Hilda, I am far too inclined to keep myself alive to laugh at you.
[That's simply honesty.
He doesn't laugh. And not that it matters, because she can't hear him. (OR CAN SHE?) It's more like -- oh no, I'm about to be disappointing, aren't I? But her inquiry, as wild as it all is, sounds genuine enough, and he does hate disappointing beautiful women.]
From instrument to, er... weapon? It does sound difficult, I won't lie to you. But I have practiced so much magic, and especially with the art of transformation... I can't make a promise, but I will certainly try. It may take a bit of research into finding some sort of... transformation spell, but I know it must exist.
[ The response comes scrawled in the middle of his response. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine the way her face probably twists at that.
She doesn't have to be able to see him or hear him to understand that what she's proposing is wildly impossible. Alucard hadn't said just for the sake of being discouraging. In the past something like this would have never occurred to her to attempt. Actually, it never would have gotten this far. Ideas and whimsy sparked in her mind whenever they felt like it before she quickly smothered them. And if they were difficult in nature? Well, she didn't like difficult things so she never thought about them to begin with.
But this feels different. The scrawled designs in her sketchbook are evidence of that. The fact that she's voicing it at all to someone like Jaskier who she isn't particularly close with is also surprising in and of itself. ]
[ The thought is out of her brain before she can stop it. Realizing that she had admitted more than she would have liked the next string of words are fast on their heels. ]
There's a moment of silence as he takes that in. It's admirable. It truly is. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of doing -- of executing -- an idea yourself. To ensure it is successful, as close to perfection as possible.]
I see. Of course, that will make it more difficult, which I'm sure you already know. But believe me, Hilda, I am the first to believe in doing things oneself. The meaning behind it... the receiver of such a gift must be quite special indeed.
I'm a tad jealous.
[He's joking. Maybe.]
Well, I don't suppose we can do worse than nothing. Do you have any sort of... baseline knowledge of such magic? The sort that should make it possible? I'm not opposed to finding us a mage that -- you know, may not be officially sanctioned. Who could teach such an art.
[ She'd lay out some stipulations - namely nothing too difficult. Or strenuous. But otherwise, the world was his oyster. And she'd do it as a thank you whether or not this worked. ]
[Ah, so it's that sort of situation. He had suspected Hilda had a kind streak to her, and it is rather fulfilling to see that his assumptions are true. (Murders aside. They were cultists, which Jaskier keeps in mind -- it's more the brutality of it, that's all.)]
You hardly need to feel as if you should repay me, my dear. But your craftsmanship is superb, and I'd be a fool to turn it down.
[Shite. It's honest, but it's certainly left him a bit in the dark on where to start.]
Er. Well... yes. Why not? This would be a much simpler venture, I bet, if we were in Thorne, but we must work within our limits. If you have other ideas, I am happy to follow.
I would say we shall agree to disagree, but you're simply wrong. And you shall only be more wrong in time, as your skills improve.
Oh, stop! No need for flattery, I'm happy to help you. I think that's a brilliant idea. With my name and your -- unassuming nature -- I'm quite sure we'll find exactly who we're looking for. And I'll be safe to boot.
[That's a very important point considering his last forays into the black market.]
[Haha, if only she knew that he sort of just hid behind boulders and Geralt when things went sour... his silver tongue is honeyed much more than it is poison.
Now who's trying to get out of work?]
What, you want me to grow an apple tree at them? Our potential robbers slash murderers?
[He's only used his magic to help kill people, like, three times!]
To be honest, I have been practicing it for several years... it is rather quick nowadays. I suppose I've -- I've never had an opportunity to attempt to launch a man into the sky by growing a tree. That sounds a bit unhinged, actually.
[He cannot believe he's being dragged into this, but Hilda has this power of persuasion that he can't deny. Because it sounds ridiculous, and a little bit fun.]
I can be persuaded by you, dearest Hilda, but -- do you have someone in mind? Someone who has wronged my already beloved friend?
I'll be honest, I'm suddenly afraid to answer. I'm sure everyone is equally as charmed by you as I am! Surely the only sorts that should make enemies of you are, er, villains in the highest degree.
[She probably will axe him some day. It'll be a pity.]
Of course. It's entirely my pleasure, Hilda. And I'm not saying that out of fear. And -- that wasn't sarcasm. Gods, it's hard to press certain tones through this.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cointosser) wrote2021-04-12 08:58 pm
no subject
𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘳.
...𝘐'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.
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[That's simply honesty.
He doesn't laugh. And not that it matters, because she can't hear him. (OR CAN SHE?) It's more like -- oh no, I'm about to be disappointing, aren't I? But her inquiry, as wild as it all is, sounds genuine enough, and he does hate disappointing beautiful women.]
From instrument to, er... weapon? It does sound difficult, I won't lie to you. But I have practiced so much magic, and especially with the art of transformation... I can't make a promise, but I will certainly try. It may take a bit of research into finding some sort of... transformation spell, but I know it must exist.
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[ The response comes scrawled in the middle of his response. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine the way her face probably twists at that.
She doesn't have to be able to see him or hear him to understand that what she's proposing is wildly impossible. Alucard hadn't said just for the sake of being discouraging. In the past something like this would have never occurred to her to attempt. Actually, it never would have gotten this far. Ideas and whimsy sparked in her mind whenever they felt like it before she quickly smothered them. And if they were difficult in nature? Well, she didn't like difficult things so she never thought about them to begin with.
But this feels different. The scrawled designs in her sketchbook are evidence of that. The fact that she's voicing it at all to someone like Jaskier who she isn't particularly close with is also surprising in and of itself. ]
𝘖𝘩! 𝘖𝘩, 𝘯𝘰 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳, 𝘐'𝘥...𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.
[ The thought is out of her brain before she can stop it. Realizing that she had admitted more than she would have liked the next string of words are fast on their heels. ]
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳.
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[Clearly. Which is why he said it. Hah.
There's a moment of silence as he takes that in. It's admirable. It truly is. There is nothing that compares to the feeling of doing -- of executing -- an idea yourself. To ensure it is successful, as close to perfection as possible.]
I see. Of course, that will make it more difficult, which I'm sure you already know. But believe me, Hilda, I am the first to believe in doing things oneself. The meaning behind it... the receiver of such a gift must be quite special indeed.
I'm a tad jealous.
[He's joking. Maybe.]
Well, I don't suppose we can do worse than nothing. Do you have any sort of... baseline knowledge of such magic? The sort that should make it possible? I'm not opposed to finding us a mage that -- you know, may not be officially sanctioned. Who could teach such an art.
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𝘈𝘸, 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.
[ She'd lay out some stipulations - namely nothing too difficult. Or strenuous. But otherwise, the world was his oyster. And she'd do it as a thank you whether or not this worked. ]
𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦! [ At least she's honest. ] 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.
𝘉𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥...𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦?
[ She's more impressed than scandalized. ]
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You hardly need to feel as if you should repay me, my dear. But your craftsmanship is superb, and I'd be a fool to turn it down.
[Shite. It's honest, but it's certainly left him a bit in the dark on where to start.]
Er. Well... yes. Why not? This would be a much simpler venture, I bet, if we were in Thorne, but we must work within our limits. If you have other ideas, I am happy to follow.
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𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘣 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮 - 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦?
[ Because what could possibly go wrong with two Dummies walking into a black market? ]
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I would say we shall agree to disagree, but you're simply wrong. And you shall only be more wrong in time, as your skills improve.
Oh, stop! No need for flattery, I'm happy to help you. I think that's a brilliant idea. With my name and your -- unassuming nature -- I'm quite sure we'll find exactly who we're looking for. And I'll be safe to boot.
[That's a very important point considering his last forays into the black market.]
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[ Or more specifically: she doesn't believe him. ]
𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵! 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 - 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦? 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦?
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I -- er, to be fair, I have never considered myself dangerous, and only one of us has wielded an axe in the presence of the other, so...
[Though worry not. He will peck out many eyes to protect Hilda's honour, if ever needed.]
Though obviously you're safe with me. Just, er, not because of anything I'm doing in particular.
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𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤!
[ Read: She isn't going to be doing all the work if they get into trouble, sir. ]</small.
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Now who's trying to get out of work?]
What, you want me to grow an apple tree at them? Our potential robbers slash murderers?
[He's only used his magic to help kill people, like, three times!]
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...𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦? 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺?
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𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵. 𝘖𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.
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I can be persuaded by you, dearest Hilda, but -- do you have someone in mind? Someone who has wronged my already beloved friend?
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𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘤𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩.
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𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦, 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘳.
𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.
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Of course. It's entirely my pleasure, Hilda. And I'm not saying that out of fear. And -- that wasn't sarcasm. Gods, it's hard to press certain tones through this.