~ Early Blooms ~
Tissaia finds her soulmate exactly where the vision showed her she would. He turns his head to look at her. His yellow, catlike eyes - witcher's eyes - sweep over her briefly, catching for a several heartbeats on the crown that has bloomed upon her head.
His 'flower crown' - the magical indicator that one has found their soulmate - is identical to hers, although theirs has an unusual presentation. There are no flowers on it at all. It is a simple strand of ivy.
He frowns and returns to arguing with the innkeeper over the price of the monster parts he has brought back from his hunt. The innkeeper doesn't want to give him anywhere near the amount of money the witcher is asking for. The witcher is just trying to scrape together enough coin to afford the supplies he needs to patch up his wounds.
As soon as she skims that thought from her soulmate's mind, Tissaia strides across the room.
"We'll take a room for the night," she tells the innkeeper, laying a possessive hand on her soulmate's arm.
The innkeeper names a price and she pays it without hesitation.
"What about-" the witcher begins with a frown, but Tissaia cuts him off.
"No need," she says, plucking the sack of monster parts from the counter with her free hand. As she steers her soulmate toward the stairs that lead up to their room, she communicates telepathically to him, I'll heal you.
Having had it drilled into his head since childhood that no one would ever want a witcher for a soulmate, Vesemir isn't quite sure how to react to the reality of his soulmate being someone who seems determined to keep and care for him.
He lets her lead him to the room she's paid for, where he then follows her instructions to strip off his armor and shirt to bare his wound.
She bids him to lie down on the bed.
Nonplussed, he asks, "Why?"
"The healing spell will put you to sleep. It won't work properly otherwise."
Her explanation is calm and concise. She doesn't seem irritated by the lack of either knowledge or trust.
Vesemir responds only by following the previous instruction and lying down on the bed. The sorceress sits next to him and splays her hand over the unbroken skin closest to the edge of his wound. His medallion vibrates with the thrum of magic.
The next thing he knows, Vesemir is waking up slightly disoriented in an unfamiliar inn room. The light coming from the window tells him that it's early afternoon, which means he slept through the entire night and half of the next day.
Someone is sitting beside him, someone too small to be one of his fellow witchers. He catches the scent of expensive perfume, and the events of the previous day come rushing back to him all at once.
"How do you feel?" his soulmate asks, once she notices that he's awake.
Vesemir puts a hand to his chest and feels only unbroken skin there, with no trace of yesterday's wound, not even a scar.
"Good as new," he says, smiling. At this point his stomach decides to join the conversation, with a loud gurgling sound that his companion didn't need enhanced senses to hear. "Hungry, though," he adds.
"Well then, it seems you woke up at the perfect time," his soulmate replies.
Now that she mentions it, he can smell the food being cooked downstairs.
The sorceress hands Vesemir his shirt. He turns it over in his hands, idly noting that there are no bloodstains or damage from yesterday's fight, before putting it on. He puts his armor on before following his soulmate downstairs.
After the meal, the pair return to their room.
The witcher immediately begins packing up his things, of which there are few other than the sack of monster parts.
"Leaving already?" Tissaia inquires archly.
"I've got other contract to fill, and my poor horse is probably wondering where I am since I left him out in the forest where I was planning to camp last night," Vesemir replies, somewhat awkwardly. He stops rearranging his meager belongings and turns to look at her. "I don't know how to repay you for what you've done, my lady... unless you'd like some harpy feathers and talons?"
"You don't need to repay me," she says, frowning. "And there's no need to be so formal. We are soulmates, after all."
"Ah... you never told me what your name is, so I didn't know what else to call you," he says. "I'm Vesemir, by the way."
He has no way of knowing that she already learned his name by reading his thoughts.
Tissaia introduces herself, and watches her soulmate's expression morph from mild embarrassment to shock when he recognizes her name. After giving him a moment to process that, she adds, "It's an unusual first courting gift, but I would love some harpy feathers and talons, actually."
~oOo~