[ OPEN/SOME CLOSED ] if I had to do it over, I'd do it all again

[cointosser]

Who: Jaskier, Ciri, Geralt, Yennefer, Alucard, and some open prompts
When: Mid-to-Late January
Where: Cadens and the Horizon
What: Jaskier wakes from a vivid, nasty dream to physical evidence that it was unfortunately very real. He spirals, but like, only a little bit. It mostly involves getting drunk and buying hats to cope.
Warnings: Mentions of bodily injury/torture, maybe PTSD, heavy drinking



[Will be throwing starters (including open ones) down below! You can hit me up at scathefire or #scathefire6612 if you'd like to plot anything or want an additional starter. Also, let me know if you'd like me to avoid S2 spoilers, because there will be a lot.]

Comments

[londonbound]

Ah. I see. Are you then in Solvunn or the other-- the Cities?

That is a right pity. [ Rhy laments, shaking his head. His knee nudges Jaskier's under the bar, more playful than suggestive this time. ] They are exquisite baths. Frequented by a number of very attractive people.

[ Rhy winks, twirling his glass from the stem before holding it out to be filled. He's still eyeing the little flying creature curiously, but if it's serving wine, he's hardly about to complain.

Speaking of baths, though--

Rhy cocks his head, watching Jaskier with a more serious curiosity this time, noting the dark shadows beneath his eyes, the tension clinging to his shoulders that hadn't been there before, a sense of burden or just exhaustion. He's not sure, but there is something not quite as it should be, something Jaskier seems to be politely pushing down to make pleasant conversation with him. Rhy doesn't need to know the man very well to notice; he is good at reading people, and he'd seen plenty of Jaskier before, even if it had been briefly. The man doesn't seem a natural at hiding his feelings. ]

I couldn't help but notice the hot springs have gone the way of the vineyard. Were you looking for a change of pace?

[cointosser]

They were absolutely lovely. I miss them.

[It's enough to bring a little light in his eyes, the teasing. He does so love to be flirted with. Besides, those baths were nice, even if most of his memories of them were dragging an imprisoned Geralt to scrub a few weeks' worth of grime off his body.]

The Cities, yes. The Free Cities.

[The name's a bit of a joke. Free from magic, perhaps? Moglad pours them both a glass of wine, fluttering off with a bit of a look towards Jaskier.]

Yes. A bit of a change would serve me well, I thought. Though I have some remnants of the vineyard left. [He smiles, a bare lift of his lips at the corners.] I know it isn't as fanciful. Or as bright. But this old tavern has its merits. The drinks... are mostly shit, though. My apologies.

[londonbound]

Rundown taverns serving shit drinks have a charm all their own.

[ Rhy agrees, smiling. Sometimes you just go to the bad part of the city to mingle with the rough and rowdy sorts, get drunk off your rocker and pick a fight. It happens. He gets it.

He lifts his cup in a toast, knocking it against the side of Jaskier's. ]

To dreadful booze and foolishness. May we find ourselves drunk and distracted until a better day.

[ And he honestly doesn't give a fuck at this point if that's a healthy coping mechanism or not. Nothing worse can happen. In the Horizon, he won't even get a hangover. ]

[cointosser]

[A bit of surprise crosses Jaskier's face, but it passes rather quickly. Their glasses click together, Jaskier taking a deep sip afterwards. The wine is shit, sour as hell, and the fermentation hits the back of his tongue hard.

Tastes about how Oxenfurt feels.]

Rhy, you have an absolutely wonderful outlook on life, might I say.

[Drunk and distracted. Jaskier isn't the only one who appears to have changed. He gives Rhy a look of consideration, moving across his face. (All right, he's still as handsome as ever, too.) Has something happened? In Thorne, perhaps?] It's nice to be understood. Sometimes all I want is to drink and forget who I am. For a while. A distraction.

[From life. From memories. Perhaps that's where Rhy's change comes from, too. Memories.]

[londonbound]

[ Everything that happened was before Thorne. And it had been fucking everything, one thing after the other, until there was nothing left of him at all -- except what Kell had salvaged. And now Kell is gone. Since then, he's been clawing for purchase, clinging to anything that can help him feel grounded in his own body.

Rhy laughs, as beautiful and warm as before, but this time, there is a sharpness lingering beneath the humor. He takes another swig, hissing and shuddering at the taste, and flashes Jaskier his white teeth in something between a grimace and a grin. ]

If it's only sometimes, you've got some catching up to do.

[cointosser]

[A sharpness one could cut a finger open on. Yet. You know, fuck it. He'd rather be around this right now. Someone who reflects who he is, not who he'd rather be. Not... still pretending he's all right. And that was before the memories, when the worst was he could not shake the fear he'd felt for Geralt's disappearance.

At least a hot bath with a pretty stranger was enough to assuage that fear. For a while.]

I told you it was shit! [He laughs, too. And it surprises him, how easy it comes to think of kissing him again. He'd had plenty of tastes some time ago. He was still Jaskier.]

You know that sort of line has one demanding stories, don't you? [He drags over a bottle (or two), making sure they have plenty to fill up on.] Has it turned out that forgetting was much easier than remembering?

[londonbound]

Believe it or not, I have had worse. [ Rhy tips his glass toward Jaskier's again, clicking them together, takes a deep breath to brace himself, and drains the rest. The grimace he makes accompanies a full body shudder.

He comes up gasping, eyes stinging, and laughs again. The booze settles hot in his belly, and it hits hard and fast (maybe it's just because he wants to be drunk and the Horizon can make it happen as he wishes). Jaskier's questions are ones that need plenty of alcohol.

Rhy sets his cup back down, nudging it toward the bottle for a refill, then folds an elbow on the table to rest his cheek upon and shakes his head. ]

No. There are some things one should never forget.