//------------------------------//
// Digging Graves for Blades 
// Story: Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata 
// by Stareyedwolf 
//------------------------------//

Alucard and Zecora parted ways at the treeline, having spent the few short minutes left of the trip in silence. It was going to be a windy day, and he scowled into the breeze. His hair whipped around his head, tangling into knots. If there was one thing that he hated about his long hair, it was the fact that even the slightest stirring of air could tangle the curls into mats. Huffing, he walked into the fierce winds, as if he was competing with nature itself.

He continued wandering until he spied the cottage he had flown over the previous night. The animals moving freely about the lawn and the stream bubbling close-by made for a picturesque scene. He half expected a woman to come out of the door, dressed homely but with a face that betrayed nobility. Abruptly, his thoughts were drawn back ages through time to a woman who wore silks and satins, her hair like spun gold, with dirt under her nails that contrasted her fine clothing. 

His eyes locked onto a figure rounding from the back, a bag of seed in her mouth. It was the yellow pegasus from the train, Fluttershy. She hopped up onto her hind legs to pour the seed into a bird feeder, and then moved back to watch a few songbirds sing happily about their new food. Setting the feed-bag onto the ground, she smiled softly at the birds. The look in her eye almost endeared her to Alucard if only because he had seen the same passion for animals, birds in particular, in the same person he had just reminisced about. 

He moved forward toward the scene, cause the birds to fly away in fright. Fluttershy was confused for a moment before she spied him in her peripheral. Fear came into her eyes and she ducked her head, not daring to look him in the eye after the blowout of their last encounter.

The animals around her scurried away at his approach, until it was just them. Wind whipped around the two and the creek bubbled. After a minute of silence, Alucard turned toward her house, and he felt Fluttershy flick her eyes up at his profile. She could only look at him when he was facing away from her. 

"I once knew someone who loved animals. Every time I would see her toiling away with them, I could not help but admire her dedication to the creatures." He didn't know why he was telling her this. He was rambling, filling the heavy silence between them.

Her voice quavered up to his ears, "It is not easy work, but it's satisfying."

"She thought so as well. She had an especial love for birds of all kinds."

Fluttershy looked up at his profile, his eyes locked onto something far away. "I try to love them all, even the scary ones."

Alucard turned towards her again, catching her eye and holding it captive. "I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say, and took the easy route. "I shall take my leave of you, Lady Fluttershy. I shall let you attend to your duties." He bent at the waist in a bow, and moved away from the pony. He felt foolish, getting caught up in times gone by and rambling about friends who had died so long ago that mountains had crumbled and new ones sprung up from their remains. 

I must be getting senile in my old age, he thought. He was so old that the system of keeping time had changed from hands to hooves. There was really no telling how long he had been alive. For some reason, he was glad that he no longer had a number to put to it. He feared how many digits it would have. 

Alucard moved purposeless across the grass, Fluttershy's eyes trained on his back. The animals were slowly moving back to crown around her hooves. She was puzzled by the strange Prince, and wondered why he had come to her. After a moment more, she returned to her duties and listened to the birds trilling their songs, as they had for far longer than she realized. 

The songs had changed over time, but Alucard was sure that Maria would have loved them all the same.