Geralt felt as though his head had been plunged into a fish bowl. The world around him was a little less...sharp, everyone's voice seemed to echo as if from far away. He finished the beignet in his hand purely by instinct. He didn't taste it, nor did the movement of his hand or mouth inconvenience him in this moment. He felt....empty again.

He glanced up as he heard Aurel and Lucien conversing, but had not picked up on any of the words themselves. He flashed the young man an uneasy smile and held up his mug to him, [color=crimson]"Good morning, Aurel, and many happy returns on your birthday."[/color] There was a long, awkward silence, then The Magician slowly began to back away. 

[color=crimson]"It was lovely to see you both,"[/color] he said as he turned to leave, [color=crimson]"Have an extra for me, will you Aurel?"[/color] And with that, he began heading back to his trailer just as the hand that held his mug began to shake.

[i][color=crimson]Failure...disappointment...murderer....homewrecker....criminal...scum....[/color][/i]

The words repeated over and over in his head, chiming out with each step as the gruff voice of the parasite filled his mind. He had to get away, to be alone for a moment to handle this.

Just as Geralt was leaving, Illyana approached the mess area. She barely glanced at him, but even she noticed that his eyes were pointed at the ground, his brow furrowed, his step unsure. He looked...confused or pained...? 

Not that this would change anything for her. The man clearly was not in the mood for company, and she wasn't about to suggest that he stick around. 

The young woman had seen Lucien early this morning when he was setting up and she was going about her daily chores, but she did not return to the mess area until she saw Aurel arrive. Once she did, she greeted him with a large smile, the likes of which were extremely rare on the face of the young diviner.

[color=598527]"Good morning, Aurel, and Happy Birthday!"[/color] She sounded chipper, cheery, and was holding a box as she walked up. When she reached the table, she placed the box on it and slid it toward her troupe-mate. [color=598527]"Your present,"[/color] she said, still smiling, [color=598527]"I hope you don't mind opening it now, I can't wait for you to try them."[/color]