Meet Me In Posada

Chapter 5

Geralt has been walking the path for nearly twenty years now, and he's long since stopped waiting.

It's for the best, he reasons, that he doesn't have a soulmate, considering the general trajectory that his life has taken. If not for the fact that he's a witcher, then for the fact that he's the Butcher of Blaviken. No one should be tied to a monster, and a witcher isn't much better anyway. Without a soulmate Geralt doesn't have to worry about how his work would align with his personal affairs. He doesn't need to worry about the one he loves getting hurt, or leaving them behind when he dies a witcher's inevitable death. Really, it's better this way.

Besides, even if he did have a soulmate, there's no reason for him to believe that it would have ended well either. In the years since he became a full fledged witcher, the world has changed. Many of his yearmates died in the sacking of Kaer Morhen or the Tournament. Of the few that did live long enough to venture out on the path, their stories didn't have the happy endings they'd been promised. Some would seek out their soulmate only to find they'd already passed on, others would try and make things work only to discover that the life of a witcher doesn't leave room for the stability of a relationship. Eskel still hasn't had any luck finding his soulmate.

For witchers, people like Vesemir and Rennes seem to be the outliers rather than the norm. The only other surviving witcher that Geralt knows who got a somewhat happy ending out of their Swap is Lambert-- and his relationship with Aiden is a whole other kind of mess.

So yeah, Geralt has no soulmate, and he's fine with that. Some might call his life lonely, to walk the path year after year with no one but his horse for company, but it isn't really. Roach provides all the companionship he needs during the year, and in the winter he has company at Kaer Morhen. Such is the life of a witcher, after all. They were not meant for companionship, so it's for the best that Geralt isn't meant for a soulmate either.

If he did have one, for instance, Geralt would be awfully concerned right now that he isn't going to make it home to them.

Rain is pouring down in sheets all around him. It's dangerous, being as high up as he is, and a colossal bit of bad timing that he chose to go hunting a nest of griffins on the day of the worst storm in the past ten years. As soon as the sky began to darken and the forest was overtaken by that eerie stillness, the only sound to be heard feeling the rush of the wind in the trees, the witcher made the choice to abandon his hunt. The only problem is he wasn't able to make it down the mountain in time. Dangerously vulnerable and with no other options, Geralt makes the fast decision to search for the best shelter he can find and wait out the storm.

He's soaked and cold as he leads Roach carefully along the steep mountain path. His trusty mount has been remarkably well-behaved us far, but has grown skittish with the onslaught of thunder and lightning around them. To prevent her from getting further spooked and running off, Geralt has resorted to axii.

He can see their salvation in the distance; the dark mouth of a cave a little further up the mountain, one that should keep them warm and dry until it's safe to head down again. It's not far now.

Geralt's boots sink into the mud of the path with each step, the wet earth malleable beneath his feet, threatening to suck him in with each squish of his movements. For Roach, it's even worse, and the witcher has to carefully coax her forward, helping her every few steps as her hooves get trapped in the mud.

A crack of thunder splits through the air and he glances nervously at the cliff above them just in time to see a bolt of lightning strike the rocky edge. The overhanging rock at the top breaks free, followed by a low rumble.

Geralt grips Roach's reins firmly, tugging her forward as he runs towards the cave.

They make it past the mouth just as the cliff collapses, sending mud and rock pouring down the mountainside.