Finally! I cracked the code, after trying couple of times to write a story about papa Letho and a witcher kid! I finally have a solid draft and confidence to do this, I can't wait to get into all the happy -and some sad- things this whole group is gonna experience with this kitten.

Hopefully you'll enjoy?

Did you know my honorable listeners, that witchers are in fact, infertile? As in they cannot have offspring, no matter how many acts of copulation they would accomplish. My good friend Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf himself, has decades of experience to confirm this. Yet I have met in my exciting and wondrous lifetime two witchers raising a child. It is not much, I know, but it's weird it happened twice. Witchers, as anyone else, are capable of emotions and needs towards close relationships, feeling strong bond of unity among themselves and are fiercely loyal towards their companions. I have witnessed this among those from the School of the Wolf.

Yet this one time, a certain witcher surprised us all with a peculiar mystery of this subject. The witcher I'm talking about was the notorious Kingslayer, Letho of Gulet from the School of the Viper. I was very astounded, and just a tad worried, when he one day walked into my establishment. The last I had seen about him was during a dangerous chase with Geralt, to cleanse the White Wolf's name which Letho had tarnished back then. Despite of ending many lives of the Northern monarchs, my friend had let the assassin live and disappear. Later the man with serpent eyes had helped defending Kaer Morhen, as also our dear Ciri, from the Wild Hunt. After that he again vanished.

Until appearing in my tavern with a child in need for help. This is the story titled: "The Child of Spring and Storm."

It was a late evening. Late enough that even Chameleon, a successful cabaret, was starting to drain from customers, the workers cleaning up the place and Dandelion counting the day's transactions. Profit was good, of course. As in his Chameleon, there's only the best entertainment in Novigrad and the food and drinks are divine. The bard was busying himself with the bookkeeping at a table, next to an empty stage. His business partner, a dwarf named Zoltan Chivay, helped and was going through documents. They were interrupted by one of their waiters. "Excuse me, master Dandelion and Zoltan? But there is a man asking for the owner."

It wasn't hard to see who as the stranger stood there next to the door. A hulking mass with a cloak and menacing glowing eyes staring from under a hood. When their eyes met, the man started approaching and Dandelion noticed two things: he knew the man, and there was a child. The latter was even more surprising as also odd and alarming. The kid wore a hooded shawl and held onto the witcher's fingers with one hand. Zoltan, the brave friend he is, stood up and stepped in front of the hulking figure with his arms crossed. He also recognized the arrived witcher, asking what the bastard was doing here.
"Been some time," Letho smirked at them friendly. Frowning Dandelion repeated Zoltan's question, with less profanity: "What is it you want?"

Not faced by the cold hospitality the assassin chuckled and looked down at the kid. The little one leaned against his leg, hood partly covering the shy but observing gaze. Holding on with both hands the child was lifted when the witcher raised his arm. Dandelion heard, strangely, girlish giggle and stared how the also laughing Kingslayer shook his hand. The kid swung along before being told: "Okay, enough squirrel business." The girl dropped onto her feet and smiled while Letho pushed the hood down from her head. She couldn't be older than nine summers, no younger than seven. Her face was round, framed by one-sided braid of reddish hair. Color of a spring apple, softly blooming red. Part of the girl's face, the left side, was covered by worn bandages. The visible eye of hers shocked the human and the dwarf. Dandelion flinched back and Zoltan frowned.
The child's smile replaced to worry. She stepped back against her companion's side and held onto his armor pieces with all ten curling fingers.
Letho's wide palm settled against the girl's head and comforted her saying it was okay. Still, the youth warily watched the strangers with her lonely kitten eye.

The peculiar situation managed to improve that the witcher and the child shared the table with other duo. Food had been asked, and by Dandelion's request, the lingering cook quickly made late supper. The little girl wolfed down the served stew and bread, legs swinging happily under the table back and forth. When coughing she was reminded by the Viper to slow down. Nodding she picked up her wooden spoon and took calmer bites.
"So, you want me to contact Geralt?" Dandelion tried to understand, glancing at the subject of this whole thing. "I want you to summon him. Gonna need help with this one," Letho corrected while eating. "Where did you even find this one?" Zoltan wondered. Letho stopped to drink and then answered: "From a brothel, at Ban Gleán."

This information was horrifying, even when the girl proudly said: "I spied on clients and stole from them!"

The Kingslayer, as any other human being, has needs of carnal satisfaction. So he had ended up in the city's brothel. He had assumed it to go as any other visit, really. Promise not to cause any trouble, pay for the whole thing, do the deed and leave. The delicate females rarely welcomed a scary brute like him for longer than was paid for. Usually these things went smoothly for him as he didn't act like expected. However, the moment Letho stepped into the building he had felt like being watched. This wasn't anything new do to his size, looks and profession. He was usually gawked at, straight on but most of the time secretly behind his back.

This felt different though. He kept side glancing while talking to the madam. He felt the watcher was being someone not visible to him. It continued all the way till to the room where he was met by a woman pointed to fill his needs. Curiously the prostitute offered to massage him first, using pretty phrases and alluring movements while offering. Sensing something was going on the witcher took off his armor and shirt, leaving his weapons near the bed. He grudgingly laid onto his stomach and felt the woman settling onto his back. She kneaded his tense muscles with skill. She even sung a bit, and it could had been pleasant experience otherwise. Then the feeling of being observed was back and the Viper's senses heightened. He knew there was someone else in the room, soundlessly stalking but unable to cover their nervous heartbeat from him.
The assassin was quickly up and out of the bed. The surprised whore screamed and the sneaker was momentarily petrified on their spot by the fierce serpent eyes. Letho too froze. He saw just a little girl with one cat eye at middle of reaching for his coin purse. Then she scurried off and disappeared through a small hidden door in the wall. The madam with two bouncers rushed in, and after small scuffle things calmed down. Due to the witcher's demand the child was brought back. The owner of the brothel dragged and yanked the crying, whimpering child and threw them to the floor in front of the man.

As the madam stood by the door with a bruised worker, the sniffling girl sat in curled position and covered her head. Letho had watched the girl and reached, just to pull back when she snapped and hissed at him. With amused huff he asked to be alone with her. The request made the child run and the madam, catching the girl by shoulder, told firmly there would be no such thing. Not feeling need to explain himself the fully dressed and geared up witcher didn't argue. The half-blind kid was ushered back to him by the woman, told to stand there and not do anything stupid. The witcher sensed clearly the vexation and nervousness of the adults, then the child's quivering fear. There was curiosity in her bouncing gaze though. Letho leaned forward, elbows on his knees while trying to make eye contact. "Do my eyes look familiar?" he asked. After a glance the girl stared at the floor and shook her head. "No? Not even a little bit?" the Viper joked but didn't get a laugh. His attitude however peaked the girl's curiosity and she looked more bravely at him. From his bulky form to the strange scar on his bald head. From his witcher armor to his witcher eyes. Hesitantly the kid opened her mouth and he waited patiently.
"...Are you Cat?"
Blinking couple of times, his smile fading, Letho shook his head: "No, not a cat, but a witcher." To stop the child from asking more of the school he was from, the Viper continued: "Are you from the School of the Cat then?" This time the girl shook her head: "Ma- I mean, my friend, is a witcher, a Cat."
"And where is your friend?" The assassin quickly looked at the madam, not getting hints of foul play as the girl frowned and shrugged: "Hunting."

The owner explained, that about three months ago, a witcher had dealt with a problem in the brothel. Letho wasn't told what the problem had been about. After solving it, the woman with medallion of a hissing cat had made a deal. In order to go and deal with another task nearby, the child would be watched after and taken care of in the brothel. However, there hadn't been any word nor sight of the female witcher. The girl has been slowly used as a mean to do some shady tasks while the customers are distracted. Three months is a long time to wait. Letho observed the girl's condition. She didn't seem underweight despite of her small size. There weren't noticeable marks of abuse. Her appearance was a bit unkept but not as badly as living at streets. Still, brothel wasn't a place for a child, and she has been waiting for long enough.

"How about you come with me, kid," he had offered, silencing the madam with one look and waited for the girl's answer. The child declined, saying she would wait for her friend here. The Viper had pondered what to do. He could had simply left back then. That wasn't an option in the first place though, not even once crossing Letho's mind. This one was a child and a witcher. There hadn't been created new witchers in long, long time and the knowledge to do that had been lost in the bloody past. Yet this girl at least looked like a witcher. She is alone and luckily no-one in the brothel hadn't turned against her, yet. Just one look at her from someone knowledgeable and she would be hunted, taken, killed, experimented or used. Witcher child, that would really stir up the whole continent for sure. Letho could see how people like Detmold, Radovid, Emhyr and lot of other shitty people would want their greedy hands onto something like this.
No, the Viper had to take the kid with him, or else this would add to his guilt with starting the now ended war between the North and Nilfgaard.

So Letho gave a smile to the troubled child: "How about we go looking for your friend then? She can be hurt and needing help, while you are here." Extending his hand, this time slower and visibly, he offered it: "I'm a witcher like she, so you know I'm not lying about helping my sister in need." Though anyone else would had turned down the offer and said they would stay, the child probably understood the situation. She carefully placed her hand onto his: "Okay... You promise we'll find her?"
He hadn't really believed it, knowingly lying, as he nodded and gently closed his fingers around the little hand: "I promise. With witcher's honor."

The Kingslayer stopped telling how he had met the child. Instead, he turned on the long bench towards her. Finished with her meal the kid looked back and her shoulders slumped when hearing; "You know, you should take a bath before bedtime." Dandelion and Zoltan were too caught up at watching to question this. There hadn't been talk about the assassin and the child staying in the tavern. Yet the Viper ordered one of the workers to prepare a bath as also room with two beds. When asked, the bard snapped out of it and quick on his feet pulled on façade: "Yes, I believe we still have room, don't we? Is the Vixen's den still vacant? Then prepare that one, thank you Amelie."

"Don't fill the tub more than half," Letho added, Dandelion confirming this before she left.
"Do I have to?" the child mumbled. She had leaned to hug the witcher's side. The man drunk from his tankard. "Yup," he placed hand on her hair then mussed it up: "Your stink would make even a ghoul to flee." The girl shrieked and laughed, grasping his wrist; "Then you gotta wash too! You smell."
"Yeah? Like what?"
Her lips twisted in concentration. Then with a grin she chirped: "Like a beggar's boot that's been pissed at." Zoltan snort and Dandelion dramatically gasped from amusement at this language. Letho caught the kid by her waist and lifted her off the bench. "That's it, you go and get ready for the bath. Then come back here." Feet on the wooden floor the imp bounced and kept holding onto his arm: "You'll do my hair before bed?" Shaking his bald head with a sigh, he lightly pushed her towards the stairs: "Yes, I'll do your hair and you can do mine. Now, go."
"Ah, stairs up, turn right and its the open door," Dandelion waved his hand, the girl smiling more timidly to him. Nodding she went and climbed up the stairs. "I guess ye didn't find the puss then," Zoltan assumed, having own beverage in his hands as did the rest of them. The witcher shook his head, pouring more ale into his tankard. No, they -or he- did find the Cat. Kinda. It had taken a week to track her down, Letho and the girl ending at an entrance of a narrow but deep cave. The child had recognized a damaged saddle, which had been ripped from the woman's horse while the animal had been dragged into the cave system. There had been blood and signs telling of kikimores. It had been troubling and Letho had tried to reason with the girl. There was big, very big, chance that the Cat was dead and she wasn't coming back. This hadn't appealed to the child one bit. She was already worried for the woman and agitated enough to go into the cave by herself if needing to.

"I won't leave mam! I won't leave her, I won't I won't! You promised!"

"Was going to drag the brat away," the witcher mumbled. "She was yowling and trying to go into that monster nest. Managed to summon some even." A warrior and couple of workers, hadn't been easy while keeping the kid save. Even after that, she was still demanding to go find her "mam". Using Letho's own words against him, as she imagined the Cat was hurt down there and waiting for help. Then there was, well, something else the kid had done. It had given Letho opportunity to get them both from there. Then couple of days dealing with the child's fighting and crying till she lost her voice.
Finally the witcher decided to do it. Making sure the kid was safe nearby, sitting at a tree where she could see to the cave's mouth, Letho had gone in. Almost got stuck there do to his thick build. He ended up in a much wider cavern and finally found proof. Lots of dried blood, scratches from armor and weapons, kikimore corpse. Then the medallion, strands of bloody hair stuck in the chain. After that he had climbed back up, stepped into the sunlight and fresh air. The girl had dropped down from the tree and rushed over, slowing down when not seeing the woman. Luckily the necklace was enough to convince the girl who was heartbroken by this.

She was quiet the first week when they travelled around, Letho trying to think what to do with her. When he finally decided to ask for Geralt's help, the kid had accepted the Viper as her new guardian. And he had become somewhat attached to her. Or a lot. Feeling small part of peace that he had lost since his brothers died during the lost cause of getting their home back.

Dandelion and Zoltan asked about the child with experience. As they had already once witnessed similar kind of situation: did she have some special powers? Creating portals, bend people's minds or turn ale to water? Any odd things she does? Is someone after her, like someone from high place or some organization? Letho snickered at the questions, answering best to his knowledge: she seems able to do what a witcher can do, no more or less. Though she wasn't a trained one. So no, no portals or other out of the ordinary. She doesn't seem to have peculiar behaviors, except one. And so far, no-one hadn't come after the girl since they left Ban Gleán. Zoltan started to mutter and think out loud what they should start to get ready for, if someone would come after the kid. Dandelion demanded to know what was that one behavior mentioned.

"She gets fits," the witcher gravely explained. The two feeling more sorry for the child as they listened. "Too much stress and she's tend to have seizures. Shaking and convulsing, hyperventilation. Which reminds me, is that redheaded sorceress still around, Merigold?" Dandelion nodded, explaining she was indeed in Novigrad. After Sigismund Dijkstra raise into power, the church of Eternal Fire had lost its hold onto humans. The nonhumans have slowly been accepted back. In more tolerated way, at least they no more were burned at the city square. Which meant some sorceress and mages had appeared openly. "Good, I'll look for her tomorrow then," the Viper told, eyes at the bard: "So, will you help me contact Geralt? Where is that old dog?" Dandelion told about Geralt living in Toussaint and owning a vineyard. This made the Viper laugh, muttering something and taking long swig, emptying his tankard. Despite how much damage the assassin had caused in the past, not leaving good memories, Dandelion agreed on contacting Geralt about the child. The bard didn't do it without a some sort of warning however, not wanting to let the snake think nothing was forgotten. That he was closely watching, always, that the assassin wouldn't pull something shady.

"There will be no funny business. No assassinations, no weird affairs, no weird snake school, not in my establishment. And also, Letho?"
"Bard?"
"Do not ruin this child."
That demand wiped off the witcher's smirk, he answering back: "...Can't promise that. But I've promised, for her, that I keep her safe as much as I can."

Clean and sleeping finally in a bed instead of hard, bare ground, Letho felt some weight leaving his wide shoulders. This was better. Much better. He believed firmly Geralt would be at least interested to see the witcher child. Then they could figure out what would be best for her. "Letho?" was whispered from the other side of the room. He had been aware the girl wasn't sleeping for some time now. He had been listening for her, she in her own bed and moving restlessly: "Yeah?" The kid sat up, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a clean shirt borrowed from Zoltan. In the dim light, three eyes of gold softly glowed and stared at each other.

"I can't sleep."

The man knew what was the problem here. It wasn't a big room, but they hadn't slept this far from each other before. Though he would liked to have the bigger bed all for himself, he wordlessly moved to one side and tapped the mattress. There was rustling and quick steps as the girl with her own blanket climbed into his bed. Then the little one settled at Letho's side, half-curled and forehead pressed against him. Immediately the closeness brought calmness and safety. For both of them. "Are we save here?" the child asked, hand holding onto his blanket. Sighing, arm behind her back, the Viper promised they were safe here. And they would be here for some time now, to meet another witcher.
"...What did you think about those two?" Letho's voice softly rumbled. The girl thought before answering: "The dwarf is a bit scary." "It's that hair of his. He's harmless, just bark and no bite." "The bard dresses funnily, but I like it. He looks colorful." The assassin snickered, petting the child's head, her washed hair neatly put into a thick braid by him.
"Don't say that to him. He's an artist."
"I won't. Letho?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do we need to meet this other witcher?" He sensed the child's nervousness. Holding back a sigh, he tightened his hold and pulled the kid as close as possible. "He'll help with your situation. Nothing to worry about. Now, sleep." The words didn't completely answer nor suffice, but she still agreed on this, yawning and relaxing. Yet, when the witcher was almost falling to sleep: "Letho?" Between pretending to sleep or answering he chose the ladder: "What?"

The girl hesitated, sensing his annoyance but he asked again, gentler this time. So she requested: "Can you sing?" Letting out a huff, he teasingly asked would she sleep if he did? She assured she would. So with deep, sleepy voice the man hummed a lullaby.