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Geralt, Jaskier and Ciri had just stopped for a mid-afternoon break when a familiar humming of magic alerted them to an incoming portal.
Their response was immediate, all three of them finely attuned to the potential for danger after so many years on the road. Geralt and Ciri quickly dropped into identical fighting stances while Jaskier - having calculated which of his companions was closest - darted for safety behind Ciri’s back.
The portal solidified into a perfect circle hovering exactly one foot off the ground, and Geralt just about had time to acknowledge that that he only knew of only one sorceress on the Continent with such precise control over their chaos before Yennefer stepped out into the middle of their clearing.
For a second nobody moved, the adrenaline coursing through their veins still holding out for the reveal of some hidden danger. Yennefer raised one perfectly sculpted brow at the scene in front of her and banished the portal behind her with a casual wave. “Such a warm welcome. No really, don’t all move at once.”
Jaskier was the first to react, possibly because he was the only one not holding a weapon. With a wry chuckle he stepped out from behind Ciri and walked over to Yennefer. “Yenn, darling, what a lovely surprise.”
He kissed her lightly on each cheek, and - as had become the satisfying norm - Geralt was unable to detect any falsehood in either his tone or his scent. Adopting Ciri had caused the bard and sorceress to put away their differences, and while they might still snipe at one another from time to time, there was now an undercurrent of admiration and respect that changed their barbs from mean-spirited to fond.
Indeed, after one particularly enlightening evening - fueled by far too much alcohol and resulting in three mutual admissions of attraction - Geralt found he was just as likely to find the pair of them in bed together, at each other’s throats in a whole different manner.
Geralt straightened up out of his defensive stance and sheathed his sword. “You could have warned us you were coming,” he grumbled noncommittally.
Yennefer waved off his complaints with a dismissive hand. “Honestly, Geralt, how could you not expect me to join you on our darling Cirilla’s nameday?”
She opened her arms to Ciri and hummed fondly as the girl practically threw herself into the offered embrace. “My goodness, eighteen years already, where has the time gone?” She hugged Ciri tightly, stroking a hand through her pale hair.
“Missed you,” Ciri mumbled into Yennefer’s neck, and Geralt watched as Yennefer’s usually aloof exterior completely melted.
“I’ve missed you too, darling girl,” she said softly, giving Ciri one more tight squeeze before taking a step backwards, keeping her hands on Ciri’s shoulders. “Now come on, let me see how much you’ve grown.”
“She’s started turning heads in every town we visit,” Jaskier teased as he waved everyone towards the campfire where a number of hares were set up roasting.
Yennefer turned an arch stare on Jaskier, one arm still looped around Ciri’s shoulders. “You better not be encouraging bad behaviour, bard.”
Jaskier gave an exaggerated gasp, clutching his hand to his heart. “Would I ever do such a thing?”
Yennefer and Geralt shared a look. “Yes,” they replied in unison.
“Lies! Lies and slander,” Jaskier cried, “Ciri, tell them to stop with their vicious falsehoods.”
“Even if they’re true?” Ciri asked all-too-innocently, sitting down on a log next to Yennefer.
“You are all beastly!” Jaskier exclaimed, slumping down onto his own log next to Geralt. “For that I shan’t share any of this delicious food I’ve cooked.”
“That I caught.”
“And I skinned.”
Jaskier glared at the three of them. “Fine, I concede. But only because it’s Ciri’s nameday.”
“That reminds me,” Yennefer said, dipping her hand into a small bag attached to her hip. “I have a gift for you.”
“For me?” Ciri asked, eyes lighting up.
“Well I’m hardly going to be getting gifts for either of these cretins now am I?” Yennefer replied as she pulled out a delicate necklace, the attached pendant sparkling in the mid-afternoon sun.
“Oh Yenn,” Ciri breathed, shifting so that Yennefer could loop it around her throat and clasp it at the nape of her neck. “It’s beautiful.”
It really was, even Geralt had to admit. A glass starburst, each of the prongs a different colour and expertly crafted. Even to his untrained eye he could tell that this was no basic trinket, but even so…
“It’s not practical,” he said, folding his arms in front of him. “Jewelry like that will only attract unsavory characters, and glass is too fragile to survive a fight.”
“Now, now, love,” Jaskier soothed, patting Geralt’s arm. “We’ve been over this. Not everything in this life has to be practical, sometimes it’s enough for them to just be pretty.” He paused a second, eyes twinkling. “Like me, for example.”
Yennefer snorted, “While the bard makes an excellent point, especially regarding his own...shortcomings,” she waved off Jaskier’s indignant squeak before continuing. “This particular gift is more than just aesthetic.”
Ciri’s eyes lit up as she cupped the starburst pendant delicately in her hands. “You mean to say…”
“Exactly like we were practicing last summer,” Yennefer confirmed.
“Oh Yenn,” Ciri squealed, throwing herself into another hug with the sorceress. “ Thank you .”
“It’s no more than you deserve, my love.”
“Well this is all wonderfully cryptic,” Jaskier said, still pouting a bit from Yennefer’s comment. “I’m sure you’re planning on enlightening us mere mortals any day now.”
Ciri drew back with a soft chuckle. “Shall I give them a demonstration?”
Yennefer grinned, standing up and offering Ciri a hand to pull her up to her feet. “I think you two had better stand back,” she said to Geralt and Jaskier.
“And cover your ears,” Ciri added as she moved to a spot right in the middle of the clearing.
Geralt and Jaskier exchanged confused looks. Jaskier shrugged and moved to the edge of the clearing, pulling out two small lengths of fabric to block his ears. Geralt did the same, but settled for covering his ears with his hands. They’d learnt the hard way that Jaskier’s human physique wasn’t nearly as hardy as Geralt’s Witcher form when it came to Ciri and her magic.
Ciri turned slowly in a circle, her eyes flitting around the clearing as she processed the specifics of her surroundings. Then, with a firm nod she closed her eyes, and opened her mouth.
Ciri’s scream was still unlike anything Geralt had ever heard - barring, of course, her mother Pavetta. The very foundations of the universe seemed to shake as Ciri’s magic exploded out from within her, and Geralt had to shut his eyes against the sheer force of it. Even with his ears covered he could hear the singing whistle of moving projectiles, followed by a number of dull thuds.
Ciri was looking impressively unruffled when Geralt opened his eyes again, and he took a moment to appreciate just how far she’d come in being able to control her powers. The clearing too was looking slightly windswept but decidedly undestroyed, the campfire still burning away happily.
He was just starting to wonder what exactly she had done with her powers when he noticed that the gold chain around her neck was now missing it’s pendant. Ciri grinned and nodded at the tree next to him, and he turned to see a bright blue shard of glass embedded in the bark next to his head. He carefully pulled the shard out, hissing as the razor sharp edge sliced his fingers, and recognized it as one of the prongs of the starburst. Turning his attention back to the clearing, he saw that seventeen other trees spaced equidistant around the clearing were also sporting their own colourful glass daggers.
Jaskier gave a low whistle next to him, having clearly seen the results himself. “Impressive, very impressive.”
“Indeed,” Geralt replied, nodding his approval at Ciri. Ciri grinned, her smile wide and infectious, and bounded her way over towards them.
“Isn’t it great?” he said, plucking the prong out of Geralt’s hand and snapping it back into the metal crux still hanging around the chain. “Yenn and I have been working on fine-tuning my control for months.”
“She’s a natural,” Yennefer said proudly as she joined the three of them. “A few more years and she’ll be unstoppable.”
Geralt simply nodded again, hoping that Ciri could read everything he couldn’t put into words in his gaze. Every day he didn’t think he could be any prouder of his child surprise, and every day she insisted on proving him wrong.
As always, Jaskier was the one to break the tension of the moment by letting out an exaggeratedly loud sob. “My family is all so beautiful,” he said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, “and so deadly . What’s a poor bard to do in the face of such majesty?”
Yennefer gave an exaggerated sigh. “He’s going to write a song, isn’t he?”
“Definitely,” Ciri replied delightedly, looping an arm through Jaskier’s and dragging him back to the fire. “Come on, I want to hear this masterpiece.”
Geralt and Yennefer exchanged a look as they watched Jaskier and Ciri chatter away, and Geralt was treated to one of Yennefer’s rare, completely genuine smiles. The sorceress gave a fond exhale, resting her head on Geralt’s shoulder, and Geralt didn’t think to hesitate as he wrapped an arm around her waist in response.
“We’ve done okay, haven’t we?” Yennefer said softly, watching as Jaskier played a simple tune on his lute and Ciri started singing along.
“Hmmm,” Geralt replied, feeling a contentment settle deep within him that a decade ago would have been completely unthinkable. “Yeah, I think we have.”