Dracule stood with Elizabeth, her eyes watching everyone she passed. Elizabeth could see how tense Dracule was.
"It's nice to see so many smiling faces," Elizabeth said, looking around, trying to clear the thick air around Dracule.
"Huh?" Dracule snapped out of her guarded state and looked up at Elizabeth. "What?"
"The people here, even if they aren't human," Elizabeth said, still walking with Dracule. "You mentioned that no one smiled or laughed after your mother's death."
"..." Dracule nearly stopped right then. Elizabeth was right. "I guess so..."
"This will make a good change, bring warmth back into this place," Elizabeth said, bumping her shoulder into Dracule's.
"Heh, I guess it is," Dracule said, almost laughing, looking at the ground as she walked with Elizabeth. "Maybe... things will get better from here."
"Yes, it will," Elizabeth said, giving Dracule a bright smile. "Today is just a start, then, a whole new future awaits us, out there or here, the choice is yours now, Dracule."
"..." Dracule stopped walking. Elizabeth turned and stopped walking, and faced the half vampire. "... I never gave myself a choice up until now. I guess... I was too scared to have a choice in life."
"And now?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head a little, and watching her partner's body language. "Now... now I want a life. A real one. To heal and to be a family with my brother again. And maybe... build a new future together. With you."
"Heh," Elizabeth smiled, and stepped closer to Dracule, and held her hand. "I would like that."
As the two walked on, Alucard and Skylar were almost spar play fighting in a field behind the Belmont hold. Skylar and Alucard were using their swords in the spar, and added playful fighting together. Skylar was laughing, Alucard was smiling, and they were both fine-tuning their abilities and messing with each other. Alucard would toss some grass on Skylar's head and tease her, then Skylar would laugh and tackle Alucard down to the ground.
"Hey!" Alucard laughed as Skylar sat up on his belly, her hands on his chest, their swords discarded from the tumble.
"You seem rusty," Skylar laughed. "Have you lost touch in fighting since you and I met?"
"I am not rusty," Alucard shot back with a smirk, propping himself up on his elbows. "You are a pain."
"So aren't you!" Skylar laughed. Then a roar came, startling the two of them. Skylar and Alucard looked towards the forest where the roar came from. "What the hell?!"
"I don't know," Alucard said as he and Skylar got up quickly and grabbed their swords. "Let's go look quickly."
"Just be careful," Skylar said as she ran with Alucard into the woods towards the noise. "The day creatures don't roar for nothing!"
Skylar and Alucard ran into the woods until a giant day creature met them. Its form was semi-human in body proportions, mostly, but it had a long tail, reptile arms and legs, and fangs covering its mouth. Its arms crossed, blades on the back of its claws clenched into fists, keeping two individuals pushed against the tree behind the two strangers.
"Tally!" Skylar yelled as she came up to the creature. "Who the hell are these two?!"
"They had Alucard in their sights," the creature Skylar called Tally said, looking at Skylar, then at the two under its bladed claws. "Arrow drawn."
"They did what?!" Skylar turned her head to the two strangers, her teeth clenched, and her eyes sharp with anger. "Start explaining, you two!"