[while Nathan was smart enough to get to Hellburbia before the fog set in in earnest, he wasn't strong enough to keep out of it forever. eventually, while leaving care packages at mist's edge, he swears he sees his brother's silhouette beyond, just out of reach, just out of earshot for all that Sam doesn't turn when he calls out to him. a second or two after that, and he's off after him, convinced that he can just dip in, grab Sam, and pull him back out. and maybe that's a a little naive, but it's better than the alternative. he's not leaving Sam to fend for himself again. he's not abandoning his brother to whatever little hell again, and so he goes]
[the bad news is that, once he's inside, he loses track of his brother, if it was really him in the first place, and his exit almost immediately. the good news is that he's been carrying a gun since this whole mess started. that's probably good news, right? maybe? at least it'll give him a fighting chance, if nothing else. he just has to find his way out. no big deal, right?]
[the worse news is that he gets Pyramid Head's attention fairly quickly, and when he runs into Yennefer, he literally runs into her as his attentions are focused over his shoulder, on the sound of metal dragging metal, approaching from behind. he recoils, then, like he's hit a wall and wheels on her] Shit. [a beat] Shit. [and then he's reaching for Yen's wrist] Come on, lady.
[if she lets him, he'll try and drag her behind cover. at this point, their best bet might just be to hide]
(yennefer had not trusted the prompt to hide out in hellburbia -- not after what happened in mercy. she had decided she would take her risks with the fog. of course, her magic is fritzing, especially for bigger spells so even if she wanted to portal them to safety she can't right now.
she's not a fan or strangers touching her but for now she'll allow it. especially since he wants to get out of here as badly as she does. she runs along side him, scouting for a good place to hide. it seems like their best bet.)
I've seen a lot of vile creatures in my time, that might be one of the worse.
[to his credit, at least, he lets her go once she falls into step with him. touching her was more about getting her going in the right direction than anything else]
Yeah, you and me, both. [he's seen bad; that's definitely worse] Bad part is that bullets don't seem to put a dent in it, either. At least most of what was trying to kill me back home stopped after I shot it a few times.
(she appreciates that he lets go rather quickly. always a good sign.)
Silver is usually the best thing for killing monsters in my world -- though I usually hold my own decently with magic -- but once again this place has decided to put a cork in my abilities. It's becoming an annoying habit.
[he pauses here, glancing between what appears to be an abandoned building and a cemetery that he's pretty sure doesn't exist, when things are normal. he shakes his head, either way, muttering:] God, this reads like a bad horror movie.
[a beat]
What do you think? Building or through the graveyard?
[he glances to her, again, at that, both surprised and not that she's never seen a movie] It's -- it's something I'll explain later. We really don't have the time, right now.
Right now -- graveyard it is.
[that would have been his choice, too, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad one. that someone else agrees is helpful]
I wasn't expecting an explanation, not right now. (because he's right, there isn't time for that right now. they need to be smart, and idly chitchatting would be the opposite of it. so instead she follows after him in the direction of the graveyard.)
[he really wasn't expecting that. most people would have asked, even given the situation. he's glad she's apparently more of a pragmatist]
[he also has no idea what to do with that, for all that his next topic of conversation would have been trying to stumble through explaining it when she inevitably asked. he's silent for a long moment, that in mind, before:] Nate, by the way. Nathan.
Yennefer of Vengerberg. (not that her home village has any worth or meaning here, but she is used to introducing herself formally. she also doesn't offer any nicknames, as those are reserved for few people. only geralt gets away with calling her yen, only istredd ever used yenna, and well....she'd prefer no one called her piglet, tissaia included.)
And uh, kinda? It's been almost nine months. [he's had longer prison stints, but -- still. it still feels noteworthy to think that he's almost been here a year. Jesus] You?
[Nathan pauses for a moment, silent, listening. he doesn't want to get caught off guard because they're talking as they move. thankfully, anything he can hear seems distant, if only for the time being, and so he continues on]
(yennefer tries to keep her senses alert too, even if she can't reach out with her magic to see what's ahead like she might normally. )
My world is cruel. Unpredictable. You enter, you survive, you die.
(she had said those words once to istredd in anger, and they still ring true, of course she probably should have died a long time ago, but sorceresses tend to have much longer life spans.)
[he glances back at her, eyebrows arching. okay, that's -- dramatic]
It depends, I guess.
[a beat]
You can have a pretty boring life, where I'm from, if you want it. [house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, that kinda thing] But I've never really been good with boring? [he ran from the white picket fence] So, I guess it's kinda -- we have demons?
I suppose there are those in my world that have had a boring existence, I was never given that luxury.
(nor did she want it when istredd had offered it to her. she wanted power and beauty and everything that came with it. she didn't realize the price that would come with it, what she was giving up.)
We have those too -- among other monsters. I'm a sorceress myself.
But magic's a little iffier, where I'm from? [does anyone, back home, have magic? did magic exist once? or is it all just science the people at the time didn't understand yet? who knows?] I'm just a guy who keeps running into -- into stuff like this, actually.
And I guess looks can be deceiving or whatever? [Caroline was his age, after all, despite how old she looked] But not everybody can secretly be a few hundred years old under the whole ... [looking young thing]
[little does he knows, Yennefer is one of those people]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action » during when the sirens ring out
[the bad news is that, once he's inside, he loses track of his brother, if it was really him in the first place, and his exit almost immediately. the good news is that he's been carrying a gun since this whole mess started. that's probably good news, right? maybe? at least it'll give him a fighting chance, if nothing else. he just has to find his way out. no big deal, right?]
[the worse news is that he gets Pyramid Head's attention fairly quickly, and when he runs into Yennefer, he literally runs into her as his attentions are focused over his shoulder, on the sound of metal dragging metal, approaching from behind. he recoils, then, like he's hit a wall and wheels on her] Shit. [a beat] Shit. [and then he's reaching for Yen's wrist] Come on, lady.
[if she lets him, he'll try and drag her behind cover. at this point, their best bet might just be to hide]
sorry this is so late
(yennefer had not trusted the prompt to hide out in hellburbia -- not after what happened in mercy. she had decided she would take her risks with the fog. of course, her magic is fritzing, especially for bigger spells so even if she wanted to portal them to safety she can't right now.
she's not a fan or strangers touching her but for now she'll allow it. especially since he wants to get out of here as badly as she does. she runs along side him, scouting for a good place to hide. it seems like their best bet.)
I've seen a lot of vile creatures in my time, that might be one of the worse.
no worries!
Yeah, you and me, both. [he's seen bad; that's definitely worse] Bad part is that bullets don't seem to put a dent in it, either. At least most of what was trying to kill me back home stopped after I shot it a few times.
no subject
(she appreciates that he lets go rather quickly. always a good sign.)
Silver is usually the best thing for killing monsters in my world -- though I usually hold my own decently with magic -- but once again this place has decided to put a cork in my abilities. It's becoming an annoying habit.
no subject
[he pauses here, glancing between what appears to be an abandoned building and a cemetery that he's pretty sure doesn't exist, when things are normal. he shakes his head, either way, muttering:] God, this reads like a bad horror movie.
[a beat]
What do you think? Building or through the graveyard?
no subject
I don't know what a movie is, but I'll take your word for it.
(she ponders her options, the building seems like the obvious answer -- which might make it more dangerous.)
Graveyard.
no subject
Right now -- graveyard it is.
[that would have been his choice, too, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad one. that someone else agrees is helpful]
Let's keep moving.
[and he's going to head in that direction]
no subject
I wasn't expecting an explanation, not right now. (because he's right, there isn't time for that right now. they need to be smart, and idly chitchatting would be the opposite of it. so instead she follows after him in the direction of the graveyard.)
no subject
[he really wasn't expecting that. most people would have asked, even given the situation. he's glad she's apparently more of a pragmatist]
[he also has no idea what to do with that, for all that his next topic of conversation would have been trying to stumble through explaining it when she inevitably asked. he's silent for a long moment, that in mind, before:] Nate, by the way. Nathan.
no subject
Yennefer of Vengerberg. (not that her home village has any worth or meaning here, but she is used to introducing herself formally. she also doesn't offer any nicknames, as those are reserved for few people. only geralt gets away with calling her yen, only istredd ever used yenna, and well....she'd prefer no one called her piglet, tissaia included.)
Have you been here long?
no subject
Yennefer.
[a beat]
And uh, kinda? It's been almost nine months. [he's had longer prison stints, but -- still. it still feels noteworthy to think that he's almost been here a year. Jesus] You?
no subject
Three or four months, I believe.
(time is a little hard to track here, but she's been doing her best.)
Sometimes I still feel like I'm catching up to the rest of you with how things work here though.
no subject
Culture shock, from the, uh ...
[the fact that, if he had to guess, he wouldn't peg her as being from modern day earth]
no subject
Cultural differences.
(she's not from earth at all, let alone a modern day version.)
no subject
What's your world like?
no subject
(yennefer tries to keep her senses alert too, even if she can't reach out with her magic to see what's ahead like she might normally. )
My world is cruel. Unpredictable. You enter, you survive, you die.
(she had said those words once to istredd in anger, and they still ring true, of course she probably should have died a long time ago, but sorceresses tend to have much longer life spans.)
What is yours like?
no subject
It depends, I guess.
[a beat]
You can have a pretty boring life, where I'm from, if you want it. [house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, that kinda thing] But I've never really been good with boring? [he ran from the white picket fence] So, I guess it's kinda -- we have demons?
[and ghouls and yetis and]
no subject
I suppose there are those in my world that have had a boring existence, I was never given that luxury.
(nor did she want it when istredd had offered it to her. she wanted power and beauty and everything that came with it. she didn't realize the price that would come with it, what she was giving up.)
We have those too -- among other monsters. I'm a sorceress myself.
no subject
[for better or worse]
But magic's a little iffier, where I'm from? [does anyone, back home, have magic? did magic exist once? or is it all just science the people at the time didn't understand yet? who knows?] I'm just a guy who keeps running into -- into stuff like this, actually.
no subject
I know someone like that.
(granted, geralt was made to hunt monsters, for situations like this, but still.)
At least the experience gives us an advantage compared to some people here.
no subject
[he really hopes they're somewhere safe]
no subject
I have seen some who are alarmingly young to already be condemned.
no subject
[a beat]
And I guess looks can be deceiving or whatever? [Caroline was his age, after all, despite how old she looked] But not everybody can secretly be a few hundred years old under the whole ... [looking young thing]
[little does he knows, Yennefer is one of those people]
no subject
That is very true. One cannot assume age by appearance.
(speaking as a woman much older than she looks.)
no subject
[like he said, not everyone can be older than they look]
[he shrugs, either way, that said and -- ] Hey, I think we're almost out of here. [the cemetery, at least. the fog is another story]