jaskoleczka | { pfsb } on the Path

{ pfsb } on the Path

The black mare the Baron had given her isn't as fleet as Kelpie once was, but she's sturdy and swift and Ciri reaches the inn before nightfall, which is all she'd really hoped for. She sees to the mare first, making certain she's set in a comfortable loose box with plenty of hay and water, then makes her weary way to the heavy wooden front door.

But –

"This inn has improved somewhat, since my last visit," she says to herself, and smiles as she lowers the hood that had covered her ashen hair.

Milliways, again. At last.

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Lan Wangji is sitting at a table on the far side of the room, one that is tucked neatly into a corner. The brush in his hand moves gracefully over the paper in front of him as he writes.

It is the sort of thing that he could easily do upstairs in his and Wei Ying's shared room, and it might well be more peaceful there, but ... it is easier, somehow, to compose letters to his brother down here.

He glances up at the movement in front of the door, almost absently, and then goes absolutely still. A drop of ink falls from his brush to the paper, spoiling it.

"Ciri?"

She is tired, dirty, covered in the dust of the road and... other things, but those spring-green eyes of hers widen in surprised delight when she turns at the sound of her name. "Lan Wangji!"

Her strides are quick and steady as she crosses the room towards him – she is weary and sore from days on the road, but not injured. "I'm so glad to see you."

He is on his feet without thinking about it, the brush set neatly in its rest, the letter ignored. "And I, you."

She moves easily, and had not entered in such a rush as before, and he feels some deep worry within him ease. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," she promises. "Tired. Hungry. Nothing a good meal, a hot bath, and some sleep won't cure."

She comes to stand before him, looking up into his face with shining eyes. It's good to be back here, and some of the tension and worry bleeds out of her shoulders.

He's not much for personal contact; she contents herself with putting a hand briefly on his arm. "How are you? And Wei Wuxian? And – oh, it's good to see you, my friend. May I join you? Tell me everything I've missed."

He startles a little inwardly at the touch, but responds by placing his hand over hers in turn, just for a moment, and his gaze as he studies her face is gentler than most in this world or any other have ever seen.

"Please," he invites, and nods to a waitrat to approach them. "I am well. Wei Ying, also. Much has happened, while you were away."

She collapses with a sigh into the comfortable chair and nods to the waitrat. "Fish chowder," she tells it. "Ale. Crusty bread, with butter. Some tea for Lan Wangji. And some cool water."

The rat nods its little head and scurries off as Ciri unstraps Zirael from around her chest and leans it against the wall. "Tell me everything," she invites. "And then I have a few stories for you, too."

He nods, and leaves the calligraphy tools untouched for the moment. There is no question of where to begin, and he wishes no distraction when he does.

"First," he says, "I met your friend. The witcher. Geralt."

"– Geralt?"

She sits up and looks around, as if she could possibly have missed seeing him. "He was here?"

He nods.

"He seemed well," he says, forestalling what he anticipates to be an important question. "He is looking for you. In your world."

"He is? How – ?"

He shouldn't even know she's back. If he gets too close, the Hunt will...

She shakes her head to clear it as the waitrat appears with her meal and Lan Wangji's tea. "You said he seemed well?"

"Yes," he says, gently. He takes the dishes from the rat and sets them before her first, then accepts his own tea.

"He did. We spoke at some length."

Geralt. It's been so long since she's seen him. She imagines his likely response to this place, the people in it, and a tiny smile touches her lips.

"I suppose you told him I'd been here?"

"I did," he readily admits. He picks up his brush and a soft cloth and begins to clean the ink from the bristles as he tells her,

"He asked me to tell you that if you cannot find him, to go to Dandelion."

"Dandelion?"

She gives that some thought as she tears at her bread and spreads it thickly with butter, then dunks it into the chowder before taking a bite. "He would be easier to find."

In a city, no doubt, and the only city left for him to go to now is Novigrad... unless Anarietta decided to let him back into Toussaint.

He stows the brush, glances at the letter and sighs, then stows it as well and takes up his tea instead.

"Dandelion," he confirms. "Or perhaps you might be able to find him here, now that you have returned, if he does as well."

For a moment as she chews, she allows herself to imagine he might be right, that she could stay here and wait for Geralt and let him help her the way she used to believe he could.

But he can't. He's already been captured by the Hunt once. She shakes her head. "I don't think I'll be able to stay that long," she says, with a rueful smile. "I still have to find Avallac'h. But I'll look for Dandelion."

Triss might know where he is, if anyone does, and Triss is in Novigrad. She recalculates her mental map and gives Lan Wangji a slightly stronger smile. "And what did you think of him, the White Wolf?"

"I liked him," Lan Wangji tells her, very simply. He takes a sip of tea, then raises his eyebrows at her.

"Was Avallac'h not in Velen?"

She looks a little surprised before it mellows into pleasure. "Good," she tells him. "I'm sure he liked you, too."

Not that he would say so. Or act like it.

"If he is, I haven't found him yet. It's a big place, and I was... delayed, for a little while." She takes a swallow of her ale and gives him an inquisitive look. "What else have I missed?"

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."

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{ pfsb } on the Path

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