[ They're simple things to her, but something that she has learned in the past few months is what seems basic to her is a mystery to others. She had never thought, before Abraxas, that she knew very much. She's from a poor public school in the Midwest, from a place so sparsely inhabited and blasé about education that her high school 4-H club had more funding than the entire AP program. She's used to being the one who needs things explained, who's treated like an ignorant child, surrounded by people with better educations and deeper understandings of the world. Now she's pulling random science facts and tidbits about prehistory from her memory, and just those small actions have built confidence in her knowledge that she never thought she'd have. She doesn't know if she would have been able to push ahead learning magic if she didn't feel boosted by the simple act of actually knowing stuff. Stuff that she didn't even knew she knew.

And there is something extremely gratifying about showing someone a thing that they've never conceived of before, of seeing their reaction and watching their eyes change with comprehension.

Her warning is actually based on the fact that she accidentally gave him a panic attack within a few minutes of meeting for the first time (if confetti cannons warranted Xanax and weed, he would need heroin to cope with unexpected fireworks), but it's fine. She actually expects that he'll be exposed to fireworks either way -- there's no way in hell that Sam doesn't throw a Fourth of July cook-out with a bunch of Roman Candles -- so she just laughs. ] Look, I ain't think to say anythin' at Halloween, I'm not gonna spring somethin' even bigger on you without a warning.

[ There's a snort, somewhat bitter, and she refills her glass with a thought, as the bottle has long been emptied. She takes a knowing sip, looking over the rows of grapevines. ] You've never been a woman. When you're a girl, you get jaded early. Men hurt us, startin' early. Half the time, it's your own daddy does it first, if he even stuck around. [ She fishes a joint out of her cleavage, because of course that's where she keeps such things, then lights it with a wave of her hand. Taking a drag, she offers it to Jaskier, blows the smoke out in a cloud. ] There's this famous saying in my world. 'Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.' You wanna survive, you better learn that fallin' in love is just breakin' all your defenses down for 'em.

[ When she looks back at him, it's with an expression of resignation, acceptance. An eyebrow lift that says, That's just how it is. ] Every woman you've ever known has a story about when she loved a man and he used it to ruin her. They just never told you.