I'm thinking you're a colossal idiot. And that I'm a huge one.
[ She looks at his hand pointedly, but in truth she is relieved. She really wouldn't have wanted him to live with that sort of shadow looming over him. And for no goddamn reason, to boot. What an imbecile. (And she does feel a twinge of guilt at having caused it, at apparently having been so cold he really thought that and didn't feel comfortable asking.)
Ciri straightens her hair and her sleeves, biting back yet another sigh as she shakes her head. ]
You needn't have dwelled on such a ridiculous thing for so long. You were perfectly healthy the last time I saw you. Fit as a fiddle. [ And now is not the time to say that the last time she'd seen him, they were being chased by guards. Or that this conversation is making her worried about what she's actually going to get back to eventually.
One thing at a time. Or she's going to completely lose her mind tonight. ]
You'll also be pleased to know you're just as annoyingly famous as ever, and you don't let anyone forget it.
[ Normally, she wouldn't talk about the future (her present) even this much, but it's a sort-of apology now. For making him feel like that. Hopefully, it'll cheer him up a little.
Though the next topic may be a less cheerful one by necessity. She grows serious. ]
It's all right. There is... simply a lot to tell. And I don't understand it all, myself.
You mentioned my mother's power. It is of her blood, the Elven blood she carried and passed on, but it has manifested in me in a way that far exceeds her capabilities. I am...
[ She hesitates. It's not because she wants to keep anything more from him, but she simply doesn't know how to explain it. Jaskier has studied histories and myths. Perhaps that is a place to start. ]
I am the Child of the Elder Blood spoken of in Ithlinne's Prophecy. [ There's no pride in her voice, only a heavy tiredness, a weight strapped to her that drags her down with every step. Ciri exhales. ] At least, everyone thinks I am. Me, or... some child I'm supposed to have. [ Her voice drips with disgust and anger. ] It doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is--
[ Ciri stares at her hands again, now gripping one another tight in her lap, white knuckled and anxious. Her heart always leaps into her throat when she admits this. When she has to say it because none of them remember it yet, and she has to explain the horrors she is capable of. ]
I have spent my life running and hiding from those who would claim me for their own use. Because what I can do puts whole worlds in danger. And if Thorne wants to use the Singularity to harness and control its magic, imagine how they -- or any of the others on this continent -- might react when they learn that I too can open portals between spheres and channel raw chaos to unimaginable destruction.
no subject
[ She looks at his hand pointedly, but in truth she is relieved. She really wouldn't have wanted him to live with that sort of shadow looming over him. And for no goddamn reason, to boot. What an imbecile. (And she does feel a twinge of guilt at having caused it, at apparently having been so cold he really thought that and didn't feel comfortable asking.)
Ciri straightens her hair and her sleeves, biting back yet another sigh as she shakes her head. ]
You needn't have dwelled on such a ridiculous thing for so long. You were perfectly healthy the last time I saw you. Fit as a fiddle. [ And now is not the time to say that the last time she'd seen him, they were being chased by guards. Or that this conversation is making her worried about what she's actually going to get back to eventually.
One thing at a time. Or she's going to completely lose her mind tonight. ]
You'll also be pleased to know you're just as annoyingly famous as ever, and you don't let anyone forget it.
[ Normally, she wouldn't talk about the future (her present) even this much, but it's a sort-of apology now. For making him feel like that. Hopefully, it'll cheer him up a little.
Though the next topic may be a less cheerful one by necessity. She grows serious. ]
It's all right. There is... simply a lot to tell. And I don't understand it all, myself.
You mentioned my mother's power. It is of her blood, the Elven blood she carried and passed on, but it has manifested in me in a way that far exceeds her capabilities. I am...
[ She hesitates. It's not because she wants to keep anything more from him, but she simply doesn't know how to explain it. Jaskier has studied histories and myths. Perhaps that is a place to start. ]
I am the Child of the Elder Blood spoken of in Ithlinne's Prophecy. [ There's no pride in her voice, only a heavy tiredness, a weight strapped to her that drags her down with every step. Ciri exhales. ] At least, everyone thinks I am. Me, or... some child I'm supposed to have. [ Her voice drips with disgust and anger. ] It doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is--
[ Ciri stares at her hands again, now gripping one another tight in her lap, white knuckled and anxious. Her heart always leaps into her throat when she admits this. When she has to say it because none of them remember it yet, and she has to explain the horrors she is capable of. ]
I have spent my life running and hiding from those who would claim me for their own use. Because what I can do puts whole worlds in danger. And if Thorne wants to use the Singularity to harness and control its magic, imagine how they -- or any of the others on this continent -- might react when they learn that I too can open portals between spheres and channel raw chaos to unimaginable destruction.