Geralt awakened much later the next morning than he normally would. A pounding headache and only a vague memory of the exact events of the night before immediately put him in a foul mood. He knew that his conversation with Lucien had gone poorly, and the wine stain on the wall and the roll of bills left out was a reminder of that. Hopefully, it was nothing that couldn't be salvaged. He made himself a hangover cure and drank it down with some gusto. Once he felt ready, he left his trailer to use the showering facility. He didn't bother with displacement, and made sure to show himself to members of the troupe that had been walking about in the afternoon. He did not smile or wave, he barely looked at anyone, but he wanted to make sure that his presence would be noted if Lucien asked after his whereabouts. He knew that a followup to last night's...disagreement was in short order. The Big Top was tonight, and Lucien could not risk any illusions about where Geralt's loyalties lay. The Magician needed to be sure that he was prepared to do what he had to to convince Lucien of his intentions without revealing anything...sensitive. It was a thin line to walk, and Geralt, for the first time in his life, was unsure if he would manage to stay on it. Illyana saw the man walking across the grounds, this time clothed, heading towards the showers. She, too, had heard the scream echoing from his trailer. In fact, she had [i]felt[/i] it. Waves of despair and fury had wafted from the place like a foul wind. Though she did not know of the exact events that had lead to that moment, she was confident that she had guessed the reason. Geralt had missed a show, and she had not seen Lucien that angry in...well, she couldn't even remember if she ever had. In fact, she had been surprised to see The Magician on the grounds this morning and expected that he would have left after being dismissed, taken his things in the night and simply...disappeared. It seemed that he was content to stay, get his affairs in order, and maybe perform one last time under the Big Top before he left them. At the thought of his absence, the girl couldn't help but smile. A small bit of guilt prickled at the back of her brain for this reaction, as she knew that the feelings from Geralt's outburst were complex and deep, and that he must have had his own reasons for his behavior. Still, she knew deep down that Lucien was better off without the man sniffing around him for scraps any longer. They had a family here, and she would not see it torn apart by a dark intruder with hidden motives and illicit intentions. It would be best for all of them if he left as soon as possible. She did not approach the man, she didn't even acknowledge him. It was none of her business, so she focused on getting everything ready for that night's line up. Cora had not heard the scream, but she could tell that something was off. She hadn't spoken with or seen Lucien last night, but she knew that he was looking for Geralt and that he was unhappy. She hoped that everything had been resolved, but the mood around camp told her differently. She decided to stay out of it, it was not her place to interfere. --------------------- After his shower and some food, that was eaten rather lack-luster, Geralt returned to his trailer and spent the rest of the day there. A couple of times throughout the day, he exited and took a seat in a chair he had set up by the door, reading the newspaper or fiddling with a deck of cards. He wanted to make sure that he was accounted for all day until the show, to illustrate that he had no intention of leaving on his own. If Lucien asked him to leave...well, that was another matter entirely, but he would not be pushed out without another conversation at the very least. Luckily for him, his dark passenger had kept quiet all the rest of the day, waiting to see what would happen. The Magician could feel the creature inside of him, coiled like a serpent ready to strike, but he was glad for the thing's silence. His headache had never fully diminished, and it was not something he was capable of dealing with in a manner appropriate for the circumstances. Not right now, anyway. He was inside his trailer when Lucien approached, lying in bed with his eyes closed under a damp cloth. He could hear the man's footsteps before he knocked, and prepared himself for this eventuality. Slowly, he removed the cloth, left it on the table next to the glass he'd been drinking from, and went to the door. He opened it, squinted at Lucien out into the light, his head throbbing from the onslaught of fresh air and sun. He said nothing and simply stepped to the side to allow Lucien entry.