[ CLOSED ] when I'm like this, you're the one I trust

[cointosser]

Who: Jaskier, Ciri, Geralt, eventually Sam?
When: First week of October
Where: The desert outskirts of Cadens
What: Jaskier attempts to help Ciri learn magic with disastrous results.
Warnings: Bodily injury, may move to mild body horror depending.



[With the climate they found themselves in, it only made sense for them to really embrace their new... eccentric talents. At least, that was what Jaskier tells himself, and when he tells himself it -- regarding Ciri, in particular -- it all makes sense, of course. If they are all gifted with magic, then it only makes sense to make use of it.

After all, it's free. And they need skills to make a living off of. As far as he understands, Ciri is, er, well. Like Geralt. A hunter.

Magic, hunting. It all fits together.

Okay, fine. He's terribly bored also. And he's tired of being the only one with magic around here. (He's still avoiding the whole plant thing. He prefers not to think about it, actually.]

All right, my dear. I -- well, I don't claim to know many, er, spells, but we can start on what I started on. Simply a little bird. [He, of course, adds a completely unnecessary flourish to his movements, and a bit of sparks, holding out his hand with a dove sitting on his palm.]

It's a bit hard to describe. I sort of... imitated watching it, I suppose.

[He sort of definitely wants to see Ciri try to imitate his flourish.]

Comments

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri watches him with a lingering, tired wariness -- not actively suspicious or upset, not at him, but with a distance in her eyes and a complete lack of reaction to his promises that says she doesn't believe him. She might believe he thinks that, but she doesn't believe that's a promise he can make. A promise he thinks is an easy one to put between them. Like it means something.

If Sam expects any sort of reciprocation, any obligation from Ciri in return, he's going to be disappointed.

Ciri's lips quirk, a hint of a rueful smile, before she buries it in her ale mug. ]

He's right. You should listen to him.

[ Why does he say it that way? Mixed up with. It makes discomfort crawl under her skin, makes her wary and unsure, gives weight to interactions that she'd never meant to have any.

Sam cares too much. About too many people. ]

Sure. Ask.

[ Withdrawn and wary, the words bitten off straight to the point. She sounds more like Geralt, like this. But she nods, and looks up expectantly. ]

[falcony]

[ he knows she doesn't believe him, and he doesn't blame her for it, either. can tell there are years and years of walls and protection built up around who she is, and he has done this enough to know he's not going to just slip through those defenses. so he doesn't expect anything at all, hopes that maybe she won't just stand up and bolt, and takes another sip of his ale. ]

Maybe. [ he says, with a thoughtful noise. ] But Geralt asked me to come find you before he passed out. So I'll be around for a little bit longer, at least.

[ it's not fondness that sam says those words so much as a kind of easy comfort. like a joke he's told before, with a practiced sort of put out tilt.

but the tone of it fades pretty easily, especially when he notices the familiar way she speaks. he can see more geralt in her than he can't, and it settles him into something a bit more serious, himself. a look that is equal parts curiosity as concern and patience, all rolled into one. ]

What happened out there? With Jaskier. [ a beat, and then sam's hands go up - preemptively defensive. ] You don't have to tell me everything, or anything at all, if you really don't want to. I'm just still trying to figure things out.

[wiedzminka]

[ Geralt asked him. Of course he did. Ciri lifts her cup again, realizing belatedly that it's already empty. She sighs, letting it fall with a thud to the tabletop. ]

I couldn't tell you everything if I wanted to, Sam. [ And something in her tone sounds defensive, but it's hard to tell if that's just because Sam is asking in the first place, or the guilt. ]

We were practicing magic. It went wrong. That sort of thing... it can be unpredictable. The magic reacted more violently than expected.

[ Neutral framing. Leaving it unclear whose magic went wild. Who is to blame.

The way she'd bolted out the door, Sam can probably put it together well enough. ]

[falcony]

[ catching the way her eyes go to the empty mug, sam tries to catch the eyes of one of the bartenders. he's not quite able to manage it, or at least isn't totally sure they understood why he was trying to get their eyes, when ciri continues, tone defensive.

sam doesn't think she's lying to him, but he gets a sense that maybe she does know more than she's telling him, but then again. there's not much he can do if she doesn't want to talk about it.

instead, he just nods. takes it in. tries to place what she says there with what he saw on that horseback, riding into the city gates. the look he saw in her eyes when she left. he can piece together enough, from that, that the nod seems more firm than not. like he actually does get a full enough story. ]

Makes sense - hell, I don't know the first thing about magic, but I do know that a lot of things that take practice generally can be dangerous, too. [ which is true. weapons, fighting, and apparently magic too.

and then, as if timed, their food and another ale for ciri arrives and is set - unceremoniously, on the table between them. sam thanks the two who had come with the bowls and turns back to ciri, gestureing. ] Go ahead, eat.

[wiedzminka]

[ The food is well-timed. Ciri reaches for it, out of necessity more than anything else, and before the server can leave, curtly requests more ale. ]

It was an accident.

[ She says suddenly, a few very slow bites in, after the fresh round of ale has come and she's had enough of it to make her head feel a little more cottony, her thoughts more manageable, easier to slip through instead of getting stuck like barbs in her brain.

She's not sure why she says it. If she thinks Sam doesn't believe her. Or that Jaskier will blame her, when he's properly awake and understands how badly he was hurt. Maybe it's more to convince herself than anyone else. ]

[falcony]

[ sam was comfortable enough to let them fall into easy enough silence, the food and general chatter of the tavern to fill the space. he’s not really expecting ciri to be the one to break it, either, which is why when she speaks, suddenly, it causes him pause. just for a second, that he glances over to meet her eyes.

he softens, feeling a bit like he might know the general state of what that might feel like. after another pause, sam nods. ]

I know. [ or maybe i figured would be more accurate.

then sam turns back to his food, taking another bite. ]