Chapter Text
Eskel was the only one still at the table when Prince Julian came in to have breakfast with them. Vesemir was still supervising the morning training session, and Geralt had already left with Ciri. Lambert was there, of course, but he was Lambert. It was better not to count on him.
He motioned to the young man and gestured for him to sit next to him, which he did with apparent controlled ease. Strangely, he did not seem as frightened here, even though there were many people around. Being in public seemed to make him feel safer, he would try to remember that.
"Greetings."
"Greetings. Did you sleep well?"
"I did, thank you... and thank you for the food."
"No problem. If you're feeling up to it, I could show you the rest of the place once we've finished eating."
"That would be much appreciated, thank you."
The young man ate heartily and managed the feat of being perfectly silent while doing so. He handled the cutlery without the metal clattering loudly against the wood, and even his chewing was discreet. Like a shadow.
Eskel had almost finished eating when he arrived, but he did not have to wait long for him to be ready, and they quickly left when Lambert started to get unpleasant.
"I can't wait for Aiden to get back," he grumbled, annoyed.
He was always tense and irritable when Aiden was away.
"I heard that!"
"Who's Aiden?"
"His partner."
"I thought Witchers worked alone."
It was not really a question, but Eskel decided to interpret it as such.
"Not that kind of partner. Well, they do hunt together, but not only that."
The human looked at him in surprise but did not comment, looking thoughtful. Perhaps he thought, like many others, that Witchers were incapable of love. Or perhaps he disapproved of love between men, knowing better than anyone as a very rare Omega male that two men together were generally frowned upon.
They did not know why humans were like that, why they restricted themselves so much, even in their thoughts. Witchers just did not have time to worry about that: every comfort was valued, no matter what form it took. The most important thing was feelings, right after survival, of course.
They did not talk much, but that was hardly surprising, as they walked a lot and went up and down stairs, to the point that Eskel had to admit he was pleasantly surprised by the endurance of the frail human who followed him closely.
He had tried to keep the tour interesting at various points to keep him motivated, but so far nothing had particularly caught his attention. Perhaps this room would be the one.
"And here is the library."
The Prince seemed slightly more intrigued, but his face did not show much expectation when they entered... until he actually saw the interior. The room was huge, and many books were still waiting in a corner to be put on shelves since they had gathered all the works from several Schools in one place. There was nothing glamorous about it, but if you loved reading it was probably a real treasure trove.
"You're crazy to show me a place like this, I won't be able to stay away," he joked, but his amazed eyes showed that he really meant it.
That was it, that was his room.
"You're welcome anytime. You can even borrow any books you want to," he offered.
And that's why I'm the diplomat of this idle pack, he thought with satisfaction as the human smiled brightly and began to explore a few shelves with excitement, barely able to contain himself. All it took was a little observation, listening, and kindness. It was not even that hard.
It was quite funny that most Witchers were either incapable of doing this for anything other than hunting monsters... or just did not want to make the effort.
Even when he quickly returned to him with an apology for straying and slowing them down, Eskel could see the renewed energy it had sparked in him. He should have known: of course an educated man would appreciate having access to diverse and ancient knowledge. He would try to see if they had any reading material in common; that would make for pleasant conversation.
"Last stop, the stable!"
He immediately headed for his horse, aware that it was a fairly standard stable with nothing particularly surprising or strange about it.
"This is my stallion, Scorpion. You can come closer, he's used to people. And he's gentle."
"I don't doubt it," the young man said, staying back. "Unfortunately, I'm the one who's not used to horses."
"Really?"
But horse riding was a noble pastime, was not it? Eskel did not really know any of them, but he knew that Ciri's grandmother was a warrior. Even noblewomen generally knew how to ride horses, if only to participate in court hunts, so Omegas were not usually afraid of animals.
Strange.
Or maybe he had had an accident when he was younger and had been afraid ever since.
"Baa!"
"This is Lil Bleater, a goat I found while traveling," he explained, leaning into the stall to pet the noisy little creature when he saw the prince jump back in surprise.
Scorpion began to eat his hair, and Eskel pushed him away with a disgusted sound.
"No, not again, you were supposed to stop that, my hair isn't even the colour of hay!"
The unrepentant horse simply whinnied and tried to continue, so Eskel offered him an apple to keep him occupied instead.
"Come on, look, just hold out your hand. He won't bite or kick."
He demonstrated it, and Eskel thought he noticed something envious and curious in his expression after he relaxed and approached as close as possible while remaining out of reach, so he decided to do something about it. It would be a shame if he stayed afraid of horses his whole life. They were the best.
"Want to try?"
"I'm not sure it-"
Eskel's outstretched hand stopped him in his tracks, and after a long, silent consideration, he accepted.
"Keep your hand flat," he advised before accompanying him, keeping his hand on his to make sure Scorpion would not react badly.
Amusingly, considering he had been afraid of him just the day before, the human did not even seem to notice that their hands were touching, too absorbed by the animal in front of him.
"It's so soft..."
"It is."
He withdrew his hand, but Prince Julian did not.
They started talking about horses, the difference between training classic horses and Witcher horses, Scorpion and all Eskel's horses before that, and very quickly they went over lunchtime to the point where they had to grab a quick bite in the kitchen before Eskel had to leave.
It was a shame he could not devote all his time to him, but it was nice to talk to strangers when they were so pleasant.
Another thing I won't be able to tell anyone, he thought as he headed back to his School to train.
One of many.