Geralt z Rivii (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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abraxaslogs2023-12-05 11:13 am
gynvael) wrote in abraxaslogs2023-12-05 11:13 am
[ OPEN / CLOSED ] adieu to all the faceless things
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 ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
discontinued for more specific starters. ))
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
no subject
Putting me to work already? [ He stands and joins Sam, taking his beer with him. The walls are different, he notices. A new colour. Jesper had said something about modifying the rooms at the inn, and it seems that includes Sam's. Even a polished new kitchen.
Not for the first time, it strikes him Sam's never left this place. Others have come and gone, moving onto greener pastures, but Sam—though Geralt is certain he has the means to do so—has chosen to stay. For the new arrivals, no doubt, but he suspects there's a sentimental component to it, too. Geralt can't say he minds. There are memories built into these walls. They've been here together for more than a handful of seasons now.
A jar of pickles begins to roll. Geralt catches it, setting it upright amongst the mass of meat and eggs and vegetables Sam's collected.
Yes. He did indeed bring a small offering in the shape of a large boar. It's customary. He may have only just returned, but he knows Sam will be hosting his annual gathering for Yule—or Christmas, as Sam calls it—and it wasn't difficult to hunt one before he arrived.
Reaching for a knife, he finds dish towels instead. He pulls open the next drawer. Hm. ] You moved your things.
[ That's the most minor of the changes, but it's the one Geralt's chosen to remark on. ]
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[ and yes, sam's tone is quite the chiding parent, even as his own smile matches geralt's. he continues with his unpacking, flashing geralt a thankful smile when he catches the escaping jar of pickles.
it is right about then that sam realizes geralt hasn't yet seen the new room and renovations. sam is still in the process of processing, something about the upgrades and fresh set of pain making it all feel a whole lot more real that it has over the last couple of years, but somehow what it takes is geralt in the midst of it for sam to recognize it. he doesn't know how to quantify the feeling, so he decides to deal with it at a later date, his attention on the beautiful, beautiful boar.
sam is looking it over, noticing how it's been pre-butchered, how clean it all looks, and then his eyes are on the clock. does he have enough...yes, okay, he has the time. he goes for his spice drawer, pulling out a variety of unmarked jars he's been collecting, some of which are new from nether. it's when geralt opens the second drawer that sam huffs a kind of laugh, reaching over and pulling out the drawer on the other side of geralt's first one. ]
I reorganized. Now that I've got the room for it. [ he gestures around them, at the kitchen that's now twice the size of the small corner of the room he'd been making due with since they first moved in. ] Don't worry, I'm still getting used to it too. [ and then sam is sidestepping around geralt, rolling up his sleeves and washing his hands before grabbing a bowel to start mixing his rub. ]
How were the mines?
no subject
The correct drawer slides open. Geralt takes out a knife. ]
Dusty. [ He tests the blade's sharpness against his thumb, deems it sufficient, and begins to slice the carrots. ] Had an interesting visitor, though.
[ An unexpected one. He'd anticipated Jaskier would see him. Alucard, sure. Dean wasn't on his list, but his presence was not unforeseen. Blake, however—
Beyond their conversation, Blake is a curiosity, perhaps because their initial encounters had been...less than cordial, through no fault of Blake's. Shit timing, that's all. Even at his best, Geralt isn't the friendliest, and he was most certainly not at his best after the bullshit with Josselyn Creed. He expected he'd scared Blake off for good. Then the man continued to return, and now Geralt's apparently receiving gifts on his doorstep.
And questions about social reform. While technically in confinement. The timing could've been better planned, but this was where the conversation occurred. ]
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he snorts at the dusty comment. ] Yeah, I can see that. [ it's the continuation that catches sam's attention, if only because the fact that geralt continues, and the fact he's mentioning an interesting visitor is all sam needs to know for him to understand this visit has a lot more to it that just a casual check in.
it's why sam pauses, why he looks over to geralt with what is now a vaguely serious look. ] Oh? [ and unspoken is another question, one asking if it had been a bad interesting or simply interesting interesting. because sam has a few names on his list of what would constitute bad (marlo, anyone from the thornean court, pretty much anyone asking about ciri, etc.), and somewhere in sam's body language is the preparedness and willingness to stop whatever it is he's doing and address this. if they need to. ]
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John Blake. [ He assumes Sam must know the name, whether or not the two have formally met. Sam knows nearly everyone who resides in Cadens. ] He had...a concern about the mines. And Viktor's proposed solutions.
[ He reaches into the basket of vegetables and pulls out another carrot. A thoughtful pause passes. ]
I don't normally give a fuck about this. [ Not the children or the conditions in the mines, but he trusts Sam understands what he means. This. The Summoned taking it upon themselves to right the wrongs they perceive. ] But I promised I'd raise the matter with you. You'll have better luck tempering his reactions.
[ He understands why people are unsettled or upset. It's complicated for Geralt, that's all. Some of it is the world he grew up in. Most of it is a question of choice. He can't help noticing neither Blake nor Viktor—as far as he's aware—have made any effort to get to know the miners or earn their trust before deciding to swoop in to rescue them from lives they've deemed inadequate. And it is a shit life. It is. His childhood was not any less harsh. But it's still a life, and it's still theirs.
And though he thinks Blake is too...emotionally charged, he agrees with one point: should they vanish from this world, they cannot leave it in a state where its people are dependent upon the Summoned to survive. ]
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John Blake? [ sam does know the name, though not very well. one of those summoned he's seen around more than gotten to know. he probably could have done a better job there, but sam's come to realize that the feeling of could have done a better job at knowing all the summoned in cadens is a feeling that he's never going to beat. so instead of worrying about that, he focuses on the task itself. the mention of viktor. ]
What's his concern? [ and then, at the i don't normally give a fuck, sam can't help but snort, nod. he does know what he means, because this also isn't the first time they've talked about it. it stands very firmly in the list of things they both disagree on, but respect the other enough to not to argue. the fact that geralt is coming to him at all about this is interesting though somehow, at the same time, not surprising.
it would ben difficult for anyone to go out and spend time with the miners and children and not come back with some distinct opinions, but the fact it seems to be through someone else... ]
I'm guessing he came in a bit hot, then? [ he is still working on the pig, having finished mixing the seasonings and starting to rub into the skin. he'll need to get this done sooner rather than later if they're going to have it done in time, but as it is with most things, this conversation is easier with something for both of their hands to do. ] Was he out there working off jail time too? I've seen the guy around but I don't know him well, though it's not that surprising that people are getting more up in arms about the whole thing.
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[ Blake took the roundabout path of determining where Geralt was on top of that. He still hasn't a fucking idea why Blake sought Jaskier instead of simply asking the Witcher, but he can't deny the decision is in line with what he knows about the man.
His brows draw together. The answer to Sam's question is multilayered. There's what Blake said, what Blake seemingly wants, and what Blake thinks they should all be doing. As for Geralt, how he feels things should ideally be is a different matter than what he believes they can be or should be, given the reality. ]
He believes there aren't enough precautions in place. To ensure Viktor's inventions will not backfire on the workers. [ His tone is ambivalent at best. Passing on a message more than anything. ] He left before imparting further details.
[ Geralt does not specify what caused Blake to leave abruptly, but Sam can make his inferences. ]
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[ it's a joke - a bit of an obvious one, but sam chuckles a bit to himself anyway as he finishes up with the pig and moves to wash his hands and then mess with the retro style oven situation that jesper had gone out of his way to set up for him.
he doesn't really stop anything he's doing - pausing once he's got the stove set to seat up to help organize the bags of wood to make geralt's chopping a bit more efficient - as geralt explains. his brow furrows a bit as he listens, because really, it's a pretty valid concern. especially coming from someone who may or may not know viktor, who may even have his own personal attachment to the situation.
everything that is happening with the mines sits pretty heavily in the back of sam's mind, but he also knows himself well enough to know that he feels this way about a lot of things. a lot of cadens things. and that's not even broaching the topic of the war, of the efforts, of the factions in their entirety. he lets out a very quiet sigh and shakes his head. ]
There probably aren't, honestly. We're talking about a pre-industrial revolution kinda city. They're a far cry from unions. [ and then, when he has a moment to realize half of what he's said probably isn't at all recognizable to geralt, sam tries again. ] Viktor's still in the process of his work, last I checked, but I'm sure getting it all implemented will take some political dance moves. Do you think he wants to get involved?
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[ Amusement colours his tone. Blake had approached not only Geralt, but Dean, too. Another beacon of Free Cities diplomacy. Between the two of them, it's no surprise the conversation was less than productive, though some of that responsibility lies on Blake's obstinate shoulders.
Geralt sweeps the carrots into a bowl and takes the next thing that Sam pushes towards him. His culinary expertise is limited, but he's efficient with a knife. ]
You can't expect a gaggle of orphans to form a guild. [ Or unions, as Sam calls them. Besides, a guild was as much in service of the men who ran the trade as the workers who laboured—if not more. It's hardly a revolutionary solution.
As for Viktor, from how Blake spoke, it sounds as if the man is already involved. But that isn't a fact Geralt's confirmed, so he shakes his head. ] You'll have to speak to Viktor yourself. Our previous conversations have been...complicated.
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[ it's too easy to toss back, easy to keep the joke going. geralt's amused and sam is entertained and while sam knows situation is much more serious than that, is much more important, he knows geralt won't fault him for the back and forth.
he can't help but let his mind wander - no, they can't expect a bunch of orphans to form a guild, or union, and they can't assume workers who have never known anything else to think in that way. but also...god, he isn't built for this, is he? it's not like he's got any first hand experience with this sort of thing beyond whatever hellscape the va had been back in dc.
he organizes out the veggies - pausing briefly to point out to geralt which ones need to be chopped in which way and in which bowls, before he's back to the oven. the pig. or at least, he's about to when he he hears you'll have to speak to viktor yourself and complicated and can't help but look over - one brow up. ]
Complicated...how, exactly? [ he knows geralt won't say much more if he doesn't feel comfortable enough to do so, but they've been friends for long enough that sam does feel like he can ask. ]
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Seeking social improvement for a centuries-long establishment, however, is not under his purview.
Viktor, on the other hand. That is...hm.
He takes his time answering. He will not deny some of his feelings are strictly personal; he has little room in his life for those who will make presumptions about how he raises his daughter. Especially not in response to a discussion about her safety. But it's more than a singular conversation that left him uncertain. ]
I've known men like him. [ He sweeps the onions into the waiting bowl. ] I've seldom found them to have much restraint when they believe they're accomplishing something greater than themselves.
[ Did Sam speak to Viktor after Jayce's disappearance? Sam must've. He imagines Sam went to Viktor to look in on him. Geralt had done the same. They may not have seen eye to eye, but it doesn't mean he'd wished ill on Viktor. And it was that exchange which lingered on his mind since. ]
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geralt seems content to mull the question over, and sam is fine with the time as well, his thoughts circling and spreading out - working on the pig, going down the list for the party, bouncing back and forth between i need to remember to do this tonight and after the party is over i will reach out for that.
they work in comfortable silence for the span that geralt takes to consider his words, with sam moving around the new kitchen - brief moments where he pauses, has to remind himself where the new placement for everything goes. it's a few moments later when geralt speaks up again and sam refcuses, bringing his attention back to geralt directly.
i've known men like him.
sam blinks and he sees tony, he sees suits of iron and steel, he sees ultron. but then sam blinks again and the visions are gone, replaced with everything else, everything that follows. he knows what geralt means, what he is trying to say, and the frown that pulls at sam's mouth should tell geralt all he really needs to know about it - that sam agrees, in some ways. but then it brings in the larger question: where, if at all, the line should be drawn. sam rubs at his chin for a moment. ]
You said your conversations have been complicated. That makes me think he's said, or done, something already that you're worried about. Or- not worried, but not happy with.
[ sam did go and see viktor, had checked in during those between months - not right after, but soon enough. viktor had been grieving just as sam had been expecting of him, but their conversation had brought up...
well, if sam's being honest, that exact feeling. i've seldom found them to have much restraint. ]
Anything I should know about?
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He sighs. ] When we last spoke, he asked me what I would do if Ciri were to vanish from this sphere. [ That is, obviously, not the entire story—though the question Viktor asked alone sets the tone for the point he wishes to make. ] Our previous conversation, however...did you ever wonder how Ciri wound up on that island? When she was forewarned?
[ He'd trained her. She would not have been so easily taken, knowing the dangers that were out there. He would not have been taken if he wasn't protecting Rinwell. Regardless of Sam's response, he continues. ]
She came searching for me, carrying a tracker that Viktor gave her. [ He pauses. ] Don't misunderstand me. I know full well how hardheaded Ciri is. Her decisions are her own. But Viktor is aware of Ciri's...uniqueness. What it might mean should she fall into the wrong hands. And after our talks, I'm not certain I trust he's capable of placing her wellbeing over his own endeavours.
[ Not deliberately, not like that. He doesn't believe Viktor has any intention of putting anyone in harm's way. Ciri and Viktor are friends. There's a reason he's avoided interfering beyond keeping a close eye on the situation. Intentions are one thing, though. Consequences are another. Add in the complications of grief and loss, and that creates a picture Geralt cannot say he likes looking at. ]
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which is why, when geralt sighs, sam's brows lift just a bit. when he first speaks, sam waits for him to continue, knowing there is more to what he's saying.
what he learns is not what he expects, specifically at carrying a tracker that viktor gave her. sam's first thoughts are, of course, immediately addressed by geralt, so all sam really does is cross his arms over his chest and listen. and what he hears doesn't make him feel any better. he only (relatively) recently learned of ciri's own 'uniqueness', as geralt puts it - but even then, he can see exactly what it is that geralt is alluding to. how viktor wouldn't hesitate, in these sorts of situations. ]
It's a dangerous combo- the two of them, I mean. Especially if Ciri's willing to dive into those situations, Viktor's only gonna support her. [ and maybe complicated is exactly the word for it. because he agrees, viktor isn't the kind of person who would intentionally do anything malicious, not like that and definitely not towards ciri. but if put in a situation like what happened with the pit, he doesn't see viktor or ciri making another decision. ]
When I saw him, he asked me if I had the chance to go back, if I'd take it. I told him it'd depend on how. By what means. [ now it's sam's turn to sigh, shake his head. ] The worst part about all this is that he could easily be the one who figures it all out and lets people go home. But how he gets there...
[ sam swallows down a kind of weight in his throat. he likes viktor, he really really does. he's just not sure if he can trust him, and that's hard. really hard. he lets out another breath. ]
Yeah- I'll talk to him. About the miners, and the robot and all that.
wrap soon? 🎀
Setting down his knife, he leans back against the counter to watch Sam finish stuffing the boar. His arms fold across his chest. ] Those doors will not open without consequences.
[ They both know this to be true. Staying here has its set of consequences, too; he won't deny that. And yet—
The weight feels much heavier when it comes to the idea that the Singularity may one day be a threshold they can freely pass in and out of. That is a reshaping of the foundations of multiple worlds. Not merely this one. He's seen what only a fraction of that could do on the Continent, and he cannot imagine it will lead to anything except greater bloodshed.
Geralt remains in thought for a moment longer. ] He needs someone he might care to listen to. Should things become...difficult.
[ And while he can offer his version of guidance, he's aware it is not the sort that will make a difference. Not here, not for this. Should it come to that, Geralt has one solution, and talking is not a part of it. Sam will make better headway. If nothing else, he'll know Sam is watching the situation closely. ]
sounds good to me! c:
it's always been about choice, in the end. about there being an option when kids, or those with families, or even just for those who didn't want to undergo what abraxas tends to do to them.
he knows it's dangerous, they both know it's dangerous, but sam can't quite let go of the thought that viktor - at least right now - is going to be their best option for really getting it figured out. sam finishes with the pig, ties it off and checks to make sure it looks done before turning to wash his hands. with geralt's help, most of the prep is nearly done - now it's just a matter of the cooking. with a rag in hand, he turns back to where geralt's sitting and shrugs, once. ]
I make no promises that he'll listen. But I'll try. Here- you done with that?
[ he walks over to the table, reaching for the finished product of geralt's knife skills, checking them briefly (not that he needs to) before it's time to go throw them in some kind of pot or pan. ]