WHAT: Geralt comes to claim his Child Surprise WHERE: Morningside Apartments WHEN: Early Evening, August 29 WARNINGS: None! STATUS: COMPLETE Ratings/Warnings: G Ciri paced nervously across the floor of the rooms she'd been given. Everything was shiny and new and so very unfamiliar that it made her feel rather itchy. They had shown her how things worked and she had managed to get clean, and into a change of modern clothes, made of materials she was unfamiliar with, but she'd kept her own things close, in a neat pile. Mostly though, she was nervous and waiting for Geralt to show up. He'd said he would come, so he would come. He was her destiny, her Grandmother had made her swear to find him, and she had, but now… she didn't know exactly what that meant.
Was he meant to teach her to become a Witcher? Could he even do that here, in this world that was nothing like home? That girl Hazel had said he worked with horses now. And Julian- Jaskier, the bard, had said they would both look after her. What did that mean?
She was brimming with questions and didn't seem to be getting any answers. She hoped Geralt would at least give her some.
Geralt hadn't dealt with Cirilla's disappearance well. It had been sudden and while he'd seen other people come and go, having it happen to Ciri, whose fate at home was uncertain and who was near family to him ... it had brought home what this place was. It was impermanent, a stopping point rather than a destination. And building plans or hopes around it had seemed pointless because of that. He'd tried to withdraw, but Jaskier hadn't let him get away with it.
Still though, it was hard to put blinders back on once they'd fallen off. Geralt was happy to see her again, but he was wary too. It would be easy for her to disappear again, or for him to be the one to vanish and leave her alone. She should know that, eventually. But for now she could at least enjoy being safe while she could. It was a space to breathe, if nothing else.
He made his way to Morningside, swords on his back because Geralt wasn't really capable of being defenseless even here. But he was without his armor, dressed in modern clothes Jaskier had picked out when he made his way to the room Ciri had given him, knocking at the door and then calling her name quietly to let her know it was him.
Ciri was nearly vibrating with nerves and anticipation by the time Geralt showed up. Even as eagerly as she wanted to see him- see that it really was him, she was cautious when she opened the door, and it wasn't until she peeked through the crack, her eyes skirting over the modern clothing, up to Geralt's unmistakable eyes, and the white of his hair, looking over the two swords that everyone knew Witcher's carried that something inside finally broke, and she flung the door open and slammed herself against him, hugging him tightly. Harder even, perhaps than she had in the woods when destiny had been riding both of them.
Geralt grunted when Ciri's arms flung around him and she hugged him tight, his own arms curling more gently around her. At least this time he wasn't sporting any wounds for her to need to be careful of. "It's all right," he said quietly, giving her a very careful squeeze.
"Do you need anything? Food? Water? Are you hurt at all?" he asked, just in case. She seemed fine, but he knew she'd been through a lot and he didn't know if she'd have trusted strangers enough to take anything they gave her when she arrived.
His voice was low and gravel and just what she remembered, and it was some weird sort of comfort that curled low and deep and told her that finally, finally, she was safe. Her eyes maybe watered a little, and she pulled back, just staring at him for a long moment. She sniffled a little, and brushed quickly at her eyes, because she wasn't a child, it had just been a lot
"I… honestly don't know," she said with a watery laugh. "It's all so much, and everyone acts like they're trying to help, but it's hard to trust that, with everything else that happened." She drew another breath, letting the steel slip back into her spine, remember who and what she was. "They brought me some food, and there's water in the ice box, and I was able to clean up." She smiled brightly, or tried to. "No injuries. Just overwhelmed."
"I know," Geralt said. "You're doing better than I did when I arrived. I didn't come in from the woods for weeks," he said wryly. "I've been here for a while though. I know that doesn't sound like it makes sense. It's magic, of a kind. People here are generally not a threat, and tell the truth more than most I've known."
He nodded, letting her go carefully when she let him go. "They give everyone who comes here a place like this to stay. It's safe here, if you want to keep it, or you're welcome to come stay nearer to me. Whatever you want."
Ciri smiled a little wider, tentative, but pleased by the compliment. “Yes, but I thought Witchers were supposed to like wandering the woods hunting monsters?” She frowned a little, confused. “So even though I just got here, you’ve been stuck here longer? That’s very strange magic.” She frowned a little. “People lie,” she said flatly. “They lie and they hurt and betray. If you say it’s safe, I believe you, but that doesn’t mean I trust them yet.” Whatever had happened to after the sacking Cintra had clearly not been good.
“With you,” she said immediately, eagerly, and then bit her bottom lip, looking anxious. “If that’s really okay. Julian said you both could look after me, but I don’t want to be a burden. I…. Grandmother told me to find you. No one’s ever really explained why.”
"For coin, and to protect the population. Not just to avoid approaching a busy and unfamiliar place," Geralt said. "You don't have to believe them, until you're ready. But I can tell you which ones I've come to know and trust and you can decide for yourself."
Geralt's head tipped a little, expression puzzled. "Julian?" he asked. For all the things Jaskier had told him, his actual name had never been among them. "It's fine," he assured her. "We stay at a castle called Skyhold, there's room for you to stay too. Do you want to rest here first and then we can go?"
“Oh. I think you’re going to have to tell me which of the things I’ve heard are myths and which are truths.” She nodded at that and frowned slightly. “There was a monster. With Mousesack’s face. He kept telling me he was bringing me to you, but he was bringing me to the man with the black winged helmet. It… makes it hard to believe anyone.”
Her eyes narrowed a little, suddenly looking suspicious. “The bard? He said you were friends.” Then she remembered what else he’d said. “Everyone else calls him Jaskier?”
Fine wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement and it still really wasn’t an answer as to why it was so important she found Geralt. Other than destiny. But whose? Hers or his? “ No. no, this place is so strange. A castle sounds like a relief, really.”
Geralt frowned. "Mousesack's face? It might have been a Doppler, but most of them are harmless. I've heard of a type that isn't, but they're rare." He didn't like the idea that Nilfgaard had access to them. "I understand. I'll show you ways to detect creatures like that."
He blinked. "Jaskier said his name was Julian?" he repeated. "He is my friend. He just never mentioned that name. I've always known him as Jaskier. He lives with me at Skyhold. You can always trust him, too."
He gave her a small half smile. "Don't be too certain it will be familiar. It's been upgraded to be more like this place too. But you'll like the water and plumbing. And the heating. Come, what did you have with you, we'll take it with us."
"Whatever it was, it got away, but if it was wearing his face, that means Mousesack is dead, doesn't it? That's what it said." Ciri said, sounding sad and unsure, but the grief- well she didn't have time for that. Not on top of everything else. She looked back at him, hopeful. "Will you teach me how to use a sword too?"
"Yes? I mean, that is his name. But he said Mother and I were the only ones who used it." She shrugged. "Bards. They're good at stories." Whichever name Julian was using, Ciri was just glad that Geralt had someone else he knew here if he'd been here so much longer.
Ciri made a plaintive face, and sighed a little. "Well. So far I like the plumbing and the water being clean. It just feels like everything is so shiny and polished. Like being surrounded by mirrors."
Geralt looked very slightly pained. Mousesack had been a friend, more than that briefly, when he was younger. More importantly, he was important to Ciri. "Most likely," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Ciri."
He hesitated, thrown by the rapid change in topic, but nodded. "Of course." He had been already, but she didn't remember. That was still strange to think of.
"He is good at stories. But he'll tell you the truth if you ask him to, always. He's a good man." Who apparently had never bothered to tell Geralt his name. Geralt doubted it was on purpose, but he was going to mention it, nonetheless, often as Jaskier had complained about Geralt withholding details.
"There's calmer places, nearer the woods, or there's a Farm and Skyhold has stables. Places that will feel more normal to you. It just won't be exactly like home," Geralt told her. For one thing, there were magical creatures in the stables.
"Which means he survived the sacking of Cintra, only to get killed so someone could get to me," she said flatly, pain twisting her expression for a moment, before she sighed, rubbing at her temples for a moment. "So much has happened, most of which I didn't understand. I was just… trying to survive, and then this happened on top of all that." She was still trying to process, probably, but it was just a mess in her head. "Me too. He was a good man. He protected us as long as he could."
She looked excited at that idea, having no idea Geralt had done this once before. "Good. I think things would have gone easier, if I'd known how to use a weapon sometimes." There had certainly been some people she wouldn't have minded stabbing.
"Mother liked him, I think. He stopped coming, I think, a few years after she died. Grandmother wasn't as big on bards and music afterwards," Ciri admitted.
"One of the girls said you worked with the horses? Are there a lot of them? I didn't think you'd like horses. I guess you must ride one though? You can't have gone walking all over the place looking for monsters." Ciri was apparently very intrigued about the idea of horses, at least. "Home was gone a long time before I got here, Geralt," she said quietly. "Home's long gone even back where we were."
"He survived long enough to do what he wanted to do then, keep you alive. He'd have been proud of that," Geralt told her, awkward but genuine. Mousesack had been devoted to Cintra. Geralt hadn't understood it, but he did believe it.
"There are talented smiths here, we'll get you something made to suit you, when you're ready to move from practice blades. There's classes here so you can spar with people other than me and Jaskier, or our friend Eliot, too."
"He traveled with me, much of the time," Geralt admitted. "Not always, but we would meet up on and off, over the years."
Geralt smiled a little. "I like horses. I have one that's been with me many years, her name is Roach. She's expecting a foal next summer, since this is the first time we've been in one place for long. There are a fair few mounts of all kinds at the stables. I'm thinking of expanding the stables, with permission, and adding a few more. There's ... less need to fight, here. I've been trying to do other things. Home is not something I've felt I had either, for a long time. But I'm sorry that you lost yours."
"Yes," she agreed. Ciri would have preferred that he live though. Geralt was trying though, that much was obvious, and she appreciated it.
She looked very pleased at the idea of getting to play with a sharp object, maybe too pleased, but it'd been a hard few weeks. "Maybe, if I get good. Otherwise you and Julian- Jaskier, are probably fine." She wasn't too enthusiastic about expanding her circle of trust just yet.
"That long?" He must have gotten grayer by now, Ciri supposed.
"You named your horse Roach? Did you not like her?" Ciri asked, wrinkling her nose. She could hear the fondness in Geralt's voice though, and it made her smile. "Does she get mad if you ride any others?" She hummed. "So I should probably think about looking for things to occupy my time, is what you're hinting at?" She stepped back, long enough to grab the bag that contained all she owned. Her old clothes, the new communication device, and the two other changes of clothing she'd been given. "Me too," she said shortly. "But Grandmother told me to find you, and I did, and now you found me again, so whatever is next, you'll look after me," she said confidently, because she couldn't fathom any other truth. "This is everything I had."
Even with months in Vallo behind him, and the gain and loss of Ciri under his belt once, Geralt was not that accomplished with comfort. He made the attempt though. He knew from experience there was little that could be said to ease grief. It always took its own time to pass.
"You can call him whatever you like," Geralt assured her. "And it will be enough for now. You'll probably be better than the bard soon enough. He prefers his lute and knives to a sword."
"Twenty years, more or less," Geralt said. Not that he'd realized that at the time. Geralt paid very little attention to the passage of time, and he'd somehow never noticed that Jaskier wasn't getting any more grey.
He smiled a little. "I've always named them Roach." Eskel had complained much the same. "She doesn't mind that, but there's not much need of it here. There's ways to get around here, and she's early yet, she can be ridden fine." He shook his head quickly. "No, this is ... a break for you, from what you had to live through. You can recover, rest, take your time. Do things you enjoy, if you like."
He took the bag from her. "You found me," he agreed. "And here, you'll be safe. The Lioness would be proud of you."
Ciri gave Geralt a look, as if trying to see if he was sincere on that. He'd seemed very taken aback by Ciri calling him that in the first place. "You can teach me swords and he can teach me knives?" She wouldn't mind learning both. The lute was not something she was terribly interested in.
Twenty years, that was more than Ciri had been alive. Jaskier definitely had to be going grey then. She wondered how old he had been when he'd visited Cintra.
"You always name them after an insect?" She said, grimacing. Poor horses. "Well if she can forgive you for her name, I guess she'll forgive you anything." She frowned a little. "But I should use the time to be productive, shouldn't I? I mean… unless we're stuck here forever? She frowned. "I don't really know what I like. There were things I was supposed to do, and things I was expected to do. The things I wanted to do weren't really… princess things?"
She huffed a little, not sure he was correct, but willing to take the praise. "I survived," she agreed. "That was the first step."
Geralt didn't mind Jaskier having another name. He'd just been surprised to not know. Jaskier generally wasn't one who played things close to the chest in most things, so Geralt forgot that there were a few things he didn't speak often of. But he seemed genuine enough and he nodded to her. "He can. And lute or music if you want. It doesn't always have to be fighting while you're here for you, either."
He smiled again. "A fish," Geralt corrected. "There were a lot of them in the waters where I got the first Roach." A naming original Geralt was not. "It's not forever, but you don't know how long it will be, either. And the way the magic works, your time here may not be remembered at all." He hesitated and then confessed slowly. "You've been here before. But it happens like that, people come and go and often forget they were here before, and no one back in their world knows they were gone. So your time here can be whatever you want it to be. Productive or not. Princess things or not."
"Surviving is always the most important step. Usually the hardest, too," Geralt said. "Your grandmother and I didn't agree on much, but her being proud of you, I know for sure would be true."
"Good. I want to know how to defend myself next time something wearing my friend's faces comes after me," she said fiercely. "No, I don't need to learn a lute," she said. "I doubt I've got any musical talent."
"A fish? Geralt, that's hardly better. Poor horse." She blinked at him, and frowned. "What… do you mean I've been here before? I… I was here and I left and now I'm back? But I don't… " she paused, and shuddered a little. "Are you sure its safe? It doesn't sound safe, it sounds awful." And if she wasn't going to remember any of it, anything she did wouldn't matter anyways, so what was the point?
She sighed and then nodded and then stepped forward and leaned into his side, closing the door behind her. "Okay. Thank you."
Ciri barely knew what her own talents were. But Geralt didn't see any need for her to learn music if she didn't want to, though Jaskier might have liked it. He could play for her at least. "You'll be able to do that. But you won't have to, here. I promise. The most harrowing thing I've seen since I arrived has been strangely vicious rabbits."
"She doesn't seem to mind it anymore than she minds anything else," Geralt said. Like Geralt, Roach could be prickly.
"It's safe," Geralt said again. "It's not understandable, but it's safe. Strange things happen here, Ciri, and it's ... not easy to get used to being in a place where things just happen and you can't find a cause. But the days here are easier and safer than any you've known since you left Cintra. It's not ... simple. But it's not awful. There are a lot of good things and good people. Some people get places like these for years, lifetimes even. Others don't. There's no way to know. All you can do is enjoy it while you have it."
He wrapped his arm around her slim shoulders carefully. "I'm here to help you," he promised, starting to lead her down the hall and back to the elevators to take them both to Skyhold.