jaskoleczka | { pfsb } on the Path

He gives her a close look at her hesitation, but does not ask, yet.

"I have been traveling for some time," he offers. "Night hunting, and some other matters. Here, Wei Ying and I have visited another world--"

The faintest hint of mischief enters his tone, barely a flicker, something most would miss.

"--although for you I am aware that might not be worthy of note, for us it was an adventure. And--"

All signs of amusement fade as he finishes,

"-- my brother has found the inn."

She grins at that ever-so-slight hint of humor and is ready to leap on it when he continues and her smile fades as his tone changes.

"Not a good thing, I take it?" she asks. "Or simply a complicated thing?"

"Complicated," he agrees. "It was a shock for him."

"I can see how it might be," she says, dry, and glances around the room for exaggerated effect.

One corner of his mouth twitches in the barest hint of a smile.

"Yes," he agrees. "That, among other things."

"Hmm," she says, sounding more like Geralt than she knows, and takes a sip of her ale.

"If you'd like to talk about it, I'll listen. I can't promise any good advice, but my ears work just fine."

"You have only just returned," he protests. "I do not wish to trouble you with things that cannot be changed."

She smiles at him and cups her hands around her bowl, feeling the warmth of it seep into her palms.

"My shoulders may not be very broad, Lan Wangji, but they're strong enough to hold a few more troubles," she tells him. "Especially if it will help a friend."

It silences him, as it has before, when she calls him friend. Lan Wangji studies her face for several moments before he nods.

Slowly, almost in a mirror of her movement, he settles his fingers against the sides of his teacup, as if to give himself something to do with his hands.

"My brother is concerned," he says, finally. "Worried, even. About me."

He makes himself draw a breath that is carefully steady; makes his tone remain quiet and even.

"That I am spending too much time away from our world. From what has been my home. From my family, and my duty."

This waystation is not your home. Look to your world, Lan Zhan. The words of the prophecy ring in his ears like the tolling of a bell, although he does not speak them.

"And he is ... concerned... about Wei Ying."

She eats quietly as he speaks – she has no wish to be rude, but she's very hungry, and surely Lan Wangji will forgive her this small impropriety – but listens closely.

"About Wei Wuxian? Why?"

Wei Wuxian is dead, Wangji, he hears his brother say, in memory. He is a spirit. He is a ghost. And a ghost cannot be a partner to a living man.

"In my world," Lan Wangji says, carefully, "the dead... ghosts are not as they are here. As Wei Ying is, here."

"They aren't corporeal, you mean?"

Nearly alive. Thinking, breathing, eating and drinking. She remembers Wei Wuxian swimming in the lake and shakes her head. How can a ghost feel cold or warmth? Wet or dry? "Nor in mine."

"My brother," Lan Wangji tells her, "knew Wei Ying when he was alive. He was there when he died."

Steadily, he makes himself take a sip of tea.

"He is concerned that I am so close to a ghost. He does not understand yet that it is different, here. It makes things... complicated."

She makes another agreeing sound and washes a bite of bread down with more ale.

"Perhaps if he spends more time here, he will come to see Wei Wuxian as the person he is," she suggests. "Not a ghost."

Although...

Wei Wuxian would never be able to go back to their world with Lan Wangji, would he? Perhaps therein lies the crux of the matter. Complicated, indeed. "I am sorry," she tells him. "From what you've told me of your brother, I'm sure his concern comes from love."

It isn't always the case, in her world, but then she's seen a great many others now. "Still, it does sound... complicated."

"It does," he confirms. "He cares deeply, which is why he worries so. I am sure of it. Time will help, as will becoming more familiar with the inn."

He sets his teacup back down and fixes her with a clear, direct gaze.

"Now," Lan Wangji says. "What of you?"

She finishes her chowder and pushes the bowl away, drawing the plate of bread and butter nearer. "When I left you, at the inlet," she begins, "I was aiming for Avallac'h's hideout in Velen. Instead, I found myself lost in a maze of swamps called Crookback Bog, home to three wicked old crones. They call themselves the 'Ladies of the Wood,' but, well."

She sniffs, a little of her old imperiousness rearing its royal head. "Truth be told, I don't know what they are. Old, very old. Evil things. They've held the surrounding villages under their thrall for, oh, generations, offering protection and plenty... in exchange for any unwanted children."

His gaze goes from searching to thunderous in an instant.

"Evil indeed."

"Very," she agrees. "I don't know what happened – perhaps it was something with the portal, perhaps I hit a branch as I reappeared – but the wound in my side re-opened. I had no idea of the Crones, only saw a light in the mists and went towards it as quickly as I could, but I'd lost too much blood and collapsed near the cluster of small houses where they sometimes appeared. They must have known I was there, somehow – or they smelled my blood. The Elder Blood," she amends, with a grimace.

"I woke in a dark room. I could hear them nearby, speaking of their plans for me. They were going to hand me over to Eredin... but not without taking a hand or a leg for their own... enjoyment."

She looks a little ill as she glances at her empty soup bowl, and is happy she's mostly finished eating. "Needless to say, I ran."

He can all too easily imagine it: Ciri wounded as she had been, falling from the sky, only this time landing in a swamp, bleeding and dazed, only to be taken in by the three yaoguai.

One hand flattens against the wood of the table.

"I am glad you escaped," he says.

She offers him a faint smile and takes another swallow of ale. "Barely escaped," she amends, "but escape I did. They'd called the Hunt, and one of the lieutenants came looking for me. I hid in a tree until he passed by and then tried to find my way out of the swamp. Instead, I found a lost little girl, wandering terrified and alone in the dark. She'd been sent by her father along the Trail of Sweets. I suppose you can imagine where that might lead her."

She spreads her hands as she speaks, casting her memory back. "She warned me of a Wolf King prowling the area, which turned out to be a werewolf. I slew it, and a few moments later we were found by a merchant passing through. He brought us to the self-proclaimed ruler of Velen, the so-called Bloody Baron, Philip Strenger. It appears he had a reward out for his missing daughter, and the merchant mistook me for her... but he took me and the girl in and gave us food, shelter, a place to rest."

"It sounds as though the child was far better off in your care than her family's," he observes. Desperate people will do desperate things, he knows, but to send children to be eaten by monsters is unacceptable.

"This baron declared himself ruler over the land?"

"Velen is called 'No Man's Land' these days," she tells him. "Once it was a province of Temeria... but Nilfgaard occupies it now. The Baron isn't the first warlord to give himself airs. But he was... maybe not kind, exactly, but welcoming. He gave the girl a place in his kitchens and took to me as though we were old friends. I went hunting with him and his men, killed a wild boar with my sword."

She smiles, proud. "While we sat around the fire that night, drinking ale and swapping stories, I challenged him to a race, hoping to win a black mare he had in his stables. I won the race the next morning, but before we could celebrate, we were interrupted by a basilisk, a huge beast. It grabbed the Baron in its claws and hauled him to the top of a nearby tower. I had to get to him, so I –"

She hasn't explained all of her powers to Lan Wangji. "Along with portals, I can... teleport between short distances, like a light blinking on and off. I blinked up to the top of the tower and killed the basilisk, saved the Baron."

Her ale is almost empty; she waves at a waitrat for another. "I knew as soon as I used my power that the Hunt would track me down. So I left, that day. Nearly that same moment."

It does not escape his notice that she placed herself at risk of being caught by the Hunt to save the baron from the basilisk.

"Mn," he replies. "In time?"

"I believe so," she tells him. "I have not heard, since then, that the Hunt appeared at Crow's Perch – the Baron's seat. But..."

Now she smiles, truly and sincerely, nodding to the waitrat who brings her second round. "I was there for a few days. Long enough to do a little alchemy, and a little shopping."

She reaches into the pack she'd brought in and draws out a package wrapped in rough brown cloth, which she hands over to him, her face now alight with pleasure. "It is shamefully late, I know, but... happy birthday, Lan Wangji."

Edited 2021-05-13 00:18 (UTC)

He accepts it automatically, holding it carefully in both hands as he stares at her. Utter and absolute shock is clear in his eyes, and it is evident that she has completely surprised him.

"You--"

After a moment he shakes himself out of it and glances down at the gift before setting it on the table and offering her a respectful nod.

"--thank you," he says. "Ciri, this is very kind of you."

With painstaking care, he begins to unwrap the cloth, treating the rough material as though it is the finest silk.

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