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Gabriel Belmont resisted the urge to groan as Laura, her eyes brighter than he had ever seen, flew to drag the lady ghost into a discussion that he was pretty sure he was happier not hearing. And then the two of them somehow managed to drag the friar into their conversation as well.
...was the lady ghost's head floating slightly above her neck?
Gabriel decided not to ask (though that certainly gave him an idea of how she'd become a ghost) and looked back at the other two hunters.
They were eyeing each other (and himself) warily, the same way Gabriel was eying them.
“I don’t suppose that either of you are from the Order?” the man in black asked. He was dressed unlike Gabriel had seen before, with a tall hat and long coat. Not to mention several unfamiliar and interesting weapons. Weapons that he had used on the monster horde very effectively.
“You’re from the Brotherhood of Light?” Gabriel asked, surprised. “But you’re not wearing the uniform.” He gestured at his own red armor.
“No, I’m from the Holy Order of Knights,” the man in black corrected. “Though the Brotherhood of Light sounds like a group we might be interested in allying with.” He stowed his weapon. “Van Helsing,” he said, by way of introduction.
“Van Helsing?" repeated the second man. He was dressed similarly to the first, with the same type of hat and longcoat, but he was dressed in more earthy tones. He tugged his tall dark brown hat back to better study Van Helsing.
“Let me guess- you’ve heard of me,” Van Helsing said, a trace of sardonic amusement appearing on his face. The look on his face and the tone of his voice made Gabriel think that he was used to people hearing about him…and not liking what they heard.
“Not even a whisper,” said the other man bluntly. “And I would have remembered, believe me, because I'm also Van Helsing. Abraham Van Helsing." He was definitely eying the other man with curiosity. “I'm an only child and the old man has never mentioned any siblings, but…”
Laura started laughing and the three hunters turned to look at their companions.
The three companions were talking eagerly now, even the friar. Gabriel supposed he had gotten over his shock at the monstrous gorgon-like form the lady ghost had taken to shred her way through her enemies...which was probably what Laura was asking questions about right now. Which did not exactly bode well for peace and quiet in the future, but Gabriel would worry about that later. Though, if Laura somehow gained the ghost’s ability to duplicate herself…
"That's it!" Laura exclaimed.
"What's it?"
"What, did you find out how we're all here?"
"No, but we did figure out what to call you all!"
"...what?"
"Well, you're both Van Helsing," the lady ghost said with a chuckle, gesturing first to her companion in the dark brown hat, then the man in black. "and that will just be confusing. So we'll have to call you both by your first names."
"But both you and mister black hat over there," Laura said, before disappearing and reappearing next to Gabriel, "are named Gabriel. We'll have to call you Belmont and him, Gabriel. So Abraham-" she pointed at the man in the brown hat, who had now folded his arm and was giving Laura a rather indulgent look, before giving his ghostly companion a knowing look, which she returned with a smirk. "and he's Gabriel," she said, pointing at the man in black. "and you're Belmont!” she ended, smiling at Gabriel Belmont. “This way, we won’t get confused."
"And this is what you thought was most important to figure out, Carl?" Gabriel Van Helsing asked the friar, who shrugged.
"I figured it could only help if there was less confusion and we all knew who we were talking about," he said casually, though Gabriel Belmont thought he might see a trace of amusement on his face.
“Well, Lady Katrina, now that you’ve solved the puzzle of keeping us hunters separate, why don't you introduce me to your friends?” Abraham van Helsing asked the lady ghost, still amused.
