tsubasa

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Jared jumped when he felt the fire. Quickly, he went about patting it out before he grumbled, "God, I hate bloody magic."

He sighed and walked with Lexio on his head, not bothering to move the bat back to his place. He sighed as he reached his room and shed the burnt pants. He reached up a grabbed Lexio, careful of his wing and placed him on his bed. He shed his shirt as well before he sat down next to the bat. He helped up onto his finger and leaned back against the wall and smiled at the bat, "Well, I'm glad you're doing good..."
~
It was late that night or early that morning, which ever you wish as Skye stood from her spot drawing. She looked at her picture of Alucard and pursed her lips. She stunk out into the hall and walked as quietly as she could to the lounge room where she had met everyone. She looked up at the picture that hung there. At first, she had thought it was a picture of Dracula, but now that she looked at it again, it was clearly Alucard. She walked over to the painting and inspected the paint. She pursed her lips, the paint was old... Which made no sense. If the painting was old, it couldn't be Alucard, he was only nineteen and the picture was a spitting image of him now. She looked down at her own drawing and pursed her lips, returning to the art room. Sitting in front of a new blank canvas, she started to paint Alucard and his hauntingly red eyes.

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Skye nodded again when the woman told her yet again to read the book. She turned back to her painting when she and the bat wondered off. She intended to remain awake through the night painting and drawing and mainly, just fiddling around with the art supplies in the room. As she waited for the paint to dry before she continued, she grabbed a piece of paper and pen and began to sketch the people who she had met that night. She had always been good with faces and horrible with names. So, she made sure to write everyone's names below the drawing of them when she finished and started on the next.

Jared looked at Jacklan when she came and scolded them, he bowed deeply, "Sorry, M'lady."

He straightened as Jacklan sent Alucard off and Lexio landed on his shoulder. He furrowed his brow when she said he smelt like a wet dog. He called after her, "And you smell like you're in heat but I wasn't going to say anything," He smiled at Lexio and started to walk down the hall, "How you doing, pal?"

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Skye looked at Jacklan as she explained the origin of the bat. She pursed her lips and decided that Alucard may have had an obsession with adopting things.... She looked at Jacklan and put her palette down. She placed her hands under her legs and looked at the woman, "If Alucard adopted you... and he's your father... why do you call him, Sir and work for him?"

Sure, there was family business but being a maid or guard of the house sounded awfully strange. Nothing like any of the chores she had had. She looked at Lexio, "And why do you all stay here? You could be going to university... doing more than caring for a castle..."
~
Jared was taken off guard by the sudden use of magic to tackle and pin him. He and Jacklan both used magic on him, merely because they both knew how much he hated it. He just sat there in silence before the man released him and ran off. Jared brushed himself off and gave chase. He chuckled, "You're never going to get an answer, Al."

He burst into the house and laughed as he touched the top of the door frame as he did. He looked at Alucard, "Not to mention, if you want to know so much... I think it'll be more fun keeping quiet."

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Jared looked over his shoulder as Alucard yelled after him, "I know! That's why I called you old man!"

He shifted into his wolf form, a far tamer version of the wolf he became on the night of a full moon. He raced toward the scent of deer. When Alucard took out the buck, the does ran and Jared happily gave them chase. Jumping, he managed to take one down and began to feast. When he finished he shifted back and walked his way about to Alucard, "Hey, the wolf thing is my game. Go be a bat somewhere," he teased. He stretched happily, nice and full, "Shall we head back?"
~
Skye made a bit of a face as she continued to look at her painting. Was this woman raving mad? Sure, there were stories behind stories but it wasn't like you could actually figure them out from just reading the book. She yelped and nearly fell off her stool when the bat entered the room. She hadn't been expecting that. She looked at Jacklan when she gave the creature a name. She looked up at the bat, it must have been another one of their pets. She stared at him, "Lexio?"

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Skye was confused by Jacklan's answer. Sure, you could adopt an adult but... why would they want a man who was younger than them as their father? She kept painting when the woman asked about the story of Count Dracula. She hesitated in one of her strokes as she thought. She shrugged and continued, "I started once... a couple years back... I never did finished. A kid from one of my foster families kind of spoiled it, saying Van Helsing kills him in the end..."

She changed the colour of her paint and slowly a ballerina emerged from a bunch of coloured dots.
~
Jared looked at him and laughed when he said he could beat him in a fight. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I'm going to take that as an insult, old man," He chuckled and grinned at him, "And because of that I'm not going to answer your question. Now, come along, I'm starving."

Jared sprinted off into the forest, his nose searching for something big to eat.

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Jared looked up at Jacklan when she stood suddenly and the maids ran off. What on earth was that about. He looked toward the kitchen door when he felt his chair start to move. Skye jumped a little when Jared fell to the ground. He sighed, allowing himself to fall. He wasn't sure if Alucard had told Skye about them and from the calm air that seemed to follow the girl, he assumed he hadn't. Thus, Jared couldn't exactly do anything but let himself hit the ground. He rolled off the chair and sighed, giving a glare to Alucard as he picked his chair back up and sat back down. He drummed his fingers on the table and nibbled on a piece of broccoli. Jacklan's cooking wasn't that bad but Jared didn't have much for a taste for human food and vegetables.

He stood up when Alucard said the two of them were off. Finally, they'd get some real food. He walked out of the house with Alucard and looked at him when he punched his shoulder declaring that he liked Jacklan. He cocked an eyebrow, "Are you twelve?"
~
Skye finished off her food when Alucard said he and Jared were leaving. The two of them stood and quickly left. Skye walked back to the art room with Jacklan. She walked over to her canvas and smiled. She picked up her palette and dipped her paint brush in the oil paints and slowly started to continue painting, "Alucard didn't adopt all of you right?"

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Jared strolled into the kitchen sometime after his guards. Unlike them, he actually wanted to exercise rather than being told to. He also had learnt to ask for food from a different maid when he got peckish, that or go for a bit of a hunt. His guards preferred their meat cooked for some odd reason. He walked in, his hair wet from a quick shower, to avoid making anyone sit near in stench. He took a seat as Alucard and Skye walked in.
~
Skye placed down the paints when Alucard told her to. She was confused though, how was he only nineteen... If he had adopted all the people there in the last year, most of them wouldn't have even been in foster care anymore. She assumed that they weren't legally family... Just people who spent enough time with each other to feel like it. When they entered the kitchen, Jacklan spoke to Alucard, causing her to blush slightly, she hadn't meant to hold up dinner. She walked over to the table and picked up her fork, she looked down at the food and quietly began to eat.

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Jared groaned and fell off her when she kicked him between the legs. He looked at her and spoke in a strained voice, "You are a demon."

He remained on the ground for quite sometime, trying to recover from the blow below the belt. After a while, he slowly got to his feet. He walked awkwardly to the kitchen to find a few of his boys, bothering Jacklan, "Oy," he yelled, they all turned and looked at him in fear, "Get out of here!"

They all nodded before they practically ran out of the kitchen. He looked at Jacklan and smirk, "Demon," he then turned to go and work out with the guards not currently on duty.
~
Skye followed him to yet another room. Walking into it, she looked around her eyes wide. The room was packed with top notch art supplies. She looked at Alucard, "I can use all of this."

She grinned and quickly grabbed a canvas. She placed it on an easel and squirted some paint onto a palette. She had every intention on using everything in this room as many times as she could before she had to go back to the orphanage. She grabbed a stool and some paint brushes. Sitting down, she started to make small strokes near the center of the canvas. She spoke quietly, "So... You adoptive everyone here...." She looked back at him, "How old are you?"

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Skye was a little surprised from the amount of people there were in the room. Slowly, they all started to approach her, starting with a woman named Jacklan. So, there were maids... She guessed, a place this big was awfully hard to keep clean on your own. Other maids followed her in their introductions, till a man stood. Jacklan booed him as he walked over to her. He looked at her for a moment, "Jared. Head of the guards."

He nodded and she gave a nod back before he walked back and sat down. The guards, she assumed, followed after him and introduced themselves. Finally, it was Alucard's turn. Her eyes widened when he said that he was the father, she guessed adoptive, of everyone in the room. However, that hardly made any sense. Some of the people in the room looked well older than him. For them to be in foster care when he adopted them... he had to be at least in his late twenties. He didn't look anywhere near his thirties though. Jared picked up Jacklan's cat. The two of them never really did get along. As cats and dogs rarely did. It got a rise out of Jacklan as he did though.

Skye looked at Alucard as he explained their situation. She was taken back by him asking about her interests, "Oh... um... I draw... and paint when I can get my hands on some...."

Jared chuckled as Jacklan yelled at him, "How scared am I."

He continued to laugh as she tackled him. He pulled the cat close to him as he hit the ground, ensuring it didn't get injured before he held it out from himself, refusing to put it down. When Jacklan threatened a wet willy, Jared grabbed her opposite shoulder with his free hand and flipped them over so that, he sat on her. He grinned, "When are you going to learn, Jackie?"

He easily held Jacklan down. She may have been one of the boys but he was a great deal stronger than her, especially with the full moon coming up. Many of his guards could barely hold a fight against him most days. He looked at the cat and squinted his eyes, "Why do you keep this fur ball anyways?"

The Awaking of Lord Dracula

Skye watched him go, "Um... Okay..." She stood and walked over to the door, shutting it behind him. Something nicer? She had never really needed nice clothes, she walked over to her bag, she wasn't fully sure she had any. She grabbed a pair of jeans that had less holes in them and a oversize pastel pink knitted sweater. She pulled them on before putting her light brown combat boots back on. She sat in the room there for a second. She spotted a small vanity and looked at herself in it. Finally deciding to go see the family, she turned and left the room.

Jared looked at Jacklan, "Unless you have a hairy little secret... You aren't my mother easier."

He wrapped an arm around her and smirked, "Don't worry, you won't lose me to the younging."

He quickly moved to the other side of Alucard to avoid getting hit. He leaned forward and smiled at her before he looked to see the girl walk into the room. Skye pulled the wrists of her sleeves nervously. Sure, she had done this a hundred times before, and sure, she expected to be gone by the end of the week but that didn't stop her from worrying a little about meeting this new family. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave a small wave, "Hi...."