a circle, which was completely empty except for single oak tree that sat in the middle and housed a mated pair of ravens. Smiling slightly to herself Seras walked towards the old piece of living timber, intent on finding the two creatures. Despite finding such birds ominous and unsettling as a human, Seras had formed an odd attachment to the creatures; perhaps it was because she knew that such superstitions were foolish now. There were much worse things to be afraid of at night than large birds. Normally she would have brought out some food for the pair to feast on, but tonight she would have to put up with just watching them. As soon as she was close enough, she knew that the two birds were home, she could hear the heart beats, see their aura. And somehow she was also aware that they too had had sensed her approach.
"Its alright guys, just me" she chirped happily at the birds. This seemed to comfort the pair as they hopped down from their perch, hidden away by the leaves of the tree, and stood on the ground. Seras' smile grew even wider as she saw the two birds standing on the lawn and tilting their heads to the side expectantly. Light laughter escaped from her lips and filled the air around her as she regarded the animals. "No, sorry I 'aint got anything tonight." Slowly she approached the tree and leaned against the strong trunk. Sighing she relaxed a little as she felt the side effects of the humid room begin to wear off slightly. She wondered why she felt so ill earlier, she didn't think that could happen any more, not now she was a vampire. Perhaps Integra had a new, smokier, cigar, or perhaps they had lit a fire and it had singed a carpet or something in the room. She tilted her head in consideration. She was fairly certain that sir Integra wouldn't change her cigar for hell nor high water, and she hadn't noticed a fire in the room. She didn't even think there was a fireplace in the room. Her musings, however, were interrupted as she felt something brush against her mind, something trying to get into her thoughts. Seras glared at the dark figure standing at the edge of the clearing. "I asked you to stop trying to read my thoughts," she growled at Alucard
"Do you really think that you could stop me if I wanted to?" He chuckled darkly
"Your mental defences my be strong, but I am still your master, I can break them down as though they were as thin as paper. Or have you forgotten that police girl?" He remained still, tilting his head forward so he could see over the tinted lenses of his glasses, and regarded his fledgling with interest. He had Known that there was something not quite right with her in his masters study, especially the way she had bolted out of the room, like she was being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Seras, who could feel her nausea creeping slowly back up on her, glowered at the floor and hugged her stomach, unable to keep her masters stare.
"No, master, I haven't" she muttered faintly, the words were barely a breath as they left her mouth.
"Seras…"Alucard said, caution coating his words "Why on earth did you run out here?" He slowly approached the woman, ignoring the two birds that escaped back up to their perch in the tree, and stood by her side. He regarded her more closely than he usually did, trying to find an answer from her body language, rather than intruding into her mind and breaking into her private thoughts. Despite his threats to her about how he could control her if as though she were a marionette doll, he respected the fact she wanted to feel as though she had some free will, not just a puppet, and therefore avoided such situations, where mind-reading was deemed necessary, as often as possible. However, he frowned deeply when he saw that her skin was paler than its usual complexion and that fine beads of sweat coated every inch of her exposed flesh. He gradually sat down next to Seras and stared at her without saying a word, quietly noting down, in his mind, everything that was off about his little fledgling.
"Master?" She asked meekly, uncertain about the vampires close proximity and the worried facial expressions that coated his face. The elder vampire said nothing but continued to stare at her face. She blushed profusely and tipped her face forward so that her short hair could hide some of her features in shadow. Despite herself she shivered, the muscles contorting themselves, sending spasms all over her body. Suddenly she felt movement beside her, surprised, she looked up to see her master pull off his large red coat in a single swift movement, before placing the large garment around her shoulders and tenderly wrapping it around her. She felt like she should say something but all she could manage was an unintelligible "eugh" the sound often made by the hideous ghouls she fought for the Hellsing organisation. The very thought of the ghastly beings made her stomach turn somersaults
"Shhh, none of that now" He said calmly, his voice was smooth as he pulled Seras closer to himself, propping her body on his and leaning her head against his chest. He could feel the stiffness in her muscles, only interrupted as she shivered against him. Hugging her closely he asked, as gently as he could, "When did this start?"
"Err, ii-in t-the meeting…I'm fine, honestly master, I'm probably just hungry. This really isn't necessary" Her words escaped in short bursts but despite her protests Seras made no movements away from the strange embrace; in fact she found it quite enjoyable and comforting.
"When was the last time you fed?" asked a concerned voce from behind them. The pair suddenly snapped their heads towards the sound. It surprised them that they hadn't heard the person approaching; even Alucard had been too preoccupied to notice the intruder. They stared at Bethany and she stared right back. Admittedly, Alucard was glaring, but she didn't seem to mind or notice. Embarrassed at having being found in such a position Seras attempted to move away from her master, only to find her attempts thwarted by a strong arm, resting on her shoulder, clamping her in position. Finding that she lacked the energy or strength to try to fight such a gesture, she merely settled for answering the girls' question.
"Last night…" Seras murmured. She regarded the human briefly, her orange tank top would have been horrific on anyone else, but somehow the colour worked on her and flattered her pale skin tone well.
"Can you stand?" Bethany asked and began to approach the fledgling only to be growled by the fuming elder vampire, who was currently holding Seras. She stopped and held her hands up in mock submission, showing she meant no harm. "Alright, I get it, no touchy. I just want to help." She could contain the small amount of amusement in her voice when seeing Alucard act so protectively. Letting her arms rest by her side, she turned her head back to the female vampire. "Seras, okay, I know you don't know me very well, if at all, but your going to have to trust me. Can you do that?" There was a brief pause before the vampire nodded. "Good, now can you tell me what happened?"
Seras began to recite how she had felt earlier that night and how she had been so exhausted lately. Barely making it to her coffin before she passed out from fatigue. She kept her eyes on the ground in front of her, too ashamed to see her masters' expression as she confessed her newfound weakness. She felt even more useless than she usually did. It was just another thing for her master to be ashamed of her for. Despite her confessions, though, Alucard still held her to his side and comforted her when the spasms ricocheted through her muscles.
"Seras, love, I think you need to sleep" Bethany concurred after considering the facts she had been presented with. Her voice was sweet and, despite the fact that she was a good few years younger than the fledgling, took on a motherly tone when speaking. When no movement was made she glared at he elder vampire and said firmly, "She NEEDS to sleep. Help her up, now" Whether it was the Hellsing blood that ran through the young woman's veins or the fact that the young girl sounded like the formidable Integra, that made Alucard move, Bethany's command was soon in action. With some help from her master, Seras was now standing on her own two feet. The large red coat wrapped around her shoulders looked more like a long cape, as it dragged along the ground, but no one said anything. As the trio made their way back to the house, Seras had barely made it three steps before she collapsed to her knees and promptly threw up the contents of her stomach that, at this point in time, consisted of black blood and sickly coloured bile. Seras suddenly felt exhausted as she collapsed onto her side and watched as her vision became blurry and the world swirled in different colours before her eyes. The last thing she saw was her masters tall form rushing over to her side and then black spots filled her vision, blocking her view of him, trapping her inside a deep sleep.