#I think there is a fic where Lambert is dyslexic and Voltehre helps

[on-a-lucky-tide]

Voltehre teaches Lambert to read.

When Lambert arrives, he can't even write his own name. That's not unusual for boys that arrive at four or five, but eight? The others ridicule him. Children that grew up in the keep see a boy their age without his letters and assume he's an idiot. That stops after Lambert sends several to the infirmary.

Lambert has walls up. He can't be seen to fail. To fail is to invite mockery and pain. So he won't risk it. He snarls and spits at the instructors. Throws their books at them and tells them to fuck off. The words jump all over the place on the page, they're just fucking shapes, the pen feels wrong in his hand, the sounds make no sense...

Voltehre can tell Lambert's smart. He sees the world differently to the rest of them. Seems to know how it's all meant to slot together and picks up new things so fuckin' quickly. As long as he doesn't have to read or write it.

"Witchers need to be able to read, boy," Vesemir growls impatiently one afternoon, the tatters of yet another manuscript at his feet.

"Guess I'll never be a Witcher then," Lambert hisses back, and storms off to hide in a dark corner.

Voltehre starts by sitting at Lambert's side and reading aloud. He runs his finger beneath each word as he says it. Lambert tells him to get fucked at first, calls him annoying, rolls his eyes, but bit by bit, he begins leaning over and following Voltehre's finger. Voltehre can see his mouth moving around the words, savouring them carefully, eyes squinting.

Eventually, Voltehre convinces Lambert to hold a pen and he teaches him how to write cusses and insults in cursive. The first time Lambert writes his own name, they both stare at it for a moment, until Voltehre turns the 'L' into a dick and ends up in a headlock.

It's not all smooth sailing. Sometimes, Lambert struggles, and Voltehre can see the tears of frustration in his eyes. "S'all good, Bertie," Voltehre says, "I know you'll get it next time." He tugs the ruined parchment away and places another in front of Lambert.

Lambert tries again, because Voltehre thinks he can do it, and Voltehre knows about these things. He gets it right this time. Voltehre rewards him by collecting his mead that dinnertime.

And with the ability to read and write, the world opens up for Lambert like never before. He consumes knowledge rabidly, spending hours at Voltehre's side in the stacks, learning how to create the biggest explosions and how the tides moved and why the mountains were there and--

Voltehre is the first person to believe in Lambert. To hold out his hand while pointing at the rest of the world: I want to share this with you. The first person to not give up when Lambert lashes out in defence. He is... was... Lambert's first friend. His best friend.

Years later, Ciri finds one of Lambert's journals while she's scurrying around the castle. She's managed to leave Vesemir asleep in one of the work rooms but knows she doesn't have long until Geralt finds her. She opens Lambert's journal with a grin, expecting to see sketches of naked ladies, and blinks at the last entry...

'Dear Voltehre,

Today, I read to Ciri. Thank you, brother.'