[ CLOSED ] death is no man, death is no wraith

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Various
When: October, pre-event
Where: Cadens
What: October catch-all
Warnings: Standard Witcher canon


(( starters below. plot with me discontinued. ))

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[wiedzminka]

[ She closes her eyes a moment, leaning into the rough warmth of his hand on her face.

She may never know what actually happened to him or Yennefer. They may be out there still, in another time and place, as real as they are here. Is there a version of her there too, or do her abilities mean that -- just as she's never had these dream-memories -- she is somehow apart from the rigid way time passes for most other people? It's dizzying to think about. And nobody else knows the answers anymore than she does. Not even those who seek to use her power seem to actually understand it.

Maybe Ciri could find out. Maybe, if she really tried, she could learn to actually bend space and time to her will the way others have told her she can. But the truth is, all she actually wanted was a home. A family. Somewhere to belong.

And here, she has exactly that. Maybe it's selfish. Maybe that naïve little girl she'd been, the one who wanted to be a Witcher and a queen, would consider this giving up, would be appalled (would be more appalled to know what happened in between). But Ciri knows better these days.

She cannot change the past, and the past is where the Cintra of her memories remains, along with the rest of the Continent. She's made her peace with leaving that world long ago. ]

Before, [ she says finally, pulling his hand into hers between them. ] I was always running from something.

They didn't realize what they did. Giving me someone to run toward instead.

I found you, even here.

[gynvael]

[ The more he remembers the girl from his visions, the more he sees how much she's grown. Changed. Not merely in age, but all of her. It mirrors so much of his own journey, shedding the scraps of dreams and wishes until what's left is this. Clinging onto what you have.

He'd wanted better for her. Perhaps he had lessons of his own to learn. Perhaps he's meant to realize he can't give her everything he hoped to, but that doesn't mean he failed her. She's still here, surviving and living—trying to make a home. And maybe that's enough. It's enough to know she made it through the horrors even without him there. That years later, she continues to want nothing more than her family together. That she doesn't regret the life she chose with them.

He can grant her that. A family and a home. It's not too late.

For the first time, he does not assure her that she will be found no matter what. That is, he understands now, a relic of the girl she once was. It's no longer what she needs to hear. ]

You'll always find me. I promise.