[ CLOSED ] my skin peels off like paint

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Various
When: April Pre-event
Where: Cadens, Horizon
What: In the aftermath of Nero's death
Warnings: Standard Witcher canon.


can't you hear that scratching?
there's something at the door;

discontinued | quantifies | starters below.

Comments

[nadine_he_loves]

[Nadine laughs as she moves to check through what needs to go where.]

I think this is about as big as I can handle right now. But now all the space at the old apothecary can be used for the clinic.

[Geralt is well aware of Nadine's struggles with space, and the booming popularity of her clinic and apothecary. Her status as a Summoned had always brought customers and patients in, but in recent months there's been more and more and more. And more and more random people on the street recognizing her. For herself, not just as Jaskier's lady friend.]

I'm still just amazed...I can't believe he bought me a building. Talk about a grand gesture.

[But those were the gestures Jaskier seemed to prefer.]

[gynvael]

You certainly deserve it.

[ He leans against the shelf, arms folded. Despite the genial nature of the visit, there's a sense of something else on his mind. He's been in town since the storms started, but he hasn't shown up for his appointments as he might've. Not since Nero.

He's been more distracted than he means to be. And the inability to leave the city hasn't helped. ]

I wanted to ask if you had something...more potent. The storms—

[ He indicates the dust and lightning beyond. She understands. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

Say no more.

[Nadine understands exactly what he means. The weather's bound to be playing hell with his leg. She turns to her unpacked stock, pursing her lips in thought as she considers the options.

Geralt doesn't like anything that has too much of a sedative or mood-altering effect, which does rule out a lot of the stronger stuff.]

Most of what I'd usually recommend has the chance to make you groggy, or affect your mood. Especially where you tend to need a stronger dose than the average patient.

[gynvael]

Hm. [ He looks contemplative. ] Inclined to nap or prone to capriciousness? Tough choice.

[ She's right he usually hasn't much interest in those effects; he prefers to push through the pain if he must. But he's also typically hunting when he uses her potions—it's the long rides and jagged trails that bother him. For the moment, he's home. ]

Something for the night will do. [ He may as well get some damn sleep while they're at this. ] Contracts are delayed until the storms clear.

[ He could leave in these conditions if he must, but that's rather the thing these days. His work has become...a little more elective. He doesn't want to worry anyone by disappearing into the sands. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

Sleepy it is.

[Nadine plucks up a blue bottle without any more hesitation. This should do the trick, and with Geralt's system...maybe it won't make him too sleepy.]

One spoonful when you're done with your day, and since it's you, I do recommend a large spoonful. Have Jaskier play you some soothing music, you'll drift right off, the discomfort a fading memory.

[She appraises him as she hands him the potion.]

Any new complaints?

[gynvael]

[ He accepts the bottle with a soft noise. ] And trigger a lecture on how an artist never lets the audience dictate his music?

[ He sets the vial on the nearby table. With luck, the storms will be over soon and he needn't rely on it too long, but the truth is, he's beginning to wonder if things will get worse before they get better. If they get better. As much as he isn't one to acknowledge portents of doom, there is an undeniably calamitous edge to all this fucking lightning.

Speaking of. ]

Not really. [ He hesitates. He didn't come here to bring it up, but—mm. It's a bit more than a personal loss, isn't it? What happened. ] Something in Solvunn took one of us.

[nadine_he_loves]

Just tell him it's doctor's orders.

[Nadine smiles as she says it, but the smile fades as Geralt continues. She takes a seat, folding her hands in her lap out of habit.]

Oh?

[There's a great many ways to interpret what he'd just said. But from his tone and body language, she can gather it's more serious than a run of the mill kidnapping.]

[gynvael]

[ His brows are knitted together, the way they do when he's weighing the precise words he wants to use. The details are haphazard; Steve was the only witness, and Geralt had not wanted to question the boy too intently after what he saw. What purpose would it serve? To have the complete picture? It won't change what happened. It won't bring any comfort. And what will he do with that knowledge right here and now?

He can ask more questions later. His main priority is that Steve is safe (stays safe), and he can only do so much from across the damn continent. In the time he's gotten to know Steve, he recognizes a rashness there that he isn't sure can be tempered in the face of grief. His contacts in Solvunn are far fewer than elsewhere.

But that isn't what he means to talk to Nadine about. ]

A man named Nero. He went into the woods and...drew the ire of one of their gods. [ Or so it would seem. He uses the term loosely; Geralt has never quite believed in the gods as entities of worship, but they are clearly tangible beings. Walking the earth.

Seizing their dues, apparently. ]

I don't know. [ He's lost people before. He can't explain why, this time, it feels so much heavier. ] He reminded me of someone. I thought...

[ That perhaps if Nero was around, nearly indestructible as the little fucker was, he could rely on having the closest thing that felt like a piece of his brothers. It feels laughably childish now that he's paused to reflect. He likes to think he's better at accepting the reality of things than this. ]

[nadine_he_loves]

[Nadine nods without speaking. She knew who Nero was, even if she didn't really know him herself. Summoned tend to be aware of one another, even in other kingdoms.

And what Geralt is saying is upsetting. Angered the gods? That's Old Testament divinity right there. Not for the first time, she's grateful Cadens doesn't have any unified or prominent religion.]

I'm sorry.

[She won't push for Geralt to talk about it, but she can tell it's upset him on a deeper level than simply 'one of us was murdered by a god'. Which is disturbing enough.

It just goes to show they aren't really safe, no matter how safe they feel at times. Despite the cozy shop interior, a little chill goes through her. What else do they have to worry about? And what had been done to anger one of Solvunn's gods so direly?]

I think I could use a cup of tea.

wrap? 🎀

[gynvael]

[ She's right that he says little else. He means to leave shortly—not because he thinks himself an imposition but because he rarely stays someplace long once his business is concluded—but when she invites him for tea, he decides to stay.

He could use a drink, frankly. ]

Sure.

[ He helps her unpack the last of the bottles, tidies up the empty crates, and follows her. The storm's grown fiercer, somehow. He may as well shelter here for a bit, seeing as he hasn't anywhere to be. ]