I do not own Witcher or any of the characters.
Hunt
Eldin stopped, looking around, then nodded. Instantly, Aralyn had a dagger to Triss's throat and a hand over her mouth. Eldin turned, drawing his own sword as he walked over to her.
"So, this is how this is going to go," Eldin said. "You're going to tell us everything about whatever you're actually hiring us to do, and then we'll decide to take the job or not. If you try to escape, we will dissuade you. If you lie, and we find out you lied, we'll kill you. Begin."
Aralyn uncovered Triss's mouth and Triss swallowed hard.
"I hired you to have you kill the thing attacking people on the road," Triss said. "It's a Kikimora that's in the mountains, bigger than any I've ever even heard of, and has been attacking anyone that stumbles across it for months. We've lost three trainees to it, one graduated sorcerer, and three shipments of food and supplies have been attacked."
"Why couldn't you just say that to start with?" Eldin asked.
"Because when I say it's big, I mean it," Triss said. "It's at least twenty-five feet in length, not counting legs."
Eldin blinked twice, staring at her. "Even in their natural habitat, they don't get that big."
"Exactly," Triss said. "If I'd told you all of that straight out, would you have believed me?"
"I might have," Eldin said. "Now we'll never know. Aralyn?"
Aralyn thought for a moment before taking her dagger away from Triss's throat, nodding. "We'll do it. But we're charging extra for it."
Triss nodded. "I understand."
Eldin and Aralyn motioned for Triss to lead, and she nodded, walking past them. Both returned their weapons to their sheathes and followed Triss, but the group remained silent now. After a while, they stopped for lunch and Triss finally broke the silence, asking them what kinds of jobs they'd done. Slowly, the tension unwound as they told Triss stories of their years of traveling together, and then Eldin of his time alone before meeting Aralyn. Triss seemed fascinated by their stories, asking all the right questions at all the right times, and within a half hour, Triss had Aralyn almost relaxed. Eldin wasn't nearly so quick to drop his guard, but he could see that Triss was doing it for their sake, not her own, so he didn't stop her. Finally, they stopped to eat, and Aralyn excused herself to the trees out of sight.
"You guys have done just about everything," Triss said, looking to Eldin. "Everything except what I was expecting."
"What do you mean?" Eldin asked.
"Come on," Triss smirked. "You've been traveling together for years, you treat her wounds, you're protective of her, your eyes follow her wherever she goes. Why haven't you kissed her?"
Eldin's face hardened instantly as he began to prepare to shut down the conversation. "Because I'm not going to make the first move. When I first met her, she was to be executed for murdering the men who raped her. And while she was in the dungeon, she was raped and tortured even more. I doubt she had an hour of rest between being thrown into the dungeon and me murdering that arrogant, crown-wearing bastard who took such pleasure in having her tormented. So, yes, Triss, I do love Aralyn, but I will do nothing about it until she asks me to, because after what happened, she still has nightmares from time to time of being in that dungeon. She will never forgive humanity, and she will never be able to love a human. That is why I don't kiss her. Because if I did, I would just remind her of everything I try to shield her from."
Triss nodded mutely. After a couple more minutes, Aralyn returned, sitting beside Eldin. He flashed Triss a warning look before returning to his dinner, the others doing the same. After a few minutes, they finished, and Triss stood, twisting her body before looking around.
"There's a stream a little ways over there," she said, pointing. "I'm going to go bathe. Aralyn, would you care to join me?"
Aralyn narrowed her eyes, and Triss moved to pass Eldin, only to pause, leaning in to whisper.
"You have my word, I won't say anything," Triss said.
"Your word means nothing to me," Eldin growled.
Triss and Aralyn left the clearing, walking a couple of minutes through the forest to the river. Once there, they stripped and got in, Aralyn keeping her belt over her shoulder to bring her daggers with her. They began to clean themselves, but after a few minutes, Aralyn turned to glare at Triss, tired of her sideways glances.
"What?" Aralyn asked.
"I was just thinking that you and Eldin seem close," Triss said.
"Well, yeah," Aralyn said, frowning. "We've been traveling together for years. I trust him with my life."
"Is that all?" Triss asked. "There's nothing...else between you?"
"What?" Aralyn asked, eyes widening in surprise and understanding. "No! Don't be ridiculous!"
"Why not?" Triss asked. "He's handsome, loyal, strong. You said you trust him with your life. Why not your heart, too?"
"I don't..." Aralyn's frown deepened. "He...He's human, and...human's...for weeks, they..."
Triss's eyes widened, and she nodded. "I'm sorry. Let's just drop it."
Aralyn nodded, her frown fading slowly as she forced the memories away. They both finished bathing quickly before redressing themselves and returning to Eldin, who was just finishing cleaning out the dishes with a supply of soap water and a rag to dry them. Aralyn helped put everything away and they continued on their way until nightfall before setting up camp.
Eldin volunteered for the first watch, and the others went to bed. However, within minutes of falling asleep, Aralyn began to whimper as the nightmares began. Eldin sighed, sitting beside her and gently shaking her awake. She woke with a gasp before sitting up and wrapping her arms around him. Eldin held her comfortingly, rocking slightly and stroking her back. Finally, ahe drifted off again, but Eldin continued to hold her, his brief conversation with Triss earlier echoing in his mind. This was why he didn't kiss her, or tell her how he felt. He knew when something was hopeless. She could never return his feelings, and he refused to reopen old wounds by deluding himself into thinking otherwise.
Hours later, the sun rose and everyone began to pack up, Aralyn saying nothing about Eldin not waking her for her own watch. It had become common that when she had a nightmare, he would allow her to sleep all night, always with him holding her the entire time. Instead, they all shouldered their packs in silence and continued on their way. Finally, they stopped as they reached a section of road dotted by shattered carriages, dead cattle, broken weapons, and fresh pools of blood.
"This is it," Triss said. "This must be where the attacks were."
"Really?" Eldin said in a voice dripping sarcasm. "I thought the dead cattle, ahattered carriages, and blood were all part of the natural landscape."
"You know, you can be an asshole at times," Triss said as Eldin looked around carefully.
"What a shocking and never-before-said criticism," Eldin said, walking to the right of the road. "Please, tell me something else I don't know."
Triss glared at him, but as he and Aralyn left the path, she followed them. They followed a goat trail up a short mountain until they reached the top, which was relatively flat and a few hundred feet across. As they arrived, Aralyn and Eldin both drew their weapons, readying themselves. Triss tensed, but before she could say anything, the Kikimora burst up from the ground, leaving behind a crater. As Triss had said, it was massive, easily the size of a small house, and each leg was the length of a horse and carriage together.
Eldin charged instantly, and the Kikimora stabbed at him with one of its pointed legs. He sidestepped the strike and slashes the leg, but his blade failed to cut all the way through. The Kikimora shrieked in pain and drove another leg down at him, but he again avoided it, charging for the main body. It shrieked in rage, lunging at him, but he sidestepped the bite and slaahed at it. Once again, the sword didn't cut very deep, but this time it did cause a thick spray of blood. The Kikimora recoiled just as Aralyn slashed its already wounded leg with her own swors, which so very rarely saw use. The Kikimora shrieked in pain, crashing to the ground as its wounded leg failed to bear any weight, and Eldin lunged.
In a pair of smooth strokes of his sword, the Kikimora's left legs were severed at the base, where they were thinnest, and crashed to the ground, its right legs following suit a moment later from a pair od equally graceful sweeps of Aralyn's blade. As the Kikimora lay helplessly on its stomach, Aralyn and Eldin climbed onto its back, then drove their blades down into its heart. For a few moments, it shrieked and spasmed, then finally fell still. They pulled their blades free and dropped off of it, both pulling out a rag yo clean their blades before sheathing them.
"You two made it look easy," Triss noted.
"We've fought worse," Eldin said. "Now pay up."
"We're not at Aretuza yet," Triss said. "You'll get your payment. But while we're here, I want this Kikimora's head."
Eldin shrugged and drew his sword into a smooth sweep, and as the head fell away, a spray of thick, goo-like blood washed over Triss. She wiped her face clean before glaring at Eldin, who held a perfectly innocent expression, even while Aralyn snorted behind him.
Triss sighed, picking up the head, and turned, atarting back down the mountain, Eldin and Aralyn following.
"How did I earn the bath?" Triss asked.
"Not knowing when to shut your mouth," Eldin said evenly.
Triss nodded in understanding, and all three rained silent until they had finally arrived. Triss handed over the money she owed them and invited them in for drinks and food, but both refused. Eldin cited his distrust of all sorcerers as his reason, and Aralyn refused to go anywhere without Eldin, at which Eldin restrained a smile, and Triss allowed one to show.
"Hopefully I'll see you around, Eldin," Triss smiled.
"Hopefully not," Eldin growled, walking away with Aralyn.
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