[semi-open] Early Feb catch all

[cryptsleeper]

Who: Alucard and [open]
When: Early February
Where: Cadens, Libertas, the Horizon
What: Some closed threads, a newly opened park in Libertas, the Horizon, and odds and ends
Warnings: None

Comments

[funbreaker]

[ Oh, and here he is. Thancred doesn't look too surprised by the sudden change, given that he's seen Master Matoya and Y'shtola turn people into frogs in the past.

Among other things... ]

Yes, I do wonder what that's all about. [ Are wolves just popular or something? Hmm. He cocks his head to one side. ] Can you turn into aught else?

[cryptsleeper]

It'd be unkind of me to offer comment or speculation beyond observation. [Also wolves are just that popular.]

I might. But this form is easiest. Being in another shape helps clarify thoughts, I've found. The whole thing is quite useful.

[funbreaker]

Is that so? [ Thancred raises an eyebrow at that, though he's not entirely certain he can relate. Then again, he's never turned into a wolf. ] I'll have to take your word for it.

[ He gestures at Alucard to join him as he continues down the path. ] There is something troubling you, then? [ There are plenty of different subjects to occupy their thoughts here, but it seems only polite to ask, even though he's already suspecting Alucard will brush him off. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Well, you can always try it while you're in the Horizon, if you feel up for it.

[No one has tried, so far as he can tell. Their loss.

He's happy enough to keep walking though, feet crunching lightly over frozen ground.] Not at the moment. I was indulging in the scent of snow over the oak leaves. It is uncommon and deeply enjoyable, when you have the right nose for it.

[funbreaker]

Try it?

[ Thancred blurts that out before he can think better of it, but Alucard isn't wrong. In theory, anything is possible in the Horizon, if someone is able to make it so with their concentrated will.

That does sound like the sort of smell only a canine's nose might be able to pick up on, at least in the detail that Alucard describes. ]

I suppose you're not wrong. Though it would only be my mind's own approximation of what being a wolf is like.

[ Meaning it's not quite the same. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Why be people shaped here when you can play around with the idea? Approximation or otherwise.

[Alucard gives a small shrug, aware that the path they're on is a meandering one. That suits him fine.]

What else is there to do besides indulge possibility in this space, after all?

[funbreaker]

You're not wrong. I suppose I prefer to simply stay with what I know.

[ It might have something to do with the fact that his body was once taken and possessed, that he'd been in a situation where he was watching events play out from behind his eyes. He'd rather feel solid in his own skin ever since that. ]

Mayhap another time, though. Unfortunately, I'm not the most creative sort.

[ Hence why his domain is mainly just recreations of places that exist back home. ]

But don't let me stop you, if you want to run about as a wolf. I can throw a stick, if you'd like...?

[ Here he does send Alucard a brief smile. ]

[cryptsleeper]

That's fair and understandable.

[Alucard is the last person to press about bodily autonomy and choice. He pointedly doesn't request elaboration, and--

--excuse you.

Alucard lets out a little noise that isn't quite offended, but it is close.]

Just because I sometimes use a large pillow and sleep in this form does not mean I am a common dog.

[But the tiny flash of something friendlier makes it clear the reaction is all for show.]

Would you settle for easy silence?

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred's own smile grows closer to a grin when he sees that Alucard is in fact capable of playing along with a jest. It's just a bit of a good fun, something to add levity to the strange melancholy that seems to cling to this place.

At the question, he gives an immediate nod. ]

I would hardly turn down a quiet stroll.

[ And with that Thancred continues down the path at a relaxed pace, taking in the sights and sounds and smells. They can take a walk in companionable silence until they reach the edge of Alucard's domain, if nothing else. ]