A/N: Hello everyone, hope you're all keeping well. I am now on Chapter 16 and still going. This is going to a fairly long one so hope you're all up for a journey. Anyway, I'll leave you for another week to read, review and enjoy! :)

Chapter 9

The roar of a griffin echoed through the trees and all of Lambert's senses jumped to attention. He was still very much aware of the demon girl he was holding. The fire between them making his mouth run dry and his skin prickle with some unknown force. But his training and instincts overrode the weird feelings, and he immediately leapt into action.

He was on the bank of the pool, pulling on his shirt and armour before the girl had even turned to look at him. Securing his swords to his back he ran over to his horse and began searching through his bags. He was aware of Blue eyes approaching him from behind.

'What is it?' She asked. There was no hint of fear in her voice, and he found he like that about her, immensely. Whatever else this strange half demon was, she wasn't a coward.

'A griffin. Vicious whoresons.' Another scream reverberated in the distance. It was a man's baritone. Finding the bottle of oil, mixed with dog tallow and the white myrtle petals, Lambert uncorked it with his mouth and poured a liberal amount onto his sliver sword. Grabbing a cloth from his bag, he quickly worked it into the blade. Not ideal, but from the sounds of the man he didn't have enough time to administer it properly. Throwing the cloth and bottle back into his bags, he checked he had at least one grapeshot bomb in his pouch then turned in the direction of the commotion. He shot a look at the girl stood awkwardly by his side. They'd have to address whatever the fuck that had been just then, but right now he needed to do his job.

'You coming?' He said. Blue eyes looked up at him in surprise.

'You want me with you?'

'It's what I said isn't it. The last time I left you alone you took out half a village, prefer to have you where I can see you.' He didn't wait for a response, already launching into a sprint. His gut said she would follow, and whatever this weird connection between the two of them was he knew it would be right.

Sure enough, he heard the sound of her quick, feather light footsteps behind him. She easily caught him and maintained his speed as he dashed, full pelt, through the trees. If she had been struggling to walk when they first met, now she was sure of foot and dogged his steps like a wolf on the hunt. They were nearing the griffin now, he could hear its eagle like shrieks and the resonate boom of its flapping wings. The man's cries were also rising in pitch and he could clearly hear him yelling a garbled mix of, 'Help me!' and 'Melitele, save me!'

Well, I'm certainly not Melitele pal, but I'll do my best. Lambert thought, as he barrelled through the last trees and came upon the scene of chaos in front of him. They had arrived at a large field of sorts, the woods they had been in surrounding half of it, and farmland bordering the other half. There was a huge, gnarled oak tree in the centre of the field that looked like it had been there for centuries. It would have been an idyllic, peaceful setting save for the well-dressed man halfway up the tree, his fancy doublet torn and hanging off him. There was a dead, half eaten horse at the base of the tree and a very large, very angry griffin clawing furiously at the branches covering its currently screaming quarry.

The hybrid let out another indignant screech and the man hugged the bough he was clinging to tighter. 'Does this always happen?' Blue eyes said from behind him.

'Does what happen?' He replied testily, trying to figure out a good angle to get at the monster.

'People screaming and you running to their rescue.' He gave her a funny look.

'Only since meeting you. Usually I have to go looking for the people that need rescuing, they don't normally find to me.' The griffin lunged at the tree, the great claws on its wings tearing at the offending foliage in its way. Its back legs latched onto the lower trunk and it steadied itself, thrusting its beak into the canopy to get at the still hysterical man.

'Amazing.' He heard the crazy girl whisper. Rolling his eyes, Lambert chose his spot, gripping the grapeshot bomb in one hand, his sword in the other.

'Yeah, amazing.' He muttered as he edged away from her. She matched his movements, keeping to his side. Good, last thing he needed was a wayward demon standing out in the open. Sticking to the treeline, the witcher moved quickly and quietly until he was directly behind the griffin. The beast didn't turn or notice the two new additions, continuing to harass the man. Palming the bomb, Lambert took a second to judge the distance and wind direction, then wound his arm back to throw it.

A firm hand grabbed his wrist just as he was about to let rip and his head instantly whipped round to glare in disbelief at the cause of this interruption. 'What are you doing Blue eyes?' He hissed, as enraged as the griffin he was trying to kill.

'Wait.' The girl wasn't looking at the angry witcher, she was staring at the monster. 'Look at its leg.'

'What?' He snapped. About ready to throw the bomb at her.

'Its leg. Its hurt.' Lambert turned to look back at the griffin. Indeed, one of its back legs had a significant chunk of it missing. From the look of the wound he summarised it had likely got caught in a bear trap and had ripped it free, leaving part of its leg behind. He frowned in irritation at having missed the obvious weakness, and tried to remove his hand from the demon's grasp.

'Thanks for the pointer, now let go so I can bomb this motherfucker.' But the grip Blue eyes had on him only tightened.

'That's not why I told you.' She said through clenched teeth. 'Maybe there's a reason it's attacking that guy. On the ground, there, isn't that a trap?'

Over the still shrieking griffin and high pitch yells of the fancy man, Lambert lowered his arm and fully turned to look at the girl. 'And what? You want me to let it kill him?' When she didn't respond he felt his irritation boil over into full blown anger. 'I don't have fucking time for this. If I don't act now, that guy is going to be griffin feed, along with whatever reward he would have given me as a result of saving his life.'

Her eyes narrowed, darkening to a shade of deep sea blue. 'It always comes down to money.'

'Pretty much.' He tossed the bomb in his hand. 'Now, if you'll excuse me.' He said. Drawing, what he thought, was a definite line under the argument. Resuming his planned attack on the griffin, he aimed his bomb, this time focusing on the injured rear leg of the monster. Just as he was about to let it fly however, his medallion gave a jerk and something blurred past him.

The witcher froze, his arm still raised with bomb in hand as the girl ran towards the beast and leapt nimbly onto its back. She straddled the monster as if it were a mount and gripped tightly to its coarse, black mane.

'Fuck it all.' Lambert cursed, tucking the bomb back into his pouch and sprinting towards the monster now turning its head to see what had landed on it. 'What the shit are you doing Blue eyes!? Get the fuck off that thing!' He yelled as he ran.

The griffin, now distracted by its uninvited passenger, disengaged itself from the tree and launched itself into the air, the girl still onboard. In a swirl of feathers and leaves it sailed upwards fifteen feet and began trying to buck Blue eyes from her perch. Lambert let out another colourful string of curse words as he kept his eyes fixed on the now swooping and diving griffin. He could see the girl still holding on, her body low over the beast's tan back, her hands buried deep in its mane. The griffin let out a frustrated screech and hurtled straight up, sending them both careening into the cloudless sky. The witcher stood out in the open, watching the pair with a mixture of fury and panic. Sure, the demon could resurrect and heal herself, but would it work if she became a red smear on the ground?

For some reason he found the idea of testing that theory horrifying, but as he dithered down below another of Vesemir's trademark life lessons popped into his head. Letting personal feelings cloud your judgement, is the fastest way to lose your life, or worse, the life of someone else.

A growl of frustration left Lambert as the griffin, having reached the dizzying height where it was barely more than a speck in the sky even to his enhanced eyes, now decided to plummet straight to earth at a stomach dropping speed. He needed to stop the griffin, but a bomb was out of the question as long as the girl was still attached to it. His window of opportunity reducing rapidly Lambert out another shout of 'Fuck!' as he quickly rolled so he was directly beneath the diving monster. As a witcher, religion meant little to naught to him, but he now found himself offering a silent prayer as he raised his hand and moved his fingers to write the Aard sign in the air above him.

A jolt of energy shot from his fingers and the air seemed to quiver with the aftershock of the magic. The griffin had been about ten feet above him when he had unleashed the simple spell but the concussive force still reached it, buffeting the beast back up a few feet before it let out a shocked roar and fell to earth, dazed. Lambert watched as it landed on its feet, its head bent as it tried to shake off the effects of being hit full in the face. Just over its massive shoulder, a small, pale face looked up, her blue eyes blinking, and hazed with confusion.

'Get down!' He shouted, widening his stance and preparing his sword for the moment the griffin regained its senses.

'Do you always have to act like such a jackass?' She replied. Her voice surprisingly steady for someone that had just gone a joy ride with a griffin. He was so baffled by her question that he missed his chance to advance on the concussed monster. Shaking its great bird like head, the griffin dug the talons on the apex of its wings into the ground and let out a thunderous roar of defiance at the witcher. Lambert braced himself for the impending attack, levelling his silver sword across his arm in a defensive position. However, before either party could move, he saw a flash of movement from the beast's back as Blue eyes leapt off and disappeared behind it.

Great, she screws my attack up and then runs for the hills. He thought as he felt his lip pull back in a sneer. But his angry bitterness was short lived as the griffin suddenly shifted out of its aggressive stance and stood upright, its head titling slightly, like a dog hearing its name. Swinging its head round, it became fixated on something behind it…or someone.

His brow lowered, Lambert cautiously moved around the griffin in a wide arc. All the time keeping his sword ready in case the mood shifted again. The beast however, remained docile. Throaty, rumbling chirps coming from deep in its chest. Now able to see the hind legs of the monster, Lambert lowered his sword in stunned silence. Blue eyes was kneeling by the griffin's injured leg, her slender hands placed gently on the wound. Her mouth was moving quickly as she spoke in a low voice, so low even he couldn't hear what she was saying. The crease between her eyebrows was set in place, an intense concentration etched in her expression.

The griffin clicked its beak together, its yellow eyes fixed on the girl at its feet. She looked up at the sound and to the utter astonishment of Lambert, lifted a hand and placed it on the razor-sharp bill of the monster, giving it a soft pat. After a few seconds she stood up and rubbed her chin, deep in thought. He could still see the gaping wound the bear trap had made on the leg but it was definitely bleeding less. Had she healed it? He stared down at his motionless medallion. No magic detected, and yet the wound didn't look as nasty or fresh as it had moments before.

He stood staring at the girl and the large, unusually placid monster until a squeaking voice from high up broke the surreal illusion. 'Is it over?'

Turning his attention to the fancy man still in the tree Lambert gave one last glance at the girl, who was now rubbing the thick black hair around the griffin's face. It was humming, deep in its throat, a sound of contentment. Giving a small shake of his head, his eyebrows raised so far he wasn't sure they were still attached to him, he made his way to the solitary tree. Stopping at its base and looked up at the man who was staring back at him with wide, fearful eyes.

'By all the gods, you're a witcher!' He exclaimed. The witcher in question gave a heavy sigh.

'Seems so.' He said. 'You gonna' come down from there?'

'Did you kill the beast?' The man asked hopefully. Lambert noted his accent was very refined; this man was used to fine clothes, food and money. Lots of money he hoped. Looking back over his shoulder at the griffin he saw it watching Blue eyes intently, its tail swishing languidly from side to side.

'Errr, no. But I don't think it's going to be problem.'

'You didn't kill it? So, did you subdue the beast?' The man asked, confused.

'In a manner.' Lambert folded his arms, his patience waning. 'Look, are you going to fucking come down or do I need to come get you?'

A look of affronted shock flashed across the fancy man's face. 'Well, I…never have I been spoken to in such a impertinent-'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get your fancy ass down here or I'm gonna' leave you.' He turned and made to walk away from the tree. He hadn't walked more than two steps before there was a scrabbling sound somewhere above him, then a few yelps of pain and a thud as the fancy man dropped from his perch. His well-kept hair dishevelled, his already ruined doublet now covered in dirt. The witcher slowly turned and surveyed the rich man with an amused smirk.

'There we are. That wasn't so hard, was it?' The man sniffed and stood up, batting the dust from his clothes in great clouds. He opened his mouth to say something to Lambert, when his attention was caught by the still very much alive, and very much present griffin stood a few feet away from them. The man let out another pathetic squeak of terror and bolted behind him.

'I thought you said you'd got rid of the beast witcher?!' Lambert rolled his eyes.

'I said nothing of the sort, and as you can see it isn't trying to attack you or me so I consider that subdued.' As they watched the griffin lowered itself to the ground in a crouch, folding its wings in front of it. He had rarely seen one in this state of calm before. Only once when he had been paid to kill a female Royal griffin along with her nest of eggs. Knowing her location, he had snuck up on her and managed to catch her unawares. She had been sat on her nest in a similar fashion to the beast in front of him now. Completely at ease.

Blue eyes was stood in front of the griffin, her hand extended as if she had given it the order to sit; like a trained mutt. Lambert felt an uneasy sensation in the pit of his stomach watching the small girl command such a powerful monster. The creature looking at her with quizzical eyes, cocking its head side to side. 'My friend seems to have everything under control…somehow.' Even as he reassured the man hiding behind him, Lambert wasn't quite able to believe what he was seeing. When he had found the odd girl in parlay with a leshen, he had always assumed the leshen had been using her for its own twisted gains. But seeing her now, he began to wonder if she had some kind of power over monsters.

Well, that water hag had certainly not been her friend, he reminded himself. The fancy man let out a whimper as he peered around the Lambert's shoulder. 'But you're a witcher, aren't you supposed to kill monsters?'

He snorted humourlessly, 'Yeah, although I'm finding myself doing it less and less these days.' He said dryly, surveying the cause of his problem. She looked up and gave them both a narrowed eyed glare, the fancy man yelped and grabbed Lambert's arms. He felt a hot stab of irritation at the contact and immediately jerked out of the man's grasp, turning on him.

'I'd say you're safe to go. Although, there is the matter of our reward.' He felt Blue eyes' attention zero in on him. He'd probably feel her wrath again later for lumping her in with him but right now he needed to do business, and a two person reward was higher than one.

'Reward? But the beast isn't dead.' Fancy man objected, his pale face colouring very fast at the mention of money.

Lambert shrugged. 'True, but it isn't attacking you either. So, I'd say we saved your life. Got to be worth something considering your…standing.' At this he looked the man up and down, indicating his finely crafted, if not a little torn, clothes. The man coloured further, trying to puff out his chest and increase his size. Although, next to Lambert it wasn't very affective.

'I intended to kill this monster and would've had the matter in hand if it wasn't for the shoddy trap some charlatan sold me.'

The witcher looked incredulously at the bear trap lying near the horse corpse. Not considering the stupid decision to go after a griffin with no armour, visible weapons or training, but to attempt to catch a flying monster with a bear trap? He had to keep from laughing full in the fancy man's face. He did, however let out a mocking snicker.

'I doubt the bear trap was shoddy friend, just your judgement. What was your plan exactly? Call it…professional curiosity.' He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for the man to speak. His mouth flapped open and shut, unsure how to respond to the rude witcher.

'Well…if you must know, I lured it down with the horse and when the beast was caught I was going to kill it with this.' As he spoke the fancy man pulled out a wicked looking dagger from his britches. Wicked looking yes, but still nowhere near enough to take on an adult griffin. Lambert eyed it sceptically and shook his head.

'And why, exactly did you want to kill it?'

'Felicia. The girl I intend to marry. She wanted me to prove my love with an act of valour.' At this the witcher chuckled darkly.

'This ain't fucking Toussaint, and you're certainly not a knight errant. Next time leave it to the professionals.' Lambert took the knife out of the man's hand and slid it into the back of his trousers. Fancy man stared dumbly at him for a moment before looking over at the griffin still lying in the middle of the field.

'I still need a trophy from the beast. I promised Felicia.' He wailed, 'A monster like that shouldn't be allowed to live.'

At this Lambert noticed Blue eyes snap to attention, levelling a death stare at the fancy man.

'Master witcher, I am rich. I will pay you handsomely if you could finish the beast on my behalf.' Lambert scratched his beard thoughtfully, casting a sideways look at the man; his expensive clothes and ability to just buy a horse for bait made his offer that more tempting but that irritating niggling in the back of his mind that seemed so prominent nowadays swayed his decision. He really should get that seen to.

'No deal I'm afraid. The beast doesn't look like a threat to me and I only kill dangerous monsters.' He held out his hand to the outraged man. 'I will accept compensation for me saving your life however. The least you could do.' He flashed a charming smile at the man and the faint sound of chuckling could be heard from Blue eyes' direction as the fancy man huffily handed over a small bag of coins.

'Here. Have your reward, but mark my words I shall tell folk in Novigrad of your failure to fulfil your witcherly duties.'

Lambert bounced the bag in his hand a few times and waved the fancy man away with the other. He'd had enough of the man's stupidity and posturing. Stomping off, muttering under his breath the man made his way back to the road where Lambert could see a fine horse waiting patiently for him. Lucky the griffin hadn't taken a fancy to that particular morsel. The beast in question suddenly let out a deafening screech, provoking an impressive scream from the fancy man. Sending him scrambling the last few yards to his horse. Vaulting onto it in a manner the witcher didn't think possible for a man of his standing, he spurred the mount into a frenzied gallop and disappeared in a cloud of dust.

'Pillock.' A voice from behind the griffin said.

His eyebrows knitted together in confused amusement as he looked over at the girl. Pillock? He'd never heard that one before. Keeping his distance, because it was a fucking griffin at the end of the day, he watched as the girl rubbed the monster's head affectionately. The beast let out another humming purr, deep from within its massive body. Walking around to its cat like rear, Blue eyes untucked the shirt he had given her and tore a strip from the bottom of it.

'Hey! What you doing?' Lambert snapped.

'I need to bandage her up.' She replied nonchalantly, kneeling down by the griffin's wounded leg.

'Yeah, with my shirt.' He said, taking a step forward. The griffin's head swung round to fix an eye on him. Gritting his teeth he froze, years of training and encounters with this particular monster made getting close to it very uncomfortable.

'Careful there Blue eyes.' His words of caution were wasted, as she knelt right next to it, carefully wrapping the torn piece of shirt around the wound she had partially healed. She seemed as familiar with it as if it were a horse or a dog, not a two-ton monster that had given Lambert his fair share of scars.

'I'm fine. She won't hurt me.' Lambert's mouth pulled into a tight line and he advanced another step against his better judgement.

'I'm rapidly getting a reputation for being a witcher that doesn't actually kill monsters.' He said, his expression sour.

'Remind me to thank you for that.' She replied, straightening up and surveying her work. The piece of shirt was tied expertly around the griffin's wound, protecting from any chance of infection. 'There you go girl.' She said affectionately, patting the griffin's rump.

'I tend to accept money, not thanks.' Lambert muttered, placing the bag of coin the fancy man had given him into his pouch. 'Now, what do you intend to do with this thing? I'm not bringing it along; one monster traveling with me is more than enough.'

Ellie gave him an amused look as she tucked what remained of his spare shirt back into her short trousers. 'She should be fine. Thankfully it was her leg that was damaged not her wings.'

He snorted. 'I gathered that, from your little trip into the sky. That was both reckless and exceedingly fucking stupid Blue eyes…and that's coming from me.'

Her expression grew sad. 'Falling wouldn't have done anything permanent. I tried that already.' The comment held so much weight and unsaid meaning that Lambert found he was unable to respond. The griffin, sensing its treatment was at an end, stretched like a cat waking up from a long nap, and faced its saviour. Lowering its head, it butted its beak against her hand. A strange clucking sound that Lambert had never heard a beast of its kind make coming from it. Chuckling, Blue eyes obliged the monster, scratching it enthusiastically under the scruff of its chin. The griffin's eyes half closed in an expression of ecstasy. The witcher shook his head once more in disbelief.

Done with her fussing, the girl took a step back, giving the monster space to take off. The griffin let out another shriek, by way of farewell, and braced against the ground. With two forceful flaps of its great feathered wings it launched itself into the sky once more, this time sailing out over the fields and away from view.

Lambert walked over to the girl stood with her arm shielding her eyes from the sun, watching as it faded away. 'You owe me.' He said, in a low voice. She gave him a sideways look, her blue eyes twinkling in the sunshine.

'Not everything deserves to die.'

He gave her a long lingering look, during which her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. 'I know Blue eyes, but life is cruel.'

With that he walked back into the trees, hoping to leave the last few bizarre hours behind him.

Ellie wasn't sure how to approach the witcher. From their unexplained encounter by the waterfall to the desperate rescue of the griffin, the fragile trust and friendliness she had earnt appeared to be cracked and a little broken now. They continued on to wherever it was they were headed in silence. Lambert riding Horse again and Ellie walking beside them. At least she wasn't tied up now and he had stopped briefly in a small village to find her some boots to wear. They were a little tight and she was unused to wearing leather but it was better than walking bare foot and constantly regenerating the torn skin on the bottom of her soles. He had asked if she wanted to exchange her shorts for a skirt, that being the only thing that would fit her, but Ellie preferred the worn and slightly muddy shorts to an awkward skirt.

The patches of woodland and thatched rooved houses started to give way to undulating, well-kept fields and sturdy stone buildings. Along with this, the traces of the mysterious war that was being fought somewhere in this world faded. The camp of refugees they had moved through outside of Ursten had alarmed and sadden her. She had seen a lot of death and suffering in her life so far, but the mass poverty and destruction of war was something she had yet to experience. She wondered if Lambert would get irritated if she asked about it, then she remembered it was Lambert so she kept her mouth shut.

Casting a glance up at the man riding beside her, she examined his profile. She was sure he was aware of her looking at him but he remained stubbornly staring forward; golden, amber eyes on the road. She wasn't sure she wanted to delve too deeply into what had transpired between them at the waterfall. It had come out of nowhere; one minute they had been sniping at each other, the next she had wanted to tear the rest of his clothes off him. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably at the memory. It had been a long time since she had looked at a man that way, so why did it have to be this random, superhuman jackass?

With a sigh she looked away from him, he wasn't all bad she supposed. He had saved her and decided…eventually…to help her. He had also spared the griffin. She looked down at the oversized shirt she was wearing, the soft cotton thick with his scent, and the new boots he had gotten her. Yeah, he wasn't so bad. She got the feeling there was a hidden side to Lambert that even he wasn't aware of, although she'd never say that to his face. Smiling to herself she looked up suddenly as Horse came to a stop next to her. Seconds later the muted thud of boots hitting dirt and the creak of leather armour signalled Lambert had dismounted.

'What's wrong?' She asked, automatically smelling for signs of danger.

'Nothing.' The witcher answered as he sauntered around his mount to her. 'The sun's not far off the horizon and I want to catch dinner before we make camp.' He gave her an appraising look. 'You may not need to eat, but I do.'

Leading Horse off the road, he rummaged in his saddle bags, producing a bunch of arrows. Then he undid what Ellie had thought was a stick from the saddle, until he pulled a strong piece of twine over each end, plucking the line so it emitted a resonate ping. It was a bow. Wide eyed and bursting with questions, Ellie bit her lip as she watched Lambert test the bow's flexibility, he knocked an arrow and with barely a glance pulled the string back and released it into a nearby fence post. The arrow hit with a satisfying thunk, the sharp tip of it disappearing into the wood.

'Stay here.' He said, tossing the bow over one shoulder.

'I'm fed up of being left with Horse. Can't I come? I'll be quiet, promise.' His expression changed from annoyance to utter confusion in the blink of an eye.

'Who the fuck is Horse?' Ellie gestured to the animal who was, surprise, surprise, grazing a few feet from them. Lambert's look darkened. 'That's not his name. And why would you name a horse Horse anyway?'

'Well, I didn't hear you call him anything so I took the liberty of naming him myself. Seemed rude not to call him anything.' The witcher blinked in astonished silence at the girl. Then he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

'You really are crazy Blue eyes. If you must know his name is Whoreson.' Now it was her turn to look astonished.

'Isn't that an insult?' Lambert nodded, smirking at her outrage over a horses' name. 'Why would you do that?'

He shrugged. 'It's easy to remember and fitting. Especially when he runs off or misbehaves.' Ellie shook her head and went up to rub the animal in question behind the ears. He lifted his head and butted against her gently.

'I think I'll stick to calling you Horse. What do you say?' She asked him. He let out a long snort and nuzzled her cheek, causing her to chuckle in delight. 'See, he prefers it.'

'Traitor.' Lambert muttered, narrowing his eyes at his mount. Grumbling some other choice words under his breath he started walking off into the fields. Ellie gave Horse one last pat before hurrying after the rapidly retreating witcher. He harrumphed nosily as she sidled up beside him, making a point to not make a sound as she followed.

Choosing to ignore her, he began scanning the landscape for signs of game. Using his heightened sight, hearing and smell to pinpoint their whereabouts. Ellie watched him in fasciation as he hunted, keeping a few feet distance and downwind so as not to distract him too much. He moved fluidly and silently, she was only able to pick up the occasional sound of his footsteps due to her own sensitive hearing. She tried to keep track of what he was following, scenting the air every now and then. There were definitely rabbits and deer nearby but she had no idea how to follow tracks or markings on the ground. Lambert however, would stop every now and then, running a hand over some footprint or trace of fur lying on the ground. He would then resume the hunt in whatever direction the sign had told him to go.

The sun had begun to touch the horizon by the time he slowed and came to a stop, crouching in the grass. Ellie followed suit, tucking herself behind him and watching avidly as he unslung his bow and knock an arrow. In the distance she could make out the silhouette of a grazing deer, its head dipped into the long grass, oblivious to the danger. Carefully Lambert drew back the bow, his arms steady, his eyes staring intently at the target. A thrill rushed through Ellie as she watched him. There was something so dangerous and primal about him as he hunted, like his whole persona and being made sense in that one moment. This was what he had been made to do.

With a quiet breath, the witcher let loose the arrow and it disappear with a soft swish. A millisecond later there was a wet thud and a single cry from the deer before it went silent. Lambert rose to his feet and walked over to his quarry with Ellie in tow. She let out her own breath as she looked down at the dead animal, the arrow lodged straight in its heart. A perfect shot.

'That was amazing.' She said quietly. Lambert looked at her sharply, his brow furrowed. She felt her cheeks heat again under his stare, she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

'You're a confusing one Blue eyes. One minute you're stopping me from killing a griffin, the next you're applauding my hunting skills.' Ellie gave him a long look, trying to see if he was making fun of her, but all she saw was genuine curiosity.

Shrugging, she knelt down and laid a hand on the dead deer's head, offering a silent prayer for its travelling soul. 'Not everything needs to die, but you need to eat and as you said…'. She stood up and gave him a sad look. 'Life is cruel.'

Lambert's eyes widened, then he bent down and picked the deer up, slinging it over his shoulders. 'Come one. I'd like to eat before it gets dark.'

He walked back the way they'd come, and with a small smile Ellie followed.