[closed] that's rough buddy

[cryptsleeper]

Who: Alucard and Geralt
WHAT:Aftermath of tunnel sharing and noticing certain comings and goings
WHERE: Dungeon cell
WHEN: The dead middle of the night
NOTES: Some mild CW for canon typical gore and grossness on Alucard's end.



--Ugh.

[The complaint is a whisper as Alucard wakes yet again from a new and shitty nightmare. He's added onto the usual rotation since the time spent in the fucking tunnels, hallucinating the worst things from his brain and that of others. There aren't just impaled corpses, rotting bodies looming over him in their final moments, and those he trusted taking his life and destroying his home. There's all of that plus small children running after their mother (thank you Geralt), upsetting badger shaped mascots (Kay, because that has been sticking with him for a while now), and too many other things for him to process.

All of it has made sleep even more unpleasant. Worse for sharing a small space with two others and not wanting to draw attention to himself.

So far as Alucard can tell though, both of his cellmates are asleep. No reason he can't sit up and at least take a few deep breaths. Not a soul is going to notice.]

Comments

[gynvael]

[ His eyebrow quirks: vague amusement, which is rare enough from him as it is. At the end of the day, as much as he'd prefer to be not here, his present company could be a hell of a lot more...concerning. If the worse thing they've done is irritate him, he can accept that. ]

You mean the bard? [ He hums. Jaskier's been doing his own research, which Geralt's left him to. Given Jaskier rarely invites scrutiny -- the type of attention he garners is not the sort that labels him a threat -- he's assumed more can be done without his presence.

But if there's something Alucard wants, he can ask. There are few here he's been willing to share details with. Desperate situations lead people to make alliances with their captors more often than not. He senses that's not the case from Alucard, though. ] What do you want to know?

[cryptsleeper]

I meant if you wanted reading recommendations.

[But if Geralt's not concerned on that front, Alucard is hardly going to push it. There is a shrug, small and a little bit more at east for the whole outburst, all things considered.]

But I suppose the only question that matters is if you trust him or not.

[gynvael]

[ Oh. Mm. His head tilts. ] I do.

[ He's acknowledged that much to Alucard once, and it hasn't changed. He's more curious about Hector: the man who keeps coming by, day after day, and yet Alucard has explicitly expressed suspicions about despite going along with him nonetheless.

Whatever's between them, he knows better than to lean on a single man's word no matter how much he's...acquainted with Alucard. Worth keeping in mind, though. Not a lot of friends to make in a place like this. ]

[cryptsleeper]

You've a leg up.

[And Alucard has more to think on. There's no doubt in his mind that to break out of this place, one will need allies, and quite frankly, it's going to take more than Hector.

He doesn't like having to put faith in others these days. All the same, he offers the name of a book, and then:]

It has a red leather spine with silver lettering. I'll leave a reading list within it that's proven useful so far, for when either you or he have the next opportunity to go through the library.