Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Witcher franchise.
Ciri stared over the fire at the Aen Saevherne she could barely trust. Once, she had believed he looked like an angel with his blue eyes and triangular, porcelain face. Now, lit by orange flames, she wasn't fooled by his outward appearances. Whatever his reasons were for helping her evade Eredin's clutches, she knew he must have an agenda she was unaware of.
"Ready to move on yet?" Avallac'h asked her in Ellylon. Even though it had been just the two of them for quite some time, or so it felt to Ciri, her self-proclaimed guardian still spoke to her in his native tongue.
"No," she told him resolutely, also in Ellylon. "My head's still pounding."
Travelling through space and time had grown easier for her, yet still she suffered from unwanted side effects. Not only that, but the atmosphere where they were was borderline lethal. Within minutes of arriving, Ciri's breathing had become erratic, her face flushed, and her mind disorientated beyond all belief. Avallac'h had promptly found a large burrow for them to shelter in. Then he had exerted his magic enough to modify its atmosphere, sat Ciri on a convenient rock and proceeded to shove her head between her legs.
Eventually, the pressure in her veins had subsided, clearing her mind and removing the jitters from her nerves. Before being given a view of her own feet, she had seen the pulse pounding in Avallac'h's temples. He had remained strong enough to save them both, seeing as Ciri was in no state to transport them away.
For the present, they were safe. A translucent blue barrier protected them from the awful, humid climate. On entering the burrow, Ciri remembered seeing the disembowelled carcass of the creature she assumed had dug it. Avallac'h claimed there had been enormous, reptilian predators on the surface and Ciri didn't doubt one of them had done them both a favour.
"The peppermint oil isn't effective enough?" Avallac'h carried on questioning her.
"No," was all she said. She placed her head between her knees once more.
Ciri was tired. She was going through one of her phases where she despised the power in her genes. Although she had seen so many beautiful things - tropical forests made from all colours of the rainbow, geological formations that defied the laws of physics, architecture constructed seemingly from liquid glass - at times she felt her genes were more a curse than a gift. She aired her opinions frequently enough. She didn't miss how Avallac'h's eyes almost shone when she expressed her love for her power, then clouded over with pity and disgust when she expressed her hate.
Summoning all the energy she could muster, Ciri took a deep breath and looked up. Avallac'h had been waiting for hours and testing his patience wasn't as much fun as it used to be. For someone whose perception of time was so much more apathetic than hers, he sure pushed her hard when they were on the run.
"Alright, put out that fire," she said.
"If you're certain," the elf said, before throwing them into near darkness. The barrier barely emitted any light of its own.
Avallac'h came to place a hand on her shoulder. The action wasn't necessary, she had told him many times, but that never stopped him. Perhaps he thought she would leave him behind again, given half a chance. Perhaps he mistrusted her just as she mistrusted him.
Ciri felt it when Avallac'h dispelled the barrier and the pressure to act honed her focus. The thick air hit the back of her throat. Then, for the fraction of an instant, there was a cool, familiar, expansive nothing.
When Ciri opened her eyes, there was a gentle breeze caressing her face.
She swore in Ellylon.
"It's typical how you speak those words the most fluently," said Avallac'h, his tone dry.
Ciri was still gazing in wonder at the panorama surrounding them. It was a savanna of white grass, spanning all the way to the dusky horizon. In the sky hung two suns, one great and red, the other small and blue. Both were setting. The light they cast together was violet.
"I have the best taste," said Ciri triumphantly.
"Tell that to the giant reptiles of the last world, I'm sure they'll be flattered," Avallac'h replied.
"Sh. Don't ruin this for me like you always do," said Ciri.
She spun all around her, breathing in the crisp air. Behind her was a great, lonesome tree silhouetted against the sunset. Its limbs hung like a willow's, but only made it halfway to the ground. After directing her feet towards it, she saw how its leaves were thistles, protecting clusters of blue fruit nestled in its branches.
"You appear to be feeling better," remarked Avallac'h, no doubt noticing the slight spring in her step.
"Actually, my head is killing me and I'm exhausted," Ciri stated frankly. It had taken her some time, while travelling with the elf, for her to admit her weakness. Now she didn't see the point in hiding it. If she wanted sleep, it was because she needed sleep, so she demanded it. Usually, she had her way.
Taking the small blanket from her satchel, Ciri laid it over the long grass the best she could. Then she sprawled over it, rolling around until the vegetation was flattened to her liking. Avallac'h did something similar, only with far more dignity and far less rolling. The sight of the irreversibly crushed grass beneath Ciri made him look uncomfortable.
"Sometimes you still behave as a child would," he muttered, crossing his legs on his own blanket.
"When my hair's falling out like yours, Avallac'h, I'll start conforming to your ideals of maturity," Ciri retorted.
"My hair is not falling out," said the elf calmly.
"No? Then I mustn't be doing my job properly," sighed Ciri.
"I dare say you rarely do your job properly."
"Tell that Auberon. He was the one with the problem, not me."
"You seem very certain that's what I was referring to."
"It's what you always refer to, when trying to belittle me."
"Zireael, my dear, you know I never try to belittle you."
"Not more than once per world, it's true."
This time it was Avallac'h who sighed. With three swift gestures, he cast a familiar blue dome around them and the tree.
"There's nothing here. Are you losing your sight now too?" Ciri rolled her eyes.
"Who knows what fauna will come out at night? Besides, the temperature is likely to drop to freezing in this environment," said Avallac'h.
"You're so pedantic. You would've made a great grandfather," said Ciri. When the elf remained silent, she turned her head from the horizon and stared at him above her. "Too soon?" she fluttered her eyelashes.
A smirk twisted across Avallac'h's lips, but somehow he still looked mildly infuriated.
"I'm sorry," said Ciri. It suddenly came back to her that Auberon was dead, murdered by his successor; that Avallac'h was still strangely sensitive, regarding the unfulfilled potential of his youth. It struck her with the weight of an avalanche.
"You always say that, and yet I know you'll make the same mistakes again," said Avallac'h.
Ciri huffed indignantly and turned back to watch the suns going down. The violet hue of the air thickened, making the light under the dome even more saturated.
"This barrier's making my headache worse," Ciri murmured. She bit her lip, holding in the tears as the exhaustion overcame her again, as she remembered all that she was trying to flee, everything that was expected of her. She stubbornly refused to feel sorry for Avallac'h's position, after he had forced such a burden on her. She had never asked for any of this.
Ciri felt the elf move beside her, but she didn't take her eyes off the suns. He sat at the top of her blanket and, wordlessly, placed her head in his lap.
"Point to where the pain is," he said.
Ciri sketched out the lines over her forehead and scalp, which were soon graced with the firm but slow touch of someone else's fingertips. She let the relaxation spread through her.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked.
"Because pain distracts you, and you must be as prepared as possible to use your abilities, at any given time," Avallac'h answered.
"I appreciate the massage, truly, but that wasn't what I meant," said Ciri. "I meant why are you protecting me from Eredin and his riders?"
"I've told you this. His intentions for you no longer align with my own. It is my duty to protect you, the vessel of the Hen Ichaer," said Avallac'h.
"Your own intentions involved blackmailing me into breeding against my will," Ciri reminded him sharply. "You haven't told me what changed."
"Believe it or not, Eredin believes there are far more repulsive ways to achieve the same results more effectively," said Avallac'h. "After your departure from Tir Ná Lia, I resolved to find another way whereby you could prevent the White Frost."
There was a lapse in their conversation, punctuated by the last of the red sun sinking into the horizon. Then only the muted blue of the barrier eased the shadows. With Avallac'h's hands soaking up the worst of her pain, Ciri found her eyelids were heavy and an unknown peace emanated from inside her. He hadn't told her anything that she hadn't heard before. The answer she sought wasn't one he would be prepared to give.
"I wish you wouldn't look at me as a vessel," she admitted softly. It was actually something that caused her temper to flare, but Avallac'h didn't seem to take her seriously when she reacted hotly to things.
"Why do you think I offered you another choice, instead of letting Eredin take you?"
Reluctantly, with her eyes closed, Ciri contemplated that for a while. She still couldn't tell if the elf cared for her or if he only valued her genes, if he was really against Eredin's methods or if he wanted to defy him as vengeance for Auberon's murder. Perhaps he felt a twisted mix of all those reasons, alongside his endless devotion to anything related to Lara Dorren. Yet Ciri wanted it to be personal, to be about her. She had denied the selfish truth for a long while. She couldn't anymore.
Ciri felt a fingertip brush her cheek, where her scar rested.
"Do you want this healed, or do you take pride in being flawed?" Avallac'h asked her.
"Yes, I'd like it healed, but not because I'm bothered about your conceptions of beauty," Ciri told him.
"Then why?"
"It's...it's because I don't like the reminder," Ciri confessed. "It reminds me that someone once had the power to change me forever, and used it against my will. Maybe you think that's too much to feel over a petty knife wound."
"No, I don't," said Avallac'h simply. "The next time we come to a familiar world, I can concoct something that will help accelerate the healing process."
"Alright."
Ciri couldn't remember if he had said anything more to her. Not long after, she was lulled into sleep by the soothing motions across her head.
When she woke up, Avallac'h was just where she remembered him to be. His hands weren't occupied anymore, but he was still wide awake.
"When was the last time you slept?" she asked him, her voice croaky. She knew he had to stay awake so that their protective barrier didn't weaken.
"I couldn't tell you what time it was. The last place I remember sleeping was the world where we found the igloo," Avallac'h said.
"Ah, yes. That was cosy."
"Quite."
Now refreshed, Ciri ate some of their dried reserves for breakfast and emptied her skin of water. The next time they moved on, she would visualise a fresh, clean lake in her mind. She stood to roll up her blanket.
"Ready to go?" she asked her guardian.
"Whenever you are," he said tiredly.
Ciri let him take her by the shoulder and then she imagined the taste of cool water on her tongue. There came the blink of nothingness. The first sense to reach her was the sound of small waves lapping at stone.
"I'm definitely getting better at this," she determined.
The two of them stood on a minuscule island of shimmering rock. They were surrounded by water so clear that Ciri could see schools of fish metres below them, even in the predawn light. Other islands dotted the vast expanse of calm water, some with trees growing from them, some with flowering bushes.
Dipping her finger in the water, Ciri tasted it and to her joy realised it was fresh. She swiftly filled up her skin.
"Do yours need refilling?" she asked Avallac'h. He handed his to her in response. "You should get some rest."
"This place is too exposed for my liking," he said.
"Fine," said Ciri. She grasped his hand unceremoniously and pictured the security of four walls in her mind's eye.
They appeared on a plateau in the face of a high mountain. Below them was a swaying, blue-green canopy and above was an army of fluffy clouds, scudding over the afternoon sun. Ciri turned to see the ruins of an old temple, its architecture basic and geometric and slate grey. When they approached it, however, they saw each block of stone was ornately engraved.
Inside, beneath a collapsing roof strung with ivy, there was a small room that had once been some kind of circular auditorium. Now, most of the wooden benches were broken or rotting.
"That looks like a decent enough place to rest," Ciri pointed out a nearby bench. "Take my blanket too, seeing as I won't need it."
"You'll keep watch outside?" asked Avallac'h as he lay out his bedding.
"For as long as you need," said Ciri. "I'll wake you up if there are any harpies coming for us."
"Very well," said the elf.
Ciri stood just beyond the entrance, admiring the endless movement in the world around her. She peered at the black specs in the distant sky and wondered if they could turn into a threat. Just once, she glanced over her shoulder to see Avallac'h lying awake, facing her. Then he turned over and surrendered himself to sleep.
Ciri drew the sword from her back and waited for him to wake up again.
Author's Note: Just a little fic I thought up at 4am. Let me know what you think!