[ OPEN ] hide your love, don't be shy

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and you!
When: all throughout August and September
Where: Cadens (pre-Nocwich), the Horizon (any time), and Libertas (post-Nocwich)
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: For anything referencing Libertas: death, violence, and war


( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and if you'd like to plot something more specific, you can find me at indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time. )

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[godshattering]

[ That brief frown turns into a proper brow furrow now after Geralt confirms those suspicions, that what he'd connected together is likely true. It's directed at the fire, at least, but the fire doesn't provide him any answers. ]

I have to say that's even less comforting than finding out you and Ciri also have some kind of time shift but it's not the same as mine. [ Dryly, since - it's a joke, half-heartedly, and it's not much of one considering the reality of what those statements mean. There's a difference between suspecting something and having it all but confirmed, and Claude's remembering that now. Still, he'll force a believable (and short) laugh for the sake of not being entirely bleak. ] It did seem like far too much of a coincidence that most everyone I've met in Cadens either has some kind of military experience or has seen battle. My friends who were summoned, they both have fighting backgrounds as well and in more than war alone. I'm sure that was a mark in all of our favors if they're looking for people to recruit. Or conscript.

[ Now the twig gets tossed into the fire. The gesture doesn't wipe his mind of thoughts, unfortunately, though it would've been nice if it did. They know - that much is clear. Does that also mean they know what's hidden, even if he's the only one hiding something? That's equally disconcerting. ]

What I wouldn't give to see the records I'm certain they're keeping on all of us, both before and after arrival.

[gynvael]

[ That's the other point Geralt does not yet mention: that Claude has met only friends from his sphere. Friends, enemies, acquaintances. Loosely linked, perhaps, in some cases, but still linked. This holds true for nearly everyone. He isn't certain if it's deliberate in that sense—but it's possible whatever spell the nations are doing, its reach draws from certain...connections.

Or maybe it's just more Destiny at work. Who the fuck knows? ]

Well. [ He leans his head back against the tree. The fire crackles as the sun sinks, dimming the sky. ] I've nothing to hide either way.

[ Not about himself. They can dig all they want into what he is, where he came from, what he's done. Half of that shit's been immortalized into Jaskier's songs as it is. And no. He doesn't mean only on the Continent. Jaskier's written new ones here, too. ]

[godshattering]

[ There's too many loose ends here, and while that's not normally something he minds - it's more troublesome when he doesn't know which to begin with chasing down first. Is it worth wondering why what he knows and what Sylvain's said aligns more closely than Petra's reality where none of that came to pass? Or why it is he remembers Teach differently than they do, but Teach still plays an important part to each of them? Or that if the Abraxan nations know why they were called here, will it really change anything about what the future may bring?

Claude gives Geralt an appraising look after the other says he's nothing to hide, and considers his own response. And then realizes, rather abruptly, that there's not a convenient way for him to answer that in turn - not in any way that wouldn't give away his thoughts, or that he doesn't share a lack of things to keep concealed. Maybe if he wasn't busy dwelling on everything they've spoken about so far in an attempt to forge more connections with what he already knew he could find a way to spin right out of that one. It's his preferred method for dodging anything and tends to not fail, especially if whoever's hearing it isn't the type to press for more answers.

But in the end, Claude for once says nothing at all and potentially confirms what goes on unsaid on his end regardless as they sit in quiet by the fire. By the time night approaches and it's time to head back, he's no closer to any resolutions as he bids Geralt a farewell with a nod at the city gates. He'll be thinking about all of this for a while to come yet. ]