(no subject)

[kismetatropos]

Characters: Alucard, OPEN
Setting: Floors 25
Format: I'll match
Summary: Alucard's arrival has not made him happy.
Warnings: Thread is set at night. Monster attacks are a strong possibility.


This floor had a meadow. It was strangely pleasant, even in the darkness. But he was a stranger in this place and found himself on guard as he wandered the floor. He was not alone. He could see shadows moving in the distance. Nothing he couldn't handle, he told himself. Nothing that he couldn't destroy. Alucard had killed everything that his father had thrown at him. He'd easily do it again and again. Let the creatures lurking in the shadows come! He welcomed the challenge, anything to take his mind off of the fact that he was trapped in a foreign land. Kidnapped against his will.

The man would not allow himself to calm down. He wouldn't be contained. His father had made that mistake, hadn't he? And now, according to the people who had trapped Alucard here, he was dead. For good. He wouldn't believe it until he had absolute proof. After all, much of what he had seen so far indicated that he was being tricked. The large metal boxes with images on them were just one example of things that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

Though he had seen from the dormitories that there were many, many people in the tower itself, Alucard had noticed that there didn't seem to be any other people around. It was strange, especially for such a peaceful looking meadow. The only thing that he could hear was something that sounded like vague shuffling of bushes in the distance.

"Who's there?" he growled sharply.

Comments

[tohko_amano]

Tohko, sadly, had a terrible nightmare of being stoned to death and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. So, she had quickly dressed and set out, hoping that a short walk and maybe a few books would be able to calm her down. Or even the eleventh floor or her own rain, if a walk failed.

Since the meadow floor was pleasant, even at night, she had decided to wander in..but when she heard that growl, it surprised her, and she jumped a little in surprise before turning towards the person and replying. But, despite the growl, she forced herself to not be scared.

"I am. Who are you?"

[kismetatropos]

Even at the best of times, Alucard was a severe-faced man, but when he saw that it was a young girl, his face softened ever-so-slightly. His weapon that he had been brandishing like a club was lowered. "My apologies," he said. The meadow was calming, but not enough to quell the unending anger that seeped into his bones.

"I have no name," he answered truthfully, but thought it best to at least give her something. "There are those who call me Alucard, however." It was a name given to him by a man he would rather like to forget, but it seemed the better option than being rude to a child.

[tohko_amano]

Not that Alucard really had to worry. In this Tower, raging at the Heavens and mental snaps were a normal, everyday occurrence. However, at his words, she just..smiled and nodded, recovering from her small scare.

"It's alright! Don't worry about it. And if you want, I'll call you Alucard. However, if there's a different name you want, I'll call you by that one."

[kismetatropos]

Normal or not, he felt incredibly guilty about his outburst. This was not his father's castle, and if his captors were to be believed, Dracula was dead anyway. So what did it matter? He would do everything in his power to be the exact opposite of the monster in every way. He may have been now bound by the vampiric anger and thirst, but he was going to resist it.

"Alucard is fine," he said. It was as good of a name as any, and he wasn't creative enough to think up a new name for himself. "What is your name, miss?"

[tohko_amano]

Oddly enough, if Alucard had asked politely, Tohko probably would have let Alucard feed off her if he was really hungry. After all, she wasn't the only one with unusual appetites in this place. Tohko nodded her head before she replied.

"Alright then. It's nice to meet you, Alucard..and you don't have to call me miss! I'm Tohko Amano, the book girl."

[kismetatropos]

Unfortunately, Alucard could never bring himself to do such a thing, filled with self loathing as he is. He'd sooner wither away than risk harming an innocent person. But the monsters that roamed the floors, when he became aware of them, would not be so lucky.

"It's nice to meet you, Tohko," he said, trying to take the edge out of his voice. "What is this place? This tower?" A prison, he reasoned. A place to control him and the other people within it. At least he could hide away in the dark, safe from the sunlight here. He was sure when dawn came that he would have to retreat to his assigned room, but at least he could leave at all.

[tohko_amano]

Not that Tohko really minded if there was an edge there. She had dealt with tones like that before. However, at the question, she sighed.

"This is the Tower of Animus. The Tower of Souls. If you want me to tell you more, I can."

[kismetatropos]

"The Tower of Souls," he repeated, hand moving to the scar on his chest. What a strange, ominous name. "How did it get such a name?" Being imprisoned in this place was bad enough, but if there was something unholy going on in this place... well, he wouldn't stand for it.

[tohko_amano]

"Because when you were brought to this place, they took only your soul. The body you have right now is not your original one, but one made of recycled parts."

This information was horrible..but one had to know it if they were going to survive here.

[kismetatropos]

Soul? But he had no soul. He was a creature of the night, a monster. He had lost his soul upon his transformation into a vampire. "I... do not understand," he said after a long pause, trying to take in the information. It certainly felt like his body. "What sort of beings are in charge of this tower?"

[tohko_amano]

If you were in the Tower of Animus, then there was no doubt that you had a soul of some kind. At that question, Tohko sighed.

"All I can tell you is that they're not human and the majority of them don't understand human emotions or empathy. They're like something out of a Lovecraftian tale, if you know what that is."

[kismetatropos]

He was familiar enough with creatures that lacked empathy to nod. Keeping them prisoner, then. Whatever magic had caused his world to die, it seemed that the people who had brought them did not have their best interests in mind. Not that he was surprised.

"I am not familiar with Lovecraftian tales," Alucard admitted. He supposed, though, that the creatures in such tales were fairly similar to monsters he had encounter before. If only he knew the truth.

In the distance, he heard more movement, raising his weapon once again. "There's something about this meadow."

[tohko_amano]

The fact that this man wasn't familiar with Lovecraftian tales didn't surprise Tohko. It was something that only existed in her universe and universes similar to it, so the fact that he didn't know wasn't surprising.

It wouldn't stop her from putting a collection of Lovecraft's stories in his mailbox though, once she found out who he was.

"That's alright. It's something that exists mainly in my universe, so it's alright if you're not familiar with them. As long as you understand the type of person I'm talking about, than that's good enough."

When Tohko heard that rustling, one hand went to her dagger. The other got ready to snap in case she had to summon lightning.

"I hear it..if you want, I could illuminate the area so that we could have a better look at it."

[servessithis]

Vicente couldn't help but find something off about this man once he set his sights on him. But he just couldn't place his finger on it. So he'd begun stalking the man, thankful that it was nighttime.

When the man was alerted to his presence, Vicente emerged from the bushes, but kept his distance. Not to mention that at a distance, it was easier to hide his obvious vampire teeth.

"I bear you no ill will."

[kismetatropos]

Yellow eyes flashed in the direction of the other man. His head tilted slightly as he relaxed, hand holding his weapon relaxing. "My apologies. One cannot be too careful," he said slowly.

He sized the man up, trying to judge if he could be a potential threat or not, but without seeing any weapons on him in the darkness, Alucard could not be certain one way or another, so he chose to stay on guard.

[servessithis]

"Out for an evening walk are we?" Vicente asks pleasantly, slowly walking closer, but not getting too close. He now sees that this man has yellow eyes. A most unusual eye color, surely. From this distance, his own red eyes are also obvious.

[kismetatropos]

Not only yellow eyes, but black sclera as well. A most unusual sight to be certain. With skin so pale that it's blue and his white hair, he looks like an inversion of a living man. He took in the red eyes and the gaunt face, and understood what the stranger was. Still, there was something about him that was different enough from the vampires that Alucard had encountered both before being turned and after that made him hesitate.

"It helps clear my mind," he replied evenly.

[servessithis]

This man was like no vampire Vicente had ever seen, in any region of Tamriel. Of course, he had learned that the vampires of some worlds were different than the kind he was familiar with.

"It is nice to get away from the crowds occasionally," Vicente said.

[kismetatropos]

Alucard nodded in agreement. He did not do very with a large crowd of people surrounding him. Fortunately for him, it seemed as though most people avoided the darkness of the tower. Not that he could truly complain: the man was a loner. He did not have much desire to meet the people who called this place their temporary home.

"I have not met many who live here," he admitted.

[servessithis]

"There are few worth knowing," Vicente said, stepping a little closer very slowly. "I survey potential allies, but have found very few." And potential morsels. The blood packs kept him from going hungry, but sometimes he still yearned for warm, fresh blood.

[kismetatropos]

"I see," Alucard replied, skeptical. Though he had not been in the Tower for more than a couple of hours, it seemed as though there were many people in the tower. Surely there were some who he could find common ground with. Some sort of alliance could be useful, though he wouldn't start seeking out alliances until he was certain of his situation.

"Have you now? Who might they be?"

[servessithis]

"The king of the Gerudo," Vicente said. "As well as a sentient machine." Though truth be told he hadn't seen them in a while. There was also Lucien, but Vicente wasn't about to give away his Dark Brother's identity or give the Speaker undue attention.

"Our kind are also more tolerated here, thankfully," He added. No sense in hiding what he really was from this man.

[kismetatropos]

"I do not know what you are referring to," Alucard replied flatly. The king of the Gerudo? A sentient machine? He was lost, but his face remained rather neutral the entire time. It was best not to let on how little it seemed that he didn't know.

"'Our kind?'" he repeated, with an air of faint amusement. He had not exactly considered the idea of vampires ever being tolerated anyway. Even being one himself didn't make other vampires tolerable as far as he was concerned. "That will make existing here manageable."

[servessithis]

"Yes, our kind," Vicente said. "We may not be kin, but we are both creatures of the night, no?" Not that he was looking to start a club. He already belonged to a group, even if it was just him and Lucien. "But no, the locals do not gather the torches and pitchforks when they see those like me."

[kismetatropos]

"We are," Alucard agreed slowly. Unlike the other man, though, he did not embrace nor like what he was. Just the same, the fact hat he did not have to worry about being killed by the people here made him think that he would probably rest a bit easier. "What evils do they face here that they would not fear a creature of the night?"