Jaskierās dad is much like his son: chatty and overly excited to welcome Geralt into their home.
His mother though, is a different story: sheās tall and brooding and gives Geralt silent, suspicious looks whenever she thinks heās not looking (and sometimes also when she knows he is looking).
Geralt doesnāt think much of it, heās used to disapproving looks. They give each other a silent, but cordial treatment for weeks until one day, looking for Jaskier Geralt sees her cuddling Jaskierās two little sisters sleeping on the sofa in the living room. Geralt must stare at her just a moment too long because she carefully extracts herself from her childrenās arms and walks up to him.
āYou have a problem, witcher?ā she asks, closing the door firmly behind herself as if to protect her children from him.
Geralt considers saying something biting or evasive in response, but Jaskierās family has treated him kindly and very, very generously so far, so the least he owes the lady of the house is an honest answer.
āI donāt see mothers tending to their children often,ā he confesses quietly. Jaskierās mother looks him up and down, then a small smirk spreads on her lips.
āAre Witchers hatched from eggs?ā she asks amused, with a touch of genuine curiousity. āDid you not have a mother of your own?ā
Geralt swallows and looks her in the eye (he has to look upwards, because Jaskierās mother is tall, taller than her husband or her son, even taller than him and has strong muscles to match that, but Geraltās not the one to back off from a bigger opponent be the fight with swords or with words).
āShe left me when I was five,ā he says plain and simple and something crosses Lady Pankratzās face, but itās too quick even for Geralt to catch.
āDid she not have the means to raise you?ā she asks not unkindly. Geralt doesnāt speak about this very often, but he just shrugs and thinks he might as well tell the truth.
āShe didnāt want me.ā
He expects a biting answer, probably a neutral one, but for a moment air seems to freeze in the corridor and now, when she looks up at Jaskierās mother thereās a distinct expression Geralt knows intimately well: itās fury.
āShe didnāt want you?ā she hisses as if just the idea of Visenna abandoning Geralt was a blasphemy and a personal offense against her family in one. Geralt nods weakly and instead of placating her that only seems to be oil on her proverbial fire, redness rising on her cheeks. āMy boy, Julian thinks of you as a close friend, doesnāt he?ā
āHeā tends to say so?ā Geralt says hesitantly, not sure where this conversationās going.
āThen Iām sure he wonāt mind if from now on Iāll treat you as a son of my own,ā she says simply and Geralt canāt even wrap his mind around it when she puts an arm around his shoulders and ushers him down the corridor. āYou havenāt seen the training grounds have you?ā she asks as Geralt numbly follows her lead. āJulian said you were good with the long sword. I, myself favor some lighter weaponry these days, but I think I can give it a go, should you want to practice tomorrow. That sounds good to you, Geralt?ā Geralt feels too stunned to answer, but she doesnāt seem to mind, she just squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. āItās alright if you need a bit more time to think about it. Itās getting close to dinner time anyway, maybe we should check on the kitchens too. You did like the venison with the plums, didnāt you? We could ask Paula to make some for you. Would you like that, little dove?ā
Geralt is painfully aware that heās neither little nor has anything in common with a dove, but it doesnāt change the fact that it makes his teeth grind together to choke down something awfully reminding of a sob welling up in his throat.
āSounds good,ā he manages quietly, eventually, and for the first time since Geralt has arrived Jaskierās mother smiles.
