~ A Place for the Broken in the Light ~
The crown is sparse, the flowers - daisy and buttercup - distantly spaced from one another.
The bard and the archer both keep a wary distance from one another after their crowns bloom, a sure sign that they've both been burned before.
Perhaps Yennefer would have some words of wisdom for them if she were here, but Geralt does not. And so it is an awkward journey the three of them embark upon together.
When Cahir joins them - finds them, begs to join them - the only thing that stops Geralt from telling him to go away is the manifestation of Cahir's flower crown.
Violets bloom along Milva's and Dandelion's crowns, crowded close to the daisies, leaving awkward gaps between each violet and buttercup. It's not hard to guess that this means there will be a fourth soulmate found somewhere along the way to complete the pairing.
Dandelion and Milva still don't seem particularly inclined to trust or want to get to know each other, and adding Cahir into the mix only makes things more awkward for all of them. It's worse in some ways, as Cahir is eager to prove himself useful to his soulmates, who can take care of themselves perfectly well on their own... and anything that Dandelion isn't capable of, Milva quietly and competantly does for him, so that he will not have to rely on Cahir, even though the bard and the archer are otherwise still keeping each other at arm's length.
Geralt watches the three of them dysfunctionally fumble their way toward some kind of bond, wondering idly what the fallout will be like when they find their fourth partner.
Geralt's inability to leave someone in trouble alone brings another member into the group, a young woman whose head remains stubbornly barren of any flower crown despite the expectant stares of everyone else.
"What?" Angouleme snaps when she notices the way they're looking at her.
Dandelion is quick to blurt out, "Nothing!" while Milva awkwardly looks away and Cahir mumbles, "Sorry."
The girl turns to Geralt and says, not bothering to lower her voice, "Your friends are weird."
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
They meet the fourth soulmate in a graveyard, of all places.
Geralt is immediately deeply suspicious of the man, for no particular reason that he can definitively name, but he grudingly gives Regis the benefit of the doubt when he sees the flower crown bloom on his head, and delicate magenta-colored tea roses fill in the gaps in Dandelion's, Cahir's, and Milva's flower crowns.
There is no 'one certain magical moment in which the soulmates realize they are perfect for each other' of the sort that is often mentioned in love stories and bards' songs. The mundanity of traveling together, simple acts of kindness, and the eventual sharing of secrets are what gradually break down the barriers around their hearts anad allow the four of them to grow close to each other.
The duchess of Toussaint informs Dandelion that her husband is dead, in a way that suggests he should be happy to hear this news.
He expresses his regrets for her loss, and when she more blatantly implies her wish to rekindle something with him, he replies, "I'm sorry, Your Grace, but as you can see-" He gestures to the matching flower crowns upon his own and his companions' heads. "-my heart has already found its home."
When Ciri sees Cahir again after the battle at Stygga castle, she almost doesn't recognize him.
"Is Dandelion okay?" she asks, still not having realized precisely whose back the bard is draped over.
"Broken ankle," Cahir replies.
Ciri recognizes that voice, but it's hard to reconcile the demon from her nightmares with the man standing before her. (This man seems so much smaller in real life than the monster in her memories. She knows it's because she's grown up since then, not that he's actually any smaller.)
Cahir casts a soft, worried look over his shoulder as he hitches his soulmate higher on his back.
Dandelion wraps his arms more firmly around Cahir's shoulders and mumbles, "I'm fine."
His words are meant to reassure Ciri, although he's clearly in pain.
"I can take him," the elegant vampire offers.
It is only then that Ciri notices that his crown has the same arrangement of daisies, violets, buttercups, and delicate magenta-colored tea roses as Cahir's and Dandelion's do.
"I've got him," Cahir declines.
He seems so... calm and collected, while also being sweet and protective. Perhaps he's learned from his past mistakes, or perhaps Ciri's opinion of him is more charitable now that his adoration is focused on someone other than her.
"I wouldn't want you to strain yourself," Regis says.
"He's not that heavy," Cahir replies, and Dandelion hugs him a bit tighter for that.
The archer comes up and nudges Regis in the ribs with her elbow, before winding her arm through his.
"Let them be. You can have your turn at playing gallant steed later."
And Ciri is surprised to see that her crown matches the other three as well.
~end~