petcromancer | Musebox

I want to see if, instead of animating a body, I can use alchemy to create a new, viable body. Something made of rabbits, but not a rabbit. Something new.

[He wants to know if he can. Maybe he'll make a jackalope. It'll be great.

~~shhhh, leave his math alone.~~]

No, but I still want to. I said I'd leave it to you to decide. I'm just...reminding you of the options.

But does that mean you're transferring the soul of the original thing, or trying to create life in some other way?

[While jackalopes sound amazing, the rest is just interesting. Enough to make the vampire very thoughtful.]

Mm. I admit that one had not sprung to mind. Thank you for that.

Animals don't have souls, technically. They have spirits. It's semantics. Nature is full of spirits that are waiting for a new vessel, and I want to see if I can create a new body for one.

[It's more than a simple transfer. It is becoming a creator. The church would burn everything in a twenty mile radius if they knew. So that's fun.

If Alucard wants to distract Hector from the other conversation, this is the way. Focus back on the work.]

You're welcome to come to the lab when we begin, if you're interested.

So it's transmutation?

[Alucard this isn't Fullmetal Alchemist, stop.]

I'll await to see what happens, but once you have gone through the process a few times, I would be incredibly interested in observing.

Yes, but for living creatures.

[This is revolutionary, Alucard, be impressed.]

Alright, I'll show it to you when I have it perfected. But you're welcome to come observe me any time.

[He doesn't wink, but it's a very near thing.]

It doesn't need to be perfect. Just working. A third set of eyes less expert in this magic could be a potential benefit.

[Alucard's own interests mean that he pursued fewer dark arts than his father. He is literate and skilled in them, but re-animating the dead and interfering with souls? That is not the dhampir's domain.]

If you want to spend time with me though, you could simply say so.

You'll see the simple solution through the overly-complicated theories your father and I come up with, you mean.

[He's teasing, although it wouldn't surprise him if it turned out that way. Alucard or Lisa, raising a perfect blond eyebrow and pointing to the obvious flaw in the plan...]

I thought it was obvious that I wanted that, Alucard.

You said that. Not me.

[It's said with a crooked smile, along with some level of confidence that suggests that the exact scenario has happened before.]

Hm. I need to get groceries in the next few days. Do you foresee a hole in your schedule in the future?

We both know you were thinking it.

[No need to be smug about it. It hasn't happened yet.]

Yes, and if there's not, I'll make one.

[It's as simple as that.]

Good. In the mean time, if you could write a shopping list, I would be appreciative. I'd like to try and cook to your taste when I can.

Oh? Be careful. If you spoil me too much, I am not going to want to leave this castle.

[He likes the idea of Alucard cooking for him; it means he is thinking about Hector, even when Hector isn't here.

He'll write up a list, though. Is it sad that some of his 'favorite' foods are determined by what his dogs like? There's little that crosses his plate that doesn't end up having bits broken off to become treats for his pets.]

In truth, I already assumed you weren't

[Where else is he going to go that will be comfortable with a necromancer like this, after all?

It's not exactly a nice truth to think, but Alucard moves that fact off to the side for the time being. Instead he moves aside just a little bit more.]

You're free to look through whatever drafts are out.

[See, Alucard, if you say things like that, Hector is going to interpret it as flirting. Wouldn't it be nice to spend more time together?]

I'll try not to move anything around.

[That's something he can't stand when he's working, to have his notes reorganized or shuffled around. He goes down the desk, looking at the papers that are spread out on the table space, but not touching.]

These are good. Have you built any of them?

[Alucard walks back into the room. He settles down at his own drafting table, a version of the crypt room in Gresit in progress there. Most of what's out is for Gresit, save for one drawing that sits at Hector's right.

It's just a small room. One that's...very similar to the one they're in now.]

I'm working on the one by your right hand. Just expanding this room.

[Hector isn't familiar with architectural sketches, and it takes him longer than it should to reconcile the drawing with the room.]

Oh, you did this?

[He looks around at the room around him with a more evaluating eye.]

I did, yes.

[Alucard's little flicker of pride is there, but muted because the work was modest.]

Two years ago. An early attempt to understand how the process works.

It's...good.

[Hector isn't sure how to praise a room. He can't wax poetic about manmade structures the way he can the natural world. The...walls hold up the roof? Hector is curious how soundproof the room is, for completely innocent reasons? Why is he so lame.]

What else have you made in the castle. I want to see all of it.

Thank you.

[The good news is, Alucard can take the compliment even if it's awkwardly given. He then stands, gesturing Hector to come with him.]

One of the smaller libraries and a set of rooms, meant for myself mostly. I've no intention of leaving for good, but it was agreed I should have a smaller cluster of rooms for myself and a library for my own interests, much as my mother has her medical library and labs in a different wing of the castle.

[So your mom and dad agree that you should have your own space and privacy, Alucard?? They encourage you in your pursuits?? Maybe they would understand if you, an adult, were to start dating???

Hector follows Alucard, because he's hopeless.]

You have your own library.

[The opulence of the castle, even after a week of living here, is still staggering. Multiple libraries. Hector considers himself fortunate to own multiple books.]

[WHY DON'T YOU ASK DAD ABOUT IT HECTOR AND WATCH HIM REACT there is no one worthy of his son he is being exactly a dad with a teenage girl]

Yes?

[Alucard then realizes that yes, that is unusual. So he falls silent for a moment, taking a sharp right and then another into the rest of his castle wing.]

Forgive me, I am so used to the matter that I forget how books are a rarity. But yes, I do have my own library. It's really just some of my father's books houses in a separate area of the castle.

[You mean Hector, self-taught necromancer, do something stupid without thinking about the consequences? That would be so unprecedented.]

So you stripped his library of all of the texts you liked best?

[Dracula, whipped by his beloved family. It's hilarious to see the signs of it. The vampire is feared far and wide, but he is so soft for his wife and his son.]

Let me guess. Travelogues and architectural tomes?

Of course not. I asked permission first, and my father gave me copies of several pieces because he couldn't be without some of them.

[Is it being whipped or just being in love? We may never know, but he is a total push over for them. That much is screamingly clear.

...Alucard huffs. How dare you call out his completely obvious taste??]

Along with a few histories and some alchemical texts, yes. Mostly for things like mortar mixing and the like. Did you know you can embed spells into the stuff to ensure certain properties?

[Both Tepes men are equally whipped. Lisa, at least, asserts her will in this household.]

Fascinating.

[Hector cares nothing about bricklaying, but Alucard's interest makes it interesting.]

Have you tried it yet? Enchanting your building materials?

Somewhat. There are spells for muffling sound mostly, and to ensure someone must knock on the door before entering a room.

[....Wait. Is that information Hector should have?]

For a full crypt, it'd be much more complex.

Oh?

[That is the most interesting thing Hector's heard all day. Consider him piqued.]

Did you happen to use those techniques in any of the chambers you built here?

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