Even Illyana's good mood could not be negatively impacted by Geralt's presence, it wasn't worth it. Though the laughter had died down and eventually her smile faded, a sparkle remained in her eyes as she looked across at the two men that had joined them. Looking at Lucien, but addressing both of them, she said, [color=598527]"Of course not, you'd have to be uninvited to crash a party, after all."[/color]

[color=crimson]"You are very welcome, my dear."[/color] Geralt smiled over at Akane and Cora as well, as he mouth was full and she could not issue a proper thank you at the moment. Then his eyes flashed to Illyana and he was quite surprised to see that her expression had not soured at his presence. Ivory's either, for that matter. This told him that there had to be something bigger at work than just a good mood...but it was best not to dwell on it now. He'd thought it would take much longer for either of the two to accept that he was among them now, but maybe this had been just the ticket for it.

He chuckled lightly and took a sip of his drink, nodding as he set it down, [color=crimson]"Exactly right, and it is my welcome party, or so I was told. I'm glad to see everyone in such high spirits, even if you're not partaking of any."[/color] He swirled the dark amber liquid in his glass and took another small sip as he watched Aurel's exchange with Ivory.

He couldn't help but tilt his head at this, seeing the way her eyes lit up and how intensely she was studying the stones...well, it was not anything close to what he'd expected of her. She really was like no other woman he'd ever known...

[color=crimson]"More tools for your plan for world domination, I imagine?"[/color] he asked playfully, watching as she picked some rocks up and looked at them more closely. He knew that the young woman was handy, especially if she had come up with the idea for Cora's tank, but he had no earthly idea of what these stones could be useful for.

[color=00a99d]"Thank you, Geralt!"[/color] Cora shouted a little too loudly as she lifted the glass to take a sip, [color=00a99d]"It's yummy!"[/color] she said, licking the liquid from her lips.

Geralt looked back over at her and let out a short but loud ha. [color=crimson]"You too are welcome, tautropfen."[/color]