[ semi-open ] my place amongst the stars.

[vixening]

Who: yennefer of vengerberg, various, and open.
Where: Castle Thorne, various locations therein, including the horizon.
When: post-jailbreak, month of september.
What: now that yennefer has been (rightfully) welcomed as a guest, it is about time she meets the rest of her peers within the castle.
Warnings: N/A, will add if needed

CLOSED STARTERS BELOW.

OPEN TO ALL IN CASTLE THORNE.

[ now that yennefer has been (rightfully) welcomed as a guest, she walks the halls with a kind of up-right pride. the castle is about what she expects it to be, grand and made of stone, filled with equal amounts of intelligent folk she needs to keep track of as well as idiots with whom she doesn't give more than a passing glance. it's actually quite freeing, really, to have her magic at her fingertips once again. to feel like she doesn't need to use what she can because it could be fleeting. it gives her a confidence and an ease that, perhaps, shouldn't come so quickly to her given that she has spent most of her time down in the dungeons below, and yet it does suit her as she becomes familiar with the halls around her - searching rooms, spending time in halls, learning where the great hall is compared to the library compared to her own quarters.

as her schedule is somewhat settled, yennefer finds herself spending some time in the library amongst the other mages, her reactions towards them ranging from mentor-ly to bored to at some times even cross, depending on how much they annoy her that day. she understands that they are still learning, but it becomes increasingly obvious to her how little ambrose has anything to do with their studies. at least, not directly.

her biggest goal, now, is to feel settled in this new court. it is not her first time, doing so, and it is with that experience that she approaches her involvement in it. to find out as much as she can, to become assimilated, to avoid talking about - in any way - how her time here began in the cells below.

yennefer can be found in the library, practicing and studying the magic of this realm compared to her own. other times she can be found conversing with the native thorneans in the main halls, coming across as curious and respectful as she finds her place among the many customs and rules. other times, she could even be found wandering the gardens, just for a breath of fresh air, every now and then seeming lost in thought. if approached, she will appear friendly, especially if approached by fellow welcomed guests. it is up to the conversation itself if it stays that way. ]

Comments

[vixening]

[ after finding julian and traveling through the domains sat atop his cart, yennefer finds herself feeling more adept to traverse this magical place. it had been intimidating, at first, and her wolf companion had joined her at the exact moment that the weight of it had been unbearable, and now thanks to julian, the weight is even less so.

the horizon is still a mysterious place - and without her memories, without any real connection to who she had once been beyond this wolf, and all that julian had told her, yennefer knows she should be more suspicious. more on her guard. but the wolf makes his intentions known - they are to keep moving. there is more for yennefer to find.

she does not - however - know what to do when her name is called out over the wind. they are in an open space, fields outstretched in each direction, which does mean she is able to see the horse the figure rides in on. is able to see said figure who seems to know her jump from the back of the black steed. the wolf comes to an easy, expectant stop, and so yennefer does as well - equal parts confused and curious at the approaching woman. ]

Ah- hello? [ is this woman going to slow down? yennefer is unsure, but even still, there is a sort of buoyant excitement to her at the image. at the feeling of this woman approaching her. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ She does not slow down. She runs the rest of the way, arms outstretched, and only makes sure she doesn't barrel into Yennefer too hard.

The confusion on the sorceress's face registers vaguely, but that's a problem for later. Right now, she just wants to give Yennefer a big, long hug, pressing her face into her shoulder. ]

You're all right.

[vixening]

[ yennefer is, perhaps in a lot of ways validly, surprised by the immediate hug. if she had met this woman at any possible earlier moment, she might have even stiffened. pulled away. needed more time to ease into the quick and immediate affection - but her time spent with julian, with the wolf, it has made her more open to the facts of this place. that there are those who know her, who really know her, that she may not remember.

her uncertainty is visible, if not felt, a kind of swirling through of her features - as if she's not quite sure who she is meant to be, in this moment. but that doesn't seem to be an issue, considering the way this woman wraps her arms around her, the way she presses her face into her shoulder.

( it sends something immediate through her, if she's being honest. a longing, yes, but something more visceral. something tighter, almost painful. it knocks the breath from her, not just from actual force, and it takes a brief moment before yennefer can react at all. can so much as let her heart keep beating. )

yennefer, to her credit, does wrap her arms back around the woman. she may not know her, but this closeness, this hug - yennefer aches for it, in a ways he's not sure how to bring words to. one arm goes around her shoulderblades, while the other wraps atop her shoulders, one hand on the back of the woman's head.

she must know her. she must. and for whatever reason, this feels like something she is supposed to be doing. that she needs to be doing. ]

Yes- I'm alright. [ there is a brief second, suddenly, where that feels more true than it might have before. ]

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri feels it. Sees it in her eyes when she pulls back (catches the odd flicker in her expression, slightly alarmed by the unfamiliarity of it).

Ah. So it's her first time here. Is it mere happenstance or something more, that they are both here not only at the same time, but that Ciri chose today to find Yennefer on her first trip into the Horizon?

She squeezes the older woman's hands, keeping them in hers even as she pulls away from the hug enough for them to speak more comfortably. ]

I'm very glad to see you. Even though you don't remember me just yet.

I'm Ciri.

[vixening]

[ yennefer has a small smile when ciri pulls away, polite and really not all that tense, but her mind instantly moves down to where their hands remain clasped. her eyes, too, are drawn down to them - to the warmth of them, together. to how this woman, this younger woman, had approached her so wholeheartedly.

at ciri's words, her attention shifts back, and she squeezes ciri's hands in return. there is only a bit of hesitation, as if yennefer isn't exactly sure if that is what she should be doing, but it feels right. this feels right, somehow. ]

Ciri. [ she smiles around the name, nodding once. ] And no- I don't remember you, but you do feel familiar. I'm glad to have found you, though I suppose I should be thanking... [ she turns to the wolf, who is now sitting off to her side, as if he's done his job in bringing them together so now he can rest. ]

[wiedzminka]

I'm glad I found you too. You will remember me, in time. It's all right. I recently went through something similar, and it's-- well, it leaves you feeling a bit unbalanced, but you'll get it all back. I promise.

[ Ciri has so many questions for her. (How is she faring back in Thorne? Has she managed to leave the dungeons, or is she still wasting away down there? Have they made a terrible mistake, leaving Yennefer behind? Or has she got half the court wrapped around her little finger by this time?) But Yennefer cannot answer them right now, and so she's forced to let them go. Instead, she leans into the relief of simply seeing her again, feeling the weight of her hands within her grasp, knowing she is -- at the very least -- alive.

Someone must have brought Yennefer here, just as Geralt had with her. That means she must at least have contact with others, though it's still unclear whether that is aboveground or down in the cells as before. Perhaps she has allies, or at least people who think they are her allies. It is a good enough consolation for the moment; it'll have to do.

Yennefer is alive, and she is not alone.

Ciri's eyes turn to the wolf, once again observing the crisscross of scars visible here and there beneath its thick, white fur. The eyes that fix on her feel shockingly intelligent, steady and expectant. She sense, of all things, a trust there. A camaraderie. A... familiarity. ]

Will you introduce us?

[vixening]

[ yennefer considers this - unbalanced. it is a good word for it, she supposes. it is a kind of feeling of not knowing where to step, which direction to go, who it is she's supposed to be. ciri can probably see how her mind shifts through this, the way her face changes, her jaw mishapen, her brow larger, then back again - like her features are still trying to decide for themselves.

but ciri says i promise and yennefer can't help but smile. she does trust her, she finds. it isn't hard to. so yennefer squeezes her hands, just once, when she notices something like a concern cross ciri's eyes. it's a sudden feeling, of needing to reassure, of needing to wanting to ease that look. i'm fine it seems to say.

ciri's eyes turn to the wolf, and yennefer hesitates briefly - this wolf, who has guided her thus far. who found her, just outside of the domain of kylo ren. who had brought her to julian, and now to ciri. yennefer meets those golden eyes and then turns back to ciri. ]

I would, if I knew his name.

[wiedzminka]

Oh! He isn't... yours?

[ She'd thought the wolf familiar, and now that she looks even closer... yes, unmistakably the same scars, the same look about it. It is Geralt's wolf.

Considering the nature of the Horizon and the urge to build things, to fill the emptiness in one's memories with something to make it make sense, she'd thought there was a chance Yennefer had subconsciously created a White Wolf of her own.

But if he is really Geralt's (and, when she concentrates, she's pretty sure she has a sense that the creature is Geralt's creation), then what does that mean? ]

I don't know his name either. [ Never really... asked. The wolf had seemed a bit self-explanatory in Geralt's domain, after all. ]

But I have seen him before, I think. Did you follow him here?

[vixening]

Mine? No- no I believe he is someone else's.

[ julian's, actually, she knows this. but in the place of his name, she feels something else stir. another answer, another name, but she doesn't know what comes of it. it doesn't feel important, though, so yennefer pushes it away.

at the idea that ciri knows more about the wolf, though, yennefer seems to perk up. ] You've seen him before? You know him? [ there is a kind of curious hope to yennefer's words. answers, she thinks, are becoming a driving force for her. wanting to know where she's been, who these people are, why this wolf follows her. where he might have come from. ]

He's been leading me since I arrived. [ a beat, a smile. ] He brought me to you.

[wiedzminka]

Did he, now...?

[ Ciri considers this with a faint quirk in her lips, a faint air of pleased, almost-smugness.

She nods, reaching up to idly pat her mare on the neck when she snorts and shifts her hooves impatiently. ]

I'm glad he did. You're safe with me. Not that you need protecting. [ she adds with a laugh, but maybe Yennefer now -- with this strange, uncertain air about her that Ciri is not used to -- will be reassured. Ciri has caught the way her face seems to shift sometimes, but it makes her uncomfortable, and she does not want to think about it long. This place, the way it takes away the core of who they are (or, perhaps, exposes it) makes her feel like she's prying into something Yennefer would not want seen.

So she tries to be casual, to be a supportive presence rather than an intrusive one, and just be happy that Yennefer is, above all else, alive. ]

I don't think he's been given a name outright, but I know where he came from. I can show you, if you like.

[vixening]

[ yennefer just catches the faint quirk in ciri's expression, and she tilts her head curiously to watch it. wondering what it was that she might find so funny. the wolf? her? yennefer's eyes go to the wolf who simply looks back at her, unexpectant and consistent.

when ciri speaks again, when she laughs, yennefer can't help but feel that similar tug of a smile at her own mouth. it's equal parts because something about the sound of it coming from ciri fill her with a sort of easy lightness, but also because ciri says not that you need protecting in the sam way julian had said great and powerful, and yennefer finds she likes the sound of them both.

except that there is a feeling, somewhere in this, that ciri can't bring herself to look at her. the uncertainty that coils around that thought has yennefer's features shifting again, but this time solidifying into something ciri might recognize a little more. ]

As my guide, perhaps? [ there's something a bit more playful in yennefer's smile, as she says that. she takes a moment to reach down to straighten at her clothes, the dress she doesn't remember owning, but feels right to be in. ] That would be helpful, if you wouldn't mind. I have a feeling we were on our way there, but I don't quite know how quickly we'd make the trip.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri nods, returning the smile as Yennefer's expression and features seem to settle into something more self-assured and easy. She pats her horse's neck. ]

This place isn't all that big. It just depends how fast you want to go.

[ She knows the feeling, though. The knowing that she's looking for something, for someone, and not being able to remember. It had felt somehow natural then, but in hindsight, it's more than a little unnerving. She's glad Yennefer doesn't have to experience it alone.

Ciri just wishes she was able to have a real conversation with her about what is happening right now and make sure she's doing well, but as long as she is healthy enough to be here, that's far more of a relief than not knowing anything. The rest can wait.

She gestures at Yennefer. ]

Would you like to ride or walk?

[vixening]

Isn't it? I feel as though we've been wandering for days. Though I'm sure it's much faster when you know which direction to go.

[ and that is just that, isn't it. that she knows there is somewhere she is supposed to be, someone she is supposed to find, but she hasn't any idea who or how. with julian, things had started to feel more secure, but even then yennefer had known he wasn't quite it.

and now with ciri, it feels a bit like she's getting closer. like she's found another part, another piece, but still not quite there. so when ciri gestures, yennefer considers it all - where they are, who they are, that she must know this ciri just as she'd known julian and that she can feel safe, with this offer for help.

she smiles again at ciri, turning her eyes to the horse. ] A ride, perhaps. I've been on my feet for some time.