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Don't worry about it. I'm dead there now so I don't have to worry about having to go back home ever again. This is happily my new home.

[Well, maybe not "happily"...

There is a pause after Seras sends the insulting text. Before Phil immediately starts typing in a rage.]

Hey fuck you too! Sorry if I give a shit about him and don't immediately trust a stranger I don't know who just told me hurt him!

[He wants to continue fighting, even as Seras starts apologizing, but he forces himself to calm down. Clearly Alfred likes this person, he didn't want his friends fighting to deal with on top of whatever the fuck is going on with him.

And, well, if that story is true, it didn't seem like she actually hurt him, which was what he was actually worried about.]

Maybe calling this guy your "master" might be part of the problem there.

Either way, do you want me to talk to him? Maybe a third party will help the situation, let him vent. I know screaming about the shit that bothers me helps a ton.

that's fair. i deserve that.

i... don't know what else to call him? calling him by his name is weird. its like. calling your dad by his first name. :/ and his first name his awkward? like i dont know if thats even really his name. who would name their son "alucard" anyway

but thats neither here nor there

id hate to ask you to go out of your way to do this, but it would mean a lot to me if you did. alfred means a lot to me. more than almost anyone ive ever known. i dont want to lose him over this. but... if its too late for that, i just want to know he's in good hands.

i know he means a lot to you and he needs to be with people he trusts, people that will take care of him and have his heart in mind. i trust that youre one of those people. please be good to him.

i'll figure out some way to repay you, if youll let me.

...

Your master is Dracula's son? Or a weird goth?

[He's... assuming it's a weird goth considering that she doesn't seem familiar with Dracula.]

But hey don't mention it. I've gotten people pissed off me more than my fair share of times. If Alfred gets mad at me for bringing it up that's just one more to the list.

... Not that I want him pissed off at me. I like that guy too much

Either way, you're lucky I'm too annoyed right now and have no clue who you are, or else I'd suggest that you could repay me in sexual favors.

no, i mean, he used to be dracula, but now hes alucard? hes died a few times and come back and had his name changed... its a lot. its a long story that we didnt exactly have time to discuss. which is its own long story that i really dont want to get into right now. heh.

thank you again, phil. this means a lot.

i suppose i should tell you who i am though, sorry i just sort of got wrapped up in everything. my name is seras victoria, and im one of alfred's housemates.

[And she would say "friend," but she isn't so sure of that right now.]

...is there another way i can repay you? i dont know more than your name either, so...

... you know, if Alfred's scared of vampires I can understand why the arrival of Dracula and learning that you're friendly with him might make him upset.

Unless he's like, one of those cartoony Draculas you see in Scooby Doo.

[Granted, with Alfred, he might still be scared of something from Scooby Doo.]

I mean I guess I wouldn't say no to some free booze

;) Maybe we can meet up in public for a drink.

[This is half flirting and half "seeing if this person was lying about not wanting to hurt Alfred".]

he's nearly seven feet tall and overall a generally terrifying person. he still scares me sometimes. alfred's right to be afraid of him. anyone would be.

but um, can you meet me at Nai'a? i can certainly treat you, there.

[Never mind that she's already here. It'll be safer for her, too, since she'll have someone watching her back...]

Okay, yeah, that definitely explains a lot about what Alfred's going through.

... And I can't believe I'm not even shocked by the idea of fucking Count Dracula being here. I think my shocked dried up the moment a cookie person arrived here.

Hell yeah, I'll be right over. Look for the sexy shark man ;)

[About an hour later, Phil shows up at Nai'a, looking around for anyone who might be named Seras. He was definitely not lying about being a shark man, but tragically, he wasn't really lying about the sexy part. Especially because he's currently topless and he is very toned.]

I'll be at the bar. See you soon.

[She doesn't even want to dignify that last part with a reaction, because she knows he's just one of those guys. She knew someone like him quite intimately, back home, but it might distress her a little bit to make that correlation. It's been a few months since she was freed from that mindset and while she misses him, it's... been nice to not have a complete horndog living in her head.

Seras sits at the end of the bar, facing the doors to watch for his arrival, and finding herself most irritated when A Sexy Shark Man does, in fact, enter the building. Goddamnit, she really hoped he was just fucking around, or blowing things our of proportion-- as men of his type are wont to do-- but he is definitely a head turner. She's at least not the only one looking at him in this bar... But what else do people come to Nai'a for if not to look at gorgeous merpeople? He's right at home here.

Seras, however, seems to be the most out of place. She's a young blonde woman with perky, golden rabbit ears, but dressed like she belongs at some alternative grunge club. At least she's sipping on something tropical. Once the frustration wears off, she realizes that she should probably make herself visible... and raises a hand in a sheepish wave towards him.

Oh boy, here they go.]

[Phil lets out a low whistle when Seras waves at him, appreciating her looks a tad disrespectfully. Well she might have been kind of a dick to him, but at least she's a looker.

Smirking to himself, he walks to the bar, resting with his back towards the counter and his elbows propped up on them. He hails a nearby bartender for his first drink.]

One bourbon, straight up.

[He turns back to Seras with a wink.]

Hey Seras, glad to finally meet you. It's nice to meet some more of Alfred's friends here.

[There is an undercurrent of something as he speaks, as if he was saying that solely to gauge her reaction.]

[She can't say she disapproves of his taste in alcohol, since if she hadn't decide on something colorful to cheer her up, she probably would have gone with the bourbon as well, but...those shorts, however. Does he work for Ryslig's Chippendale's or something??

She does give him a pretty blatant once-no-twice-over before glancing away to sip on her drink and let him finish his greeting. She knows peacocking when she sees it, she can't let him think he's going to get what he wants out of this display...]

Mm, you took the words right out of my mouth. I had no idea Alfred had such... colorful companions. [What exactly does she mean by colorful? He's gray--]

Thank you for coming to meet me. I'm sorry it's so... sudden.

[There is an absolute smug grin on his face as Seras gives him a twice over, and takes a deliberate sip of his bourbon before he responds.]

Thank you, Seras. I do pride myself on the impression I give people.

[Does he mean positive or negative...?

After another sip of bourbon before setting the glass down.]

Eh, don't mention it. I didn't realize how bad it was myself.

You know, I know you said it was your fault but I wonder if I did something to upset him. [There is a brief pause, before he remembers his own reaction when Seras told him it was her fault.] When we first made love together, he felt like a different person, almost feral in a way. I thought he was just being kinky or that he was desperate to have sex. But now I'm wondering...

[He shakes his head.]

It's silly to think that us having sex made him act like this, but he seemed completely normal before. I wonder if he felt pressured to act like that because of how sexually active I am, and that it set something off in him.

[...Let's finish that drink first, shall we? Seras downs the other half of her beverage in one go and has to resist the urge to chuck the glass across the room, but instead just sets it firmly on the bar. Her hands move to her lap, where she curls them in and out of fists to keep from doing anything drastic with them.

She has to close her eyes and take a Very Deep Breath once that onslaught of information is finished processing, trying not to get too wrapped up in the specific details or worry too much about this burning sensation in her chest. It's just the alcohol, that's all. Besides, she already knew about this, she just-- she didn't think she would have to hear it like that. It's not like she's bothered, either. Totally not at all. It's just... information. That's all.]

...I don't know. [She clears her throat, not meaning to sound so strained with her reply. When she speaks again, she's holding her tone well enough.]

Maybe we should... compare notes. When did that happen? D'you remember?

[Like with every-fucking-thing else tonight, she's sure she's going to regret asking that question, too.]

Edited 2022-06-09 02:28 (UTC)

[Phil exhales, taking another sip of his drink. It was a great night that he shared, but now he was recounting every moment, wondering if he had slipped up somewhere and hurt Alfred.]

It was right before we all changed monster forms, after the shit with us being stuck in the movies. Alfred contacted me because we shared a movie scene together. You remember Psycho? We pretty much played out the shower scene except we also... [He frowns. Right this was about Alfred, not his sexual exploits.] Never mind.

[It is, perhaps, an amazing feat that Phil decided to opt out of saying something horribly sexual.]

But he seemed to be into my body, so I decided to flirt with him a little. But a part of me wonders now if Alfred felt like he had to do something.

[She starts to lift her hand to silence him before he manages to catch it on his own, thank god. Back to nervous fidgeting it goes, twisting at the frayed edges of her shorts.]

Yes, funnily enough, I was in that one, too. [She does look mildly amused for half a second, but she can't seem to stop the bitterness from seeping out.] Can't say I remember it being that fun.

But, no. He... was doing rather well, before he changed.

[She hates to think that it had more to do with this guy than anything else, but... damnit, she was grateful for any day Alfred made it all the way through in a good mood, okay. Still, it makes her consider tossing that glass again--]

He didn't start acting strange until after he'd become a vampire. ...You know how he feels about vampires.

[That last part is a little weighted, like she's expecting a particular response. Surely, if he knows Alfred so well, he'd know about everything he went through with the vampires back home and she wouldn't have to explain.]

Oh god, really? I bet you would have been hot in that shower scene.

[He winks at her, but the coy flirting dies down when she mentions Alfred becoming a vampire. He's going to gently go ahead and order another bourbon.]

Yeah, I know. God why didn't I think about that before? I was too busy thinking that he looks hot as a vampire before I even considered what that would do to him.

You've really got a one-track mind, don't you? Here I thought I was struggling with the bunny thing, Jesus...

[Seras rolls her eyes and huffs a laugh, reaching for the new drink she's been handed and smiles politely at the bartender before turning an absolutely dumbfounded look to Phil.]

You're serious? [Shaking her head in disbelief as she sips on her beverage.]

God, I know he's beautiful, but you could at least attempt to use the brain between your ears when you think about your loved ones. Even just a little goes a long way, y'know.

Edited 2022-06-10 02:44 (UTC)

God you don't think I know that? [His tone is terse, annoyed.] I know I should have thought more about what Alfred was going through. I was just... so distracted by my boyfriend going through his own shit and I thought a beach vacation would help him. It doesn't excuse me for ignoring Alfred, I know, I should have checked up on him more than I did.

[He stares down at his drink. He never had to care for so many people in his life, and god it was so hard to balance all this.]

Wait-- so you have a boyfriend, already? Jeez, save some for the rest of us...

[She's laughing, but really, how serious is she?

Crossing her arms beneath her chest, she rests against the back of the stool, crossing her legs and tilting her head to regard him with a most skeptical look as she gives him another once (or twice) over. She punctuates that look with a roll of her eyes and sips on her drink. ~~He doesn't get to win, but she does get to look. She gets it, Alfred, she does.~~]

Anyway, I-- yeah. He's. Not been great, with the vampire thing. So... he has talked with you about what happened t'him back home?

Hey, it's not my fault I'm sexy as fuck.

[Phil doesn't seem to mind the insult, as he lets out a short laugh himself.]

A little I probably should have asked him more about what he went through but I didn't want to pressure him, you know? The boy's really sensitive.

[Which Seras is... probably well aware of.]

Oi, you can be sexy without being selfish, y'know. You're probably sitting on a whole hoard of boyfriends other people could have.

[Sarcastic, of course, but somehow she still sounds like she believes that could be true.]

No kidding.

[Sigh. She would never question the strength of Alfred's spirit, but he'd been broken down too many times for her to believe it was in one piece at this rate... Her mind flashes back to him whipping around the room in a mist, panicked out of his mind at the mention of her Master.]

He's... a little more fragile, these days, that's for sure. I can't blame you for not wanting to bother him about it. He's carrying a lot on his own... I'm sure he didn't tell you because he didn't want that weight on your shoulders.

[It was one of the many things about herself that she saw in Alfred, of course. Not wanting to burden others with your pain. She's even trying to do that now, fighting back the urge to dump all of her mess on this near-complete stranger.

Besides, this meeting is supposed to be about Alfred, not her.]

But I'd think, since he's your boyfriend, you could probably get away with it. ...Bothering him about his problems, I mean.

[She sips her drink again and stares off down the length of the bar, the amusement draining from her expression. It hurts to acknowledge such a thing, to put that thought into the air. It makes it real when you say it out loud. She lost her chance a long time ago, and she was too blind to see it.

But at least Alfred isn't alone, without her. That's what she should be happy about, right?]

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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PHIL CONNORS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 020.22.473.65 * goodweather has joined 020.22.473.65 <goodweather> You have reached the chatroom of Ryslig's favorite weatherman, Phil Connors <goodweather> If you're contacting me for business deals offer me a price first <goodweather>** But if you're looking for a more "fun" time, I'm all ears. ;)