thebastion | Day 300 - Symphony of the Night

Entry tags:

alucard

Day 300 - Symphony of the Night

Who: Alucard and you.
Open: Open!
When: exceedingly early on day 300
Where: Around the inconvenient hills.
What: Naturally, vampires practice with new forms at night
Format: Good for whatever
Warnings: ???

It's late. Late enough that all reasonable non-nocturnal people should be asleep. If one is nocturnal (or at least suffering insomnia) and decides to wander out toward the inconvenient hills, perhaps they will hear the sound of large wings disturbing the otherwise peaceful night air. Perhaps one could even catch sight of the one making the sounds.

Although it looks rather like a dragon, it is not Paarthurnax; it's smaller, and perhaps more classically demonic than lizard-like. Those familiar with certain European statuary may be reminded of the gargoyles that adorn some older buildings. That it is in the Bastion suggests that it's not a threat at least. Perhaps someone new showed up in the middle of the night, or perhaps someone decided to add to the strange menagerie the place had become.

One might also note that it appears a bit awkward, as if it doesn't quite have the hang of flight yet.

Investigate?

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Needless to say, the near-demonic form, for several seconds, scared the heck out of the night-walking Megaera... Before she looked up and realized this one wasn't experienced. Like fight was new to him, somehow. Definitely not a demon from her world, then. So possibly tolerable.

She looks up, waving for a second...

Out of habit, Alucard's focus shifts to follow the sudden movement of someone below. As this is not a very good thing to do when one is coming in for a landing, it's no surprise that he ends up touching down with too much forward momentum and faceplanting.

A few moments of awkward flapping and flailing of limbs later and he's back on his feet, doing his best to pretend he didn't biff it.

"..."

"... Don't recognize you, but you're too relaxed about that landing to not be local. Would you like some help learning flight a bit?"

Oh, right. Megaera was a Succubus, and where she was from, that included flight powers.

Much as he hates to admit it, he really could use some help. Having six limbs instead of four has been difficult to adjust to. But... Hrm.

"...Alucard."

"Aha. And I'm going to guess the issue's something to do with being six-limbed? It's... Definitely a change, to experience such a difference."

As Megaera spoke, she let bat-like wings of her own appear from her back - though her form otherwise remained humanlike.

"... Suffice it to say, the human form isn't built for flight by wing. I'm cheating by shifting my bone density and musculature significantly. Your form should be similar, I suspect."

Oh. That's... giving him a few flashbacks that he has to force back into the recesses of memory. Now was not the time for that.

"I would presume so. That holds true for my other forms, so I have no reason to believe it different in this case."

...Now that he thinks about it, that might explain why he can swim as a wolf, yet sinks in his true form. But does that mean he's somehow more dense than most human-shaped beings seem to be? Hm. Maybe he can ask Colin later.

"The second big issue with learning to fly, besides adjusting to the shift in musculature, is realizing that the movements of your entire body affect your movement. If you just let the rest of your body go limp in hopes of letting your wings power you, it's unlikely they'll do much, unless there's some serious magic backing up the form to let you get away with hovering."

She stretched each wing a little, continuing, "Momentum is your friend when flying; the air naturally pushes your wings upward when moving apace, which keeps the rest of your body up. Less true for bat-like wings than feathered ones, but still mostly true. That's about the only reason you'll be able to do anything besides fly once you've got it down pat."

"...I am aware. The bat is the oldest of my alternate forms. That is... perhaps part of the problem."

Throw a different control scheme at someone who's used another for many years and there's bound to be some hiccups in learning. It's the main reason he's not doing this during the day, actually.

"To know and to intuit are a bit different."

And with that, Megaera knelt down, springing up with her legs as her wings took their first flap to get her moving. At this point, she chooses not to speak, instead just starting to move through the air, arms loosely out but legs keeping her body parallel to the way she moved, bending slightly to help her turn, taking a few wide circles so Alucard could see, before going back to near ground level and twisting her wings to slow her to a stop.

"... Did watching help at all?", she asked almost sheepishly.

Instead of immediately answering, Alucard launches himself into the air, copying Megaera's technique. He's more graceful this time, though he lands a little hard when he's through.

"...Yes," the dhampire finally replies in answer to the earlier question.

"... I'm not going to lie, you got your mind wrapped around it a lot faster than I did. Took me a few months to adjust to the idea."

Megaera couldn't help but smile a bit. "Is there a time limit or the like on your form? You might be better at scouting than I, if your form's limits are sufficiently generous."

...He's not sure how to respond to the compliment (especially since he doesn't know how long she assumes he's been practicing this), so he's just going to answer her questions.

"...In theory, I can remain in any form indefinitely if not forced out of it, although I am not certain what would in this particular shape. However, it depletes my stamina rather quickly, which somewhat limits scouting options."

"That makes sense. Wings take a lot of power to use, for one. Probably a good bit more than you realize."

She'd read about that one time - how bird muscles were, pound for pound, a lot stronger than human muscles, to provide the force needed to move around smoothly in the air.

"Hrm. We'll need more solutions, then. But at least you know you have the option, which is something."

"While this form does afford greater power and speed, I would be best as a bat for scouting. Birds may pride themselves on their speed, but we are the more efficient and maneuverable ones."

Though he may be a bit biased since he kinda hates the birds that hang out in and near his father's castle. Those birds are asshole.

"... Makes sense. Smaller forms are more energy-efficient, after all."

And have other practical advantages, at least where she's from.

Ryu definitely isn't nocturnal, but he's having trouble sleeping tonight, which is why he spots the figure darting around. The fact that it's here does seem to be a good sign, but he transforms into his hybrid form with a burst of blue light all the same before darting forwards.

"... Hello?" Speech is a little more difficult in this form, but he does want to be protected in case whoever it is turns out to be more aggressive than he thinks they might be.

Alucard starts a little at the sudden interruption, but calms just as quickly when he sees who it is.

"...Hello Ryu." The words come out sounding a little strange, but that's to be expected given that his mouth is currently not formed for speech.

Oh. He recognizes the voice, and he floats around a little, relieved.

"Alucard? Is that you?" He's pretty sure it is, but he wants to make sure before he relaxes totally.

Alucard continues hovering a moment before dropping to the ground. Much easier (and less tiring) to talk down here.

"It is. Could you not sleep?"

"Yeah. ... I've never seen you like this before."

Though that doesn't mean that he couldn't do that before, just that he didn't see him. "Are you okay?"

That flying was... concerning.

"There is rarely call to use this form. I am... unaccustomed to controlling more than four limbs at once."

Hence the necessity of practice.

"... I don't really fly very well, but I can try to give you some tips? I don't know if they'd work for you, though... my wings kind of just work without me thinking about it."

What little bit of wings he has like this, at least...

"It would be worth hearing, I believe."

"Okay, so... the first thing you have to do is practice balancing with them. Just test them out, figure out how to move them while you're on the ground. Make sure that you know what you're doing before you even try to take off."

He looks at the dhampir's wings carefully. They're big, and... probably not the same kind of thin wings he has in his full form. "Do you know if you can glide with those, or is it more flapping?"

"Gliding is possible, although flapping is required without a suitably high point to start from. I imagine on the Skyway I will need to do more of the latter." Lots of weird elevation changes, you know.

"Okay, I thought so. I mostly have to flap when I'm in my full form. I can only kind of... hover like this." And it's mostly because of magic, and he doesn't understand the mechanics...

"Can you try flapping them and staying on the ground? That's... what I'd try first..."

"...I suppose I could, after a moment of rest."

He's honestly kinda planning on spending most of the day sleeping after he's done here. Though while they have a moment...

"...I admit, I have been somewhat curious about the forms you can take."

"Ah? What do you mean?"

They're pretty straightforward to him, but he just hovers while he looks over at Alucard. Maybe it doesn't make sense to other people... which he can't really blame them for. Endless are weird.

"Your normal form and this one aside, I am having difficulty recalling what I have witnessed you use and what I have not."

Yep, real specific there.

"Oh. ... Well, this is my hybrid form. Right now I'm using my hybrid Aura form. I've... Nina told me that I've used my full Aura form before, but I don't know how. She saw it right before I woke up in the desert. I can only use it when I use my breath attack."

He pauses before going on. "I can also probably use my Kaiser form as a hybrid form... but I've never managed it. I always end up using my full form for that... and I can't control it at all."

Jane will definitely investigate! She had a hard time sleeping the night before, and decides to take an early morning walk. The sound of flapping near the hills startles her, though, and she watches from below as the gargoyle-like creature bobs in the air.

"What in the world...?"

When the creature spots Jane, he lands in front of her. According to the nametag he just so happens to be wearing, his name is Senpai.

The creature doesn't immediately notice its audience, instead focusing more on flying and - more importantly - not crash landing. Upon succeeding at the latter task however, he finally notices the scent of a human he's unfamiliar with.

"...Hello?"

She yelps softly, stumbling back. Whoa, did that thing just talk?! No way, that shouldn't be possible - even in this impossibly strange place! But, regardless of her feelings, Jane blurts out a greeting in response:

"H-Hello!"

By now, Alucard knows well enough that if something out of the ordinary happens, it's best to just roll with it. Of course, he's also aware that he's rather outside the average person's range of what's considered normal, so maybe he doesn't really have room to talk.

"...I apologize for startling you. You are one of the newer ones, correct?"

"Um..." Does she still qualify as a new person? It's hard to say. "Not...by too much? Enough that I haven't seen you before..."

The fact that he's talking, and he's very civil, is both odd and reassuring. Any being that's willing to talk right off the bat is not likely to be incredibly dangerous in her mind.

That she didn't immediately flee at the sight of him is perhaps as much a reassurance to him as his being civil is to her.

"Mm. I admit that I do not speak to others terribly often and this form is not my usual, so that would account for it."

"I-I...suppose?"

Honestly, what does one even say to that? It's weird on so many levels.

"So...who exactly are you?"

He shifts a bit, settling in for what may be a longer conversation.

"Alucard."

It's just a name, but if one thinks about it, it really explains a lot about him.

"It's nice to meet you, Alucard."

She says this very politely, still not sure how to respond around him.

"And what is your name?"

He cocks his head slightly to one side in curiosity.

"Jane Crocker."

"A pleasure to meet you, Jane."

"And a pleasure to meet you, too..."

Hm. This conversation was going nowhere fast. What does one talk about with a being like Alucard?

"So...erm...how's the weather for flying today?"

...Nailed it.

That sure is a good way to startle the fuck out of someone taking a late night walk.

Rin doesn't do it often, but sometimes she just gets restless because teenagers are wont to do so. There isn't much she can do in the way of expending energy that doesn't require either going out on the Skyway or hanging out in the gym. Neither sounded enticing to Rin, leading her to be outside...

just as a literal bat-man attempts to go soaring over head.

Hope you were prepared for that scream, Alucard.

Unfortunately, he was so unprepared for the scream that he crashes, hitting the ground hard enough to not only be knocked back into his normal state, but to continue rolling about twenty paces before coming to rest in a dazed heap.

Nice.

Well this is starting off swimmingly. Luckily Rin recognizes who it is after that crash and goes scrambling over.

"Alucard!"

He blinks owlishly up at her for a moment when she reaches him, still trying to process exactly what happened.

"...Rin?"

Welcome back to reality, Alucard.

"What the hell were you doin'?!"

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Day 300 - Symphony of the Night

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and now the actual tag

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