Chapter Text
Contacting Triss didn’t yield any results at first.
She hasn’t noticed anything different or missing.
This changes however, when she portals to Kaer Morhen with Yennefer.
At first nothing noticeable happens.
She helps with the repairs by manipulating wood, trains Ciri, spends a lot of time together with Yennefer or Vesemir going over books in the library.
The first signs that something is… off, start to happen when she and Geralt interact in any capacity.
Talking together, laughing, turning to someone that isn’t there, pausing.
Pausing and looking at each other and knowing that they just had the same urge to share this with someone.
It does not happen if Geralt isn’t there, not with Ciri, not with Yennefer. Only with Geralt.
This brings them both closer and farther away from answers.
It means that the person must have been close or closest to Geralt.
Geralt… does not know how to feel about this.
At all.
He knows he isn’t the easiest person to be around and he is a Witcher, something that a lot of people hate.
Hate and ostracize them for being inhuman.
So he thinks that the person must be like him too, or similar.
Another Witcher? A Mage? Maybe even an Elf or someone with elven blood but- no.
Everyone of these thoughts don’t sound… right.
Which means that it is likely that the person is human and- it doesn’t make any sense but it feels right.
What kind of human would follow a Witcher?
Or be even close to one.
So close in fact, that the absence of them, tears a metaphorical wound into them all.
Into him.
It is…frightening and daunting if he is truthful with himself, which he is not.
Telling the others, he sees that they seem to be surprised as well, especially the other Witcher’s.
Yennefer looks contemplative but nods, and both she and Ciri say that it indeed feels right.
A human.
There are a lot of those.
But…Ciri says that she thinks they are academically inclined.
She figured it out by thinking about it like a puzzle.
Looking at the things she has and knows about herself, to figure out a puzzle piece of what might be missing.
And thinking about what he has and knows about himself can’t hurt.
He knows how he is and how other people perceive him. He can be difficult and clueless regarding emotions.
The person must have been incredibly stubborn and persistent.
Is incredibly stubborn and persistent.
He hopes, at least, that they are and not that they were.
It’s unsettling to think about them being dead, although he doesn’t know if it wouldn’t be for the better.
If he suddenly woke up one day and everyone he holds dear, everyone he knows doesn’t know him anymore?
He does not know how he would deal with that.
Could he deal with that?
Sighing he shakes his head, no need to dwell on this now, not when they aren’t even close to finding them.
When they aren’t even close to finding out who they are.
He doesn’t know why this is hurting him so much.
On the other hand, for a person to have had that much of an impact on their lives, it would make sense that they would feel their absence so thoroughly.
Thoroughly and with all their heart.
How can you miss someone you don’t know?
Yennefer comes to him one evening after his training, oddly thoughtful.
She sits down next to him, one arm on the table and one leg folded under her, while he cleans and polishes his swords.
They sit in silence for some time, the only sound coming from the crackling fireplace.
Geralt focuses on his work and Yennefer watches him, an uncharacteristic slouch to her posture.
After a while she sighs and straightens, tapping a nail sharply against the table.
The sound echoes off of the stone walls and makes Geralt pause and look over to her, one eyebrow raised.
“How did we meet, Geralt?”
Geralt has an unsettling feeling which direction this will go, one that for once doesn’t have anything to do with his wish.
She raises an eyebrow back at him, as if she knows exactly what he’s thinking.
She probably does.
He tries thinking on what have might set her off about their meeting and draws a blank.
“We met through the djinn debacle.”
She gives a tiny huff of laughter, her nails start to rhythmically tap the table.
“Everybody and their mother knows that, most likely.”
She leans forward as if she is sharing a secret. “You went to me for help. For help with what?”
He opens his mouth and- closes it, blinks.
“I…” He wracks his brain for something but nothing comes to mind.
Yennefer is still leaning forwards, watching with shrewd eyes as Geralt struggles to recall why he went to her that day.
“You don’t remember either.” She says.
A statement. Not a question.
He shakes his head, “No. There is something, but…the harder I try to remember, the more it seems to slip away.”
She leans back and seems to wait, distantly Geralt starts to hear the sounds of tiny footsteps.
He gives her a questioning look but Yennefer just shakes her head.
Deciding that he won’t get done with his swords today, he sheaths them and cleans up.
They wait in relative silence after that, while the footstep grow closer.
A few minutes later Ciri knocks and hesitantly opens the door to the room.
She looks between them both and takes in the somewhat tense atmosphere.
Ciri sits down next to Yennefer who give her a shoulder a comforting squeeze.
She looks to Geralt. “She told you?”
“You know about the djinn?” He seems surprised.
Before Ciri can give a response to that, Yennefer lays a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
She crosses her arms, her tone measured “I told her. Without her I would not have started to examine some of our previous meetings.”
“Alright.” He says and, seeing Yennefer relaxing slightly, he nods at Ciri.
“What did you find out cub?”
She shifts a bit in her seat, clearly unsure, but Yennefer gives her an encouraging look.
Ciri stills and takes a breath. “Why were you at my parent’s betrothal?”
He blinks, that’s… a good question, actually.
Slowly, he starts. “I was there as a bodyguard.”
Yennefer snorts in a very unladylike manner and leans on the table again.
“The white wolf, hiring himself out as a bodyguard? Scandalous.”
She gives a small crooked smile that’s gone again before it even really appeared.
“Jokes aside, that’s not usually something you do. What brought this on? Who were you a bodyguard for?”
Geralt looks at his hands, swallows, and shakes his head. He doesn’t know.
Yennefer sighs, “Another event our missing person was involved in it seems.”
“Maybe we should start thinking about events that happened but are missing pieces now.” Ciri adds.
Exhaling loudly Geralt stands up and rounds the table, sitting down next to Ciri and Yennefer.
“That’s a good idea cub, maybe it will give us a closer idea who exactly he is or- was.”
Both Yennefer and Ciri freeze. Which makes Geralt startle.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
Both of them look at each other and slowly Ciri says, “He. You said ‘he’.”
Now it’s Geralt’s turn to freeze, he thinks back on what he said and-
“You’re right. I did.” He seems a bit stunned and looks over at Yennefer.
She is quiet and looking down at her nails, lost in thought.
As if sensing his eyes on her, she looks up. “It feels right I think.”
Ciri nods, “It does! It fits but I don’t know why.”
Yennefer inclines her head.
All three of them sit in silence for a while before Yennefer stands up.
“We should all head to bed for now. It can’t hurt to sleep on it before we continue with our thought experiments. Alright?”
As if on cue, Ciri yawns and stretches. “Yes. But we will continue!”
Geralt chuckles quietly, “We will.”
“Come on cub, you need your sleep, and we won’t be able to puzzle this out when we’re tired.”
She yawns again and nods.
They will figure this out, Ciri knows it.
They are in this together.