( OPEN ) just a pinch of salt in the wound; you'll be fine

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Victims You
When: August // Aguril
Where: Various
What: Full moon feral shenanigans; events/quests later down the line
Warnings: Violence

[ prompts in comments. find me at discontinued for plotting. ]

OPEN: feral wolf | post full moon | basement bonanza curses

CLOSED: feral wolf: jaskier+yennefer | antler fruit: jaskier

Comments

[gynvael]

[ His eyebrow lifts. It's mildly amusing, watching the expression on Alucard's face, but Geralt decides not to say anything about it. He acknowledges the reasoning with a hum instead.

Associates is an interesting word to use, if he gives enough of a shit to be looking out for them. ]

Full moon? [ Though now he has to wonder if Alucard has seen the mess he undoubtedly left in the woods. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[It isn't that Alucard hates beer. It is that he hates this beer specifically. And exactingly. And he now has to pay for it. Fuck this beer.]

No. Personal matters. [Another sip of the nightmare beer.] No one, including myself, is a sharer, but it is good to have quiet solidarity.

[In truth, Alucard's yet to go back to the woods in that general area. He has been dealing with too many city things, and thus been delayed.]

[gynvael]

Mm. [ Quiet solidarity is about what's expected around him, at most. Geralt accepts the answer for what it is and doesn't press further.

As much as he isn't interested in company, Alucard is as unobtrusive as they come. Though he's not sure if the man cares to be invited as company, either -- so the only thing he does is nudge the chair across from him out with his foot. If Alucard is so inclined.

Then he goes back to his work. It keeps his mind off things he knows he should be thinking about it and yet would prefer not to.]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard does take the chair, but he waits an appropriate moment or two before accepting it fully. When he does sit, it is with no noise at all, and he is careful to keep his drink as unobtrusive as possible.

But he is also polite, and he'll breach silence for that.]

Thank you. Your next drink is on my coin.

[gynvael]

[ It's an unexpected gesture, but one Geralt doesn't turn down. He acknowledges it with a noncommittal sound. Alucard moves with his usual kind of soundless light-footedness that Geralt knows can't be natural -- because it's silent, even to his ears.

The same silence sits between them, for as long as Alucard chooses not to interrupt. Eventually, Geralt finds himself too distracted by what's on his mind not to bring it up. He knows he needs to talk to someone. Might as well be with a man who won't dig around for details.

It's a sensitive topic for some, he's found, but Geralt doesn't have a habit of broaching sensitive topics delicately. ] I have a personal question. About bonds.

[cryptsleeper]

[In the silence, Alucard's polite enough to look at his beer. Or at their surroundings. He never lingers on Geralt himself, as that's an invitation to force conversation and he won't do that.

The beer goes flat at some point, Alucard having barely taken more than a few sips by the time Geralt approaches the point of issue.]

I'll try and answer to the best of my knowledge and experience.

[gynvael]

[ Unlike Alucard, Geralt's made his way to his second beer, but it's been sitting, as well, while he's contemplated. ]

Do you have one? [ A beat passes. ] I've been...approached.

[ Whether he means by the Coven or someone seeking to bond, Geralt doesn't clarify. (The answer is both.) He knows he can't afford to ignore it for much longer. Not after the last full moon. ]

[cryptsleeper]

--Yes. Two, until a recent departure.

[Alucard's next response comes only after a considered pause.]

What kind of clarification do you need about them?

[gynvael]

[ A recent departure is either extremely careful phrasing or Alucard means that his bonded literally left. Returned, the same way Geralt had been, however temporarily. He realizes he hadn't thought about that. Death has been the main thing on his mind. But it's entirely possible for one to simply no longer exist in this world, being whisked away at the whims of whatever these mirrors are. ]

I don't know. [ It's the only reply he can come up with because the concept of saying, I need to talk to someone about something so clearly...emotionally bound is foreign to him. He's gathered all the information he needs, technically speaking. None of it has helped a fucking bit.

And he's not exactly trying to press a sore spot with Alucard, now that he knows the man has lost someone recently. ] Suppose I'm still trying to decide. Before the next full moon.

[cryptsleeper]

[I don't know is a hell of a place to start. Alucard can't even divine intent in those three words, and...well. Maybe the personal is best. Leave the word decide out of it.]

I hated the idea when I arrived. [That's as personal a place to start as any, isn't it?] It demands a certain level of trust that I wasn't willing to give to anyone, and in almost every case, I still am unwilling to give.

[He falls silent, hoping it is a good enough place to start.]

[gynvael]

[ It certainly is. He's surprised he even gets an honest answer out of Alucard and not some deflection. Wouldn't have really begrudged him for it.

In return, Geralt offers a little more than he tends to. ]

It's a matter of both giving and receiving.

[ Hard to say which one is the more complicated of the two. Geralt has no desire to attach himself to anyone. But more than that, he has even less desire to be the person that someone might think to attach themselves to. That's already happened once and look how it turned out. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Mm.

[Alucard considers this small bit of information, the silence about as comfortable as any silence about this topic can be.]

They can be temporary, for only the full moon, but the demands do not change. The temporary element may help you, or may make things worse. I know that for me, that made it a little easier. But I was also working with someone from home who I did trust and knew me already. That last part was the greater difference.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt waits without interrupting, and lets the silence continue a little longer as he considers the information. He doesn't want to pry. It's obviously a sensitive topic, and he's not keen to contribute his own personal experience to the mix. ]

I have people. [ More than one; neither are exactly an easy decision to make. ] It's complicated.

[ Still, the more he thinks about it, the more he knows what his decision might ultimately be. It's only a matter of finally acknowledging it. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Complicated is such a nice way of covering up so much. Alucard knows it, and he nods at the word to show he's aware of what a single word can gloss over.

It's fascinating, having a discussion like this with such scant few details. So many others would make it into a heart-to-heart.]

And these bonds make the matters all the more complex. Believe that I speak from experience on that much. [He spent so much time denying romantic elements, and the bond make it harder for Alucard to address the matter.]

There can be some relief in a temporary, anonymous thing that goes from moon to moon. If nothing else, that may help you to adjust to the concept before charting complicated waters.

[gynvael]

[ Alucard doesn't press on those complications, which surprises Geralt but not in an unwelcome way. Someone who doesn't try to dig for more -- a rare thing in both this world and others.

He nods. Yeah. The temporary bonds. Even that's a difficult consideration, when the wish exists between them. There's too many variables. ] I heard.

[ In return, Geralt grants Alucard the same courtesy, as much as he's curious about the man's personal experiences. Of those he's spoken to here, most don't seem to have the same...complications when it comes to bonding. ]

Thank you. For the advice. [ He pauses before offering, ] Sorry about your bonded.

[cryptsleeper]

--Mmm. That's the thing I don't like. Everyone talks about a disappeared bond like it's a death.

[Alucard offers a very small, thin smile though. He knows it was meant well. He's not mad, just ever unhappy about bonds.]

Should I give you space to think about said advice?

[gynvael]

[ Some interest crosses his face at that. It's fair. He'd vanished from here and returned, memories intact. He hadn't exactly died. Just hadn't stayed long enough to do much, never mind bond.

And yet it's time spent with Yennefer that still lingers on his mind. A shared experience. ]

No need to leave. [ There's someone he needs to see. He slides a few coins on the table. Alucard can buy something else with it if he doesn't care for another drink here. It's appreciation, at any rate. For the conversation. ] See you around.