#int. w/etienne.iskaldrik

[alucardrakul]

@etienneulven location: Hrimthur's Wastelands notes: congratulations you've reached the 'attempts small talk' stage

The cold blew down from the mountains and battered the ridges of the mountains; through one of the valleys, the woodsmen had set snares and traps in the hopes of bringing something worth eating back to the troupe. The pair were set to rally with the others come nightfall and since there was no danger of the blight here, Alucard had joined the huntsmen in an attempt to make himself useful while safeguarding the man as well.

That was the justification that Alucard had unnecessarily explained to those who hadn't asked, and to the huntsmen when they'd met up together. Etienne didn't look like he could survive in the wilderness, he looked like a strong wind would blow him away, or if he stood up too quickly he'd get dizzy and fall over. Here he was though, surviving.

"So." Alucard had prepared some tactful questions to broach Etienne with, in his mind they were thoughtful and well articulated, but when he spoke it was with the same blunt directness that followed his candor. "Do you have parents?"

[alrikhart]

@etienneulven location: Hrimthur's Outpost notes: his leg is not working until further notice

Alrik had fallen off the cliff, but here he was, alive. His leg was- well, he was lucky that there were healers here, women with magic that could do things with it that the witch had never heard of. He remembered the look of it, how it had dragged uselessly behind him for days; even then Alrik had thought that if he made it this far, the only solution would be to remove it completely.

Left to spin stories to occupy the minds of children, fletch arrows, or carve just to keep his hands busy, for now, Alrik was laid up.

Every bit of him ached to explore, but the most he could see from the window of the cold tower was the stretch of frost-capped homes that dotted the landscape. The arch toward the rear was apparently etched with Iskaran runes. People milled about, going out and hunting, coming back and preparing for the next leg of this journey. There were whispers of what would be done about the ones taken - and Alrik hated that he could do nothing either way.

Broken leg elevated, Alrik's knife whittled away at what had to be the ugliest dog anyone had ever seen. He held it up for Etienne, a gift.

"It's Goose."

[alucardrakul]

@etienneulven location: Nornwatch Keep notes: The Last Night

The pyres had died out and the troupe would march within the hour. Into the mountains of the northern spine, and across the perilous peaks of the frozen wasteland. These people were hungry, battered, and shaken. Ash blanketed the desolated Keep, the structure barely stood and in time the snow and ice would likely claim it completely. Alucard had spent so many years here, never quite calling it home, but truly believing that this place would someday be his tomb. Now Lysara was calling him home: the wheel weaved as the wheel willed.

"The wolf boy lives." Alucard had caught sight of the familiar dire wolf earlier, where the beast had run off to, he wasn't sure, but he'd wondered if his master yet lived. "We'll be marching soon." The dhampir had barely spared the other a glance, sat atop the parapet as he watched the people as they milled below. Grieving mothers and widowed warriors. Their shaky hands worked at straps and stores, pulling together what they could with a familiar, faraway look in their eyes. This was the look of people who'd lost everything but their stubbornness kept pushing them forward.

[alrikhart]

@etienneulven location: The Caves notes: before they get to the keep, they're still traveling through some dank caves; ya feel me.

The scruff on his cheeks told him that it had been about a week since they'd gone underground. Alrik had sworn once that he wouldn't go back into the caves, into the dark that had defined some of his earlier years. The cold here whispered of the chilling madness that you only ever found in the dark, dead whispers of dead men who'd carved their way through these mountains ages ago. Had it always been for this? For the occasion of invasion? The walls were fortified and dimly lit by the stones embedded in the mountains; when rations ran out, the witchers had told everyone that the moss was edible. Cave lichen was only dangerous to those with a weak constitution, which said a great deal to the dysuria some had suffered a few days back.

"Goose, right?" Alrik said, feeling bad for any beast made to wander this cage. Valr spent most of his time in here hooded. The falcon wasn't meant for caverns, but then again, neither were people. "He's a long way from his pack." Then again, so was Etienne.

[alucardrakul]

Why was this man just staring at him? Had he heard his name before? Did he know about the crimes the Drakul had committed against the people of Lysara? It was not enough to count the lives he'd taken but by the rivers of blood that the dhampir had once waded through on his trial to take the head of Queen Damodred. Alucard was also staring but he didn't find that piece of information to be entirely relevant when Etienna was so obviously staring at him.

The stranger presumed too much, Fangs almost felt derogative, as if the Drakul could be reduced to the set of teeth within his mouth. His mother had chosen his name, if he were to go by anything then he would continue to go by that - especially where someone he'd only just met was concerned. "I prefer Alucard." As if to make a point, Alucard cleared his throat and let his eyes drift closed as he turned away from the other. "Now, if you'll excuse me. You were intruding, and without an invitation, this area is off limits.."

Etienne gives a slight nod of his head as he chews on the thought that it's indeed a 'vampire' name. Fancy, important even somehow, it matches the armor. It matched the stare that the dhampir was presently giving him, his brows furrowed slightly, the plains of his face looking rather serious. He wonders if it's something that's been purposefully tailored over the years to hide an otherwise boyish face. "I take it no one has ever given you a nickname either then?" He asks after a moment of them just....Staring at each other across the room. As a child, he'd been so shy he'd often kept his head down at his feet and his mother had scolded him for it. It'd made for an adult that made probably far too much eye contact but in his defense, Alucard had started it. 'Lu' maybe, said by someone with affection. The dhampir certainly wasn't an 'Al'. No, the more he rolled the name over and over again in his head, he couldn't think of any moniker better than the one he'd already said. Much like his own name, there doesn't seem to be a way to shorten it in a way that fits the man before him. "Fangs it is, I guess."

[alucardrakul]

Alucard did not like the idea of following someone else's lead, or the thought that Etienne would try to pull him away from a more important task to engage him in this hunt they'd agreed on. Alucard worried that perhaps he'd be taken less seriously by his fellow legionnaires if they saw one of these Iskarans distracting him from his duty, he'd been charged with battling the blight, not poking around the snow for snared game. What if Etienne thought less of him? No, he couldn't allow any of these things to pass. He'd see this pact through on his own terms.

Defiance etched itself upon him as Alucard lifted from the roof where he sat and hovered above the dhampir, he fixed his stare upon the Iskaran to make himself clear. Alucard's curls shifted under his telekinesis as he made it appear as though a breeze brushed against him, the legionnaire's cloak fluttering for the same reason. "No." A haunting stare loomed over the wolf boy as red eyes glowered down at Etienne. "I'll find you." He shifted his look towards the wolf, "Both of you." Alucard turned amid the air and flew to join his peers elsewhere.

END

It's a compromise and the realization brings a little smile to his lips because it's also progress. He'd scratch Alucard's back by feeding him, he'd keep them safe, it was an ideal trade off. And while the dhampir doesn't entirely sound thrilled, it is something. Except they're sort of doing it again, the eye contact and the staring thing. Instead of choosing to keep staring holes into red eyes, Etienne reaches down to scratch behind one of Goose's silvery ears that seem ever perked forward and attentive. He can't win a staring contest with Alucard that's for sure and it feels somewhat politer to look away first anyways when the dhampir is....Standoffish? He was sure Eridani would have a word for the other man's demeanor. It hurts just to think about her. "We'll come find you." Blue eyes glance back to red and it's not lost on him that he keeps finding himself in positions where he's looking up at Alucard. "I usually set snares in the morning."

[alrikhart]

Optimism looked good on him. That’s what people had said. Alrik could lift the spirits of a room, a skill that Alessia sorely lacked - it made him simultaneously stand out and blend in with the crowd. He was unassuming and charismatic in the sort of way that made the witch appear disarmingly non-threatening. Alrik clapped the man on his bony shoulder in a hard grip, “I take comfort in knowing the Norns have already decided how we’ll die, at least we get to put on a show before we do.” Alrik let go as he caught the eye of another, leaving Etienne and his Goose to their skulking as the witch took to tormenting his favourite target with his performative optimism: his sister.

END

The way Alrik's hands go to his chest have Etienne scoffing playfully and shaking his head. This is what he likes about Alrik though, for everything he said that sounded like he was far wiser beyond his years, there were so many little reminders that he is just some guy. One that he really likes, talking with him made him feel like maybe all hope wasn't lost. Well, at least until he'd said that last part. There's still some kind of radical optimism to the man. "Forward one day at a time, I 'spose." One foot in front of the other, that's how he'd tried to take the days after he'd chosen not to go home. But home is in the past now, there's only starting anew in whatever way he can stomach it.

[alrikhart]

"Depends." Alrik said instead, "There was that barmaid in Bjarnheim with the-" his hands moved to the front of his shirt as they covered his chest for a moment and lifted. Laughing lightly as he did. "Then there was a merchant in Yggdrasildal who sold me the best mutton I've ever had, his son showed me firsthand how they worked their meat." Another pregnant pause before he added offhandedly, "They're probably all dead by now." He hadn't seen them with the troupe, so dead or imprisoned. His tone was still light, but he kept his eyes forward just the same as they navigated the underground with the rest of the refugees. "Don't waste your time looking backward, Etienne. There's nothing left for you there, I promise you that."

He wondered what it was like, having siblings, growing up in a bigger family. Etienne had always wondered why he didn't have siblings while he was at his mother's side helping her with some sewing. More children to help her with her business, to pass her trade down to. Instead it was just him and while he hadn't exactly promised to uphold any trade, it was apparent he was better suited for helping his father in the forest than helping his mother as a seamstress. "It was unexpected, but they're happy." No past tense, he couldn't do it, they were fine and Gods help anyone who challenged his mother. "Do you uh, have anyone?" Without liquor he's not so good at this, Alrik seems far more socialized. Or maybe Etienne had just spent too much time talking to wolves. "That you're missing now."

[alrikhart]

"Do you not like the wolf?" A grin laced his features as the two of them walked in tandem, side by side they meandered with those seeking refuge. Despite the sorrow that hung about them it was the cave itself that put Alrik the most on edge, he'd spent enough of his life in places just like this and he hadn't expected to ever have to return. While the witch hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter, given the circumstances, he couldn't complain. All this pain threaded through them now, connected them, but all it did was breed even more hatred. "Last I checked they have neither wings or feathers. Sometimes a name is just a name." For a second Alrik was quiet, but he shrugged, "Would've been harder if we were alone. Being together made it easier."

"Did he not like the horse?" He looks sideways to Alrik and then glances at Goose and at least a goose, at face value, is something to be feared. To be named after some kind of insect seems depressing, he couldn't imagine calling something as reliable as a horse something disrespectful. "Whether he named it after the bug or the fish, doesn't really fit the idea of anything with hooves." They're traveling through a dank cave to get to what he'd always heard described as somewhere that might as well be at the edge of the world and they're talking about horses. Etienne offers a soft chuckle at the idea of such a thing before giving a slight shake of his head to dismiss it all entirely before he looks ahead. "Must have been hard." He circles back to the idea of the Alrik's lineage, his family. The mention of a sibling has something in Etienne's chest seize in a way that it seems to do whenever he thinks about his own. "The two of you being on your own."

[alrikhart]

"Then Goose would be wrong," Alrik thought idly toward Alessia. It's just been my sister and me for a long time now. The Norns decided our lives weren't meant to end or Iskaran soil—so here we are. Maybe they'll call us back someday. I'm good with that." Simply put, Alrik had the only person that mattered to him here—the only person still alive, anyway. Wolves were territorial creatures, but birds migrated every year. Alrik took a beat, "I don't think Goose is such a weird name, I heard of a guy who called his horse Roach once."

"I still think he's fucking with me." Etienne looked over at the aforementioned grey direwolf who doesn't bother actually communicating beyond a chuff. That's the thing about him, even though they get each other, the wolf doesn't actually talk much. "Doesn't look like much a 'Goose'." It's said to Alrik as their four legged companion makes that same chuffing noise again and he just knows the guy is amused. "And I'm sure he'd say the same thing about you." All of them, really, driven underground, away from home. It was something he tried not to dwell on too hard when he was with someone else, lest he start brooding. And he doesn't want to do that to Alrik, he seems nice enough and most importantly seems to know what he's doing for the most part.

[alucardrakul]

The ease that came was obvious and deadpan, indicative once again of how Alucard treated most occasions. "Yes." The red eyes stayed fixed on him for a moment before he continued to float idly over the snow. Werewolves weren't without their weaknesses, resistant to cold as they were, heavy chains wrapped around one of these ancient trees would keep Etienne from posing a threat to the refugees. "It would be dangerous to run free here, the refugees are the only significant source of food for miles, and their fires and songs would draw in any apex predator." There was another point of consideration, "If there are others, the threat would only grow." A makeshift pack under the full moon was the last thing the Iskarans needed.

'You picked this one.' Goose chuffs, pausing from digging at the snow at the base of a tree just to rub it in. Because Etienne stops in his tracks entirely and turns to look at the dhampir with suspicion. It doesn't last, quickly gives way to skepticism and then some sort exasperation. He thinks of the trees back home, the sound of birds moving through them, his father's footsteps up ahead, and then he lets out a breath. They're doing it again, the standing and looking at each other thing and Alucard had offered help and he has a hard time wrapping his head around it. Mostly on account of the fact that he'd had to prod him into this but also because it'll be his fourth time shifting and he still felt like he knew nothing about it. But what Etienne does know is that there is this kind of itch under his skin, all of these feelings and urges and they are growing. Being in a group at the moment is a terrible thing and if he were to be discovered there was no doubt, even if he was totally in control of himself, even if he could make himself docile, he'd be killed. The plan had been to basically get as far away from the troupe of refugees as he could with Goose, set up camp in a more secluded bit of trees and just hope. "How?" He asks and it sounds almost like a plea, it's his turn for a furrowed brow. "There's no helping it." It's almost petulant and he regrets it so instead he scoffs. "What are you going to do, tie me up somewhere?"

[alucardrakul]

Tension drew its way along the edge of Alucard's jaw, it was a question for someone else why it was that the dhampir had such a hard time accepting a hand up from someone else. Alucard knew that he would resent the feeling that he was indebted to another for whatever aid Etienne was proposing, and he didn't need to be nursed like some baby lamb. Killing Darkspawn and, in general, things that didn't involve normal human interaction, were the areas where Alucard excelled in great, dramatic fashion. Small talk, or any talk for that matter, it was pitiable. A point of jest for his gregarious father, Vlad the charismatic - Alucard had inherited his mother's candor.

"Just the same." Alucard looked away as his beatless red eyes fixed on the horizon instead of looking back at the boy who appeared as some perpetual lost dog, looking for a home. Guilt ate at the dhampir who knew in his heart that the other was grasping at connection, but there was nothing here for the other to get a grip on. "The Wastes are dangerous. More dangerous than anything you two are used to." His tone was bitter and short, grim as the grave before he managed to overcome his own awkwardness and actually look at Etienne. "I'll join you when you hunt."

Cocking his head slightly to the side and raising his brows at the smoke comment, Etienne chose not to comment. Vampires, be it strigoi or not, needed blood to live, probably fresh, probably from a person. Animals he figured were like some kind of....Way to abstain from grabbing people, maybe. He didn't think he really had any room to criticize, he didn't know enough. "I'm offering." He points out, not taken aback in the slightest by Alucard's tone. Stubborn, this one, but he was too, to an extent. Or at least persistent or maybe he just really wanted to feel needed after spending so much time alone the last half of the year. Alucard might seem a little clipped as far as social interactions went, but he still was a person and not Goose or another wolf. And he couldn't say he wasn't sort of grappling for more interaction with another human being. Well, not so human, this one, but still. "It's no trouble, taking care of myself hasn't been the hard part." Not really, not yet at least but only time would tell and the North was certainly colder than the Lowlands. "You're one of the few people who seems to know what you're doing. You're valuable to all of us." Is what Etienne points out, hoping to get the dhampir to see things differently.

[alucardrakul]

The conclusion was an obvious one; Etienne's father was a werewolf, which could only mean that his son had inherited the curse. Alucard knew only a bit about the lycanthropes, they were largely mysterious creatures with a connection to something they referred to as the wolf dream - he might have been able to assume that the man was not yet triggered, but his connection to Goose now said otherwise. Dire wolves were loyal creatures, Etienne was not just fortunate to have him, but perhaps fate had drawn them together.

For a moment Alucard was silent and followed the line of Etienne's gaze, the sparse, cold trees and the gray sky that had been following them everywhere for a month. There was no spell to heal a person's grief, if there was, then Alucard was certain he'd have never found his father standing in front of Diana's portrait. "The moon will be full soon." Alucard said instead, Etienne was alone in this, potentially unprepared. "I can help you, if you're worried."

He's quick to blame the all of the emotions that seem to bubble up in his chest, tightening it, on the approaching full moon. Other people's stories had always been fine, he almost preferred to hear about them. Etienne would rather be looking at what appears to be an incredibly socially awkward man that's....Well meaning but perhaps stunted. Like he's almost holding himself back for a reason or another. And it all kind of makes sense, his missing mother a puzzle piece. But he doesn't offer a 'sorry' and he simply nods at the advice. It's a strange emotion, to feel like gnashing one's teeth because you don't feel known by somebody. Almost offended in a way, there's no way Alucard could know what he's going through. He knows it's not a rational thought to have, they don't know each other, not really. So he takes a deep breath and looks to the path ahead, the gnarled branches of the trees reaching towards a grey sky. "My father was a wolf." That encapsulates everything he feels about the man now, he supposes. It's something frustrating and matter of fact and tormenting all at once. It is a thought that haunts him, because the other half of it is that he's a wolf, too.

[alucardrakul]

People.

The intrusive thought cut in and Alucard dismissed it as he cleared his throat for a third time, imagining now that Etienne was envisioning him as someone who had a throat condition. A throat condition, that was one way of putting it. "Too much smoke." Alucard pointed at his throat as he lied to try and save face, he'd answered a question that Etienne hadn't even asked. The dhampir was perpetually pale, still blood and a dead heart muddled with living in a frozen waste for a decade seemed to do that to a person. It meant never blushing and considering Alucard's perpetual state of embarrassment that was something he'd have been grateful for if he had the mind to understand the implication.

"Blood is blood." Another lie but considering the road ahead it wasn't as if the legionnaire or the refugees could stand to be particularly choosy. Alucard had gone without considerable sustenance for so long that he could manage a bit longer. "I don't need your help." It was meant as an expression of gratitude and to offer some reassurance, but in Alucard's nature the response probably came across as rude. "You should see to yourself first." Maybe then his wolf would not protest so much, he must also be hungry.

“Do you have a preference?” He’s trying to think of what game is even out that far and it’s a reminder that he is so very far from home now. So far from home and offering help to a vampire. It feels like in the last six months everything has changed and there’s this little voice in the back of his head he can’t shake. It tells him that he’s different now, that the man he knew might very well be gone now, threatened by this new beast that’d replaced him. Etienne had been a wolf his whole life, he just hadn’t known it, so perhaps in a way he was becoming who he was supposed to be. However the skills taught to him by his father would always remain and hunting was even easier for him now. And he kind of thinks from a purely survival standpoint that getting in with someone associated with the Legion was something wise. “I hunt.” 

At his feet, Goose makes a small noise that Etienne can't quite discern but it's a grumble of some sort. 'You're going to bring him what we catch?' 'I'm going to bring him what I catch.' And that seems to soothe the wolf enough for him to give a soft huff of breath.

[alrikhart]

The fantastical mind that even when stimulated, craved escapism, wandered away now as Etienne did his part to try and invoke something. It wasn't a story, but it was enough to kickstart Alrik's imagination as he conjured the appearance of shapeshifting frost giants into his mind. Warriors hidden in ruins, waiting for intruders to enter their hold. "I won't be doing any cavern exploring anytime soon." It was sardonic, cynical, and unlike the character that Alrik liked to put on display. But it was gone just as quickly, eyes bright in the dim light that filtered through the narrow slats in the wall. "I expect to hear all about them when you do."

Maybe it was for the better the wood kept breaking. And he wasn't that scrawny anymore surely, right? Etienne's always been perpetually on the....Lithe side of things, but he'd like to think he's toned up considerably underneath all the layers. When they got to where they were going, he was going to start.....Moving logs just for fun again, it'd be easier now. Either way, he dismissed the thought and chewed at the inside of his cheek, trying to think of something to tell Alrik about the vast landscape. "It's strange. Cold places that are just cold without wind are almost worse." There was something unsettling about the stillness some days and those were times he talked more to Alucard or Goose, he could hear too much. "I haven't found any of these ice caves yet." The silver lining of the place, or at least that's what his more adventurous acquaintances back home had thought, that the caves had to be beautiful shimmering palaces of ice. To him, cold was cold and ice was ice.

[alrikhart]

"Don't worry drengr, you'll get one too. I keep trying to replicate those scrawny arms of yours but the wood keeps breaking." Alrik squeezed the other's thin bicep with a smile before his hand moved to rest on the wolf head; it was strange to see such a creature so readily domesticated. Though this Goose character had taken to the other for a reason, by now Alrik was certain that fate had conspired to give Etienne a companion just as it had to give Alrik a sister. Valr was above somewhere, hunting.

"Distraction." Alrik was quick to answer, because if he needed to hear one more person say how 'everything was going to be fine' or 'you'll definitely see her again,' Alrik would lose his mind and likely his temper in the process. "Tell me something - a story, I want to hear about this place I'm trapped in but don't get to actually see." Everyone was out exploring this ruin, but here Alrik was, confined to the tower with nothing but a pair of improvised crutches to lead him around.

He tried to come and see Alrik as often as he could, far more worried for the witch than he'd let on. No amount of radical positivity could mask the loss of Alessia. It was strange to see one sibling and not the other in the general vicinity, wrong almost in a way. Etienne had made friends with Luna, thought he was well on his way to becoming friends with Freydis, and now all three women were lost. They remained though, the two of them and Etienne tried to count that as a bit of a silver lining. With a grin, he takes the figure and he looks to Goose who has taken up his usual place at the witch's side, his head on his paws. The wooden creature in his hand is crude and it kind of looks like a cow, but if he squinted and turned it at an angle it's sort of...... 'That's me?' Goose sounded incredulous, little wolf brows raising and Etienne does something he hasn't been able to do in what feels like a few weeks and offers a soft laugh. "That's you." He says to the direwolf who doesn't seem convinced, but readjusts to be just a little closer to Alrik, tail swishing. "Thank you, glad his likeness kept your thoughts occupied a while." It's truly.....Something. But it really is the thought that counts. "Do you want to do the 'how are you' thing or do you want me to get right into distracting you?"