[ OPEN / CLOSED ] adieu to all the faceless things

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Various
When: Pre-event, post-mine jail
Where: Cadens; Horizon
What: Geralt takes care of some business now that he's home + putters around his Horizon
Warnings: Standard Witcher canon


(( horizon open. plot with me discontinued for more specific starters. ))

Comments

[iustise]

[Forged.

John is an observant man, and he understands that it is a deliberate choice of wording. Geralt is not a man for idle words, after all. He has not explained what a Witcher is, for instance, although this being a place of significance to him, his home, John may be able to hazard a guess.

It does create some questions, but sitting across from him on this bench, gazing into Geralt's golden eyes, John does not press. There is something about the other man's general reticence that reminds him of the halls around them. The walls stand strong and silent around them, but here and there a gouge or break in the stonework tells the tale of damage done long ago.

Taking in a quiet breath, John nods, before offering a tentative:]

And where they sit and share a drink with a friend?

[gynvael]

[ Were John to ask, Geralt would have answered. John does not, so he allows what questions have arisen in the silence to lapse. Instead, he watches John in return. He is curious, a bit, about this soldier born into nobility and yet seemingly without much taste for fighting or finery.

Perhaps he's equally interested in John's apparent curiosity about him. He can't help sensing it extends beyond mere novelty.

A friend. Geralt is not as quick to call others a friend, but he does not deny the assertion. ]

Hm. [ He tilts his mug towards John's. ] We don't invite unwanted men into our halls.

[ And John is, after all, here with an invitation. ]

[iustise]

Cheers.

[John's lips quirk up into a smile at the other man's response, and he raises his mug toward Geralt's in return, before he raises it to take a sip. The drink is strong, but John has spent time stationed abroad in Prussia. So long as Geralt isn't planning on challenging him to any sort of contest, he can handle himself.

His gaze lingers on his companion as he lowers his mug once more. It is true, he has indeed received an invitation. One that John will do his best not to take advantage of. He gets the feeling that such things are not extended idly. Not from this man. This Witcher. The White Wolf. Is that not how he had first introduced himself, at the masquerade?]

It is... A brotherhood. Is it not.

[Equal parts question and statement. From the well-worn, well-loved look of the tables in the hall, to what sentimentality Geralt has shown for it thus far, that is how this place feels to John at any rate. And who is he to judge? He has dedicated most of his own life enlisted in a brotherhood of his own, of a sort.]

[gynvael]

[ Geralt confirms the observation with a tip of his head. ] We were brought here as boys. Raised and trained together.

[ To do what? is the natural question, but Geralt does not specify. There is nothing in the fortress that suggests an organized army once occupied these tables. There are no uniforms anywhere, no sense of standard, really. Even the medallions that hang on the tree are unique, each one shaped and engraved according to their wearer's preferences.

And the claw marks in some of the walls or floors suggest more than mere men once stormed the place.

But Geralt does not let the topic simmer for long. He seldom likes discussing himself at length. ]

I spoke to your... [ He weighs the next word. ] Friend. Claire. Your name came up.

[iustise]

[It is the natural question, but again John does not pry. The words that Geralt keeps choosing to use for this -- brought. Forged. It does not seem like a particularly pleasant experience. John may not be able to relate entirely, but his own experience of the army had been something of the sort. Before earning his commission, when Hal had "let" him come along with the 46th -- to Cullodden. If only they had known...

Instead, he allows Geralt to move the conversation along himself, although the new topic of choice surprises him. He raises his eyebrows, a new sort of smile twisting its way across his lips as he replies.]

Only good things, I hope?

[It is a tease, but -- Claire is the one person here who could share some of his deeper, darker secrets if she so chose.]

[gynvael]

[ His time at Kaer Morhen was complicated at best, and his feelings to this day reflect that. He sees no reason to pretend otherwise, but he equally has little desire to dig deeply into it.

His lips twitch. Mm. ] She said you married her.

[ That phrasing, too, is particular. They had married, but it's clear from Claire's explanation that the circumstances were not for love. Not a romantic love, in any case. She'd said much more than just that, but.

Hm. He has to wonder if John did not disclose the information for Claire's privacy or his own. Both? Claire has told him easily enough, but he'd stumbled upon her in...a unique situation. ]