Naming Souls

Sequel to those who are hunted

Disclaimer: Castlevania belongs to Konami not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic, it is written purely because I have a burning need to create. Although I would like to own Adrian . . . then he’d be mine.

Warning: this fic contains YAOI (GuyXGuy), Bloodplay and a lemon; if this offends or upsets you do not read this, it that simple.

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Richter/Adrian, Adrian/Richter

Setting: post Castlevania symphony of the night

Dedications: this is dedicated to all Castlevania fans, there could never be to many.

Summery: The trials that must be endured while Adrian tries to adapt to what he has always wanted, a normal life.

Authoress note: Those who are hunted was probably the first long-ish fic I ever wrote; I have written this to commemorate that fact. For those who asked please forgive me that this has taken so long to come out.

Italics mean either flashbacks or thoughts

* \/ * /\ * \/ * /\ *

Chapter Three

{That afternoon}

Richter hummed contentedly as they prepared the house and gardens for the guests who would be arriving tomorrow. Richter was currently setting tall torches into the ground, for no doubt the party would continue late into the night. Many men feared to remain outside after dark but having the night gathering on the Belmont estate they felt safe, after all how many monsters would come to the Belmont estate, Richter grinned at the thought looking absently around for Adrian. He’d managed to capture his immortal on the way down the stairs and ‘convince’ him to reconsider. He’d left Adrian upstairs a boneless heap half covered by a now shredded sheet, the immortal had promised to be down as soon as he could get his legs to work again but had not yet arrived on the scene. This both inflated the vampire hunter’s ego and made him worry slightly.

“I’m guessing you two made up then?” Maria smirked at Richter’s obvious contentment; Richter looked at her and smiled,

“That’s why I start fights,” Richter smirked “making up is always most enjoyable.” Maria blushed but did not snap at the hunter as she had in town for she knew how pointless the effort was, for Richter was just a bubbling pot of unsubtle innuendo.

“Where is Adrian then?” Maria asked and just as Richter was about to reply ‘trying to get his legs to work’ he was interrupted.

“I am here lady,” the dunpeal had left his finery upstairs, knowing that he would be expected to help prepare. He had simply slipped into a shirt and trousers and left his hair unbound. Adrian had small blood drops on his side and shoulders, cuts made by Richter’s nails earlier bleeding underneath the soft white material, Maria smiled and blushed while Richter glared at the dunpeal he had often told him to wait until he healed before putting a white shirt on.

“Nice of you to join us,” Richter spoke calmly, “I have a little job for you.” Adrian tilted his head in a strangely adorable and curious fashion, “this will go on into the night, and we want a lot of light,”

“Light,” Adrian echoed, absently scratching at his throat. Richter smirked at the fading bruise he was clawing and watched as a blushing Maria turned and walked away.

“You did that on purpose,” Richter smirked, knowing the dunpeal would not usually draw attention to his ‘wounds’ unless there was a reason behind it, the immortal nodded and stepped up to him walking into the mortal’s arms tongue laving at his throat. Richter sighed, he had fed Adrian just a short half hour or so ago, usually the immortal only needed blood every two days, sometimes he would go longer worried about his mortal. For Adrian to still be hungry such a short time after feeding, it let Richter know what the dunpeal was going to say. “You’re going into the woods again?” Richter asked

“I think I must,” Adrian answered “it’s not fading, and it has been three weeks since I last went.”

“That’s less time than before,” Richter sighed, but knowing he would not argue, “Before you disappear off anywhere though would you mind helping me.” The dunpeal actually smiled at the mortal

“You think I could deny you anything after what you just did to me?” he asked and Richter laughed, it was not often Adrian smiled and Richter was glad that he knew how to make it happen, the dunpeal stroking his ego helped to.

“Like I said,” Richter continued to smirk proudly, his ego slowly inflating “we need light, but the wind is strong this time of year, your fire seems immune to it.”

“It’s not actual fire,” Adrian shrugged “its magic not natural, but I’ll light your torches for you if you wish.”

“Thank you, would you do it now, to save us the time tomorrow.” The mortal asked sticking the last of the torches into the earth. “We can spend time out here tonight that way,”

“As you wish,” Adrian answered stalking across the gardens to obey his mortal, holding out his arm the flame seemed to form out of nothing and launched itself out to land on the torches remaining tiny and insignificant like candle flames. Adrian sent flames to all the torches and walking back towards Richter clicked his fingers, the tiny flames sprang upwards, roaring to full life.

“The lamps on the roof tops need doing as well,” Richter called before muttering “bloody show off.” Smirking Adrian turned to go into the house.

“The torches look good,” Maria commented as she approached

“You think there’s enough?” Richter asked contemplating returning to town to retrieve more. He would have to go tomorrow as evening was quickly rising, absently he cursed his lack of self control when it came to his dunpeal, he always took a lot of time over his immortal.

“Don’t worry Richter everything will be perfect tomorrow.” Maria soothed knowing the vampire hunter was edgy about this party

“I just . . . I just want a normal life again,” Richter sighed “this is my chance to re-establish that.” The hunter turned and stared fiddling with a lighted torch.

“It will be fine Rich . . .What the . . .,” Maria’s small gasp made Richter turn, spotting what she was so surprised about he smiled. Adrian was currently displaying vampiric balance to its fullest by marching across the rooftops iron railings to reach the lamps; he’d donned his cape for which Richter was pleased about. The house’s rooftop railings were thin enough to barely support birds and now they held the dunpeal aloft it was enough to make a man shiver, Richter laughed as Maria seemed to be entering a panic “He’ll fall!” Maria hissed

“Not likely,” Richter smiled then paused taking a deep breath as a strange thought hit him “three months ago this would have been the strangest thing in the world to me . . . but now its perfectly normal.”

“you sound sad about that,” Maria smirked “after all the effort you went to get that dunpeal now you sound disappointed,” she paused and the humour left her voice “you do love him Richter?”

“I do love him,” Richter insisted “I just . . . there are times when . . . I’m a vampire hunter and . . . I’ll never lead a normal life will I?”

“Normal,” Maria smiled “is what you love, what you want not what everyone else thinks,” her smile widened “you know there are tribes in the northern mountains who strip naked and bathe in ice pools . . . is that a normal thing to do?” she asked Richter shook his head “it is for them. See ‘Normal’ is what you want it to be.”

“But still . . .” Richter began but was cut short by a startled yelp from the rooftops as Adrian discovered the just how precarious his balance was and fell. Maria screamed but Richter just sighed and watched as Adrian’s cape billowed around him and seemed to stiffen, opening out and reshaping itself until seconds after the fall began Adrian glided to earth on a pair of cloth wings.

“That,” Maria began before marching over to the dunpeal “THAT WAS THE STUPIDIST THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE!”

“But I . . . I can fly Maria.” Adrian mumbled seeming almost terrified of the now screaming woman

“YOU! . . . you awful creature you scared me half to death! . . . . You’re not hurt are you?” she asked, Adrian shook his head, eyes still wide from being scolded, Richter laughed watching the once impressive dunpeal cower behind his cape from the tiny woman’s rage, kindly he decided to save his lover.

“Maria if you would be so kind could you help me. Adrian didn’t you want to go somewhere?” he hinted that the dunpeal should make himself scarce and with a grateful smile the immortal fled, his stomach growling loudly.

Adrian hated killing for blood. It was that simple, he hated it, hated it more than he could ever hate anything else and so he refused to murder mortals for his bloodlust. While he might not ‘like’ mortals or enjoy the company of mortals that didn’t mean he would kill them. At first he had been dubious about the little sips he took from Richter but the mortal seemed not only not to mind but out right forced him to at times, the poisons of a vampires kiss were highly addictive. But while he refused to murder mortals he understood that at times things would die from his bloodlust and he would rather it were an animal than a human. He disliked what he was coming here to do, but tension sang in him like s truck tuning fork and he knew that if he didn’t eat something it would get more and more intense until he hurt himself or someone else and knowing fate the one he hurt would be one he loved.

The feelings they should not be this strong, he’d fed from Richter a little over two hours ago, small sips but enough to keep his blood lust under control so much so that the bloodlust should now be small and easy to ignore but then sometimes despite all his efforts and Richter’s it would continue to rise in him. This happened every twenty five to thirty days, because of the simple reason that vampires do not feed on blood alone. When a vampire kills he absorbs ‘life energy’ from his prey, vampires need the life energy as much as the blood, for it is that energy that animates their corpses. Adrian being half mortal had life energy of his own and thus only needed to kill every month or so unlike his father who had to kill every few nights.

“Trust it to call tonight,” he muttered sliding through the woods, the first time Richter was trying to host any type of gathering since he’d brought the dunpeal home and up comes bloodlust. Fate was a daemon in disguise.

The dunpeal sighed suddenly feeling an aura of calm slide over him, these woods near castlevania despite being filled with monsters made the half blood relax, strange that he should be more relaxed around hell spawn than humans but then again he’d grown up with these creatures, his best friend had had fur and a tail it had been humans who had hurt him, humans who he had to fear. Ingrained fear is not something that is easy to let go of; the dunpeal grumbled under his breath it was stupid really that an ogres roar just made him sigh while an angry yell from a mortal man made his blood run cold. He shivered, that sound still frightened him, it really was well and truly pathetic and so embarrassing, he remembered when Richter had first brought him here and he had refused to bite him for fear of hurting the mortal, it was becoming painfully obvious that the dunpeal needed blood and still he refused. Richter had lost his temper and Adrian had been weak and unable to run or fight or even move much and Richter had yelled, the mortal had actually thrown things across the room in his temper and what had the half vampire son of Dracula done, he’d pulled the blanket over his head and trembled, fear causing tears to build behind his eyes.

Richter had been horrified with himself for frightening the dunpeal; Adrian had just been mortified that such a thing could affect him so. The mortal had sat with him for the rest of the night and held him absently running fingers through his hair. The next evening Adrian had tried to explain why the sound bothered him so much

“Its ridiculous,” the dunpeal snapped “I have faced down dragons, but have a mortal man shout at me and I become a gibbering wreck,”

Adrian jerked suddenly, wrenched from his thoughts as the sound of something small caught his attention and his fangs tingled in his mouth. He was starving, it hurt to be this hungry but it was a feeling he had become used to after such a long time not eating properly and seemed so trivial at the moment but left alone it would quickly become uncontrollable. Creeping closer he tensed, he didn’t need to see it his nose was pinpointing exactly where his prey stood on the other side of the bush, he tensed again and sprang. Feathers, fur and cloth rose into the air, the scream of a griffin echoed through out the forest then silence which lasted for three seconds

“ADRIAN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!” The griffin was bright red and the size of a big dog and currently it was yelling at the dunpeal now pinning it to the forest floor.

“I’m sorry Archanon.” Adrian would have blushed had he enough blood to spare “I was . . .,” he trailed off letting the best up

“You were going to eat me!” the beast sounded well and truly insulted “well of all the things!”

“I was hungry,” Adrian muttered now trying not to smirk

“Well so am I,” the beast snapped “but you don’t see me eating you now do you?” Adrian sighed half wanting to dare the bird/beast to try his luck but stopped himself, he always became more violent when he was hungry

“Archanon,” Adrian swallowed, the griffin huffed loudly and Adrian rolled his eyes, it was going to take more than a verbal apology, reaching into his pockets he came up with nothing until in one of his coat pockets gave up a meal card. A magical card that when invoked could form food from nothingness, the only downside being that you didn’t know what you were getting; throwing the card up Adrian smirked relieved as a roast materialised before him. He pushed it to the griffin who glared for a few more moments before snapping at the roasted turkey.

“Warm meat Adrian,” the griffin made a sound akin to a purr “I may have to let you hunt me more often. Although if I were you I would get your nose checked you should have been able to smell it was me.”

“I was paying little attention,” Adrian admitted the griffin gave him a look, not un-similar to one his father used to give him.

“Well judging by the fact you have flesh I doubt that’s what your hunting for tonight,” Archanon spoke calmly now “you’re hunting blood this night,” he guessed his beak full of torn flesh.

“Am I not always hunting blood,” Adrian sighed feeling melancholy creeping up on him once more

“Well,” the bird/beast dragged him back to the surface of his mind “you’ve always got that mortal you seem to be keeping as a pet why don’t you eat him?”

“Richter’s not my pet,” Adrian snorted a strained laugh “I doubt he’d enjoy hearing himself being referred to that way,” the griffin shrugged red feathers falling into the moss

“Why not, you keep him, feed from him and by the smell I can tell you’re mating with him, that sounds like a mortal pet to me,” the griffin smiled which was strange on a bird and consisted more of a movement of the eyes than beak. Adrian couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him and wondered what Richter’s reaction would be if the mortal knew the griffin had called them mated. Not wanting to continue this train of conversation Adrian spoke

“I’m to tired to debate my relationship with my mortal tonight Archanon, please let us talk of other things,” Adrian sighed ignoring the pain in his gut, he really was starving tonight, more so than he should be.

“Very well,” the griffin agreed “I nearly died this morning,” Adrian raised his eyebrows in a curious fashion “the great white griffin, Rashida he came at me talons and beak, I think he’s trying to claim the territory. But I’m not sure why he came at me, it’s your territory Adrian.” Adrian went very, very still; the kind of still only vampires have.

“Well that’s . . . lovely,” he whispered,

The dunpeal had claimed these woods as his, being the strongest of those living here he was the undisputed ‘alpha’ and when powerful monsters came here they had to come through him, he had to assert dominance over them to keep them under his control. His father had done it to all the monsters in the castle and now Adrian was doing it in the woods. The dunpeal sighed he really was becoming his father, he was corrupting the Belmont’s and preventing the Belmont family to continue and he held a small court over the forests . . . daddy would be proud.

“Adrian!” the shout of Richter echoed through the woods and the Griffin stood,

“You’re hunts been cut short again,” he laughed as Adrian shooed him away and turned walking towards Richter

“ADR . . .,”

“You shouldn’t shout in this place,” Adrian appeared behind Richter who jumped about a foot in the air before turning and glaring at his dunpeal

“I’m going to by you a little belled collar,” the mortal snapped as Adrian took his arm and led him out of the woods “like what Maria’s got on her cat!”

“I’m sure you will Richter.” Adrian sighed his stomach growling loudly, Richter raised an eyebrow but Adrian shook his head “I’ll hunt before tomorrow evening don’t worry.”

“Good because tomorrow is going to be wonderful, nothing will go wrong.” Richter beamed and the dunpeal decided to wait until tomorrow before telling Richter he was in another fight over his territory.

≈Δ≈

It was that time which is either very later of very early when Adrian woke to find his stomach growling and his control slipping. He hadn’t fed claiming he would do it tomorrow, thinking he had enough control to at least sleep next to the vampire hunter without eating him alive. It seemed he was wrong; fortunately vampires are very skilled at manipulating their own lusts and Adrian had learnt this trick well from his father. At the moment his body ached with the lust to hunt, to chase something run it down and sink his teeth into it; this was something he could not do so he twisted it, he couldn’t give the beast inside of him a life but he could quieten it with sex.

“I won’t let him hurt you,” Adrian whispered at Richter, before leaning over to his lover

He kissed and licked Richter’s shoulder and neck delicately as his hand wandered down the man’s back and round to trace his claws lightly over the mortal’s abdomen, Richter sighed in his sleep but did not wake; he did however let out a little gasp as the dunpeal gripped him and slowly began to stroke his sleeping member, coxing him to hardness. The mortal groaned still sleeping and Adrian purred, wondering what other little sounds he could draw forth before waking him; he traced his tongue over Richter’s throat, over the thin scar on the man’s shoulder where the dunpeal had fist bitten him, the wound had been made with a knife so luckily for Richter he didn’t have teeth marks in his shoulder where all could see; after he first time Adrian had been biting the mortal in places where it would be far more difficult for a passer by to notice. Lapping at the sensitive skin made Richter groan louder and press his shoulder upwards towards his lovers mouth; the mortal was becoming quiet addicted to his Dunpeal’s teeth.

Adrian was becoming so absorbed in Richter’s responses that he didn’t feel the subtle manipulation of his beast pressing down on him, twisting inside of him slowly. He began to nip harder at the smooth skin he was worshiping, sucking hard on the skin raising bruises. His breath came faster, and the desire to roll Richter onto his back and take him was making Adrian dizzy. He needed something now and blood was easier, working down his lovers chest slowly Adrian nipped a little to hard at the mortal’s left nipple and drew a droplet of blood which was lapped away the dunpeal’s arousal was growing at an astonishing rate, and he clenched his teeth and ignored the voice telling him to bite down hard, drain the mortal for all he was worth. Slowly he kissed a trail down the hunters abdomen pausing the lap for a moment at the dew gathering on the mortal’s tip. Richter arched in his sleep making the immortal smile before he went for his goal, pushing the mortal’s thighs apart harshly he dipped between them laving at the soft scared skin here.

Richter had at lest six scars down here, it was starting to look like a patch work quilt. The mortal also had a scar behind each knee, a knife scar on his elbow and shoulder and strangely a bit scar on his waist when the immortal had lost it too quickly. Adrian glanced quickly to make sure his love was still sleeping before leaning down and sinking fang into vein.

“GODS!” Richter was now very awake, and hands grasped white hair as he held the dunpeal in place, watching as a slim white throat swallowed time and time again. “W . . . warn . . . me next . . . time,” the mortal gasped. “Jesus Christ!”

His breath caught in his throat as a slim white hand found his now aching member and slowly stroked it. Richter groaned when he felt strong slim fingers of the dunpeal’s free hand dig into his thigh, the immortal sucked powerfully almost wrenching the blood from Richter’s veins with small frantic movements; Richter swallowed, it had been a long time since Adrian had been this desperate for him, normally feeding was a languid experience saved for the after glow of sex but this was vicious, bestial and almost painful but at the same time it was one of the most intensely wonderful feeling’s Richter had ever experienced; he started to feel dizzy as the dunpeal reached his usual limit.

“Ad . . . Adrian,” Richter breath “Adrian stop,” the dunpeal stopped at the sound of his name but couldn’t stop the half sob that escaped his throat, he needed more, the beast was still pulling on him to take more. Snapping and lashing inside of him screeching at him to press the mortal down and take what he needed, blood sex and everything in between.

Breathing raggedly, the Dunpeal sat back on his heels between Richter’s legs before leaning forwards and almost collapsing against the mortal, strong warm mortal arms wrapped around the immortals lithe form and held him to him. Richter swallowed worriedly and looked his lover over silently, it had been a long time indeed since Adrian had willingly tried to take more. The mortal tried to gather his wits and tried to ignore how the immortal was pressing against him so he could speak.

“Are you alright?” Richter asked as the dunpeal trembled against him, Adrian nodded

“It’s loud,” the immortal whispered “its probably because I’ve been around so many living, breathing . . . hot. . .,” the dunpeal’s hands tightened on the hunter’s chest “breathing bloody people but I can’t drown it out,” Richter cooed softly to the immortal before shifting himself pressing their hips together, he knew this could help, it had helped before. Richter theorized that the more vampiric and violent side of Adrian’s nature could be pacified by sex simply because there was always a certain amount of aggression in it as well as blood.

“It’s alright,” he breathed “shh, it’s alright.” Adrian looked up and Richter watched as pupils the colour of a storm dilated and flashed red at him as the immortal began to move down his body.

“wait, don’t you wan . . .,” Richter swallowed and reaching to the bedside table pulled out a little vial of oil, Adrian looked desperately at his lover and shook his head leaning back up he held the mortal hunter to him, ear on Richter’s chest listening to his heart beat, still strong if a little fast the sound soothed him.

“Please,” he breathed as the blood settled and quietened the beast partly but not wholly, the monster in him still sung for Richter’s life “I need to feed it,”

Richter’s breath caught as light kisses were spread across his shoulders and chest, he would have purred if he had been able, he wasn’t sure how doing this fed Adrian but if the dunpeal wanted to do this for him then he wasn’t going to argue. The hunter’s train of thought was stopped dead when his lover nipped, nearly dangerous at his nipple making him whine, it stung as if cut and surprised Richter watched the immortal lap tiny dew drops of blood from him. He gasped when a pail hand crept down between his legs to tease his member. Gentle touches soft and steady as if unsure. Heat grew within him with a delicious, intensity growing gently, growing ever more enflamed until he arched up and whimpered. Wanting something more, to be touched firmly, not the little light teasing caresses.

Suddenly Adrian caught his wrists and pinned them above his head with one hand, capturing his mouth in a searing kiss, Adrian seemed to suck on his mouth swallowing something from him, and as the dunpeal fed off his mouth the hand on his arousal moved faster, grip tightening a little. Another cry escaped the mortal, the sound muffled by his dunpeal’s mouth. Richter moaned and bucked against his lover, breaking the kiss.

“Please,” Adrian breathed Richter nodded not trusting his voice, but he all out screamed as he was swallowed. His back bowed, hips arching up off the bead. Nothing had ever been so intense without being pain. But this wasn’t pain, it was wonderful. Those lips moved up, tongue circling the head briefly, then Adrian swallowed him again and sucked on him powerfully. It was like he was trying to completely drain him of blood in seconds through his sex.

Then the world turned white.

Adrian crawled up and collapsed next to Richter, the beast quiet for now, it lay inside him purring and digesting its meal. Richter embraced the shorter man and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. His eyes were stunned and heavy-lidded from the intensity of their activities.

Adrian dragged himself to his elbows and smiled down at him. “Thank you, its quiet now.”

End chapter Three

Authoress note: I think I made Adrian to whinny, did I?

Please Review