abraxaslogs | [ CLOSED ] tell them that the villains on my list

[ The club is currently empty. Suspiciously so, for somewhere that always has people, music, general unceasing energy by its very design. Even the bartender is gone, replaced by Julie, who is sitting atop the bar and drinking whiskey, hunched over with her arms resting on her knee, foot planted on one of the stools. There are two steins next to her, of the size that would look far more at home in an Oktoberfest party, both full of ale.

She lifts a hand and waves it without any real enthusiasm, the gold of her dress throwing little glitters of light across the floor. The getup is automatic when she comes to the Horizon, and it looks a bit off, because she is visibly tired.

Julie is wise enough to be straight to the point. ]

Hey y'all. I just wanted to let you know he's okay. He's with me, in Nott.

[ Ciri doesn't wave back, though it is a small relief to see Jaskier, even if she'd seen him only hours ago. She hops off her horse, letting go of the reins to let Kelpie do as she will, and jogs up to meet Jaskier. His question is met with a groan. ]

I fucking hope it is.

[ Please don't let it be another problem on top of all their current ones.

When it's clear Julie isn't outside her domain, Ciri leads the way inside. It's... eerily quiet. But before she can panic, she spots Julie, whole and hale. Still, the slouch in Julie's posture, the way she holds her drink with several more around her (not the way Ciri had seen her do before, with that sense of wild abandon she'd had at the party), immediately makes Ciri's heart race anxiously.

Before she can ask what's wrong, Julie speaks.

Ciri stares at her. ]

W-what?

[ Realization crashes down so hard, she feels lightheaded. There's only one he she could mean, one name that jumps into her mind, but-- in Nott? It's nearly a week's ride just to Aquila, and that's considered a neighbor to Cadens. It should take at least three times as long or more, just judging by the maps she's seen, not even accounting for the weather and rough terrain.

And why?

She doesn't realize she's crossed the distance between them until the cool flat of the counter presses into her palm. Ciri searches Julie's eyes. ]

What happened?

[Ah. That sort of detached hand wave is never a good sign.]

Hello, Julie --

[He blinks. He is okay. He is here.

Jaskier's head simply grinds to a fucking halt. What had he been imagining? Somehow he'd left something behind here, at the party? Nadine had informed Julie he was a prat? (Not sure why Ciri would be there except for the possibility of more humiliation.) This? Completely out of the fucking blue, if you ask him.]

What?

[He echoes Ciri: the same disbelief, the clenching in his chest. The way his breath is knocked out of him like he was punched.

Of course it's Geralt. Lose anything? They had. They'd lost him. So it wasn't misguided fear. He'd been lost. The blood. The traces of magic. In Nott.

Melitele's fucking tits.]

He's okay and he hasn't been answering any of my fucking messages?

Okay, okay y'all, just... here. Take these drinks and sit down, 'cause it's been a fuckin' night and it's not about to get better. [ She pushes the steins at them and then pours herself another glass of whiskey.

Closing her eyes for a second, she exhales purposefully and then begins speaking. ] All right, so like I said before, he's okay. By that, I mean that he's not exactly on death's doorstep, he'll heal up, but... it's real bad.

He said he was outside Cadens when people from Thorne snatched him up and brought him back to the castle. I asked him if he did anything to make Thorne want him, since otherwise, why him, right? And he told me that there's someone on the court that they thought was protectin' him. I don't know who and I don't know why, but I know that they sure as shit weren't protectin' him none, 'cause he rolled up on a horse about an hour ago, barely able to move without help.

[ She tosses back the second glass of whiskey and wrinkles her nose, shakes her head a little when the burn hits. She's exhausted, too exhausted to be drinking even here, but she's also wound up like a clock. ]

A mage helped him escape, sent him here 'cause Thorne don't pay us no mind. Jaskier, whatever they did to him, he could barely message me from down the road, so don't be mad. I brought him home and cleaned him up some, wrapped the worst of it. He's out like a light right now, and I'll get Nadine to look at him in the morning, she's trainin' to be a healer.

[ The burgeoning relief just beginning to edge out the sheer confusion in her head suddenly fizzles out when Julie says real bad. Ciri feels her stomach drop, fingertips cold. Her heart thumps in her temples. When she drops into one of the stools by Julie's knee, there is a heaviness in her body that feels too overwhelming, pushing her shoulders down, slumping forward on the bar with the mug of ale gripped between her palms like she's trying to bend it out of shape.

How bad? she wonders, but she doesn't interrupt, one part of her reasoning that Geralt's been in terrible condition dozens of times before, that Julie simply doesn't know how much a Witcher can take and it's nothing to really worry about. Except that isn't true. This isn't Geralt taking a harder blow than usual, needing a bit of extra rest before he heads home. Not just a hunt gone bad.

It was deliberate. An attack. Thorne.

Ciri's breath catches, eyes gone wide. Before she can forestall it, before she can think, the pain of betrayal grabs her by the throat and squeezes until she can barely breathe.

Thorne had gone after Geralt... because of Yennefer? It has to be her. They thought she was protecting him. But why? And why would it matter? Ciri's thoughts spin sickeningly, and she barely keeps track of the rest of what Julie is saying, tuning in only to the most important information: that Geralt is seeing a healer, that he's safe, and that he's not alone. She manages a nod at Julie, grateful, but too stunned to speak.

Shaken, Ciri looks from Julie over to Jaskier. Over the last few days, he's seen her more upset and angry than he ever has before, but this time, she looks... lost.

How much does Thorne know? ]

[He already knows this is going to be a lot, so actually, Jaskier takes both of those offerings immediately. He falls into a seat, grabbing his drink to all but chug it, so the sounds of his swallow can overcome the sound of his heartbeat in his ear.

There are props to give to Julie for simply going all into it, but he is not in the mind to give it. He pushes the stein back so there's enough room to hold his head up in both hands, listening. The most quiet he's been in his life. Geralt is alive, and he is healing. It's bad -- it's bad, he thinks, to one who doesn't know him. Who hasn't seen the things Geralt has survived.

As much as Jaskier would like to think so, though, a Witcher isn't immortal. And if they had the power to take his mutations, to alter them, the one time --

Of course it's Yennefer. It's always bloody fucking Yennefer.

Jaskier lets out a sigh that takes his soul out with it.]

Fucking. All this time, that's what he meant. Not to go after Thorne. [And what did this mean? Did they get out of him what they wanted? Some knowledge that Geralt could have that would be this important? Spies in the Free Cities? The movements of Marlo?

He squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn't know how to thank them, the two of them. He was only thankful that any of them knew Nadine and Julie at all. That Geralt trusted them enough to show up like that.]

Fuck. [He drops his hands, wiping his face. He looks to Ciri, knowing his face mirrors hers.] He's all right, Ciri. We'll get him back. [And he turns back to Julie, takes her hand in both of his.] I don't know how to thank you. For bringing that fucking brute in. You and Nadine.

[ Whether or not anyone besides Julie believes that it was actually bad doesn't really matter -- she's the one who bore half his weight several blocks, more of it when he needed to go upstairs. Who had to make him look her in the eye to even indicate that he was aware when she was speaking to him. In her book, it qualifies as bad, no matter who it's happening to.

Maybe even moreso that it's that way with Geralt. Doesn't that mean it would have been enough to kill anyone who wasn't magically fortified into a killing machine?

She squeezes Jaskier's hand, shaking her head again, but in dissent this time. There are many things she thinks she deserves praise for, but this is not one of them. This is just... not being heartless. ]

I'll tell you what I told him, there's nothin' to thank me for. It's just what you do for friends.

[ Thank goodness for Jaskier. He manages a much more eloquent thank-you than Ciri's fishlike gaping. Her brain suddenly feels like a sieve, thoughts falling out before they can fully form, sliding away.

We'll get him back, Jaskier promises. Beneath the words, unspoken, is the knowledge that they both understand exactly who is connected to Geralt in Thorne-- and that it's a conversation Julie does not deserve to be in the middle of. Yennefer's name is a bitter taste on the back of her tongue, swallowed back, settling like a rock in her chest.

She chases it with a swig of ale, then, deciding this needs stronger stuff, reaches for the bottle of whiskey. ]

Did he say anything about what he plans to do next?

Edited 2021-11-25 07:34 (UTC)

[He knows she doesn't get it, and that it's not Julie's fault, when Geralt would never bring it up. People simply don't do this for Witchers. Even now, after all his work, he can't imagine there'd be a man alive on the Continent who would pull a bloodied, broken Witcher into their home, that they barely know, especially when he's fleeing from a kingdom. It is impossible to describe how special this makes them. How... unbelievably human.

Before, he would have wondered if Geralt would ever use that word for Julie. Now he knows for certain he would -- should the word ever grace his stupid, beautiful lips.

He takes his hands back to wipe his face, to drink more. It doesn't bite like he wants it to, but even here, he wants a clear head. Somehow, finding out that all his worrying was justified doesn't make him feel any better. Go figure.]

If he made it to Nott... is he staying? Perhaps I can. I can ride, and come help.

[He knows it isn't happening even as he says it, but he can't not offer. Days upon days in the desert, and then the land beyond that he doesn't even know. And not a map on him. How long could a horse last?]

[ She hands over the whiskey to Ciri, gently runs her fingers through Jaskier's hair. Her goal had been to alleviate their worry, and though she senses some small amount of accomplishment on that end, she also feels like she's increased it in other ways. The whole thing is incredibly fucked up, but at this precise moment, only one of the three of them needs to fret over him, and Julie's the one with his blood on her clothes, under her nails. There's nothing productive about the two of them stewing over this before Geralt even makes it back to them.

Snorting softly, she bobs her foot where her legs are crossed, leans back on her hands. ]

Sugarbear, you ain't comin' to Nott. Even if it wouldn't take weeks on end, it ain't safe to cross the border. He's safe with me. We'll keep him a couple days, patch him up, then I'll get him back to Cadens.

[ Unfortunately, though Ciri wants to say exactly what Jaskier did, to insist, she knows that Julie is right. What's important is that Geralt is safe and among allies. He's on the mend.

This is all good news, better than they've had in a week.

Ciri drinks directly from the bottle, feeling the whiskey burn all the way down, before handing it back to Julie. The grimace is part from the taste and the strength, and part from just... everything else. ]

Good. Make him get some rest. I know how he is.

[ Do not let her come after me. In context, she understands, even if it doesn't sting any less. Ciri slumps against the bar, folding one arm beneath her head to pillow her cheek as she watches Julie and Jaskier. She's being awfully familiar, but... Julie is like that, isn't she? She's a very warm person, Ciri thinks. If anyone can force their hospitality and care on Geralt, it'll be her. ]

We'll wait for him. But will you please promise me one thing? Tell me how he's doing, what he plans, when you know. If he won't--

I just... I can't stand the silence of not knowing.

[ Ciri knows Geralt doesn't like using the communication spell (or whatever it's called). And she has a sinking feeling he won't want to talk to her in particular. ]

I know. Feel like an arse if I don't say it out loud.

[And Geralt would call him a fool for thinking so, for saying it. It doesn't matter. He knows without asking Ciri would offer the same; that they would both head off together if they thought the journey was possible.

It is terribly familiar of her, but he can remember the two of them, slumped together. The ease of touch and familiarity. And truthfully, he could use it now; the comforting touch of someone he feels... he can trust. Even if he didn't already like Julie, if Geralt trusts her with his life, that says enough.]

Just bully him. It usually works. [Oh, look. He's found humor again somehow. The relief that's sweeping through him is so overwhelming that, even here, it feels sickening. The drink too heavy in his throat and stomach, churning like he might throw it back up.

All of that work they'd done in trying to find him... and they would never have found him.

He lifts his head with Ciri's comment.] Please. I know he won't do it. [Because he's a stubborn bastard.] And how is he planning on getting back here, anyway? If he's that hurt, he's not riding. Don't tell me you've... you've got some kind of those portals. You've a mage?

[ Julie has never met a personal boundary she wasn't afraid to break like glass. She'd say it could be chalked up to her time in isolation, which does strange things to one's ability to interact normally, but the truth is that she has always been quick to touch and grab and push, and whatever else she feels like. How other people want to deal with it is their problem.

She takes the bottle back, pours herself one more drink and chuckles at Jaskier's joke. ] Oh, trust me, he'll rest. He'll rest if I hafta to knock him clean out. I just... [ There's a pause and she watches the whiskey in her glass ripple. ] I dunno, I just wish he wasn't so surprised that I ain't leave him out to die. Only a fuckin' monster would do somethin' like that.

[ And it's not that she's so warm and helpful to total strangers, but he isn't a total stranger, and what does it say that he would think that when they have some semblance of a pre-existing relationship. Julie shrugs and takes a sip. ]

Yeah, we got mages. Nott's got all kinda magic, and it's different from the kind at the castle. Plus, everyone here hates the royals and the capital, so they'll do anythin' for gold. It's gonna cost a pretty penny, portal outta Thorne right now, but someone will take it on. I just gotta ask around.

[ That actually gets a small smile out of Ciri, the fact Julie's so determined to force him to take it easy and Jaskier's encouraging it (as he should). That only convinces her that Geralt is in good hands. ]

Don't take it personally, Julie. It's not that. Not a lot of folks where we're from would bring a Witcher into their home. Just how it is.

[ The worry does cross her mind that Thorne might still be after Geralt, that his fear of that must be the reason he hadn't reached out even after he escaped, that he's probably also concerned for Julie's safety if they follow him. But Ciri doesn't bring it up. Julie isn't stupid. She'd given Geralt a place to stay anyway, and the last thing Ciri wants is to sound even a little bit like she's trying to convince Julie otherwise.

At the mention of using a portal, Ciri seems to relax a bit, relieved. Better than trying to figure out how to get to Cadens on foot or horseback, especially if he's hurt as bad as it seems. ]

You have the coin? If there's anything we can do to help--

[ But what? They're across the whole damn continent. Useless, nothing to do but sit and wait, relying on Julie and Nadine's kindness. Which Ciri feels suddenly very lucky they have, but it's still frustrating as hell. ]

Fuck how far it is. I wish there was something I could do.

[He only nods with a sigh. It's nothing about being a monster or not. Plenty of people have let lesser men die for nothing. It's... it's simply the way the world works. And how the world views Witchers.

Gods know that once Geralt returns (if he returns, an unhelpful voice supplies) that he'll be so surprised to find his long-time companion and his protégé are pissed with him, that he left a trail of nothing, closed off communication, and then will press it was to keep you safe because he's an idiot.

Safe? Safe from a kingdom that can snatch one in the night, despite being a Witcher? When a dedicated duck could kill Jaskier as well? (Not Ciri, though. Maybe a large, rabid, dedicated bear.)

He sighs again, summoning himself a cocktail because, well, fuck it. He needs it. With a little slice of strawberry hanging onto the rim, knowing he'll look like a dick. Doing it anyway. He takes a long swallow and the syrupy sweetness sticks to his mouth. Just as real as anything.

He trusts them. He does. But until Geralt is really here, he can't relax.] We'll find some way to repay you. I think that's all we can do.

[ She has gotten a very brief explanation of what, exactly, it means to be a Witcher, and there have been allusions made to the way their world treats them, but she still doesn't truly get it. But she has been very clear to Geralt that she thinks their world is especially shitty, even compared to her own, because at least no one back home was taking little kids and forcing mutations on them, then hating them for that exact fact.

Julie firmly believes that you should only hate people for choices they make and how much more money they have than you, thank you.

Making a small mmph noise, mouth full, she puts her glass to the side and takes the strawberry off Jaskier's glass, holding it to eat while she speaks. ] I have money, it's fine. And I already owe you anyway, Jaskier, so you let Geralt handle his own debts. He's a big boy.

I mean, literally. I half carried him upstairs, I thought I was gonna pass out.

Edited 2021-11-28 00:09 (UTC)

[ Ciri's smile is tight and tired, too weighed down with worry to be described as happy, but it's genuine. ]

Commendable.

[ Setting her own empty cup aside, Ciri reaches out for Julie's hand.

She's so glad Julie was there, and that Geralt actually trusted her enough to reach out. It's a relief to know they have reliable allies, even so far away. ]

Thank you for telling us. I can sleep easier tonight, thanks to you.

If you'll tolerate acting as messenger just a little longer, I'd appreciate it if you could tell Geralt to focus on recovering and coming back to us. He doesn't need to worry about me. I'll do as he says.

[ In other words, she'll try not to do anything stupid and rash. At least not until he comes home. ]

Oh. Also, you should let him know that Roach is safe.

Oi. [He has no energy to chase after his strawberry, though, and honestly he's so relieved by the news he thinks Julie does deserve a Horizon-berry. He snorts at her comment, swallowing the cocktail in his mouth.] You're not the only one who's dragged him out of the muck. With, thankfully, no broken backs. But don't think you owe me much after this.

[But a small woman like Julie, it waS a feat. Looking between the two women, he relaxes. Geralt is in rather good hands, to his luck. To all their luck.

Though he only raises a brow at Ciri's declaration, the sense that things are finally going right persists. They can... while not relax, not fully, they can. Trust. Even if it will not be easy to do.]

And very well taken care of. Rinwell spoils her. We'll get things set up for him in Cadens. If he can portal outside the walls of the city... [And he glances at Ciri at this, contemplative.] That would be safest.

[ Julie takes Ciri's hand with a smile, one that quickly fades into disgusted confusion, because what are they talking about? There's no way their world is so incredibly sad that they're keeping roaches as pets, right? The thought alone makes her want to gag. ] I'm sorry, what now? Roach? Like... like a roach? A spoilt roach? How do you even spoil a fuckin' roach?

[ Her bewilderment is completely genuine. She is picturing an ordinary cockroach in a tank with toys and treats, and maybe like a pile of tasty trash, to spoil it. Her stomach turns. ]

I mean, I'll tell him, but bless y'all's hearts, that is... it's real gross.

[ Ciri stares at her, taking her hand back slowly. She blinks, the gears in her head turning practically audibly as she tries to figure out why Julie is making a face like that, repeating roach, roach like it's some sort of bad word or horrifying concept.

For a few moments, Ciri's not sure whether she should be offended on Geralt's behalf or what, blank-faced at Julie in bafflement.

And then, it seems to click. Roach. Like a cockroach.

Ciri opens her mouth to explain, to correct her, trying to imagine what Julie is thinking right now. But instead of words, an odd, wheezing noise escapes her. And then a snort.

And then she's laughing, with a bright edge of hysteria, gripping the bar and gasping for breath trying to stop. There are tears in her eyes, and her stomach hurts, and it's like a dam inside her has broken at last with this final, inane, absolutely ludicrous last straw.

It's simply. Way too much to process all at once.

All you, Jaskier. Ciri.exe has stopped working. ]

[A what? Why is that so confusing? Jaskier slowly lowers his glass from his lips with a small knit between his brows, gazing levelly at Julie as he tries to --

Ah.

It is so far the response he expected.

And Ciri, too, apparently. Jaskier already sort of had his hysterical breakdown earlier, so he doesn't have the energy for it now. But to see that this is the form it takes in Ciri, all those coils that had been squeezing so tight in her releasing all at once... in the form of laughter?

Jaskier lets out a small laugh himself, and he pats his hand on Ciri's back as it shakes underneath his touch.

A release for the both of them.]

Are you seriously suggesting the idea that we, what? Put a little hat -- [Okay, now he's starting to laugh] a little hat on -- on a cockroach [oh, it's getting a little worse] and feed it tiny sandwiches?

[There's tiny tears at the corner of his eyes now.] Please, Julie. Gods. It's the name of his horse. Roach is his horse.

[ WOOOOOW Julie does not appreciate this reaction. They are the ones calling a horse "Roach", like that's a normal name to give anything that is not an actual cockroach. Especially not when she has to clarify like eighty percent of everything she mentions to all these absurd old-timey people. They don't even know what most animals are, and they're out here naming animals after each other? There's a billion names they haven't even used yet! And laughing at her when she's confused?

This is Geralt's fault. She's going to punch him right in his sore arm tomorrow. Twice, one for each of them.

Mentally repeating that they have been through a lot, they are tired, they're on edge, she just sloooooowly sips her whiskey, eyes narrowed. ]

My bad. Where I'm from, we try not to name things we care about after disease-carryin' vermin. Saves on confusion.

[ Ciri is wheezing. She's collapsed on the bar with her head in her arms, crying more out of sheer relief and shock at everything else than because it really is that funny. Certainly not funny enough to warrant such an explosive reaction.

But after worrying after Geralt, never quite sure if he was still alive or dead, knowing he'd been ambushed and taken somewhere, and then finding out it was Thorne, and they'd hurt him that badly but he'd escaped-- Fuck. Everything in the desert. Jaskier almost dying (again). The discovery of her regained ability. Being approached by the soldiers and escorted to a cell. She hasn't slept in days. She hasn't let herself cry, or accept anything, focused only on pushing forward no matter that they had no idea which direction to go in.

All that, and now she's sitting at Julie's fake bar getting fake drunk while Julie paints images of Geralt riding a giant insect.

Gods, she's glad he's alive. ]

A- a roach is... it's a fish. She's just a little-- fish.

Oh, my. [Oh, no. Julie's reaction is what really makes him laugh.] Are you actually mad?

[He can't tell. Honestly, it doesn't matter. Julie can be quite frustrated with them all she likes. Ciri's explanation just makes him snort and try to hide his further laughter in a long draw of his glass. Honestly, this is what she gets for stealing his strawberry in the first place.

Fuck. He's all right. He must be, if Julie is here, getting annoyed about a cultural mix-up. If one can call it that.

He rubs Ciri's shoulder as she breaks down into the bar.]

No one ever claimed he was good at naming his horses. Which are all named Roach, by the way.

[Now he's just needling her. Even though it's absolutely true.]

I'm not mad. [ She's not. Angry Julie is a violent mess. This is... lightly peeved, at most. Lightly Peeved Julie steals strawberries (is it really stealing if it's imaginary and in her own domain? She argues it's not) and pouts. ] I just think it's real ironic that y'all question every single thing I say, but the one time y'all confuse me, it's suddenly the funniest thing in the world.

[ Siiiiip. ] And we don't have fish called "roach" back home. [ They do, but in fairness, they're concentrated on the other side of the world, so there's no real reason she would have ever heard of them. ] Anyway, yes, I will use my time and energy to pass on y'all's message.

[ BECAUSE WHICH ONE OF THEM COULD HAVE LET GERALT DO THIS ON HIS OWN TIME (aka when he walked back through the door in Cadens)??? Exactly.

She's not really upset, just tired and petty. She still has to go back out to the stable and take the tack off the horse that she's now assuming is also called Roach despite not actually being owned by Geralt. Roach-ish. Roach 1.5. Roach X Pro. ]

Y'all gonna be okay now?

[ CLOSED ] tell them that the villains on my list

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