[ CATCH-ALL ] and what you see is not the dark

[wiedzminka]

Who: Ciri & the friends(?) she made along the way
When: end of May - mid June
Where: Cadens, Nocwich, Horizon maybe
What: catching up after the wild and wacky 800 years that didn't happen
Warnings: in subject lines if necessary but probably none

it's just the gods upturning inkpots
'cause they know what you'll become

Comments

[wiedzminka]

[ It's awkward. Everything feels... stilted, a little out of place. Especially her relationships with people outside her immediate family -- besides Jaskier's manic depression-baking, at least she knows how to talk to the two of them, and Geralt remains doggedly the same as he ever is.

She's not sure what remains the same and what is different between herself and Hilda.

Somehow, she still manages to be surprised that Hilda somehow remembered her birthday, of all things. When she tried to protest that it's long passed and there's no reason to do anything, Hilda had roundly told her that didn't matter in the slightest, after which Ciri really had no recourse but to accept the invitation. And then fret about it up until the moment Hilda knocks on the door.

Nudging Mog away from the door with the toe of her boot, Ciri peeks through the crack first, as if she might have been mistaken about the visitor. No such luck. She opens it wider to let herself out. ]

You always dress up. I had to make an effort, at least.

[ The heat just keeps climbing, so Ciri's outfit is loose and airy, since Hilda mentioned they'd be outdoors. ]

When are you going to tell me where we're going?

[ Since Hilda has apparently decided they don't need to talk about what happened, Ciri will play along. She can pretend to act normally too. Maybe it'll even get easier. ]

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda knows that they probably should address what happened to them. Their friendship had seen plenty of up's and down's and then just before the sky began to fall, it had felt like it was veering into something more. It had never been anything concrete though that she's been finding herself going back and forth over what to do: let it all fade back into a dream or see where exactly Ciri stood with them. ]

Is what I'm wearing a little too much? I wanted to look nice.

[ 'For you' goes unsaid but it lingers in the air, however briefly. She looks down at her outfit before looking back up towards Ciri from under her sun hat.

Looping her arm through Ciri's she begins to lead them away from her home and towards their destination. ]

I wanted it to be a surprise but I guess you'll find out sooner rather than later. There's a lovely little park in the middle of Cadens that isn't too busy, has been mostly cleaned up and has just the right amount of sunshine and shade. So I thought a picnic might be in order.

[wiedzminka]

Oh, be quiet. You always look nice. [ Ciri huffs, halfway between complaining and teasing. ] But we accidentally ended up kind of matching...

[ She's not sure if it's comforting or annoying that Hilda is simply the same way she's always been, as forward and friendly as ever. She has this habit of leaning just far enough into flirtation territory to get Ciri thinking about it, and never much further than that. Between several incidents over the past year or so, the most recent of which ended up with them napping on each other in Ikorr maybe a bit more intimately than 'just friends' would, Ciri had already started to feel awkward about Hilda's affections.

The experience during their three-week sojourn in the crater has only made things even more confusing.

Ciri has no idea what Hilda remembers, though.

And she doesn't want to ruin the mood. ]

Close enough to a surprise at this point, isn't it? That sounds pleasant.

[theidlemaiden]

Great minds think alike, right?

[ It was of course completely accidental, but a happy one. It's a silly thing to receive joy from matching outfits, but it's a joy that she wouldn't take for granted all the same.

Just like how she won't take this time that they have together now for granted.

Pleased that her surprise isn't coming across as lame there's a new spring in her step. Despite all the destruction that the storm had caused, the people of Cadens (and with the help of the Summoned) were starting to return to the streets. She navigates them through the busy markets before buildings give way to a secluded little oasis in the heart of a city. Picking out a spot beneath the shade she begins to set out the blanket and unpack the spread.

As she works she glances towards Ciri. ]

How have you been?

[wiedzminka]

[ They walk in peaceful silence most of the time, surrounded by the familiar, comforting noise of the city. Hilda leads, and Ciri is content to follow her through the crowds.

It's late enough in the afternoon the sun doesn't beam down as harshly anymore, but the ambient heat soaked into the buildings and streets still hasn't dissipated, metal and stone radiating it back on them. Stepping into the greenery of the park comes with a blissful cooling effect. Ciri's used to the desert clime by now, but she still doesn't prefer it.

She finds herself missing the northern forests, the home she'd had there, snowy winters by the fireside with Geralt and Yennefer and--

Except she hadn't actually had any of that. Not yet.

Ciri takes the blanket when Hilda pulls it out, helping her set up so she's not just standing there with empty hands waiting. The question is so very much expected, it takes real effort not to roll her eyes. ]

Haven't we all been the same?

[theidlemaiden]

[ Ciri might not roll her eyes but Hilda can still hear it in her voice, in her tone. She tries not to tense at the sound of it while simultaneously not take it too personally.

There's a brief pause in both silence and her actions. ]

You're right. I guess none of that really happened.

[ As she resumes unpacking, laying out the berries, the mini DIY sandwich bar so that there wouldn't be any soggy bread. ]

I guess the better question should have been how are you feeling about everything that happened? Or didn't.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri senses the pause, the tension. A beat of awkward silence, peppered with the rustling of butcher paper and cloth. ]

...sorry. [ She sighs. If Hilda will allow, she will reach out to help too, pulling more items from the basket or simply rearranging things to make more room. ]

It's just been a bit... confusing. We weren't ourselves, but we also were. I can't remember everything. [ Thank fuck. ] But I remember enough.

I remember you. A version of you.

[ Ciri waits for Hilda to volunteer anything of her own, anything she remembers too. Or to shut this whole thing down. ]