[ Between the grandiose speeches, the buried tension he can practically feel vibrating beneath half the folk present, Geralt can't say he's entirely bought in—but that isn't why he's here, either. He's here because there are people, opportunities, he can't find while he's trapped behind these invisible border lines. It is something he still finds difficult to get used to—he's had gates shut in his face before, but not as a result of where he's residing. Just what he is. As much as he's tried, investigating anything is a pain in the arse when half the shit he learns relies on hearsay and word of mouth. ]

a. THORNE (GLITTER BOMB)
For this reason, you can find Geralt nearly anywhere. Even in Thorne's section, on occasion, where he lingers a bit on the outskirts watching the ostentatious displays of magic, the orb that many seem inexplicably eager to grope. He appears relaxed enough, though anyone with a keener sense of perception might notice he's a bit more watchful here than he is anywhere else—and there was a noticeable tension earlier when he laid eyes on the Queen on that stage, as though he almost weren't expecting to see her face. As though he recognizes that face, despite how elusive she's always been even within her own court, and the pin he wears denoting the mark of the Free Cities.

At some point during his silent observation, a certain bard and young woman with ashen hair fly by, a purple plume erupts, and Geralt is covered in an excessive amount of glitter near the line of people waiting to ponder the orb. There is the deepest of sighs from him. If a distinct fuck could be expressed through a sigh, this is it. He is tired of everything so much. ]

b. SOLVUNN (FLOWERS)
[ Would you like to watch a large man coerced by small children to have his hair braided with flowers? If so, you're in luck, because this seems to happen to Geralt multiple times throughout the event. Despite his surface exasperation, he sits with a surprising amount of patience while young girls and boys alike stick a variety of florals onto his head. A goat chews on the toe of his boot until he feeds it a slice of apple instead.

Could be worse. They do have a lot of stories to tell, including ones not dissimilar than what Inej mentioned a week or two ago. Old gods and such.

Stop by to watch him long enough, you'll get a raised eyebrow in return. He may or may not have a half-woven crown of flowers in his hands, helping one of the girls break off the sharp thorns on the stems of roses. Or he might be in the midst of answering their questions about some monster or other, with no small amount of gory detail. Either way, he'll pause to look up at you. ] Careful. They'll catch you next.

a. TAVERN LOUNGE
[ How the tavern is laid out, makes it near impossible for him to occupy a corner in solitude. He's lounging on the benches instead, not deliberately casting an aura for people to leave him the fuck alone, but there's a sense he's not one who's eager to socialize, either. He's got a drink and a plate of roasted pheasant and goat (what else?) cheese he's content to pick at.

Intentions aside, Geralt's hard to miss, with flowers in his hair, a small braid or two, a dusting of glitter he can't completely rid himself of, and possibly with one of his nails coloured pink. He looks, in other words, like a man who's let himself be dragged into his daughter's slumber party the night before, which is close enough to what's happened. Between Julie and Ciri, and Jaskier egging them on, he's—accepted his fate. Mostly, he's just glad to see them all a bit more relaxed, given all the shit they've been through as of late. If that means a braiding or two, he'll take it.

If the face that sits down across from him is familiar, you'll get some acknowledgment in the form of a nod or a glance. Otherwise, you might go soundly ignored for some time until a passing drunkard bumps the table hard and sends a cup or a plate tipping off—whereupon he moves just a bit too fast to be normal to catch it. Or who knows? Maybe you're the drunkard knocking his shit about. ]

b. WILDCARD
[ Geralt can also be found by the bathing pools, as is tradition. He'll usually have a drink with him, or he might be lounging, but either way, among his scars, it is possible to notice one in particular seems fresher than the others, a thick raised line that travels down his back.

His tent is fairly full, though he won't give a damn about anyone else trying to pile in so long as you're not bothering the others or causing trouble. He can be most frequently found awake, lurking outside or by the edges of the tent, clearly keeping watch over those inside. ]

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(( anything else, find me at discontinued or at my plotting comment. ))