[ 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]

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. ]