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[vrdantwind]

"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."

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[vrdantwind]

Hah! A fun theory, but not likely. He's totally gone on Sylvain, remember? I doubt he cares what I get up to. [And is there just the tiniest whiff of wistfulness in the way Claude words that? Maybe. His tone's light enough, so Jaskier may have to do some reading into things if he wants to catch it. Of course, being a bard of a romantic bent, it's just the sort of thing Jaskier might indeed read into...especially after Claude's defending Felix in a manner similar to Jaskier's defending Geralt. Jaskier may see the parallels between more than just Felix and Geralt here.

And surely he'd love to have a little counter-ammunition against Claude.

Claude hums thoughtfully at Jaskier's questions while the other man potentially chews that matter over, however.] I wouldn't say intentionally fake - certainly not with you. Shall we say...curated? I don't think you're trying to trick people, or be false - I think you, as a performer and a romantic, naturally want to present a certain image. The most polished, attractive side of yourself. Most people do that, of course, but I think a performer is going to be even more inclined than most. As for myself... [He smiles.] I won't say I try to be fake, either, but as someone with quite a few secrets, I definitely pick and choose what to reveal, what to let people see. I let as much of my real self through as I can without compromising anything, of course, because - well, why wouldn't I? It's easier and a lot more pleasant to be able to be genuine when I can. But even that comes through a filter of calculation, of risk/reward assessments. So both of us - to some degree we pick, choose, polish what we show the world. And sometimes that may mean outright lies and concealment - whether it's to deceive others, protect ourselves, or both. The two aren't exactly mutually exclusive things.

But Felix...he hardly ever does that. A lot of times what he shows or what comes out of his mouth, he doesn't even think about first, and then sometimes he gets to regret it later. Not exactly on the same spectrum as people like us.

[He pauses, then laughs.] Well, I guess he does do some dissembling of his own. He'll often get prickly or angry to hide the softer parts of him - because he wants to protect himself, too. Though I'm not sure I'd call that anything less than genuine, since irritation and anger are his go-to response for most things...including feeling vulnerable.

[He waves a hand, though, as if to casually dismiss Felix as a subject of conversation. (Whether or not Jaskier allows this if he smells something juicy is up for debate.)] Really, it sounds as there's not a single aspect of life, however minor, that being a witcher doesn't impact in some way. I'd never treat them as any different - certainly not any less - than human, but considering that it seems like every aspect of their lives is altered from how non-witchers experience it, I can almost understand why people think of them as something other. It sounds like there's barely any similarities between how witchers and non-witchers perceive the world...even something as simple as the way they taste things is totally foreign to us, and vice versa. It must be an incredibly difficult life...

[There's nothing but thoughtfulness and sympathy in Claude's words. He's speculating, but observing the massive gulf of difference between witchers and non-witchers doesn't seem to bring out any divisiveness in him. Not surprising, really, since Claude has made no secret of embracing differences between people.]

Unfortunately, I think s'mores are probably overly sweet for a witcher, between the chocolate and the marshmallow, so we may not be able to share this treat with him. But you can be the judge, if you have an idea as to his tastes. [He smiles at Jaskier.] And I suppose we could try them over something not a campfire, but they can be a little messy. The marshmallows here undergo some amazing transformations when you apply heat. We'd have to be careful.

[rollstoseduce]

[Jaskier is, indeed, good at reading too much into things, so he watches Claude's reaction closely, trying to decide how to approach this. Usually he wouldn't even hesitate to attack, but after their little text exchange? It's hard to choose something that Claude can't use against him as well. Like that many people have room in their hearts for more than one person speech he got after he brought up Yennefer. That would be fucking perfect to use right now! It would also bring his own doom.]

Does he not? The first thing he did when he met me -after ignoring my perfectly good introduction and my offered hand, may I add- was to call me "the business that came up".

[He steals back his mug of hot chocolate to drink some more while Claude explains what he meant. The most polished, attractive side of yourself, he says and- okay, Jaskier can admit that is fair enough. He still wouldn't put himself on the same level of calculated presentation Claude does for his own persona, but it seems that while Claude acknowledges the similarities between them, he also accepts they aren't on the same level, judging by that degrees comment.]

Respect doesn't make history. [He finally replies, a phrase he told Geralt over two decades ago and still believes in. It's not that he likes how much polishing his storytelling must go through, but you gotta do what you gotta do. And Claude understands that, which is refreshing by itself. Being prickly to protect your softer side reminds him of Geralt and ugh, what an awful comparison. Comparing Geralt to Dimitri is fine, but to Felix? Heaven forbid.] That's a lot of words just to say Felix simply doesn't know how to have good manners. [Wink~! Definitely only teasing, Jaskier loves words.] But alright, I do concede your point. Your reasoning, however, brings up an interesting observation: if Felix was protecting himself from my presence, that means the subject of our benefits arregement made him feel vulnerable.

[So that's a no to dropping the Felix subject, sorry Claude (not).

The bard visibly tenses when Claude says he can almost understand why people think of witchers as something other, and he has to remind himself this is just his friend expressing his understanding of how different Geralt is and he doesn't actually mean it in a bad way. His tone is sympathetic and Jaskier knows the shit Claude has gone through, so he would be the last person on the planet to judge a witcher for what he is. But what he can say? Old habits die hard, and this songbird will always be ready to jump in and use his song to protect his wolf.]

Difficult barely starts to describe it. And while I appreciate your compassion, Claude dear, I must ask you for a little favor: don't ever word it like that to him. He may complain about being called human and refuse to be put on the same level as our kind, but bringing attention to the differences may sour a conversation.

[Jaskier does talk about the mutations often to him, even tease him about them, but he's earned that right, earned Geralt's trust... and even then the witcher still get grumpy at him for doing so sometimes. Touchy subjects don't stop being touchy overnight, after all.]

You're correct, it may be too sweet for him. But speaking of trying out new things- [He suddenly grins, a mischievous glint on his blue eyes.] I thought we could do some shopping before heading for the inn. I don't know if you've noticed this, but this world has entire stores dedicated to sex paraphernalia.

[He raises his eyebrows, his excitement about the mere idea more than obvious.]

[vrdantwind]

[Okay, Claude has to sputter with laughter for a moment.] Oh, gods. Classic Felix, he's got all the tact of a brick to the teeth. [He shakes his head, smiling.] Anyway, a day without Felix grousing about some incredibly minor inconvenience would be like a day where the sun refused to come up. I wouldn't bother reading too much into his rudeness.

I wouldn't read too much into his prickliness, either. It's a constant, preemptive defense; he's like that literally all the time. It's when he lets himself be vulnerable that it's noteworthy, not when he's trying to avoid it.

[The fact that Felix has definitely let himself be vulnerable around Claude - in ways Felix has himself admitted he's vulnerable around no one else - is something Claude wisely holds back. He'd never hear the end of it.

He listens to Jaskier's advice attentively.] I'll keep that in mind. I don't want to offend someone who's so important to you, after all.

I personally have my doubts humanity is something that's easy to wipe out of someone who started human - certainly not by things like altering how their senses work. Geralt might be on a different level from non-witchers, but I'd take some convincing to believe that he's somehow less human for that. I can just see how easy it must be for witchers and non-witchers to feel like they've got very little common ground - it sounds like the differences are more obvious than the similarities.

[He cocks an eyebrow at Jaskier.] So he doesn't want to be associated with 'humans' like us, but pointing out the things that make him different from people like us won't go over well...it sounds like he's not exactly at peace with that perceived separation. I wonder why he insists on it himself, then...?

[But then all other topics are shelved at Jaskier's suggestion, and Claude's eyes light up.] I hadn't noticed it yet, but I imagined there must be advances in that area...and I've been dying to find out what they are. And what better company could I ask for, for an adventure like this?

Ah, but before we go, and before I forget...I have a gift for you. [And he reaches down to his belt, pulling out a PokéBall and sliding it across the table.] I caught this little guy in Ilex Forest, and I thought of you immediately. He makes music!

[rollstoseduce]

He hated me from the moment he saw me, so excuse me for doubting my personality or his preemptive defense have anything to do with it. [A snort.] You? Refusing to read into people's actions? Well, color me surprised.

[He wants to say more - he should say more, but again, he's aware he's playing with fire. Anything else he may say has the potential to be used against him.

And now it's Jaskier's turn to cock an eyebrow at Claude for that comment.] As much as I appreciate the sentiment, my dear, please also don't offend any witcher that may show up and isn't so important to me. They deserve better.

[Well, perhaps not all of them, he's heard some nasty stuff about the Cats... but the point still stands.

Claude's question is a difficult one, a question that has spawned more than one argument. Jaskier sighs as he stares at the empty mug in his hands, lost in thought for a moment. So much to say about it, where to begin? What would count as breaking Geralt's trust? As much as he sings about the witcher, Jaskier still hasn't actually put any secrets in his songs. But some things should be well understood by the people, he thinks, in order for Geralt to have a better life.]

Because he thinks it's what he deserves. He may not be a human but I promise you, there's more humanity in him than in both of us combined.

[The thing about Jaskier is that he's very prone to emotional whiplash - he can go from one mood to the other in seconds. And he does exactly that right now, serious face beaming as it looks up at the mention of--] A gift? For me?

[He grabs the Pokéball and releases... a cute little red guy that now stands in the middle of the table, showing off his sparkly color for them as his antennae hit each other to produce the music Claude mentioned. Jaskier laughs and claps his hands together, delighted as he can be.]

Oh, listen to him! A little living percussion box! And he sparkles, too! Don't think I don't know how rare those are. We shall make lots of music together, my new friend. [The Kricketot nods with a happy chirp before Jaskier sends him back to his Pokéball, followed by leaning over the table again to peck Claude's cheek.] Thank you, darling. I must say, such a gift deserves proper compensation. [Wink~] I think you should get extra pickings at the store.

[vrdantwind]

Oh, come on. [Claude gives him a faint smile.] Do you think I'd want to offend other witchers just because they aren't special to you? I just meant I especially don't want to upset someone you care about, not that that's the only reason I care to avoid it.

As for thinking he doesn't deserve to be considered human...he sounds a lot like Dimitri in that. I don't know what brought on that level of self-loathing in him, but I haven't seen anything to suggest he deserves any less than anyone else. He's on the surly, unsociable side, but so what? So is Felix. As was Dimitri, for a time. That doesn't mean he's not a good man who deserves as much kindness as he'll sit still for.

[Still, they can't talk about Geralt all day, and Claude is happy enough to shift to lighter topics. He grins with clear pleasure at Jaskier's delight with his gift.] Well, I certainly won't complain about being able to get more fun things to play with today, but I do wonder if that isn't you just treating yourself as much as me. [He winks.] After all, I think we'll both get use out of whatever haul we come away with, won't we?

[rollstoseduce]

Please, let's not compare Felix to Geralt. [He says as he wrinkles his nose. A bit hypocritical of him, considering his brain has done the same comparison already... but he's been working on shutting those down, okay!!!] And indeed, that's the gist of it. You can try telling him so next time you see him, but I'm afraid he won't take you seriously. He still doesn't even believe me.

[Which frustrates him a bit sometimes. He knows you can't heal trauma overnight, but after 22 years? Jaskier thinks Geralt could at least show some trust in his compliments for the witcher.

But yes, Jaskier is happy to shift topics as well. And he brightly laughs at Claude's comment - which is absolutely right.]

Of course we will! But that doesn't mean we can't favour some preferences over others, does it? [He winks as well as he stands up and proceeds to put on his cloak and grab his bag. His order was paid when it was made, so he's ready to go.] Have you looked around in the "internet" or are you going in completely blind? We visited one of these shops soon after we arrived merely to satisfy our curiosity and I must say, it's impressive how this technology allows so many different things to vibrate.

[There's one macaron left on the plate so before leaving, Jaskier grabs it, snaps it in half and offers one half to Claude... by putting it on his lips.

Look. This world is open about relationships, Jaskier wants to bask in that feeling, alright?]

[vrdantwind]

Well, maybe it's not how believable any one person is, but how much he needs to hear it and from how many people. [Claude taps his chin thoughtfully with a finger.] Or it could be that he thinks you're biased from being so close to him, and therefore he doesn't trust your judgment to be objective? Or for you to tell him the truth. So maybe it'll be easier to believe coming from someone with no particular reason to lie to him...

[He laughs as he follows Jaskier to his feet.] I admit, I haven't looked into it much. I could have, I suppose, but after such a long dry spell back home...well, I got in the habit of gently avoiding things that could get me too worked up when I couldn't afford the distraction. And then, once I found you... [He winks.] Well, I prefer to preserve my interest for our meetings. The wait makes the release all the more intense, I find. So getting to sate my curiosity on the advances in this field alongside you, and then explore those advances together afterwards...I have to say, that's the perfect arrangement.

[He readily takes that half a macaron from Jaskier's fingers, and if he gives the man a coy look between his lashes as he does and brushes his lips against Jaskier's fingers...well, it just goes to show that Claude knows exactly how to work with what he's got, and also that he knows his audience.]