ℭ𝔦𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔞 𝔬𝔣 ℭ𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔯𝔞 (
wiedzminka) wrote2021-03-26 06:25 pm
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❧ IC INBOX: Abraxas
MESSAGES
you've reached ciri; leave a note.
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you've reached ciri; leave a note.
☘ horizon
☘ network
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no subject
Come on. [ His boots crunch over the crisp powdered snow. ] Wanted to show you something. A small change.
[ It's a quick walk to Kaer Morhen. Though the halls are the same as they ever were, for the first time, he leads her towards the stairs that go beneath the keep. Ciri may have noticed them; they've been there from the start, though Geralt's gone out of his way to never acknowledge them.
But where they once cast long shadows, the corridors are warm. Familiar, maybe, to Ciri—and once the wood doors open, it's clear where he's brought her. The stained glass throws glittering light over the statue of Melitele. He glances over his shoulder. ]
I, ah. Jaskier lent a hand. There was a different place here before.
no subject
Like now. Though--
What different place had been here before? Ciri isn't sure if she should ask. Normally, she might just blurt the question anyway, but Geralt seems intentionally vague this time, not merely disinterested in providing details when they aren't needed.
In any case, Ciri's quickly distracted from her wondering.
The familiarity of this place hits her with a nostalgia so sudden and overwhelming, it steals her breath away.
Ciri enters the temple wide-eyed, mouth hanging open. She knows, of course, that it's only an echo, made from Geralt's memories. But still, it stuns her into silence for a long few moments as she wanders in, walking slowly around the statue. The effect isn't nearly as strong as when she'd first laid eyes on Kaer Morhen in the Horizon, but it's still something... from home. It feels real. Empty, but real. More than she would have imagined, for a room she knows is under the Horizon rendition of Kaer Morhen she's grown so familiar with. ]
...it's perfect.
no subject
He would not have minded answering Ciri's questions. She chooses not to ask, though, so Geralt doesn't expand. There are enough painful reminders around them. He wants to focus on better things.
Slight alterations are visible: golden suns that glimmer on the stone pillars (Jaskier's doing), a much smaller library of books and scrolls, filled only roughly with the tomes he remembers reading. Far fewer rooms than what the full temple held.
He pushes open a door to one such room. It's sparsely decorated—with space to fill. A pouch of knucklebones sits on a desk. ] In case you grow bored of the snow.
[ She built her cabin for a reason; he knows she likes her privacy. And he understands, after all that happened, why she remains hesitant to stay inside Kaer Morhen much. He's hoping, perhaps, the temple will be a space she can have again, to call her own here without revisiting those memories. If she wants. ]
no subject
[ A little sad, in some ways. The nostalgia bittersweet. But she appreciates it still.
Ciri spends some time wandering around, looking at the details they've managed. She does take note of the books, and will probably read some later out of curiosity. Seeing Jaskier's touches is also rather nice. It's not like she can remember everything in distinct detail, but this place is not the Temple anyway -- just a memory, and all the good parts of it. ]
What made you decide to make this, in particular? I suspect it wasn't just for me.
no subject
How far has Nilfgaard marched? (What exactly does Ciri remember of him that she will not say?)
They are questions he remains hesitant to ask. Even now.
He pauses by the endless flickering candles. The ones that light each night. He did hope she would find some value in it. But it is for a different reason that he created the place. ]
After I returned from Thorne, Jaskier told me he found something. In the cellar beneath Kaer Morhen. [ He starts to walk again. He's spoken little of that time, for a reason, but Ciri knows what happened more than most. ] Old living memories. I locked the door. Then Dean stumbled on it, convinced me to tear it down. I thought perhaps a better memory should take its place.
no subject
She nods. So that's why it was locked. It's not the reason she expected, but it's probably for the best she hadn't tried to go in anyway sometime. ]
A rare good idea on Dean's part, then.
...there's nothing else you've noticed in this place that wasn't placed here by you or me, then?
no subject
Could be worse. All things considered through his long years.
He glances up, the question unexpected. He pauses. He has, but— ]
You've seen something?
no subject
Not since the dead rose and moth that appeared in my cottage after that whole... unpleasantness. I couldn't will it away, so I shoved it in a cabinet somewhere. I know I'm not the only one.
But no, I was simply curious.
...is there something else?
no subject
It's absurd. And possibly merely a result of the man subconsciously transporting himself. Even so, he's reflected on the incident ever since, turning it over in his mind. ]
Someone dug through the Horizon. Tunnelled through my damn wall.
no subject
She turns to face him fully, eyebrows raised. ]
What do you mean someone?
Hold on. What do you mean tunnelled? Why?
no subject
Man named Kyle. He said he suspected something might be underneath his domain. Started digging.
[ Geralt does not believe anything is under the Horizon except for what they create underneath it. Not unlike the cellar he's made here. The Horizon only has an underground because they've formed it. ]
no subject
[ They appear to be on the same page here, judging by Ciri's incredulous stare. ]
This plane isn't on any real earth.
And he just... came in through the wall, even though he was digging beneath his Horizon, supposedly? What a stupid thing to do.