[ it hurts, which yennefer has always known to be the worst part. it's the reason she doesn't do this, why she had always kept the wall up in the first place. the sharp, unyielding pain of knowing that what he did - what he chose - makes sense. and she doesn't blame him - if there is one thing about her tone that he can pick out of her words, it's that there is no blame to them. an understanding, maybe. a hollow feeling that she gets it, because she does.
but it still hurts, and she hates that it hurts, simply because it is thancred. other summoned, maybe. thorne is a castle, a kingdom of power and magic, of backstabbers and of two-faced liars. that is not to say she thinks thancred is either, but he is skilled in this, isn't he? ]
No, that's not- [ she presses her mouth into a line, lets out a frustrated breath, shaking her head. yennefer can't quite tell yet if it's the pain that is muddling her thoughts, her words, or if it's something else. ] There was a spell that was set off when the device, or whatever it was, first reacted. A protective shield that held off the poisonous gas. But even then, the gas itself wasn't... [ there is a small moment where yennefer just pauses, because even the movement of shaking her head has left her feeling a bit dizzy. she hates it, that feeling curling in her gut. weak. ] It was the protective spell itself that did this. [ she gestures to what are very obviously her injuries. the effects of it all. ] Something went wrong, and I'd thought it might have been interference, but it could have just been an unsteady spell, magic without the foundation.
[ a numbers game, is what she means. but it's not as though it matters - she survived, despite it. and at learning of himeka, yennefer nods at the information. good, she thinks. there's no telling what healing they would have over in solvunn. at mention of jaskier, though, yennefer very specifically doesn't react. in part because she is too exposed, even with everyone out of the room, here in the infirmary. the last thing she needs is the queen finding out about jaskier, how it might lead to geralt, to ciri, so yennefer just nods again. does not mention that yes, she did hear about jaskier, has already checked in with him - panicked, upset, worried for him.
instead, she somehow stills even further at thancred's words - because yes, she did know about libertas, but that had been from jaskier. a conversation that, if someone were listening, she isn't supposed to have had. so, whether or not thancred can tell she is lying, she still says in that same flat tone, ] I've heard rumors, but little else. [ a pause. a swallow. ]
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but it still hurts, and she hates that it hurts, simply because it is thancred. other summoned, maybe. thorne is a castle, a kingdom of power and magic, of backstabbers and of two-faced liars. that is not to say she thinks thancred is either, but he is skilled in this, isn't he? ]
No, that's not- [ she presses her mouth into a line, lets out a frustrated breath, shaking her head. yennefer can't quite tell yet if it's the pain that is muddling her thoughts, her words, or if it's something else. ] There was a spell that was set off when the device, or whatever it was, first reacted. A protective shield that held off the poisonous gas. But even then, the gas itself wasn't... [ there is a small moment where yennefer just pauses, because even the movement of shaking her head has left her feeling a bit dizzy. she hates it, that feeling curling in her gut. weak. ] It was the protective spell itself that did this. [ she gestures to what are very obviously her injuries. the effects of it all. ] Something went wrong, and I'd thought it might have been interference, but it could have just been an unsteady spell, magic without the foundation.
[ a numbers game, is what she means. but it's not as though it matters - she survived, despite it. and at learning of himeka, yennefer nods at the information. good, she thinks. there's no telling what healing they would have over in solvunn. at mention of jaskier, though, yennefer very specifically doesn't react. in part because she is too exposed, even with everyone out of the room, here in the infirmary. the last thing she needs is the queen finding out about jaskier, how it might lead to geralt, to ciri, so yennefer just nods again. does not mention that yes, she did hear about jaskier, has already checked in with him - panicked, upset, worried for him.
instead, she somehow stills even further at thancred's words - because yes, she did know about libertas, but that had been from jaskier. a conversation that, if someone were listening, she isn't supposed to have had. so, whether or not thancred can tell she is lying, she still says in that same flat tone, ] I've heard rumors, but little else. [ a pause. a swallow. ]
What happened?