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nnightskiess · 1 month

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everytime you leave, part seven

₊° - 𝐲𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

everytime you leave, masterlist

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗽𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀. 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 <3

The central hall was as well-lit as ever, despite the rumbling storm clouding over Aretuza. A handful of mages were already sitting around the tables, chatting away and waiting until the table with superiors was completely filled so that supper could commence. Your time among the other mages had not been made particularly easy when you'd taken a stand with Yennefer that first time, but it seemed that there were a few mages who you had intrigued with it. Anika, who you had learned was the only person close enough to a friend that Yennefer had, often sent you gentle smiles now. Triss still went and brought you healing elixirs every now and then, clearly a request from Tissaia, and she would never leave without having had a small chat with you. You were still too closed off and shaken by your past to properly let anyone in, and your sorrowful looks and distant behaviour weren't tempting your classmates to approach you. Sabrina would often glance your way, but you didn't like how she seemed to feel superior to the others simply because she'd been in Aretuza the longest. Fringilla never really appeared too interested in you, too occupied in mastering her Chaos to even notice you, so you didn't bother. Celestia was a different case. The mage was older than you, and the combination of her light hair and golden complexion made it hard for her not to stand out. She often observed you, sometimes to the point that it made your uneasiness make place for irritation. You didn't know why she did it. Frankly, you didn't even want to know, if not for the impending fear that she was trying to see right through you. And Johannah and Abigail, well, they had never looked your way again, but it was better that way. They weren't the type of people you wanted to have around, not even if their friendship was crucial to your survival in Aretuza.

It was because of your lack of friends that you tried to show up in the central hall before the others did. There was something peaceful about picking a table in the empty hall and waiting if someone would join you, instead of having to choose where to sit down with dozens of sets of eyes on you. Many a time, it was Triss and Sabrina who would accompany you. Well, Triss first, feeling pity over you, no doubt. Then the redhead would wave over Sabrina, who accepted the invitation out of curiosity over you and would not leave it up for debate to rope in some of the others. But Yennefer never sat with you again. Besides the times you would see her during your lessons or after classes in Tissaia's office to finish your punishment, she'd avoided you like the plague. She was often quiet during your shared detention, but her silence was never unsettling. It seemed as though she had come to terms with the fact you were going to be around, and that collaboration was necessary if she wanted to become the powerful mage she dreamed of.

You picked a table beneath the tall stained-glass windows, knowing it often remained unoccupied. A cupbearer appeared, pouring you a glass to hold you over before supper would begin.

"Do you think this endless rain will ever cease?"

A soft hand was placed on your shoulder and you watched as Celestia sat beside you.

"I suppose not, it would make the place lose all of its riveting charm," You muttered sarcastically, bringing the cup to your lips.

The woman beside you let out a dry chuckle at your disinterest, "Aren't you a delight. Is that why you turned some people in your village into cows?"

Your head snapped to her and her eyes bore into yours, the hint of her smile now gone. Her stare pierced right through you. Then she shook her head, and she grinned, "Don't worry. It's not the worst conduit moment out there."

You swallowed, a little cautious by the sudden topic of conversation, "Last week the rumour was that I turned my mother's hair green."

Celestia accepted the cup that was put in front of her, taking a big sip all while observing your face. She hummed, "So, which one was it then?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"You can tell quite a lot by someone's conduit moment." She shrugged and leaned to face you better.

"What was yours?"

She grinned, wickedly, as if talking to you had been the most entertaining part of her day, "I'll trade you mine for yours."

"Whatever are the two of you gossiping about?" Sabrina sat down in front of you, eyeing you and your rigid posture with clear interest.

Celestia barely acknowledged the girl, eyes still boring into yours. Maybe you were imagining things, or maybe the sudden panic and stress were sending sharp pains to your temples, "Sabrina made her mother fat, did you know?"

Bemused, the blonde nodded, "Hm, I did. Why are we talking about this, though?"

"About what?" Fringilla approached, Darallis and Jutta in tow, following her like puppies in the hopes of Fringilla's grace and power rubbing off on them.

"Y/N's conduit moment."

"Why?"

Finally, Celestia turned to the others and you could breathe again, "Because I want to know what really happened! It must be pretty embarrassing if she hasn't taken to gloating about it."

Sabrina brightened, "What I really want to know is what happened in your room that night when they instructed us to stay inside after we got woken up by all the noise. Jutta told me she could hear yelling before it felt like the walls came tumbling down."

Jutta perked up, ready to defend herself after having seen the accusatory look you'd shot her way, "I was only worried."

Celestia's faux sweet tone made the girl blush in embarrassment, "Hush, we all know you were scared."

Suddenly, the table fell silent, and you knew why when her voice sounded from behind you,

"To my office, pup."

With wide eyes and a stomach rumbling in protest not to leave the hall before you'd eaten, you turned around, "What?! Why?"

"Did you or did you not cut off your garments?" Tissaia pointed at the uneven ragged edge of your dress.

Mouth agape, you stopped, "I-... it was too long."

"And so will your detention be, which I will now extend for the foreseeable future." She gestured for you to stand up.

"But supper-" You hadn't been able to eat after the disgusting plant Tissaia had given you to chew on last night to try and control your mind when it was reeling had made you throw up. Its taste and sensations had finally faded off an hour ago, and you were starving.

However, the look Tissaia gave you shut you up. There was something in her eyes you recognised now. Desperation? Urgency?

All eyes were on you when you got up and followed her out of the central hall, listening to the clicking of her heels against the cobblestone halls. When the two of you were out of earshot and had walked into the hall of her private wing, she deemed it safe enough to speak,

"I fear I will have to speed up some of your lessons, going by what I just interrupted. We will start right away." She turned, eyeing the hem of your dress, "And we will get it tailored for you."

Tissaia opened the door to her office, expecting you to find your usual seat as she went and poured herself a drink. She knew she'd need it with today's private lesson.

You sat down in the chair across her desk much like you'd done every other night for the past three weeks when you'd practised your Chaos with her. Your fear of fire was still very much there, the knowledge you now could control a tiny flame hardly doing anything to your fast-beating heart whenever you walked passed a fireplace. You'd also still been summoned to sit out your punishment for the night Yennefer had come into your room. Even after three weeks, you still could not fight off the confusion after Tissaia had made it known to you that she'd been aware the two of you had lied, or that Yennefer had just as much blame for it as you had. How had she known? You make matters worse, neither you or Yennefer had managed to fully transfer the water without breaking the vase or killing the flower, but, as you'd learned from each other, you were now closer than ever. You knew it.

It worried you that Tissaia's desk seemed to be empty this time. Usually, she always had something already prepared for you. The mystery of what was to come installed some sense of unease in you.

"We humans are made of so much more than skin and bone. We have a mind that thinks of its own, a heart that wants one thing and a soul that desires another. When you will find your way into the world, at court or wherever else the Brotherhood will find need for you, you will understand that a person is made of thoughts and feelings often inconsistent to one another. They might think one thing but say another. They might promise to do this, but end up committing to that. Us mages need to be able to poke through that resolve and shield to ensure the balance of the Continent will not be compromised. I am not talking about dallying men trapped in a marriage and keeping it secret that they're in love with another damsel, I'm talking about statesmen, Kings and Queens promising to keep the peace but going to war."

She rounded her desk and, for the first time ever, sat down in the chair next to you.

"Ensnaring one's mind, uncovering its hidden motives, its fears and its memories, hearing its thoughts and taking in its senses requires a great deal of focus and expertise. Next month, we will start dipping our toes in mind control. All of the girls will be new to it and will know just as little as you do now," Her exclusion of naming you with the other girls, didn't go unnoticed, "But I fear that while they have nothing to lose when a silly little secret or their true feelings get uncovered, your very life could be forfeited when your not-so-little one gets out."

She leaned forward, eyes hard as she tried to make the severity known.

"I do not say this to frighten you, but you cannot let people know what you did, what you survived, and what you can do. And if you do not want to find yourself in just such a predicament, you need to first handle blocking out the prying eyes and ears of your novice classmates before you'll have to ward off suspecting and nosy individuals at court. Do you understand?"

You nodded, letting the information sink.

"Use your words, pup."

"I understand."

Tissaia always knew how to make you feel little, but you couldn't care less right now, sensing what was at stake. Her words scared you.

She sat back, seemingly satisfied with your compliance and attention.

"Keeping someone out of your mind is not the same as taking a peak in someone else's. It requires a different kind of focus and works its energy on another wavelength. While the lesson will start with reading what's deeply hidden within the minds of your classmates, the only thing that you will focus on, is how to keep them out."

You pursed your lips, insecurities taking over, "That's... that's nothing elemental," You thought of the candle and the pitcher of water, the gust of wind, then swallowed.

"It is not. It is a new territory entirely, but one you ought to master sooner rather than later."

She watched you, hearing the many thoughts swirling within, almost growing irritated by the new words already forming before the others had left your brain.

"You've gotten in trouble by not blocking someone out before." She smiled softly when she saw the quick realisation on your face.

"When you knew I had covered for Yennefer?"

Tissaia dipped her head, "I discovered a lie that time, but when you're a mage, especially one at court and surrounded by people trying to bring your Kingdom down to benefit themself, you cannot let yourself waver, you cannot let anyone inside your head to manipulate it, put falsities and insecurities in there and to dig through your weaknesses and knowlege."

"I understand," You repeated before she could ask you to confirm. She needed you to know the severity and importance of this lesson and the ones going forward, but, going by the focused frown of your brows, she knew she had you in the right mind space.

"But first, I will tell you what one can expect to experience when diving into someone's mind. It is good to know what you'll want them to ward off of before you know how to." She continued when you kept your intrigued gaze on her, begging her to continue. You might still not like what had happened, how you'd ended up here, but you weren't daft and knew as well as anyone that this was of importance to your survival. You might still have a death wish, to reconnect with your family, but you had a feeling your death would likely not be fast and unsuspecting if the day ever came.

"Once you've fully mastered the craft, you will instantly find what you are looking for to save yourself the time to plough through one's entire mind, but for you, it will be an overwhelming feat. Smells will fill your nostrils, you'll hear sounds and voices, feel sensations through your body as if you were there to live the memory that's playing out before you. They can be short moments in time that you'll get to see as if you were there yourself, or flitting images of memories tucked further away. It will be an overwhelming feat and you won't know what to focus on. If you do not learn to quiet your mind or block someone out, they will see all that you have ever thought, felt, tasted, heard, smelt and sensed."

You swallowed, taking it in, and then your eyes fluttered to the wall behind Tissaia, where an embroidered banner flag of the Brotherhood hung. As you let her words settle, you realised the explanation sounded oddly familiar to what you'd experienced on your first night here. You'd seen stuff... heard things, that hadn't been entirely your own— they had been Yennefer's. And while you hadn't had an explanation for it then, you'd been given one now.

Tissaia watched an unreadable expression settle on your face.

"You best tell me before I find it out myself."

Though her voice was stern and demanding, her eyes were filled with a careful curiosity as you looked up, "Getting into someone's mind...I think I already did that. Once. That I know of."

She tilted her head to the side, intrigue flashing across her features, "Why do you think that?"

"That night the storm came into my room," You said, not knowing how else to explain it, "There was a moment where I- where we... Yennefer and I, were in each other's head. I think- ... I think it was what sparked my Chaos to implode."

"Both your Chaos." Tissaia reminded you, clearly not wanting you to forget that Yennefer's Chaos had been just as much to blame for the destruction that had occurred, "And if you don't learn to control it, you'll not only implode but explode as well. Which is why we need to start with blocking your mind off right now."

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

Tissaia had carefully observed both mages throughout the first two weeks, sensing their chaos and how their fizzing rumbling seemed to grow in sound and sensation whenever they were near each other. Whether that was calculated or on pure accident, a happening of fate, she wasn't sure yet. She also wasn't sure what it would mean for the future of the Brotherhood. Young mages this powerful, able to break a Brotherhood barrier, were extremely scarce. Hells, to find any mage at all was already a gift these days. She needed to handle this delicately, think twenty steps ahead and figure out what this could mean for the survival and respect of mages in the Continent. Tissaia had scribbled down all possibilities for the two of you, of the Kingdoms to send you to and how and where the Continent would benefit most from your presence, maybe keep one of you at Aretuza to join her board of teachers once you proved your worth years later, or perhaps you could be of use for something else entirely. But before she could be certain that she had found liquid gold in two of her newest students, she needed to be sure your excellence wasn't just a momentary fluke.

As usual, Yennefer strolled into the classroom late, wanting to hide her eagerness to control her Chaos by annoying her rectoress.

"You're late," Tissaia stated, watching as the deformed girl's eyes immediately sought out those of yours down the end of the line. "Be a good little piglet and go sit across from our weakling pup."

All the girls watched as Yennefer's face grew with frustration and hurt, but sat down nonetheless. You locked eyes momentarily before Tissaia demanded your attention again,

"Today will be the next step in controlling your Chaos, and in controlling that of others," She started, giving you a quick look, the message clear as day, "But we cannot control the senses of others before we can sit back and watch them from a distance. Every great puppeteer has first spent hours watching a human's movements before making his puppet an extension of himself." Tissaia walked along the row of girls, staring at them intently to sense the state of their Chaos before their task. She peeked in their minds— Annika thought of her sisters, Fringilla of how she was going to be the best out of them all, Sabrina of the praise Tissaia would give her when she succeeded, but as her eyes locked with those of Yennefer's, she stopped her step. Mixed with the frustration clearly meant for her, she could sense something else. A pull... a hint of intrigue... a fastly beating heart and a clear view of Y/E/C coloured eyes. She ignored the glare Yennefer was still sending her way and continued,

"Look at the girl in front of you," She ordered, "Look until a door becomes a window. Seek to understand your partner's greatest fears."

Tissaia didn't even need to lock eyes with you to see the worry flash across your face. Despite the hours spent blocking out Tissaia's prying mind into yours, and having finally succeeded the past week, you were still unsure if you could do it on the spot, with so much pressure in your body. All the practising had left you fatigued, and you weren't quite sure if you had enough energy left to control your Chaos. And to have Yennefer see the destruction of your village, to know you were capable of such terror... and to let her in on the secret you had with your rectoress would mean the end of your deal. But above all, perhaps the thing you feared most was for her to see what lay beneath that all. That even while she'd been distant and rather unkindly to you, she was the closest thing you had to a friend after the hours spent together. You weren't exactly sure how she would take such pitiful news.

"With our eyes?" Yennefer wondered, not taking hers off yours for even a second. She tried to stall long and hard before blinking each time, hoping an unbroken connection would help enlighten something in yours. If only she could find an answer to the questions swirling beneath her chest.

"No, piglet. With Chaos." Tissaia stopped to stand in front of the row of seated girls, watching her two most promising young mages with great intrigue. If she was right about her suspicions, well, let's just say that immense power could bring immense victory or immense doom, depending on which side the coin fell on.

"Thought transference should flow through you, like learning to dance or swim or kiss."

Feeling Tissaia's eyes on you, you willed yourself to keep eye contact with Yennefer. Surely your rectoress was aware of the consequences that could doom your whole secret bargain and her prestige and authority among the Continent if you failed. Despite the lessons, did that mean she had faith in your potential, or that she held no belief that Yennefer would even succeed at looking beneath the sheath of your mind at all? Tissaia de Vries confused you immensely. She had blamed and belittled you right after the first day she'd brought you into her office, but lately, it was as if something had shifted within her. You often caught her looking at you already with an unreadable expression, and you did not know if you were supposed to feel scared or honoured to have Aretuza's rectoress attention.

That same buzzing that had plagued your head recently, but which you had quickly grown used to as well, reverberated through your head once more as you tried to look at whatever lay behind Yennefer's violet eyes. A crackling sound popped your ears right open and your chest swelled with the same sensation you'd felt right before your Chaos had torn your room apart. It worried you for as long as the feeling lasted until a wark blanket seemed to be draped over you, engulfing you in serenity. You felt something tickle beneath your skin, like nimble fingers gently prying and pulling at the threads of your Chaos, wanting to reach out and wrap it in a hug. It was comforting. It was peaceful.

Yennefer's jaw tensed as she clenched her teeth, desperately wanting to get this right, to prove she was not just a waste of space, that she was just as capable and worthy as any other young mage. But her skin tingled too much to pay proper attention. It was as if a thousand tiny ants were crawling above and beneath the surface of her skin. She imagined her Chaos reaching out to yours, clawing at it to pull it closer. A ringing echoed in her ears, and then a blood-curdling scream sounded. She winced slightly in surprise but stayed focused. Determined to dig further, she furrowed her brows in concentration, fighting the urge to look at the rest of your face instead of only your eyes. But no matter how hard she tried, something pushed her away, taking her Chaos away in that progress. She felt warm suddenly, and a thin layer of sweat coated her upper lip when she tried to ward off the serenity wanting to calm her restless Chaos down.

"Stop pushing me out," Yennefer spoke softly under her breath, in a focused trance. She knew she'd seen heaps of your memories before, and it had been through a wall, so she was sure she was going to have to succeed now that she was looking right into your eyes, just like the small glimpse Istredd had helped her see. She could do it then, so she had to do it now.

"I'm not doing anything." You replied, your voice barely above a whisper as well. But you were, you were clearing your mind with all your might while blocking out her Chaos each time it jabbed at you. With your concentration at an all-time high, your Chaos reached out to hers, gently guiding it out of your mind while keeping the bond composed and undisturbed.

"Well then maybe you should." She muttered, a little aggravated, for if you did not aid her to let her in, then how was she to succeed?

You blinked, your tone sharp but your hurt evident, "Or maybe you should try harder."

It was all that was needed to get the girl to blink and break her intense stare. She was taken aback, but at the same time knew she could have expected such a retort from you after her comment. She straightened her posture as much as she could and closed her eyes for a few seconds before staring right back into yours again.

Tissaia stiffened her expression as she watched the encounter, eager to see what would happen next. But no other word was exchanged between the two of you, for the next forty minutes at least. It impressed her how both of you were managing to stay still and focused for so long.

Suddenly, you saw a flash of what you could only presume was the Yennefer's past— a tiny fire, a table surrounded by children, the smell of straw and... Yennefer being sold for nothing more but four marks, then being pushed into Tissaia's arms. You perhaps had not seen her biggest fear, but you had seen something that had elicited the same feeling.

Your heart clenched as you felt a wave of unfamiliar emotions hit you all of a sudden, and you realised it was what Yennefer had felt during the flitted memories you had seen. It wasn't an excuse for her harsh behaviour, but you could not help but feel sympathy at the newfound information.

"I'm sorry."

Yennefer licked her lips and tilted her head, confused, "Whatever for?"

You shook your head, not wanting to bring it up in a quiet room full of your classmates, or with rectoress De Vries's eyes burning in the side of your face, or perhaps just not at all.

Suddenly, you realised you didn't really know any of the girls sitting around you. You didn't know their deepest struggles, their biggest fears or their most openly wide gaping wounds. You didn't know much past their names or how far they were with their Chaos. But as you had caught a quick glance in what had only been an hour of Yennefer's life, you suddenly felt closer to any of them than ever. She was different, but all the same. You shared struggles, you shared pain and you shared a longing for a life that would never be again. She wanted to be loved, and you wanted your family back. The two weren't so different when you looked at it.

Your momentary lapse of focus had let the girl in front of you slip through the cracks of your mind, and you watched it happen before your eyes the second it did. You knew Yennefer hadn't seen or smelt any apple tarts this time, going by her startled expression.

"Your village was pillaged, they set it ablaze. You burned with it." She muttered stoically, matter-of-factly, and her face dropped the second you had regained focus and realised the severity of your predicament if she looked a little further. She'd heard the childlike laughter of your siblings, the feel of a horse's mane through your fingers, felt the parental love and then it had all been replaced by death. Yennefer felt guilty for sensing the slight pang of jealousy when she'd realised you'd had a big and loving family that had been your entire world, but it had disappeared as soon as she'd realised what you'd lost, what you'd seen and experienced.

Your chest heaved with the effort it took you to push her out again and to lock away the details of what she'd seen.

Abruptly, as if stung by a bee, Yennefer stood up and crossed the distance to where Tissaia was seated, puffing her cigar and hawk eyes already watching her.

"Y/N's biggest fear is fire."

All the girls broke their connections and stopped to watch. Tissaia stared at the girl in front of her, "Of course, the girl who came here almost burned to a crisp is afraid of fire. Anyone here could have made that assessment."

"Well, it is."

"Is it, pup?"

All eyes now went to you.

Yennefer was right, of course. But there was one thing you feared more than anything else, and the one thing that had come true. Hurting and losing the ones you love. But, perhaps, now that that fear had already happened, there was something else weighing heavily on you— you were afraid to have to tackle this life you had been thrown into alone. It scared you immensely.

"Is it really your greatest fear?

"No." And perhaps it really wasn't. Not anymore. Not after weeks spent working with fire.

"She's lying. I saw what I saw!" Yennefer's frustrated eyes flitted from Tissaia to you. She remembered what else she'd seen make an entrance into her mind, but had deemed insignificant then— cliffsides, the view from on top of towers and the fast beating of your fearful heart that came with it, "Heights. You're afraid of heights."

That's when you realised Yennefer had seen what you had wanted her to see. You had successfully warped her imagination and shown her whatever you had carefully created.

When you didn't say anything, Yennefer glanced back at Tissaia in a plea.

"You take weeks to lift a stone. You can't bend water. You struggle to perform the simplest physical tasks. And now you put me and my lesson to shame by making things up?"

Yennefer's resolve crumbled slightly under Tissaia's hard glare and crushing words, but it was what was said next that dealt the final blow.

"Your worst fear makes such sense. Even if you were a beauty, still, no one would love you."

Tissaia was right, of course, and perhaps it had been exactly the reason why Yennefer lay tossing and turning in bed later that night. She knew that the ugliness of her features had started to seep through to her personality as well, like some sort of shield to keep people from hurting her. If she was rude and brash, no one would realise how their words and stares would hurt. Surely they'd stop after coming to that realisation. And if she hurt them first, they would never dare hurt her in return. It was a play of dominance, a change she'd had to make after arriving at Aretuza, for leading with kindness had never worked out in her old life. Time and time again, her efforts at making friendships and helping villagers out, hovering around them so she wouldn't be alone and could pretend to be part of their conversations, had only ever resulted in harsh hand gestures, cursed words and turned backs to send her off. Which had then resulted in a scolding and beating from her step-father, who'd felt ashamed that the villagers had come complaining about his strange stepdaughter. Yennefer knew she wasn't lovable. And if she ever found someone willing to look past her deformities, they surely would wince and run when they'd realised how rotten she'd become on the inside as well.

Then she heard it— a set of soft knocks on her door. She'd almost played it off as a sound born from her sleep-deprived state, but no, someone was really knocking on her door. She kicked her sheets off in a huff, made it to the door and threw it open, ready to give them a piece of her mind. She had half expected one of her so-called friends to knock for some late-night gossip. And although the girl in front of her was a classmate, yes, she wasn't exactly a friend.

Taken by surprise, Yennefer's voice was small when she muttered, "Y/N?"

"You were right. I don't like fire." You pushed out, as if you could no longer bear to live with the deceit. "And I don't necessarily like heights either."

"Why couldn't you have said that when it mattered?"

Yennefer stared at you, brows furrowed, jaw locked and a clear mix of fury, defeat and annoyance etched into her features as you had been the one behind her humiliation when you'd kept silent.

You didn't have an answer to her question, so you stood there and watched her. She raised her brows, clearly waiting for whatever you'd knocked for to come out of your mouth.

"We weren't set out to like each other, were we?"

Yennefer snorted, opened the door further and walked off to the fireplace. It was a clear invitation to enter her room, so you took it. Her perceptive eyes watched as you approached, standing right beside her in front of the fireplace, hands tightly clasped together behind your back. You might have felt a little more confident around flames, but reaching out to warm your hands to them and risking letting your Chaos take over felt a little too daring.

"I did extend you an olive branch, or have you forgotten?"

"You couldn't have approached me at a worse time," You sighed, remembering the absolute horror you'd felt as the trauma of what had happened had still coursed through your veins when Yennefer had slipped into your room that very first night to introduce herself. "And your approach wasn't exactly tactile or peaceful either, but I've grown to accept that's just how you handle things— impetuous and direct."

Yennefer would've glared at you, had your tone not been soft instead of accusatory. You were merely stating the obvious without further judgment.

You added, somewhat amused, "I still think it wouldn't hurt to be a little kinder, though."

Yennefer nibbled her lip, taking your words into consideration. She looked back up at you, contemplating hard. Everything inside of her wanted her to push out a harsh retort so you would back off, but you weren't hurting her. Not really. You had come here, for her, to apologise. You weren't here to make fun of her, nor did you look at her differently whenever your eyes met hers. Nor did you ever gape at her hunched back or crooked jaw. And you weren't being rude to her, you were... merely pointing out her behaviour. It was a welcome feeling to be treated like a normal human being.

"What if I were to ask again?"

It was quiet for a little while, only the cracking of the fire filling the silence. Yennefer felt her insecurity eat at her and was ready to take her words back when a gentle grin tugged at the corners of your mouth,

"I'll have to think about it."

Yennefer cracked the tiniest smile in return, feeling normal under your gaze. Then, you turned on your heel and she watched you walk towards the door. You lingered in the doorway,

"I'll see you at detention tomorrow. Somehow I just know tomorrow's the day we'll finally transfer water."

As you left, Yennefer was just as restless as before, but for the right reasons this time.

☾ ⋆*·ﾟ:⋆*·ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:·ﾟ .: ⋆*·ﾟ: .⋆

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