Starved For Affection

Ketti: Preeeetty sure I've made it obvious at this point that I'm finishing chapters of pre-written stories and posting them. Thus I have no clue when I'll update most of these n ew ones until inspiration strikes me. But at least you have new things to read in the mean time. That counts for something, right?

Chapter Three

Seras dreamed she was back in her rooms. The air had that familiar stale tang combined with the cloying sweetness of the flower scent they thought masked the recycled machinery taste. She wandered aimlessly, surrounded by white walls that had crayon scribbles marking the lower halves, no purpose in mind. The television was off, she toyed with the idea of turning it on, then shrugged and meandered over to the pool room. Maybe she'd go swimming…

Unbeknownst to the slumbering blonde, her body was moving without her conscious thought. She'd slipped out of her bed, silent as a ghost, and somehow made her way across the empty room and up the stairs. She'd bounced off the door, nearly waking herself, when her hand went to the knob and the heavy door opened on silent hinges. She took a right, unconsciously following the path she'd taken last night when Alucard and Walter had allowed her to go outside. Somehow she managed not to trip on the stairs, and she shivered mildly as a breeze rushed through the underground hallways. She'd exchanged her pants for a pair of comfortable sleeping shorts, and the sleeves were mere strips of cloth on her shoulders despite the chill that clung to the basement levels.

She climbed the second set of stairs and, again, bumped into the glass door. It took longer to open this one, and her brow crinkled as her mind roiled, threatening to wake once more. The door slid open and she nearly stumbled, leaning on the wall for a moment before shuffling down towards the kitchen. As luck – or perhaps not – would have it she managed to time her sleep walking just right that none of the staff or soldiers were in the halls as she passed. But luck alone could not save her from what happened next; as she stumbled into the kitchen, one of the cooks saw her and was alarmed.

"Hey, you, what are you doing here?" The plump woman grabbed Seras by the shoulders, lightly shaking her to get her attention.

The blonde's eyes snapped open, a snarl escaping her lips as she jerked back, landing back first against the counter. The look in her eyes was feral and crazed as they darted about the room, a low growl rumbling in her throat, one would think her a vampire were it not for the sun shining cheerfully through the windows.

Her chest heaved as her breath came faster, the quick motions of her eyes almost dizzying to follow, and behind the rage on her pale face there was a clear and startling terror. The unfortunate cook reached for the girl again, which was a mistake, as Seras grabbed the knife from the counter behind her and slashed at the woman, who was too surprised to dodge, and blood spattered the floor as skin tore easily beneath the blade.

The plump brunette howled in pain as she clutched at her arm, trying to stop the blood flow from her savaged forearm, and Seras backed towards the hall, heedless of the crimson spray marking her cheek.

The other chefs stopped what they were doing and raised voices assaulted her ears as the formerly distracted staff gathered around their injured comrade, wrapping a dish towel around her arm as a makeshift tourniquet while others advanced on her threateningly.

Seras trembled and it felt as though her heart would burst from the adrenaline pumping into her system. Her upper lip curled back from dull teeth as she swung the knife threateningly, "Don't touch me!"

It was unfortunate that she didn't have the experience to check behind her, or she might have been able to dodge the soldier that tackled her to the floor. In an instant she was a whirlwind of limbs as she twisted to unnatural angles, screaming like a banshee as she attempted to stab the person that dared to touch her. The knife was kicked from her hand, but she grabbed the cook's ankle, yanking him to the floor with her before throwing all of her slight weight to the side, trying to roll the … the thing off of her.

In her bestial panic she managed and she took off on all fours down the hall, only to have another body tackle her and the scream that escaped her throat echoed off the walls, sending chills down the soldiers' spines.

"What is the meaning of this?!" A familiar voice shouted, but Seras was too frantic to get away from the unwanted touch to take heed, and she nearly succeeded with a nasty kick to the stomach, but the soldier fell over her, snarling as he grabbed her arms and wrenched them behind her back.

The adrenaline was starting to burn off and her terror fueled anger threatened to turn to tears as she struggled and screamed for them to stop touching her!

And then threw was a sudden chill racing through the hall as the light extinguished, a growling figure in red emerging from the floor, "I was trying to sleep!" He snarled before glaring down at the man pinning the struggling girl to the carpet. Shadows whisked the man up and off the blonde and he picked her up by the scruff of the neck, glaring daggers at her, but she was too preoccupied with her tears to notice.

He shook her, until she felt her teeth would rattle out of her skull and she looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. "I don't want to be outside anymore," she whimpered, "take me back."

"I demand to know what the meaning of this chaos is." Sir Integra cut in as she appeared at the end of the hall, Walter hurried to her side, whispering something in her ear, and the grim faced woman' scowl deepened. "Alucard, take her back to the basement, we have things to discuss."

Seras shook from exhaustion, the side effects of her adrenaline crash, and the only thing her tired brain understood was that she was going back to the nice quiet room with the red man.

The world spun around her and she closed her eyes to stave off the motion sickness, unprepared when he tossed her unceremoniously upon the bed with a growl. She landed face first and bounced, nearly falling off the other side before she righted herself and clutched at her head, moaning in pain.

"Can I go back to my rooms now?" She mumbled to her knees as she curled into a ball, tears threatening to return.

Alucard scoffed, arms crossed over his chest, "You're pathetic. You run and hide like a scared child."

She flinched but kept her face pressed against her bare knees, shivering violently with exhaustion and cold.

"Or should I say a scared animal? You hardly act like a human," he sneered, and she wished he'd stop.

His gloved hand landed on her bare shoulder and she flinched before relaxing the slightest bit, though she was still fearful of what he'd do to her. "Then again," he hummed, sounding calmer, "I suppose that's what drew me to you, little wild child."

Her tense shoulders relaxed further when he used that stupid nickname, and she sniffled as she peeked up at him. He gave her a serious look before pushing her over and pulling the blanket over her, "Go to sleep. We'll discuss this later."

There was a strange tickle behind her eyes, almost like a voice whispering inside her skull. It must be from how tired she felt. She had no problems with his command to sleep. Her eyes closed and she was asleep within seconds. Curling into such a tight ball she resembled a child hiding from the boogie man under the supposed safety of the sheets.

"What can we do? We could hardly drop her off at a mental ward, she'd react like a rabid animal."

"She might like to live in a forest." Alucard offered, sounding amused, and Seras twitched as the words reached her ears.

"Out of the question, she'd never last the night. Walter, I'm entrusting her care to you; socialize the girl properly so she can be useful. One more incident like this morning and the consequences will be dire." Sir Integra growled before Seras heard her storming off, footsteps echoing in the empty room, followed by the resounding bang! of the door slamming shut.

Silence filled the chamber until Walter cleared his throat, "Socializing lessons? Why do I feel as if I'm being told to train a wild dog how to sit and stay?"

Seras shifted again and peered out of the gap in her blankets at the man in his uniform that reminded her of the butlers she'd seen in documentaries. His almost-purple eyes met hers squarely and she looked away, hoisting the blankets higher around herself to hide from the world.

"A heavy task," Alucard agreed with a hint of malicious humor in his voice.

"Miss Seras," Walter addressed, and she peeked at him shyly, "I assume you know how to read and write?" She nodded. "Arithmetic?" Another nod.

"Then it's a simple matter of getting you used to human contact."

She froze and closed the gap in her blanket, burrowing beneath the comforter as if it could protect her.

"Scaredy cat," Alucard uttered scathingly, and she bristled, but stayed under her protective cocoon. "Afraid of your own shadow," he sneered, "what a weakling."

"Alu-"

"I am not!" Seras retorted, throwing the blanket off to glare at the red clad bastard, short hair bedraggled and falling into her eyes messily.

"Prove it," he cooed, grinning savagely at her as he gestured to Walter who pasted a carefully neutral expression on his face, "conquer your silly fear and rise above it, wild child."

She glared murderously at the man she thought was her almost-friend before rolling out of the bed and storming up to the aged man, who kept carefully still. Hesitating, her hand shook as she reached for him, barely grazing his sleeve with her fingertips before jumping back skittishly.

"Was that so bad, Miss Seras?" Walter inquired mildly, and extended his hand slowly towards her. She recognized the gesture from the documentaries she was allowed to watch and looked down at her own hand, biting her lip.

Wait, why did she have to do this? Do any of this? Because Alucard taunted her? Brow scrunching, she rocked back on her heels before cocking her head to the side, a dreamy expression crossing her face before her features smoothed out. She could do this, it was easy. If she could blend in, act normal, she could escape this place and find some quiet farm to live on. That'd be nice.

Something nagged at her, tickling her thoughts, but she ignored it and resolutely extended her own hand, which Walter very carefully and slowly took hold of to shake. "Hello, my name is Walter."

Seras' arm twitched jerkily in time with the gentle shake and she pulled her hand back from the feel of his wrinkly fingers, "Seras," she nearly spat before retreating a step.

"It's a start," Walter sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. "Alucard, I expect you to help as well since she actually tolerates your touch, heaven only knows why."

Seras shifted, feeling uncomfortable with being talked about as though she weren't standing there between them. She didn't really know why she liked Alucard either, but he felt different. Something about him just soothed her, as opposed to the simple act of shaking Walter's hand in a traditional greeting. It felt alien and obtrusive, his touch seeming almost to burn her with its heat.

Her stomach growled and she rubbed at it, frowning. "I'm hungry."

That seemed to be the end of something between the two males, for Walter took a step back and gave a half bow. "Of course, I'll fetch some fruit and simple chicken noodle soup. You should adjust soon enough to food in the real world, Misss Seras, but we'll start slow."