April Catchall - Open and Closed Prompts

[nadine_he_loves]

Who: Nadine and Various - open prompts in post, closed prompts in comments
When: April
Where: All over Cadens, Nadine's Domain
What: Catch all for the month
Warnings: Will add as/if needed



Open Prompts


1 - Horizon

Nadine's domain - a quaint little slice of a small New Hampshire town - has been gloomy and stormy for far too long. It wasn't something she intended, it had simply happened. There's a sort of shabbiness that's crept in as well, the buildings taking on a worn and ill-maintained look. She supposes it's due to her recent moods, too much grief and upset spilling out into her mental realm.

Of course, she hasn't been here in a good few weeks, either. Maybe that's part of it. Either way, it needs fixing. First, the black storm clouds need to go. And the snow. It's spring, there should be greenery and blue skies with puffy clouds and birds singing. Easily enough achieved.

And maybe...it's time to change things up a little. Not much, she likes this little town square with its white wooden church and park with skeletal carousel, the stores, the red schoolhouse, the rolling farmland beyond that gives way to woods as her domain flows into the others around it. But it's been essentially the same since she made it.

Walking along the four streets that make up the square, she inspects the various storefronts. Some of these can be changed. Maybe...a café or something. And a little library. Or a hole in the wall movie theater...

Sometimes she thinks she's not creative enough to fully take advantage of her domain.


2 - Cadens

At this point, Nadine is a lot more familiar with the streets of Cadens - at least the ones she frequents. It's a huge city, and there's plenty of it she's yet to explore. But she's growing comfortable here, and starting to think of it as home. Odd as that seems.

It also means her mind is more prone to wander as she's going about her business. She's heading back home after doing her shopping, arms full of paper bags and boxes. She has a new pamphlet of recipes to work on, and a project for her anatomy class to work on. It's going to be a busy evening, but she likes keeping busy. Especially when it's a productive busy. She's enjoying her work, and her classes. And she thinks she might be good at all this. It had started as just something to do, but now...there could be a real career in it all. And why not? She'd thought on more than one occasion that she'd probably make a good nurse. Here, now, why can't she be a healer?

Lost in thoughts of potential futures, Nadine isn't paying as much attention as she should be. Too late she notices the group of teenagers, running and laughing and paying even less attention than her. Trying to move out of their path, she missteps on the curb and drops her armful of goods.

Little wooden boxes go tumbling. Bags spill open. Dried plants and packets of scales and small bones and stranger things spill out on the sidewalk and into the street. Nadine lets out a mild curse, sighs heavily, and crouches to try and gather up all of her things....


3 - Wildcard

[Anything else, go for it! Nadine's all over the shopping district and where the Academy is. If you'd like a specific starter in comments, hit me up!]

Comments

For Goro

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine is still a bit unsure about this whole little venture, but...she's committed to it, and it could be useful. Not about to give some intimidating stranger her address, for both her and Julie's sake, she's requested one of the student labs for it. It has everything she needs - at least at this stage, it has an examine table and tools - and it's relatively public. Just in case.

There's only so much she can do, of course. Take some blood, do some sketches, check reflexes, things like that. But it's a starting point. Besides, she can always just dump some potions in him and see what happens. That's bound to tell her something.

She'd used the magical messaging ability they all have, to tell Goro when and where to meet her to behin their experiments. Now she's just waiting for him outside the door, dressed practically in her plain leather vest and the canvas skirts she wears when doing any healing work that might get messy.

Hopefully this isn't a big mistake.

[fourarmedandangerous]

Goro's reply had come quickly.

Expect me.

That was all.

When Goro does arrive, Nadine hears him first, the thudding of his heavy footsteps coming from around a corner down the hall, as students round the corner ahead of the giant, walking very quickly past where Nadine stands in the other direction. The Shokan is not a common sight in the Academy. In fact, this is the first time he's set foot on the campus.

He finally rounds the corner, hunched over to keep from bumping against the ceiling, taking up pretty much the entire breadth of the hallway with his size and girth. His head turns and his eyes focus on Nadine, before he turns and begins to march towards her. The robes from Jaskier's concert have been discarded for his leather harness, skirt armour, and furs, looking much more like some barbarian monstrosity.

He stops a few feet away, and looks towards the door to the lab Nadine is standing next to, then back to her.

"I am ready."

[nadine_he_loves]

Yeah, this might have been a bad idea.

I'm going to be hearing about this....

It's impossible she won't, with the stir just Goro's presence is causing. Well, too late now. Nadine offers a small, polite smile when he approaches, tipping her head up to look at him properly.

"So am I. Come on in."

She ducks back into the lab, closing the door behind them when he's in. No need for any looky-loos. And she feels like Goro could attract a great number of those. Students might be nervous, but they're medical students. They're bound to be curious. Luckily her purposes are valid ones - plenty of Summoned aren't human, and likely have nowhere to turn for proper care. She can't imagine anyone arguing that this sort of studying wasn't important.

"There's nothing too invasive happening today, so don't worry about that. I am going to take a little blood, but other than that everything's on the outside."

For Jesper

[nadine_he_loves]

Handing out wares at Jaskier's concert had turned out to be a very good idea. Not only had she been able to manage whatever the sword and sorcery version of networking is, she'd acquired a pair of helping hands. Jesper's done a few little odd jobs for her already, carrying her books when she has an armful of them or running down to the market for her when she can't step away from the stove.

He's been prompt and efficient, and she thinks it's about time to make this little arrangement more official. Having someone who can pick up the ingredients easily found in shops or make deliveries for her would save her a great deal of time. And she's sure Jesper would appreciate a regular and steady source of income, even if she can't offer a large salary. She knows he doesn't have much money.

She's asked him if he'd drop by her and Julie's place to give her hand with a big order she needs to fill for her employer, but mostly she wants to talk to him about a more legitimate arrangement than the casual one they have now.

Hopefully, he takes her up on it. She'd like to help him, and feels like just slipping him money might make him feel like a charity case. She understands that feeling well.

[itookashot]

Sometimes people questioned why Kaz Brekker kept a gambling addict around, and there was probably a list he could've given, but one of the major one is that Jesper is reliable. He shows up to work and puts his heart into it, he's helpful and not lazy at all, and his constant high energy means he's usually grateful for anything to help fill the time. He started helping Nadine out to get his energy out and to leave the inn, and now he does it for that, and also she's nice. Sweet. Well-meaning. He's always been drawn to good people, even while often shrugging off accusations of the same to him.

When he's doing physical labor or planning to, Jesper dresses more casually than his flashy looks, still in shades of green and gray but it's hot out there so he doesn't want clothes he can ruin. It's a bit of a shame since he loves attention, but he can be pragmatic! He was delighted to find out that Julie and Nadine were friends, Julie a person he's been deeply fond of from the moment they met. Wheels stick together, in his opinion.

He's been trying to save his money and doing relatively well at it, but it's not enough. Still, he doesn't ask for money when he probably could, often doing favors for people without any requests for coin. It's not smart, but it is typical.

Jesper shows up at their place with his usual winning smile and cracking his knuckles as he comes up, gray eyes bright. Endlessly cheerful. "Hello, what are we moving today?"

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine's in her work clothes, a plain leather vest and brown canvas skirts - they bear the stains of many potions and unguents already. Her hair is pulled back in a low bun at her neck, a style that doesn't hide the small pearly horns on either side of her head.

"Hey!" She offers a smile when Jesper pops in, turning from the counter and waving him over.

"Pretty simple stuff today, I need the bottles and jars on the table there sorted into their crates." She points to the shallow wooden crates she uses to transport wares. Both crates and bottles are labeled already.

"But I wanted to talk to you about setting up a sort of schedule. Make this a more official job for you. If you were interested."

For Geralt

[nadine_he_loves]

Since arriving in Cadens, Nadine hasn't left the city yet. She hasn't had any reason to, the few things she needs from beyond the city's walls are brought to her. But there's no reason she couldn't go herself - not alone, of course, she's not stupid. There's no need for her to go alone. Geralt makes plenty of trips into the desert, and who else could be safer to venture out into the wild unknown with? And she can take care of herself much better now. She has her sword and knowledge of how to use it. She has magic.

So here she is, practically dressed in light, loose cotton pants and tunic with sturdy boots, hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her sword is on her hip and her ingredients satchel, empty for now, is slung over her shoulder. A few pouches hang from her belt, filled with useful tonics and ointments for the trip.

"So how dangerous is it out here really? You sort of alluded to it, when you first met us outside Cadens, but you didn't really give any details."

[gynvael]

With what they're looking for not especially far, Geralt's left Roach at home and set out on foot with Nadine for the day. In the interests of roasting under the sun as little as possible, he's asked her to meet him at dawn—so it's now only mid-morning as they round a few rocky cliffs. Several paths lead to the patch of herbs she's seeking. He's decided to take Nadine through the smoothest one, though it's a bit of a longer way around.

In truth, he's glad she asked him to accompany her. There's no real need to leave the city, but as far as he's concerned, it's a good idea to become familiar with at least the surrounding desert nearby. Cities rise and fall, but the wilds will always be there. As sparse as the desert appears, he's found it has its own way of giving.

"Depends how far you are," he replies. "And if you know where to step. Most species are subterranean."

Nature of the climate, he supposes. He's learned where the nesting grounds are over the past several months; these days, he can largely avoid disturbing anything prone to chewing on him. The open land and dry sand makes it easier to spot the signs. Not a lot of thick brush to fight through.

[nadine_he_loves]

"That sounds a lot more ominous than you probably meant." Nadine laughs a little, her mind immediately going to the plethora of sand worms that had been everywhere in 80s and early 90s movies.

But that's the desert. There's always more to it than immediately meets the eye. Though closer to the city offers more variety than further out, the biome closer to what she's used to in the US southwest. Not that she'd spent much time in the desert back home, but she'd traveled through enough of it to realize how diverse and varied deserts truly are. And how many trees they can have.

She's paying attention as they go, trying to commit the route to memory. It's just good to know, just in case. She's not intending to flee Cadens, but if ever she has to...

"I've been through a desert before, but my world doesn't have the same kind of dangerous animals. It's...coyotes and maybe some bears?" She's not actually sure if there had been bears in the southwest or not.

"And some venomous snakes. And I was on a motorcycle on the road anyway."

For Jaskier

[nadine_he_loves]

This has, Nadine realizes, probably been a long time coming. Over the months, whatever was between her and Jaskier has only deepened. As casual as this had all begun, almost half a year ago, it doesn't feel all that casual anymore. It's nothing she's discussed with anyone, aside from a few careful comments to Julie here and there. She'd tried not to think about it at first, because feelings made this all that much more complicated.

And potentially dangerous.

But that's what it comes down to, for Nadine. The risk isn't worth it for a fling. As good as the sex is, and as much fun as she often has with Jaskier, good sex and fun don't warrant exactly what they might possibly suffer in consequence. Not for her. But something more? Something that maybe, just maybe could turn into something real? She'd made a mess of it all with Larry, she doesn't want to do that again. Frightening as it is to face, she has some sort of feelings. Something more than friendship, even good friendship. She thinks of him. Often. From idle thoughts to serious ones.

They need to talk about it, and she needs to be sure they're on the same page. She thinks maybe they are, but as she told Julie: she's not good at navigating these kinds of things. But it'll be fine. Probably. She's invited him over under the guise of a homecooked meal and a nice bottle of wine, not about to use the loaded words 'we need to talk'. And there is a homecooked meal and a bottle of wine. She's even worn one of the fancier corsets Julie helped her pick out, over her nicest white blouse, the one with the lace edging and little black buttons, and her layered white skirts.

Now it's just a matter of waiting.

[cointosser]

There are moments in Jaskier's life that he has felt akin to a fly being coaxed into a spider's web. If he's honest, the feeling comes up far more frequently as of late, as of his new memories, than ever before.

However, he's come to more than trust Nadine over time. Not only because of how she is with him -- she is fun, and smiles warmly, and flatters him far more than he deserves sometimes -- but because she saved Geralt's life, and it is a fact he always keeps close to his heart. It's really that simple.

It is only when he knocks on her door and steps in is he a little more wary. There have been times they've been together since Lloyd's disappearance, and he's never fully sure which sort of mood he'll walk into.

Apparently this time, a fancy one.

"You dressed up! I mean, not that you normally are not, but -- it's new, isn't it?" He smiles, sweeping through the door, like he's not wearing a red velvet coat himself, with creamy lacy sleeves poking out around his wrist. With a surge in his popularity thanks to the Cadens concert, he's found more coin and opportunity to buy himself heavier, more expensive rings, and a tuning fork hanging from a chain joins the bone ring he usually wears. "It's lovely. Really. It... it's lovely."

Even Jaskier can be taken aback by how beautiful women can be. And truly, Nadine is beautiful. The way the cock of a hip can leave a man gasping for air is not something he is quite immune to. "I'm sure you've already gussied it up, but should you require a few more hands for supper preparation, then I'm happy to help."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Julie and I went shopping. She helped me pick some things out."

Okay, Nadine had hoped for a reaction and this is a very promising one. He's looking very well polished himself - though he usually does. Still. He looks particularly dashing.

This is it. He's here and she's committed herself to doing this. There's no need to be nervous, the worst that can happen is they aren't quite on the same page. If they aren't...he'll be kind about it. Jaskier's that sort of man.

"I'm not exactly an expert in the kitchen, so it's just a roast chicken and vegetables. All of which are in a pan in the oven."

She keeps a smile on her face, trying to figure out how to say 'we should talk' without actually saying it. But she can't quite manage it, and hopes that her outfit and her obvious good mood will do the heavy lifting.

This really shouldn't feel as great and important as it is. People do this sort of thing every day! But she doesn't. She's never. The closest it ever came she'd made a mess of, and ended it before it could even begin.

She smooths her skirts to try and expel her nervous energy, and takes a seat at the little table.

"I thought we could talk, while it finishes cooking. And I know that usually means something uncomfortable or awful is coming, but I promise it's not. We've just...never really talked about...this. Us."

Cadens

[hextechhead]

Jayce is only a few days at Cadens by now, settling in fairly well considering the huge shift, but Viktor's alive and doing well enough so that makes it easier to adapt to. At the moment home is a place Jayce would like to take a break from, so he is focusing instead on this new world, on everything that makes it unique, and what it means for them. It's nice to see things as a series of possibilities again.

He's on his way to look into the medicine classes and ask questions about healing magic when he spots Nadine and heads directly toward her. "Hey, watch where you're going." Jayce scolds the teenagers as they go by, unaware that their obliviousness had consequences. He immediately goes down on a knee to help her scoop up a few things. He is wearing red and white Talis colors in his otherwise simple clothes and a Magician symbol pin on his collar. He is tall and large and most people seem to automatically know go around them instead of stumble into them kneeling in the street.

"Do you think most of it's salvageable?" He knows that sometimes ingredients need to be exact and precise, and that is what he assumes all of this is since it's a strange variety of objects to be carrying around.

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine offers a small, tired smile to the man who's stopped to help her. She glances at him with a distracted sort of interest - she doesn't think he's a local. Not that she knows everyone in Cadens, far from it, but...

She's been here going on a year, as far as she can tell, and other Summoned just have a look to them.

"Uh...I think so." She picks up what looks like a tied bundle of dried small tentacles, giving it a once over. A bit dusty, but otherwise intact.

"Most of this is going to get ground up or crushed anyway, so a little battering around isn't going to be a problem. I just need to make sure everything's clean when I get home."

Some potions are...volatile. Who knew what could happen if foreign street substances are involved?

"Thank you."

[hextechhead]

Jayce has big hands so he can hold a lot of items at once, offering them to her once he thinks he has a decent amount. "Are you making poultices?" He's very curious, having picked up on the eclectic type of objects. "Sorry to ask if it's an intrusion, I'm currently learning more about medicine here, so it's on my mind."

He really has a tendency to talk off the top of his head, so he ends up speaking out of turn or maybe a little too enthusiastically. He's still learning the lay of the land here and what is or isn't the wrong thing to say or ask. Since Jayce is more likely to stumble his way into a faux pas, he is trying to be smart about it.

Cadens

[enduringkestrel]

Cassandra is… well, she wouldn’t quite say that she’s settled in, exactly, but she’s almost come to terms with the fact that she’s here. In Cadens. (That she doesn’t altogether mind that she is, despite the depths of guilt at abandoning her people again is complicated, and best not dwelled upon.) She’s here, and it doesn’t look like she’s leaving anytime soon.

Thanks to Inej pointing her in the direction of Mags and her inn their first meeting, she’s escaped the… crowds of the barracks without ever needing to deal with it. She still has neighbours that are far too close for her liking, but it’s a vast improvement over roommates.

So she’s here. The scarf she’d obtained just after arriving wrapped around her neck to hide her scars. Exploring the place she’s to call home for the time being. She doesn’t know how she feels about that. Isn’t sure she’d even know what a home is supposed to be, or feel like. She’ll need a job. She can’t barter forever, or for everything, and she refuses to use that particular part of the skills her mother insisted she learn. At least not yet.

A woman with white hair (and oh if that doesn’t cause a complicated snarl of emotions in her chest with how it reminds her of her brother) drops her armful of goods, and she’s crossing towards her without even thinking, kneeling and helping to gather all that’s fallen. As she does, she can’t help but make note of it all, fingertips brushing dried plants, and small bones, and packets of scales… She looks up, blue-grey eyes curious. “Are you an apothecary?”

[nadine_he_loves]

"Oh, thanks."

Nadine offers a tired but appreciative smile, still scooping up her scattered goods. At least nothing looks damaged. Anything that's dirty, she can rinse.

"Uh...sort of, I work at one. I'm an herbalist. And a medical student. Sort of all around general healer, really." There's no one branch she specializes in at this point. Maybe down the line she might focus her studies, but for now it's mostly learning everything she can at the entry level.

"I do have the most experience with herbalism, though."

[enduringkestrel]

"You're welcome," she says, picking up more of the scattered items. Cassandra's voice carries what sounds like a rather proper sounding English accent (if England were a thing where she came from).

She can't quite help how her eyes light up at that. "There are academies and schools here?" She'd hoped as much, although she has been more focused on generally getting the lay of the land now that she's free of the barracks, rather than seeking out somewhere focused to learn more about things and hadn't yet gotten around to finding them. But now she knows.

And she's an herbalist. It seems they share a bit of an interest. (She wonders what led to her interest in such things. If it had been similar as well.) "I'm something of an... amateur herbalist, I suppose you could say. I don't have the magic required for most potions in my world." Gods, that she's not IN her world anymore, is still...

A wonder. And a relief.

wildcard i do what i want!!

[wiedzminka]

Ciri finds her at Sam's-- her home, rather. She's not in the habit of calling ahead, just shows up one afternoon to see if Nadine is in. She'd gotten so used to coming over and just letting herself in when Geralt was staying here, Ciri only knows once or twice just to announce her presence before simply opening the door.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"Hey!"

Nadine's at her little desk by the window, one of her textbooks open in front of her and a few pieces of parchment beside it. A quill is in her hand. As she's at home and not planning on going anywhere in the near future, she's just wearing a white cotton shift with a soft cloth corset belted around her waist. She turns in her chair when Ciri comes in, offering a friendly - if tired - smile. It's always nice to see the young woman.

"I'm home, just taking some notes for my introduction to diseases class. What's up?"

[wiedzminka]

"Studying hard. You are diligent," Ciri compliments her, smiling back.

"I know you're working on becoming more familiar with mixing medicines. I'd like to stay stocked up on certain antidotes, pain draughts, things that may be useful when I'm out hunting. I, ah--"

She looks a bit sheepish, glancing away and shrugging to show it's No Big Deal (it was a big deal).

"--had an annoying encounter with a venomous beast recently, and would like to be prepared next time."

cadens

[meiren]

Crowded streets are a good place to do some easy eavesdropping, and Zhou Zishu has spent a fair amount of time wandering since he'd arrived. It's simple enough to pass just close enough to overhear bits and pieces of conversation, keeping pace just long enough with a speaker before wandering off. It's something he used to do fairly often back in the imperial capital, a habit that's still finding itself useful. Gauging the general mood of the populace rather than looking for specific information.

But it's only the fact that he's making it a point to keep as aware as possible that lets him hear several objects hitting the ground. He instinctively turns in that direction just in time to see a little sachet roll towards his feet. With faint bemusement, he moves to scoop it up, resisting the immediate urge to take a curious sniff. Wouldn't do him much good.

Instead, he follows the trail of spilled herbs back to the woman apparently trying to gather them all back together. Escaped sachet still in hand, he carefully kneels down in front of her to gather up one of the fallen boxes.

"Are you alright?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you. I just dropped my bags. I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going."

Nadine glances up with a tired but grateful smile.

"At least I wasn't in a hurry anywhere." If she'd been on her way to a class, this would be a much bigger problem. But she's headed home, with nothing much planned save for studying.

"Doesn't look like anything got damaged, either."

2

[thearchangel]

Well... it's not every day someone spills a bag of bones in the street. To be fair, there's more than just bones. They don't look like they come from other humans, though. Probably fine. There are boxes, too. Little satchels. Frankly, it all looks like something out of an old story.

Then again, what around here doesn't?

He scoops up a handful of items, offering them out to the woman in a taloned hand. He's still not the prettiest sight around here, though they did manage to get the absurd drapery of cloth fashioned into something more decent. Garrus looks like he's wearing an ugly poncho, frankly, holes ripped for his hip and knee spurs in the largest pair of pants available.

"Here." A beat, before he adds, wryly. "Guess the days of helping pedestrians with their shopping aren't behind me after all."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Thanks."

Nadine's face stays mostly neutral. She's gotten more used to seeing...interesting individuals out and about. Not every world is populated with humans, and whatever power brings them here can reach just about any world it seems. But there's a widening of her eyes and a little twitch at the corner of her mouth.

She takes her spilled goods and returns them to her bag with a small sigh.

"I promise I know how to carry bags, I just missed a step. And my ingredients suffered for it."

Nothing seems damaged, at least.