middaeg | ( SEMI-OPEN ) march catch-all

[ Yen will call bullshit in a moment, focusing on answering the question first to get the initial business out of the way. ]

Asriel, I believe.

[ She was still trying to get used to the devices in this world, but with Ferran directing her to the conversation, it certainly made it easier. ] Possibly some basic experience fighting, but likely just habits in need of correction.

[ And they had an assortment of daggers in the drawer upstairs, Yennefer adding a few more lately to find something else to earn a quick smile. One of which she'd be willing to part with if it was going to a good cause. Or she could possibly bring him a few wooden swords if he wanted to start with something fully non-lethal. Or at least, non-lethal in untrained hands, fairly certain both of them could kill someone with a wooden sword if they tried hard enough. ]

[ Mm. It'd be a solid distraction, he thinks. Taking on a student. It isn't only Jaskier that's made him take greater care before picking a job. It's that he's well aware he's not at his best right now. Not the kind of place he wants to be in when hunting.

Teaching, though. ]

Sounds simple. [ If it's Yennefer who's asking, he's willing to at least meet the boy. See where things go. ] Tell him to come next week. On the hour past dawn.

[ Is he going to make the boy get out of bed just after sunrise? He certainly is. ]

[ She’d be lying if she said him taking on a student and staying close to home would be an unwelcome sight. Just as she’d be lying if she said it was fine for him to take on a dangerous job without help, dashing off into the forest with an exhausted death wish.

Her eyebrow arches at the time, more than a little concerned but hopeful that the enthusiasm of the kid will get him up. Though, she’ll also be waiting to make sure if the child is late, he isn’t punished. Even so, she’s going to change the time. Both for the kid and for Geralt. Unless Geralt can convince her otherwise. She understood the exercise, having been pulled out of bed in the dead of night to do her own exercises, sleep was a foreign concept to most students. But they weren’t at home. ]

You know, some people do sleep.

[ She’s not going to admit that it’s been strange waking up alone after foolishly allowing herself to grow accustomed to his presence. So, she does what she does best, attempting to ease some of his personal tension and concern with a bomb of her own. ]

If you’re worried about finding yourself walking into Jaskier’s nightmare, I already have. So, I doubt that will happen again anytime soon. [ At least, that was the hope and the goal. ]

[ Geralt matches her raised eyebrow. There's clearly a topic she's looking to broach and as much as Geralt doesn't want to go there, he's well aware they will. She's not just here to ask him to take on a student, he knows.

-- Wait. His hand hovers over his sword. He narrows his eyes. ] You what?

[ Ah, shit. When? No, he knows when. That night, he'd felt it, that something had been wrong. Another nightmare, he'd thought. He hadn't realized it'd been another shared dream. He'd ask why no one thought to fucking tell him, but he suspects what her answer would be. He's also not concerned about walking into Jaskier's mind. That, he can handle. It's the other way around he's been trying to avoid. ]

It's not his nightmares. [ He puts his weapon aside. His tail is stiff. ] It's mine.

[ It's fair that he might've assumed it was just another normal nightmare for Jaskier given she'd been so focused on staying calm for him that it might not have even tripped any indications for Geralt.

And they'd handled it.

Geralt had pointedly kept his distance and Yen didn't see the need to rush to find him after the fact because... They'd gotten through it. Alive and whole. She steps closer, watching his body language as the sword is set aside. Something in her knows he'd been keeping his distance thinking he was protecting them. ]

I'm working on finding other protections to ensure privacy for everyone. But, even after all this has calmed, do you intend to maintain that distance for the rest of time? In your attempt to mitigate the risk?

[ She wasn't sure if distance was a factor, given the strength of their bond some days, but she did believe it was a delay of the inevitable. His life was his own to keep to himself, Yen never pressing for details of what he'd experienced growing up. That wasn't their relationship most days, keeping the secrets they needed to without seeking out more unnecessarily.

You can't avoid us forever rests on the tip of her tongue, but she keeps it in -- unsure if she'd be able to control her tone. Strangely, she somehow wasn't in the mood for an unnecessary argument when it came to sleeping arrangements. ]

[ It's a fair question. It also, on a visceral level, doesn't feel fair because the amount of good answers he has for her is exactly zero. His body language grows no less tense.

It's not as if he's enjoyed being alone. Somehow he'd gotten used to having her beside him at night, turning over and knowing she'll be there. It's just... ]

What would you have me do? Trap both you and Jaskier to get it over with?

[ After the first time it'd happened, he'd already been hesitant to leave himself so open. Since Jaskier's capture, that's only grown. Jaskier does not need reminders of his own shit by peering into his Bonded's mind. Not when he's only just gotten better. ]

[ The question is a valid one, but on some level it… stings? Is that what she’s feeling? It shouldn’t bother her this much, telling herself she’s having this conversation for Jaskier, wanting him to have some semblance of normalcy restored. She sighs, letting a hand fall to her hip as she shifts her weight. ]

It’s going to happen at some point, whether we want it to or not. And, for what it’s worth, I believe it’s easier to attempt to take control of the dream and possibly shift it if we’re all there. If we can’t end it quickly.

[ She lets that linger for a moment, not bothering to mention the magical preventative measures again, still too much of a work in progress and fate always has a way of circumventing that which is unavoidable. Despite her best efforts some days. ]

We’re far more prepared for it now than we were with mine. Depriving yourself of a good night’s rest is only putting you in danger should something as drastic or dangerous as the Circle resurfaces. [ Call her crazy, but she had a feeling an exhausted Witcher was often a dead Witcher. She’d rather dance around in his dreams for one night if it meant his safety long term. And what a thought is that, enough to give her momentary whiplash. ]

Yen. [ What she's saying is true. It would be safer than waiting for it to implode with no warning. It is not easier, though, and for all that Geralt tends to tackle problems head first, there are a number of them he's gone out of his way to ignore.

I can take care of myself. The reply is on the tip of his tongue. Perhaps a few seasons ago, he'd have said it without a second thought. After everything, though—after Jaskier's disappearance—he thinks he hears what she's not saying: that she's not ready to lose him over this. He's not willing to leave them in danger, either, because he's too distracted to keep them safe.

He meets her gaze, then sighs. The shift of his posture is uneasy, a sign he's beginning to relent to something he's been trying to avoid. ] You sound like Vesemir.

[ There are certain ways Geralt says her name that can either give her pause or drive her forward. This was just the version of her name where he knows she's right, he just isn't ready to admit it. The kind of tone that tells her there's a chance it could turn into something firmer if she pushes the wrong way.

His own interpretations aren't wrong, though. It was often when others were trying to keep those they cared about safe that they fucked up. Pushing people away in the name of protection only to drive them further into danger. There was strength in having all of them together, and likely an ease to navigating the dreams if she could repeat reshaping the memory again. At least until they can figure out how to block it entirely. Because, for once, this wasn't about her and it wasn't about him. It was about all of them and isn't that just a ridiculous idea for Yennefer to try promoting. Something meant for the benefit of everyone, nothing quite so self-serving as she might try to frame it.

A bit of tension leaves her body at his comment, giving a soft laugh. ]

I'll take that as a compliment. And an acknowledgement that I'm not wrong, even if you're loathe to admit it.

[ It probably takes less to convince him than it should. In truth, he's missed her. Them. It's funny. For how much time he's spent alone, he's gotten used to having company quickly. Perhaps the bond has much to do with it. ]

He's not as easy on the eyes.

[ She's not wrong. And he is loathe to admit it, but he's not arguing anymore, either, which is about as good as a win when it comes to him. Geralt gathers his sword, sliding it back into its leather bag before he slings it over a shoulder. ]

So how come you're promising my services to another, anyway? Someone I should know?

[ She shouldn't laugh, but she does. The sound humming a bit in her chest as she crosses her arms. An eyebrow arches as she studies his face, Someone somewhere would be disappointed to learn all Witchers weren't as ruggedly handsome as they were dangerous.

Yen watches him with a sharp gaze as he packs up his sword, keeping her own stance still as he adjusts. ]

Rest assured, I do not intend to make a habit of it. I did not make the suggestion, just assured Ferran I'd ask as he remembered my mentioning you when he and I had discussed learning to use the sword he'd had in his bag.

[ A corner of her lip curls up as her gaze finds his. ]

I'm sure I can find a way to compensate your for your time.

[ With that, she gives him a little lift of her chin and begins to head back into the house -- leaving him the choice to follow. ]

( SEMI-OPEN ) march catch-all

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