joint forces [ivan]

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

Obtaining power was relatively easy, but keeping power was a far more tenuous game. It involved strategy, cunning, and manipulation. Things that Eleanor had been playing with far earlier than the war - but then, she’d been doing it out of spite and for her own vendetta. Murdering the men she had married to further her own wealth. Conning the men at court and in the wealthy, influential circles to fall for her - sometimes leaving their wives, mistresses, and other playthings at the behest of her irresistible Charm.

Now, she needed to do those things for a cause. There wasn’t much difference, except now there was only one man in her bed. Or, at least, there had been until Marianna Lestrange abducted Eleanor’s husband, Bastian. The newlyweds had secretly taken custody of Bastian’s daughter, Sancia, and were married the same night. It had been a blissful few months before his disappearance - and Eleanor had soon learned just exactly who was responsible for such an atrocious act.

But, the mortal would be dealt with in time. Of course, those scales were tipped in Eleanor’s favor. She did, after all, have the baby girl. Who was now becoming Eleanor’s own daughter. The thing she had craved for centuries on end. With Sancia tucked away safely at home, it was time to focus on the matters of the war, and particularly the covens who were siding with Death.

Ivan Alucard predated Eleanor by a couple centuries - not long enough for her to defer to him where matters involving Death were concerned, especially since it was made quite clear in these past few months that she had gained more than enough favor with her darling Father. But he led another coven, and he supposedly was working for Death and their cause from inside the halfbreed group that was working with the Order. Eleanor had heard that the cause was being run by a vampire - one much older than she had ever had reason to believe existed. An unsettling truth. But something that could be easily remedied in time.

For now, her focus was on serving Death. And that involved what she hoped would be a mutually beneficial relationship between her own coven and Ivan’s.

The White Wyvern was not terribly far from Piqued Curiosity. Eleanor kept an eye on Khun Mae’s shop, checking in on it from time to time, and used her little excursion to Knockturn Alley to get two birds in one stone. Walking into the pub pulled eyes towards her automatically, both the potent magic of her ancestry tugging at the senses of the patrons as well as her preternatural Otherness. The subtle danger of a woman like her.

She sauntered through without paying them much mind. Her wedding bands sat on her finger, mostly useless now that her husband was in the clutches of a mortal brat, but she was loath to part with them after only a few months. They sparkled in the low lighting as she reached up to flick a platinum lock of hair out of her eyes.

“Ivan,” she greeted with a smile as she approached the male and his mate, who was tending the bar. “How lovely to see you.”

ivan ninoslav alucard ● middle priority ● 534

MADE BY MIZO

[ivan ninoslav alucard]

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ivan alucard

Things were going to pay off.

The looming zenith of his plan was so close he could taste it, but Ivan knew there was still much more work to be done. Much of it, he’d taken upon himself. If one wanted something done right, then they often had to do it this way. The Russian poison peddler flinging himself at the mercy of the sun had been a stumbling block- his connections were reluctant to work with someone new to source the venom he was after. But Ivan had eventually hit the magic number, enough gold would grease even the driest of palms, and the precious vials were tucked safely away in the depths of his laboratory, awaiting their time to shine. It was caustic, volatile, difficult to work with, but it was the only thing that would work.

Ivan quieted the part of his mind whirring with formulae and recipes, the solution could not be prepared too soon, the potency would dwindle over time. For now he had further work to do. The dogs and the traitorous of his kind who seemed unnaturally fond of them, seemed to trust him more. It was a delicate dance, feeding them trivial bits of information to make it appear his espionage was in their favor. Ivan wasn’t blind, they were wary of him and right to be so, but it complicated things. Delivering Del back to their sniveling alpha had been a good step in the right direction, but if things were to go without a hitch he needed to be further endeared to the Children.

But how?

Tending the bar alongside Faye wouldn’t tell him. At any rate, fate seemed to have different plans for the evening. Eleanor was a vampiress impossible to ignore, and as she swept into the pub everyone seemed to know that. Heads turned, jaws dropped, even Ivan felt a small warmth in his chest, a release of the tension in his shoulders. Heavy was the head that wore the crown, after all.

“Ivan, how lovely to see you,”

He returned a smile of his own. “To what do I owe the pleasure, kvitka paslʹonu?” asked Ivan, replacing the tankard he had been polishing on the shelf.

eleanor caroline caruso ● 370 ● no notes

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

For years, Eleanor had grown accustomed to working essentially alone. She’d been part of Khun Mae’s coven, so it wasn’t entirely alone, but as Second, she had taken on duties and endeavors that were trusted to her and solely her. When she stepped into the role of coven leader, some aspects of that had changed, and some hadn’t.

She relied on her coven to be her eyes and ears as she had gone into a seclusion with Bastian and baby Sancia. But with Bastian gone now, Eleanor knew she would have to step back into the light and take up her throne. Like a spider, she had carefully crafted certain aspects of her web. Only certain coven members knew about the baby, and they were only the ones that she had personally Turned and could control. Others took care of coven matters at her instruction. But this was something she would personally see to.

She slid her ruby gown-clad figure onto a barstool, sweeping her hair over her shoulder and propping her chin on her hands.

To what do I owe the pleasure, kvitk pasl’onu?

Eleanor was not entirely sure what the foreign term of endearment meant, nor precisely which language it was being delivered in, but it did not sound like an insult. She filed away a thought to ask her step-child about it later, it was a language he was far more familiar with.

“Business more than pleasure tonight,” she replied with a small, simple smile. “But that’s nothing new for you. You’ve been a busy, busy man, darling.”

The vampiress shifted, leaning her cheek into one palm while her other hand rested against the bar, a long fingernail tracing circles and meaningless patterns over the surface.

“Does it get tiring?” Eleanor asked, genuine curiosity in both her voice and her intention. “Living this double life, entertaining the vermin?”

ivan ninoslav alucard ● outfit ● 311

MADE BY MIZO

[ivan ninoslav alucard]

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ivan alucard

Ivan took in the sight of the lovely creature before him. Eleanor was dressed far too beautifully for the likes of a tavern, but he couldn’t find anything to complain about. The fair lady had been making herself scarce lately, for reasons not yet entrusted to him. Even Misha, her fledgling, and his apprentice was tight-lipped about it all. Ivan didn’t especially like secrets, at least not when he wasn’t privy to them, but he had enough experience to know when not to pry. Unfortunately, infuriatingly, not everything was about him. Ivan tried not to resent the fact.

“Business more than pleasure tonight. But that’s nothing new for you. You’ve been a busy, busy man, darling.”

His eyebrow briefly arched behind his unnecessary spectacles, though a sly sort of smirk darted across his lips as he lowered it, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle. Lady Eleanor would know much of his antics, though not all of them. As always, Ivan always had more than a few cards kept close to his chest, yet another trick or two stashed up each sleeve. Always thinking, plotting, planning. But his curiosity was piqued, he wondered what the other coven leader had in mind.

“Does it get tiring? Living this double life, entertaining the vermin?”

Ivan’s nose wrinkled, conveying his thoughts on the matter. Nevertheless, he prepared an answer whilst filling a glass of red wine from the tankard behind him, neatly placing it before Eleanor on the bar. “More and more each pass of the moon,” Ivan responded, sounding weary despite their kind’s imperviousness to fatigue. “But the rewards shall be worth it in the end.” He casually folded his arms, gaze locked on his patron.

eleanor caroline caruso ● 284 ● no notes

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[eleanor caroline caruso]

seduce and destroy

❝

Eleanor was starting to watch some of the unfolding of her carefully-laid plans from the sidelines. It used to bother her, not being in the center of it all. But, as she aged, and especially now that she was caring for her daughter, she found that her priorities were shifting. She now had this beautiful, but delicate, little creature to think of. And her future.

A future that Eleanor didn’t know if she wanted for her child.

But she knew better than to let her doubts color her involvement. Not when she’d come this far. Not when she’d gained such a coveted position. She had to see these things through. And then, she’d slip off the radar with the baby. Death would have its victory, and she’d have her daughter and the promise of protection and safety. She’d settle for nothing less.

Even now, she was starting to let her coven be more present even as her own presence dwindled. She tried to make it go unnoticed, but she doubted someone as meticulous and crafty as Ivan had overlooked her absence.

More and more each pass of the moon.

The vampire sounded jaded as he placed a glass of red wine on before her. She wrapped her fingers around the stem and lifted it to her face, inhaling the scent deeply before sipping, giving an appreciative nod of her head.

But the rewards shall be worth it in the end.

“So I’ve gathered,” Eleanor replied, the edges of her lips curling upwards in the hint of a smile. “I’m afraid I won’t be there personally to indulge in the fruits of your labor. My husband is…indisposed at the moment and that leaves me with some rather personal matters to attend to. My coven, however, is at your disposal. It’s my understanding that one of its members has become a bit of an apprentice for you. My darling step-child, Misha.”

A child that could be a thorn in Eleanor’s side if she did not keep the leash tight. But his loyalty, for now, was guaranteed. And even when it wasn’t, the vampire queen knew of plenty of other ways to guarantee it.

“Feel free to use them as you see fit,” she offered, “as a way to reach me should you need it. And if there is anything you need leading up to this special party of yours, you need only ask. It may be a tad less fabulous with my absence, but I can put my…special touch on things should you desire.”

ivan ninoslav alucard ● outfit ● 422

MADE BY MIZO

[ivan ninoslav alucard]

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ivan alucard

Ivan settled back into his casual posture behind the bar, watching Eleanor evaluate the glass of wine he had procured for her. In the warm, dim lighting of his tavern she was especially lovely- not that Ivan felt there was a venue in which she wouldn’t be the most beautiful thing there. Her beauty was her danger. How many men had that face lured to an untimely demise? Ivan wondered if she even knew the tally. They blurred together after a while, he pondered, having had experience enough in his own right. Ivan had traveled for centuries, leaving a trail of bodies and discarded fledglings in his wake. Over time they became smaller, insignificant, forgotten.

He debated a moment before fetching a second glass from the shelf and filling it for himself. Drinking on the job was something he looked down upon in his staff, particularly the mortal ones as it made them clumsy and stupid, but there were perks to being the proprietor of the business. Rules for thee, not for me. Ivan evaluated the pour much as Eleanor had done, swirl, examine the viscosity as the wine trickled down the inner walls of the glass, inhale deeply, then taste.

Divine.

“... and that leaves me with some rather personal matters to attend to. My coven, however, is at your disposal. It’s my understanding that one of its members has become a bit of an apprentice for you. My darling step-child, Misha.”

Ivan listened with a well-practiced patience, though couldn’t help the small, sad, disappointed sort of smile that came to his lips. “Your presence will be missed, you always are the life of the party,” Ivan commented, though his offense was purely feigned. Business was business, after all. “And yes, the boy is bright, he has the makings of a fine alchemist. He simply needs… a guiding hand.” He gave Eleanor a knowing glance, certainly the boy could be a thorn in her side as well. He was dedicated, passionate, but lacking in finesse.

“... It may be a tad less fabulous with my absence, but I can put my…special touch on things should you desire.”

He chuckled, paused for a sip of wine. “Your offer is generous, as always I appreciate your helpfulness,” said Ivan, now finding himself curious as to why the other coven leader would be absent from his soiree. He knew better than to pry, but he had to wonder what was so important to draw her away from what would be the party of the century.

eleanor caroline caruso ● 421 ● no notes

MADE BY VEL OF GS