Who: Alucard and [OPEN], some closed threads What: May catch all; fall out of the Sight Where: The desert beyond Cadens; The Horizon; Old Public Hall When: Throughout May Warnings: Added as needed, but potential violence
[It is all bluster and Gideon knows it at this point. Alucard
doesn't bother to protest any more, offering only the raised eyebrow of
I told you so as Gideon decides to screw the cap back on the
canteen.]
While you are not wrong, these are clothes I care less about and will risk
the blood and sand upon them. ] I may even be in the mood to
acquire a few more blood smears.
[She laughs a warm, good-natured laugh before shifting on her bedroll. Sitting straighter now, legs crossed, one palm flat to the material beneath her whilst the other sticks the canteen in the sand. Maybe she'll feel like trying again with it later-- maybe.
For now, the fire crackles invitingly, keeping the harsh edge of the desert night at bay. Down to business.]
Fucking A. This hunt just became a party! I came out here looking for scorpions - you know, those little fuckers with the stingers? Places in town are always willing to pay out for the venom. But if you wanted something a bit more challenging, I heard there's a basilisk that's been picking off merchants on some of the more remote trading routes. We could head a little further out, try our luck if you wanted to?
I've helped Geralt with gathering skins from the things before, but not fighting them entirely.
[Alucard lifts an eyebrow, not grinning but clearly down for an adventure.]
If you're comfortable with your supplies, I'm more than willing to help. [Alucard then looks at the camp he has stumbled into, then makes a considering noise.]
Question is, do you prefer moving at night or during the day? And would you prefer my nose do the tracking?
Never fear, I always come prepared for an adventure.
[She says it with a roguish wink, something sparking in her now, a renewed excitement to be out here in the wide, bleak wastes, hunting down prey with a friend. The kind of excursion her younger self could only have dreamed about whilst lying furious with loneliness on her narrow Ninth House bed. There's a freedom to taking on these kinds of tasks alone, sure. But her hunger for companionship is no less fierce than it used to be through all those years of wretched isolation. She has, after all, a lot of catching up to do.]
As for moving at night, I gotta say, I'm just your average run of the mill kinda human, except incredibly skilled with a sword and astonishingly good looking. I kiiiind of suck at finding my way around in the dark. That said, basilisks hunt at night, so it's a good time to go looking for them. What do you think?
[Gideon must know she has infectious energy. Alucard is convinced
of it, because it sets the air alight. Makes it crackle with just that
wink and the little bit of additional excitement and--he hums.
Thoughtful. Not quite to the same level of mischievous as Gideon, but
getting there.]
If you kind of suck at doing that, then how would you actually do in a
fight?
[The answer seems obvious. Sometimes it is worth it.] I
can track them and see if I can accommodate you on my back. Then the
actual fight can happen at daybreak.
[How would she actually do in a fight where she can barely see? Where she has to rely on instinct and the feel of movement through the air, the vibrations through her feet? She doesn't know, but part of her desperately wants to find out.
Daybreak would be a better, more sensible idea. And she'd be willing to grudgingly concede to this if she weren't still hung up on 'see if I can accommodate you on my back'. She raises both eyebrows, her eyes a hot glow in the fire's dancing light.]
Are you offering me like, a wolf ride? Because if you are then heck yes. Riding a wolf into battle has gotta be top tier badass. Jaskier will have to write us a song.
my brain says this should work for the sheer joy of it
I am offering to test the logistics first. Because if not, you're going to have to hold onto my tail the entire time so we do not become separated.
[Either way, there is going to be more wolf time. And Alucard would happily snip and snap back about the plan's logistics if Gideon wanted to. But this is more important, and so--]
Let's see if it is plausible before breaking down camp?
[Alucard stretches. Shakes out his hair and--
awoo. There he is, just standing in front of her to see if this is actually going to work.]
[Whatever, that sounds like riding a wolf into battle is a go to her, and it'd make a waaaay better song than 'dazzlingly hot warrior stumbles around in the dark, clutching a wolf's tail'. So here's hoping his wolf form is both large and strong enough to support her weight.
She watches with unveiled interest as he stretches, shakes his hair in a truly Coronabeth-worthy flurry of movement - you know, like watching a shampoo advert or something, or a magical girl moment in one of her comics - and the awoo really adds to the whole effect. The effect being 'pretty damned sweet'.
She stands, brushes sand from the lightless black of her trousers, and eyes him up consideringly.]
Do I just like, hop on? Can you talk as a wolf or am I just gonna have to hope you'll find a way to let me know I'm crushing you to death?
[He's strong. She knows that much. But she's also proudly aware of the fact that she's six feet of solid muscle.]
[Dazzling hot warrior trusts her companion wolf in battle. Gideon, you just have to frame it right.
Either way, it isn't wrong to call the whole sequence a magical girl transformation. It is, except the end product is wolf, not very particular outfit. (He'd just become what he wore to the concert anyway if that was the case, elaborate coat and no shirt underneath.)
To Gideon's question, there is only a nod. Hop on. And then a little shrug, because wolves absolutely do not have vocal chords. A brief snuffle suggests he'd quite like to get on with this test.]
[She'll take that as a nope on the talking wolf front, and at the sound of his impatient snuffle she's moving on over and with uncommon care, places a hand on his withers.]
Right, right. Get on with it, Gideon. I get the idea.
[She says, as she cautiously straddles him (that's what she said, wink wonk), curls her fingers into thick fur and - with some trepidation - lets him take the full extent of her weight.]
[Okay, so it's weird. Alucard will own up that this whole set up is weird and it was his idea in the first place. Gideon is heavy, but he can take the weight. It's more just having anyone on his back. The last time anyone was touching him this much was--
--nope. Not the right thought for now or ever. Alucard adjusts his shoulders to make sure that the weight distribution works, and takes a cautious few steps forward.
This could actually work?
He pauses, turning his head around the best he can to try and catch Gideon's eye. Will this work for you?]
[Yeeeeeaaaah, definitely weird. The whole experience makes her feel oddly self-conscious, like she's doing something she shouldn't. Beneath the black swath of her robe there's a slow, insidious creeping of heat for reasons she can't fully explain. He'd asked her to do this, after all. Invited her. That means she isn't violating his personal boundaries by sitting on his back and curling her fingers into his fur. Right?
He shifts a little, there's the ripple of muscle and bone beneath the thick weight of his coat, and then they both settle into something more or less like balance. She wouldn't say it's the most comfortable she's ever been, but nor is it the least. Imagining the two of them riding off into the dark, dappled by the dim glow of the moon as they hunt down their prey serves to settle a little of her self-consciousness, so on seeing him turn she nods.]
I think it'll work. I mean, there's still my sword, and the supplies...but if you think you can handle it?
[She's fairly sure she'll be able to stay on, at the very least.]
[Good, everyone knows this is wholly weird. Embracing the weird will make it work, at least that is the theory Alucard is sticking with for the moment. He snuffles as fingers curl into his fluff, tail wagging slightly to show that this is all still okay.
Alucard's big wolfy head nods at the question. If he can't, they'll figure it out. But for now, his eyes go to the fire and he huffs. He won't blow a house down, but he can help break down camp quicker if he can be a people for a few more minutes.
[She says as she follows his line of vision-- she could do the whole thing herself whilst he pranced about in majestic wolf form of course, but it'd go faster if they both worked on breaking down camp. And the faster they do that, the faster they can ride off into the moonlight, whooping and awooing as they go. The faster they do that, the faster they can start hitting things with swords. Or maybe it's claws and teeth Al's thinking of, but whatever the case it's a journey that'll end in a fight. An electric thrill races the length of her spine just thinking about it.
So - carefully - she hops off his back. Strides over to start packing up her bedroll.]
[Rather than stand around and be pretty, the dhampir is quick to
transform back into his human shape. He isn't going to not help, not when
all of this would be much faster with two sets of hands.
Gideon can focus on the bedroll. Alucard's eyes go for anything else
that's scattered about and should be in her pack instead. He's quick.
Efficient. And maybe a little excited himself.]
For the record, wolves do not have human vocal chords.
[So communication may be limited. But not in a bad way, just in a
way that they'll have to figure out.] For anything more nuanced
than a yes or no, I'll need to pause the journey.
[Gideon says, as they begin to make short work of packing up camp. She leaves the fire until last, given that - without it - she'll have to readjust to the velvety blackness of a desert night. Whilst growing up in the darkest hole in the darkest, shittiest part of the Dominicus system means her night vision is pretty damn good, she's nonetheless constrained by normal (more or less) human limitations.]
I guess that makes sense. I just thought they made that awooOOOO sound because they liked it.
[Or maybe she's just ever really given it any consideration before. The Ninth deals in bones, and she knows an unwholesome amount about skeletons through sheer osmosis. The vocal chords of animals had never come up during what scant and strange education she'd been subjected to.
She moves toward the fire, begins banking the sand around it to smother the flames.]
And hey, we'll figure it out. If I can tell Harrow's moods just by looking at her, I'm sure I can figure out a wolf, eventually.
[Never mind that she and Harrow have spent their entire lives at one another's throats, that figuring out how the other worked had been a survival tactic. Semantics!]
Oh, the sound is enjoyable to make. I come out here for a few reasons.
[The awoo space is absolutely a part of it. Alucard doesn't mind leaving the fire going, and he makes an effort to helpfully secure Gideon's bedroll to her pack before she starts kicking up all the sand.]
Go by the tail wag. If it moves slowly, I'm fine. If it is too fast, something is up. If I slow and sniff the air, I've found something.
[That's probably all the important ones, at any rate. Alucard doesn't wait until the fire dies down entirely to change his form - Gideon will need to know roughly where he is. At least being pale under the moonlight helps illumination his position.
When the fire is gone, when Gideon is ready, there is a slow tail wag. At your own pace.]
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no subject
Hmph!
[It is all bluster and Gideon knows it at this point. Alucard doesn't bother to protest any more, offering only the raised eyebrow of I told you so as Gideon decides to screw the cap back on the canteen.]
While you are not wrong, these are clothes I care less about and will risk the blood and sand upon them. ] I may even be in the mood to acquire a few more blood smears.
no subject
For now, the fire crackles invitingly, keeping the harsh edge of the desert night at bay. Down to business.]
Fucking A. This hunt just became a party! I came out here looking for scorpions - you know, those little fuckers with the stingers? Places in town are always willing to pay out for the venom. But if you wanted something a bit more challenging, I heard there's a basilisk that's been picking off merchants on some of the more remote trading routes. We could head a little further out, try our luck if you wanted to?
no subject
[Alucard lifts an eyebrow, not grinning but clearly down for an adventure.]
If you're comfortable with your supplies, I'm more than willing to help. [Alucard then looks at the camp he has stumbled into, then makes a considering noise.]
Question is, do you prefer moving at night or during the day? And would you prefer my nose do the tracking?
no subject
[She says it with a roguish wink, something sparking in her now, a renewed excitement to be out here in the wide, bleak wastes, hunting down prey with a friend. The kind of excursion her younger self could only have dreamed about whilst lying furious with loneliness on her narrow Ninth House bed. There's a freedom to taking on these kinds of tasks alone, sure. But her hunger for companionship is no less fierce than it used to be through all those years of wretched isolation. She has, after all, a lot of catching up to do.]
As for moving at night, I gotta say, I'm just your average run of the mill kinda human, except incredibly skilled with a sword and astonishingly good looking. I kiiiind of suck at finding my way around in the dark. That said, basilisks hunt at night, so it's a good time to go looking for them. What do you think?
no subject
[Gideon must know she has infectious energy. Alucard is convinced of it, because it sets the air alight. Makes it crackle with just that wink and the little bit of additional excitement and--he hums. Thoughtful. Not quite to the same level of mischievous as Gideon, but getting there.]
If you kind of suck at doing that, then how would you actually do in a fight?
[The answer seems obvious. Sometimes it is worth it.] I can track them and see if I can accommodate you on my back. Then the actual fight can happen at daybreak.
[Did he just offer wolfy-back rides? Absolutely.]
no subject
Daybreak would be a better, more sensible idea. And she'd be willing to grudgingly concede to this if she weren't still hung up on 'see if I can accommodate you on my back'. She raises both eyebrows, her eyes a hot glow in the fire's dancing light.]
Are you offering me like, a wolf ride? Because if you are then heck yes. Riding a wolf into battle has gotta be top tier badass. Jaskier will have to write us a song.
my brain says this should work for the sheer joy of it
[Either way, there is going to be more wolf time. And Alucard would happily snip and snap back about the plan's logistics if Gideon wanted to. But this is more important, and so--]
Let's see if it is plausible before breaking down camp?
[Alucard stretches. Shakes out his hair and--
awoo. There he is, just standing in front of her to see if this is actually going to work.]
yesss do it
She watches with unveiled interest as he stretches, shakes his hair in a truly Coronabeth-worthy flurry of movement - you know, like watching a shampoo advert or something, or a magical girl moment in one of her comics - and the awoo really adds to the whole effect. The effect being 'pretty damned sweet'.
She stands, brushes sand from the lightless black of her trousers, and eyes him up consideringly.]
Do I just like, hop on? Can you talk as a wolf or am I just gonna have to hope you'll find a way to let me know I'm crushing you to death?
[He's strong. She knows that much. But she's also proudly aware of the fact that she's six feet of solid muscle.]
they're a heavy metal album cover now
Either way, it isn't wrong to call the whole sequence a magical girl transformation. It is, except the end product is wolf, not very particular outfit. (He'd just become what he wore to the concert anyway if that was the case, elaborate coat and no shirt underneath.)
To Gideon's question, there is only a nod. Hop on. And then a little shrug, because wolves absolutely do not have vocal chords. A brief snuffle suggests he'd quite like to get on with this test.]
living the dream!
Right, right. Get on with it, Gideon. I get the idea.
[She says, as she cautiously straddles him (that's what she said, wink wonk), curls her fingers into thick fur and - with some trepidation - lets him take the full extent of her weight.]
no subject
--nope. Not the right thought for now or ever. Alucard adjusts his shoulders to make sure that the weight distribution works, and takes a cautious few steps forward.
This could actually work?
He pauses, turning his head around the best he can to try and catch Gideon's eye. Will this work for you?]
no subject
He shifts a little, there's the ripple of muscle and bone beneath the thick weight of his coat, and then they both settle into something more or less like balance. She wouldn't say it's the most comfortable she's ever been, but nor is it the least. Imagining the two of them riding off into the dark, dappled by the dim glow of the moon as they hunt down their prey serves to settle a little of her self-consciousness, so on seeing him turn she nods.]
I think it'll work. I mean, there's still my sword, and the supplies...but if you think you can handle it?
[She's fairly sure she'll be able to stay on, at the very least.]
no subject
Alucard's big wolfy head nods at the question. If he can't, they'll figure it out. But for now, his eyes go to the fire and he huffs. He won't blow a house down, but he can help break down camp quicker if he can be a people for a few more minutes.
This is so silly. It's nice.]
no subject
[She says as she follows his line of vision-- she could do the whole thing herself whilst he pranced about in majestic wolf form of course, but it'd go faster if they both worked on breaking down camp. And the faster they do that, the faster they can ride off into the moonlight, whooping and awooing as they go. The faster they do that, the faster they can start hitting things with swords. Or maybe it's claws and teeth Al's thinking of, but whatever the case it's a journey that'll end in a fight. An electric thrill races the length of her spine just thinking about it.
So - carefully - she hops off his back. Strides over to start packing up her bedroll.]
no subject
[Rather than stand around and be pretty, the dhampir is quick to transform back into his human shape. He isn't going to not help, not when all of this would be much faster with two sets of hands.
Gideon can focus on the bedroll. Alucard's eyes go for anything else that's scattered about and should be in her pack instead. He's quick. Efficient. And maybe a little excited himself.]
For the record, wolves do not have human vocal chords.
[So communication may be limited. But not in a bad way, just in a way that they'll have to figure out.] For anything more nuanced than a yes or no, I'll need to pause the journey.
no subject
[Gideon says, as they begin to make short work of packing up camp. She leaves the fire until last, given that - without it - she'll have to readjust to the velvety blackness of a desert night. Whilst growing up in the darkest hole in the darkest, shittiest part of the Dominicus system means her night vision is pretty damn good, she's nonetheless constrained by normal (more or less) human limitations.]
I guess that makes sense. I just thought they made that awooOOOO sound because they liked it.
[Or maybe she's just ever really given it any consideration before. The Ninth deals in bones, and she knows an unwholesome amount about skeletons through sheer osmosis. The vocal chords of animals had never come up during what scant and strange education she'd been subjected to.
She moves toward the fire, begins banking the sand around it to smother the flames.]
And hey, we'll figure it out. If I can tell Harrow's moods just by looking at her, I'm sure I can figure out a wolf, eventually.
[Never mind that she and Harrow have spent their entire lives at one another's throats, that figuring out how the other worked had been a survival tactic. Semantics!]
no subject
[The awoo space is absolutely a part of it. Alucard doesn't mind leaving the fire going, and he makes an effort to helpfully secure Gideon's bedroll to her pack before she starts kicking up all the sand.]
Go by the tail wag. If it moves slowly, I'm fine. If it is too fast, something is up. If I slow and sniff the air, I've found something.
[That's probably all the important ones, at any rate. Alucard doesn't wait until the fire dies down entirely to change his form - Gideon will need to know roughly where he is. At least being pale under the moonlight helps illumination his position.
When the fire is gone, when Gideon is ready, there is a slow tail wag. At your own pace.]