middaeg | ( SEMI-OPEN ) march catch-all

Songs?

[Roxas pauses, ears perking up a bit in confusion. Someone had wrote the kids some songs?]

Like a... bard?

[That was the word Jaskier had used, back in the cages.]

[ Surprise flickers over his face. He's come to learn very few here know of bards, or at least use the term over something like musician. In fact, Jaskier appears to be the only one who refers to himself as a bard.

Which can only mean one thing. ]

Jaskier. You know him?

[ It wouldn't be hard to. Jaskier likes to introduce himself, and loudly at that. Though less so these days. He tries not to think about it, how quiet Jaskier has become. ]

Yeah, I know him!

[And just like that, Roxas’s suspicious gaze instantly falls to one of surprise and intrigue.]

Are you a friend of his? How’s he doing?

[ So the boy does know him. Geralt tries to think if Jaskier has ever mentioned this particular one. Not that he can recall. ]

Bonded. He's fine. Causing trouble, no doubt.

[ There's a shift in his stance that suggests he's not getting into all the details—but he doesn't know how they met, and Jaskier's recent ordeal is private. ]

You find him singing in a tavern somewhere?

[ What are drinking ages. ]

[Roxas lets out a small breath, relief sagging his shoulders.]

Good... I'm glad he's doing okay.

[Though, at Geralt's question, Roxas grimaces a little, his ears angling to the sides.]

Ah, not quite. I... we were both caught by the Emerald Circle.

[He doesn't elaborate, probably doesn't need to. When he reaches up to rub at the back of his head, his sleeve slides up a bit; revealing the edge of a coil of bandage around his arm. A small, but significant sign of Roxas's own recovery process.]

He did say he would take me to a tavern sometime, though. I've never been to one. And I promised I'd hear him play.

[ His brows furrow. He's under no illusion the Circle hadn't taken boys—Killua is proof enough of that—but it bothers him still, to see it.

He pauses before offering more of an answer than he had before. ]

It might be a bit before he plays in one. [ Jaskier has tended towards quieter places when he goes out now. ] He's in the house garden, usually. Come by when you want.

[ It might do Jaskier good, to have company. Maybe it'll do the boy good, too. The only others in that house are him and Yennefer, and neither of them are ideal at...making people feel better. ]

[Roxas perks up at the offer, ears raising in curiosity.]

House garden?

[He didn't know Jaskier outside of that first meeting in that place, so he has no idea what house garden Geralt means. But if the offer by his Bondmate is being extended, then Roxas won't mind dropping in to say hello, and check in on the other.]

Alright. I will.

[His tail slowly wags behind him, just a little bit.]

I'm Roxas, by the way. Sorry for staring earlier; I thought... well. I just get a little anxious these days.

[ Geralt nods. ] The Haven. End of the street. You can't miss the lilacs.

[ Yennefer's grown them out front. It's possibly the first time Geralt has never explicitly told anyone to come by—partly because, even now, he doesn't quite think of the house as his so much as just a place to stay—but things have been different lately, given. Everything. ]

Geralt. [ His head tips to the side. Roxas. Now that name, he did hear. That's all he heard, though. Just Jaskier, asking if he meant Roxas when he said he'd be returning for a boy.

He gets it. The lingering fear. Geralt dismisses the apology with a wave of his hand. ] You work here?

Okay. I'll remember that.

[Lilacs at the end of the street in the Haven. He'll commit it to memory.]

[Geralt... that's an interesting name. Not the strangest he's heard, though. At the question, Roxas nods.]

Yeah. I started out volunteering with a friend, and I just ended up sticking around. The kids here are really good. Some of them remind me of friends from back home.

[He's got no experience babysitting or looking after younger people, but the kids here have grown on him. A lot of them remind him of when he had first joined the Organization, and had looked to Axel for guidance. And he's tough enough to handle some of the roughhousing that sometimes goes on here.]

[ A thoughtful look enters his gaze as he regards Roxas -- as if he's working to put a few pieces together. There's always a particular reason one finds familiarity in orphans.

He sits down on a weather-worn stool (more of a stump, really), picking up the broken toy to patch up its arm. Why not. He's already standing around talking, anyway. ]

Mm. They remind me of myself, once.

[ Fuck. Now he sounds like Vesemir. Still, he can admit there's something about the children in Dorchacht that especially brings to mind the boys at the keep he called home. The shadows of violence that follow them, maybe. That many lost not only parents, but peers. Friends. ]

They do?

[Roxas perks up at that. In a way, Roxas could be described as an orphan; if one considered a cast-off Nobody with no memories to be an orphan. But despite the semantics, Roxas can find a kinship with these wayward youths. So Geralt's words make him wonder about the older man's life.]

They kind of remind me of myself, too, I guess. I mean, sometimes, all you really need is a friend to guide you, or someplace you feel you belong. That's what these kids need, I think.

[ Sometimes. Geralt glances through the dusty windows to watch the children with their teacher. A paper dragon sails across the room while the woman's back is turned and hits a girl with round bear ears square in the forehead.

Sweet sentiment, from Roxas. He doesn't comment at first. Sentimentality is not in his nature, and in the end, the people closest you can only do so much and you for them. Still. He'll hardly be a bastard about the boy's outlook, his own thoughts on it aside. ]

Is that what you found?

[Roxas nods, before moving to help pick up the scattered toys left behind by the kids.]

Yeah. I mean, what really helped me when I didn't know who I was or what I was meant to do was having friends who were there for me. Whether it be to teach me things, or just to hang out with... I think these kids need someone like that. It's better than being told you're just a tool, or that you're only destined for one thing. Right?

[ With Roxas chatting away, Geralt simply listens. He picks up the toys with Roxas. There's not much. Nearly all of it is handcrafted and well-worn, but there are a few items that look as if they've been donated by those more fortunate: a large stuffed unicorn, what seems to be a wooden dragon enchanted to hover in the air.

He crouches over a ball on the ground. There's a pause. That is, he thinks, where the similarities end. Not that that's a bad thing. It's good they have a choice. The kids, that is. Roxas, too. ]

You make do with what you're given. [ He hands the grass-stuffed leather ball to Roxas. ] Some find more than others.

[There's not a lot of toys, and together they gather up all of them together. He turns to Geralt, perking up a bit when the ball is passed to him. He gives Geralt a curious look, considering his words, before nodding slowly.]

Yeah. I don't think of myself as a hero, but if I can help these kids find more, I wanna help them.

[He falls quiet for a moment as he moves to put the toys back in their place. Saying those words, even if they're about the orphanage kids, feels good. Reminds him that he still has strength in him, despite the scars he's currently nursing. And they remind him of what Mogget had told him as well; he has the power to determine what he does with his scars. He'd rather be helping these kids out instead of hiding away inside all the time.]

What about you?

[ He can see why Jaskier has taken a liking to the boy. (Ignoring that Jaskier takes a liking to most folks, unless they royally insult his music.)

As Roxas places the last dusty doll, Geralt pushes the box back into its corner under a tree. The question is met with silence for awhile. ]

I stop by here and there. Can't always shake the children. [ It's obvious he prefers to listen to someone else talk about themselves instead. Besides, it's complicated, how exactly it is he's come to be so familiar with lost boys, and the version he offers is truncated at best. ]

Back home, some came to train with us.

[Roxas can understand the sentiment, but he can't help his curiosity from time to time. Jaskier had mentioned his Bondmate once or twice before, and now that he's actually talking to him, he wants to know more about him. Though, he does chuckle at the commend about the children.]

They can be a handful sometimes. I think that means they like you.

[He does perk up at Geralt at the mention of training.]

Train? Like, train fighters?

[ The sound he makes in reply implies he's not certain how he feels about being popular amongst the orphans. Though admittedly, it's not the worst thing to happen to him. ]

Mm. Not exactly. [ His head tips to the side as he finds a better word. ] Hunters.

[ Killers. Monsters themselves, to many. He's hesitant to go deep into detail, less because of the truth of things and more because it isn't the way it is anymore. For a long time now, Kaer Morhen has been empty of anyone, boys or otherwise, except the few remaining Witchers in the world. For the best, all things considered. ]

Oh.

[Roxas gives Geralt a curious look.]

Are hunters and fighters considered different from each other on your world?

[He knows that fighting usually means fighting monsters or other tough opponents. But he considered himself a fighter, and on occasion he would be sent on missions to hunt down certain Heartless during his time with the Organization. To him, the two activities were one and the same.]

[ The question brings a short pause. ]

We aren't soldiers. If that's what you mean. We kill monsters, that's all.

[ It's always been a line Geralt has drawn: Witchers are neither soldiers nor warriors nor swords for hire for any of the petty problems men may have with other men.

His skillset is specific. Too many already try to buy him for their own causes as it is. ]

And soldiers don't?

[Roxas tilts his head a bit, and the way his ears angle makes it clear he's a little confused by Geralt's classifications. But after a moment, he decides to let it go, shrugging his shoulders.]

Well, I guess it's just different between worlds. Where I'm from, there isn't really a distinction. If you can fight, you fight. I don't think there was ever a name used to classify between fighters, unless you consider Keyblade Wielders as separate from everyone else. But even magic-users and non-Keyblade wielders could fight the Heartless. So, maybe it's just part of each world's world order.

[Soldiers, warriors, hunters... to Roxas, they're one and the same.]

[ The gesture Geralt makes suggests that's not it, exactly, but that he's not entirely willing to lay it out: that soldiers fight for something, will burn villages filled with children for their king, have loyalties to land and people.

Not that cruelty has been absent amongst his own kind. Hardly. It's just not done in the name of honor and country. Easy, typical shields to justify bloodshed. ]

Sounds simpler. [ Roxas speaks in terms he hasn't heard of, though not ones difficult to piece together in context. ] Is that what you do? Fight the Heartless?

[Huh... there's probably a story there, but Roxas isn't one to pry too much into it. Geralt doesn't have to tell him everything if he doesn't want to, even if he is curious about the world he comes from.]

Yeah. I'm not going on missions to hunt them down as much anymore, but I still fight them when they pop up. It's weird being in a world without them, though; it feels like they manage to find their way to almost every world I've seen.

[ Every world? Geralt peers at the boy. Nearly everyone he's met has found it unusual to have been pulled into this land. ]

We only had one world to be in before...

[ He gestures around him. Before all this. It's not that the other worlds didn't exist. The possibility of entering them had simply not been available. ]

Huh? Oh, right...

[His ears angle to the sides for a moment, hesitating on if he should say... but then decides that the idea of other worlds has already been broken here in this world. Not like there's much of a World Order to keep up in a world that already knows of the existence of other worlds.]

Well, for most people, they only know of their own world. But the reality is there's a lot of different worlds out there. Many worlds that are separate and distinct from one another. Sometimes people are able to travel between them, but usually only for a good reason. I've been to a lot of different worlds before coming here.

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