[ 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

[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. ]