Try, Please Try For Me

Welcome Back

Lambert leaves first.

He is usually the first to return to the path and gets restless as soon as the passes are clear. Geralt can already feel the itch himself when Lambert announces at dinner that he'll be heading down the mountain the next morning.

Jaskier takes the news surprisingly hard. Geralt knows that he and Lambert have grown close over the winter, even though they began on rocky terms, and he can smell a looming cloud of sadness wafting over from the bard throughout the remainder of dinner. The others can detect it too, and Geralt notices that his brothers give a few extra smiles to Jaskier before they retire for the evening, and Jaskier, being the polite man that he is, waits until they're behind closed doors to let his tears fall.

"We'll see him again," Geralt assures him, running a soothing hand up and down the bard's back.

"I know," Jaskier says. "It's just..." He sniffles and dries his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "I've never had anything like this. When I graduated from Oxenfurt I was in trouble-- everything happened so fast, I was on the carriage to Lettenhove minutes after the ceremony." He smiles sadly. "I'm afraid I have no experience with goodbyes."

When they see Lambert off the next morning, Jaskier hugs him so hard, Geralt can see the witcher tremble under his touch. "Don't die," Jaskier says.

Lambert chuckles at that. "I don't go down easily," he says, pounding a hand against his chest. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it, Buttercup."

Jaskier fidgets for a moment as if considering, then surges forwards and hugs him again, this time leaning in close to whisper something in Lambert's ear that Geralt can't make out. His brother nods in response, and Jaskier smiles warmly at him, before stepping back so the others can have a turn at saying goodbye.

Eskel leaves a few days after that, and Jaskier's reaction is much the same. That goodbye is hard for Geralt as well. He loves all the wolves dearly, but Eskel's companionship is one of the things he misses the most when he's alone on the path-- though things are a little easier now that he has Jaskier with him, there are many nights throughout the year that Geralt finds himself staring up at the stars and wondering how Eskel is doing at that moment. He's his oldest and closest friend, predating even Roach (or the first Roach anyway), and as the years go by, parting in the spring still never seems to get easier.

Jaskier hugs Eskel just as fiercely as he hugs Lambert. The scarred witcher still blushes a little at the contact, but now he's not as awkward with it and wraps his arms around the bard tightly in a rib-crushing hug.

"Look out for him," Geralt hears him tell Jaskier. "He acts tough, but even the White Wolf needs help sometimes. I'm relying on you to see through his bullshit when I'm not there to do it myself."

Jaskier nods very seriously. "I plan to fuss over him every bit as much as he fusses over me." He pokes Eskel's bicep. "But that goes for you too, big guy. I saw some of your stitchwork from training this winter. It's abhorrent. Take better care of yourself."

And then it's Geralt's turn to say goodbye. They don't need words, not really. Eskel always understands what Geralt means when he embraces him, but he still whispers all the same, "stay safe out there, wolf."

Eskel nods, clasping Geralt's hand in his own. "You too. I'll see you next winter."

Geralt and Jaskier leave soon after.

He never likes to stay for long once people start leaving. The old ruin is haunting when everyone is gone, and feels like more of a grim reminder of what once was, rather than a home. It's the people, really, who make it what it is.

A melancholy air fills the keep on the morning of their departure. Jaskier is silent for most of the first day down the mountain, not even humming to pass the time. When they make camp for the night, he stares solemnly into the fire as he and Geralt share the loaf of bread that Vesemir gave them for the trip. It's good bread, with crushed walnuts and dried fruit baked in-- the kind that Geralt misses in the lonely days on the path when money is tight.