The wolves of Kaer Morgan were cowards, Yennefer decided as she sat across from Jaskier at their private little table in the corner of the hall. The bard was fulfilling his calling and telling her a story in a soft hushed tone, prompted by the silence in the rest of the hall. That was the problem, a Witchers keep was supposed to be filled with noise and conversation. It was their sanctuary, where they didnât have to mask themselves in fear and yet here were all the witchers, eating in silence. Yen wasn't a fool, she knew it was because of them, two figures in the corner trying to take up as little space as possible and failing miserably. For her own part she didn't mind, she had been ignored enough in her long life to be able to survive the scorning of a few brooding men, but Jaskier...Jaskier was born for a crowd, born to be with people and it showed. There was only so much Yennefer could do as she watched the days tick by and saw him become less and less like the man she had been so relieved to see in that tavern. Even if Yennefer had been able to conjure a lute, she wasn't sure Jaskier would have played it for the fear of annoying the Witchers, something that never would have bothered him before. He was disappearing here, and the thought of it had her jaw twitching as Jaskier finished his food and softly kissed her on the cheek as he whispered goodbye.Â
Yennefer was nothing of not careful, she had enough forethought to wait until Jaskier was out of ear shot to speak, barely holding back as her fists clenched on the table,
"Fuck all of you," she spat bitterly into the hall,
"Yennefer," she glared back at Geralt,
"No, shut up, I'm not done. Fuck all of you. You can treat me however you like, I don't care, I deserve it. But how dare you treat Jaskier like that, how dare you turn away from him like he's something lesser than you, how dare you shun him with your silence and sneers. That man is better than all of you without even trying." She stood up and turned to face the rest of the hall with arms crossed, met by the glare of golden eyes,
"Which one of you will deny that your lives were made easier because of his songs? You sit there having reaped the benefits of his hard work, work that only happened because he dedicated 20 years of his life following around a witcher who barely slowed his horse to let him keep up. But oh, it can't be because he cared can it? He's just a fortune hungry human like all the rest, simply using the witcher name to fulfill his own goals. No it's not like he was risking himself to smuggle elves to safety or anything like that, oh wait! He was! Just because you witchers have your own emotions shoved so far up your asses that you're choking on them doesn't mean that you get to forget that other people have them,â she hissed bitterly, knowing full well that she had done the same in years past.Â
âJaskier is braver than all of you, fuck, heâs brave by just admitting that he has emotions in the first place and he does that without even trying. That is a human man, no mutagens, no chaos, no extended life and yet he has endured torture to protect you witchers. He came here of all places despite having been abandoned, came into a room full of monsters with no training, no weapon to defend himself because I asked him to help. Because he's good, kind and brave. And despite the fact that you seem determined to hate him, he still treats you like equals, has done that from the moment he met one of you. And frankly? You don't deserve it." She spat, spinning on her heels and marching out of the room before the men could so much as even breathe.Â
Not that she had a chance to either as she heard footsteps coming up behind her, she increased her pace pettily, as if she could actually outpace a witcher,
"Yennefer," Geralt called, "Yen, torture?" She slowed to a stop at the concern in his voice, expression still guarded as he rounded on her,
"If he hasn't told you then I'm not going to," she said, folding her arms again, Geralt frowned but nodded anyway,
"I don't know what you want me to say Geralt. You've always taken him for granted but this...it's shit for him here. He won't say it because he already feels like a burden but your family treats him like an outsider, an intruder. He only has us to talk to and you're busy with Cirilla a lot... he isn't used to being alone,"
"Do you? Geralt? Because you see how that's worse right? If you know he's been suffering and you still haven't done anything about it. He deserves the world for what he's been through, what he's done," she shook her head, "if something doesn't change by spring I'm going down that pass and I'm taking him with me, earlier, if I can manage to create a portal," it was a warning, not a threat but she didn't really expect Geralt to care either way, she smiled a tired smile at his silence before turning away to find her bard.
The next morning found Yennefer back in her corner grinning maliciously over her breakfast. Jaskier was yet to wake and while there was still tension in the hall it stank of guilt this time. She didnât even need a Witcherâs nose to smell it. Maybe Geralt had said something to them after all but for the moment Yennefer was more than happy to take credit for their shifting behaviour. It felt good, she realised, to be able to affect a room of people again. Especially people as stubborn as Witchers. Her mirth grew as the double door creaked open and Jaskier slipped into the room.
The effect was immediate, Witchers left and right began mumbling and nudging each other, clearly unsure of what to say. Jaskier eyed them fearfully as he went to fill his bowl. He had just turned around when the tension broke,
"Morning Jaskier," Eskel called, clearing his throat. The other witchers grunted other greetings as Jaskier stared at them wide eyed,
"Morning Eskel, other assorted wolves," He said bewildered. Lambert called him towards them and Yennefer watched with pride as Jaskier trotted over, there was colour high on his cheeks, and Yen was convinced that if he had a tail it would be wagging between his legs as he walked.
Jaskier smiled at the attempts of the wolves to speak with him, answering their questions softly with a laugh before winking and turning his back to them to walk to where Yennefer was sitting,
"What are you doing?" She asked tersley,
"Sitting with my wife?" Jaskier grinned at her over his bowl,
"But you can sit with the others now, why would you..."Â
"Despite what many believe, I'm not an idiot Yen. I know first hand that witchers don't change their opinions over night," his eyes flickered to Geralt, who Yennefer noticed was watching them yet again, "I know you did something,"Â
"Well if I did, you should be taking advantage of my hard work!" She protested, hands flying up but Jaskier just shook his head with a chuckle,
"I'm nothing if not loyal, my dear witch. It was you who came to rescue me in my times of need, not them, you who remained by my side and mended my fingers even though you were weak yourself. I'd be a fool to cast you aside," even in earnest Jaskier talked like a melodramatic poet and Yennefer scoffed to hide the fond warmth in her chest,
"Calm down, it's just seating arrangements," she rolled her eyes and Jaskier laughed,
"Well in that case, perhaps I sat here because I find your conversation more stimulating than the rest of our current company," He teased, Yen leaned over, grabbing hold of his hand as she ignored the indignation from the other tables, some mocking, some serious,
"A perfectly good reason, my dear husband,"