[open] march catchall

[techmaturgy]

Who: Viktor and special guests and YOU
When: throughout March
Where: Cadens, the Horizon
What: open stuff, closed stuff, general nerdery, horizon visits, whatever I WANT
Warnings: the usual references to terminal illness, will list additional warnings as needed.

[open and closed starters in comments! If you want a custom starter or something specific, just hit me up. full horizon details are here for any and all wildcarding needs. For everything else, I’m on plurk at whitticus and on discord at whitticus#8139.]

Comments

[gynvael]

[ You never know what people will try, Viktor.

They're going for a walk. Geralt is absolutely not a man who will stand still to have an inconsequential conversation, unless you put a drink in his hand or a plate of food in front of him. Since neither have materialized, he's on the move with the wolf.

Besides, he's curious if they might pass by Viktor's domain. He won't ask to see it while they're still effectively strangers, pigeon catching experience notwithstanding (he doesn't want to talk about it, but he thinks they've all mutually agreed upon never speaking of it again, barring Jaskier, so as far as he's concerned, it's in the past), but if they happen upon it, he'd have a certain, mm. Interest. ]

A wolf. [ Said dryly, but he frankly hasn't got a better answer. It hasn't got a name. A few have given it a name simply to have something to call it, but for Geralt, it's just the wolf. After a second, he offers: ] Jaskier created him, when we entered without our past. As a companion.

[ As you do, when you don't truly remember your best friend and so manifest him as a literal white wolf. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor isn't quite sure what he expected, really, but as far as acceptable answers go, 'a wolf' is just fine. By now, he likes to think he has at least some idea of how Geralt operates, so he knows not to pry. If he says the wolf is a wolf, then that is good enough for Viktor.]

(What's that sentiment, though? That people look like their pets, or vice versa?)]

I'm surprised Jaskier didn't name him.

[Given everything he knows about Jaskier. Maybe this is for the best. Viktor decides to be a little more forthcoming in the event it will encourage Geralt will be, in turn, but it does seem like a long shot.]

This is Rio. [Pause.] A childhood companion, of sorts.

[Does that actually explain anything? Probably not. Probably makes it weirder.]

[gynvael]

[ A twitch is visible on Geralt's face. ] He did.

[ That's where he leaves his incredibly informative answer. He doesn't know how to explain that The White Wolf was a name, because to anyone lacking context, it's merely a descriptor.

He looks down at the wolf. It sniffs the ground and snaps up a beetle. ]

Charming. [ It explains nothing. Have they got many pets of this kind? Do people own large salamanders in Viktor's world as a domesticated breed? ] Are they common or did you sneak it home from the wilds?

[ He does it mean it; it's oddly charming. The large eyes, perhaps. Either way, it's clearly harmless if Viktor's been around it since childhood and not been eaten. ]

[techmaturgy]

And--?

[He is, of course, extremely curious, though he doesn't expect an answer beyond that. Viktor will just have to ask Jaskier, and then hope he doesn't get murdered for his efforts when Geralt finds out he was snooping.]

This is just what cats look like, where I'm from.

[A joke! Of course! But said dryly enough that it might not be. Who knows.]

[gynvael]

[ Viktor is correct in that Geralt lets the matter go unanswered while his attention turns towards Rio. Geralt hasn't any problem foisting people's curiosity about him onto Jaskier, who will inform them on his behalf.

He raises an eyebrow. ]

Well-behaved, for a feline. [ Also a joke, but it's equally dry enough that it's perhaps up for debate whether or not Geralt genuinely believes Viktor about his not-cat. ] What do your dogs look like?

[ Speaking of, what did happen to that cat? He lost track of it after he handed it over inside the trap. He considers asking, but decides it'll be a topic for another time. It's not as though he can ever meet the cat again, without setting off a...reaction. Which he still has not, to this day, explained in full. ]

[techmaturgy]

Dogs, also.

[It’s giant salamanders all the way down.

Okay, yes. He is joking. Rio, for her part, has decided that the wolf is also a friend, and is not-so-subtly infringing on its space as they walk along. She’s slightly more agile than her stubby little legs and sausage body build lets on, keeping up with them easily (not that it’s particularly difficult to keep up with Viktor, even in here).

It occurs to him that he’s not quite sure what Geralt is doing out here, exactly. He’s under the impression that when people visit the Horizon, they usually stick to their own spaces, or go explicitly to meet someone else. To be out for a walk seems a little strange (not that he’s one to talk).]

Are you visiting someone?

[gynvael]

[ The remark draws a slight but visible twitch from his lips.

The wolf is, much like Geralt, unperturbed by nearly everything, including a large dog-cat-salamander investigating its nature. Depending on how familiar Viktor is with wolves, he might notice this one exhibits behaviour closer to a dog's than a wild wolf—a result of the multiple visitors who come to feed it and pet it and essentially treat it the opposite of a dangerous animal. As it sniffs Rio in return, its tail begins to wag. ]

Walking. [ He makes a noncommittal gesture with his hand. ] City's crowded and stinking. It's quieter in here.

[ Geralt may or may not subconsciously begin to form a miniature domain around him as he walks: there's a breeze that follows them, and the temperature is mild, cool. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor is not at all familiar with wolves--it's not like there are any running around in the Undercity YET. Even Rio had been something of an anomaly, as waveriders aren't exactly native to his particular corner of Valoran.

He watches the animals for a moment, enough to determine that yes, they seem to be getting along, and there is (probably) no threat of violence.]

Walking, [He repeats, like that's somehow going to drag more information out of Geralt.] But not visiting. Aren't you curious?

[He is! Maybe he's feeling out whether or not it's a faux pas to bust into people's domains while they're not home.]

[gynvael]

[ His wolf has never eaten anyone's pet, as far as he knows. It's a bit of a requirement, seeing as everyone eventually gains some animal or other between fields of sheep and horses and peacocks. He supposes it's only natural to seek companionship. Humans shaped in one's mind turn into strange faceless, formless abominations so a creature of some sort appears most ideal.

Viktor does not get further information. He does get a tilt of Geralt's head that acknowledges curiosity is something he is capable of. ]

Last time I visited out of curiosity, I was trapped in some near endless fucking stairs and had to carry Jaskier to the top.

[ Don't ask him about etiquette, Viktor; Geralt rather does what he wants, and his default assumption is if someone doesn't want him in their space, they'd have built something to keep him out. It's what he does. There's a reason he has a mountain yard full of snow and not much else that folk can look at all they want, while the rest is entirely locked. ]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor opens his mouth. Closes it. This is the second time he's heard about the endless stairs, and it both has him wondering what kind of person would imagine up such a thing, and why Thancred, and Geralt, and Jaskier, apparently, were so insistent on seeing what was at the top. Curiosity for curiosity's sake, perhaps?]

You know, you're the second person to tell me about that.

[It must have left an impression--Viktor, for his part, thinks that if he encountered that many stairs in one place, he would simply. Not.]

Was there anything stopping you from simply willing yourself to the top?

[That's at least partly a genuine question. If one can exert certain powers over other Summoned while in a domain, well. He wants to know about it.]

[gynvael]

[ His gaze slides towards Viktor. It's either Jaskier, Thancred, or some other unfortunate bastard that got caught in it. ]

Not necessarily. I prefer not to alter much.

[ He can't speak for Jaskier and Thancred. Jaskier probably just assumed Geralt would come to his aid if the situation became dire enough (a correct assessment) and Thancred he suspects it was a matter of pride. Geralt, for his part, did not physically struggle with the climb. It was merely a fucking waste of time.

Regardless. One of those experiences he wishes not to dig deep into. ]

Who brought you in? Your first trip.

[techmaturgy]

That's fair.

[Viktor himself has complicated feelings about using the Horizon to change himself physically, aside from the obvious. It's a perk, of course, to will away one's chronic illness, but beyond that, he's not sure how much he's comfortable with. Being able to tailor the surrounding world to himself is enough, for now, though he knows he's barely started to test the limits of that.

Maybe it's right to be cautious. He's already realized that there are things in his domain he did not intentionally will into existence.]

Maxwell. I'm not sure if you knew him--he seems to have since departed.

[Vanished, one way or another.]

[gynvael]

The priest? [ No small amount of irony accompanies the word priest; Maxwell made it clear faith is not high on his list. ] Haven't seen him since, no.

[ One of many. He'd only met the man once, and truthfully, Maxwell had not left much of an impression. An unsettling vanishing, as with all the others, but not a personal one where Geralt is concerned.

He tips his head towards the path ahead, where the domains scatter about in a circle. ]

Where's yours?

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor shrugs, because, yeah, that guy hadn't seemed like much of a priest--but of course he'd written it off to the various differences between worlds. Either way, he supposes it's moot, because he seems to have gone. He does, vaguely, wonder how often it happens.

But it doesn't seem like Geralt is particularly concerned, so Viktor is amenable enough to continuing the conversation in a less worrying direction. He's happy to point his out--the wall that rises between the skylines of two cities.]

That, there. [It is, at least, fairly easy to spot.] You're, uh. Welcome to stop by whenever you like.

[That sounds like the correct, friendly thing to say.]