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[Dimitri has been having such an End Of February. So much has happened. It kind of keeps happening? He'd like for it to stop. Ecruteak was supposed to be nice.]

[As it is, it's been full of secrets, and comas, and a small child suddenly running away because depression. It's been So Much that Dimitri almost forgets something that he wanted to do... but, as they're on the road and he's riding in the rat sleigh, it hits him again.]

[Right. He should start making some calls.]

[So after waking up from one of his twenty minute naps, Dimitri stays inside so that he can start hitting up people. Just... ignore the fact that it doesn't look like he's been sleeping at all. He has! Just, you know. Not great!]

Greetings, Geralt. I understand you must still be enjoying yourself on the islands, but would you have any interest in returning briefly to Johto for a get together of sorts? I have been told of something called - well, I will butcher the word if I attempt it, but it is an small event where one eats and watches the newly bloomed flowers.

Dimitri.

[If Geralt notices Dimitri's general lack of sleep, he makes no comment on it. Honestly, he's been there, and so long as Dimitri doesn't try to fix his insomnia with a very poorly thought out djinn wish, he's doing better than the witcher in terms of sleep.]

[The call, apparently, is to extend an invitation. He tries to think back to another time when he had been invited to an event that wasn't somehow tied to a job, and... comes up blank. No one invites witchers to parties unless they expect a monster to show, too.]

Where, and on what day? I'll need to account for travel.

[Granted, it's much quicker to travel around in this world than in his own, but he'll still need to catch a ferry and the train.]

I was thinking Goldenrod, on the 26th, if it would not be too much trouble for you. If you believe it would help, I could take Elshot, my Pidgeot, and meet you partway.

It may not be as quick a travel as trains, but he is still a fast flier. Although I do not know if you have ever ridden a flying creature before...

[Witchers seem to get up to all sorts of things, after all. At the same time, flying steeds seem to be unknown, so who knows.]

That won't be necessary. I can take the train.

[Traveling by flight sounds about as appealing to Geralt as traveling via portal-- that is to say, not at all. He prefers to keep both of his feet planted firmly on the ground, thank you kindly, or his arse planted firmly in a saddle.]

Is this invitation extended to Jaskier as well? I don't know which of your party would be more vocal, the one that would be pleased to see him, or the one that wouldn't.

[Either way, if Jaskier's there, some form of drama is sure to follow. It's in his nature.]

I feel if I were to snub Jaskier, he is the type of individual who would never let me forget it, and my life would be haunted greatly by a minor mistake.

[It reminds Dimitri of dealing with some nobles, honestly... Even if you thought someone might not want to come, or if they were too busy to come, you still had to send out an invitation to whatever nonsense you were hosting. It was about the appearance of it all.]

[His father always said it was because people weren't mind readers, and so politeness helped smooth over ruffled feathers. Dimitri gets it, but also: Saints it is so tiring.]

If Jaskier has any interest in coming, I am sure that Claude would be delighted to see him, and I imagine I could keep Felix occupied away from him. Still, he seems to be enjoying himself in the islands, so he does not need to feel pressured on attending.

He has a long memory for slights, whether real or imagined.

[Which is why Geralt has decided to make his life easier and stop trying to keep track of whether he has offended the bard or not. If he has, Jaskier will loudly and insistently make him aware of it. Jaskier will inevitably forgive him, anyway.]

I'm sure that Claude would. [Delighted is one way to put it. Geralt is quite certain that the two of them could entertain themselves away from Felix, though that may not prevent him from commentary.] I'll relay the invitation. If he plans to attend, I'll let you know, but you can expect me.

[Believe it or not, Geralt doesn't always travel around with a bard attached to him at the hip. They are physically capable of being separated.]

Excellent. Then, I will look forward to seeing you there.

[It's really been a long time since they've been able to meet in person, after all, considering how Jaskier migrated them both to the islands to wait out the winter.]

Is there any food in particular you like? I will try to keep it in mind.

[He may be mildly sleep deprived, but he will be a good host, saints damn it, or die trying]

[He will probably die]

[it's fine]

[I will look forward to seeing you there. There are very few people that have ever said something like that to Geralt and actually meant it, and fewer who weren't witchers. If Geralt was capable of the full range of human emotion, he might have been appreciative.]

I have no preference beyond it being edible.

[He's an easy man to feed, at least. So long as it's technically food and technically edible, he'll put it in his mouth and he won't complain. In all likelihood, there's nothing that Dimitri could serve him that would be worse than what he's had to eat before. The bar is so low here that it might as well be on the floor.]

[But there's just... one more thing.]

Are you well, Dimitri?

[Which really translates to 'you look like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag', but phrased in a manner that can be easily deflected.]

[Ah. He guesses he should have expected that. Dimitri rubs the back of his neck.]

I have simply not been able to sleep well, as of late. Chip, Grant's child, ran away while we were in Ecruteak due to some complicated reasons - they simply thought that they had done something wrong. [That's sort of it, but Dimitri isn't going to air everything out, especially when he doesn't know it all himself.] We only recently caught up with them at a farm between Ecruteak and Olivine.

In our haste to catch up with them, however... I left behind Kent, my Munna. Without him, I cannot sleep well.

[Due to the chronic nightmares.]

So I have been dealing with that.

Hm.

[In the language of Geralt's grunts, that's not an unsympathetic one. A missing child is a generally stressful affair, and would understandably not help when a man already has sleeping problems.]

The child was unharmed?

[He assumes that they were recovered whole and hale, just from the barebones account that Dimitri gives him. This world is a much less dangerous place than most, anyway, especially if the child had gone off with some of their creatures in tow to look out for them. ~~Any harm that could befall a ten year old, too, could befall Jaskier. Worth knowing about and watching out for.~~]

[And the comment about the Munna in relation to insomnia is an interesting one. Geralt hasn't encountered one of those yet himself, but he does have an inordinate amount of ghost-types at his disposal. There's certain information floating around about the things that they could do.]

I've heard that some of these creatures can eat dreams. A Munna is one of the kinds that can do that, isn't it?

Oh - yes. Chip is fine. The farmers were happy to look after them until we arrived, and Chip seemed to be helping out during that time.

[So that's something good. Dimitri is glad to see that Chip not only was willing to work in response to such kindness, but that they felt well enough to work at all.]

And yes... It is their primary food source. Kent, my Munna, does a fine job of it. Without him... Well. [Dimitri shakes his head slightly.] Before Grant introduced me to him, I could not sleep through a night.

I gathered all of my companions who could help Chip, however, and did not think much of my own situation... So the fault is on me, really.

Perhaps when we see each other at this flower viewing, I can introduce you.

[Witcher mutations, unfortunately, did not seem to rid a man of nightmares as readily as they rid him of emotions. Geralt might have had an easier time of it if they did; he'd certainly have slept better. Might have entirely avoided the whole djinn incident.]

[It's probably for the best that there are no djinn in this realm.]

I see. I make do with meditation.

[Which isn't as effective as it used to be, but it's better than the other options available to him. By all rights, a quiet mind should facilitate better slumber, and good sleep is a far more valuable resource to Geralt these days.]

I have a few creatures who should be able to do the same soon. It's the process that's concerning. I've had sorceresses in my head before and it rarely ends well.

I see.... I can understand that. In the best case scenario, one's mind should be one's last refuge... Although I suppose that explains why I did not face such concerns when I first met my Munna.

[Nightmares, his anger, the constant feeling of being on edge... And maybe other things. Dimitri can't say his mind has done him an ounce of good.]

I imagine it depends on your relationship to the creatures who will learn this ability, and if you can trust them. With Kent, I have no fear about what he will do while I slumber. He devours my nightmares, allowing easy sleep, and nothing else.

In the best case scenario.

[But who gets best case scenarios? Luckier men than Geralt or Dimitri, probably.]

[He considers the relationship that he has with those members of his team. They're... fine, they generally do what they're told, but they share a particular aspect that seems endemic in the ghost-types. Little mischief-makers, the lot of them.]

They aren't dangerous, but they tend towards mischief. I don't think they would deliberately injure me, but they might do something else for their own amusement.

I see... Perhaps it would be better to seek out someone new who could assist you in that regard, then.

When you arrive, I could introduce you to Kent, and see how you like him. Perhaps a more simple psychic type would be far better for this kind of task, or at least more reassuring.

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