[ OPEN ] the river's overrun

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and various
When: July + August
Where: The Free Cities, the Horizon, TBA
What: Catch all for both months + open TL for Free Cities quests for July
Warnings: None currently, will add/mark as needed


( open + closed starters below | action, prose, and wildcards all welcome | find me at indech, by PM, or on discord to plot something! )

Comments

[wiedzminka]

You're right. It's certainly best to talk about it. I appreciate that. I admit I... did not know how to bring it up. If you remembered at all.

[ She smiles tentatively, and reaches out to take the bowl. ]

I wouldn't want to interfere with your relationship with Hilda and Sylvain.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure where I stand with Hilda. Before... everything... we had some, ah, more intimate moments together, and then the god-dream and now--

Well, it's all a bit complicated, isn't it?

[ She blows across the top of her bowl, waiting for it to cool enough to try. ]

It smells good, at least.

[godshattering]

[ For all the times he's prone to prying for an answer, this isn't one of them. He'd meant it about Ciri taking as much time as needed and beyond that, there's another element to add to it still as she explains. As he reaches for a bowl for himself, Claude can't help but chuckle. ]

Complicated's about the best term that applies to anything here no matter what it is, I think.

[ After getting his own serving ready, Claude runs his spoon through it in idle patterns to help cool the bowl's contents. And to help him think since his goal wasn't to dismiss the rest of what Ciri's said when it comes to Hilda, though while he turns that over he does so quietly rather than segueing to something else for a conversation in the meantime. ]

As someone who knows Hilda rather well, [ is what he begins with combined with a slight grin since that's an understatement purely for some light humor, ] if there's something you want to talk to her about, you should do it. Believe me when I say I know I'm calling myself out for the same tendency in the same breath but if you don't, then it might be a long time before it comes up since Hilda might also avoid it.

[ Years' worth of them and a reminder which doesn't come without a twinge of regret even as time's passed here. One more swirl of his spoon through the stew before Claude fishes up a bite to blow on it when a cloud of steam follows since he'd rather not singe his mouth. It's also a good time to look at Ciri again and deliberately so to go with what he's about to say next. ]

And if you want something more with her, you should tell her that, too.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri sniffs at her stew again while he talks, tentatively trying a bite (mostly because it's hot, not because she really expects it to taste bad or anything). It's... fine. A little over-seasoned, in her opinion. He'll hear about that later, maybe, when it's a more appropriate time for poking fun and pointing out it would have been better with some meat to make it heartier to suit the seasoning.

For now, she just nibbles and listens, considering his words with the seriousness they deserve.

Except, at the end, she still doesn't know what to say. ]

...yeah. [ It comes out eventually, soft and uncertain. ] You're right. I know that.

[ It's easier said than done. ]

I'll work on it. Talking to her, I mean.

[ Ciri sets her bowl down for a bit, scooting closer. ]

Thanks, Claude. For being honest. I'm glad we can trust one another.