middaeg | ( OPEN ) february catch-all

You look terrible,

[ comes her opening line as she walks up to his table, a drink in her hand too, hair windswept — it tends to get like that, after an evening of sailing.

the statement is deadpan, sure, but contains sympathy, too; she'd seen him, there, as one of the rescuers. she'd fought to get back her bonded, too. so it's not hard to imagine why he's here, trying to hide all his worries in drink after another.

without asking, she draws herself a chair and sits down. ]

[ The familiar voice makes him look up. The girl with the teleporting cat. He remembers seeing her there, as well, a flash in the crowd. A lot of people he'd seen.

He's tried not to think too hard about the ones he'd left behind. He knows better than to believe he can save everyone. His priority had been Jaskier, and that's not something he regrets. Still—it hadn't been what he'd wanted, walking away. It's easier when he's not involved at all in the first place.

He pours her a drink without a word. It's watered down piss, but it's all they have here. ]

Good evening to you, too.

[ she, too, had had a priority — that wasn't to say she hadn't tried to help anyone she came across... but getting to her bonded had been, in the end, all that mattered. and then getting him out of there and to a hospital to recover.

she reaches for the drink and knocks it back in one go.

and sighs. ]

Look, I'm not going to let you wallow in misery here alone. We can at least do that together, right?

[ since it's likely they're both wanting to get drunk for the same reason... to forget about the worry, and the feeling of you should have done more. ]

[ She's the first, he thinks, who's simply told him he looks like a miserable fuck and should drink it away. He appreciates it. That's pretty much all he wants to do. ]

Only if you get the next round. [ He refills his own mug. There are still shades of healing silver chain marks burned into his palm and wrists, disappearing under his sleeves. ]

Did they send yours home? [ Her friend, he means. Bondmate. Whoever she must've been there to free. Jaskier hadn't been trapped at the infirmary as long as he'd feared, which is the only blessing to have come out of this. Though he wonders if the nurses packed up the bard sooner than usual because Geralt wouldn't go home, either, until Jaskier did. Probably got tired of kicking him out all the time. ]

... fine, [ she says after a pause, and only sanji would be able to tell how rare it is for her to actually be willing to spend her money on someone else... but he really seems to need it.

and she can sympathise. ]

Mm, they did. He's back at the house, now. Luckily, his infection hadn't spread as much as it could have.

[ there's still worry lacing her tone, but there's relief, too. ] Yours? I doubt you'd be here if they were still in the hospital.

[ he doesn't seem the type. ]

[ That is lucky. He'd seen others in worse shape than even Jaskier, ones he isn't certain can even be saved. It all leaves a bitter taste behind. ]

Mm-hmm. They kept giving me shit about going home.

[ To their misfortune, sending Jaskier home has only partially reduced his presence in the infirmary. There are still others he wants to keep an eye on. It's different, to actually have people he looks in on. It started with only one or two; now he finds a new name each month of those who should be strangers in the city.

Friends, he supposes Jaskier would call them—even if Geralt doesn't quite think of it that way. ]

Ehh... you're a good friend, aren't you?

[ there's something soft and approving in the way she hums that, giving him a look, smiling with more her eyes and less her mouth.

being a good friend is one of the qualities she appreciates the most. ]

[ Something close to surprise flits across his face. Then he makes a quiet sound. She's the first anyone's ever told him that. He's not certain it's true. ]

He was taken because of me.

[ It's an admission that comes out a little thoughtless—as if he isn't thinking too hard about what he's saying right now. Which is probably true. He's had, mm. He's lost count of how many drinks. Enough.

Anyway. Jaskier is back home. He's been trying not to dwell on that night. What's done is done. ]

[ meanwhile, she just looks at him at the sign of surprise, a little pointed — as if to say, believe me! she can recognise someone who cares about their friends. ]

That doesn't make you being a good friend not true, [ she counters, far steadier with her thought than him, having only just started with her drinks...

but clearly she has a similar idea, as she sighs and smiles. ]

Well, they're safe now, that's what matters! Right? [ both his bonded and hers — they're okay, and that's really all she cares about. ]

[ As much of a black hole Geralt tends to be -- according to nearly everyone he meets -- even he doesn't have the heart to reject her attempt to cheer him up. Quietly, he can admit he appreciates her efforts. He seems to accept her comment with a hum before switching tack. ]

What brings you out here, anyway? [ He gestures around them. ] Not the prettiest place for the weather.

[ Look, he might be in enough of a mood to drink in a shithole out by the harbor, but he's curious why she's doing the same. More than that, she smells distinctly of not only the docks, but the sea itself. ]

[ she mirrors him in looking around, and what she sees makes her laugh a little — yeah, sure, it's not any kind of a nice establishment, that's for sure. but — ]

Pirates are used to going into bars that aren't the neatest, [ she says with a grin, but continues, ]

No, actually, I went sailing earlier. It's tiring when you're out on your own, so I thought I'd stop by to get a drink on the way back home.

[ Nami drops the pirate remark so casually, Geralt nearly misses it. He blinks once. Is she...?

When she follows it up with actually, he assumes she must be teasing. She doesn't come off like the murdering and pillaging sort. ]

You're a sailor. [ It fits. He doesn't know her well, but he can see it. ]

You have a ship back home?

[ he gets a lifted eyebrow and a quizzical look at the mention of sailor... didn't she just say she's a pirate?

well, maybe that's what they call pirates in his world. ]

Yes, of course! The Thousand Sunny. It's a Carrack, and it was built by one of the finest shipwrights ever. Ahh... I really miss the Sunny. Sailing out here is not the same at all.

You know, back home, most of our world is seas and everyone lives on islands... so to travel between them, you always need to sail. Living here on land is really strange for me.

[ A beat passes as he tries to decipher the look he gets, but she's quick to go on about her ship. He studies her curiously. ]

Your land's broken up? [ No, he imagines it's not the same. Not when the seas seem so limited. He's asked, here and there, about traveling off Geardagas, and he's yet to find anyone willing to venture out far -- especially not taking one of the Mirrorbound alongside. Not even a damn good bribe seems to sway them.

So they're trapped. (Because of course they are.) And while Geralt is used to being on one continent -- his world is a single landmass, with the exception of the Skellige Islands -- it's still strange to have so few cities and villages to visit. Everything is wilderness except for the coastlines. ]

I haven't done much with city living, either. Never really stayed in one place before.

Oh, no, it's all just different islands! They all have their own climate and magnetic fields.

[ she could go on and on about it all, how you can navigate the seas with the log poses... but he doesn't seem the type to be interested in the specifics. what she can guess from his words is that his world must be more like this one; one continent with perhaps some islands.

she hums, tapping her cheek. ]

You know, somehow that doesn't surprise me much. So what do you do back home, then? You're a... traveler?

[ That earns an extra long pause. There are clearly wheels turning in his head. Geralt has grown accustomed to piecing together turns of phrases and terms from context, but it seems he's finally hit a wall with magnetic fields. ]

Like...primordial Chaos? [ Look, that's the only thing he can think of that can influence an entire island's climate. (He might've had a little too much ale to sort this out in any way.)

Speaking of. Geralt ends up ordering a second round, placing a few coins on the table for it. ]

Mm. I kill monsters for money. In theory. Folks are stingy.

What? No —

[ she looks at him, and for some reason the utter confusion on his face reminds her painfully of luffy and zoro... and it's that resemblance that makes her decision. she laughs. ]

Ah, don't worry about it. It's a lot of science.

[ she feels that trying to explain magnetic fields and magnetic signatures would be far too much work, and leave her with a similar headache as with her crew mates. instead, she focuses on grinning at him as he gets a second round, focuses on him answering her question. it makes a lot of sense. ]

Ehh... somehow, that suits you. I can see you doing that. And you're very good at what you do, aren't you? You're the type.

( OPEN ) february catch-all

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