Gems in his Hoard

Citrine and Peridot

Vesemir simply rolled his eyes at this display before he walked by and whacked Lambert soundly in the back of the head.

"Hey!" Lambert yelled in annoyance.

"Go put your stuff away, pup." Vesemir responded without pausing in his steps. "The food should be ready by the time you are done."

"You can't make me!" Lambert whined.

"Come on, Lambert. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can relax."

Lambert perked up at the suggestive tone in which Aiden said relax and grinned lasciviously. Grabbing his stuff with one hand and Aidens arm with the other, he dragged him out of the room and up the stairs.

Vesemir chuckled as he watched them go.

"One good thing about Aiden is he definitely knows how to handle Lambert." Eskel remarked after they made their hasty retreat.

"That he does." Vesemir replied as he made his way to the kitchen to finish cooking.

Some of the group went to help him while the rest sat in front of the fire to wait. No one went upstairs.

Finally, soon after the food was ready, Lambert and Aiden came back down the stairs. Their hair was a mess, and there were love bites clearly visible on both of their necks.

Eskel snickered, and Vesemir rolled his eyes at their ruffled appearance.

"You couldn't wait until after supper?" Vesemir grumbled.

"Nope!" Lambert smirked, lounging across Aiden as they sat at the table looking smug.

Vesemir heaved a very put upon sigh but said no more. He simply shook his head disapprovingly and dug into his food.

Supper was a lively affair. With all the wolves finally home in their keep for the winter, the witchers that had arrived previously were noticeably more at ease. They no longer had to worry if all of their brothers had made it through another year. Alcohol was brought out, and that, as well as the chatter, flowed freely.

It was late into the night before everyone trotted off to bed. Ciri stayed awake this time, though not without much difficulty. Jaskier wondered if it was a winter habit to stay up to all hours of the night or if it was just something that happened when a new witcher arrived, born from the relief of having another wolf home safe again.

They all slept in late the next morning. Most of the group did not appear until noon, Jaskier included.

Jaskier was woken by Geralt getting out of bed.

"Come on, Ruby." He grunted. "His voice low and gravelly with sleep. "Let's go take a bath."

With that, he picked up Jaskier and settled him across he shoulders. He headed down to the hotsprings located in one of the lowest parts of the keep, the cellers being the only rooms lower.

When they arrived at the hot springs, they found Lambert and Aiden already there, lounging in the hot water.

"Geralt! I see you brought your pet dragon!" Lambert called out from where he was comfortably ensconced on Aiden's lap.

"Ruby is not a pet. He is sentient."

"Then why does he sleep in your room with you? Shouldn't he have his own room?"

Aiden smacked Lambert upside the head and pushed him off his lap. "Don't be an idiot. He can't very well open doors like that, can he?"

"I guess you're right." Lambert huffed before trying to climb back on Aiden's lap.