lovelybottom | IC Inbox

[Geralt considers not answering the video call on principle, because he hates talking to people that way. Texting is a far superior method of communication-- like letters but faster, and he can ignore someone if he doesn't want to deal with them.]

[He answers this call, because it's Felix.]

I've yet to menace anyone with a sword, so I would think that I'm much improved.

[It's a low bar, but everyone's been having a rough day. Everything has just really happened so much lately, he deserves one day of having a low bar to pass.]

I assume your face is because of me. [He only remembers bits and pieces of the fight, up until the very end with Jaskier. And now that he sees Felix's purpled cheekbone, he can at least put that together with his own bruised knuckles to determine how that bruise got there.]

[At least Geralt seems back to normal. Good.]

Agreed. And yes, it is, but I've had much worse, so don't start agonizing over it.

[He's really not sure what else he's supposed to say. It's all well and good for Jaskier to say 'call him,' but words come out of the bard's mouth like water from a hose; no doubt he'd have come up with ten things to say already. Felix had one and now he's said it.]

[Geralt's a witcher, Felix, he doesn't agonize over anything. If anything, he broods, and it's difficult to discern his brooding-over-something-traumatic face from his typical, everyday brooding. Jaskier might, but Jaskier's an outlier who shouldn't be counted.]

Regardless, I... regret that it happened.

[Apologizing is hard. Apologizing for getting possessed by a mask creature and nearly going on a homicidal rampage is weird and hard.]

Is your face the worst of it? My memory isn't clear.

[All Felix has to go on here is his experience with Dimitri, so for now he'll stick with what he knows. At least the things Geralt is saying are reasonable, which is already one difference. Felix nods, acknowledgment and agreement both. After all, Geralt's the one who came out of all this with a concussion.]

As do I.

[The next question isn't surprising, and Felix doesn't hesitate for even a second to answer it. He's not here to sugarcoat anything, whether it was Geralt's fault or not. It is worrisome that the witcher doesn't remember it clearly, though.]

No, it isn't. I can refresh your memory of what happened if you like, but if you're just asking to gauge how bad you should feel about it, I won't bother.

[A pause, and he frowns a little.] Your memory. Is that a result of the Yamask? Is there a way to tell whether its invasion could have lasting effects?

I prefer knowing over not.

[Saves him from getting nasty surprises later. Hearing it from Felix, even if it's bad, is better than hearing it from someone else who witnessed. He entertains the distant hope that their altercation wasn't witnessed; the idea that he may have traumatized others who had the misfortune to watch is an uncomfortable one.]

I remember things in pieces, like an old dream. [He shrugs.] It's consistent with the last time I was possessed, so it may be simply how such things operate. I didn't get an explanation then and I doubt I'll get one now, but there was nothing long term.

[It probably says a lot about Geralt that he's had experience with possession. Welcome to the glamorous life of witchering, Felix.]

['Last time I was possessed' does get a raised eyebrow from Felix, but what he says is,]

Good. Whenever we've dealt with possession and similar magic in Fodlan, it has rarely been quite so forgiving.

But all right. The Yamask had all of your skill and strength paired with a killing intent, and had no regard for keeping you uninjured, either. It fought without a care for any but the most crucial defense. I succeeded at containing it on the balcony, but came away with one fairly deep cut that missed anything vital as far as I can tell and a leg wound that's slightly less deep. Everything else was more or less superficial.

[Aside from the powerful slap, of course. Is that how it would have felt to get backhanded by Dimitri when he had his Crest? Oof. How much to say about Jaskier, though...]

Sylvain found us at one point and our Steenee distracted the Yamask enough to give me an opening for an effective advance. Hard to say what would have happened if Jaskier hadn't run out unarmed to get between us like an idiot.

[His tone isn't dismissive or disdainful, though, as it might have been before. It's the same kind of annoyance masking concern that he'd have for any of his friends. That said...]

Still, he did well. Stood his ground. Even if it was blind faith. He held the Yamask's and your attention long enough for me to knock you out. Which he shouted at me for, of course.

[Felix rolls his eyes.]

Edited 2021-04-28 00:44 (UTC)

[Geralt remembers-- Felix's blade being driven into his side, a side-step and slash at the knees that, had they just been sparring, would've been nothing more than a harmless swat with the flat of a practice sword. A reminder, as Vesemir had reminded his trainees when they were learning the sword, to keep up and move quickly.]

[Because a real opponent wouldn't pass up the opportunity to hamstring you.]

[But if the rest of Felix's injuries are superficial and Geralt has made it out with little more than a concussion and some shallow cuts, they're both lucky.]

I remember the end of it more clearly. [Jaskier, his singing, the trembling blade at his throat.] It was a foolish thing for him to do. He could've been killed.

[Without Felix's intervention, Geralt might have slit his throat. Considering the... revelations of the night before, an already unthinkable scenario becomes worse.]

You did well, to bring me down, even if Jaskier protested. He dislikes seeing me injured, even when it's necessary. [Understandable, he supposes, but injury is the lot of a witcher. He could take far worse.] A request, for if this ever happens again-- don't concern yourself with my welfare.

Hmph. I told him the same. He insisted he was never in any danger. At least when Sylvain does stupid things like that, he knows they're stupid.

[Felix nods at the first half of what Geralt says next, but the second half has him blinking wide-eyed into his Gear for a second before his face transforms into a disbelieving scowl.]

Request denied. Jaskier's not the only one who gives a damn about whether you live or die, you know! You're more foolish than he is if you think I would kill you without exhausting every other option first.

I'd appreciate death as a last resort as well. That's not what I meant.

[Geralt doesn't actually have a death wish right now. But let him stew in his own guilt for a while longer and not sleep for a week, then check back in and that might have changed.]

You aimed for superficial cuts when you could have tried to injure me more severely. My worst wound was self-inflicted. A grievous injury, even if it risks killing me, is better than letting me run amok.

[And if Felix had just put a sword in his leg or his guts from the start and let whatever passed for healers in this realm sort it out later, he would've come out of it far less injured himself. Jaskier would have never been menaced. A fair enough trade, in Geralt's books.]

Tch. A grievous injury is exactly what I was trying to avoid, and I still didn't let you run amok. I hadn't quite reached my last resort yet, and I don't see how deliberately risking you bleeding out on the balcony when I didn't have to is any better than lethal intent to begin with. In some ways, it's worse. I'm not in the habit of causing pain and suffering, or of doing things halfway. If I'm going for the kill, I do it cleanly. If not, then there's no point in unnecessary bloodshed.

[Felix huffs in frustration and annoyance.]

So don't be stupid.

Edited 2021-04-28 06:02 (UTC)

I've survived worse. And if it's the pain that you're concerned about, you shouldn't be. It doesn't matter to me.

[He'd endured more pain than most would in their entire lives by the time he hit puberty. Jaskier's literally held his guts in on at least one occasion. But that's not really the point here.]

What you should keep in mind is that I may survive a grievous injury. There are not many people who would survive me.

[Felix's chin tips up slightly.]

I did. And I've survived worse as well. You may have decades of experience on me, Geralt, but as I understand it, in this world you lack the powers you possessed in your own. Perhaps pain doesn't matter to you, but you'd bleed out like anyone else here all the same.

[He sighs, exasperated.]

You're acting like my priorities were out of order. They weren't. If inflicting a grievous injury had been my only recourse to stop you from leaving, I would have done it. There was no reason for me to start there, that's just excessive.

You did. Could you say the same of any others in that room?

[It was sheer luck that the possession had begun when he was so close to Felix, enough so that he could be readily contained. What other person in that ballroom would have also been armed, and been able to wield that armament well enough to hold their own? Few, if any. He would have been a wolf among lambs.]

I can think of a few reasons. You wouldn't be injured as badly, for one. It's a fair enough trade on that alone.

Edited (html) 2021-05-02 06:26 (UTC)

No, I couldn't. Fortunately, there was no need to confirm it. I'm well aware of the risks I took. I deemed them acceptable, and I don't have to justify myself to you.

[The set of Felix's jaw is stubborn, now, and he scoffs.]

And you would be injured much worse. I'm not interested in weighing my blood against yours to decide whose best belongs unshed. If you healed like a witcher here, this would be a different conversation. But you don't, so accept that you're just as vulnerable as the rest of us.

[That's fine if Felix isn't interested in the debate-- Geralt already knows that, ounce for ounce, Felix's blood is worth more than his. He knows this like he knows how to hold a sword, like he knows the steps in his drills. Bone deep and without needing to think on it.]

[More of his, less of Felix's. A net gain. Mutations or not, his blood was always meant to be spilled.]

[Felix is stubborn, though, and slow to change his mind. Not all battles are worth fighting.]

Think what you will.

[Stubborn bastard. Felix shakes his head.]

I plan to. But regardless of hypotheticals, the fact that I was injured means that I need to get stronger yet for whatever may happen. So as soon as I've sufficiently healed, I'll be ready to cross blades with you again.

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