Review index
Fatjesus1993: thank you for your kind words! And for the suggestion, I really get what you mean, and I also really enjoyed Food Wars!
187: Thanks for dropping by the story, I'll try to keep it interesting for y'all!
7thManiac: Your username alone brings me back memories of days of innocence, days when I would have my best thoughts and have no other pressing manners pushing me away from my hobbies. Days clear of weird substances and my own toxicity drowning me (not trying to be dramatic here). Incredible that you're still here, and that you took time to write a review again.
AdeielSilverbird: thank you for your kind words, I think I'll use something similar to what you say plus a few other things others suggested.
As of this precise moment, I have no other story going on that I really wanna continue other than this one, so you can expect updates because 1.- I've finally agreed to take on medication to fix my ADHD problems 2.- this is the only story that still shows slightly how my view on society is; even then, I still wanna say that I've matured in many ways, being flirty and assertive towards someone you've just met doesn't mean anything wrong towards neither men nor women, I feel like that stung me in the wrong way once I re-read this fanfic (this scene happens at chapter 2, at the last interaction [Although as of 2021, this has been fixed and edited, even then if i offended anyone on it, i apologize]). Other than that, I'll keep on trying to develop Ciri's character as I believe fit, while keeping up showing you all bit by bit the many quirks Leon has and how he sees the world and life itself.
Thank you for reading me and without further adieu this is chapter 5!
—
"So we were already in Velen once we reached Oxenfurt?" Leon, who this time was peacefully sitting at the back of Kelpie, asked his silver haired companion while he looked at his nearby surroundings; the place was dull, broken and with nature overcoming destroyed, human made shelters. Not something he really enjoyed, but something he had heard about since the current war finished and news started becoming available for everyone once again.
Ciri by her part only nodded in response, concentrated on the road before her; there was a certain field she'd rather not cross while having such a decent person right at her back, hanged man's tree, a place not even she could endure for long. It was terrifying, disgusting and it reeked of death all over it, obviously thanks to the rotten corpses that hung around every sign and tree that remained on its feet.
"Velen is incredibly large" She informed, with half her brain still working on a route that would skip both drowners and the tree itself; the tree offered less risks, but trauma against ghouls and the mere sights that it offered, and the coast was always, always filled with bandits and drowners alike, almost as if the bastards had allied with each other, "But only two or three cities are important and noticed by the kingdom, the rest of it has been left to rot alone because of the war, and thus it's turned into a no man's land. Soldiers come to abuse their power around the towns and it has overall morphed into a bloody monster nest" She scowled at the memory of poor people begging for money all around the streets, sobs and evil laughter filling the place to its every nook, Velen wasn't a place someone would like to visit, and she was glad she offered to take Leon through the entire thing; she couldn't imagine the boy behind her being able to beat the absolute monstrosity that Velen had turned out to be.
Leon just whistled a low, sad tone in response.
"Must be a gold mine for Witchers though, right?" She smacked his shoulder with her free hand, and sighed.
"We don't really appreciate seeing people die left and right, even if the money is good, and the stories behind every contract are all mostly extremely saddening and eye opening" She bit her lip, "Most wraiths, ghouls, treasures, were something precious to others, or were actually people before something horrible happened to them" She explained to him in a rushed manner, trying to fend off her anger at his prejudices, knowing full well he wouldn't have meant to insult her and her kind in any sort of way, "And, just for your information, it doesn't sit well with me to take the entirety of a poor village's savings because they needed someone to save them from an entity that would've otherwise wiped them off the map one by one" She finished with a huff, her anger slowly being replaced with a void that would always fill her after taking one or two damned contracts out of a small, dirt poor village.
Leon quietly reached up and started massaging her shoulders, relaxing her with the warmth feeling of his slim fingers rubbing against her exposed neck and traps.
"Look, I wasn't really thinking when I let out my dumbass comment, aight?" He whispered to her in a soothing way, "I'm sorry" The way his voice expressed guilt and regret turned whatever she was feeling into endearment, making her squeal inside her mind, and turning up a imminent desire to kiss his worries away; but the road was on her way and the situation didn't call for that, so instead she laid in to his chest, chuckling at the way his arms were left flying in front of her, a clear sign of him not really knowing what to even do about her actions.
"Just hug me, you big idiot" She tried as she laughed at his flustered state and, once he finally wrapped his arms around her waist, she exhaled her mind away, "It's okay, I'm not mad at you" Ciri reassured her brown haired partner as she closed her eyes, sinking into his warmth and letting Kelpie lead the way for a second, "It's just a life of prejudices and judging eyes; I know there's plenty of stories that say otherwise, but not all Witchers are emotionless killing machines, y'know?" She rejoiced at the feeling of his chin rubbing on top of her head when he nodded, and continued, "Mutations don't really affect the way you feel, it's the training that toughens you up to the point of not reacting the way normal humans would...of course, there's a billion things that happen once you go through them, but turning emotionless is certainly not one of them" She remained silent, enjoying the sound of Leon's quickened heartbeat and Kelpie's gentle gaits; the thoughts of Uncle Vesemir, Eskel and Lambert came to mind, making her smile as she realized the latter two probably wouldn't be happy someone like Leon dropped by Kaer Morhen, and then her smile faltered at the missing feeling of Vesemir.
She gripped Kelpie's leash tightly as she rose up once again, instantly feeling the cold that replaced Leon's warmth, and she cleared her head off any guilty trips the thought of her deceased uncle brought into her; she'd come to terms with the fact long ago, and it wasn't the right moment to start getting depressed about it.
She was glad Leon kept quiet as she recomposed herself, letting her take a breather as she went from throttling to galloping, seeing how the sun had already turned into a beautiful orange color.
When the shy idiot tried to remove his hands off her waist though, she stopped him midways with her free hand, and smiled when he failed to force his hand out of her grip.
"Oh come on, this is far more comfortable than holding onto the hard saddle, and you're warm" It was the first time Ciri had turned to look at him in the eye, and unlike last night, he failed to hold her gaze after a few seconds of battling with his own brown orbs, "You promised me you wouldn't turn awkward after our small make-out session, what's wrong with a little clinging?" She smirked as his face blew up into a red, shiny bulb and waited for him to regain his footing, mentally confused at his strange hesitation.
"N-Nothing…that's not what the problem is all abo- Oh gods" The expression itself and the way his face went from reddish to pale alarmed her, and in an instant a certain scent that reached her nostrils made her turn away from his face and towards the road in horror.
Bodies, dismembered and rotten, in a clear sign of a terrible slaughter, were blocking their way through in a mountain fashion. This was the new entry to the cursed tree she had been trying and failed to avoid, a terrible parting gift delivered by the monsters some called Red Seekers; a group that terrified most of west Velen in a bizarre way to take revenge on Nilfgaard, who admittedly destroyed most of their territory on its way to conquer the entire continent. The bodies were old and dark, with all of their blood already splattered around the road and dried up, meaning this must've happened after the events that led her to her freedom.
A sudden groan pushed her out of her mind and she turned around again to face Leon, who seemed pale and distraught, with his trembling hand gripping the fabric that covered his stomach tight.
"Leon! Gods, okay, calm down" She placed a hand on his shoulder and moved him gently so he would react.
"Hold on...a second, I think-" He angled himself and puked; had it not been for Ciri's agile hands, he'd have fallen down onto the bloodied floor as well, "T-Thank... you, I-" He vomited one more time, this time letting his entire body weight be held by Ciri, his strength seemingly leaving him for a mere second or two.
Leon was in distress and Ciri could only understand, he reminded her of her first smelling a dead body, or her first time killing someone; all of those were hard on her heart and hard on her stomach, and it took her a long time and many training sessions with Geralt to overcome the overwhelming feeling it brought over her entire self; Leon may have already killed bandits with her before, but the terror-show in front of them proved to be twice as gut wrenching, if not more.
She decided to concentrate on leaving the place as quickly as they could possibly go, -Only after ordering Leon to hold onto her as tight as he could-, and after going around the entire mass of death and rot, she urged Kelpie to gallop at full power, forcing her and Leon to lean forward solely to not fall thanks to gravity and the speed itself.
"Leon, don't open your eyes for now, trust in me, we'll be out of this hellhole in no time" She held the leash in one hand to caress his leg with the other as gently as she could; she didn't want him to see the already hung bodies around the entire zone, nor the trees, and was glad that Leon had rested his forehead on her back as soon as his stomach attacks stopped.
She was worried about his heart, it was beating faster than Kelpie's own gallop, she didn't need to understand much about medicine to know he was having a mild panic attack, the blood and dead bodies must've triggered something within him. She knew he could pass out at any second, and given by the way his erratic breathing turned low, she knew she had to talk to him as they galloped.
"Leon, talk to me, please, just anything is fine" She tried reaching out to him and he just moved his head side to side, denying her request and making her chuckle, "Anything, it's clear you're having a panic attack, and I don't want you to pass out before we reach somewhere remotely safe" This time he groaned, obviously understanding where she was coming from.
"I'm such a weakling…" He managed to say after a second or two and earned himself a straight punch on his leg, making him groan even more, "Hey...I'm dying over here, you could let me laugh at myself for a little…"
"First off, you're not dying, you're merely having an episode, and second, if you think I didn't half pass out the first time I saw a real dead body, you're wrong, because I did, and I looked exactly the same way that you do right now" She patted the leg she'd hit before and took hold of the leash with both of her hands once again, "I won't think any less of you just because of this, it's exactly the reaction anyone normal would have, so stop berating yourself and hold on tight until your heart goes back to human standards" He didn't reply, but she relaxed once he rubbed his forehead up and down on her back, nodding.
—
"Leon, we're finally out" Ciri patted her nauseabundic companion to get his attention, and for the first time in who knows how long, he lifted his head up from her back.
He took a deep breath to check out the smell and afterwards exhaled with peace; indeed, they were finally out of the dead zone, as he had decided to call it.
"How're you feeling, doofus?" Ciri caught his attention once again, trying to hide away her worried tone with a playful attitude; his heart had settled down a long time ago, but she had made him concentrate on her and her back so he wouldn't look at all the dead bodies that were hung around every corner of the field, "The sun is down completely now, and I could use an eye or two to help me go through the crossroad. There's an inn about half a day away after we cross it, but I'd rather we find a safe zone first and sleep off the darkness" She heard some ruffling and turned around for a bit to find Leon finally taking out his bow out of the bag that he had been using to hide away his personal belongings, as well as his weapon.
"I'm doing...fine now, my muscles tightened up because of my trembling, but I've calmed down" He patted the bow and it, surprisingly, shone a beautiful sea blue, unlike the dark blue it showcased when he first showed her; it still surprised her, the fact that a bow like that even existed, and that it had chosen Leon as its holder, "Thank you, Cirilla, without you I honestly probably wouldn't have reached Velen to begin with" She smiled at his words and reached up with her hand to shuffle his hair a little.
"Don't mention it, I've got your back and I know you've got mine as well" He toothy grinned at her in a way that reminded her of a shining star, and he nodded twice in agreement as he drew his quiver out of his little backpack as well; it baffled her just how many things he could keep inside his bag without a bother, "We need to find a place to camp out" She informed him and brought her eyes back to the darkened road.
"If anything, we should let Kelpie rest as we search'' Leon added and offered as he caressed the horses' sides with care. He was right, Kelpie had kept on galloping without a stop for an hour and something more now, without counting how he had been carrying both Leon and her for the entirety of the day as well, and it was clear from his breath that he required rest, and soon.
"You think we should just make our own campsite around here?" Ciri questioned Leon before making Kelpie stop on his track, already letting him rest a bit as they decided.
"Most definitely; you can leave it to me, I may not be good with bloody sights, but I sure as hell know my way through wilderness" She giggled at the way Leon patted his arm in a muscle man fashion, and followed him suit when he dropped off Kelpie's saddle, "Take Kelpie's rope, we'll be walking into the bushes for a bit now" She smiled at the way his tone transformed into one with determination once he entered his area of expertise, and hummed in agreement, opting to remain quiet as Leon searched, and keeping an ear out for any bandit or close like monster that could be crawling around in the darkness.
The search wasn't a long one, to her own surprise, and they found a slightly open space that strayed away from the road just enough for her to feel safe and assured that no bypasser would know that someone was camping around.
How Leon even managed to find such a pacific spot in the middle of the worse district around Nilfgaard, she had no clue, but she wouldn't let it drop her guard at any point either way.
"This place looks open enough and it still feels hidden within the bushes and small trees around here" Leon voiced her thoughts as if he could read her mind and Ciri could only agree with him.
"Nice job, partner" She congratulated him before patting Kelpie over, letting him know it was fine for him to rest now. The horse immediately took the clue and dropped over, taking his favorite upright position before closing his eyes and finally getting some well deserved rest, "Now I don't know about you, but I'm starving over here" She went back to Leon, who was already sitting down on the floor as he took out every single tool he had been keeping inside his bag the entire time they've travelled together.
"You can also rest up for a bit if you'd like, it's my turn to shine, Ciri" He replied before thrusting hard into the grass some sort of stake, with a string already neatly tied around it.
"Hard no, Leon; we're a team, got your back and you got mine, 'member?" She wittedly answered back and walked closer to his crouched form, "What're the orders, capt'n?" She jokingly asked him with a smirk and a wink, and he turned around as he thought about something she could do in the meantime.
"Fine" He managed, "We need dry wood if we wanna eat something that's well cooked, and we also need scented plants to distract nearby predators" Ciri blinked twice in surprise before nodding slowly; she had expected the first part, but he had already planned ahead on their behalf, so they both could rest as well, "Get a handful of oranged, foul scented flowers that grow in big quantities, if you find one, chances are that you'll find a family of them around as well; smash them over either with the back of your knife or boot against rock, and smear our surrounding area with it" Leon inserted another stake onto the grass before turning back to her surprised eyes, "Also, if you can't find any logs that are dry enough, just cut over bits of wooden flesh with your knife or your sword; it's easier to dry up and, with a bit of luck, to light up as well" He left her gaze and returned back to his work, leaving an stunned Cirilla smiling proudly at the brown haired mess crouching in front of her.
"It shall be done then, capt'n" She continued with her role play in a gleeful manner; her companion was far more than just a sweet talker, and it showed with the way he was already finishing with their tent, -yes, their-, by the time she walked away and into the search for said flowers.
—
"Gosh, when he said foul scented, I didn't think he'd have meant that literally" Ciri finally found the specific flower Leon had been talking about, ten or fifteen minutes after she'd started looking; obviously always keeping a keen ear on his location, just in case things went south at any moment, which could always happen, "Oof" she groaned as she picked up one of the many orange flowers she could see surrounding her entire footing; Leon was right, this things grew in big numbers, and their smell would probably keep even ghouls away from them. It wasn't particularly nauseous or down right disgusting, but it was strong enough to make her trained nose scrunch as if she had bitten a raw yellow lemon, "It's as if some drunktard had sprayed me with rancid pee all over" Ciri screeched internally as she picked up more and decidedly started smashing them over the nearest trees and rocks she could find around.
It took her some time, and also some suffering, but after she was done circling the area around them with the damn odor , she knew for sure that the scent would fend off whatever wanted to get close to them that wasn't sentient and, satisfied, went off to pick up logs she had already seen as she smeared the place all over with the flowers.
"I just hope my gloves don't end up stuck with this smell tomorrow, or we'll need to make a quick trip to any near river"
—-
Soon Ciri was on her way to Leon, with four big chunks of wood in her arms and a proud smile on her face; she could already make out the tent Leon had put up immediately, as well as a rocky pit waiting for her logs to be placed over, and a small, metal pot hanging on top of it with some sticks he must've found around the place that were held by strong, perfectly tied cords.
"I see someone outdid themselves tonight" she exclaimed once he was on sight for her and Leon perked up at the sound of her voice, looking towards the general direction she was about to come out from, "Hey there, Lion" she greeted him with a pet name when she finally came out from the bushes.
"It's Leon" He jokingly complained, "Did the flowers mess up with your head a little?" He asked, flint and stone in hand; Ciri just threw him a quick middle finger and a fake frown.
"Yeah, no, those things were horrible" She smiled at the sound of his laughter and closed the distance between the two, dropping the logs in front of him so he could begin working on his magic.
"Mhm, but they make for great fend offers; it's like burning acid to bears and wolves, and no other predator would really enjoy going through the hassle either way" He picked up the logs and placed them on a certain position she had seen before, but not before adding some dead leaves and dry grass right below it, probably to act as a kindle, "Surprised you found anything dry around here, must mean that it doesn't rain often around Velen" Ciri shrugged his praise away, and tapped his shoulder twice when he turned to start hitting the flint and stone, trying to get the fire going.
"I've got something better than just sparks, Capt'n" He blinked at her, confused, but stepped away nevertheless; it was clear Ciri wanted to show him something, and he was always up to learning new tricks.
He ended up flabbergasted though, when she just whispered some sort of spell and fire appeared at the center of the logs in a mere second.
"W-What did you do?" He knew, of course. He had read it before, in books and stories, and it made sense because he had already seen her blink through space and time before against the bandits, but it still amazed him to know that he was spending time with a Witcher, and one that used magic, nonetheless.
"Igni" She smiled and replied nonchalantly, "Useful to scare off weak beasts...or in this case, to lit up a campfire" She casted him a quick wink and patted his shoulder as she walked past him, taking a sit a little further away to enjoy the sight of him working and the fire as well.
"Right...Igni" He accepted the explanation, acting as if he could actually understand the principles behind it, and decidedly pushed the questions into the back of his mind; a good magician would never reveal their secrets to the audience, and even though the thought of casting any sort of magic excited him to his very core, he knew it would have something to do with training and a lot of reading; and perhaps something even more meaningful than that.
Instead he went back to Kelpie, who was still sleeping soundly in front of them, and silently took hold of their bag of supplies, bringing it back to the campfire with him; he took out the raw chicken he had decided to buy even though he knew if they had taken more than a day to two it would've gone green, and then some other flowers and seeds Ciri had questioned him about.
To the sights of it, the silver haired Witcher rose up from her place once again and walked closer to Leon, not trying to distract him as he worked, but just overall curious; he was using the strong wood from his own bow to crack the seeds he had bought earlier into dusty pieces, while taking away every single petal from the flowers he had brought as well, turning them bald. To her left, the pot had apparently already been filled with water, and from the looks of it, it was starting to boil from the flames.
"Your flame might've been a little too strong, but I'm quick, we'll make do before the water evaporates" She smiled sheepishly at him when he casted a look towards her, "This are Beggartick seeds that I luckily found around the store when you first doubted my ass to buy us good things, but you'll see just how calm this things make you feel when boiled correctly" Ciri laughed at the tone he was using while talking to her, even though he never stopped working, "And this are simple gray Bryonias that I'd found nearby as we looked for a place to camp; now the petals" He raised up a finger, as a way to emphasize a point, "They are slightly toxic to small rabbits, and also irritating to humans" He took hold of one of the bald ones he'd already finished working on and showed them to Ciri, "But you if take them off and use the center, they carry one of the sweetest flavors around the fields; at least within my research, either way" He went back to work, smashing around the core of the flowers and adding them to the bowl where the remains of the seeds were, before taking a certain round object that fit perfectly within the bowl, and start pulverizing everything together, "For it to be tasty, you need to make sure everything turns slightly liquified, since it has to be neatly blended together, and that means a bit of- " He put more weight into his last movement, and then smiled at the girl that,- albeit unconsciously-, had scooched over closer to him as curiousness took out the best of her once again, "mashing effort, like my mum used to call it" He lifted the round object he had used to mash everything together, and brought the bowl closer to her nose so she could smell it herself, not once minding the lack of privacy she displayed.
Her eyebrows lifted up in surprise when a rich, honey-like scent came out from the bowls, bringing back memories of home cooked meals around Kaer Morhen, bringing her back to her childhood feet, almost making her nostalgic.
"Truth be told" he continued to work, stealing her pocket knife without her really minding nor realizing, still shocked at the scene that was happening in front of her, "Chicken is very dry, and slightly tasteless if not cooked directly onto fire" He started cutting away the excessively bony parts with precision and expertise, and begun dropping the meaty parts he extracted with care, "So the secret is all within the seasoning…" He dropped half of the bowl he had prepared into the boiling water, chicken already in it, " and the toppings" he tapped the bowl twice, with half of the mix still intact in it.
Ciri was astonished, she couldn't remember the last time she felt anticipation for any sort of food; and she had travelled many lands and had eaten in many places before today; but the scent that the boiling water itself let out was enough to make her mouth soak up in impatient ways, and she needed to stop herself from trying to steal away a finger or two of that mix he still had in his hands, making her wonder just how delicious the stuff was going to be once he added it all together.
"Now we just have to wait; I added just enough water for the chicken not to burn itself nor really end up extremely dry, I believe the liquids should evaporate in a few minutes thanks to the intensity of the flame, and then we can take the chicken out and top it again with the mix, earning us a delicious, sweet chicken bowl, or rather,-" He brought up his little backpack again and took out two big, wooden bowls out of it with a grin, "Two sweet chicken bowls!" He snickered as he offered a still stunned Ciri one of them, to which she accepted gratefully, "The best part is that, since this stuff is in the water itself, the smell shouldn't really go farther into the woods, and rather just supply us with a sweet scent as it cooks, that won't stick around long enough for predators to catch it as the walk by while we rest" Leon grinned her way one more time, clearly showing just how much he was actually enjoying himself as he prepared their dinner.
To the sight, her heart trembled for a second, in a way she hadn't really felt before in her entire existence.
"That's incredible" Ciri managed to say once she regained hold of her own thoughts once again, "No, you're incredible-, did you know that? Because you're pretty fucking amazing, Leon" She couldn't even find ways to praise him in the correct way as he just laughed nerviously and scratched the back of his head, while still grinning towards her.
"I, y'know, I could say the same thing about 'ya" He chuckled shyly before leaving her gaze, to instead look at the fire beneath the pot, "I mean, you can use magic" The fire she could see in his eyes picked up her interest, but she'd leave the questions and offers she could already form inside her mind for later, and just continued fighting this praising fight.
"Yeah, but I was born with it, I had the best teachers train me so I could control it, and even though I don't wanna get into details about how it was easier for me to use it, you instead trained and worked hard on your own to achieve this, and the camping, and the whole wilderness search?" Things she had overlooked for a time now appeared in the front of her mind like popcorn popping, "The way you remain loyal to your principles, your charm with strangers, your connection with an elven bow" She lifted her hands up in the air in a dramatized way, "It's been less than a week and you've already got me hooked, seriously, I'm your number one fan, Leon" She finally found footing on her wording, dropping a big bomb onto him that made his face lit up the same way it did right before the entire traumatic experience happened, earlier that day.
He remained silent for a bit, not really finding any way to contradict her nor reciprocate such immense words, and instead just finding a way to reply to them; the way he played with a strand of his hair, and the way he kept looking at different things around them tickled her in cute ways.
"I don't- I, erm...don't really know how to thank you, really" She smiled at his hesitation, "I still can't believe I got to meet you on my own reckless journey to find my missing family, but ever since we started traveling, it's been the best days of my life, y'know?" He chuckled at his own chosen words and she just leaned closer, urging him to continue, "I always wanted to travel, and see the world; look at the stars from other angels, other places, meet people,- people that don't know me since I was a kid, and that have no power on me or what I say" A spark that didn't come from the fire next to them appeared inside his brown orbs, absorbing her focus as she listened closely, "To be free, to be me without fear that my father would barge into my room screaming about how I a skipped sword lessons, how I spent time around the kitchen with my mama and the other ladies, how I again disappeared into the woods for days at a time" She shared his quick snicker, "And nothing had changed after that...fateful day, where I was forced to leave and set out to search for my sisters,- I was still alone, me in the woods with my bow and my own thoughts, until you appeared from out of nowhere, as if destiny had decided to conjoin us together, and since then, I've dreaded the day that we finally have to part ways…gods, you're like-" The sudden, familiar sound of meat hissing at the touch of burning hot metal interrupted his soul filled rant about her, bringing him back to reality and breaking his confidence in a way that made Ciri hate the entire campfire altogether; her own heartbeat had started picking up as he continued talking, "M-Maybe you'll let me thank you with a sweet dinner coming right up?" He managed to change the entire route of the conversation and even thought she was screaming internally, she remained calm and nodded with a grin.
"I've been dying to take a bite of you" She replied, this time not trying to be witty, but rather lost on her thoughts, and for the first time her own cheeks reddened at her mistake, "I-I mean! To take a bite of this chicken, gods" She waved her hands in front of him as he laughed soundly, his awkwardness quickly leaving him as he chuckled at a flustered Ciri, "Look at what you make me say, you king of dorks" She started laughing with him once she controlled herself; she wasn't even half as awkward as he was, but it caught her by surprise that her mind would instantly go towards him other than the food that had been having her excited since he started showing off its scents.
"Two bowls of sweet chicken coming right up,- ah, and don't forget to add more of the mix" Leon cut her off her mind with a bowl full of wet, shiny, perfectly brownish chicken and some green plants laying below it, "That's cabbage that I bought off the store as well; it doesn't really come in the recipe, but it'd have gone to waste if I hadn't put it in there, so be diligent and eat your veggies as well, princess" He offered her the magic bowl once he added some of the mix on his own chicken, and she thanked him wholeheartedly before adding the rest of it to her chicken, making sure it reached every single piece of meat she could see.
The first bite made her squeal in delight, forcing her to actually wrap an arm around her brown haired companion and squeeze him as she enjoyed munching on the soft, juicy chicken. Her buds were overjoyed, to the point of her not wanting to finish swallowing her first bite before taking another one, and so and so, almost making Leon worry she might choke on her dinner, effectively turning him into the first normal person to have ever killed a Witcher.
"You like it?" He asked before taking another piece into his mouth, combining it with some of the cabbage below it and smiling at the taste of the combination.
"I mlob it!" She replied immediately, with a bunch of food still inside her mouth, making him chuckle.
"I'm glad, then" Leon offered a sincere smile, before lifting up the pot away from the fire, and placed it in between them, "There's still some more we can save up for tomorrow morning, we just need to find something to rekindle the logs, but with your Igni, I don't think we'll have troubles with that" Ciri just hummed in response, concentrated on finishing her bowl with a gleeful look on her face.
"You're spoiling me way too much" She commented jokingly and he laughed by her side, with his bowl already completely empty; it was clear he was a fast eater, and it showed by the way his entire body was lean and fit, he probably didn't weigh beyond seventy kilograms, "I'll get hooked on your cooking as well" She chuckled at the way he blushed and continued, "Just how am I gonna survive without you now?" Ciri continued messing with his face, secretly loving the way she could affect him so much.
"Honestly, h-how am I gonna survive without you is the real question" She laughed and nodded at the same time.
"You won't, that's why I'll be by your side every time, so you don't die off some sort of strange monster" She informed him between snickers.
Soon her own bowl was empty, and her belly on the contrary, satisfied and full; he really outdid himself this time, ever their tent was big enough for the two of them, -It had to be, she wouldn't have let him sleep on the grass this time around no matter how much bickering got between the two of them- and he had managed to add a soft carpet, so they wouldn't have to be sleeping on solid floor nor itchy grass either.
She wasn't sure what was more surprising, his skills camping or the fact that he could keep all of that inside his backpack.
"Fire is out" Leon's voice, like usual, took her out of her thoughts, "Night is heavy and I'm exhausted" he finished and stretched, making her ears almost twitch at the sound of his bones all popping in the right way. Her own back was also pretty sore from all the riding, and her mind could use a light sleep and some rest so it could function correctly tomorrow morning; she could get some actual heavy sleep once they reached an inn, but for now, she'd keep an ear up for dangers and crawlers; even though she spread horrific odor all over the place, that wouldn't stop bandits from attacking them.
"Let's hit the bay then, my personal pillow" She played with him and he laughed, remembering last night and how he woke up to his arm pale and unresponsive because of Ciri's head; he didn't mind, she was also warm and smelled great, so he couldn't really complain about her using him as a pillow.
She entered the little hut first, it was still quiet and cold, but it was better than sleeping out in the open, and Leon followed her with careful movements; the hut was a fragile one, thanks to its size, and even though it offered protection from the cold and possible rain, it didn't mean it could sustain someone hanging onto it.
"Good lord, my every fiber hurts" He complained, already taking his spot on the floor and stretching once again, before turning, making his back face Ciri's side.
"Don't be such a whiny kid" She berated him with a funny tone and, as she took a sit on the floor next to him, she realized Leon had created a certain distance between them, one that she didn't like in the slightest, "You're not off the hook yet, mister" She grabbed his shirt and forced him to turn and look her way, "I know something is up, I can even taste it up in the air, and you were about to voice your problems before we entered those damned hell gates, so now that we're all cozy and close, I think you have enough time to voice them out again" He looked surprised at her mini outburst, but her determined eyes also told him he wouldn't be able to avoid her and thus he rose up into the same sitting position Ciri had, with his eyes trying their very best not to sway away from hers.
"Well…" He went back to his usual mantra of scratching the back of his head, and she noticed immediately.
"You promised me" Ciri cut him off once again, reminding him of the deal she had forced upon him a night prior, but one he had agreed nonetheless.
"I know! I know, trust me, I'm trying here" He replied honestly enough to make Ciri relax her hard stare on him; she couldn't help it, she'd expected a hug at the very least in this extremely cold and quiet night, and he was there, clearly not as awkward but hesitating even more than before.
If she had done anything wrong, she needed to know, and badly.
"Like I said before, it's not about that" he looked troubled enough, so she let him elaborate a little, "I know you told me not to overthink things at all, but it's so hard on me" He let himself drop onto the floor once again, this time not dismissing her, just staring at the little roof they had over their heads, "I just...feel so happy and at ease with you, and it's starting to affect me; I guess I'm falling head over heels for you, in just four goddamned days and it's making me feel so down because-, well..." He stopped himself there and she bit her lip.
"Because you don't think I feel the same way" His eyes went up immediately to meet with her own, which were frowning ever so slightly even though she now understood where he was going, "Because you think I have this playful attitude with everyone I like and you're just falling because no one had ever been kind to you before this?" This time he nodded and attempted to face away from her, feeling slightly ashamed, but she stopped him with her gloved hand, taking a hold of his chin without applying much force if at all, "Leon, you need to listen to me" He nodded and gulped hard at her stare; it wasn't quite the usual bright eyed look he was slowly getting used to, and instead showed a hint of a pained face, one with tremendous amounts of scars, instead of just the unique one she portrayed on her face, "I...really now, I am the Cirilla you have got to meet this last few days, and I plan on remaining like this for the rest of my days, no matter how many are actually left of them" Leon internally gasped at the sight of Ciri trembling, but by the way she kept a hard grip on her boot and her other hand, which was holding his chin gently, trembled, he decided to remain quiet, "But before this,- before I got to meet Geralt again-, before this eyes and before concluding my training...I was evil" She let out a gasp as she ran out of oxygen, and had to take a deep breath before gathering strength to continue, "There's a reason why I admire the way you stick close to your path, to your morals, a-and it's because I really, really couldn't" She let go of his chin, and immediately wrapped herself with her arms, her eyes lowering and looking straight to the floor, "I was a monster, Leon" He tried arguing, but she didn't let him, "I was, okay!?" She screeched, way harder than he had ever heard her scream before, "You can't argue about it because you don't even know what I did, and you don't know how long it took me to even start feeling bad for it" How they went from his shy confession to her berating and destroying herself in front of him, he had no idea, but by the way her nails were drawing blood from their tight grip on her arms, it was clear he had unconsciously opened a Pandora, and he needed to find a way to calm her down, quickly, "I was volatile, you could argue that I still am, and I can't even sleep at night sometimes, thinking about the things I did to others" Her fingers let go of her already bruised arms, and she now went to hold her hair tight, almost too tight, causing some of her white strands to snap off her calf in a painful manner, "It took me years to fix my mind, to find myself, and still I break whenever I try bringing up the memories again" Her eyes tried desperately to find disgusts inside his brown orbs, but when they only found worry, and desperation, probably because of the sight she was displaying, she continued, "I don't wanna be that bitch of a monster anymore, Leon; life had turned me into a cold blooded psychopath" She was tearing up, she knew, "There's no justification for the sins that I commited, there's not even a point on telling you about all this, but I will because I want you to see that this is new for me too" She reached out for both of his wrists, and lifted them up with her hands, dramatizing her words and shaking him physically all together, "This Witcher style of life, of freedom, of journeys and adventures that let me help and use the goodness I have inside of me, are all new to me, and are, for once, for fucking once, out of my own decision; this Ciri you see in front of you, is the one I had aimed to be when I was still a child, still innocent, and the world hadn't swallowed me whole with hatred and chaos" She wasn't trembling anymore, instead she seemed determined, with her eyes filled with life and pure magic once again, even though they had turned red and puffy, "This flirting, this joking, this laughing and this hugging are all new to me; the people I had met before just used me, betrayed me, for reasons I cannot tell you about just yet; but you, you are so you, so pure, so golden, so much like the me before, that I just know I can show you my true colours without creating yet another scar inside my cursed soul" She pulled him close and sank deep into his chest, the small tears that managed to escape from her eyes drying up on his shirt, "And I now show you this side of me as well, because I want you to see just how important you've become to me" She took a deep breath, tattooing his woody scent into her brain like some sort of spell, "It's been four days and I'm not ashamed or sad to say I feel like we were meant to meet, because you resonate with me and trust me when I tell you that when things resonate with me, they mean something important" She lifted her head to look at his wide, surprised and confused eyes, that were trying to process everything that she had told her while still maintaining composure, just to proceed to sink herself again into his shirt, this time letting more drops fall down from her face, her past getting the worst of her.
In a desperate measure he decided to wrap his arms around her slim figure, securing Ciri into his form while he came up with words to say; he couldn't understand half of the things she had mentioned, nor the fact that she had claimed she'd most certainly killed people, or at least hurt them immensely, but he could understand the fact that she was scarred, far more than he would ever be, and that her life had been most likely what many would call hell itself; so he'd save up his questions and instead concentrate on the Ciri she had assured him she was.
Silence enveloped them for the time being, Ciri battling her episode as Leon caressed her back in soothing repetitions, not quite believing this kind person he had met days ago actually had suffered such a traumatic childhood, and had morphed into something so dark and terrifying, just to come back on top while carrying their sins like the weight of the world.
After a while, her quiet sobbing turned into calm but erratic intakes for air, and he stopped the circles he was doing on her back with the palm of his hand, prompting Ciri to look at him in the eye.
"Now-" she sniffed once again, "Now I'm the one that looks like a mess" Leon smiled at her wholeheartedly.
"We're both a mess then, Cirilla" She chuckled sarcastically, immediately letting out snot from her nose comically, forcing her to use the bottom of her shirt to clean her face off; Leon didn't even snickered, and she was grateful of that, "But I believe you...we've all made mistakes, I know you may never tell me about yours, for our own sake, but in time you'll learn about mine; you're not the first evil person that has placed a foot on this world, Ciri" He locked his eyes on her emerald pearls, "But those who drown usually don't come back up from that terrifying abyss; you did, and I admire you because of that" Her smile morphed into another inverted rainbow as she fought off more tears that were begging to come out, and he continued, "Your past haunts you, and that's okay, it's a clear sign that you are no psychopath, that you are instead human, and there may still be a million things that I don't quite get about it; but I know the only way that you can fix it" Leon, for all his previous awkwardness, managed to take hold of her cheek and keep it warm with the palm of his hand, making Ciri unconsciously lean onto his touch, wishing for more, and for it to never end, "And that's moving forward, living for those that don't anymore, and making it up to and for them; helping those in need, teaching them the right path they should take, and how chaos only brings more and more chaos" he offered her yet another sunlight filled smile, effectively stunning the silver haired woman in front of him, "If these you that I've got to meet is the culmination of all your efforts to turn into someone people can look up to, and more importantly, someone that you can get to look in the mirror and love, then let me tell you something" He took hold of her cheeks with his hands, and lifted her head so he could kiss her forehead affectionately, "You've been doing a pretty good fucking job so far, Cirilla" She couldn't hold them in anymore, her tears starting flowing out like waterfalls once again.
"I can't believe you-!" She was sobbing loudly at his words, which stung and opened her soul hard, "You're...such a goddamned sweet talker-" She sniffed hard, the snot that was blocking her nostrils getting pushed to the literal back of her throat, "I-I was trying to help you fix this-this...misunderstanding you had, and-" She lifted her hands to try and stop the tears from coming out, to no avail, "And you instead-" She wouldn't say it, her hiccups and gasps for air wouldn't let her do it either way, but Ciri knew he understood; the way he was looking at her told her that much, with those damned gigantic brown eyes, that soft yet empathic and understanding stare, and his charming smile, "You…" she pulled him closer, hugging him with both of her arms tightly wrapped around his entire torso, and resting her chin on his shoulder, "Thank you...I just hope this is enough for you to realize how much you've just started to mean to me" She sniffed again, "Just imagine what a month by your side will do to my heart, you big doofus" She finished, decidedly closing her eyes to enjoy the current moment, his warmth and his own wrapped arms around her body.
He had managed to fill a small yet permanent void that laid in her heart for half a decade now, only with his words and actions, and she'd be forever thankful for that.
Thankful of him, and his big golden heart.
—
"If you said you were exhausted before, just imagine how I'm feeling right now" They were now at least slightly back to their former selfs, both of them laying close to the other in the cold, dark floor.
"Yup, crying usually does that to you" Leon had finally let Ciri use his arm as her designated pillow, but not before joking about how she needed to clean off her face from all the snot and dry tears she had let out after their little scene, earning a strong punch that he deemed worthy and satisfying.
"You'd know 'cuz you're secretly a cry baby, aren't you?" She mocked him as she ran her slender fingers around his chest mindlessly, and laughed when Leon casted a middle finger her way with his free hand.
"So this all means you...like like me?" He blurted out the comment that seemed to come from nowhere, earning an entire session of laughter and big disbelief that he'd still have doubts after all that.
"Like like you, Leon?" She managed between giggles, "I think it goes way beyond that…" She pulled his shirt for the third time that night, forcing him to turn and look at her straight in the eye, "Idiot"
She melted her lips into his own soft marshmallows, finally blowing away any doubt he could be gathering within his dumbass mind.
And, as both of them kept their eyes closed, enjoying their kiss, Leon's bow, which was sitting outside in the cold darkness of the night, shone bright for once again.
This time showcasing a beautiful, cyan blue colour.
—
Hi, this is it for chapter 5; and yes, keep on reading me here, we have a few things to clear out and explain.
I have, as of recently, started reading The Witcher's entries and sagas, focusing mostly on Geralt's and Ciri's, and I've come up to meet with a darker Ciri, one that differs a little too much from the Ciri of the game, and the Ciri I had ended up loving. But this Ciri is far more complex, far more interesting and far more incredible; it's the autor himself that I don't really like, perhaps because of the fact that he leaves too many things out in the open for us to conclude, including Cirilla's past and the lack of consequences it brings upon her.
Therefore I've decided to include a bit of her past in the story; I've tried adding an episode of PTSD as a clear sign of remorse (?) as well as put on weight on her shoulders and inside her mind (I will not be spoiling you about anything, we will not be covering Ciri's doings in this fic, nor will we use any sort of resemblance to the Book Ciri; we're still using the Ciri I've developed and created using the games model as a reference, but now with more interesting origins and more added drama to the fic itself)
I urge you to please tell me if you think the relationship is feeling a little rushed, or if the entire situation felt out of place from the point of Leon's slight confession (?) to Ciri's imminent outburst and PTSD episode; this is how I've seen PTSD happen a lot during my life, and how I've seen others suffer through it, and it always seems to come out of thin air, appearing merely because of an internal trigger no one is really sure about (and for our dear Ciri, that trigger clearly is remembering about her past).
I still added some fluff and relaxation to the chapter even though from now on it's gonna start to get bits by bits more interesting; you see, we're already halfway through Velen, and I've made my calculations, and it's probably gonna be merely a few days into the right direction for them to get to Kaer Morhen as well. So be prepared to finally meet our favorite Witcher and (for some hated and for some loved) sorcerer.
I of course still do plan to concrete the relationship between Leon and Ciri, but I didn't want to blurt out any I love you's -and not because I don't believe people can fall in love in such a short amount of time, but because I do believe that with Ciri's traumas and Leon's own doubts and reasoning, it should take some more time before something as heavy as love comes into words for the both of them; and also because it feels slightly out of character for Ciri to be saying I love you out in the open so early and so nonChalantly.
Anywho, that is it for this chapter, it did come out sort of quickly, so if you'd like for me down right delete it and go from somewhere else, also let me know!
Hugs and kisses - Paw
PD: When you combine blue with green, you get this beautiful cyan colour; thats all im gonna say, heh.