Gaining Strength [Part 14]
Jul. 26th, 2020 12:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Frankenstein needs to gain strength to protect humanity; the werewolves might hold the key to that.
Notes: Frankenstein decides werewolves are the bigger threat AU.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,600
Total word count: 29,896
Status: Work in progress
It was strange walking through the familiar streets he'd spent years living. It had been months and his feet still knew the way to the Union building.
He would have gone there, but he turned his heel, walking down different streets. Now, where was that tavern that Filippo had sometimes mentioned...?
As much as gossip and rumours annoyed Frankenstein, it would point him in a direction to begin his search rather than trying to wade through everything, and Filippo had seemed like he kept an ear out for it.
It was a start.
* * *
At night it wasn't so strange for someone to have their hood up to ward from the cold, nor to wear a scarf, and Frankenstein made sure they were enough to hide his scars.
Filippo wasn't hard to spot leaving the tavern, especially when he left early.
The streets were quiet but it wasn't the dead of the night. There were still still people milling around, a few patrolling guards.
He kept to the shadows, following Filippo.
* * *
Frankenstein looked around, but there was no-one else within earshot. Human earshot, at least.
"Filippo," he hissed as Filippo unlocked his door.
Filippo whirled around, eyes wide. "Yes? Can I-?" He peered under Frankenstein's hood.
Frankenstein pulled it back enough to reveal his face to him.
"Frank-" Filippo's eyes darted around them, and he then ushered Frankenstein inside.
Filippo understood he wanted secrecy. Good. Though that also told him that more rumours had spread within the Union.
...Rumours had always been spread about him in the Union, even before he'd ran, so that shouldn't have been much of a surprise.
"Frankenstein? How have you been?" Filippo said once he had closed the door.
There were many things he could say to that. "I've been doing well," Frankenstein said as he lowered his hood. It was the truth.
"The rumour mill has been spinning had since you, ah, left," Filippo said, puttering around to start a fire. "Including one where people said you went to live with the werewolves!" He let out a small laugh.
So they were trying to destroy his reputation both with the populace and within.
Filippo looked up once a spark caught. "I suppose that's why you came to me, rather than going to the Union?"
Hm, Filippo was smarter than he gave him credit for. Or maybe he was better at social interactions than studying and research. "Yes, that's exactly why I came to you - the Union has made it rather clear that they're displeased at me."
Filippo nodded, adding water to a kettle before putting it over the fire. "What do you want to know?"
Frankenstein didn't say anything for a few seconds after he sat down, studying him. Filippo seemed to be rather relaxed around him, aside from the wariness of Frankenstein being followed. "You seem rather...forward about giving me information?" He hadn't known Filippo well but Frankenstein had thought he would side with the Union, and that he would need to convince Filippo first.
Filippo gave him a small smile, collecting cups. "You did tell me to not trust gossip as I heard it. I couldn't confirm with you if they were true or not, but they were so outlandish it was easy not to believe."
It was good that Filippo had taken in that bit of advice.
"So? Your questions? I'm sure you have a lot of them," Filippo said as he poured the boiling water from the kettle to the cups.
"How is the research going?" Was it going as badly as he thought it was?
"On werewolf transformation?" Filippo shook his head. "That stalled when you left. I was moved to help with creating a human soul weapon."
Frankenstein raised an eyebrow. "And how is that progressing?" The last he saw, they were still puzzling over the mechanism of how to create one, and considering what had happened with the werewolf transformation, Frankenstein dreaded the answer of how many lives had been lost.
"It hasn't. There have been quite a few alchemists lamenting the lack of your insight."
Hah, good. It meant less people had been hurt, and maybe without him, they would learn how to work out their own calculations.
"Though..." Filippo stirred some sugar into his tea. "Osbern is still working on the werewolf transformation. I heard he had secured some werewolves for study - I'd seen some people being carried into Osbern's room."
Frankenstein frowned. They could be the ones being tested rather than werewolves, but if it were true, how had Osbern managed that? The Union was a force to be reckoned with, but in terms of brute force, they shouldn't be able to take down one werewolf, let alone multiple.
Though, if silver was involved...
"With no success?" Frankenstein said.
Filippo nodded.
Something was off. It had been months since he had left - how had Osbern been allowed to spend this long on something with no results?
"You didn't know, did you...?" Filippo asked softly.
Frankenstein blinked, trying to follow Filippo's question. He couldn't be asking how Osbern had acquired werewolves. "Know what?"
"About the experiments Osbern had been doing with your research."
...Ah.
"I realised I'd never talked to you about them before the day you disappeared," Filippo continued. "I know how hard you work and how much of a perfectionist you are - you wouldn't have left something unfinished." Filippo smiled sadly into his tea. "I'd listened to Osbern talk, but then never confirmed it with you. If I had, you would have learned about it earlier."
There was a chance it could have been stopped before those people had died. Or it would have merely delayed what would happened. "...That's in the past now," Frankenstein said, closing his eyes briefly. "We can't do anything about what's already happened, but we can learn from it and continue forward." That was what research was all about.
"Yes," Filippo said. His smile faded and he exhaled, the wisps from his tea twisting. "You hadn't come to clear your name, did you?
"No," Frankenstein admitted. "There is little chance of that succeeding, nor would I want to. I'd needed information, and you've given me that. Thank you."
Frankenstein glanced at the door and stood up. He had been here long enough. "I think I've taken up more than enough of your time. Sorry that I can't stay for tea." He paused, ears still straining for anything outside. "I'll try to make sure nothing traces back to you."
Filippo nodded, going to the door. "It was nice seeing you again."
Frankenstein lifted his hood. "And with luck, you won't ever again."
The street was still quiet when Filippo opened the door.
Frankenstein hurried out and as soon as he was out of Filippo's line of sight, he ran, the buildings blurring. The Union had eyes and ears everywhere and it was best he was seen around Filippo as little as possible.
But the conversation had been fruitful. He had another thread to follow.
* * *
Having more strength made it far easier to reach the rooftops and with the better vantage point, he had a much clearer view of the Union building's entrance. It had the added benefit that most people didn't look up so long as he didn't move and kept his cloak in check. He made sure to stay crouched in the shadow of a chimney as he waited.
Now he just had to wait for Osbern to appear.
* * *
The night chilled the later it became, less and less people passing by as time wore on.
Osbern still hadn't left, and hm. Had he arrived too late? Had Osbern already left for the evening?
It was nice drinking up the familiar sights and seeing a few of the faces he remembered. They seemed to be doing well, aside from having later nights than Frankenstein remembered. His heart ached a little at the sight of them, and hm, maybe he had missed being amongst other humans more than he thought. Even the ones he hadn't interacted much with. They had been in his life, and now they were not.
Frankenstein stilled when he felt werewolf auras approaching. What were werewolves doing here inside a human settlement? Had they tracked him down?
Frankenstein calmed his breathing, trying to settle his thoughts like Dorant had taught him to.
Now that he was focused, Frankenstein could sense it was a small number of werewolves, not more than three. Not that it would take many to kill him if they wanted.
But it was strange. They weren't acting like how he would expect them to.
They were moving in a distinct direction that was away from the more populated area, not circling around trying to find him.
Had they found him, or were they here for another reason? It couldn't be to control the town - they weren't attacking humans.
If they weren't here for him, then why were they here?
He double-checked his dagger was still at his hip. It was. Frankenstein glanced back at the Union building before moving to follow the werewolves.
Osbern could wait. For now, the werewolves were far more important.
Tea hadn't spread to Europe yet by this time, but Frankenstein had brought it to Lukedonia, so...
Summary: Frankenstein needs to gain strength to protect humanity; the werewolves might hold the key to that.
Notes: Frankenstein decides werewolves are the bigger threat AU.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 1,600
Total word count: 29,896
Status: Work in progress
It was strange walking through the familiar streets he'd spent years living. It had been months and his feet still knew the way to the Union building.
He would have gone there, but he turned his heel, walking down different streets. Now, where was that tavern that Filippo had sometimes mentioned...?
As much as gossip and rumours annoyed Frankenstein, it would point him in a direction to begin his search rather than trying to wade through everything, and Filippo had seemed like he kept an ear out for it.
It was a start.
At night it wasn't so strange for someone to have their hood up to ward from the cold, nor to wear a scarf, and Frankenstein made sure they were enough to hide his scars.
Filippo wasn't hard to spot leaving the tavern, especially when he left early.
The streets were quiet but it wasn't the dead of the night. There were still still people milling around, a few patrolling guards.
He kept to the shadows, following Filippo.
Frankenstein looked around, but there was no-one else within earshot. Human earshot, at least.
"Filippo," he hissed as Filippo unlocked his door.
Filippo whirled around, eyes wide. "Yes? Can I-?" He peered under Frankenstein's hood.
Frankenstein pulled it back enough to reveal his face to him.
"Frank-" Filippo's eyes darted around them, and he then ushered Frankenstein inside.
Filippo understood he wanted secrecy. Good. Though that also told him that more rumours had spread within the Union.
...Rumours had always been spread about him in the Union, even before he'd ran, so that shouldn't have been much of a surprise.
"Frankenstein? How have you been?" Filippo said once he had closed the door.
There were many things he could say to that. "I've been doing well," Frankenstein said as he lowered his hood. It was the truth.
"The rumour mill has been spinning had since you, ah, left," Filippo said, puttering around to start a fire. "Including one where people said you went to live with the werewolves!" He let out a small laugh.
So they were trying to destroy his reputation both with the populace and within.
Filippo looked up once a spark caught. "I suppose that's why you came to me, rather than going to the Union?"
Hm, Filippo was smarter than he gave him credit for. Or maybe he was better at social interactions than studying and research. "Yes, that's exactly why I came to you - the Union has made it rather clear that they're displeased at me."
Filippo nodded, adding water to a kettle before putting it over the fire. "What do you want to know?"
Frankenstein didn't say anything for a few seconds after he sat down, studying him. Filippo seemed to be rather relaxed around him, aside from the wariness of Frankenstein being followed. "You seem rather...forward about giving me information?" He hadn't known Filippo well but Frankenstein had thought he would side with the Union, and that he would need to convince Filippo first.
Filippo gave him a small smile, collecting cups. "You did tell me to not trust gossip as I heard it. I couldn't confirm with you if they were true or not, but they were so outlandish it was easy not to believe."
It was good that Filippo had taken in that bit of advice.
"So? Your questions? I'm sure you have a lot of them," Filippo said as he poured the boiling water from the kettle to the cups.
"How is the research going?" Was it going as badly as he thought it was?
"On werewolf transformation?" Filippo shook his head. "That stalled when you left. I was moved to help with creating a human soul weapon."
Frankenstein raised an eyebrow. "And how is that progressing?" The last he saw, they were still puzzling over the mechanism of how to create one, and considering what had happened with the werewolf transformation, Frankenstein dreaded the answer of how many lives had been lost.
"It hasn't. There have been quite a few alchemists lamenting the lack of your insight."
Hah, good. It meant less people had been hurt, and maybe without him, they would learn how to work out their own calculations.
"Though..." Filippo stirred some sugar into his tea. "Osbern is still working on the werewolf transformation. I heard he had secured some werewolves for study - I'd seen some people being carried into Osbern's room."
Frankenstein frowned. They could be the ones being tested rather than werewolves, but if it were true, how had Osbern managed that? The Union was a force to be reckoned with, but in terms of brute force, they shouldn't be able to take down one werewolf, let alone multiple.
Though, if silver was involved...
"With no success?" Frankenstein said.
Filippo nodded.
Something was off. It had been months since he had left - how had Osbern been allowed to spend this long on something with no results?
"You didn't know, did you...?" Filippo asked softly.
Frankenstein blinked, trying to follow Filippo's question. He couldn't be asking how Osbern had acquired werewolves. "Know what?"
"About the experiments Osbern had been doing with your research."
...Ah.
"I realised I'd never talked to you about them before the day you disappeared," Filippo continued. "I know how hard you work and how much of a perfectionist you are - you wouldn't have left something unfinished." Filippo smiled sadly into his tea. "I'd listened to Osbern talk, but then never confirmed it with you. If I had, you would have learned about it earlier."
There was a chance it could have been stopped before those people had died. Or it would have merely delayed what would happened. "...That's in the past now," Frankenstein said, closing his eyes briefly. "We can't do anything about what's already happened, but we can learn from it and continue forward." That was what research was all about.
"Yes," Filippo said. His smile faded and he exhaled, the wisps from his tea twisting. "You hadn't come to clear your name, did you?
"No," Frankenstein admitted. "There is little chance of that succeeding, nor would I want to. I'd needed information, and you've given me that. Thank you."
Frankenstein glanced at the door and stood up. He had been here long enough. "I think I've taken up more than enough of your time. Sorry that I can't stay for tea." He paused, ears still straining for anything outside. "I'll try to make sure nothing traces back to you."
Filippo nodded, going to the door. "It was nice seeing you again."
Frankenstein lifted his hood. "And with luck, you won't ever again."
The street was still quiet when Filippo opened the door.
Frankenstein hurried out and as soon as he was out of Filippo's line of sight, he ran, the buildings blurring. The Union had eyes and ears everywhere and it was best he was seen around Filippo as little as possible.
But the conversation had been fruitful. He had another thread to follow.
Having more strength made it far easier to reach the rooftops and with the better vantage point, he had a much clearer view of the Union building's entrance. It had the added benefit that most people didn't look up so long as he didn't move and kept his cloak in check. He made sure to stay crouched in the shadow of a chimney as he waited.
Now he just had to wait for Osbern to appear.
The night chilled the later it became, less and less people passing by as time wore on.
Osbern still hadn't left, and hm. Had he arrived too late? Had Osbern already left for the evening?
It was nice drinking up the familiar sights and seeing a few of the faces he remembered. They seemed to be doing well, aside from having later nights than Frankenstein remembered. His heart ached a little at the sight of them, and hm, maybe he had missed being amongst other humans more than he thought. Even the ones he hadn't interacted much with. They had been in his life, and now they were not.
Frankenstein stilled when he felt werewolf auras approaching. What were werewolves doing here inside a human settlement? Had they tracked him down?
Frankenstein calmed his breathing, trying to settle his thoughts like Dorant had taught him to.
Now that he was focused, Frankenstein could sense it was a small number of werewolves, not more than three. Not that it would take many to kill him if they wanted.
But it was strange. They weren't acting like how he would expect them to.
They were moving in a distinct direction that was away from the more populated area, not circling around trying to find him.
Had they found him, or were they here for another reason? It couldn't be to control the town - they weren't attacking humans.
If they weren't here for him, then why were they here?
He double-checked his dagger was still at his hip. It was. Frankenstein glanced back at the Union building before moving to follow the werewolves.
Osbern could wait. For now, the werewolves were far more important.
Tea hadn't spread to Europe yet by this time, but Frankenstein had brought it to Lukedonia, so...