Review index:
DanDrake: Ha, I get what you mean; for me it's the other way around, but the point still remains that Leon isn't really meant to be weak, but human! Of course, we will see him train up and down as he goes on his travels to save his sisters (there's two of them!), but none of his feats will rely on strength alone: Leon is meant to be witty, smart, the clever kind of fighter that would rather not fight at all; he knows if he gets hit even once by any monster, any axe, any arrow, it could take his life away and that's what will make him shine out around all the espectacular non-humans he'll meet. He will outgrow his fear and show us how a human would really react in terrible situations, but either way gather courage to fight nevertheless. I think his charms comes from those reasons alone, but within time of course, he'll receive appropriate buffers to help him help Ciri out, and himself. Either way thank you for leaving and a review and I hope this new chapter is to your liking as well!
AdeielSilverbird: I feel the same way about Ciri, and I truly blame the author for his portrayal of how human psychology works; Ciri shows signs of sadness, she cries, she fears , hates and also laughs, and it all shows us she is no sociopath nor anything of the sort. For her to be the person that she is post Falka down right killed the character for me, there is absolutely no way someone can live with the sins that she's garnered without suffering from them to some extent; even the way Geralt and Yennefer act as they watch through her memories is strange, as is her entire behavior throughout the remaining book that I read (I gave up on the rest, not precisely because of Ciri but because the story overall felt a little strange). this review you dropped for me was a big bomb, one that I will go back to several times a day as I write the upcoming chapters; I am by no means a cook, I actually just went by instinct with the entire cooking scene with Leon and hoped it turned out smoothly, now with this examples and explanations I should at the very least have a good grip at how to write cooking correctly. As for the ingredients, Leon will play a big part in gathering plenty of resources (by mainly hunting and harvesting) so they both don't die out on their way to Kaer Morhen, and beyond there as well (water will be the hard challenge for me and him altogether). Either way this reply has turned into a long monologue, so I'll cut it short by thanking you for another great review, and to please let me know if I make any mistakes on the go, I can fix them up and replace the chapter immediately!
RobinHood001: Thank you lots for the review, and yes, indeed, Leon is extremely different from any sort of man you could find around Nilfgaard itself; that's precisely a reason why Ciri's so attached to him, and why his charm affects everyone he talks to. There's a little something more to him than that, but you'll find out in later chapters about it.
As a side note and a WARNING, in this chapter there is a explicit sex scene at the very end of it; I know some people may not be entirely comfortable with reading that sort of thing, but our duo are both young and filled with hormones, so if you'd just like to skip through it, I wouldn't mind it in the slightest. There's actually a little warning I left out in the chapter for you to know when you can stop reading.
Either way, this chapter works as a way to let you know the path our duo is taking to reach Kaer morhen, as well as sending more hints about Leon and his elven Bow.
Please enjoy the chapter!
—
Towarzysz…
…
Towarzysz…!
…
TOWARZYSZ!
Leon woke up with a start, immediately rising half of his body up from the floor in a rush, the silver haired gal sleeping on his arm forgotten and therefore abruptly awoken as well.
"W-Wha-" Ciri had, for once, fallen asleep hard after last night's events; completely forgetting about staying alert throughout their rest.
"There's something wrong" Leon was sweating, breathing heavily and his eyes were wide open, as if he hadn't just woken up a second ago.
He stood up immediately, making his knee snap in a way that Ciri knew must've hurt, but his eyes remained alert and determined.
"Ciri, get up" He offered a hand without looking, and she took it with hesitation; her senses weren't completely awake yet, but she knew if Leon had woken up before her and in such an alarmed state, then something was definitely up, "There's evilness outside, I can't tell you how I know it, but I can feel it", the way Leon was talking was different from anything she had heard before.
"Evil..." She was about to question his words of choice, but a familiar sound coming from outside their tent made it all clear for her, "Bandits-!" There was a gang of people surrounding their tent, hiding quietly inside the bushes, she could sense them; six, or maybe even seven.
Ciri took hold of Zirael as quickly as she could and pulled down Leon to crouch beside her; the bandits were clearly waiting on them to come out before doing anything at all, and she needed to form a plan with him before she went out on her own.
"Be quiet" This was her fault, she had fallen deeply asleep after such an exhausting night and had let the bastards sneak so close to them without her noticing, had it not been for Leon's...strange instinct, they'd have both been killed by the hands of this mongrels, "There's bandits outside, I can hear them clearly now" His face didn't change, but he was still mortified; his bow was outside, and he had no weapons to defend himself, "They're waiting on us to make a move, there's probably an archer aiming right outside our entrance as we speak" And there was, she could hear the line of the enemy's bow tensing.
She was glad Leon had woken up the way he did, he saved them both on doing so, and now it was her turn to do the same.
"I'll take them" He was about to complain, but she continued, "No-, please, Leon, listen to me!" She whispered harshly and he closed his mouth shut, "I'll take out the ranged idiots, okay? And I'll try to injure the bulkier ones for as long as my time allows me; I don't have time to explain you how my shit works, but once you see me blink, wait one second before coming out, your bow is right next to the pot; this guys are nothing to me but I need to know that you'll be safe" She emphasized the last sentence, looking into his eyes as seriously as she could, "I can't lose yo-" For the first time since they met, it was his uncovered hand that had muted her mouth.
Leon's eyes were burning hot with determination.
"We're a team, Cirilla" He stood up once again, forcing her to do the same, "I get what you mean, so go, and afterwards, I'll get out, take my bow, and cover your back" He patted her shoulders twice, releasing her from the limbo his brown orbs had drowned her in, naturally making her nod.
He finally grinned at her and she reciprocated with an arrogant smirk of her own.
She didn't need to say anything else; immediately, she disappeared from his sights, shocking him for a second even though he knew what was coming; even then, he remained still until he heard the signal he was waiting for.
What in the world-!? There it was, bandits screaming.
Copying her smirk and filling himself out of fake courage, he rolled out from the hut as quickly as possible, with his eyes trying to process as much information as they could while running straight towards where he already knew the pot was.
Ciri was, again to his own amazement, blinking through bandits like some sort of time warper, and, staying loyal to her words, he could already see the throats of three certain rangers cleanly cut open.
In any other scenario, the sight alone would've been enough to make him turn pale again, but as he heard her sword clashing with the brute axe of one of the bigger men around them, he didn't even register his fears.
Instead he took hold of his bow, which immediately shone bright blue at his touch, enveloping him with even more knowledge about his near surroundings, and, call him crazy, but this time even making him feel as if time itself had slowed for his eyes, making it easier to aim and shoot.
He tensed an arrow and aimed a clear shot to the leg of the brute Ciri was currently struggling with, effectively forcing him to kneel, and groan in pain; Leon's eyes met with Ciri's at the interaction, and he understood the look on her face. Don't look, and indeed, he turned his face away, not really wanting to see any human body getting decapitated.
He didn't let it bother that much; there were three more to count out if they wanted to leave this place alive, and he wasn't about to let down Ciri on his part of the deal.
So instead he yelled her name, and in a second, as if he had casted some sort of spell, Ciri appeared in front of him, letting him only see her back as she took position, one arm away from him-
"Never stop moving, correct?" Her voice, even in this dire situation, had a spark of amusement in it; Of course, this was part of her road, helping the good ones and fighting the bad ones.
Leon couldn't help but let out a side smile at her words, nodding even though he knew she couldn't see him, and immediately began his counter at the rushing bandits in front of them.
His arrows somehow felt swifter than usual; his bow lighter and his feet faster. Ciri herself acted as magnificent as ever, swinging hard but effectively, parrying and quickly stabbing with ease; the bandits wore silver chains as armour, not something you'd see casual mongrels wearing, but against his eyes they were useless, Zirael was too fine of a weapon, and in every swipe, it left an opening for him to finish.
It didn't quite sit well on him, shooting and ending the flame inside each of them, one by one, but he had done it before and he'd do it again, for Ciri, and for his own survival as well.
The last man standing, unlike his other peers, had a huge shield in his hands and ever bigger rage in his eyes, carelessly rushing towards Ciri's sword.
The first hit of steel against steel sent Ciri staggering backwards, almost making him worry as she stopped her feet centimeters away from him; but, as if she was reading his thoughts, she immediately blinked right behind the huge bandit, -Leon had to admit, the huge brute was smarter than what they gave him credit for, as he was already turning the moment he saw Ciri blinking to counter her quick swing-, but it mattered not, the bastard was giving Leon his clean back to look at, and in a second, he fell down to the grass in a lifeless motion, with an arrow burrowed deep inside his head.
Ciri stopped scanning her surroundings only after she made sure every single one of them bastards were laying dead on the floor, and after cleaning up Zirael with one strong swing in the air, she turned to face Leon.
The guy in question was panting heavily, adrenaline quickly leaving him and replacing itself with immediate fatigue; his bow was laying on the grass without any colour left in it, and even though the fight had been a quick one, his legs had clearly given up on him, forcing him to sit on the floor and look at the sky.
Ciri was eyeing him with focus, her mind running in circles as she pondered just how in the universe were they able to coordinate that perfectly and without any need of communication; Leon had naturally called for her and she had naturally blinked right in front of him, knowing full well what he had meant when he yelled her name,- and the rarest part of it all, was that she felt at ease in every single second of their interaction, not once doubting him and not once doubting even herself.
"You look pretty hot when you sit on the floor and pant like an animal, babe" She decided not to dwell on her questions, and instead opted to turn him into an awkward shiny red ball once again, blurting out an special comment she had been keeping under her sleeve since the first time she saw his tired state; she wasn't lying, the way he'd sit down with his hands holding up his upper body lazily whenever he was dead tired stirred something within her that was dangerous.
She knew the last words she used had most certainly attacked his nerve system (at least judging by the way his breathing froze on the spot and his cheeks tinted up once again), but it was a pet name she had been dying to use on him since the night they spent on Oxenfurt, and it was a quicker way to settle down the state of their relationship without having to embarrass each other to the end of existence itself; Ciri would never admit it, but using specific words or being cheesy and cute wasn't something she could do the way Leon did, and she needed to find a way to show her affection towards the guy if she wanted to get any progress done.
Leon just nodded after a second or two, with his eyes looking at Ciri, who kept on blatantly enjoying the view with her arrogant smirk all over her face. He couldn't hide his embarrassment, but after all they had gone through, at the very least he could manage to hold out on a staredown for as long as she desired; it was no problem for him, he got to admire her emerald orbs as much as he wanted to, and that was enough for him.
"What?" Ciri questioned his tired gaze on top of her, amused; at his silence, she just pushed over the topic, "What is it?" She asked with a chuckle, as she started making her way to his spot.
"Nothin'" Leon shrugged before letting his body lay down on the floor completely, "It's hard to compliment your never ending hotness as you walk around bandit corpses, that's all" He ended up saying, with a joking tone edging his voice, and Ciri laughed, immediately sitting down by his side.
"You did amazing, by the way" She sneaked up a hand to caress his messy mob of hair a little, making him angle his head so she could reach it easily, almost like a dog, "And I'm sorry about earlier, I know it was me that said we were a team, but I just over worry when it comes to you, alright? I don't want anything to happen to my precious damsel in distress" The brown haired boy laughed at her comment before rising up to reach her height.
"It's fine, I get it" He scratched the back of his head, "Like you said, they were probably nothing to you, but I always worry about one of them sneaking an axe on your back" Ciri smiled at him; so he was over worried about her too, "I feel more at ease knowing that I've got your back, and that no slip offs will take you away from me" He finished in a cheesy way, that made her chest tremble.
"Yeah, 'cuz really, what would you even do without me, huh?" She joked in response, earning a shrug from his part.
A sound coming from their right side kicked them away from their chatter; Ciri didn't worry about it, the certain scent of her horse already letting her know it was Kelpie, who had probably escaped the moment he saw a chance. Leon instead, jumped abruptly at the imminent sound coming from the bushes. Had it not been for her hands keeping him in place, he would've problady picked up his bow and tense an arrow at the sudden scare.
"Woah there, cute stuff, it's just Kelpie" She motioned her hand for him to look at that direction, and in fact, after a second or two, Kelpie skipped out from the bushes in an epic fashion, forcing Leon to exhale in order to calm down a little.
Ciri bit her lip in deep thought; she hadn't noticed before, but Leon's heartbeat had been running wild even after the entire fight had ended, which was probably the reason why he had laid down in the first place.
She couldn't expect him to be as calm as she was after a fight that, whilst quick and not troublesome at all, was still something that could cost them their lives and that put weight on his shoulders.
He was a normal human; one with a big fire inside that allowed him to conquer situations that for others would probably be the end of their paths, but still, he was, and she needed to keep in mind that fighting and killing people, even if they happened to be evil bandits aiming to kill him, put a huge toll on him.
"Don't scare me like that ever again, mister" His voice kicked her out of her flow of thoughts, making her see that, without her noticing, he had already stood up and walked away from her, to talk with Kelpie, a horse.
The horse just let out air from its nose before nudging Leon's chest with its forehead, prompting giggles out of him.
Call her absolutely bonkers, but it almost looked as if Kelpie was actually apologizing.
After a stunned few seconds, Ciri quickly shook her head off any weird ideas, but one remained tattooed at the very deepest part of her brain as she walked closer to the horse and her partner.
Leon was human, that much she could see and conclude; but normal?
No.
Leon was definitely not normal.
—
"Kaer Morhen isn't actually to the west of Velen!?" The mortified look that appeared on Leon's face, as they rode their way to a small inn Ciri knew was around the crossroads inside Velen, made her laugh out loud and with joy, "Oh man...I got it all wrong" His eyes turned depressed within milliseconds, and even though he was riding, he let himself stare at the leash in his hands for a second, feeling defeated.
Ciri immediately embraced him as she continued giggling.
Not wanting to make him actually get mad at her, though, she fished a huge small she kept with her at all times out of one of Kelpie's bags.
"Aww, don't get like that, baby boo" She jokingly tried to console him, shoving the map of the entire continent in front of his face and immediately turning his saddened mood into curiosity.
"What is this thing?" Leon asked her as he took hold of the map in front him.
Ciri successfully muted her snicker, knowing full well that one thing was to laugh with him, and another was to completely disrespectfully at him.
Not many people around even Nilfgaard itself were illiterate, and for him to not know what a map actually looked like or even was, even though he, amazingly enough, did know how to read, shouldn't have come as a surprise for her.
"This, my dear, is what you would call a map" His ears perked up at the sound of that, and he turned around to give Ciri a wide eyed look of complete excitement, creating a heavy guilt-knot on her throat, pondering why did she even dare snicker, albeit mutedly, at him.
"I read about these things before" He informed Ciri without taking his eyes off the paper, "I...I never thought I'd ever see one in my life" Leon was examining the thing as if it was some sort of hidden treasure hidden deep inside an elven dungeon.
Ciri felt horrible, but she hid her pained face with a smile and nodded even though he wasn't looking at her at all.
"Y-Yup, it's a map...of the entire continent, actually" She managed as she leaned onto Leon's back and angled her head so she could stare at the map at the same time as he did.
"This must be Velen" He pointed out with his finger after a second of analyzing, surprising Ciri, "And that's...Oxenfurt!" He exclaimed before squinting his eyes so he could see the detailed parts better, "We rode south west afterwards... and we've not seen any inns around yet even though you told me we should reach one before noon…" The sight of him biting his lower lip in concentration endeared her to the end of the world, "So this must be us!" He planted a finger at the, most likely, exact road they were going through at that precise moment, and turned to look at Ciri, clearly expecting some sort of answer out of her.
Said silver haired Witcher was currently deep inside a limbo of emotions, but after a second, she managed a half assed nod at him, and that seemed to be enough for him to grin in even more excitement.
"And you're showing me this because-?" He managed to kick away his curiousness to find the exact reason of the map, which indeed, managed to show him that Kaer Morhen was labeled anywhere around the west.
"Because…,ugh, come here, you big, amazing doof of a man" She forced him to look at her with both of her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply, prompting a loud and muted yelp of surprise out of his mouth and stunning his brain into shock.
Only after seconds of it did he correspond the kiss, hugging her tightly with one arm while keeping hold of the map in the other.
After a few more clashes of lips demanded solely by Ciri, did she let his mouth free; she was overwhelmed with emotions that she couldn't voice out, so instead she just showered him with them as well, finally calming her chest a little.
"Now keep quiet…" Ciri whispered to him, separating her face from his a few inches so she could enjoy the look of Leon's reddened face for a second, before finally ending the moment altogether, "While I tell the reason why I never actually corrected the path we were taking" He nodded slowly after a second or two, his brain still recovering from the sudden attack.
Ciri placed a finger on top on Velen and Leon nodded at the gesture.
"This is Velen, and we're going south west from here so we can reach the North Sea" She gestured the giant mass of water drawn on the top left side of the map, and Leon hummed in understanding, "Specifically, we want to reach Cidaris, a well maintained, boat and shipment city located on the far west" She traced the path they would take to reach there, silently enjoying the way Leon stared intensely at every movement, "To do that, we could, although we don't really have to, stop by different, smaller cities along the way, mainly Anchor" She tapped a small district to the south of their very location, "Gors Velen, and Caelf" She pointed out both cities in their respective order, "You'll realize that we will soon stop traveling west and solely focus on south, and vice versa, to reach Cidaris" She returned her finger to their main city of interest, "And here, after making some money and adjustments, we need to take a boat that helps us reach the north side of Redania" His eyes opened up like plates after she traced the distance they'd have to travel to reach a city labeled Blaviken, "Here, it gets easier; we just need to follow the main river that supplies every city with fish and the likes, called Buina, and it will take us all the way to Gwennletch. Gwennletch river leads to the only path you can take physically that could ever lead you to Kaer Morhen" She shared the well kept secret with him, and even though Leon looked slightly overwhelmed, he clearly had understood everything.
"This will take us years to travel" He dreaded in a dramatized tone and she laughed before patting his back twice.
"Not really, I know it sounds like a long road, but each city is, at most, four to five days of distance on a slow carrier; with Kelpie we can shorten that up to three to four days, and being honest with you, by the time we reach Blaviken, there's a big chance a sorcerer I know manages to communicate through any mirror or any sort of weird thing only she understands-" She smiled at the mental image of a certain brunette sorcerer she'd dare call her mother appearing into her mind, "And offers to port us up closer to Kaedwen, or even Kaer Morhen itself" If she figures out her portal usage by then, she finished in her mind, "Either way it'll be quick, hon" She used yet another pet name on him as she caressed his back slowly, "We might even reach there before your sister does!" At the comment, he immediately shook his head in denial.
"Erie took the north east path, I'm sure of it" He sighed, "You see, she wouldn't let me in to every single archive or every single story that she took hold off, only those she deemed me capable of reading and understanding" He munched his cheek cutely before letting out another sigh that wasn't in a defeated tone, but rather a tired one, "And in those, I read that two Witcher's of the Wolf were seen coming up from the west side of Velen, a few years ago" She gulped hard.
That was probably when Uncle Vesemir and Geralt were looking for clues on her, The Wild Hunt and Yennefer.
"I just assumed I could reach somewhere around the west and start asking questions, gather information, and then find a way to reach Kaer Morhen" He groaned, "Now I realize I would've never even been close to reaching it" Ciri giggled at him before hugging his back affectionately.
"Well, the gods must have their eyes set on you, because you instead found me, Leon" The auburn haired boy turned to look at her smiling face, instantly swiping away his sorrows and replacing them with a tight feeling on his heart, "And I'm a key to enter Kaer Morhen-, I don't doubt Geralt will offer your sister a safe place when she gets there, but with me you don't even have to ask! I'll take you there safely, and using the quickest route available; you can trust me on that" She pecked his cheek in a manner she found too cheesy for herself but that fitted the entire situation, and deemed the embarrassing feeling worthy when Leon's face brightened up entirely, going back to his usual shiny colours.
Ciri picked up the way Leon's heart beat hard as if it was about to burst out of his chest and smiled even wider, loving the fact that she had this sort of effect on him; his eyes were already turning puffy and reddish again and his lips were trembling.
"Y-Y'know...I never once thought one could...tear up outta happiness before, heh" His chuckle was wobbly, as if holding out a cry from getting out, "But you've made me cry twice already, in this short time we've spent together" Leon confessed as if she hadn't realized that already.
He lifted up the map once he realized tears were actually falling down from his face onto the paper, and rolled it up before returning it to Ciri, who accepted it with a smile on her face. Now it was him that was being overwhelmed by emotions, albeit his were all good and wholesome ones.
"Damn" He sniffed, "You were right, I'm a total cry baby" Ciri laughed hard at his comment before squeezing him tight.
"That's not a bad thing" She said, "And before you start, no, this will not make me see you any weaker, you dumbo" It was his turn to chuckle, bringing one hand up to his face to clean off the small tears that managed to come out.
"So now you can read minds?" He joked as he returned his eyes back onto the road, "Oh, Ciri" Leon brought the attention of the giggling Witcher behind him before continuing, "There's that inn you were talking about" Her eyes perked up at his words and she used his shoulders as a booster to lift herself a little.
"There it is, indeed" She agreed after a second of recognition, "Ready for beer, steak and dry bread once again, summer child?" Leon groaned comically before nodding.
"Aye, aye"
—
The inn itself wasn't like the one inside Oxenfurt, this one offering much more silence and calmer atmosphere; there would always be drunktards around every place that offered alcohol, but this ones were either asleep or about to be, and the other customers all seemed to be concentrated in their businesses, them being either gossip or Gwen.
Even then, Ciri had decidedly taken hold of Leon's wrist again, partly because he continuously attempted to ogle at close Gwen matches, which he didn't understand at all and picked his interest, but also because she wanted to keep him close; he gave off a far kinder aura than she did, and that would help fend off any fighters that wanted to pick on her and her pendant.
She didn't mind onlookers thinking they were a couple either, partly because in her mind, they were.
She just needed to make sure in Leon's mind that was the case as well.
"What can I offer ya, young ones?" The hosted on the inn was an old man whose voice felt calm and soothing, and, according to Leon, non threatening.
"We were looking for a place to rest, if you've got any rooms available" The auburn haired boy had suggested he did the talking and the trading, and with his charm and looks in mind, Ciri couldn't even deny him; he had managed to leave them with a hundred and something coins after his last negotiation back in Oxenfurt, meaning he had somehow managed to save about fifty or so more gold that she had planned to spend on their shopping, "And I saw some nice plates around the customers tables as we walked in, so maybe you've got something cheap and easy on the store to eat, as well?" Leon grinned his toothy smile at the old man and Ciri squinted her eyes at him. Damned sweet talker.
The old man's posture itself seemed to somewhat relax at the tone of Leon's voice, and in an instant, his face morphed from that of a closed eye, poker lined mouth to one of delight, probably not used to kind customers treating him with respect.
"Aye, of course!" Even his words seemed to be filled with energy, "You're in luck, you are, we have fine bear meat and recently made bread, brought to ya by yours truly" The old man smiled at Leon and Ciri pondered if she had ever seen a hoster smile at anything but money before in her life, "And just for ye two love birds…" he leaned in closely and Leon did the same, not wanting to break the atmosphere he had set in "A nice bottle of dandelion wine, so ya can spend the night like yer supposed to" The old man winked at Leon and he blushed hard before nodding slowly, smiling at the fact that he saw them as a couple.
Ciri mentally raised her fist in triumph, liking the old man already; she had made her job way easier, and dandelion wine happened to be her favorite. She knew Leon wouldn't like it in the slightest, but he'd drink it nonetheless.
"My gods, how much would that be, kind sire?" Leon acted out a dramatic tone that made Ciri cringe internally, the bastard really was amazing at handling people, and it showed by the way the delight in the old man's face only increased at his every word.
"Merely twenty coins, lad" The old man replied in a jiffy, "And I'll give ya' the comfiest bedroom we got, don't you worry" He winked once again before leaning closer to Leon, again trying to sneak in a word in a whisper, "Ye caught a fine gal over there, ye did, my boy" Ciri had to force her snicker to sink to the bottom of her stomach, she obviously wasn't supposed to hear that, but of course she did. Leon himself ended up flabbergasted at his words before nodding abruptly and with a smile on his face.
"Aye, she's like a goddamned drug; I've ended up an addict, sire" His word play left the old man laughing as he turned around to search for something, and a Cirilla biting her lower lip with joy and delight.
Leon obviously knew she had heard him, she was sure he did.
"Here, before you need to ask me for it when the guy comes back" Leon turned around and found the pouch of coins Ciri kept hidden with her on his face, catching it the moment Ciri let go of it.
"Thank you...babe" His last word plus a wink caught her off guard, immediately sending her down a cliff of emotions that she didn't quite dislike in the slightest; so this is how he feels when I say it, she thought with a big smile conquering her features.
She couldn't blame him for earlier anymore, the word did turn her world upside down for a second there.
The old man returned after a minute and motioned Leon to get closer one last time, which he did without hesitation.
After another second, the auburn haired boy returned to Ciri with a silver key swinging around in his index finger and a smirk on his face.
"So-" he began, but she interrupted him.
"The customers wouldn't appreciate seeing us down a whole bottle of wine by ourselves, and since our room is the biggest there is in the inn, the hoster suggested we eat our dinner inside the bedroom?" She finished, surprising Leon for a second before he chuckled nervously.
"Riiight, I forget you can listen to literally everything" Leon spoke with sheepishness, prompting a laugh out of her.
So maybe he didn't know she had heard him.
"Not everything, but most things, yeah" She shrugged before stealing the key out of his fingers, and walking in front of him with a devilish smile on her face, "I'm dying to eat something over here, you coming, Lion?" Her sudden change of tone and stare killed his the confidence he had clearly built up in his conversation immediately, as if it had fallen down a third story house and smashed all over the cold floor.
Leon gulped hard before nodding with hesitation, following the silver haired Witcher as she made her way through the hallways in the backside of the Inn.
—
The room was indeed, the biggest he had ever seen a room be, probably kept for special locations; it showcased a small fireplace at the side of it, a desk and a small, round table made for two people, where warm food, soft yet cracky bread and a bottle of wine was waiting for them both.
At the sight of it, Ciri whistled loudly and smiled; it had been years since the last time she had enjoyed this kind of atmosphere, and it was always shared with ephemeral people she couldn't even remember the names of; she never regretted the nights she spent with people, be it men or women alike, but now not only would she not regret it, she'd probably cherish moments like this with Leon, forever.
"That steak looks delicious" Leon was the first to speak as they entered the room, leaving Ciri behind to close the door and lock it. He took his time to examine the food before taking his seat, it being the one farther away from the entrance.
She deliberated on whether or not to counter his comment in a certain way, but decided to leave that kind of interaction after Leon had garnered more courage, probably after a drink or two of wine and a full belly.
"I bet you can make something better" She proceeded and took a seat in front of him; the table was a small one, leaving Leon at an arm's distance from her.
Leon looked at her with a proud smile before winking, his nerves shoved to the side as his topics of interest came into the conversation.
Gotcha like an open book, baby, Ciri thought with a feeling of warmth inside of her chest; she'd never had the opportunity of getting to know someone the way she was getting to know Leon, and his many quirks and ways to get to him had her addicted, just like he said.
"Oh well, you know..." he took his fork and shoved it inside the steak, "Oh, for sure I could, it's a little over cooked, it took my fork a little effort to go inside" Leon interested eyes shoved away her dirty thoughts that had sneaked into her mind at his words of choice.
He then cut a piece of steak and brought it to his mouth, munching a little before humming in concentration.
"It's still pretty good" He commented after swallowing, and looked at her with confused eyes, kicking her out of her immersion, "Not hungry?"
"Oh! Sorry, yeah, very hungry" It was an honest answer, she was dying for some food after skipping both breakfast and supper, and in a second she already had two chunks of steak inside her mouth, rejoicing at the taste of warm food for a second.
She then took the bottle of wine that was already opened for them both to enjoy, and she took three gulps of it before exhaling in delight. Yep, her favorite wine.
"Wine, Leon?" The aforementioned lad gulped hard and took a deep breath before nodding; surely, it wouldn't be too bad this time.
Ciri watched the auburn haired boy take a gulp of wine before scrunching his face in disgust, immediately taking a bite of his bread to down the taste a little.
"Ciri..." he groaned and she bursted out in laughter, already knowing this was what was going to happen either way.
"You loved it, didn't you?" He threw a middle finger her way after her sarcasm before taking another gulp, this time not even tasting the wine, just down right swallowing so he wouldn't suffer the taste too much, "You don't have to force yourself, babe" She didn't want him to be unconscious or unresponsive tonight, it wasn't about that at all.
"I'm not, don't worry" He replied with honesty and placed the bottle back on it's place again, returning to enjoy his food and her company, "I'm just joining you, I don't want you to be the only one drinking" She smiled at his concerns and nodded understandingly before taking some bites of her own as well, "So, how come you can hear so perfectly, even though you didn't go through the mutations?" Ciri clapped her hands together at his question and hummed, showing him he needed to wait for her to swallow before replying.
"That's because I use magic" She replied before picking up the bottle of wine again, "I compensate Witcher senses with particularly useful and easy spells, which enhance certain things around my senses, although it does requires me to remain awake for them to continue working" Leon nodded with acceptance, and took the bottle Ciri offered once she took a gulp or two herself.
She knew she'd need to stop him before it affected him in a way she really didn't want it to, but for now she'd let him drink; it would also help him earn resistance against alcohol and a bit of respect towards its actual taste.
"So, you called me babe, at last" Ciri blurted the comment out of the blue with a smirk and Leon almost choke on his steak at her words, coughing for a second before reincorporating himself.
"W-Well, you did it first so I thought…", She giggled at his uncertainty.
"No, no, I'm not saying I don't like it, I actually love it, I just thought it would take you a little longer than that to finally say it" She reassured him with a smile, her steak long gone and her bread almost at halves whilst Leon still had one third left of his steak and his bread had only one bite one it.
This time she wouldn't steal it, she'd play nice.
"It just felt great whenever you said it, so I figured I'd do it as well; it clears my doubts away too, and I like how it fits after ending any sentence that refers to you...did that sound cheesy?" She laughed.
"It was kiiinda cheesy, but I do get what you mean" Leon joined her giggles, and she continued, "I'm really not good with words, as you may have already realized, so I was wondering how should I go about showering you with affection, and then the word came into my mind, as did my other pet names, and the many more that are coming your way" His eyes filled with joy at her comment.
"So that's why you've been all over me since this morning?" He questioned her and she lightly blushed at his words.
"I mean" she coughed, "Like I said, words? Not really my thing, touching and overall physical affection? Definitely" Leon nodded in a way that showed he had actually written that down at the bottom of his brain, and she strangely felt great at the thought of that.
It felt cool to get to know someone, but getting someone to know you and your secrets, quirks and the like, also felt pretty amazing.
Leon took another gulp of wine before swallowing his last piece of steak, and his cheeks immediately turned a slight shade of pink she'd seen many times before in men. He was already in his happy state, and she wouldn't let him get anywhere further.
"Alright, mister" She took the bottle out of his hands, which was already half empty, and placed it on her side of the table, "No more wine for you, you're drunk" He frowned, confusion filling every fiber of his body.
"Whatcha' mean 'drunk'?" She giggled at his accent, oh yes, he was drunk, "I'm dandy, Cirilla; clearly, you've nevah seen me drunk before" Ciri laughed hard and took some gulps of wine herself, already filling the effects of it in her body.
"For one, I bet you hadn't gotten drunk before you met me, Lion" He stuck his tongue out to her, and she took hold of it with her hand for a second before letting it go, and laughing hard at him, "And second, I have seen you drunk, since your first time drunk, was also with me" She fought his gaze with her own amused one, and he then turned his eyes away with a hmmph.
"Can't blame me for that un'" His sluggish accent was adorable, and she couldn't get enough of him and his lovable way of being, "I'm from a small village, everyun knew me, and none liked me, I wasn't invited to parties a lot" At the direction where he was heading towards, she immediately changed the topics.
"Yeah well, you've got me now and I bet I'm better than any of those townsfolk people" She took big gulps of the bottle, and after realizing only a small bit of it was left in it, Leon stole the bottle away from her, "Hey!"
"One small bit won't hurt" He winked at her before finishing the bottle and placing it in the middle of the table with a slightly loud plank sound, "Bleh" he made a disgusted sound that prompted laughter out of her, and he soon joined her, "Ye', you're far better than any of 'em" She looked at him straight in the eye.
"Oh, yeah?" The wine was starting to work its magic on her as well, freeing her out of her composure and letting her words flow out the way she wanted them to.
Leon was also looking like a delicious dessert for her, and by the way his eyes were scanning every corner of her body, she hoped he felt the same way.
"You make me go woah every time I look at yer damn eyes" He confessed without a drop of shame and Ciri raised both of her eyebrows twice in a smooth motion to draw his attention, letting him stare at her emerald orbs as much as he wanted.
"I do, baby?" She teased him, lowering her tone a little, immediately sending shivers down his spine.
"Gosh, you do, Cirilla" Her name never sounded better than when it came out of his sweet mouth, she'd come to notice, "The way you look, the way you talk...and the way you kiss me, it makes me go crazy" She sucked in her lower lip and bit it hard; she knew he was good with words, but she hadn't prepared for them to be so dangerous when he wasn't wary around them.
He seemed to have forgotten about the rest of his bread. His eyes were all on solely on top of her, scanning her every movement, mapping her out.
"Don't you wanna go mad then, Leon?" Ciri's heartbeat increased tenfold after muttering those words and the auburn haired guy in front of her stopped babbling about her every asset immediately, gulping soundly.
(+18 alert)
He was half way through his first nod before Ciri stood up; forcing him to look up to her eyes as she made her way to his side, removing her gloves and her boots on her way there.
Her lips dropped down without a warning and melted with Leon's soft ones; she couldn't believe how addicting he was, tasting like liquid gold and making her brain shock at the very touch of their mouths.
Ciri prompted him to stand up without breaking their kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck when he did so, deepening their connection.
Leon's hands took hold of her waist and she pulled him closer when he bit her lip for the first time, adding fuel to the fire that was building up in her chest.
She broke their kiss and created distance only to guide him to the bed that was facing her back. She sat down on it, and unlike last time, she let Leon bring her down onto the mattress after he resumed their kiss, his shyness long shoved away thanks to her reassuring and the wine itself.
"You're so fucking delicious, baby", She whispered into his ear the moment he started kissing her neck with tremendous gusto, enjoying the way it elicit uncontrollable gasps out of her.
His tongue traveled up around her neck and it burned her like a smelting rod, immediately forcing Ciri to hold his head and lift it up to kiss him once again.
Her hands let go of his chin to start exploring his lean body without restraint, loving every hitched breath she could get once she touched somewhere sensitive within his upper body; Her nails traced Leon's back like a new map she'd been dying to discover, enjoying every lean muscle, every exhale that came out of his sweet mouth.
"I'm also addicted" She confessed to him in a low, sensual tone after she broke their kiss, and then she bit the side of his neck with slight force to mark him with her teeth.
Ciri pushed him off her and immediately traded their positions, with him staring up her with those damned brown eyes of his; she started undoing her corset while she ran her hands around his chin, staring down to him with a playful smirk, asking silently whether or not he liked the view.
Once it came off, she went down to kiss him again, this time with added passion, intensely invading his mouth with her tongue and exploring every nook and cranny, already loving the way he tasted altogether. His hands were now eagerly traveling around her entire body, bringing up small moans that drowned between their kisses at his every gentle touch, a touch she wasn't familiar with and brought up the worst out of her desires.
"Gods, Ciri" Muttering her name in pleasure only fueled the flame inside of her, and in an instant she got rid of his own boots and his shirt, leaving him half naked for her to enjoy.
His breath hitched at the bare touch of her fingers on top of his solid chest, and she added a point into her list of favorite things when he groaned at the slow movement of her nails around his entire body; Leon was very sensitive, and she'd use that to drive him mad as much as she could.
"I've been dying to have you like this" She went back to his mouth and licked his defined chin with delight, whispering sweet nothings close to his ear whenever she deemed it fitting, "And now you're all mine" Her last sentence shoved electricity down her entire body. She was never one to use words, but with him, she just felt so new and so safe, she'd do it just to get the best reactions out of him.
Her kisses continued as she moved her lower half off him, and with one hand, she traveled down to his abdomen, and aimed to reach even lower.
A surprised gasp stopped her in place.
"Can I, Leon?" Ciri's breath was erratic and burning with lust, her own heartbeat demanding she continued with her doings, but this wasn't some sort of unknown person she'd met at a midnight bar; this was her precious partner, who was extremely new and inexperienced in all this, and she wouldn't do anything he wasn't ready for, no matter how much she wanted to herself.
They'd always have more time to explore either way.
Leon lifted his upper half with his elbows and caught her lips with his once again, taking her waist and pulling her close to him to deepen it as he deemed correct, before letting her go.
"I trust you, Ciri" Her heart tightened and burned at his words, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the entire continent with the way he was smirking at her. His own breath was out of control, and from a quick look down he already seemed to be ready for action, so without hesitation, she continued.
Ciri sneaked a hand inside his trousers and took her time to drag her nails all the way down until they were stopped by his shaft standing up in all of its glory, immediately making her bit down her lower lips before going down to kiss him once again.
Her brain felt shocks at every groan Leon let out between her kisses, fascinated with the way he would twitch whenever she moved her hand up and down his manhood, fueling her to continue even more and more, without changing paces, slowly driving him to madness as much as she wanted to.
She took one of his hands and guided it to hold her breasts tight, immediately making her need more.
She let go of him quickly to get rid of her white shirt and her leather pants, and Leon took that as a cue to get rid of his trousers altogether as well, leaving him only in his underwear, with his eyes staring solely at Ciri's uncovered, slim and shiny body.
"You're a goddamn goddess" He let out his thoughts without even planning to and she resumed her work, this time taking hold of him tighter while she bit and kissed his upper body as much as she wanted to, secretly and slowly moving a little lower with every lick and every bite.
She rejoiced at the way his abdomen would contract when it collided with her warmth breath, and looked up to him to find Leon staring with wild eyes at her.
"Let me get a quick taste of you, Lion" She smirked and winked at him, immediately prompting a huge blush out of the boy, even though he was nodding eagerly nonetheless.
She didn't miss a beat and slowly, even painfully, she removed his underwear, forcing herself to lick her lips at the sight of him naked in front of her, his manhood in full display and twitching, naturally asking for her touch.
Leon was looking at her like a surprised dog and she prompted her bum up a little so he could enjoy the view while she drove him exquisitely mad.
The first touch of her tongue on him forced Leon to close his eyes and hold the mattress tight in pleasure, immediately increasing her heartbeat by trillions; she had never met anyone as sensitive as he was, and it was incredibly affecting her entire lust for him, making her feel like a damned predator with every groan and moan that came out of his mouth.
She stopped with her teasing tongue and took him into her mouth in a quick motion, surprising him as he doubled a little to reach her head with his hands unconsciously.
"Oh my god, Cirilla-" He groaned at the sudden wave of pleasure and before he could remove his hands off her head, she started working up and down on him in painfully slow motions, forcing him to grab her head tight and close his eyes at the overwhelming feeling.
Her heart was going to burst out of her chest, but it didn't matter; he was moaning for her in such a rough and low voice that it made her go completely insane, so much that she didn't even registered her own hand going down to start playing with herself, adding even more pleasure to her entire body.
She let his shaft out of her mouth for a bit and played with his glans with her thumb while she removed her own bra off her.
"You liking this, summer child?" Her own voice surprised Ciri at just how low and slutty it sounded, making her realize just how much she needed him at that precise moment.
Leon was still groaning at her circling motions, but he managed to open up his hazy eyes to look at her, letting out a quick uh huh, that was filled with desire yet a little shame, and her brain melted at the sight.
She had complete control of him, and yet it was his way of being and his way of feeling that drove her nuts with burning fire.
After a few more teasing strokes, she let go of his manhood and went back up and close to his face, wondering whether or not he'd have a problem kissing her after all that, and he, almost like gravity, pulled her close to him, sucking and biting her lips as if it was some sort of war.
Ciri started straddling him with her legs once again, grinding her wet panties slowly on top of his shaft and moaning at the pleasure it caused her.
She didn't wait a second and removed the already useless garment off her, forcing him to lick the palm of her hand before taking hold of his throbbing manhood once again, wetting it with quick strokes as much as she could.
"Ciri" Leon managed to talk even between the pleasure she was bringing upon him, "This-"
"Is your first time" She interrupted him, before guiding his cock and placing the glans at her wet entrance, "I know" She finally sat down, immediately having to go down and kiss him to mute the strong moan it caused her to fill him stretch her walls and fill her with his warmth, "Don't care" she finished with a troubled, excited voice.
She went up and down on him in slow, pleasurable motions, rejoicing at the quick, shocking waves of pleasure he caused her with every single movement; he was twitching all over, and she could feel it inside of her.
"Just let me know" she started making out with him without stopping her movements, "When you're about to finish" She knew it wouldn't take a long time at all for that to happen, but she was already euphoric at how everything felt and she wouldn't blame him.
He was groaning every time she lifted up her ass and she let out moans she couldn't hold every time she went down again, enjoying the feeling of Leon all over her.
She took hold of his hands and placed them on her waist, and on her butt.
"Touch me, baby" She ordered him as she nibbled his earlobe, "I'm all yours" She was panting hard, and every time she let out a moan right next to his ear, his shaft twitched.
His hands reached down below her belly and she doubled over when he touched a certain place that brought her down onto his chest.
"You did read about this,- uh" She let out a low groan at his gentle yet firm touch and resumed her motions, this time going even faster, forgetting just how easy it would be for her to bring him to the edge.
"I just...happened to come across a book not...meant for kids" She giggled with lust, grateful at the way he was making her feel with just a thumb and his manhood, and she felt herself reaching closer and closer to a climax, "Ugh...Ciri, I think-" She went down on him to kiss him, while holding his hand in place so he wouldn't remove it, silently begging for him not to stop.
"I'm too close, Leon, please" Her pleads made him twitch dangerously, but she still picked up the pace in hopes that he would last a few more seconds either way.
His free hand reaching the back side of her thighs and the way he was trying to apply force to lift her completely off him told Ciri she was edging a point that she would later regret, but when a giant and sudden wave of pleasure turned her moans into a scream she muffled with his neck, Ciri knew it was the right time and got him out of her in an extremely fast motion.
In a second, she reached down with her hand to help an already exploding Leon, who was groaning instensily as she came down from her own high, immediately feeling the satisfaction that came afterwards and a sudden warmth around her entire being.
"That was-," She kissed him in a loving way, rejoicing when he reciprocated immediately in the same gentle fashion, "Amazing" She ended up telling him, looking at his face with starry eyes and a half smile, with her hand tiredly resting on top of his chest, which was still going up and down a little erratically, but that was slowly going back to normal.
"You are amazing, Cirilla" She smiled at his honesty and, even though she wanted to tell him the same thing, she just decided to hug him tight as the adrenaline wore off and brought exhaustion to both of them, "This was so new to me and at first, I was a little scared, but you just handled everything perfectly" His accent had gone away, and even though his cheeks were still a little tainted, she knew the happy state had finally wore off him.
"I got your back and you got mine, remember?" It was cheesy, but she had come up to realize she didn't mind that in the slightest if it meant voicing her feelings for him.
"I do, I don't think I'll ever forget" She chuckled at his bluntness and sunk herself in the little open spot between his neck and his shoulder, where she had found out she fitted perfectly.
She took a deep breath and enjoyed his scent as her eyelids became heavier.
Leon himself was already drifting off to the kingdom of dreams, from the sound of his heartbeat, and with a small smile on her face, she closed her eyes and did the same.
Neither of them realized the fire that brought light to the room had died out ages ago.
And that a certain bow had kept the room warmth, cozy, and lit with a bright Cyan colour instead.
—
Hi, this is it for this one, it did come out kind of long but I managed to make it more interesting, I enjoyed writing the fight a lot even though it was kind of the same dynamic I used for their first fight together, I just added Leon's point of view this time, instead of Ciri's. I plan on working on my explicit scene writings as well as the Fights as well, so give me a little slack for the time being.
Any constructive criticism is very appreciated, and also, if any of you knew how the atmosphere of any of the cities our duo will be visiting actually are, please do say so, I have no idea how the look or even are, only Cidaris, so it would make it a little easier for me, instead of having to make everything up from scratch.
Thank you for reading, and I hope I can see you soon once again!- Paw