wiedzminka | ❧ IC INBOX: Abraxas

[ Julie's domain is probably one of the easier ones to find in the Horizon, even without the knowledge of what a modern Earth nightclub is. There's always muffled music audible from outside, bass throbbing for a hundred yards in any direction. Neon lines the door, inviting people in, where, exactly as Julie had said, close to a hundred manifested partygoers occupy the booths and dance floor. They don't react unless directly disturbed, but they make a nice, dull background noise. The music is always the perfect volume; loud enough to dance to, but never so loud that you can't have a conversation. A pleasant, attentive man tends the bar. He always knows your favorite drink.

The further in one ventures, however, the more all the sound and flash fades away, until you're standing in an empty warehouse. An industrial fan set in the wall makes a slow, repetitive whooshing noise, and every step echoes. The feeling is oppressively lonely if you stay still too long. Not too far in, there's a structure that Julie added later, a lofted apartment closed off from the rest of it. Inside the loft, it's bright and bohemian, all jewel tones and wall murals, every spare inch cluttered with decor and just stuff -- designer clothes and shoes hung on walls, sparkling necklaces hanging from doorknobs, seemingly endless amounts of cosmetics on tables and counters. It's not messy, but it's very full.

Julie waits near the entrance, a pink and gold ball of smiles, waiting. She glitters from head to toe, the large Wheel of Fortune pendant on her sternum catching light and throwing it around. Her voice is syrupy sweet, with an American Southern drawl laced through it. ]

Hey, hon! Ciri, right?

Edited 2021-10-27 01:53 (UTC)

[Alucard's lost count of how many pierogi he has crimped at this point. Many, he suspects, based on the plates that surround him, waiting to be fried and then devoured. The process has become automatic at any rate - take cut round out from under the tea towel, fill with filling, crimp, place on plate, repeat until nothing remains. He's long since run out of the pork and vegetable filling, and the mushroom and thyme is running low.

All he knows is that he was told the overcrowded Witcher homestead would be empty for the day, and that pierogi were owed. Alucard preferred no people around, and he especially would prefer Hector's absence. So things were wrangled to enable it.

Which means that when the door knob wiggling catches Alucard's attention, he frowns, unhappy.]

Hm?

[ In line with Julie being excellent at throwing parties, she is also an extremely talented gift-giver. She enjoys coming up with and distributing gifts only slightly less than she enjoys receiving them (she really enjoys receiving them). And though she is from a family of neglectful, white trash alcoholics, they have Midwestern manners ingrained deep. At Christmas, you give everyone around you a gift, that's simply how it is. If you can't afford gifts, you make them. If you can't make them, you write a card and do a favor.

In the Horizon, her options are limitless.

On Christmas morning, there is a package left outside of Ciri's little cottage. It's a small, golden chest with three drawers, each with a crystal pull, containing a set of color-coordinated, luxury cosmetics. They are pleasantly perfumed and as lovely to look at as they are to apply. A folded piece of paper in the top drawer bears Julie's handwriting.

Practice. Merry Christmas.
- Julie]

[ it has been some weeks since she last spoke with, or saw, ciri. ever since she'd been called into that meeting with the queen and had found geralt there, to the fear she was being watched and any attempt to return to the horizon would - in turn - be watched as well.

her conversation with geralt was an expertly timed, paranoia-driven discussion that only happened because of the care it took for yennefer to get there. but that didn't stop her from looking for ciri first - to see if there were any clues, any notes, of how angry she would be with yennefer for once again disappearing.

( and she refuses to let herself be disappointed when she finds nothing at all )

that means, though, that it is another few days before a note will be found left at ciri's cabin - either slid under the locked door or wedged into the doorframe. it is not a particularly long letter, but the script will be familiar from the messages they've sent back and forth across the continent, except this will not be in sparkly script that shows up behind their eyes. ]

I apologize for the delay in your lessons and with reaching out.
I am now back if you would like to speak.
I'm sure you have questions.

~ Yennefer of Vengerberg

[ As far as Amos is concerned, things are back to normal now.

Well, as normal as they can be here, which isn't very. Not for him, not in this world. But it's the one he's got now, so he's making do, same as he would no matter where he's ended up.

A big part of that is regularly popping into Geralt's space. The reversal had happened not too long ago; a bit of a change of pace, but one Amos has been perfectly comfortable with. Just as he's perfectly comfortable still coming to Geralt's. Nevermind what's in that basement. Thinking about it kinda makes Amos' skin crawl, so he doesn't think about it. Easy.

Instead he strolls up through the boneyard, same as he always has, carrying the sword Jaskier gifted him in one hand, personal shotgun slung across his back. You know. Just in case they ever wanna get some kind of target practice in. He'd showed it to Geralt when he'd come to visit him; now it's just gonna be the kind of thing he brings along with him every time he comes here. He's learning to be comfortable with Geralt's preferred weapon; feels right to bring his own preference along for the ride.

He enters the Keep, pauses once he's inside the walls. Doesn't seem like Geralt's here yet. Hell, Amos might be early. Who knows. Hearing about the events at the Dimming is starting to weigh on him; maybe it's fucking with his sense of time.

Either way, he's here now, and he's perfectly comfortable to lean a shoulder up against the wall and wait, casually inspecting what's apparently his favourite sword — since it's the one he took when offered it — while he does so. ]

[ before yennefer makes her way to ciri's cabin, she has to find a place to settle. she is already shaky, her connection in the horizon still something that feels somehow fragile, but her focus will have to hold out. it will have to.

the wolf meets her on the edge of the domain, and yennefer comes to a stop when it sees her. for a brief moment, they simply stare at each other, and she knows that things have changed. that she is no longer welcome, in the same way she might have before.

it does not take long - she makes it to ciri's cabin and knocks once on the door. hearing nothing inside, she tucks the letter in the doorframe, hesitates for only a brief moment, and then leaves.

whenever ciri decides to come back to her horizon again, she will find the letter is still tucked in the door, waiting for her. yennefer's script is clear and definitive. ]

Ciri,

My connection to the Horizon, and the Singularity, is unstable. I don't know if you have received any of my messages, but I am not receiving most that are sent to me. My ability to enter the Horizon is also unstable, but I have worked to make sure I can get this to you. I need you to know I am not avoiding you.

I would like to speak, when it is possible. If you would open to it.

I am sorry.

~ Yennefer

[Viktor does not even know it's Ciri's birthday. It is simply a happy coincidence that he finishes designing and executing the blender around the same time. Isn't that nice!! He drops it off at WitcherHaus with little fanfare--a brown paper package that contains:]

✥ One (1) analog blender, operated by hand crank. The blades inside seem to have been fine-tuned and angled specifically for shredding ice into the precise consistency needed for some kind of mysterious frozen coffee drink.
✥ Instructions containing the necessary proportions of ice, milk, coffee, and sugar, and also some tips n' tricks for what size the ice cubes should be, for optimal blending. Clearly all of this has been painstakingly tested.
✥ An additional note that if it does not live up to expectations or otherwise malfunctions, please bring it back and he will continue field testing.

[Signed, V.]

Edited (grammar 8T) 2022-05-10 20:49 (UTC)

[Once Alucard is sure that Ciri's household is back from their trip, she'll find a strawberry cake at the door to the apartment, still warm from the oven. (Don't ask whose oven, Alucard had to ask a weird favor.) The strawberries themselves are all overly ripe, juices bleeding into the cake. A dusting of larger crystal sugar gives it all a perfect sheen, and beside the cake is a new bottle of brandy.

No note is attached. Alucard is almost certain that it is obvious and sometimes your sorry you had to experience my fucked up trauma cake doesn't need a note.]

Edited 2022-05-12 02:42 (UTC)

[Sometime, out of the blue, when the hour is late—]

Ciri. Do you have a moment to speak?
-Sephiroth

Are you alright? I haven't seen you....

[ Since a disastrous memory swap in the streets? Since days after that when Alina tried to follow Ciri's normal schedule without being too obvious? Well, she's obvious now. ]

Lately. I haven't seen you in the city.

[He is used to running across Ciri now and again, even if their meetings are brief and in passing. But it is always anchoring to see a familiar face, one of the very few he should call a friend within the Free Cities, and perhaps that's all the more reason why he begins to worry when he doesn't come across her for an unusual amount of time.

Sephiroth considers if he should send her message to check on her. He then considers if she would appreciate it or find it grating, as though he is owed an explanation for her departure. What business is it of his?

And yet he worries; it gnaws at him. He thinks of Cloud's disappearance, and if the same should apply in this case. Or the monsters spread across the desert, and how one job gone bad could mean the swift end of any who make their coin hunting them down. And finally, after far too much back-and-forth in his own mind, he wonders why it matters at all — he had never cared for keeping up appearances, and it is not like him to fuss over whether or not he might insult her by sending a simple message to check—

Finally, after severing all of his deliberations:]

Ciri, where are you?

[If there is any way for the Singularity to display the sheer panic of Jaskier's words, it's there in the pointed tips, jagged and nearly broken.]

Please, for the love of all things, of Melitele herself, tell me you are not dead.

I know you're not dead.

But confirm it.

Please.

Now.

Ciri,

Thank you so much for saving Viktor's life. I cannot tell you how grateful I am. Please let me know if there is anything I can make you, free of charge, in thanks. I can do knives, swords, I actually have a prototype for a collapsible sword that's not finished but I can give you the first one, whatever you want.

I hope you are feeling okay yourself. If you aren't, I am going to be waiting for the two of you with Viktor's cane. I have magical healing abilities, if you need them.

-Jayce Talis

Hey, listen.
I'm giving a few people a tattoo this week. It's a protection thing. Wards against demonic possession.

You'd be doing me a real solid if you'd come get one.

Hey
Any chance you could do me a favor sometime soon?
I'll owe you one

[ it takes yennefer twenty-four hours before she regains consciousness, and it's a few hours after that before she's able to find enough time and space to feel like she can. her first message is to jaskier, if only because she had known he was a fellow delegate. had most likely been targeted as well, whether or not the attempted assassination had been meant just for her. but it is very soon after that she reaches out to ciri, just to be certain. ]

Ciri- are you alright?

Hey
What's shakin, Hannah Montana?

[It's been some time since they met at Nocwich, but Ciri had left quite an impression on Petra— enough so that she had been actively relieved to hear that Claude would be traveling with her during that supply run of theirs.

Of course, he'd dropped a few other details later on that had made her feel somewhat less secure.]

I have been hearing something about a monster in a ravine! Claude insists you are all safe, but he is having a habit of skipping over things sometimes. I thought I would be asking you directly. Are you and the rest of your party okay?

(( cont'd from here, during Event #10 ))

[ Immediately, she chases after him to close the space between them, breathless herself and uncaring. Everything else has fled her mind. The want beats against the inside of her ribs, fills her head with only the thought of closeness, the desire to wrap herself in this feeling so deeply it would be impossible to forget it again.

The noise she makes at his words is almost a scoff, a little growl as she grabs him again to wrap her arms around his neck. ]

Then don't.

[ No more waiting. Ciri leans in, on a whim, to kiss his cheek where she'd scratched it. She runs her tongue along the cut on an animal instinct, and shifts her hips to slot his thigh between hers, grinding down on him. ]

[ As soon as he makes it out of the interrogation, supposedly casual as it'd been, Claude's thoughts are already whirling. Even if it hadn't been so casually mentioned they might follow up with the others on the supply run - something he's sure was meant to press more information out of him, and was entirely unsuccessful - there was no chance he wasn't going to reach out to the others as soon as he could.

There's no sign of Ciri when he'd stopped by the inn to gather a few more things to head about his day as usual. Something probably for the best, since he's not fond of the idea of having this conversation where it can be overheard for multiple reasons, and it's while completing his normal day-to-day job Claude realizes there's a solution to that.

Well - a partial solution. But it's still better than waiting any longer, so before long Ciri will catch sight of mostly neat script with an important message. ]

Ciri - you should know the Free Cities has questions about how we crossed the ravine. On my way to work this morning I got pulled in for a friendly little chat. The interviewer mentioned she's planning on talking to others on the supply run at some point.

To be clear, I didn't say anything to them. But that doesn't mean they won't try asking what they did in other ways hoping one of us will say something different.

[ On Christmas morning, there will be a box wrapped in gold paper waiting on the doorstep of the Witcher family home. A card on top bears her name in Julie's handwriting, and the inside wishes her a merry Christmas, "or Yule or whatever".

Inside the box are two tiny lanterns on hooks. The earrings hook over the ear rather than through, and the lanterns both hold real miniature flames that flicker. A small strip of paper tucked underneath them explains that if held up in the dark, the fire will cast enough light to actually function as a small light source.

Merry Christmas. ]

[ Geralt would've given this to Ciri in person as close to the actual date of Yule as possible. He is not a man who wraps presents, and given the nature of it, wrapping it would be moot. It's quite obviously a sword.

Not meant to replace her steel sword, it's forged using the magic-absorbing ore delivered from Nocwich and is identical in make to the one Geralt commissioned for himself, though designed for Ciri's preference and taste. Silver isn't needed in this world, but every Witcher should have a second sword for tackling enemies of a magical nature, which is what this one's made for.

Etched down the length of the blade is a series of Elder runes that translate to Chaos flows through you, which Ciri may recognize as a portion of the inscription carved into the back of his medallion.

She'll also find a motorcycle of her own waiting in the Horizon, whenever she next visits. Geralt will tell Ciri it's from Nadine, since Nadine helped craft it, though it was clearly done upon Geralt's request. ]

Edited (my dumbass forgot swords can't be in nocwich.) 2022-12-28 22:58 (UTC)

You wanted updates on my...project.

[yeah that sounds like a good way to start.]

It's begun. I have what I need to build it.

[ Left in early January—a request for permission, even if it isn't phrased precisely as such. He knows the gift means something to Ciri, but he also senses she will not hesitate to lend Julie a hand with something like this. ]

The bracelet I gave you.
With the enchantment.

I suggested Julie study the same enchantment through it
To protect herself.
She might ask to see it some time.

Hey. I know Claude told you he was interviewed. So was I. I told them about my powers and that I made the bridge. I said that none of you knew or were a part of it.

no subject

Post-Singularity event

no subject

horizon.

horizon

horizon. early feb.

some nebulous may time that is most convenient for you

Upon return from vacation

no subject