( CLOSED )

[gynvael]

Who: Geralt + Jaskier; Sam Wilson; Belle
When: July 25-31; Aug 5-13
Where: The castle // dungeons
What: The aftermath of the Horizon, and questions Geralt would rather not answer.
Warnings: Talk of death; possibly other similarly dark topics


(( closed starters below. if you'd like a starter following up on the Horizon or anything else in between the July event and August arrivals, hit me up at discontinued! ))

sam wilson | jaskier | belle | sam wilson (ii)

Comments

sam wilson.

[gynvael]

[ Returning from the Horizon is disorienting. Like being jerked out of a hurricane. Remembering all that went on there is slower; a steady sinking that he cannot stop. If Geralt tended to keep to himself before, he's now moved onto strictly ignoring anyone and everything that doesn't require immediate attention. The restless itch in his fingers grow. He lets himself ponder decisions he knows would be incredibly bad ones.

He wants to ride. He should be home. The thought sounds childish crossing his mind, but there are not many steady constants in his life and not many places he can return to and know he'll not be turned away. Kaer Morhen is one of the few. And he wants to talk to Vesemir. (Vesemir would understand; would know what it is to bury children that feel too much like yours when you should know better.)

When footsteps invariably make their way down the stairs, Geralt glances to the side without turning his head. (That's the other part that fucks with him: the loss of his senses all over again now that he's back here.) That it's Sam doesn't surprise him. The man has been by a handful of times. Geralt hasn't minded much—but that was before. Now it's—

Complicated. In truth, if it'd been anyone but Sam, in any other situation, what occurred between them would've felt nothing short of invasive. But if there's one thing he understands, it's that the Horizon had left no room for hidden motives. That as with him, what he found within others was raw, unaltered.

So when he sighs at Sam's approach, there's a note of acceptance to his display of exasperation. ] You know I'll only tell you I'm fine.

jaskier.

[gynvael]

[ It's inevitable that Jaskier will come. In a way, Geralt looks forward to the distraction. Fuck, he could use anything other than sitting in this damn cell, crammed in with a man who seems almost relieved he's at death's door and a vampire who's seen far too much between the tunnels and now. This.

But he also knows Jaskier will want to talk. Will try to talk. More than that, he's aware he owes his friend some answers. For all that he'd rather avoid the topic, he can't any longer. Especially not after he's made Jaskier promise to leave him if there's a chance of returning to find the princess. That's a ship that's long sailed now. A door he's accepted is no longer open.

They end up in the library. Geralt follows the bard like he's supposed to under the watchful eyes of the guards. Lets Jaskier pile tomes in his arms. Carries them all into a corner table, where he stacks them so that they make something close to a wall of privacy. He should be focused on getting out of here. Things feel like they've reached a boiling point. And the Horizon—

Cirilla.

He reaches for one of the texts, flipping it open. Jaskier has claimed he's here to carry books and assist in taking notes, so that's what Geralt is doing while they search for actual information at the same time. Meeting inside the Horizon is a possibility that's crossed his mind, but. Shit. For the moment, he doesn't want to go back. Not yet. Jaskier can't fucking meditate to save his life, anyway. He's silent, for the most part. If there are things Jaskier wants to know, he'll have to start the conversation himself. ]

belle.

[gynvael]

[ As loath as he is to admit it, Jaskier was right to drag him back to his room and let him nap. His head, at least, is less stuffed with straw. He's not eager to go back to occupying his corner of the cell. Can't be helped, though; he ignores the ever-increasing crowding he's been feeling, and finds a space between the beds where he has a modicum of solitude.

Geralt doesn't expect any other visitors. Nor does he want them, really. He's said all he wants to with Jaskier and Sam both. But when he spots a woman with dark hair and blue eyes peering between the bars, he can't help paying attention. Hard to say for sure -- the description Jaskier granted him could fit any handful of folk (quietly pretty and brunette only gets him so far) -- but her face is new to him. So. Hmm. Perhaps it is her.

In any case, it's enough for Geralt to take notice where he normally wouldn't bother. ]

Looking for someone?

sam + geralt pt2.

[falcony]

[ it's a few days later that sam is heading back down into the dungeons. he's been busy, what with all the new additions arriving through ambrose's little recruitment exercise, and all the added drama that had caused. sam is still trying to wrap his head around peter parker and what that is all supposed to mean, but it's fine. it's been fine. he feels a little guilty for not coming down and seeing geralt before then, but he can only imagine how it's been down in the cells as well.

it eats away at him, how many more there are now. how many more are down here and shouldn't be. he knows they're still working away on the top level, that he and phoenix and the others have been trying to get as many out as possible. but it's not moving fast enough, none of it is, and it least sam feeling somehow both guilty and also restless.

he's a little lost in thought down that path of things to worry about when he thinks...well. he swears he hears jaskier, calling something just up ahead. and when he closes the last however much of the hallway to geralt's cell, he's now 99% sure jaskier is there, right around the corner, talking to...someone else? ]

Uh. [ sam looks down the pathway and then back to geralt, who is already standing near the door. ] Was that Jaskier? Is something happening? [ a pause, while sam tries to get a better look and finds he can't see anything from where he's standing. not enough of anything, at least. ] If now's a bad time I can come back...