Nighttime Terrors [ Closed Thread ]

A one on one interaction between Sylv, and @V's Gale.

As the entire camp slept into the star speckled night, all the chimera could do was toss and turn in her own bed roll, almost animalistic grunts and growls rumbling from her throat as her own muscles tensed up, sharp teeth gritted and bared out. After a few more violent jolts, she would wake up in a cold sweat, her breath rapid and her body struggling to stop shaking so uncontrollably. She even had a dagger she picked off of a corpse in her own sweaty palm, not even recalling putting it anywhere near her person. A few moments of staring into her own reflection, or whatever could made out from the dulled blade, before she would set it aside, and get up. Still in her own undergarments, she would quickly grab a spare shirt, one long enough to cover her bottom half, as she would make her way towards Gale's own tent, her mismatched eyes almost bloodshot.

Gale was tucked up under the blanket of his bedroll with a book that had been found upon their adventures, a small light in his tent only bright enough for him to read the words hanging above him. As much as it pained him to see the state of some of the literature they came upon, he did make an effort to save some of it, so long as it wasn't extremely bloodstained. Dirt, at the very least, didn't hold as many hazards if he got a papercut. It would be an awful (yet strangely fitting, considering his lifestyle up to this point) death for him to die of some disease he had contracted from a book of all things. The book he was reading was one they'd found outside. Another banned, raunchy romantic screenplay. If he found any actual interest, then he would pass it on to Astarion, who would pass it on to Wyll, who would pass it on to Shadowheart. Of all the people, Gale hadn't expected Shadowheart to be into such literature of the heart or "throbbing" genitalia, but he wasn't one to judge. Everyone had to get their excitement from somewhere, he supposed, though his enjoyment usually came from schadenfreude of the "this book is so awful" genre. Gale heard Sylv coming from a few feet away - or, rather, he sensed her, the fine hair on the back of his neck prickling. At the beginning of their adventure, he'd found her somewhat intimidating, but as time had gone on and he'd gotten used to her presence, her appearance didn't bother him in the least. There were, of course, the occasional murdery moments, but he wasn't entirely exempt from those himself, especially considering his rabid tendency about collectible books and the horrifying Netherese orb residing in his chest. Especially when Gale was in need of a magical artifact of sorts to consume to quiet it - he was merely the long-suffering vessel of the blasted thing. "Can't sleep?" Gale asked in gentle greeting before he looked up from his book. "I found some tea that I can make you, if that's of interest?"

Seeing him still be awake despite how late it was into the night was a bit of a shock to the Bhaalspawn, her usually stoic yet soft face letting a small sense of shock slip through those mismatched eyes of hers. Fingers idly twitched in an almost involuntary mannerism, as her gaze slowly meets his, her own tail gently swaying from side to side as she gives a single nod. Gale always seemed to know how to soothe her nerves despite everything; through her savage, outright animalistic Urges, to her having little to no recollection of who she was, or why she became a horrid combination of various specimen in one. It certainly made studying her a bit more interesting, as a more humanoid chimera was rare in Faerûn. Taking a set next to Gale, legs slowly curling up as she stares into the light of his lantern. " H ... h-hot . " She would rasp out, her own throat still adjusting back to more common speak since the natuloid crash. Before, it was like watching an animal slowly adjust to being a human, a mere wolf in sheep's clothes. " M-my body feels hot . Clammy ... I-I can barely feel my hands . "

Gale frowned at Sylv's description of what she was experiencing. "...well, tea probably won't help with that, so I'll nix that idea," he murmured almost to himself. He'd been so involved in reading his book that he hadn't had his eyes on the campfire, or anyone near it, and considering the recent events where a certain bard had perished, leaving a smear on the ground... ...he really should be paying better attention to things. With the tadpole and everything else that was happening, his mind was keen on seeking some type of distraction, and Gale would imagine that being oblivious was a poor choice indeed. Sleep was also something he was unwisely foregoing as well, merely because it felt like night was the only quiet time where he could focus on anything but troubles. "Did you wake from a bad dream? Or are you feeling anxious?" Gale asked gently, his gaze shifting from where it had wandered to the fire over to Sylv. The second question felt like one he should be asking himself, but his emotional and psychological state wasn't the topic of the moment.

Upon being asked that question, Sylv's own eyes began to wander off, idly fidgeting a bit in place as her mind slowly wanders off. 'Bad' dreams where one thing, where she would end up having dreams very rarely, and when she did, could never get a proper grasp upon them. One said dream was her clasping onto a hand...and then pulling said hand off from its arm. An all too familiar feeling and thought, as her eyes slowly gaze back towards not just Gale, but his own hands. She would think back to when they first met, and she held onto on his hand. How she wanted to hack it off so badly, and then gently gnaw upon it, like a dog with its prized bone. A thought she had to hold back on, as Gale was one of the few camp members who even tolerated her odd behaviors, without outright belittling her. And, anxiety was also another factor in her current emotional state, one she had a much easier time expressing. " Whenever I sleep, I ... wake up, and sometimes don't know where I am ." She would slowly step back, and stare upon her own palms . " One night, I found myself atop of you, with my hands around your neck, and yet ... I-I couldn't do it . Something inside of me wanted you dead, a-and yet, I couldn't pull through with it. " A sharp, shaky exhale, as if a weight was finally off her chest . " It ... it made me so nauseous, and it was why I couldn't eat that morning . "

There was a brief, awkward silence as Gale considered how close he might have been to death without even realizing. "Ah. That explains it..." Trailing off, Gale squelched the anxiety away. He wasn't dead yet, but...he did have some concerns, and it seemed like the best moment to voice them. "As much as it pains me to say it in such a blunt way, it would be highly unwise to kill me. I do have...options, if that ever came to pass, but..." Gale exhaled a breath, not sure how he could explain without giving any details. "...well, it's not me warning you to threaten you, because you know I'm not that type of person. But our entire party would die, along with scores of other people we might not be aware of..."

Something about hearing the very notion of such a score in body counts made her stomach almost jump in some sort of sick, twisted pleasure, but something also ached inside of her . Why would she want that ? Why is she like this ... ? Her breath just remains heavy, as she slowly nods . She was at least happy to get this off her chest, especially the entire journey had resulted in her being out of focus due to the lingering heart of hers . But, there was at least one more concern she wanted to air out; " ... may . May I have you keep watch of me, as I sleep here for the night ? " There was no eagerness in her voice, especially not that of the vicious killer she seemingly was; there was only desperation . A cry for help from the chimera .

Gale had to wonder about the mild (if it could even be called that) reaction to his statements, but...well. He didn't exactly have much to follow it up with. There shouldn't have been such a muted pop of joy in Sylv's eyes at the prospect. After all, she would die too, wouldn't she? There was much to ponder about that, but Gale wasn't certain if it was wise. "Of course," had been Gale's reaction, as if he...somehow didn't need sleep. Well, he wasn't sure that he would after their conversation, so it was just as well. "I'm afraid that there isn't much room in here - it's very narrow - so, it would be up to you, if you'd like to squeeze in. Or," Gale paused. "Perhaps a pillow? I'll leave it up to you, my dear. I wouldn't want to crowd you - I certainly know that my anxiety isn't helped by...small spaces."

Thinking about it for a bit, the chimera's eyes would flicker to the side ... before she looks back at the learned wizard, with a soft smile . " I could squeeze in; it'd sort of be like I'm not there ... at all . " She would briefly explain; but there wasn't much weight to Sylv's words . She was far from the sneakiest of the camp, her more bulky size and rather ... boisterous, nature often making her stand out like an ox among weasels . Not to mention that she was one to constantly ... fidget around .

"Ah, well then," Gale accepted softly, his gaze warming at the smile on Sylv's face. "Feel free to make yourself at home. I'll be likely to stay up for quite a while..." The wizard then moved to rearrange the bedroll for her, pushing some books into stacks to make room. When it was just himself, he spread himself out decently liberally...so his tent wasn't relatively as small as it seemed, but he had a tendency to have organized chaos happening around him at any given time. "Sometimes, it helps me to read a bit before I sleep. I could read something out loud if you'd like?"