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[supersoldier]

Coming soon!!

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after the eclipse / bad moon rising

[lackingtalent]

𝐻𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑜, 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒.

𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓉 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒?
𝒟𝑜 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌.

~ 𝐻𝓎𝓉𝒽𝓁𝑜𝒹𝒶𝑒𝓊𝓈

[supersoldier]

Currently in Aquila. I’m doing well enough.

[Perhaps he’s noticed by now, but Sephiroth is not a man keen on oversharing. Or sharing at all. But he can offer a sweeping, generalized explanation, even if it comes delayed.]

The army’s encouraged us to escort merchants who feel unsafe on the road.

[lackingtalent]

𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇. 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃 𝒮𝑜𝓁𝓋𝓊𝓃𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝓈𝑜 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓃.

[Escorting, hm. This could be useful.]

𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓈𝓀...
𝐼'𝓂 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝒸𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹.

𝑀𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓇𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈. 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓁𝓈, 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔?

𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎!

[supersoldier]

I don’t mind sharing.

[And he doesn’t.]

However, how would this information be useful to you? I'm only familiar with the creatures that live in the desert, and passingly. I can direct you to someone more familiar with the subject if you’re interested.

package, june 2

[carmesi]

[when the caravans arrive from their travels to drop off supplies from not-so-far-off lands, certain parcels get pulled away and taken to go through customs. they are not for businesses nor for sale, but for individuals. the fact that they are for summoned individuals raise an eyebrow.

and so, through customs it goes, opened, inspected, and then—when none of the items are deemed as questionable—they are repackaged and sent to their designated recipients.

sephiroth will find several bottles topped to the brim and a large wooden comb. the bottles, upon closer inspection, are an assortment of shampoos and conditioners, similar to those that wanda had given to him back at the summit. they've had more work on them, though, given that wanda has had the chance to ponder over these with her magic for a number of days instead of a moment's notice.

there will be no sender, and no letter explaining the parcel's content.]

mid-july.

[wiedzminka]

My client practically got robbed at the northern gate today. Raw materials. Nothing even that valuable.

What is going on with the military, Sephiroth?

[supersoldier]

We're being told to check for magical items that someone might be trying to slip through the gates. In my estimation? They're playing it extra cautious. They must be expecting some kind of threat.

I don't know more than that.

[wiedzminka]

Magical items? That's rather vague.

Sounds like an excuse to just take things from traders without paying.

Are they as open sharing information with you as they are with native Free City soldiers of your rank, as far as you can tell?

The increased military drills are getting obvious even to the general public. Things like that make people uneasy.

[supersoldier]

The soldiers have been nothing but willing to follow orders. That includes the drills, though looking for "magical items" via traders passing through the gate might be more to keep up the public image of security than anything else.

I'm not that high rank. Any information of importance doesn't make its way all the way down to me. But I know armies don't become more active in general for no reason.

shortly after the bombing of libertas.

[wiedzminka]

[ All she can do is wait. With Jaskier in the hospital, soldiers marching the streets and all the roads out of the city closed, Ciri has been forced to pace like a caged tiger, angry and frustrated. The first night was the worst; she'd almost tried to push her way back out anyway, to see Jaskier despite the curfew, but between Julie desperately trying to convince them otherwise and Geralt conceding, she'd stayed put as well.

The next day is only marginally better. She can go outside, but there's little to do but notice the hushed panic in the streets, citizens hiding, armed patrols swarming.

She finds out some parts of the army were deployed to Libertas via portal right away. Their pleasant evening cut short, Ciri's been worried about Sephiroth too, but with so much else to deal with, she waits until morning to reach out. Now, unsure if his regiment has gone or not, she concentrates on writing to him. ]

Where are you?

[supersoldier]

[They had been deployed shortly after the disaster struck, after fire had rained from the sky and left the city in a panic. Despite the quick mobilization, and the army's overall preparedness for the worst-case scenario, the sight of Libertas burning, so much of it already lost, jars even Sephiroth. He is not so military-hardened—nor so stoic—that the sights and sounds of people crying out (or the desperate dying in the streets, or families frantically searching for loved ones in collapsed rubble) cannot make his stomach sink like a stone. He knows war crimes when he sees them; he knows there is a line between a military victory, and senseless civilian deaths. It's been well crossed, at this point.

He is kept busy. Orders come down the pipeline to aid as many as they can, to free up those who might be stuck and suffocating under firey debris, and Sephiroth follows them without hesitation. Many soldiers in his regiment work franctically, almost panicked — these are their homes and families and friends, and they have reason to lend their aid to the point of exhaustion. He helps them, too, when he can.

Sephiroth’s barely had time to rest when Ciri’s message comes through, shining in his vision. A bright, shimmering contrast to the sight laid before him — an old museum, reduced to nothing but stone and detritus, only a fragment of what this city has lost.]

Libertas. My regiment was one of many deployed.

It’s terrible, Ciri.

[wiedzminka]

[ So he has gone, after all. She's not sure whether to be relieved or worried -- he can help, he has eyes on what's happening and can give them information, and it's unlikely that Libertas will be hit again, but something about Sephiroth being in the proximity of what had just happened, so soon, makes her feel uneasy. ]

How much of the city?

[ Remains? Is gone? She's not sure which to ask. ]

After the bombing.

[lackingtalent]

𝒴𝑜𝓊'𝓁𝓁 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓊𝓈𝓊𝒶𝓁 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈, 𝐼 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝑒. 𝒮𝑜𝓁𝓋𝓊𝓃𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹.

𝐼𝒻 𝐼 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓈𝓀, 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓊𝓃𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝒹?

[supersoldier]

I am.

[Dispensing of the pleasantries works well enough for Sephiroth, who has been kept very busy in the time that followed Libertas' destruction.]

The army was deployed to Libertas almost immediately. I'm there right now, trying to aid those I can.

[lackingtalent]

𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒.

𝒮𝑒𝓅𝒽𝒾𝓇𝑜𝓉𝒽...

[A pause before the writing starts once more.]

𝐼 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝒻𝑒𝓌 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒿𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝒻 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓈. 𝒯𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈, 𝒻𝑜𝑜𝒹, 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓇𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔.

[And another.]

𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓃, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝑜𝓊𝓉, 𝓌𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓈.

taken, feb 23.

[wiedzminka]

Sephiroth.

I'm with ̸̞̃the ̷̜̱́̈́others̶̝̜̐͌

get ̶̮̱̉̌i̴͙̓ń̶̹̥̂ ̶̙͙͊t̷̳͑̈o̷̰̓͘ũ̵̚͜ç̷̢̂h̵̫̀ ̷̝̜͒̒w̸̥͑ī̶͉th̴̺̿̌ ̷̤̮̃̈́V̵͖̊͑ȋ̴̯̮ktor ̵̙͒͗and Jayce

ȁ̵̲̳͎͍͐̄̒͋̐͘͠n̸̪̭̳̒̑̃̊͌̅͝d̵͚̹́͛̈́̐͝ Jas̷̲̏kieŕ̸̪̿

Ì̷͍̀ͅ'̵͚̋̈́m̴̜͎͗ ̷̫̓̄a̵̱̣̓l̷̫͙̏̑l̶̢͕̀ ̶̭̀̂ŕ̸̪̿į̸͉́g̶̤̈́h̷͖̑t̸̼̽. w̵̞̏e̴͙͆̄ ̷̳̎knoẃ̶̡͗ ̷͔̊ͅs̷̲̏omeon̷͚͂̓e̴̫̭͂̏ ̶̃ͅi̷̱̽̏s ̶̮̾c̴̺̼̉omin̴͕͌g̸͖̬̐̂.



w̷͈͆͋̋̉̂͊͆̎̓͝e̶̛̥̩̅̓̎͗͝ ̴̧̧͔͖͖̭̦̦̦͙̥͕͓̗̼̬̄͝w̴̧̧̦̳̙͖̦̯̖̝̙̓i̸̗̠̣̓̇̾́̏̀̀̋̍͛̾͝ļ̵̨̣̙̱̻͎̳͚̫̪̮̰͔̲̣̑̈́́̃́̋̀̈́͊͛̊̓͜l̸̮̲̤̅͌̈̏͂̓̉̃̉̓̓̑̕ ̴̢͙̺̤̼͍̲̤̼͉̱͔́͒̽͑̊̈́̌̒h̷͉̬̱̻̖͎̗͉̪̒̆̒̈́̃̄̿̈́̀̑̓̀̈́͋̏̚ơ̴̠̙͚̓͐̀̄̉̈̾͛̀̐̈̽̂̍̀͘͠͝l̶͍̩͍͑͂̒͊͊d̷̢͕̳̩̲̮͍̩̩̲̲̳̖̤̺͌͗̑̔͋͗̕ ̴̢̢̝̪͈̪͙͈̞̮͓̙̱͔̻̯̭̓͂͒̑̕͝ò̷͍̭̱̖̲̲̝̣͓̠̱̻̣̞̰̙̰͓͛̓̂͝u̸̙̐̆͛̀͊̐͝ţ̵̧̟̟͖̦̘͔̤̬̤̝̞̭̟̺̼̺̈́͌͆͋͛̽̀̈́̿̉̈̄̚͝ͅ

[supersoldier]

[Funny how quickly alarm (and that harsh edge of fear) can twist itself up and turn into something far more practiced: cold, cold resolve. Writhing anger at those who would do this.

His heart is thudding hard in his chest as he replies. (No, no, no-)]

Ciri
Where are you
Give me something to help me FIND you

[Get in touch with the others? Holding out? He wants something to go on; he needs to know how to reach her-]

[wiedzminka]

[ She can read most of his message, though she has to squint. It fades very quickly.

Maybe he hadn't been able to read hers? Ciri tries again. ]

T̶̰̒AL̸̼̓K ̷͈̉ TO̴̡̕ ̶͉̕ VIKTOR

I̶̗͘'m fine

ủ̵͉nderground̶̟͒ ŝ̶ͅŏ̶̙m̸̟̈e̸̠͘w̷̗̚h̶̻͋e̸͕͗r̸͇̈́e̴̤̕

̶̴̖̬̾̓cavern,̶̻͋ ̸̙́lots of fungus and plan̴̙̾ẗ̴̩́s̶͕͋

I̷͉͗'̷̞̍m̶͇̌ ̷̩̈with Geralt̸̳̀

early March; week 3 post-escape.

[wiedzminka]

Some of us made it out. Portal of some kind.

We're somewhere in the mountains north of the Singularity.

[supersoldier]

[Sharp and harried are the vibes of this reply. There is relief in the clarity of her message this time, but until she's there with him, Sephiroth's concern-turned-harsh-edges stick to him like a shadow.]

The mountains? Are you safe? Are you being pursued?

[wiedzminka]

Safer than before, I think. But I expect we'll be pursued, and the mountains likely hold their own dangers. Ones I'm more familiar with, when it comes to beasts and monsters.

Better than being trapped in that cave.

I'll check in once we've safely bedded down for the night.

[ In quite a few hours, according to the sun. But Ciri doesn't want to split her focus, between her own exhaustion hampering it and knowing others less used to the wilderness are relying on her.

Eventually, she does check in again, catching him up on how many people escaped, the fact others are still trapped, reassuring him briefly that she's physically well enough to fend for herself and that Geralt is with her. She'll let him know also that Viktor and Jaskier have maps of their approximate location and that she knows search teams are being put together.

She doesn't ask, but Ciri sort of expects him to be in one of them, honestly. ]

beginning of june / post demon-dean

[cointosser]

[After more than a week of Ciri sitting around, sighing, drinking, and hogging all of Mog's attention, Jaskier is quite aware she needs more. More... anything. And while he can push her out himself (and he has insisted she get some fresh air,) Jaskier knows that a second partner in crime will help break through her stubbornness.

It is her own worst enemy sometimes.]

I insist you come by and get Ciri. Invite her to a date, the beach, even a bloody inn if you must. But she needs to do something other than mope.

[It feels unfair to say, but... that is undeniably what she's doing. And he understands, as far as he can. But Jaskier knows -- has proven to himself many times before -- staying inside and drinking heavily only makes one's mind worse.] I'm worried for her.

[supersoldier]

[It's a good thing that Sephiroth is more than willing to act as a second partner in crime, so to speak. He should hate to call his recent interactions with Ciri a bit like pulling teeth, but that's exactly what it feels like -- it's difficult when she's holed herself up, stubborn, difficult to speak with, while he tries to balance his own military-dictated schedule, making their intersections of free time perhaps less than ideal.]

Is she still keeping to herself?

[Which is perhaps a silly question, he thinks a little too late, given the nature of this message. But when Sephiroth, of all people, declares that someone is "keeping to themselves" a little too much, you know there's a problem afoot.

He follows up with-]

We visited the beach once. Maybe it's time for a second trip.

[cointosser]

Well no shite, my boy, why do you think I'm messaging you?

[There's a huff involved somewhere in that message; he can probably feel it. They're bonded by their mutual pigeon hunting and the belief Jaskier has that he might be some sort of weird levitating witch, but if Ciri has to be interested in anyone, Jaskier certainly can't criticize her desires for handsome weird levitating witches.]

Good, yes! That's perfect. I know she enjoys Aquila's beaches. I'm giving her enough coin for the two of you to do whatever you wish. I only ask that you show her a good time.

[And maybe normal uncles would stop there.]

You know, perhaps the sort of good times neither I nor Geralt could provide her.

mail delivery • from solvunn

[carmesi]

[the package is non-descript, but it's definitely big enough to pique the curiosity of the recipient as to open it as soon as possible. it's definitely been checked through, tied up back into its box after the fact. inside, an amount of homemade goods have been stacked atop each other: candles, soaps, and moisturizing lotions. this would already spell out who it is from, if a similar package has been received, in the past.

a neat box lies at the bottom, though, and once unwrapped, it'll reveal a glass encasing for a terrarium. unfortunately, it looks like the trip was a little rough, and the stones and dirt is all over the place, as are the uprooted plants that one can imagine were once neatly organized. something to keep busy with, at least?

a small note sits under the box.]

Happy Winter Solstice.
𝓦anda 𝓜aximoff