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"Did you see two kids running?"

Letho, who was working with mortar and pestle, and Auckes, who sat on nearby table with an apple, stopped to look at their brother. Serrit was in grumpy mood with a scowl on his face. Auckes shrugged and took a bite from his snack. Letho answered while turning back to his work: "Seen none while we've been here. Aren't you and Magir supposed to teach today?" The question hit a nerve as the seeking Viper let out dry laugh, hands on his hips and nodding fiercely: "Yeah! And these two decided to skip it! Gonna whip their hides when I find them..." The man with a hood muttered and walked through another door in the alchemy room. Auckes' gaze followed till the angry witcher disappeared with a slam of a door. With lopsided smirk, examining the fruit, he pointed out: "You could had told which way they went."
"I could had," Letho agreed while grinding dried ingredients into fine powder: "Hiding and running from instructor is practice. And you could had tell him too."

"Wasn't my problem," Auckes shrugged again with a full mouth. They themselves, Serrit too, had also skipped and hidden from their teachers in their training days. Sometimes succeeding and sometimes not. It had been fun till you got caught and had to take responsibility. Soon after their brother had disappeared, the same door slammed wide open and two boys run for their lives. One had a duck in his arms and the other had a shaven head. Serrit followed closely after them, calling the brats worms and telling them to stop trying to avoid the lesson he was gonna give them. There was a chase in the alchemy room, which Auckes snapped about when he was almost knocked down by Serrit trying to catch one of the boys. Letho tried to focus at his potion before the kid with a duck pumped into him. The feathery animal let lout quack and the boy started falling backwards. Letho however snatched the kid by a shoulder and pulled him back to his feet, smiling at the child while letting go. The boy however didn't say thanks or anything. Just one timid look before hurrying out of the room with his friend, Serrit jumping after them.
"I think he likes them," Auckes noted, fixing some knocked down bottles and jars on the table. "He usually complains lack of action during winters."

"That kid with the duck, Josh right? Isn't he almost complete with his training," Letho wondered however, returning after a moment to potion making. The other bald witcher nodded, picking up his half-eaten apple. Both Vipers knew what that meant, the boy soon completing the final trial. "It's kinda fucked up," Auckes said after a moment, in low tone and glancing around now and then. "They make that survival course in the Wolf school, and Cats walk a tightrope... What butchering your pet is supposed to prove?" The bigger man didn't say anything to that, walking to other workstation to mix the powder into boiling liquid in a small cauldron. Discouraged by lack of answer Auckes threw the unfinished snack to a nearby fireplace. Faint scent of cooking apple was in the air, before it turned into bitter smell of burning.

Letho hadn't been at home that day, when the army released assault on the school of the Viper. He had been on the Path, so far that when he heard about the attack and hurried to return, there was nothing to be saved. Nor to stay for, the fortress in shambles and remains of the army everywhere. Witchers from the school were forbidden from entering big cities in the country and were easily blamed for anything to put them across with the law. Suddenly all of them homeless and scattered, Letho barely managed to track down even a handful of his brothers. Alive at least. He had come too late for one, seeing the poor bastard hanging from a noose after blamed for some child's disappearance. It had been a drowner, that had taken and killed the missing kid. Didn't matter though, too late, once again.

Awake, taking a sharp breath, Letho opened his eyes. He saw the girl standing next to the bed and looking at him with worry. "You saw a bad dream," she said quietly. The witcher grumbled, sitting up and rubbing his face. Trying to dispel the haunting images of the past. "Did I kick you?" he asked, knowing he sometimes had tendency for that. The girl shook her head, smiling a bit: "You were too slow." He let out a snort, then sighed: "Good. Sorry about that. You can come back in."

She sat next to him, with that concerned look lingering. The kid leaned and placed one hand at the Viper's hanging head, petting him while his brows pinched in confusion. He did recognize the act of comforting but he was still sometimes surprised by it, he watching the little one. "It's okay," the girl kept doing the repetitive, somewhat clumsy movement. The burly man closed his eyes and let the child pet. The feeling he felt was a bit alien, unusual to him. Fragile and warm, fuzzy and soft. Focusing on the hand sliding over his scar and to his forehead, before starting again from the top of his head. After a moment he became intimated by it all. The witcher moved away from the touch and laid down, saying they should go back to sleep. The child settled next to him, under her blanket and leaning against his arm. While the kid fell back to sleep, Letho thought this association that had formed between them quickly.
He had never really been good with kids, as they usually saw him too frightening and avoided him like others. Though he didn't hate kids. Children were more honest than adults, and they could surprise in positive way as how they saw and met the world. If they weren't too battered by its harshness and reality that is, it eventually turning them as cynical and dull as adults. The war especially had turned many children into orphans, killed them, forced them to do things that they were too young for. This knowledge, partly seen the result of his decisions, was one thing among others weighing down the witcher's broad shoulders.

So when this kid, this witcher child, despite of his looks and the trials she must have suffered, still had that innocence... It was fascinating. She looked at him with open trust and warmness, following him around and seeking his guidance. Similar to a pet, could be said. The thought however caused the Viper to disgruntle. She wasn't a pet, she is... Something else, a person. And she needed someplace, somewhere with someone, to grow into something. Something better than a witcher. Though could that be possible, with that eye of hers and what she was now? She wasn't trained witcher but her genetics makes her one, so could she avoid the Path?
Now those were interesting questions, which answers Letho wanted to see himself. Can a witcher can be anything else, than a monster hunter?

Dressed up in his full gear Letho spent a moment to search for his witcher medallion. Till he quickly remembered he didn't have one anymore. He sometimes forgets that and every time he remembers it with light sadness. He then turned to look at the bed where the kid still slept, she buried under covers. "Hey," the Viper called while leaning to shake the bundle: "Get up kid." There was whining of protest, the bundle moving away from the disturbing hand. "Girl," Letho started: "We gonna go for breakfast. They're gonna eat everything and there will be nothing left for us."

"No," the child mumbled sleepily, too fond of the bed after weeks without one. He could understand that. He also appreciated luxury, when he could afford one. However, he needed the kid awake and up before he would leave to find Triss Merigold. "I'll count to five," he warned, waited for a moment and just saw to arms reaching from the bundle towards the headboard. Little hands grasping onto the carved, wooden piece where they could. The witcher started counting, starting from one, then went to two but skipped to four and saw the child flinch under the blanket. "Last chance kid." No response. With a sign of Aard he pushed the girl off the bed and to the floor despite of her struggling. His smile was met by pouting face. The girl then tried to wrap herself back into the blanket. He bent and pulled the cover away from her, snatching the last piece of warmth and comfort. "Okay no more napping. Get up and get dressed."
"Where are we going? You said we're going to stay," the girl complained, standing up and rubbing her eye. Letho saying he was going to go look for a person, alone, caused her to wake up. She looked at him with disheartened look, asking wasn't she going with him. When hearing no, she wasn't, the girl grasped the witcher's hand. "No, don't go, take me with you. Please." The Viper tried to calm her, telling he wasn't going far, he was just getting a friend of his and they would come back. And the child would wait here, in the tavern, with Dant- The little one shook her head and held tightly onto him.
"No no no! Please don't go, please don't leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you alone. You are safe here, with Dandelion and Zoltan," Letho assured, crouching and getting into more eye level with the child. She was shaking and holding with a death grip onto his hand, swallowing and blinking tears. "Did I do something wrong?" she whimpered, surprising him with the question. He had seen hints of it, the things that caused her nightmares and fears. Making her hold onto him and sometimes hiding her own needs and opinions. He could take the girl with him to see the sorceress, but he wanted the kid stay here. He wasn't sure how long it would take for him to reach the place, where Dandelion said Triss to live at. And if the woman wasn't there, the witcher would need to look for her in Novigrad. And despite of its changes, the city wasn't safe enough for a witcher child to wander. He was afraid someone would take notice of her. Also it would be good for the girl to get used to Geralt's friends. As Letho had seen how far the group was ready to go to help Ciri, he wished the same for this child too. He was only one witcher. He wanted to surround her with a safety net that would catch her if there was any a time when he couldn't be there.

"Kid," he started, shaking off her hold and placed his hands onto her shoulders. "I'm not gonna go missing or anything. I'll go look for my friend and come back, with or without her. You'll stay here and wait for me, right?" She wasn't convinced, now hiccupping and sniffling. The Viper let out heavy sigh, they having an argument of this kind for the first time. Usually she was somewhere near, seeing him, whenever he needed to fight, speak with someone or check something. Now he asked her to stay behind and wait, like the dead Cat. "You promise?" He lifted his gaze from the floor, she not meeting his eyes and still shaking: "You'll come back?" The child's voice was flat and beaten, as she had somehow come to a decision with herself. He wanted to ask about it, but decided for now to let it go. "I promise." She slightly looked at him: "With witcher honor?" The assassin chuckled, patting her: "With my witcher honor." And she didn't smile, but she nodded, letting her hands open from fists which they had turned into.

It disconcerted the child seeing the witcher disappearing through the door and leaving the establishment, and her, behind him. The place was lively and almost full despite of it being still morning time. Letho had told her to stay and wait. She hadn't want to, and almost went running after him as soon as she lost the sight of the hooded figure. But he wanted her to stay and he had promised. That was different, mam hadn't promised, just said she'll come back. So maybe this time, her guardian would really come back, right? Letho has to come back. Stepping out of some worker's way, the girl was unsure what to do. Either go back up into the room or stay down here. She was torn between the two decisions, not wanting to be alone but feeling slightly overwhelmed with the new place.

"Oi girly!" She flinched and looked at the speaker nearby, noticing the dwarf called Zoltan waving for her. Grasping the edges of her shawl's hood, she hurried to the man and was surprised by him: "Ye know how to play the card game Gwent?" She nodded, glancing at the deck he had in hand and some of the strangers sitting at the table with him. She tried not to look at the others straight, as Letho had told her to keep her face and eye hidden. The Viper had fixed her braid before leaving, and the girl still wore Zoltan's shirt and her now clean pants. Her shoes had been thrown away, too worn out and said she would get new ones. The shawl she was wearing had also been considered by the bard to throw away, as how dull and decrepit it was. Luckily Letho had sensed she was not happy about that and had let her to keep it. The sewn eye socket of hers was covered by new bandages.
"Perfect!" Zoltan gestured her to sit the opposite of him and she did, curious of what was wanted from her. "Let's play a round. Ladies first, what deck do you want? I have all of them, almost fully stocked." Hands on her knees and blinking she looked at the different collared stacks, unsure what to choose. She had seen people playing the game, she knew partly how to play but she hadn't actually played it. Now it felt too late to explain and so she pointed the one with her favorite color. "Scoia'tael?" Zoltan wore a knowing, impish smirk: "Crafty shitters, nice choice!" He gave it to her, she holding the deck as he took cards of red. Mimicking how many cards her opponent held, the witcher child was informed that as a Scoia'tael deck holder, she was to go first. Looking at her hand she tried to understand what card to play and where. She picked an elf holding a bow and with number one, placing it at one of the lines drawn on the table's surface. The dwarf gave a curious look, before playing his card. After couple of placements, Zoltan finally said: "Ye haven't played Gwent much, haven't you?" Blushing, shoulders rising she tried to hide behind her cards, shaking her head. He however smiled and laughed: "Good, almost thought you were tryin' to pull some weird maneuver I just couldn't figure that shite out. Ye wanna learn how to properly play then?"

The girl was positively surprised by the dwarf's kindness, though his tone and words could be harsh sounding. Letho had said Zoltan being more bark than bite. So she eagerly accepted the offer and found herself actually enjoying of it. The game was fairly simple once she knew what each card did, explained by the dwarf. Whenever she did something wrong or had room for improvement, the man would sharply point it out but give her opportunity to fix her mistakes. She even laughed now and then, even more when she would manage to sent some of Zoltan's cards off the board and he would curse heatedly.
She was more fascinated with the cards themselves than with the actual game. The pictures in the cards were painted and detailed. She would had gladly looked at them more, if not for Zoltan getting impatient and urging her to slap something onto the board. It wasn't a shock that the kid didn't win any of the rounds, but that didn't disturb her. Once the dwarf got bored without a challenge, she gladly let someone else take her place as the opponent. Asking for permission she would then sit next to the dwarf and go through his decks, spreading them a bit and carefully admiring. Time was flying like that, waiting for Letho's return and morning soon turned to afternoon.

Dandelion was busy at taking care of the cabaret, but managed to keep an eye on the witcher child. He was glad to see that Zoltan was able to distract the girl and keep her busy with the cards, though the bard had doubted the plan. It could be too hard for a little girl and she could get bored and get herself into trouble. The worry was needless in the end, luckily. She seemed like a good kid, despite of being picked by Letho but guess she didn't have much saying in the matter. Still, Dandelion was surprised by the witcher's act and wondered was the snake actually bit more trustworthy than thought so. He had however caused quite the trouble and even threatened Geralt's health, as also Triss'. The bard would write the letter to Geralt today, later when his tavern wasn't so full with-

"Hey hey! Fuckin' motherfucker!" Turning towards the racket the artist saw some person half-crashed against the game table, scattered the cards and coins across the surface and the floor. It was easy to see the client was heavily drunk, though Dandelion was always emphasizing to his workers that there would be no tolerance towards badly behaving patrons. He rushed to the scene, with a worker or two, and the drunk customer was escorted out of the establishment. Though Zoltan called Dandelion's attention back, towards the kid. Sitting there, the drunkard almost had fallen over her, and now the girl was obviously shaken. Literally, her legs twitching under the table and her body tense. "Ye okay pipsqueak?" Zoltan tried to comfort, roughly patting the kid's back and she let out a whimper, trying to say something but after stuttering closed her mouth. Remembering Letho's warning, Dandelion was quickly trying to make the child to calm down.
"Ah I know, that was a bit too exciting, right... Mmm," they didn't know the girl's name, the bard suddenly realized and found it very odd. The Viper hadn't said anything and had called her just a kid, child, girl etc. "Nevertheless it's okay, nothing bad happened. How about some our kitchen's delicacies, some cookies or other things? Anything you-" The girl gasped, closing her teary eyes and was getting worse, she muttering that she's sorry. Over and over again when suddenly she went slack and was going to fell off the bench, if not for the bard to catch her from behind and support her sitting. The child started then twitch and tremble badly, like possessed and everyone started to pay attention to the scene. Ordering quickly his workers and with Zoltan's help, they quickly dealt with the situation. The child having a seizure was carried to the Vixen's den and laid onto the smaller bed.

"I, I wwwant-" the girl tried saying, keeping her eyes closed and her shaking body jerking around. "Yes? Yes what do you want?" the bard asked, he almost panicking and worried and not wanting to make this any more worse than it looked at least. "Want Let- Letho," the kid whimpered, hyperventilating a bit and Zoltan tried to keep her legs from kicking or her body from falling from the bed.