singinghuntress | IC Inbox: Duplicity

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I wasn't being entirely serious. Killing you would break a promise, my contract, and otherwise inconvenience me, so what is it, Rip? You really don't want me to wonder.

[The only response she receives to the reminder that it's his fault Alucard is sulking is a huff right back.]

I'll be by shortly, then. The less time I spend in this apartment the better, frankly.

Fine.

[If he really must know...]

A vial of your blood und a night of your time vith no veapons. No Alucard, und I am zhe one zhat determines vat ve do.

[He wanted to know... Could he stand a night with her in charge? And would it end up with her getting killed one way or another? ]

Zhen I vill be expecting you shortly. Buy vataver you need on your vay. My kitchen is still.. a little bare.

[Yeah, he is definitely not doing any of that.]

A vial of my blood and the absence of my weapons. Makes me think you would spend the night doing something horrible to me. Performing experiments, perhaps.

[That is the sort of thing nazi's do, particularly the Major's ones. Well... former nazi's to a much lesser degree, but still.

He's already on the move, eager to leave the apartment. The tension is smothering.]

I'll do so. It wouldn't be much of an olive branch if I made you provide the ingredients.

[She didn't think so.]

I'm a sniper, not a scientist or one of zheir assistants. I haf no interest in experimenting on people vhen I've already been zhe experiment.

[Blunt and too the point. Rip may have been one of The Major's Nazis, but, she wasn't one of Dok's assistants. She just dispatched of the failed experiments like her orders told her too.]

Fair enough. Vat are you planning on cooking?

Well then, what's the vial of blood for? Tabasco sauce? Have you taken up witchcraft?

[She's probably already aware, but- his blood is not recommended for vampires to drink. Has quite the burn to it. Alucard doesn't seem to mind, but it's Alucard, so of course he doesn't.

She'll hear shuffling in the background as he moves.]

A confectionery, provided that isn't disagreeable.

Hardly on eizher front. Vitchcraft und Illusions vere more Zorin's thing zhan mine.

[She was just one hell of sniper.]

Simply to see if you vill give it to me und perhaps to just haf. I know better zhan to drink it.

[As for the mentioning of sweets, she perks up a little.]

I find any manner of sweets agreeable.

So there's no practical purpose? It'd call it strange, but I've developed a higher threshold for that since I've arrived here.

[He'll prod her about it later. Right now, he has some shopping to do.]

Good. Expect me in twenty.

[The feed ends-

And twenty minutes later exactly, he'll arrive at her shop with a grocery bag hanging off a forearm and shoulder his way inside, footsteps heavy on the floorboards. Peeking out the top of the bag is some milk, flour, and sugar, so it's immediately apparent he's going to be baking something.]

Not at zhe moment, no. Call it a contingency plan eventually.

[That's all she's going to say on the matter as the feed cuts out. Twenty minutes later, she's sitting at the front counter in her shop as he shoulders his way in. Immediately she can see some of what's in the bag, driving her curiosity into overdrive of what he could possibly be baking her for his apology gift.

Whatever it was, she hoped it was delicious.]

You know zhe vay up stairs. Zhe kitchen is at your disposal.

[Rip slips out from behind the counter to head upstairs whether he followed or not. Once there, she settled on her small couch and just let him have free reign of the kitchens while she stayed out of his way. ]

[The layout of this place is lodged firmly in his mind courtesy of what happened last time he was here. He ascends the stairs, thumping his way up into the kitchen and setting all his supplies upon the counter.]

Do you have a heavy-bottomed pan?

[He glances over his shoulder as he speaks, already in the process of breaking eggs into a mixing bowl. He's capable of managing without one, but a heavy-bottomed pan would make the recipe easier to complete.]

[She had to think for a moment. Most of the cooking pots and pans were new to her since she rarely used them up until recently.]

In zhe bottom cubbard next to zhe fridge I zhink.

[Her pause doesn't give him great confidence in avoiding a lengthy search, but it turns out she's right: the pan is in the bottom cupboard next to the fridge. He retrieves it and gets to work, humming under his breath as he prepares the dough for Il Pandoro Veronese and a batch of zeppole. It's 'Amazing grace', because of course that's what he's humming.

The fridge will, presumably, have blood bags, which he'll be adding to the recipes at some point for obvious reasons.

It doesn't take him long to finish preparations and start cooking. The Il Pandoro Veronese will take longer to prepare than the doughnuts, well over an hour, but that's specifically why he's making some zeppole alongside; it'll give them something to chew on while they wait.]

Right. [He takes one of the mini-doughnuts out of the oil and rolls it in cinnamon sugar.] Taste test this.

[At least the pan was where she said it was. Though, honestly she didn't usually do the cooking around here...

She watched him cook, curious as he went about preparing the sweet dishes in her small kitchen. The addition of blood to the recipes caught her by surprise and pleased her a little as she lounged, spreading out across her couch with her arms on the armrest and her head resting on them while he worked on the mini donuts.

The call to taste test was answered quickly as she stretched before getting off the couch to wander over, curious with the scent of cinnamon sugar in the air.She took the offered treat and nibbled on it for a moment, testing to see how her stomach reacted.

When she didn't get sick, she eagerly took a few more small bites until it was gone, savoring the taste since its one she didn't get to experience often.]

It's delicious.

[There's blood in it, so it is perfectly edible for a vampire. Anderson always uses enough to leave the batter faintly pink, and the finished product retains that colour even through the application of the sugar.

The ones he made for himself are, of course, the inviting brown that they should be, and he dips one in cinnamon sugar and pops it into his mouth before responding to Rip.]

Good, because that - [He tilts his head to the oven.] Won't be done for at least an hour.

[Scooping out the rest of the zeppole, he gives them a shake in the cinnamon sugar and transfers them to plates. One pile for himself, one pile for Rip. Rip's is noticeably larger; this is meant to be an olive branch, after all. Or at least part of one.]

[She obviously didn't mind the pink tint to her food and it did make telling hers apart from Anderson's a lot easier as he divided up the piles and handed her a place. Rip took it and then turned to lead the way back to the couch.

His olive branch was definitely working so far it seems.]

Und exactly vat are you baking zhat takes an hour to do?

Pandoro.

[With an Italian lilt.

It's a Christmas cake. A fairly easy, simple one, but as enjoyable as a Christmas cake ought to be. The children of his orphanage always preferred this over anything that contained fruit, naturally. The recipe is second-nature to him by now, since most of the matrons would spend Christmas with their families and it was all hands on deck for anyone who remained.]

Most of the time will be spent letting it rise. The baking itself won't be nearly as long.

[After a moments pause, he joins her on the couch, plate in his lap.]

Pandoro.

[She was trying out the word though, she couldn't give it the Italian lit he could. Not for the first time she wondered if it might be useful to pick up another language or two to add to the ones she already knew...

Especially when it came to her store. ]

Already I'm curious to try it.

[Which was the truth as she popped another of the small donuts into her mouth. As far as peace offerings went, this was becoming very acceptable to her as he settled on the couch with his own plate.

Once there, Rip focused her attention on him more, studying the priest with his own plate of sweets. She supposed she could see what Alucard saw in him. Though, she still didn't quite get it...]

You mentioned your possessiveness vas influenced by zomething in zhe city earlier. But, zhat emotion haz a basis zomevhere. So, vhy are you possessive of Alucard?

[A simple but, heavy question to ask.]

[The cake isn't terribly interesting, taste-wise; it's sweet and buttery and comes apart in your mouth, but it's a pretty standard cake. On the other hand, Rip likely hasn't eaten anything of this nature in decades, courtesy of her vampirism, so that probably won't much matter to her.

He's in the middle of chewing on a mini doughnut when she asks her question. A slight tension develops in his shoulders and instead of replying right away, he chews, swallows, and takes the time to lick the sugar off his fingers.]

I wouldn't say it's... [He pauses, and it annoys him that he has to. He was very clearly spoken back home. Rarely ever stumbled on a word.] Possessiveness, as the word is understood here. I simply value him as an opponent, to both Iscariot and myself, and I wouldn't see anyone else try to take our role. We're the only ones permitted to defeat him- to defeat Hellsing. Their undoing is ours. And I'll be the one to finish him.

[He takes another doughnut.]

That's all it is. The tracker played on that, but it forged as much feeling as it drew upon.

[He's right in that assumption. Rip will love it simply because it's a new taste experience compared to the decades of nothing but blood. Even the texture will be a delight once she's able to taste it once it's done.

As for his answer, She's in no rush so he can take as long as he needs while she enjoys more of her donuts. His answer once he gives it makes her pause for a moment and mull over his response. After finishing the delectable treat in her fingers, she regards him thoughtfully.]

Perhaps Possessive iz zhe wrong vord. Obsessive is more accurate from vat you're saying.

[She selects another tasty fried donut and taps a little bit of the access sugar and cinnamon off of it.]

You do realize, I am in no vay a threat in taking your roll az his executioner vhen zhe time comes. Personally, I'd razher live zhan die.

[Which was a strange sentiment coming from her considering her own origins.]

Even if zhe tracker played into it, zhat's... still quite zhe obsession.

[This is the second time someone has called it an obsession. He bristles, mouth curving into a frown.]

I'm neither possessive nor obsessive. A little fixated on my goals, perhaps. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's a quality that has served me - and God - well.

[It's not an ideal quality to have in regard to interpersonal relationships, though. That, he's aware of.]

I don't regard you as a threat in any capacity. I thought that went without saying.

[Something about the way he denied it apparently amused her enough to smile before taking a bite out of her mini donut. After savoring its taste and swallowing, she went for another, idly selecting another.]

I zuppose so considering your single minded, vicious nature vhen hunting. Not zhat he is any better, mind you. I distinctly recall just how vicious he vas vhen he slaughtered my entire crew before coming for me.

You might have liked the display, if ve hadn't been trying to start anozher var at zhe time.

[Again she taps off the access sugar and cinnamon before taking a savoring bite.]

It does, at least.. in a fighting sense. Even az his fledgling, I still cannot compare to you or him which is a spot of annoyance to me.

I would have preferred to be involved, rather than a witness. Though I expect we would have sunk the ship had I been present.

Dracula, sent to the bottom of the ocean. That would have been one way to deal with him.

[Anderson eats another of his own treats, licking the sugar off his fingers before speaking again.]

Of course it's in a fighting sense. There's no other sense that's of great consequence to me. I know you have some sort of- attachment to the intimacy and contract or what have you, but I have no desire to keep those things solely for myself.

[It would scare him, if that was the sort of relationship either of them wanted. The direction their relationship is currently going concerns him as it is. He does want to keep Alucard for himself in some capacity, certainly as his nemesis - but he doesn't understand the full extent of his desire, and he doesn't want to examine it for long.]

I vonder how long being at zhe bottom of zhe sea vould haf stopped him.

[And why didn't they try that instead of trapping him on a ship. She might have lived then.]

My attachment to him iz.. complicated. Even I don't quite fully understand it.

[It's an idle remark, even if it is the truth. She takes another bite of the small donut she's working on devouring before dabbing the ends of the remains in the small dusting of excess sugar she had on her plate.]

But, I am fond of zhe intimacy he provides for me und zhe feeling of being protected zhat comes along vith it. It's... better zhan vat my life vas.

[Where he was afraid of his feelings and what they might mean, Rip was embracing hers even if she was struggling to understand fully what they were.]

Zo, it is good to hear zhat you are not going to fully steel him avay. You terrified me vhen it seemed zhat vas zhe case before.

[Who knows. Perhaps he would have been down there until the sea dried out. Or Hellsing managed to locate him.

He leans into the couch arm as he listens, arms crossing.]

Nor do I. But it's about as inexplicable as your decision to follow the Major, so you're being consistent.

-And what do you mean, 'fully'? I haven't stolen him away in any regard, Rip Van Winkle. You were never his nemesis, and never could be, and that's the only claim I have.

[He casts her a bemused look.]

It's not worth stressing over. Everything that happens here will be meaningless once we've returned to our world. He'll spend what time he has left with Integra, and then I'll kill him, as promised.

[There's less enthusiasm as he eats another of his doughnuts, chewing slowly, and he turns his gaze to the oven despite the fact the cake is nowhere near done. Looks like he needs to take his own advice.]

Edited (fuck I forgot timeline) Date: 2019-06-19 07:39 am (UTC)

I haf my reasons.

[Looking back, they weren't exactly good reasons and she could have gone about them in other ways. But, her path was of her own choosing. Even she couldn't deny that.]

No, I vas just his victim, currently one of hiz lovers und his fledgling.

[She just gives him a look before biting into her sweet treat. Can he see why telling her that she suddenly needed a new dominant would rock her world?

After a moment she looks away and goes back to studying her donuts. He may be amused but, she wasn't.]

It iz to me. Zhere is nozhing for me back home unless you count being one of his familiars in zhe upcoming battle. Compared to zhat, zhe extra time I haf to be alive here iz a gift.

Even if zhis place is less zhan ideal.

[He really does need to follow his own advice.]

Besides, if nozhing here matters, zhen vhy not just fuck him und enjoy yourself a little?

I don't see why you couldn't return alive.

[Anderson's counting on that. He too is dead, after all, and he doesn't want to be, now; he wants to finish what he started, bring an end to Alucard.

He splutters, almost chocking on his food, when she suggests sex with him.]

What makes you think I want that? I never even insinuated-? Maybe I don't want to copulate with him. Have you ever considered that? Did he say I wanted to?

[Oh no, why is he still talking. He feels increasingly stupid with every word.

Blushing furiously, he shovels additional sweets into his mouth.]