[ The Bond, even a temporary one made in a potion, is still something very strange to her. It makes her feel... raw. Opened up. Or maybe that's partly because her own body feels like it's trying to tear itself apart from its own flesh and bone.
Still, Yennefer's calm voice cuts through the delirious pain, a cool spring amidst the heat of sweat and blood and tears. Ciri tries to grab hold of it inside her mind, an outcropping to cling to before she falls completely into the feeling like a yawning chasm trying to swallow her whole.
Yennefer's presence, her scent and her voice, are a comfort. The words themselves, however, make Ciri groan in protest when they finally come through. ]
N-no... no, I can't...
[ Don't fight it, she says, like it's so easy. Like it doesn't feel like she's going to tumble off a precipice and never come back. It's terrifying. Almost as terrifying as losing control of her magic, burning everything to ash--
Ciri lurches to the floor, curled up over her knees, pressing her sweat drenched forehead to the floor as the horror wracks her twisted body. Her voice sounds rough and muffled through the unfamiliar shape of her mouth and teeth, strained and stammering. ]
[ With Jaskier no longer a Witch, it left a lot resting on Yen's shoulders. Which, while nothing new, wasn't the most expected outcome of all the changes. She didn't long for her previously solitary lifestyle, having grown accustomed to the chaos, but the last few months just seemed to be full of surprises.
She can feel the pain and the fear through the bond, Yen having a bit too much experience being that source of ease and consistency through panic -- having now officially done it for all three with mixed results. She's not sure if she should be proud that she'd managed to only need that role reversed once at a minimal level. It was easier to be needed than to have a need for someone.
Something vibrates, cracking the calm for a moment at what she thinks she heard -- brows knitting as she settles on the floor in front of Ciri. ]
I promise, you will get through this. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I know it's hard, but you have to stop fighting it.
[ She reaches out, testing to see if physical contact might help with strengthening the temporary bond. Wiping a bit of the sweat off of her forehead. ]
[ The touch warms her. Ciri groans, shifting slowly along the floor to pull herself closer to Yennefer, closing the gap of even a few inches between them to press her tear-stained face into the sorceress's hand. She settles there, after a moment, resting her cheek on Yennefer's thigh and finally, at long last, letting go just a little bit. It's difficult to say she relaxes, but she stops struggling so hard, doing her best to trust Yennefer, lapsing into instinct and the memories of lying in her lap as a girl, the surprising gentleness of her cool fingertips on Ciri's skin.
She smells familiar. Safe.
Ciri whimpers again, fingers curling tight to hang onto Yennefer's skirts. ]
W-will you... stroke my hair? [ she whispers, childlike. ]
no subject
Still, Yennefer's calm voice cuts through the delirious pain, a cool spring amidst the heat of sweat and blood and tears. Ciri tries to grab hold of it inside her mind, an outcropping to cling to before she falls completely into the feeling like a yawning chasm trying to swallow her whole.
Yennefer's presence, her scent and her voice, are a comfort. The words themselves, however, make Ciri groan in protest when they finally come through. ]
N-no... no, I can't...
[ Don't fight it, she says, like it's so easy. Like it doesn't feel like she's going to tumble off a precipice and never come back. It's terrifying. Almost as terrifying as losing control of her magic, burning everything to ash--
Ciri lurches to the floor, curled up over her knees, pressing her sweat drenched forehead to the floor as the horror wracks her twisted body. Her voice sounds rough and muffled through the unfamiliar shape of her mouth and teeth, strained and stammering. ]
I-I'm scared... Mm...ama...
no subject
She can feel the pain and the fear through the bond, Yen having a bit too much experience being that source of ease and consistency through panic -- having now officially done it for all three with mixed results. She's not sure if she should be proud that she'd managed to only need that role reversed once at a minimal level. It was easier to be needed than to have a need for someone.
Something vibrates, cracking the calm for a moment at what she thinks she heard -- brows knitting as she settles on the floor in front of Ciri. ]
I promise, you will get through this. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I know it's hard, but you have to stop fighting it.
[ She reaches out, testing to see if physical contact might help with strengthening the temporary bond. Wiping a bit of the sweat off of her forehead. ]
no subject
She smells familiar. Safe.
Ciri whimpers again, fingers curling tight to hang onto Yennefer's skirts. ]
W-will you... stroke my hair? [ she whispers, childlike. ]
...please?