Content Warning: Mentions of criminal abuse; mentions of psychosis
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"I came back for you."
"Really?" Jervis's brow tented, partially in hope and partially out of emotion. With a harsh click and a wheeze, Jonathan forced his cell door open. "What other business would I have breaking into your oubliette at this hour? Or would you rather I quit while I'm ahead?"
"No, no!" The Hatter whispered in return, his bright crescent grin shining plainly from the dark far end of the area. "I'm only taken a bit by surprise is all."
Crane scoffed but said nothing, glancing anxiously over his shoulder as he drew deeper into the dank padded room. 'Some treatment,' he thought bitterly. The only thing solitary was good for was breaking grown men and women down into rat-like ghosts of their former selves, but of course, the vile character who'd placed Jervis there obviously knew that. This was all the more reason to work as quickly as possible.
A simple pair of scissors were enough to cut through the white of his straitjacket, and while a bonesaw was not the most efficient tool, it at the very least got the job of cutting through chains done. As his escort clamored to finish, Jervis hummed absently to himself, smiling far off and dreamy, occasionally murmuring half-formed bits of astonished praise and redundant declarations of adoration. He'd been in the hole for over a week by now, so he clearly wasn't at his most lucid tonight. Whatever else Bolton had been doing to him couldn't have been helping, but with this sudden onset of cheeriness, it would be impossible to tell.
"I can't believe—you really came back for me, didn't you? The others all laughed, you know, when I told them you would, and when that awful bandersnatch locked me up in here I beginning to think I was done for, but here you are! Come to fetch the likes of me. I must have two— to fetch and carry. One to fetch and one to carry. This young lady loves you with an H…"
"Jervis, I swear to you, if you value either of our lives with even one iota of you're being, then you'll do very well to shut your trap." His hare responded, shaking the scissors in reprimand as a nun would brandish a ruler. He then set nimbly back to work, ripping the last few inches of the captive Hatter's binding in half. With his arms newly freed, his first order of half-minded business was to reach down from his bench and brace his rescuer's cheeks between two palms, advancing with a sloppy kiss that was not at all expected nor was it appreciated. Jonathan struggled briefly before breaking loose, glaring as authoritatively as he could manage."Jervis!"
"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?"
Dear lord, why this. Why now.
As intelligent as Jervis was, at the moment he was completely off his rocker. Whatever that meant in the long-term was another story, but in that instant, Jonathan could only think of how much more difficult it would be to guide him out of Arkham in that state.