WHO: Rhy & Alucard Maresh WHAT: Talking about their bucket/portal list after a storm at sea WHEN: Backdated to January 22 WHERE: Somewhere at sea on the Besame WARNINGS: I don’t think there are any?
Sailing was not something that Rhy had ever thought he would be doing on a regular basis, but now it was hard to imagine life without it. At almost every opportunity, he and his husband retreated to their ship, and now he looked forward to it almost as much as Alucard did. Almost, only because Alucard had loved this long before he had, and Rhy had at first loved it mainly because he did.
But there was freedom in the wide-open sky, the impossibly broad horizon, the sea all around them and the view of land from far away. There was something about the sun and the fresh breeze, and also about the storms that tested their merits, and especially the sun after a storm.
This morning was one of those particular mornings, after the gut-wrenching, adrenaline-packed fight to keep the ship afloat in a storm all night, when the rain and wind suddenly ceased just before dawn. The sun rose again and the sky was so vividly blue that Rhy just stood there and stared at it, captivated.
He knew that they both needed to sleep -- they hadn’t gotten much -- but he didn’t want to go back to bed. Eventually, as the last of the dampness on the deck steamed away, he dragged a blanket out and lay down on it.
“Join me,” he offered to Alucard, patting the blanket beside him.
--
Lately, the sea had been all that kept them awake the whole night, straining without a break, decisions and actions without time to become stuck pondering. Only commitment and seeing it through. And it was exhilarating. Neither of them had to face storms at sea, but to sail where they wished to sail, the sea however she gave herself was theirs, storms and all. He checked everything one last time, readied for the next time they needed it. And the deck gleamed, washed as it had been by the sea.
Alucard toed out of his shoes at the edge of the blanket and sat. He lay down and rolled over to be next to his husband, his beautiful sea battered husband. Rhy looked so alive, as much as Alucard felt it. Alucard had never stopped loving the sea, and here, in a future neither of them had imagined, he had both. “I feel so incredibly alive,” Alucard said, “and impressively exhausted.” He would have some bruises form, where he had been thrown about.
“Days and nights like these… they’re what I want, while we have them,” he said. He had committed earlier to this world, as soon as Anisa had shown up. But this place was more than the place he had his sister and his lover, his lover and the sea. It had its own charms and pleasures, a whole different life.
--
Rhy shifted to press close against him, twining his fingers around Alucard’s. Unlike his husband, he was not going to have bruises, though he had not been any less battered. At the same time that these events made him feel alive, they also reminded him of the condition of his aliveness, which was to say, magic still held him here and healed him instantly. It was something that could be taken from him at any time, but then, so could a normal life.
“I’m exhausted too,” he said, “But stay awake with me for a moment longer and enjoy this sunrise.” The sun was fully risen already, but it felt significant anyway after the darkness of the night.
He rolled onto his side and looked at how the sun illuminated Alucard’s face, and smiled at him. “You want more storms? Shall we go chasing them?”
--
Despite their wet clothes, Alucard felt Rhy’s heat against his own. In a show of control and luxury he usually only exercised in private, he focused on the water first in Rhy’s clothes, then his own, and pulled it out. It sloshed together in the air above them, and Alucard tossed it over the side. Their clothes still weren’t warm. But cold and dry was an improvement on cold and wet. Still, it took more out of him after the long night.
“It takes more than that to keep me from you,” Alucard said softly. The obstacles here were strange and many out of their control. But the same could have been said of their experiences in Arnes. Though the experiences were incredibly different. The time they had for themselves.
“Feels like something Bard might do,” Alucard said. And perhaps foolish. But he could be foolish too. And he was generally confident in his abilities, in their abilities. It wouldn’t sink them. “And yes, that is one thing I want to do… I have many, as I think of them. I want to do them all. I want to make sure we both live the lives we want to have here.” Life wasn’t to be taken for granted. Sometime it would end. At least, their lives together. The possibility Rhy could outlive him here, in the best of circumstances, hadn’t eluded him.
--
The removal of water from his clothing was welcome, and the cool brush of Alucard’s magic as well. It was much more comfortable to press close against him now, and Rhy took advantage. He pressed against Alucard’s side, wrapped an arm around his waist, and rested his head on his husband’s chest. The sentiment warmed him as much as the body heat.
“I am living the life that I want to have here,” he assured Alucard. “And I intend to keep doing the same.” He paused thoughtfully. “What other things do you want to do, love?”
--
Alucard could only agree. He had been doing so and continued to take steps so that more and more he lived the life he wished without stuff he didn’t. So much as was in control. The compulsion to tell the truth hadn’t wreaked havoc in his life terribly. Given what was available in books, he was at ease with whatever he had to say. His arm wrapped around Rhy, comfortable and at peace.
“For starters, I never want to run out of goals, of things to accomplish,” Alucard said. “I spend more time sailing and practicing magic, more time with you and Anisa… It’s all wonderful. I haven’t learned all I want to learn of magic, our elemental sort or that of other worlds. I’ve been using the liran to study magic I’ve seen, like the wards on the Going Waters. I don’t imagine it’s something easily set up, even once known, but…” But he loved learning more, pushing himself. Making himself better.
“And I do think it would be marvelous to circumnavigate this world,” Alucard grinned. Much as he enjoyed sailing the Pacific and preferred it, he thought, to the Atlantic. To sail the whole world… that was a goal worth chasing.
--
“You are well on our way to accomplishing all of those,” Rhy said, smiling. These were not new ideas to him; they were projects already in progress. “And my current goals are very similar.”
His magical goals were not so lofty, of course, but that went without saying. His magic was more limited, so was his training and his control over it. But he had gained more control over it here than he had ever imagined he could at home, and he was expanding into areas he hadn’t considered before. Alucard knew all that already, so it did not bear elaborating.
“Have you been thinking about what goals you’ll have after you’ve accomplished those?” he asked. “Or do you feel the need for more goals now?”
--
It delighted Alucard how much Rhy had taken to sailing. He’d had no expectation it would exist, and Rhy coming along with him had been as much as he had hoped for. But his husband was not someone to take for granted, in anything. They were far too exhausted to get up to much then, besides cuddling and conversation. Still it warmed his heart.
“I don’t know that I need more goals to work on right now,” Alucard said, “but I like the idea of thinking about them, coming up with them, refining them… so that once I have time and energy for other goals, I have something incredible to reach for.” Whether they had the seeming simplicity of ‘return to London and marry Rhy’ or the ambition of another sort of ‘learning magic no one or nearly no one knows’... there was always more to them. And anything he was going to spend so much time on had to be worth it.
“The other goal I also have,” he said slowly, “though it hasn’t made as much progress since Kell left, is binding Anisa’s life with mine, so that she would come back with me, were the portal to send me back to Arnes.” It hadn’t been a secret, but Alucard had found it faster going with Kell’s perspective. It likely would take an antari to cast it, if that were even enough. But he hadn’t spoken with Bard about it. Alucard had no idea what she would think of it.
--
“In that case, we should perhaps make a list,” Rhy said. “It will take some time for us to circumnavigate the world, and perhaps equally long to accomplish all of your various magical goals -- although both of those seem like goals that you could spend a lifetime on them and never truly finish. There will always be more of the world to see and more magic to learn. But by the time you accomplish enough to feel ready for more goals, some of what you want now could be forgotten if we don’t write it down.”
He traced patterns with his fingertips lovingly but tiredly over Alucard’s chest. Thankfully, the mention of this particular goal was not a gut punch as it had been the first time he’d heard about it, but it was still sobering to think about. And he missed Kell painfully, but that was just a fact of life now.
“Is there anything I can do to help with that?” he asked quietly. “Or perhaps there’s someone else here who could.” There were, after all, many powerful people with varied types of abilities here. They were the portal’s favorite.
--
“I requested more magical books for Christmas,” Alucard said. “If any place in Arnes had books of relevance, it would be the Sanctuary.” It didn’t escape him the Going Waters possibly had something to that effect, something on soul bonds. But he had thought that a less likely gift to receive, seeing as he didn’t have any claim to them whatsoever. “I’d welcome your help in reading them and noting anything of possible relevance,” he said with a small smile.
“I don’t know if magic of other worlds will hold up,” Alucard said. “I am unsure whether they would function in the Arnes from which we come.” He wasn’t entirely sure if the places they visited were truly the ones people were from or simply other versions of them, the way there were multiple versions of people here. “That’s why, if possible, I’d prefer to do it with our magics. But if someone else can with theirs, I’m open to considering it.”
He leaned against Rhy, the emotional weight of conversation heavier than the physical exhaustion. “And a list is an excellent idea,” he agreed, “I believe I have married the best planner there is.” It was a touch of levity considering the previous serious matter of keeping Anisa alive, whatever the portal did. “The talk of charities has made me think we might want to do more with that. I’ve made some contributions, based on the money the portal provides, but that is only an inkling of what we could do.”
--
“I’d be happy to do that,” Rhy agreed, smiling up at him. “I enjoy spending time with you in the library.” He pressed his palm against Alucard’s belly through his shirt. “And I’ll try to be more useful than distracting, even though I deeply enjoy the game of distracting you from your research.”
He grinned mischievously, an effect that was somewhat dulled by the exhaustion written on his face. He relaxed against Alucard again. “I didn’t necessarily mean that you should use another world’s magic. But perhaps they have expertise to offer that you could modify to our magic.”
He traced the silver veins on Alucard’s forearm. “Charities appear to be quite important for tax purposes,” he said. “That is, if you don’t want to pay taxes. I’ve been learning a lot more about tax law from Declan.” He paused, then added, “I’ve also learned many charities spend little of their money on the communities, animals, or purposes they claim to serve, which I find very disappointing. I don’t know how much there is we could do about that, but we could try.”
--
“We still have time enough for that game as well,” Alucard said. It was as enjoyable for him as for Rhy, though Alucard had to admit the quality of studying accomplished was extremely low. That was somewhat the point.
Alucard lightly squeezed Rhy’s side, wherein he could reach it. “A point well taken,” he agreed. “I do think it helps to have someone else’s perspective.” Not just the places his mind could go. Not that he got distracted. Simply, they came back at times to haunt him. Their community was rich in magic users.
He brought a hand up, squeezing the bridge of his nose. The news wasn’t surprising. There were always ways for the wealthy to explore how to keep more of their wealth. But it was taken to such extremes at times, that he thought it truly hurt them along with everyone else. Foolishness. “The one I’ve been supporting has a clear published link to what’s accomplished for an increment of a donation. But there are… unseemly ones out there,” Alucard agreed. “What are you interested in doing -- making sure we support good ones or trying to reform the poor performing ones?” He had only, so far, done the first.
--
“I don’t know,” Rhy said honestly. “It isn’t something I’ve strongly considered. But it is something worth thinking about, how we can use what influence we have here to improve this world.”
At times like this he missed the scope of influence that came with being king, or even prince. It was an enormous amount of responsibility, but it was also a truly incredible feeling when he was able to do something that genuinely made the world better. Something that the average person was not in a position to do. Still, money in this world wielded influence, and money was something they had.
He sighed softly. “The only other goal I have at the moment is, someday, to raise a child of our own. But I still don’t know precisely how to make that happen under our circumstances.”
--
“I agree with the principle,” Alucard said. “We can take time to make sure whatever we do, we do well.” Even if they ended up only having days, it was better to do things well, rather than make a mess and not even be there to clean it up. Hopefully whatever they did would outlast them, whatever that ended up meaning.
A soft smile came on his face. Alucard loved children, and he loved the idea of raising a child with Rhy. The portal made for harder questions to face. Sure, life was unpredictable and other things could happen. People had died here. Rarely, yes, but it had happened. But the portal wasn’t something they could do much about, whether it brought about a situation that led to their deaths or sent them home. “I would like that too,” he agreed. “We can give it thought.” Even if they couldn’t do so immediately. Even if it took time to figure out how to do so at all. It only made potential for soul bonding magic even greater.
“But I have faith we will,” Alucard said. “After all, when I first decided to return to London and woo your hand, I had barely a clue how I might accomplish it.” More barriers than ideas. His father had seemed like a Veskan mountain, large and looming. But mountains fell. Love had won, and it would again.
--
“I daresay we already do many things very well,” Rhy said with a mischievous grin. He turned his head slightly to press a kiss to Alucard’s shoulder. “So that is on point, for us.”
He rested his head against Alucard’s shoulder again, and let his hand move to rest on Alucard’s hip, brushing his fingertips over it gently. He was glad to feel Alucard’s warmth at the idea; it was not a surprise, given that they’d talked about it before, but it somehow eased his longing.
“If you put your mind to it, I am absolutely sure it will happen,” he said with a soft smile. “I fully believe in your ability to accomplish anything and everything.”
--
“I had considered a few ideas, even back when we were still on that first cruise,” Alucard admitted. “Much has changed since then.” Including who was around for them to seek help from. “Still, we can do it,” Alucard said, with a bit more confidence than before. Not that anything had changed in the last few moments. But Alucard had wanted a child of theirs, on his own. Rhy’s desire for it made it that much more important to see through.
His mind was racing, running over various magics and possibilities. And yet, Alucard knew, it was not the time to solve that riddle. They were exhausted and much in need of sleep. “What do you think of sleeping up here, as we are?” Alucard asked. The bed was more comfortable, but there was something to sleeping on the deck together under the warmth of calmer weather.
--
“Much has changed,” Rhy agreed tiredly. Much of it was for the better. Some of it was for the worse, and a lot of things simply were. Not better or worse, just different.
He tilted his head to kiss Alucard’s cheek. “I’m too tired to move,” he said amused, “So I think we are sleeping here. Goodnight, love.”