ahandorsomething | TRUSTFELL CMO

[vampire romance]

[As Hanyuu had said, it took only a few minutes for her to procure the vaccination she needed against Hinamizawa Syndrome. Irie had been frantic, asking her where she had been and saying Rika had been worried sick and half out of her mind, and--

She had to pull herself from him, promising answers. To her adult form and...all those questions. Especially the sword, which she promptly used out back the clinic and returned for Elda.

How...strange it is, honestly, to be away from everyone she'd spent the last two months with. How strange to see the trees again. The night sky, the breeze. It was September last, the few remaining summer cicadas slipping away into autumn. Now, they're gone. The year's almost done for her, November, and soon...

Hanyuu returns to Hinamizawa with Elda on the day of the first snowfall. The instant Rika sees her, she yells in a deeper, older voice than Elda likely would've expected, before it fades to a childish sob. Rika and Satoko both cling to her and cry, Hanyuu, Hanyuu, we thought...! In the front of their small house, Hanyuu holds them both.

...The mood calms enough, eventually, for her to introduce the girls to Elda, who's been watching the whole thing. "I will explain soon," she tells them. "But this is Elda Marker. This is...the woman who helped me stay alive the last two months. My..." Putting words to it so early is difficult, so she leaves it there, but the girls welcome her, especially Rika.

If she helped Hanyuu, she tells her. If she's important to Hanyuu...then Rika's grateful, forever.

It's night, but it seems the doctor had alerted the others in the group- they were all so very worried, after all, and before long a quartet of teenagers bike over. All of them fuss over Hanyuu. The energetic Keiichi, who will remind Elda of Gold. The brash Mion, whose attitude has hints of Guzma. The concerned Rena, with a personality reminiscent of Estelle's. The furtive Shion, who holds an air about her one would feel around Mikazuki or Viktor.

Eventually, the worrying turns to questions, and Hanyuu will answer them, staying near Rika but...keeping a grasp on Elda's hand. She refuses to go into full detail, but she gently explains that she was kidnapped, and that she can change her form; it seems some of the children didn't know that much. That they were held captive and in danger, but they finally escaped. They made a miracle. That Elda...is, like her, not human, and that the two of them are close...

...That of course, as emotions are calmer, prompts a different set of questions, lead by Shion. The nature of their relationship is obvious, though Hanyuu does stammer that the two are...involved.

It's a whirlwind experience, with the kids alternating between teasing her and being relieved she's back, Rika scarcely leaving her side and at the same time giggling in a low voice. The questions eventually go to Elda, though Hanyuu presses for them to give her time, as they've just been through an ordeal.

That's an understatement, it's clear. Mion promises, as Hanyuu had anticipated, a game to celebrate. To...test.

~

All in all, a busy evening, to say the least. This morning, she'd woken and explored the new area of her prison for the last two months, and then confronted the man responsible. Revived dead friends, traveled dimensions. Reunited. Now, Elda at her side, Hanyuu sits out front of the little house, with Rika and Satoko slumbering inside, the others returned to their homes. ...It's funny, the two girls...they'd worn themselves out. Hanyuu feels a little bad leaving Rika's side, but she needs a moment to think.]

All of them... Each of them came to see me. [A slight surprise tinges Hanyuu's voice.]

[ Geeting vaccinated was weird. She's still not sure she could get sick like that, but then the pathogen was apparently born of Hanyuu's demons, so... well, it seemed necessary, so she did it.

When she was introduced to Rika and the other girl (Elda did, indeed, sense that she would really like the other girl) it took everything she had not to finish Hanyuu's sentence. In truth, the main reason she didn't is that she's shocked that Hanyuu would phrase it that way. She wanted to reject that then and there, she... she didn't do a damned thing, really. But at the same time, she's so flattered that the mixed result is that she was stunned to silence.

Well, for a little bit. She greeted them both as politely as possible - maybe even a little awkwardly - and took Rika's hand after the whole bow part of the ceremony. She wanted to squeeze it, both to see how it felt and to see if what Hanyuu had implied about them sharing senses still applied now in some small way.

It's hard, she realizes, to look a humans any one way now. She can no long despise them in good faith as a species. But she cannot, in good faith, love them and accept them as a species. They - humans - don't hold any particular warmth to Elda Marker. They mean about as much to her as a gem does, or maybe the Ryuun do, again, as a species. And so... she has to now meet them all as individuals.

Which is why the teenagers were so exhausting. She did not like Keiichi off the bat (she might yet warm to him, though) and she's damned sure she doesn't "get" Rena. But she does like both of the twins in different ways, even if Mion made her suffer by night's end. Actually, sh needs to think hard about which one made her suffer more between Shion and Mion. So silly, but ... well.

She had been on her best behavior. As much as possible.

It was hard, so hard.

She's actually yawning a little by the time everyone's left, even if these are the prime hours she should be awake. ]

Is that so surprising?

[Genuinely, she's so very grateful to Elda for how patient she's been. She knows it must be so difficult, to expect her to just accept all of this, but...

...but she's making such an effort, and it puts her heart at ease.] Aah... It shouldn't be...but I spent so long on the outside that it's still difficult to accept how they care for me too, and not just an extension of Rika.

[Aaaah-] Lusamine would scold me if she heard me speaking like that. I just hope the children get rest. They have school in the morning.

[ She is, but it's not without difficulties and it's not without feeling a little needy. She has no idea if Hanyuu held her hand in order to coax Elda further towards passivity or desiring support in turn, but the vampire was grateful to it. And now, well, the woman seems content to scoot closer to her lover, threatening to drape on her but not sure if the mood suits it just yet.

This whole night was exhausting.

But not necessarily terrible. ]

Shan't I scold you as well, Hanyuu? [ A trill of a laugh, because they both knew that particular scolding was far more the department of Lusamine. Maybe Silver. ] A few hours and you've returned to a self-depreciating busybody?

Nothing as extreme as that. [She nudges Elda, gently, playfully...and then just leans against her. Exhausting is right.] Two months can't clear a thousand years of insecurities entirely, my love.

[Aah... Saying it like that, she feels herself heat up, but it's not bad.]

[ Wow.

She might as well have hearts in her eyes right now? Ahhh she really must! ... Of course, there's also something to be said for the fact that now that they're apart from the children and their very youthful smells, disgusting to her lips (well, no, Rika was okay but Keiichi and Mion in particular just smelled rancid) Elda's fangs are exposed. Her eyes might be shining and he blush pronounced, but not all of it was purely a matter of attraction.

Even if most of it was.

Hanyuu smells delicious right now, even if she is happy. ]

The same can be said of me, of course, my love. [ She hums, pleased to say it like that. ] Though it would seem a trip past one world can return my strength to me. I can feel dozens of bats in the area around this house.

[...Okay, Hanyuu really likes when she makes Elda look like that. It's been...so long since anyone's looked even remotely like that at her, the feeling's a little...

It's a little intoxicating.

She fumbles a smile. It's hard to stay composed, in situations like this.] I'm so relieved... Yes, I also feel...stronger. I feel...aah, the whole village, at my feet.

[If she reaches out, she can even feel those asleep in Okinomiya, the nearest town. The night stretches before her, and their power, their prayers, it's like a whole two months rush back to her...

Hanyuu smiles in the moonlight.]

I was worried I'd never, again.

I was sure I would feel this again the whole time!

[ She didn't meant to be contrary, but it was true. Well, mostly. There's a bit of nuance to it - but she never allowed herself to doubt that she could go home and that things could once more be norma. And if she didn't get them back... well, she dd consider that once she had left the basement they were locked in, but fortunately that fear was unfounded. If there were any other doubts... well. Those didn't suit her.

She was Indomitable, after all.

Still, she reaches out, willing those dozen or so bats she promised were in the area to fly towards them, to circle around them. ]

Oh, of course you were. [It's light and a little amazed; the bats just respond to Elda, like...

Like the instincts of Hinamizawa, to protect Rika. That's an interesting thought. She'll...unpack it later.]

...I hope... I hope this wasn't all too overwhelming. I really didn't expect all of them to welcome me back tonight, just Rika and Satoko.

[ The bats not only respond, their eyes seem to be a little more reflective, as if they were glowing yellow. And once Elda's shown that off, she bids them back to go into the rafters, to watch them, curled up above like that. The surprisingly younger woman stretches, laughing a little as she looks up at them.

Damn if she's glad to have her powers. ]

... No, it wasn't. [ It was, a little. ] After all, this is a second family I'll need to accept eventually.

That is so, [and Hanyuu leans closer to Elda, ever so slightly,] but I know...such a quick change from the last two months can't have been easy.

...And though I love them, I know they can all be a handful.

[ you know, if she gets to be leaned in on like this, she's so okay with this. She resists the urge to hang off Hanyuu, but leans in herself, smirking a little. They were a handful. And Keiichi smelled disgusting.

... Hanyuu smells so good.

Her fangs are still out, and she laughs. ]

Oh, I can see that, for certain! But were not you more at the brunt of their teasing?

A- au... [Hanyuu slumps a bit.] Th-that...was expected. Especially from the twins, aaahahaha...

[...]

They are still feeling you out, I think.

As well they should! [ Elda nods. She... ] I take no offense to the challenge, though I do take offense to some of those punishments.

[ Honestly, these children. She doesn't even know them yet. ]

[She can't help but laugh.]

Oh, they're really actually...kind of fun, when you get used to them! It's very intimate, even when everyone has to go around town in handpicked outfits.

[Keiichi's swan tutu...]

[ She huffs, and tosses back her hair a little. ]

This body of mine is not meant to be intimate with anyone save you.

[ NAILED IT. ]

[OHHHH ELDA, SMOOTH! Hanyuu blushes.]

I- I mean nothing of that sort, of course! They are all- all like my own, th-that would simply be...!!

[Flustered Hanyuu has returned.]

[ Oh. Oh that's so cute! That's so cute. Elda laughs at her love, and then draped herself over the other woman's chest - wrapping her arms around Hanyuu's neck and then leaning her weight onto her, entwining their bodies. This is both to feel her and also...

She smells so good.

Her fangs are still elongated, but no, no. ]

Oh, oh, I know. Propriety demands I am the only one for you.

Auuu...

[She's...intensely grateful it doesn't seem she and Rika share senses anymore?! There's that feeling, in the back of her mind, but still, it's distinctly different, everything still feels real, and true, like it did before.

Because that flood of embarrassment would definitely wake her descendant up and that she does not want to deal with.]

I think...truly, you will fit right in, Elda.

Perhaps. [ Oh, she's making noises, that's so cute! Elda pulls herself up Hanyuu's body, her lips brushing at the other woman's neck. She can hear her heartbeat now, smell her blood. Sure, Hanyuu's in a good mood, but she's tired and she has that feeling to her now, and maybe it's simply comparative but...

But no, no, she'll be good. ]

I'll have to get used to the smell, if I am to interact with these human children with any regularity.

[She's not oblivious; she's seen Elda's fangs, and she can almost feel them against her neck, just...

But it's still Hinamizawa, and it's still right outside her descendant's house, and she's still getting used to all of this. No matter how much she wants to feel the...effects of blood-drinking, proper...

For the moment, just for the moment, she just puts an arm around Elda.]

How...is it? The smell. Like...something entirely unappetizing, or is it more?

Mmm, some of it may simply be that I'm overwhelmed to have my senses returned to me. [ She'll admit that. But oh, that feels nice to be held like this, just a little. Even when it's from this awkward position. The whole while she murmurs into Hanyuu's neck, feeling her pulse against her lips, hearing her heartbeat through her body.

She's so excited to bite down.

But she won't... Okay, keep talking. ]

The boy and the more energetic twin's type are anathema to my blood affinity. They smelled throughly unappetizing, I suspect that the by in particular might've smelled delicious to my late James. [ She inhales. ] Shion and the redhead and surprisingly the other young one didn't smell particularly bad, but they blood didn't excite me. If I was forced to choose one whose blood did, it would be your descendant. However, you were in the room the entire time.

[Oh... Oh, that draws a sad smile to Hanyuu's face.]

Yes... Keiichi and Mion, they always do face the world with a little more...optimism. Less world-weariness. Good kids...

[Rena, Shion, Satoko. No, that makes complete sense.] The other three have- well, all of them have been through a lot, whether they remember it or not. Those girls, tough...yes, I can understand why they would already start to fit your blood affinity.

[The smile turns wry.] And Rika, well...yes, I assumed as much. It's not too taxing, is it? Being around those who don't match your affinity?

Quite the contrary! It's different, but it would be far harder to be around those who smell as delicious as you do all the time.

[ She laughs, humming a little. ]

[Hanyuu lets out a startled and almost awkward laugh.]

I really smell that good, do I? Was that something you thought would be true two months ago, too...?

That, no. In my estimation, I knew eventually you would be my type, but I could no more know your blod would sing for me than I could know that I would fall in love.

[ . . . Huh that felt a little awkward? Oh well, she's nuzzling, she's content with a little awkward. ]

Aah...

[How... She likes that? She really likes that.]

Nor...could I. When I first offered... [A very gentle nuzzle back.] I am...tired, Elda. But at the same time, I feel somehow revitalized.

Mmmm.

[ She whispers his next part, even as he cheek rests somewhere near enough to Hanyuu's neck that she can smell, hear, and to some extent feel her pulse, and the movement of blood through the vein and arteries of her neck. She is attracted to that blood right now, so she can quite literally smell that tiredness and the mature sentiments that bear it out. Elda suspects that if she could smell her own blood - if vampires reacted to other vampires - she might be just as appetizing.

Still. ]

Well, it will be my mission to see to it that someday you do not smell so delicious to me, Hanyuu.

[ She knows, to some extent, that's an impossibility. But the promise is what matters: that the revitalization will continue. That they'll feel young and happy, and move past their trauma, ennui, and the weight of both the world and their years. How she felt in the more simple and happy times with James. How she felt their first night together, both with him and with Hanyuu, despite the circumstances that led to that night.

It's a wish, really.

Right now, though, she still is reacting all the same, but she also doesn't want to bite her. So nuzzling? That's the order of the day. ]

[The words brush across her skin and lodge themselves in her heart, or her throat, along with her own words in response. There's something about what Elda says that paralyzes her, in the best way possible. Her nearest horn... It brushes against Elda's cheek. It's purposeful.]

To feel...free and young again. [Though she sounds wistful, as if it's truly beyond her, there's a mite more hope there, than usual.] Perhaps...the both of us, one day...

I'm sure you know, Elda, that sentiment means more to me than I could ever describe.

[ Her horn.

Elda's cheeks color a little more, and she's actually grateful how intwined they are now, so that he might not look ... silly? No, she' okay with silly, but right now she feels a fluttering in her heart which really ought to be embarrassing, coming fro ma woman of her age. Right up there wit ha shiver.

Aaaah. ]

Well - as much as you are mind, Hanyuu. I am yours, and so - that's natural. As natural as all my desires for you.

[ But. She is happy - she sounds elated to be told how much that means to her. ]

Mmm.

[And for now, Hanyuu is content to just...sit there, until the exhaustion settles back in. It's been a long day. A very long day. Fear, panic, determination, hope, relief, joy, despair... So much worked its way through her - very real, very physical - body over the course of the day, and she's amazed she hasn't broken into tears since returning to Hinamizawa, but just

just give it time.

For now, she will enjoy a quiet moment with her love. A quiet moment where they can look at the stars and breathe the fresh air, without worry.

Without fear.]

[ Honestly, the lack of fear hasn't quite hit Elda yet. Perhaps it will when she can return to her manor, or maybe when she ins't keenly aware that there are humans in the other room. Maybe in a day, or a week. But...

Well, being in the arms of Hanyuu is a centering feeling.

And she realizes - ah, that's right. She can hear her heartbeat, and while that's on one level delicious, it's also comforting. The two of them are alive, on the first day of that promised future.

Alive. ]

[ Back when they began the return home, Elda had said that they would alternate between Hinamizawa and Shihaba, and she was willing to go to the former first, perhaps even for as long as a week, as long as the other woman needed. Still, it was only a few days before, despite her promises and the experience of trying to get used to being around all the mischievous, unfortunate children in her life, Elda Marker actually got antsy.

Worried, even.

And so she had to insist, only a scant few days in that they needed to return to her manor and have Hanyuu meet the family. And so, one way or another they were going to Shihaba. And once there, well, to the manor they go! Well, they end up outside of it - a lonely mansion looming at the top of a dark hill, the forest around it teeming with bats. The whole thing really does give off the vibe of a vampire's abode, and not the least of which reason is that the manor is dark when they enter. Elda can see perfectly, of course, but upon realizing Hanyuu can't, she turns on a light for the other woman.

... Or well, more finds a light. It seems that months without Karin now have seen the electricity bill (or at least the replacement of overhead lightbulbs) lax a little.

It's that which sees Anju (and her doll, Boogie-kun) to encounter them first, having noticed them a while ago with the bats. She's surprised to see her grandmother, particularly with a human... or not. Close to human in smell, but something different when she sees her. Anju herself is fairly quiet aside from a gentle trying to be reunited with family who vanished not long ago, but the puppet she's supposedly being a ventriloquist for is far more foul-mouthed, insulting Elda for vanishing and questioning who Hanyuu is with naked insult until Anju scolds it (herself?) to stop.

Calera and Henry arrive next, called over by Anju to meet with Elda and the newcomer. As Elda expected, Henry blubbers, pulling his mother into his arms and sobbing as she laughs and pats his head. The man only turns to Hanyuu afterwards, Elda introducing her as someone who was beside her for the last two months and helped her escape from where they were Elda. The man changes modes on a dime, being the very picture of gentlemanly despite bloodshot eyes and thanking Hanyuu profusely. Up until Calera asks Elda to explain more, and despite the situation the two get into one of their bickering arguments.

The argument will subside, of course, and a family meeting (including her womanizing, brash grandson Ren, called back home from whatever he was up to) begins. Elda won't explain all the details of course, or at least not yet, but she gives them all a decent once over of what happened, looking for Hanyuu to gill in the gaps. And of course, midway through the explanation, then ail drops about the nature of their relationship. This causes Henry to actually faint - perhaps swung too far through too many moods of worry, anger (at what his mother went through) and a variety of other feelings.

The whole thing collapses from there, and mostly because sunrise would be soon and everyone's tired, they agree to speak more the next night. And so Elda and Hanyuu are left to themselves, Elda realizing a little late that her room she sleeps in only has a coffin. Hmmm... ]

... That could be a problem, actually.

[ Elda herself has handled this with a cheery seeming attitude, playing it off sort of cool, upbeat. But she feels so tired now, at once relieved to see her family, but worried her new experiences have distanced her from them.

She's squeezing her lover's hand as a result. ]

Edited 2017-05-24 06:06 (UTC)

TRUSTFELL CMO

FOR ELDA

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