abraxaslogs | [ CATCH-ALL ]

[ All of Ciri's friends will have received the news fairly early in the month, whether by her directly mentioning it or a note she sends. It's hardly a formal invitation, but she makes it clear they are welcome -- encouraged, in fact -- to visit once they're all moved in.

Compared to the second-floor apartment over the bakery Ciri had been sharing with Jaskier and Geralt before, this new place is a proper house. Jaskier's doing, of course; Ciri is hardly complaining.

She's visibly excited, even, and would absolutely welcome any housewarming gifts, or a helping hand with putting up any furniture or decorations. There's even an attached stables, which is delightful because it means not only is her mare Nixie always nearby, so is Jaskier's golden chocobo, Feainna. Ciri can often be found doting on one or the other (Roach gets the occasional treat, too, of course).

Considering they have a full kitchen now, and no bakery just downstairs, Ciri might even try her hand at cooking or baking something -- especially with a friend who actually knows what they're doing. ]

( Unlike the other folks that come and go during those first few friendly days, Dean isn't exactly here at her behest. Though they talked about things, though she seemed to accept him, he wouldn't say they were exactly back to the level of comfortable they'd been before everything exploded. Her reaching out with an invite might be a stretch — or it might not be, but they don't get the chance to find out.

He actually shows up for the first time shortly after Geralt mentions the new house to him, and he's here on sort-of business with the guy's permission.

That is, the business of adding a few protections to the place. Ciri's likely to wander in on Dean in her entryway, down on his hands and knees, the rug pushed into a rumpled heap to the side to make room for where he's methodically, slowly painting a fairly sizeable Devil's Trap sigil on her floors.

When he notices the movement out of the corner of his eye, he stops to greet her with a careful, but not unfriendly, )

Yo.

[ Ciri watches him in silence for a minute before she's noticed. At his greeting, she uncrosses her arms and offers a vague wave, maybe in greeting, maybe just a sort of questioning sweep between Dean and the mark on the floor. ]

I'm not convinced those things do anything. [ She remarks dryly. Dean explained the supposed difference between what happened to him and what these sigils are supposed to prevent, but the concept has been a bit... soured, for her. Not that she'll stop him. ]

Got anything against portaling monsters?

( There's a heaviness in the moment, briefly, wherein she makes her dry remark, and he offers her a tight, faintly sad smile. He's not gonna try and convince her of it, the only thing he has to say is a quiet but serious: ) They do.

( There had been one under his chair back in the basement where they cured him. It was the only thing that kept him trapped there, far more effective than the shackles and chains. But if she never has to run into another demon first-hand to prove it works, he'll be happy.

He settles back, sitting on his calves and gripping his thighs for support, grunting like an old man. The follow-up question he does seem to actually consider for a second, swaying thoughtfully. )

I got a few things. Sigils, salt lines. In theory, they should keep some types from being able to pop in on you, but uh... I doubt they're gonna be effective against crap exclusively from your world.

( Sorry, sister. Though that does inspire him to do a better job researching local wards. Maybe he'll start swinging by the library again after he's done with all this. )

[ Ciri shrugs. She'd be lying if she said she fully trusted any of this, but if it makes him feel better and Geralt's allowed it... there's no harm in it either. Not something to rely on, mostly something to ignore. Which is about how she felt before, too. ]

It's fine. I'll just have to be effective enough on my own. Used to that.

I still haven't met anything afraid of salt, though. Here or elsewhere. Seems a waste of seasoning.

( He takes this as a queue that it's break time. Stays settled on his knees, but goes about absently wiping his hands off on one of the rags he brought with them. Might as well use this opportunity to bequeath a little of his home world hunter knowledge on her — after all, there's precedent for this place dragging in monsters from their home planets. )

Wards against ghosts, or most of 'em at least. They can't cross a salt line. Low powered demons, too. Hellhounds, at least for a couple minutes, but any time you can buy against those bitches is a win. Leprechauns have to count the grains before they can pass it.

( He shrugs, sways. )

I, uh- I spent a lot of time growing up with this old man named Bobby. More of a father than my dad ever was. Paranoid old bastard. He rubbed off on me a little, but god damn if that didn't save my ass a time or two. Hope you guys never need it, but if you do, it's there.

[ Ciri doesn't argue this time. Maybe it depends on the ghost.

She considers him, taking in the explanation. The familiarity in it. ]

All right, then. [ Might almost be a thank-you.

Her nose wrinkles, lips quirking a little on one side. ]

If you're done, you can come to the kitchen for a drink. And explain to me what a leprechaun is and if you just made that counting grains thing up because you ran out of creatures afraid of salt.

( His lips quirk up on one side, amused and a little relieved. It's good that they're managing to find their footing again. Good that Ciri's comfortable enough with him to welcome him to a drink, to sit down and bullshit with him like they did before.

So he gives her a cheerful military salute. )

Aye aye, cap'n.

( And thusly he will. Supplies get packed away, his mess cleaned up, and he heads into the kitchen to firmly and enthusiastically regale her with how very much he totally wasn't making up the leprechaun grain counting thing. )

[ The Crows made a little move, simply taking over Julie's old apartment at the inn, but even that small thing was pretty exciting for them. So when he heard that the group was getting their own house, he had to show up, if only for Ciri. The two of them have had a long road to becoming friends but that's how he thinks of her, which means she gets a visit once he knows they're all moved in.

Jesper's been working on the inn recently having convinced Mags to add some more space and rooms, a general project that will make things better for everyone, so home decor is on his mind currently. They haven't officially started but they're in the early stages.

Jesper's in his usual jaunty green shades and he's on his way back from selling at the market, so he has his bag of holding that lets him carry what is left over back home. He whistles when he sees the house, it's a right proper one, and knocks on the front door. ]

Anyone in?

[ He's hoping it'll be Ciri. ]

[ Jesper is in luck; it is Ciri who hears him, though not from inside the house. She pops up around the side, wiping her hands on her loose trousers. There's a straw of hay clinging to her hair. ]

Jesper. Hello. News travels quick, doesn't it?

[ It's not a complaint; she's smiling. Nor was it a secret, of course, since Ciri had been telling folks all week and stopped by the Sarstina. Jesper might not be the 'personal invitation' level of friend, but he's certainly not unwelcome. ]

Here for anything specific?

Well you haven't been keeping it a secret, and I've got ears everywhere.

[ Also she just up and told people. Jesper pays attention. He knows where most people are in Cadens, where the Summoned live or their favorite haunts. He's always been the guy in the gang who knows details about others, which is why he made such a perfect census of the Summoned that only he, Viktor, Kaz, and Sam have read thoroughly.

He flashes her a smile and sets the bag of holding down carefully before opening it up. ]

Homewarming gifts!

[ He pulls out a box that really should not fit in the bag but since this is something many Summoned have, it's not a surprise. He does a little jingle to make certain nothing sounds broken but it's all good and he brings it over to her. Inside are six glasses with a wolf etched in and six glasses with a phoenix etched in. He thought that would cover Geralt and Ciri, the wolves, and Jaskier the phoenix and give them new glasses meant to represent them. ]

Edited 2023-10-16 01:00 (UTC)

[ Ciri actually looks surprised he brought gifts. (She shouldn't have been; she knows him, and it's actually not surprising at all.)

She takes the glasses one by one from each design to look them over with interest, tracing her thumb over the edge of the engraved design. Then sets them down and turns back to Jesper with a genuinely warm smile. ]

Thank you, Jesper. They're lovely. Didn't know you were so thoughtful.

[ Which might say more about Ciri than Jesper, but still. She seems pretty happy. ]

What?! [ He gasps dramatically, hands to his chest. ] I'm the most thoughtful person you know! [ After a beat. ] Okay maybe Nadine first. Or Jaskier. Julie can be like that too.

[ Jesper is just playing around because he talks faster than he thinks and he's not actually offended, he thinks it's funny. He snaps his fingers at her and points. ]

I'm in the top ten of thoughtful people you know.

[ That at least sounds correct but he is glad that she seems happy. That's definitely the best part about this, and he's not that surprised. Having a real home can make a difference for people. That's what the Crow Club used to be for him. ]

So how nice is it? To be a homeowner?

[ Ciri blinks, looking as though she'd never even considered this. ]

Oh, it's not mine. Jaskier's renting it.

[ It's not even Jaskier's. Though it could be, if he wanted to buy it probably. It's just that none of them want to... deal with all that. At least not right now. ]

Okay fine, how do you feel about having a house to go back to?

[ Renting it, buying it, whatever. Jesper has no interest in doing it himself, the Crows only talked about moving if they felt guilty new people needed rooms themselves. Now they have it all settled by taking over Nadine and Julie's former space so new people could take over their old spaces easily.

He does think there's a difference between having a house though and an apartment. Being someone who used to live in a house growing up and more recently in his timeline, and the satisfaction that came from a more permanent sort of residence than the floating lifestyle. It wouldn't be that surprising if it's not something she sees that way though. ]

I'll admit, having one back home was rather nice, once I got used to the feel of stability.

[ That's not what she thought he meant. Ciri shrugs. ]

It's... nice. [ She admits. ]

I like having my own space. I was just as happy with it being smaller like before, but this is definitely more fun to decorate. And it's good to have Nixie just outside, instead of having to go to the stables if I want to give her treats.

>[ She spins one of the wolf glasses around slowly on the countertop, examining the etching. ]

...you're right about the feeling of stability. Takes some getting used to.

It was a fairly small place before, yeah? I didn't know how all of you fit there in the first place.

[ Jesper's never actually been inside but he knows the building. He pays attention to that sort of thing. He can scope out any apartment or house with discerning eyes and make guesses about the inside, considering he used to be a criminal who actively broke into palaces and homes to steal. Ahh, the old life. ]

I remember constantly forgetting that it was my space. Sometimes I'd just have to look around and go 'oh yeah, this is where I live now.' So much better than the farm I grew up on.

[ Jesper's fairly open these days about being a former farmboy, something he used to hide about himself because he thought it was embarrassing. He comes off as a cosmopolitan type of person on purpose, wanting people to notice that. ]

[ CATCH-ALL ]

OPEN, early october.

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wanna wrap here and focus on the newer event thing??

perfect. the leprechaun knowledge is now game canon

taking advantage :D

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