A smile crept across Geralt's face as he saw Aurel stop dead in his movements for a few seconds. Good, he had at least shaken the lad if nothing else. He only wished he could have seen his face, but the slight tremor in his voice would have to be enough for now.

He made sure to wipe the smile from his features as Aurel exited the tent. The Magician let his eyes linger on the snake that was wrapped around its charmer's arm. The creature was actually quite striking, and Geralt would have thought it lovely if it had not acted so foully toward him upon his and Aurel's first interaction. He wasted no effort in lightening his expression, he was no longer in the mood to play Mr. Nice Guy.

He did flash a half smile, more out of pity than anything else as he answered, "I'm sure I'll manage." After this, he paused as he looked down at the snake once more. "Do you know why Lucifer chose the form of a snake to tempt Eve into biting the apple, Aurel?" He let the question hang for a moment before he answered it himself, "Because they are low creatures, closest to Hell. They slither along the ground on their bellies through soil and grime, they devour living creatures whole or else kill them with poison or by crushing the air from their lungs, they are devious and evil creatures, manipulators and liars." He did not take his eyes from the serpent while he spoke, showing it that he was not afraid of its bite, no matter how powerful the venom. "But, there is a reason a priest's mouth will never utter, nor his hand write. Serpents are symbols of power, of fertility, of strength beyond measure, the supernatural, everlasting life. They are cunning, intelligent, and represent danger and unbalance. Lucifer chose the serpent because it is a creature feared by Heaven, feared because God will never fully understand it. This also makes Him sad...to think--to know that He created something but will never truly grasp the meaning of its existence...how empty He must feel..."

As he spoke, his eyes went dull and lifeless, but after a beat they clarified once more. "Ah, I'm doing it again, my apologies for rambling..." he shook his head, chuckling absently, "All of this dust must be getting to me. I'll let you go now, and sorry again for earlier, I'll be sure to announce myself next time."

Aurel was more than ready to leave after he said he would figure things out, but he noticed him looking at Liquorice, and before he could properly excuse himself, he had spoken up again. He was a bit surprised by the question, but hadn't really been given a chance to answer it, as the Magician spoke up again.

The man could not help but grimace at the words that followed. He was somewhat familiar with the way some people viewed snakes. Even as a child he had heard adults make comments about it in his previous circus.. because he was a child surrounded by such dangerous creatures.. and had even heard such things about himself.. but he had tried not to let it bother him, Lucien certainly hadn't minded it, and had even explained that in some religions snakes symbolized something else.

Geralt continued to speak before he could make any comment in regards to his words, at least adding a bit more positive meaning to the creatures.. but for whatever reason it still didn't sit well with him. Liquorice hadn't torn his eyes away from Geralt, and slithered up to his shoulder, almost glaring at the man. Honestly he was unsure of what to say to anything he had just told him.

"Er.. it's fine... happens to the best of us.." He said simply. "I'd be careful though.. some people might not take it as well.." If he had walked in on someone like Ivory well.. he would have felt a bit bad for the man.

"I sstill don't like him." Liquorice complained.

"Bye.." He told him, before quickly leaving the area. He headed straight for Lucien's trailer and knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard ther ringleader call out, prompting him to open the door. He had been looking at a few maps to pass the time, preemptively seeing where they should go after they were done with Mesquite.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything.." Aurel told him, remaining by the door.

Lucien of course was quickly to shake his head. "No, not at all. What do you need?" He asked.

"I was wondering if you could cut some of my hair if you weren't busy? It's getting too long.."

The Ringleader smiled. "But of course. I'll bring a chair out, give me one moment. It's best to do it now since your hair is wet."

Aurel nodded, letting Lucien grab his things before walking back outside. Lucien then joined him with a chair, towel, comb, and a pair of scissors.

"I was wondering when you might ask me, I was noticing it was getting quite lengthy." He said a little amusingly as set up and Aurel took a seat and Lucien began to brush it. It was at times like these that Lucien felt a bit nostalgic, getting to do this again.

---

It was around this time that Ivory had finally left her trailer. She had already taken her shower, and had been relaxing a bit in her trailer while the sun went down to a bit of a less annoying state. She figured now would be a good time to eat some food, and so she made herself a sandwich to eat, taking note of Lucien beginning to cut Aurel's hair.

She smiled a little, before taking a bite of her food. When she was finished with it she washed her plate and put it away, but instead of going back to her trailer she decided to stay in their temporary mess area, to read the book Illy had given her. Occasionally she'd glance over at Lucien and Aurel, who were in small conversation as the Ringleader cut his hair.

Geralt said nothing as Aurel took his leave, simply watching the young man walk away. He followed him with his gaze until he was halfway across the grounds, then turned and made his way beyond the curtain and into the shower. Cleanliness is next to Godliness after all...he told himself, the parasitic creature within him hissing in disapproval of the saying.

He spent a little extra time under the water, making sure every layer of grime was washed from his skin before he exited. By the time he was done, almost all of the water they had collected was gone, and though Geralt noticed this, he was not going to be the one to say anything.

He hadn't brought a change of clothes with him, so he wrapped the towel about his waist and exited the curtained area, leaving it open for whoever wanted to use the last of their dwindling supply. Though he'd left trousers behind, he hadn't forgotten to bring bathing shoes to keep the grime off of his feet. He needed to stay clean for as long as possible before they reached Mesquite.

He was pleased to see that more troupe members had populated the grounds, just in time for him to walk back to his trailer. He took his time crossing, making sure to look at each person in turn. He lingered especially long on Ivory, smiling as he watched her face fall and her eyes roll. With this vampiress, he was happy for any reaction, even a negative one. When he reached Lucien and Aurel, he paused before passing, making sure the Frenchman got a good, long look. Geralt's body had not changed in more than fifty years, through no effort of his own, it was the same as the day he had turned twenty-five and would remain so until his muscle and skin rotted into nothingness and left only bones behind. Despite this, he was proud of the way he looked, and had received many compliments from partners all throughout his life. If this did not get the blood pumping in Lucien's...veins, then he doubted anything else would.

Ivory lifted her gaze as she felt a pair of eyes on her, only to see it was Geralt of all people, crossing the grounds, very much so in an indecent state. Was she surprised? No, not at all. Considering Lucien was out and about, she very much expected something like this, and rolled her eyes, with no intention of hiding it. Shaking her head she shifted her glance back to the book she was reading.

Lucien on the other hand, had been caught a bit by surprise by Geralt's actions, not because he didn't believe him capable of it, but simply because he hadn't expected it. He was walking quite proudly across the grounds, clearly not bothered by any eyes on him.. as a matter of fact he probably wanted the eyes on him. He of course could not deny that the man was attractive in his own right. He had grown fond of his company, and he made an excellent partner in conversation.. but Lucien always made sure to keep a bit of distance between them, not wanting Geralt to get the wrong idea... but sometimes it was easy to forget. Their conversations just.. flowed so naturally.

Aurel had noticed this had caught Lucien's attention, but spoke up, wanting to distract him from the sight. He was sure that Geralt wanted Lucien to keep looking in his direction.

"Lucien." Aurel's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and caused him to glance down. "Would you mind cutting just a little more?" He asked.

"Oh, yes of course. How much more? An inch?" He asked.

The man nodded. "Yes.. an inch is fine.." He said, giving Geralt a small glance out of the corner of his eyes.

Geralt saw Aurel's attempt at distracting Lucien, but not before he noticed the Nephilim's eyes on him. Not so pure after all, I see...He thought to himself, flashing a grin to the pair of them and giving them a gentle wave before moving on.

Despite Lucien's attempt at keeping them at a distance, his prolonged gaze was enough to show The Magician that it was not because he wasn't attracted to him. There was something else holding him back, and it wasn't just because of their working relationship or gender conventions. No, Lucien was a free spirit, he had founded his own circus after all. Geralt was sure now that there was something deeper that was making him hesitate and second guess their relationship, he just had to find out what it was. He suspected, but would now have to prove, that it had something to do with the man in the drawing he had seen in Lucien's trailer and the tall redheaded figure standing next to him. It may also be linked to Lucien's all-nighters during the full moon...he would have to wait for another opportunity to ask him about that.

He made his way to his trailer, throwing one last glance at the Frenchman before closing the door. The look on his face was unmistakable and made Geralt's smile widen even more. Just a little more work, some time and effort, and he just have what he was craving.

Lucien had returned to the task at hand and finished cutting Aurel's hair, to which the man thanked him. With that out of the way, once the water had been refilled and everyone had gotten their showers out of the way, the troupe set out on the road again to where they'd be setting up next; Mesquite.

The Ringleader had been a bit preemptive in his measures to attract the crowd. During their stop at the reservoir, he had sent a couple carnies to town to spread flyers, giving their advertising a bit of a head-start to the day they actually reached town and began their setup. The turnout the first night had been fairly decent. Of all four days, the first night was usually the least busy, considering they would only just be getting the word out. This one was better than their last stop, at least, and by the time the second night came, the difference had been quite large. It seemed they would be going a bit over what he had calculated they might make in this stop, which was of course good news.

He had decided to make his usual rounds, exchanging words with a family here and there, and would on occasion even give some of the children candy to enjoy while watching the shows, flashing his usual charismatic smile. The Ringleader began to make his way to Geralt's tent, to see how his show was going, considering this was his second one for the night. The first thing he noted upon his approach was the fact that Oscar was not at his usual post at the entrance of the tent. Curious he went inside, through the back, but what he saw was not quite what he was expecting.

Geralt was sitting at the center of the stage, on a chair, reading a book, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. In the audience was the crowd he had been supposedly entertaining, but instead of their usual engaged and brightened expressions, the audience almost appeared to be in some sort of trance. He recognized this look, from when he had seen Geralt hypnotize people before.

Was he.. hypnotizing the entire audience?

Lucien's eyebrows furrowed deeply, his lips forming into a deep frown, an expression not normally seen on the Ringleader.

"Geralt." His stern voice called out to him, though not too loudly. He wasn't really sure what it took to break people out of a trance. "What in the world are you doing?!"

Geralt had been a bit more chipper during their first night in Mesquite due to the events leading there. Unfortunately, this attitude faded quickly after he had completed his first show. It was just so droll, doing the same thing night after night with no reward but applause and the sweat of the masses. It was tiresome and boring, and The Magician had decided that he'd earned a night off.

Instead of going and asking for it, as he knew he was above such behavior, he had decided to take some liberties in the following night's show. Once the audience was seated, he'd performed the usual entrance feat, tickled the rube's eyeballs with a little fire show, then slowly began to hypnotize them until their brains had gone...mushy. It was nothing that would harm them, and in fact offered him a little practice at this particular trick, seeing as this was the most amount of people he had attempted to control at once. He simply put them into a more impressionable state and made their neurons fire without him actually having to do much of anything and had been proud when he realized how successful he was. In fact, it allowed him some time to catch up on some reading he'd been doing, a lovely little erotic anthology called "Carmilla" about a one-sided relationship between a vampiress and her intended, a woman named Laura.

He had just been reading something particularly steamy when Lucien's voice snapped him out of it. It was strange, unlike him to be caught off guard in this way, but he had been concentrating nearly all of his power on maintaining the audience's trance, and the other small percentage of his attention was taken by the book. The Ringleader's voice was stern and loud enough to cause some alarm....The Magician had never heard him so riled up before.

"Lucien," he stated simply as he put the book down, keeping his other hand pointing in the direction of the humans he held in thrall. "I wasn't expecting you." In fact, Lucien had not looked in on any of his shows since their second circuit, and he had thought that he'd earned the man's trust. Apparently, he'd been mistaken.

Lucien's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at Geralt's response. He could tell by his position that he was maintaining some sort of concerntration on the audience to retain their trance. That meant it probably wouldn't fade until the magician let it go.

"Clearly." He said, crossing his arms, maing no attempt to hide his current displeasure. Geralt didn't appear to be apologetic in the least, which only irritated him further. Instead, the man looked a bit displeased, probably the most displeased he had seen him by his presence. Clearly he had not expected to be caught, but that only irked him further. How many times had he done something like this?

"I decided to make a couple rounds just to see how everyone was doing, but that's besides the point. I sincerely hope that you don't actually think doing something like this is okay? Hypnotizing your audience? I very much hope that this is not a frequent occurrence." He wasn't sure if the Magician would even admit to it if it was, but just the possibility of it angered him. Did he not understand the kind of risk doing something like this?

Geralt felt his own ire rising as he saw the expression on Lucien's face. Of course, he had entertained the possibility that he would eventually be caught if he did in fact follow through with this plan, and he knew that the Nephilim would find it less than ideal. But he had not be expecting this level of irritation, and seeing Lucien react this way without so much as hearing an explanation...well, it annoyed Geralt in turn.

He managed to keep this out of his voice when he spoke, but knew that some of his anger was leaking through in his expression. With how much he was concentrating, he was having trouble maintaining the mask.

"Of course not, I was only..." he paused for a moment and gestured with the book. "Foolish, I know, but I am a sucker for unconventional romance..." he said, flashing a smile. When the Ringleader's expression did not change, he dropped it once more. "I assure you that this is the first and only time, have I earned enough trust for you to believe that, at least? Besides, they'll be none the wiser when I release them. I promise, on my honor, they won't remember a thing aside from a lovely time at Cirque D'étoiles."

This was not going well. He had lost something, that smooth sway he had over the Nephilim had faded, and his varnish was being stripped away. If only the man hadn't caught him off guard, if he had been paying closer attention, if he had been more careful, he could have released them before Lucien walked up. His mouth and brain were racing with excuses, but he knew that he could give no more. Whatever he said, it would have to suffice, at least for now.

It seemed that this whole situation had certainly caught the magician off guard. If there was one thing he had learned, was that Geralt was a prideful man, no matter how humble he tried to make himself seem, that had always been clear to him. He had been okay with it, after all there was nothing wrong with being prideful, as long as it was in moderation. He wasn't sure if Geralt was frustrated simply because he had been caught, or because he had caught him by surprise, something he knew was generally hard to do, but it didn't change his own displeasure to the situation. He was in the wrong.

The Ringleader's expression did not change as Geralt tried to joke, he wasn't in the mood to play along, and the Magician knew that. He believed what the man was saying, but that was not enough to ease his ire. It wasn't why he was angry.

"I believe that all that you say is true, however, I advise you against this in the future. This is not how we do things here. All it takes is one person, who isn't susceptible to hypnotism to ruin everything we have built. It's this kind of carelessness that can completely tarnish a Circus' reputation. I have no doubt in your abilities, Geralt, but there is always an exception out there. I'm simply glad that exception was not here today." He said, looking down at his pocket-watch.

Knowing it was nearing the show's end, he spoke up again.

"Please don't do this again. If you wish to talk with me further on this matter, you know where to find me." He said, before turning on his heel and leaving the tent. In all honesty.. he was disappointed. He didn't really think Geralt to be this careless.. perhaps he really was just that confident.. but this was something the Ringleader was not willing to risk.

Geralt withstood the onslaught of Lucien's words like a man staring at a firing squad. His jaw was set, teeth pressed together, free fist clench in his trouser pocket. He was resolute, but the humility he had worn so well in front of the Frenchman was completely lost. He could not longer hide the anger in his eyes. The fury at himself more than anything, for allowing himself to be caught completely unawares like this. He promised himself then and there that it would not happen again.

He opened his mouth to speak as Lucien turned away, and for once he was at a loss for words. Part of him deep down knew that the man was right. Geralt had not thought his actions through, but that only irritated him all the more. How he could be made to look like such a fool, especially in front of Lucien, it was maddening that he had done this to himself.

Pathetic. You are nothing but a nuisance to him, just as you have always been. You are nothing, worse than the dirt beneath his shoe.

That voice echoed through the chambers of his mind as he stood on the stage, book in hand, at a loss for words. It had been years, no decades, since he had felt this foolish. He would not allow it to happen again.

With a wave of his hand, the book disappeared and just as quickly as it had gone, his dashing smile returned and he dropped the power he held over his patrons. "And with that, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, I take my leave of you." With a bow, the lights flickered and he disappeared from sight.

If he had stuck around the performance tent, he would have heard the crowd erupt into a chorus of applause as they gave a standing ovation. Men hooted and hollered, women laughed, children screamed with delight. The applause had always been his favorite part, the love that was showered on him by those beneath him...it was intoxicating. But tonight it would give him no comfort, and he hadn't earned it, anyway.

He reappeared in his trailer, his face set into a frown and his eyebrows furrowed. Immediately, he lurched toward the liquor cabinet and throw it open, bottles and glasses tinkling together loudly as he did so. He snatched out a bottle of German brandy, uncorked it, and poured himself a glass.

Pathetic. Worthless. Disappointment. Trash.

He sipped his drink as the these words repeated themselves over and over and over again in his mind. That growling voice that he could not escape reminding him of his failures, his shortcomings. It had been with him for so long that he was having trouble telling it apart from his own thoughts...How could he have made himself look so pathetic in front of Lucien? In front of her?

You were never good enough for your parents, never enough for her and you never will be enough for anyone else either.

"Rrraaagh!" Before he could control himself, a scream escaped him and he threw the glass in his hand as hard as he could at the opposite wall. It shattered on impact, expensive German brandy running down the dark wood of the walls to the black carpet on the floor.

He didn't stop here though. Rage had entered him, and as that voice cackled inside of him he knew it would not let him rest. He turned to the liquor cabinet, grabbed it by a corner and threw it to the ground. Bottles smashed together, throwing glass shards all over the floor. He then picked up a chair and swung it at the wall so hard that it exploded in a spray of wood fibers and splinters.

This tantrum continued for several more minutes, and luckily for the Magician, there was only a single passing witness to his madness. Illyana had just finished with her line of customers and was headed from her trailer to Lucien's to report. The way they had set up this time, her path crossed by Geralt's trailer, which had been parked a little ways away from the others.

She paused as she heard shattering glass and slowed to a stop, glancing at the lantern light that flickered in the window. She could see the figure of the Magician, locked in some sort of one-man battle with himself as he tore up the inside of his own living space. Something had certainly riled him...but she was glad he had chosen to have his outburst in private. Whatever it was, it was only loud enough that someone walking by would hear it.

After a moment, a small smile touched the girl's lips and she continued on her way, leaving the man completely and utterly alone.

Lucien could hear the applause that erupted as he had walked away from the tent. At least.. the audience was satisfied, but he could not say he felt the same. The Ringleader attempted to get rid of the expression he wore as he made his way through the grounds. Anyone who knew him well would be able to tell something had happened, and the current events was not something he wanted to share with the rest of the troupe. He'd give Geralt his chance, because he knew that there were some who would view him even worse than they already did. This was his first big mistake, he didn't want to ruin his relationships with the others because of it. He just hoped he had learned not to do it again.

He was heading to the next performance tent when Oscar had approached him.

"I'm done helping Alex, did'ya want me to go back to the Magician's tent?" The man asked.

"Helping Alex?" He questioned.

"Aye, with the new toys? Geralt said you wanted me to go help Alex with that?"

At this, Lucien let out a small sigh, but gave Oscar a smile.

"Right, of course. Thank you, Oscar. You don't have to head back over there, he should be done by now. Go do as you usually do, the night will come to an end soon." He said.

The nephilim couldn't help but be a little annoyed that Geralt had sent the carnie off with a lie, but he knew that Oscar wouldn't have questioned the order. He let him go and went on to continue his rounds, eventually returning to his trailer. Illyana had stopped by at one point to give a report, but aside from that, Geralt had not come to see him.

The following days it had even seemed that he was going out of his way to avoid him, but the next few shows had gone well despite that. The turnouts had been even better than the second day, and it seemed that at least Geralt had learned his lesson, as he didn't catch him doing it again. No one had really seen him around too often, like he was purposefully avoiding socializing with anyone. Even Cora and Akane had left him alone, clearly sensing that the man did not want anyone's company.

Lucien went about his usual last night activities.. heading to town to heal, before returning early before dawn. Once the circus had been all packed up, they hit the road once more. At the moment he wasn't sure where they should stop, but it seemed the popular Las Vegas would seem like a good option now that they had hit Nevada, he just wasn't sure if they should head straight there, or make another stop in between. He had heard that there was currently construction being done on a dam, meaning that this project had given people more job opportunity in these troubled times. Perhaps heading straight there was best?

The Ringleader was contemplating this decision as they had made their stop for the night, to give everyone some proper rest before hitting the road again. It just so happened... that this night had also landed on the Full Moon. He had set up his space of comfort at the top of his trailer as he usually did.

There was a small but comfortable lawn chair he had tied up there for transport, and a small table he usually folded. All of this was usually covered with a tarp to keep it all safe and secure during travel, but he utilized these things on nights like these. On top of the table was a bottle of whiskey, and a half empty glass. On his lap was his sketchbook, his golden eyes being able to see just fine in the darkening sky, where the full moon was already revealing itself. Honestly.. part of him sometimes wondered why he still did this. Here he was.. four years later.. prisoner to a routine he technically didn't have a need for. Despite that.. there had always been a part of him that was hopeful.. that somehow.. something would come of this.

Geralt spent the next chunk of days in solitude, as he was wont to do in situations like this. His tantrum had ended only minutes after it had begun, leaving his trailer in absolute disarray. He hadn't even taken the time to clean it and had simply...disappeared for the rest of the evening. He'd returned sometime the next day, after he had chased some physical sensations to distract himself from his wounded ego.

He felt a little better upon his return, but still was not ready to rejoin his new little "family". Instead, he kept to himself, cleaned the mess he had made in his trailer, and spent the next days of travel alone. He only left to retrieve morsels of food and drink, and even then avoided interaction with anyone. It seemed that his mood had been made clear to the troupe, for not even Cora or Akane dared to speak to him during this time. It was better this way, he knew that he would not be able to control himself if they bothered him with their petty questions, and undoubtedly any wrong step would be reported to Lucien.

He performed his next shows the "right" way as well, putting on a smile for every single member of the audience. When the troupe gathered at the end of the stop to gather their cuts, he asked that Akane take his to him in his trailer afterwards. He didn't feel like looking Lucien in the eye just yet.

But he knew that the night of the full moon was approaching. He had seen Lucien sitting on top of his trailer during the last two he had been witness to, staring up at the sky with a bottle of whiskey, doodling or scribbling in a book. He always had this look...a look of longing, of despair, that Geralt was all too familiar with. Once was strange, twice was a coincidence, but three times was a pattern. If Lucien was out on the trailer tonight, The Magician knew he would be vulnerable and may not be up for an argument. Besides, the Frenchman did not seem the type to hold a grudge, so Geralt assumed that most of his anger towards him had faded by now. Or so he hoped.

So, this was the night Geralt had decided to "strike". He waited about an hour after nightfall and watched from afar as Lucien opened the door to his trailer and made his way to the roof with all of his accouterments. He gave his a healthy amount of time to set up and get comfortable, then made his move.

Bottle in hand, he made his way across the ground to where Lucien had parked. It was never far from his own living space. He approached the door and made as if to knock, then pretended to notice the ladder and look up.

"Lucien?" he called, as if surprised by what he was seeing. All a part of the plan.

Lucien lightly ran his pencil across the page as he continued his sketch. Slowly it had begun to form the shape of a wolf. An ironic thing to draw on this night.. but this was the sketchbook he tended to draw animals into. He was a bit.. organized when it came to his drawings. Considering how much time he used to have on his hands.. he had gotten a sketchbook for animals, nature, and people, and would take whichever one he felt like drawing in the moment. He had paused to reach for his glass of whiskey when he had heard Geralt's voice at the bottom of his trailer, near the door.

He had raised his eyebrows lightly, a little surprised to hear him, considering how.. hidden away he had been as of late. He didn't blame him though.. in a way it showed him that he might have taken his actions into careful consideration. He sat up straight, and leaned over slightly, to see the man near the ladder.

"Geralt.. I was almost beginning to think you were avoiding me." He said, though he was perfectly aware of that fact. "Feel free to come up." He added. If he was willing to talk with him, then perhaps he had thought things over? Honestly he had hoped the man would come see him sooner in regards to the situation.. but it had certainly taken longer than he had anticipated. Lucien wasn't usually one to let tension remain in the air.. considering how rarely he got angry, but he knew that in this situation, he hadn't been in the wrong. Taking Geralt's pride into consideration.. he decided to let him be.

A small smile flickered on Geralt's lips at the invitation. It seemed he had been right to think that Lucien would not hold a grudge. Now, all that was left was to take this forgiveness the rest of the way.

He climbed the ladder the old fashioned way, and as his head crested the roof of the trailer, he gave Lucien a look with raised eyebrows. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything...but I see you've gotten started without me." He held up the offering he'd brought, "coincidentally" another bottle of Irish whiskey. "I brought apology liquor, if you'd care for a refill?"

"I do apologize, I was not expecting company." He responded, eyes shifting to the bottle he held.

"Well.. who am I to say no to apology liquor?" He asked, finishing off the glass he had before extending it toward Geralt.

Geralt let a full smile play on his features, then climbed the rest of the way up. He took a look around before sitting down, a look of aw on his face. Way out in the desert, away from all of the lights of the city, the stars were shining exceptionally bright, not to mention the moon.

After taking a seat, Geralt set the bottle that he had brought down, then refilled Lucien's glass with the remainder of what he had brought himself. "Don't worry," he added, then pulled a whiskey glass out of his pocket, "I always bring my own glass." He winked, poured three fingers of the amber liquid into his own receptacle and took a sip.

A moment of silence settled between the two men as they each stared out into the darkness, visualizing whatever it was that had brought them up to the roof in the first place. Each had their own goal, set just beyond where their eyesight could reach.

Finally, Geralt spoke again, "I was, you know..." he glanced at Lucien, and when he saw the man's raised eyebrows, he added, "Avoiding you." The Magician knew that now was the best time for vulnerability. He would have to show some to Lucien in order to receive it in return. It would be easy for him to fake, but harder if it was real. He would just have to open the gate a tiny bit, just enough for some of him to leak out, before he closed it again and locked it tight. If all went well, he knew the reward would be worth the trouble.

Lucien had never been the type of person to hold a grudge. He wasn't going to hold what the man had done against him. Everyone made mistakes, even someone like Geralt. He thanked him as he refilled his glass, and took a small sip of his drink before setting it down, leaning back against the chair again. The night was chill, being out in the desert at this time, it was fairly cold, but it didn't bother Lucien too much, considering his.. particular physique. He did however have a blanket folded up at the end of his chair. Sometimes.. Aurel would come up here to join them, and he always made sure to have it available for him, since he got cold easily.

His eyes ventured out toward the desert. It was such a desolate place.. yet so beautiful. A place were the stars were able to shine so brightly and be seen by public eye. If it weren't for the bright light the full moon shined on them, they would have been stuck in darkness.

As Geralt spoke up, Lucien turned his golden eyes to him, raising his eyebrows slightly at his words. He hadn't actually expected the man to admit to anything.

"Well.. it's understandable. I figured you needed some time for yourself. It's good that I didn't end up spooking you away for too long. I've heard that I have the potential to be quite scary when I'm angry." He very lightly joked. This was true, and an observation that Illyana had made long ago.

"Honestly.. I just hoped you would come talk to me when you were ready."

Geralt kept his eyes on Lucien as he spoke, balancing the glass between his fingers as it rested on his knee with the other hand relaxed in his lap. He then turned his eyes away and stared at the liquid as it swayed in space.

He was smiling, of course, but in his eyes there was a far off look and his voice was low and thoughtful. "Well, here I am. Ready and willing," he said finally, and kept his eyes averted as he continued. "I was careless and disrespectful to you, and frankly, I'm ashamed of myself." When he turned his eyes back to the Ringleader, there was a glint in them that had not been present before, a force behind them that lit them as if they were alive again. "I'm sorry for the way I acted, please know I meant it as not reflection on you and that it won't happen again."

After a beat, he chuckled to himself as if embarrassed, and shook his head as he took on a lighter tone, "What I'm trying to say, is what is apology liquor without the apology, hm?"

It was unlike Geralt to avoid someone's gaze. If there was anything he had observed about the magician over the last few months, is that he quite enjoyed eye contact. It seemed this was particularly difficult to admit, but he was glad that he had done so despite that. He could tell.. that the man felt genuinely sorry for what he had done.

This was certainly... a different side to the man.

"Well.. I suppose I would just call it liquor." He said with a small smile, but this one was softer than usual.

"I admit that.. I was harsh when we last spoke. I don't know what was running through your head in that moment, but I just.. want you to understand how important this circus is to me. I suppose I never really shared this with you. My goal when I started this circus was to create a place where people that were different could feel safe and accepted. Your actions that day.. to me, put that in jeopardy, because of the risk it posed." He said with a small sigh, as his gaze drifted up to the moon for just a moment.

"I want to understand you, Geralt. What prompted you to do such a thing?" He asked, turning his gaze back to the man. Lucien didn't think Geralt was the type of man to take shortcuts this big. He was clearly prideful, as a person and as a performer.. so he found the action odd. If there was something on his mind that had caused this, he wanted to know.

Geralt nearly cringed at Lucien's words, but managed to keep it at bay. Was an apology not enough for the Frenchman...? Of course it wouldn't be, he had to expect this, given the circumstances. He was prepared to keep the gate open a little longer, if he must...

He nodded in response to Lucien's explanation, looking down again at the glass in his hands and letting a thoughtful look settle on his features. He wanted Lucien to think that he was reflecting on his decision, really thinking back about what had happened, before he answered. In truth, he was not doing this as he had already done all of the reflection that he'd needed to, but he did want this to be as genuine as possible, so he had to play his part.

It was touching, in a way, that Lucien had dedicated his life to something that would help others in need. Others who were different, special, unique...others who were outcasts. It was what he expected of a man like that, and just another way that the Frenchman was similar to her. She would always try her hardest to help others, even if it hurt her in the process. It seemed that looks were not the extent of what they shared.

The dangers of leaving the gate open this long were beginning to become apparent to him, he had to make the rest of this quick.

"Its admirable...no, more than that. There isn't really a word to describe what you're doing here...but I do admire it, and I envy you." He swirled the liquid a bit in the glass, now averting his eyes from Lucien, afraid of what he might see if he kept looking for too long. "It really is no excuse at all, but I did it because I was...Hell, I was bored," he shrugged, "I had my own show for so long; different venues, different audiences. I had control over what I was doing, the type of performance I gave. When someone takes that freedom away from you, it can be...difficult to adjust. At the time, I just wanted a break from doing the same thing every night. I needed to remind myself that I was capable of more. I shouldn't have thought that, I shouldn't have done it, but I did and now...I'm just hoping that you can forgive me." He looked at Lucien then, his eyes almost misty in the cold light of the moon.

He laughed again, shaking his head as he extend his glass, "Now, few things make me more uncomfortable than a heart-to-heart. Can we toast, to the future of Cirque D'étoiles. À votre famille." As Lucien rose his glass to accept the toast, Geralt pushed the two together and added, "Sláinte." before downing the rest of his whiskey.

Lucien shook his head ever so slightly. "There is no need for such a thing, you are after all, a part of this now." He told him. Everyone here did their part, Geralt included. He was helping them get out of their financial rut, and this in a sense was also helping him continue to be able to care for everyone that was here.

He was silent as Geralt openly explained. He hadn't expected such blatant honesty. Boredom wouldn't have been the reason he might have thought of first.. but after the Magician explained.. Lucien began to understand. He hadn't meant to make Geralt feel like he was restricted in such a way... He could tell that this was hard for Geralt to admit, but he wasn't completely ready to close the door on this conversation just yet. There was something he wanted to add.

"All has been forgiven, Geralt. I just wanted to know your reason. I know you don't want to linger on the topic much longer, but I want to apologize to you for having made you feel this way. I expressed how much I wanted you to have artistic freedom but.. clearly didn't notice how much this was bothering you. That was on me. I should have paid more attention. Please, if you ever feel like you want to do something new with your show, anything at all, come talk to me. The last thing that I would want would be to take the joy of performing away from you." He told him genuinely, but had lifted his glass.

He had been a little surprised to hear him cheer in Irish, though it was appropriate to the drink.

"Not just mine, Geralt. You are one of us now too." He said with a small smile as he gently tapped his glass against the German's.

"Sláinte." He said in response, before pausing for a moment. Deciding to turn the conversation to a lighter subject, he spoke up again. "I must say, your Irish accent is impeccable, despite it being such an uncommon language."