Review index:
gastyesdeunion: Of course, there will still be some adult scenes and the usual flirting, it's rated that way for a reason. Thank you for the review!
Adeielsilverbird: It does makes sense, I've also tried making Ciri a little distant to normal human reactions; she's supposed to be someone who never learned how to react to certain situations. Thank you for the review!
Guest: thank you for your kind words, and for the review!
7th Maniac: I did kill the fat bastard but this time around I just decided to let him be here; as for another encounter...I don't think so. Some characters from Witcher3 will make an appearance but definelty not him. Thank you for the review!
—
Midscope, unlike Crow's Perch, hadn't changed in the slightest since the last time that Ciri visited; the buildings had been fixed over, there were more citizens, but the aura that it gave off was still peaceful.
Shops were laid outside households for adventurers and by passers to see, the weaponsmith around had actual weapons and the such for display, and overall the economy seemed to be flowing in their favor, which made the white haired Witcher happy.
"Was your village like this one, Lion?" Leon, who before had been distracted by all the surroundings as usual, perked up at the sound of the nickname she used for him.
"Not really, we were about eighty, if not more…" He replied sideways, with his eyes still scanning the entire area, "This is far smaller...but it doesn't seem to be a bad place to live in" Ciri hummed, interested.
Since yesterday, she had been the one asking questions about him, feeling this hidden desire to get to know Leon even more; she was curious about everything, his every quirk seemed to have a reason to be, even the bad ones, and it kept Ciri fascinated.
He really was a gold mine ready for her to start mining out.
"There's like eighteen people here...at most" She commented before stopping Kelpie right at the entrance, opting to walk around the place instead of riding the horse through the small streets, "I think it would've been a little, y'know, boring" Leon shrugged, not really agreeing or disagreeing with her, before dropping off the horse and taking its leash in his hand, leading Kelpie with ease.
He took a little pouch out of his backpack before tying the leather thing on Kelpie, trusting the horse with his possessions.
"You think we could find a herbalist around here?" Ciri looked at him with confused eyes.
"I believe so, yeah...but we don't really have money to spend on herbs, no matter how delicious they make that food you cook" Leon chuckled as he walked into the village, with Ciri right behind him.
"Nah, nothing like that, I found some special herbs around while I was placing out traps last night, and I believe they might go for a pretty sum of money, with any luck" Ciri smiled at his plan and nodded.
"We could ask once we reach the local inn, it's a new building here in midscope, they built it since they realized many people would walk past here while reaching north, and vice versa" Leon hummed in response, continuing his walk aimlessly.
Ciri followed through, since she knew he was heading in the right direction either way.
"I haven't asked yet, what are your sister's names, Leon?" She had picked up the pace to catch up to him; they may be the same height, but Leon's feet were faster, and right now, he was in a sort of hasty mood.
He probably felt eager to move after riding on Kelpie for so long, or he was forming his plan to sell whatever he had found last night.
"My older sister's Eriee, she's...kinda the best of the three of us, I guess-" Feeling Ciri's hard stare, he corrected himself, "I mean, from my father's perspective! She's always been strong, both in will and physically, she's good with a sword, she's...diligent" He coughed, "Anyway, the younger one is Marie, she's...the quiet one in the family, I'd say-, at first we'd think she was shy, or something, but she's merely always in her own little world, she's brave and obscure at times...it's a weird combination; she's the one that would always get Witcher documents for my sister to read and achieve" Leon smiled at the thought, "They were always a team, those two, and I was the black sheep of the pack, I guess" Ciri frowned at his own view over himself, even though she could see where he was coming from, but decided to drop the subject all together, not really wanting to get all philosophical with him in the middle of a small village.
"You're no sheep" She still couldn't help but leave a small comment to help his ego a little bit, and he smiled at the gesture.
"You're a damn wolf" Ciri laughed, immediately touching her Witcher Pendant with pride, "If I'm no sheep then how come miss wolf is always wanting to eat me?" She scoffed at his joke and pushed him lightly.
"Shut up" He was laughing, "You are no sheep, period" She finished, "And the reason why I want to eat you all the time, has nothing to do with animals and weird analogies"
"So you're not denying it?" Leon mocked, with his eyes locking on the decently bigger building that they were approaching, probably the so called Inn.
"I'm no liar" She replied with a smirk before pulling him extremely close to her side, "This wolf's hungry for a bit of Lion" She bit his earlobe playfully and Leon yelped, immediately getting away from her, prompting big laughter out of Ciri.
"You're an animal" She stuck her tongue at him, winking when his eyes met hers.
"Oh, you love that, admit it already" His blinking, filled with disbelief eyes prompted more laughter out of the white haired Witcher.
"You're insane, Cirilla" He was also chuckling even though his cheeks had turned pink, "Crazy woman" He shook his head in a dramatic manner.
He turned to look at her without stopping his steps, and she lifted one of her eyebrows, questioning him with a permanent, confident smirk on her face.
"I do love it" Her smirk morphed into a big smile and even though she'd never admit it, she was mentally giving little, excited jumps of victory at his words.
Things were finally going her way.
—
The inn itself was just like the last one they were in: small, cozy, and with a few passed out drunkies here and there. It was peaceful for a midday, but Ciri had expected as much from a place as small as Midscope; most people here were either arriving at Velen, or were planning to leave, and thus they had no regular customers.
They walked past the stinky drunktards and quickly reached the hoster, this time with Ciri in front, instead of Leon; she'd figured she could learn a thing or two from the auburn haired idiot and try to be a little friendlier to people, especially when they didn't give off creepy vibes or reeked of blood and/or alcohol.
The lady in front of them seemed old, almost as old as Sven himself, which didn't surprise Ciri in the slightest. Her tired eyes stared at them both without much judgement, expecting them to be normal customers or the like, even when Ciri's pendant was in full display for her to see.
"Hey" Ciri greeted her coldly, and Leon lightly kicked her boot, making her munch her, "Goodday, missus" She forced a kinder tone, feeling a little out of character.
"Good day to you as well, young one" She didn't have an accent, and her words felt wiser than normal people, "What is it that you're looking for here?" Her eyes seemed inquiry, and Ciri couldn't help but feel a little alarmed at her gaze.
Leon's form was calm and easy, so she trusted him and the lady nevertheless, faulting her own traumas for making her feel alert at every harsh eye that looked her way.
"I'm a Witcher" The old lady nodded, as if she had already noticed that, "And I'm looking for a contract or two that I could take around here" The hoster hummed pensively, but Ciri continued, "It doesn't have to be anything extreme, we need money, and my sword isn't a picky one" She knew Geralt didn't take cheap works nor did he waste his time with contracts that didn't seem worth it; she usually shared that trait, even though the both of them liked helping nonetheless, but right now they were desperate for money...and she didn't want to come out as a picky fancy Witcher to Leon at all.
"There...is one contract fit for the likes of you, Young lady" The old woman replied after a second of thought, and Ciri's heart picked up at the sound of some action, finally, "We recently tried finding other ways to gather resources for the village, and we implemented a fishing net at the close coast you can find just to the west of here" She sighed a heavy sigh, making Leon frown, "I don't have to tell a monster master like yourself what kind of problem are we facing in the waters…"
"Right, this is Velen, it's probably Drowners" The old lady nodded bitterly.
"We lost two good men to such creatures a week ago, and no one has the courage to fight off the rest of them...they seem to come out of thin air" Ciri grimaced.
The drowners must've already created a nest somewhere around the area.
"I can help you with that" She rubbed her hands together, "It shouldn't take long" She cracked her knuckles.
"And we're sorry for your loss, miss" Leon stepped in, displaying sad eyes, "We'll make sure to give their bodies a respectful farewell, on the village's behalf" The sad lady's face morphed into a bitter smile, one that carried hope, and she nodded twice, before waving away the both of them.
Leon took Ciri's hand before she could start discussing either money or anything else, and dragged the both of them out of the Inn.
"I thought you wanted to ask for a herbalist?" The Witcher inquired once they were both out.
"I will, after we come back" Leon took a deep breath, "The lady seemed to feel distressed, y'know, when talking about the deceased men at the beach" Ciri pondered for a second what he meant.
After not getting any answer from her, Leon continued, almost tasting her confusement in the air.
"We have to be empathic, Cirilla" He explained, not really surprised at Ciri's indifference, but still feeling a little disappointed, "People need time to heal when something bad happens, they need to accept the fact that it did, and start living with that fact; for you it may not seem like much that two people lost their lives to monsters, but to me it sounds like a very tragic event" Her eyebrows lifted up, as if things finally made sense for her, but he still continued, "Wouldn't you feel bad if one day, you find out that I was kil-" Her gloved hand trapped his mouth shut.
"Yes, I would" Ciri was frowning at him, even though his words rang true and she had been acting a little indifferent towards it, "I would feel devastated, Leon, so shut up" She was angry he had to elaborate so much just to make a point, but she did give him a reason to, so she'd forgive him for it, "And that's the entire reason why you are not coming to this contract" His eyes changed from distant to completely confused.
"W-Wha-"
"This aren't bandits, Leon" She interrupted to continue her rant, "These are literal monsters, unpredictable brainless creatures, and I really, really don't want anything happening to you" She elaborated, "This isn't a normal fight we can team up and beat up, this monsters dive into the ground, they come out outta nowhere, and they are extremely deadly" Her own heart beat hard at the thought of her boy fighting something like Drowners; for her, they were a walk in the park, but she couldn't for the life of her let Leon near them.
"But I could say the same thing-"
"No, you can't" She cut him short, "You can't, Leon. I'm a Witcher, I'm trained for this, I've trained for years, for this" She dramatized, "You're just a farm boy with a bow" The words came out of her mouth before she could even stop them, and the hurt in his eyes showed her just how much she had messed up with that little comment.
Leon took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing off air filled with anger and disappointment.
He was far more mature than she was.
"L-Leon, I-"
"No, it's fine", He was the one that interrupted her for once, "You're right, Cirilla" She swallowed a not in her throat, feeling the confidence she had built within him falling apart, "It's fine, you're right, just...go and do your thing" He immediately turned around, already making his way back to the Inn, "I'll ask for the herbalist, and we'll meet when you're done" He finished, not letting her get a say in the matter, and left her alone with Kelpie.
Ciri turned around once Leon disappeared from her sight, to look at her trusty horse with a saddened face.
"I'm the worst"
—
"'You're not a sheep', yeah, great way to contradict yourself, stupid idiot" Ciri was berating herself on top of Kelpie, with the head of a Drowner hanging from Kelpie's saddle, as she made her way back to the village.
The entire hunt had been a quick one, with no more than seven drowners around to kill, and an empty nest; but her mind had been absent the entire time, as she thought of what she had said to Leon.
It was the most stupid thing she had ever said, in her entire life time. She had felt bad at her words before, but it was the first time she had regretted something so bad it made her slip off and earn a claw to her arm from a dumbass monster such as a Drowner. Her mind was solely filled with Leon, and all the things she had worked out with him that had probably been broken and trashed thanks to her useless insult. She could sense the betrayed feeling she had implanted within him, and nothing came up into her mind that could fix what she had said.
"Why did I say that?" She literally felt like crying, even though she was a grown adult and a mature...well, maybe not that much of a mature person, "He isn't just a farm boy with a bow!" She smacked her face, which was salty and wet thanks to the beach fight, and even though her arm had been cut slightly deep, the heaviness in her heart hid that pain almost entirely.
This burning was new to her, and she hated it; she never meant to hurt him, and knowing that she had fucked up that immensely also hurt her to no end. For all her dumb Witcher training, she wasn't ready to feel this way.
She needed to find him and at the very least apologize, before he made his mind and left her forever...just imagining him alone in Velen frightened her, and the thought of them breaking contact so soon also weighed heavy on her.
Quickly, she left Kelpie tied up to the entrance of the Inn, and entered with hopes to find the mob of brown hair there, sitting on one of the tables, to no avail.
The place was emptier than before, with no signs of Leon around at all.
"Ah, it's the Witcher" Ciri perked up to her title and realized the old lady was waving at her from her little desk.
She made her way towards the lady as fast as she could, and whilst her mind still only had space for a certain boy, she first greeted her in a kind way.
"Afternoon" She raised her hand in a salute motion before continuing, "The, uh, the drowners are all gone now-, they had made their nest quite close to where the net was, but luckily they hadn't breed enough for it to be an actual problem" In the back of her mind, she realized she had forgotten to...well, pay the respect to the deceased men, but remembering the reaction she had had when Leon first mentioned them, she decided to not touch the subject.
She'd make it her task to burn them away in respect later that day...with Leon.
"Well then, let's hear your price" She didn't even need to think twice about her answer.
"Whatever you're willing to give, Missus" The old lady looked at her with perplexed eyes before smiling a warm smile, lifting up a pouch of coins, and offering it to her.
"Two hundred and fifty coins, for I see you're traveling with another client" At her words, her heart sank deeper.
Is that what Leon told her they were? Or was it just her assumptions?
"He's not my client" She corrected the hoster, "He is my partner" She felt like dying altogether, "Have you seen him anywhere around? I bet he dropped by to ask something about a herbalist" She asked without a pause, and the lady nodded.
"It's very surprising to see a Witcher with a partner, moreso a non Witcher partner" The surprised tone she used made her feel a little more at ease with the situation, "And yes, he seemed a little troubled, but he did drop by and asked for the local herbalist" She giggled, "Luckily for him, that happens to be my youngest daughter, and she resides in the last building at the east of the village, there's no way you can miss it" Ciri nodded twice and bowed towards the lady before leaving, taking fast steps towards a general direction she hoped would take her to that certain house.
The sun was already setting down, making the village take a beautiful calming mood; everything was slightly orange, and the villagers were either taking their merchandise back home or returning from their hunts.
She didn't really need to look for the house, it was clearly the one filled with dandelions and different sorts of flowers surrounding the entire area; it all sent off a great aroma, and it clearly signaled that a herbalist worked over there.
She approached with quick steps, and when close enough, used her nose to try and detect a certain auburn haired boy's scent, which was already attached to the back of her brain.
She kicked the air when she couldn't find it, meaning that he had already left.
Ciri knocked on the door either way, hoping for an answer, and after a second of ruffling around inside the house, someone answered.
"Come in!" A sweet, young voice appeared in a calm manner, and Ciri gently made her way into the store.
She was greeted by a short, pretty brown haired young lady, that probably had the same age that Leon did.
"Welcome to my little herby place, what can I help you with today?" Her accent and vocabulary immediately gave away the fact that she was indeed that old hoster's daughter, and Ciri bowed slightly before saluting her with her gloved hand.
"Sorry, I'm looking for an auburn haired boy that may have dropped around here earlier?" She tried sounding as polite as possible, so her sword wouldn't make the herbalist scared.
The young herbalist clapped her hands together and smiled briefly.
"Ah! Must be that cute lad, Leon!" At her words, even though Ciri was smiling, internally she felt fire starting to burn her chest.
"Y-Yeah, Leon" She coughed, swallowing drily before continuing, "I guess...he was here, then?" The younger lady nodded twice with a permanent smile on her face.
"Aye, very charming boy, we don't really have that kind of quality around here" Oh yeah, very charming boy.
Her charming boy.
"Right" She needed to keep composure, "Did he, by any chance, tell you where he went off to?" The herbalist blinked twice in confusion before nodding.
"He did…" She remained quiet, "We chatted for a bit after he sold me this beautiful honeysuckle, did you know it brings out flavors similar to honey itself?" Ciri nodded and forced out a small smile, "Then he said he would be waiting for someone at the west entrance...he did take the long path" She displayed a small pout, "Is he your intended?" Her tone changed from cute to a little greedy, and Ciri internally smirked.
She could easily clarify to her, that they were not there yet-, merely partners; but they wouldn't meet again, at least not for a year or so, and she clearly displayed attraction for Leon...one that made her, for the first time in her life, jealous, so she'd let the little devil inside of her get a little bit of fun, and throw in a white lie.
"He...we're something, alright" Her heart almost skipped a beat at her words even though they weren't complete lies, and smiled when the herbalist nodded slowly.
"I see…" She sounded disappointed, but still polite and cheerful, "I'm very happy for the both of you, he seems to be a great man" Ciri nodded at her gratefully.
"He really is" The white haired Witcher agreed as she made her way outside of the shop, "Well then, thank you for your time"
The herbalist waved her goodbye and Ciri replied in the same manner, before making her way back to the west entry, with a happy mood on her thanks to the exchange.
It took her less than what she had thought it would, and finally, after an hour or so of looking, she could make out Leon's form leaning on one of the entrance posts, clearly waiting there for her to arrive.
"Hey!" She drove his attention her way, and at his serious eyes, her mood immediately diminished.
Her happy mood was solely thanks to her lies, but in reality, she still had insulted Leon, and it still stung whenever she thought about it.
Her pace went from slow throttling to walking, and her mind started running miles per second to create an apology that was worth his time.
By the time she reached Leon, her mind was still blank and her chest heavy.
Why was it so damn hard to apologize?
"Leon" Ciri called out his name even though he was already looking at her.
"Cirilla" He retorted back with her own name.
"I don't have words to say sorry, mostly because I'm such a stupid monkey at this kind of things" She clenched her fists, hating her own speech already, "But I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said" It felt too short, cold, and the not in her throat continued bothering her.
"Ciri, I told you that it's fine" But his voice sounded slightly off, his eyes weren't the same kind of bright, and she somehow still felt horrible, "Sometimes words slip out…"
"But I don't want you to think I really mean that, not even secretly, I don't think you're just a farm boy with a bow nor anything like that" She groaned in annoyance, "I can't express myself Leon, but I'm really sorry, I've never regretted words as much as I regret those that I said to you" She wanted to reach for him and hug hun, to reaffirm the fact that they were still something, that she hadn't hurt him as much as she was hurting herself.
She didn't need to, Leon himself pulled her close with one of his hands, using the other one to lift her depressed face, forcing her to look at him.
"Ciri, you're suffering too much out of this" He smiled warmly at her, "I was hurt, maybe I still feel a little bit hurt, but you won't lose me just because of one mistake" He chuckled, "We're not kids, and I've already forgiven you, it stung a little, but I know I'm much more than just a kid with some wooden bow" His hand found a spot to rest on her lower back, and Ciri took the clue to burrow herself into him, hugging him tight.
"I still feel bad" She rested her chin on his shoulder, "You're so much more, and I want you to believe that" Her hands were holding his shirt tightly.
"I already-"
"I want you to believe that I believe it, Leon" She tried with more honesty, and Leon chuckled.
"Ciri, you're the one that makes me believe these things" She lifted her chin from his shoulder and visibly frowned.
"But I contradicted myself" He winked at her.
"I know, and I wanna think that you didn't mean that-"
"A hundred percent, did not" She interrupted him.
"Which I know, and that's why I can forgive you for it, crazy woman" He smiled, this time with his usual leg shaker smile, "I trust you Ciri, you're not a bad person" She swallowed hard at his words.
How did he always manage to make her so emotional? She was definitely not like this, in the slightest.
Or maybe she was, and didn't know it until then.
"So we're fine?" Her tone came out way higher pitched than what she had aimed for, embarrassing her.
"Aww" Leon mocked her with an adoring sound, "Of course we're fine, we are a team, remember?" He patted both of her arms twice for assurance, and Ciri winced a little, feeling her injury after his pats, "Ciri!"
"It's nothing..." His hand was stained with a little blood, meaning that the wound hadn't healed completely yet, "I had this argument in my mind the entire time, I slipped off and a Drowner caught me" She explained without much care.
"We still need to clean up this wound" He didn't ask for permission, and lifted up her sleeve with care, immediately uncovering the deep cut on her lower arm, "Are you insane, Cirilla? We need to take care of this or it'll get infected in no time"
Now that her heart was back at normal levels, the pain coming from the cut deepened considerably, bothering her. It wasn't her first cut by any means, but it still burned hard, and by the looks of it, Leon was right.
"I just didn't notice" She replied sheepishly, feeling silly; this was basic training she was taught years ago, and yet Leon seemed more interested in her health than she was.
Leon didn't listen, instead he took her non-injured hand and pulled her with him back to the Inn, where given by the time, they'd stay the night.
He opened the door as quickly as he could, and Ciri, who had freed herself off his hand after a few steps, followed through, already knowing what was coming but not stopping it nonetheless.
"I assume you have medical knowledge already" Ciri hummed positively while they both walked closer for the hoster, "I still wanna help you"
"I'll leave it all to you, Doctor Lion" She joked with him, feeling the sting of the wound worsening a little when she moved her arm.
It really was deeper than what she had initially thought...those damned drowners had terrifying claws.
"Right" He motioned an empty chair close to the hosters area, and she took a seat gracefully while staring at him, "I'll get something to avoid any infections" Ciri automatically reached for her pouch of coins and offered it to him, "It's fine, I got coin from those herbs I talked to you about, that lady was kind and she paid much more than what I had thought she would" She thanked the skies at the fact that Leon couldn't really notice the herbalist's intent towards him, and felt a little silly at her own incremental jealousy.
Ciri stared at him as he walked towards the hoster, and let out a relieved sigh once she realized he wasn't looking-, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest when finally things were fixed with her auburn haired partner; she didn't quite notice, but it had been hours of worrying tremendously on her part, maybe because she had never actually felt so damn close to someone, and because she, admittedly, wasn't as emotionally mature as Leon was.
In a second, the archer was back with honey and a piece of cloth in his hands.
"Honey?" Ciri inquired, looking at Leon straight to the eye; he just winked at her before dragging a chair and setting it right in front of Ciri.
"Honey is a perfect, albeit slightly expensive, substance to stop a wound from infecting itself" He poured a bit of it onto the cloth, and reached for her arm.
She lifted the fabric gently and showed off the wound clearly so Leon could see it better, immediately frowning at the sight of it-, the blood around it had dried off, and had therefore turned a darker red tone that set off alarms in her head.
Leon frowned as well before setting the cloth and the small vase with honey on their table and standing up.
"I'll ask for some water, perhaps they have some soap around here too" Ciri grimaced at the cost of it all, but given the fact that he hadn't asked for their actual pouch with all of their savings, she figured what he gained from those herbs would be enough.
He didn't wait for her to agree either way, already walking back to the hoster and starting negotiating all over again.
She felt cared for.
"There goes the herb money" He said once he was back with her, and she smiled sadly.
"That's my bad" Leon just patted her head while shaking his head in denial.
"It is what it is, Ciri" He sat down on his chair, pouring some water on top of another piece of cloth, "We can't just forget about this wound, you aren't immortal" He took her arm with the utmost care and Ciri lifted her sleeve once again, helping him out, "This will sting a little, baby boo" She laughed at his words, and Leon placed the wet rag on top of her wound.
Ciri did feel the sharp pain, but it wasn't anything new to her, and the sight of Leon concentrating solely on her was worth any sort of suffering.
It took a few seconds and slow movements, but finally, the rag was stained red and her arm was clean of any dried blood, displaying the wound cleanly and without exaggerations.
"It still looks harsh, but not as bad as it seemed to be with all that blood" Leon commented off hand, mindlessly caressing her arm as if she was a piece of art he was working on, before reaching for the honeyed rag he left on the table, "Now, it'll leave your arm sticky and smelling sweet, but it's needed" Ciri just nodded, not really caring so long he continued looking at her that way, and he proceeded to spread honey with the rag on top of her entire wound and it's close surroundings.
"It's a bizarre feeling" She said while giggling, "It tickles as well" Leon smiled at her, relieved she wasn't feeling much pain from his cares, and continued with them.
After a few minutes, he deemed his work completed, and removed the rag and his hands altogether from Ciri's arm.
"I'll use this rag to stop the blood from running out; it's already dried, and no more blood is coming out of it, but I still wanna make sure it doesn't open up again or starts gushing out blood.
He cleaned the honey stained rag, and did the same with the bloody one using the remaining water,
"Sadly, the old lady doesn't have any soap" The white haired girl merely shrugged.
"Can't be picky" She lifted her arm one more time once he motioned her with his hand, and let Leon tie up a tight rag right above the wound, "You're spoiling me too much" She snickered.
"You're my precious partner" Her heart skipped a beat, "Of course I'll spoil you as much as I can" He tied up another rag right below the wound, effectively slowing down blood circulation, "Tell me if it's too tight" He winked at her before stepping away from her personal space.
"You're perfect" She blurted out without thinking and coughed in embarrassment, "It's perfect, I meant to say" Leon laughed hard and Ciri chuckled as well, with her cheeks tainted a little pink.
"So I'm not perfect?" He winked at her and she kicked him lightly.
"Shut up, idiot" Ciri stood up slowly, making sure that her injured arm didn't move as much as the rest of her body, "I wanted to leave this place today, but given how the moon is already coming out, it'd be best to just stay the night here" She sighed, "We're taking too long to leave Velen, I don't want winter to catch up on us before we reach Kaer Morhen" She started walking towards the hoster.
"Wait, Cirilla" Leon stopped her right on her tracks, and she turned her head to look at him, "What did you do with the fallen men?" Her eyes opened up in realization and she took a deep breath before answering.
"Look, my mind was running faster than Kelpie back when I was fighting drowners, and between thinking about you and destroying the nest they had built…" She explained while moving her hands to add emphasis, "I just forgot to do something about them" She finished with an apologetic look on her features.
Leon frowned a little, silently pondering his options.
"I told her we would take care of the bodies" He recalled out loud, and Ciri nodded, "And since you wouldn't let me help you, I'd assumed you'd do it" Ciri nodded again, "We need to go and make our word valid, Cirilla" She sighed, and Leon immediately threw her a look.
"It's not a sigh of annoyance, I'm sorry, I'm just tired at my own clumsiness" She confessed with an exhausted tone, "I don't think I've ever made this many mistakes in my Witcher career, I'm usually flawless, I don't trip over my own feet" And it was taking a toll on her.
"I believe you" Leon's tone lowered down to an empathic one, "We'll go tomorrow at sunrise, right before leaving this village" He stepped closer to her, and took hold of her shoulders,"But we will do it, it's not part of your job as a Witcher, but it's our responsibility as human beings" He finished, again without leaving any room for argumentation, and Ciri just nodded silently.
They both made their way to the hoster, with Ciri staying behind while Leon talked with the old lady.
At the sound of money being required, Ciri offered the bag of coins to the auburn haired archer, and he thanked her silently.
"There's only two rooms" Leon finally turned around to look at her, with a small copper key in one hand, and their weighty pouch of coins in his other hand, "Here" He offered the pouch and she hid it where I belonged, before nodding to him.
"It's not late enough for my clock, but I don't know about you". Leon shrugged at her comment before walking straight towards the back of the inn, where the rooms were.
"We could-, wait" He stopped abruptly, almost making Ciri crash onto him, "Where's my backpack?" He turned to look at Ciri, and she hummed for a second.
"You tied it up to Kelpie, remember?" Leon let out an understanding ahh, before offering her the key, "I'll be back in a jiffy, don't you go to sleep without me" He mocked her and she laughed.
"I wouldn't be able to sleep without my personal pillow" She winked at him before he left.
She quickly took herself into the small room they rented, and smiled at the size of it all; it was smaller than the one they had shared back in Oxenfurt, with only a one man-bed and a small, for decoration only, drawer. There was a little candle that lit only a quarter of the room, and allowed it to take a calming vibe.
She walked around and took her boots off as well as her too tight at times, leather leggings, leaving herself on her underwear and her white blouse; immediately, she dropped on top of the bed, rejoicing in her bodily freedom.
Her ears perked up at the sound of steps, and in a moment the door opened.
"Someone's got themselves comfy" Ciri, with her eyes closed, just hummed in agreement as she relaxed.
Leon walked around the small room for a bit before placing his backpack, and something else, on top of the drawer.
"I brought your travel bag as well" Ciri almost ascended when those words came out, "Figured you'd like to change from those bloody garnets" She stood straight up from the bed and stared at him with wide eyes.
"You're literally perfection" She dragged her feet to reach for the bag that Leon placed, but not before sneaking a quick smooch on his cheek, thanking him for his thoughtfulness, "You're my savior, I'm dying to get rid of these clothes" Without a warning, she removed her salty blouse and her, still a little moist and salty, panties, letting Leon enjoy the show.
He, of course, turned around and concentrated on anything else, even when there was nothing to be interested about in such a small room.
"I told you to get used to the view" She mocked him, snickering.
"I'm merely being polite" He replied with a troubled voice, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Leon, if you were some sort of stranger staring at me the way those drunk idiots did yesterday, then I'd agree" She left herself on a black blouse and another set of underwear, and walked towards the auburn haired archer, "But you're Leon" She sat on top of his lap, trapping him with both of her legs and forcing him look at her, "My Leon" She dropped her lips on his own, sinking deep into him.
Ciri let herself enjoy Leon's taste for a few long lasting minutes, before letting him breath correctly.
"I'm damned addicted to those soft pillowed lips you got" She bit his neck, feeling her flame growing stronger with every movement of his hands on her lower back.
"Your Leon?" He questioned while Ciri kept running her smooth lips around his neck, chin and ear, "I don't mind the sound of that"
"I'll mark you so every gal realizes you're already owned" She sucked on his neck hard, earning a small groan from him before biting on another spot, "No more ladies getting their hopes high" She smirked at her work.
"Like the herbalist lady?" He asked with a knowing stare and Ciri's eyes opened in surprise.
"You noticed?" Her tone came out high, and Leon laughed hard even though he had a devil beauty straddling him.
"Well, it was just as obvious as that time when you were flirting with me" A part of Ciri wanted to get mad, but the reasonable part also told her that just because someone flirted with Leon, it didn't mean that he reciprocated in the slightest.
"I flirt with you all the damn time though" He chuckled once again, "Did-" She hesitated to ask such a dumb question, "I mean, was she...cool?" Ciri realized how stupid that sounded, but she still held his gaze nonetheless.
"She was a kind, young lady" She frowned unconsciously, "What-, don't tell me you're jealous Cirilla" Leon snickered, and when Ciri attempted to get off from his lap, he placed his hands on her waist, keeping her in place, "Waiiit, Ciri, you can't be serious, I didn't even play along with that herbalist"
"I'm not-," She bit her lower lip, pondering whether or not she should be honest in this situation, "I...guess I was, a little bit-, but I know it's stupid, and I'm not some sort of teenager that doesn't know better, alright?" She sighed, troubled, "I don't even understand this feeling, like I told you, it's new to me" She rested her forehead on his own, with her eyes closed, enjoying their closure, "And I'm starting to believe it isn't that new to you"
"I mean, I've liked girls before, my life was harsh but it wasn't anything compared to yours, Cirilla" She could sense his stare on her closed eyes, "I've faced jealousy, disagreements, but in reality, and like I told you, I was only played with, thrown and used like a bad joke; I never had a real relationship, until you dropped by" His voice, for the first time that day (surprisingly), turned shy, "I know it's a little early, but I just feel like this is so real"
"It is!" She shook him with her hands, their current position long forgotten inside her mind, "If I feel like it is and you feel like it is, then it must be" She kissed him again, not deeply, but affectionately, "I want it to be"
"And I want it too" She cherished every time Leon would kiss her first, because for all the things she had ever been through, that still shocked her core entirely, "You're so good to me, Cirilla" He pecked her lips again, and she pulled him closer when he separated, melting their lips together.
Leon's heart was pumping hard and his breath had turned erratic; this was perhaps the first time they had made out in such a passionate way without the help of some sort of booze on the side, and Ciri was sure the auburn haired archer was having troubles keeping up.
"You're gonna have an attack if you don't calm down, honey" she tried between small nibbles to his delightful neck, relishing in his scent and the small noises that escaped at her every touch.
"I don't...really think I can calm down with you on top of me, Wolfie" She chuckled as she pushed him down on the bed, straddling him down with her legs.
She could feel Leon's hands trembling at the situation, not quite out of fear, but he was anxious. His eyes were wide open, his chest was going up and down like a trapped rabbit and his cheeks were flustered.
"Do you...feel like it?" She could be as blunt as she usually was, but he was special, and this was special, and so she'd be as wary as she could with Leon.
"Mm" He hummed at her fingers running around his covered torso, "I'm not the one with their arm about to bleed out at a moments notice, Ciri" She made a face as she remembered her covered arm, but remained on top of him in hopes of a change of mind, "Maybe...it can wait a day or two?" She froze in place , but wouldn't groan nor complain-, she hadn't expected him to deny sex so easily, but at the same time, it relieved her to know he wasn't on this relationship solely for the physical contact.
With the later thought in mind, she happily got off him, dropping her body next to him, staring at the ceiling.
"It can wait" She deemed before kissing his cheek, smiling at his already calming heart, "There's no rush" Her heat was going down, and it took her no time to compose herself.
"I wanna make sure you're ready for me" Leon joked as he touched her injured arm for emphasis, and Ciri laughed hard.
"Sweetie, I'm definitely able to handle all of you, remember?" Leon chuckled and nodded before raising up from the bed, leaving her alone in the cold sheets.
"Right, I don't know about you, but we skipped a meal, and I'm starving here" He stretched a little, and Ciri smiled to herself at the marks of lips and teeth that he had around his neck, "I'll see if I can bring us some food, so the princess doesn't have to put on some clothes" She threw a boot his way and he evaded it, sticking his tongue out her way once she shoved a middle finger towards him.
"Don't you need money?" She asked him a little louder when he was about to close the door, and froze in place.
He re-opened the door and stared inside, glaring at Ciri's smuggy, arrogant look.
"Yeah, I do" She smirked and pointed towards her travel back.
Leon sighed, realizing she would indeed force him to walk all the way to the drawer, and intentionally ignored her eyes as he made his way over there.
Once he found the pouch of coins, he skipped back to the door, and threw in an insult Ciri laughed off before exiting the room altogether.
On his way into the inn, he could hear the entire place being livelier than in the early hours of the day.
The village youth seemed to have decided to gather there, with a few tables being dragged together to make one big reunion, with four or five people all bickering and laughing altogether.
Leon walked around, trying to make himself as small as posible, before reaching the counter in which the old hoster remained silent but with a warm smile in her face.
"How can I help you?" She greeted him once he got close enough.
"We're starving, wondered if I could get something, bring it to the room, and then I'll bring the plates back when we're done? I have the-"
"It's Leon!" His negotiation got interrupted by a cheery, familiar voice, and in a second he was already turning with a smile on his face.
"Lena" He said, not needing to shout the way she did because she had already skipped from the big table to where he was standing, "I see you're all having a big party around here" He had met most of the young people in the village and Jen he was left alone while Ciri worked on the contract, giving him enough time to meet most of the active folk in his search for certain ingredients and sell things he deemed worthy of coin.
"Oh it would be much better if you joined us!" The hoster lady giggled quietly at her daughter's unintended try to hog the adventurer for a little longer, and Leon just smiled sadly at her.
"No can do, I'm here just to grab off some food for my partner and I, we need to rest for tomorrow's journey" Leon could also sense the weary eye of some of the unknown men that were hanging around Lena's table, perhaps wondering just who the hell was that guy that kept on talking with the, apparently, well liked Herbalist of the town.
At the mention of Ciri, her smile faltered a little bit.
"Ah, your...intended, right?" Leon blushed at her comment, and laughed nervously before shrugging, "She's very pretty"
"W-Well, I do like to think we're heading somewhere, hah" He was happy people would just guess they were some sort of couple, "You met Ciri?"
"Not really met, hadn't heard her name 'till now, but she dropped over the store looking for you...the offer still stands, you can bring Ciri if you'd like as well" Leon smiled, but he couldn't fathom Cirilla actually enjoying such a big crowd of unknown individuals.
"Thank you...I don't think it's gonna happen, but I'll ask Ciri to see if she's up to; she's been injured by some Drowners, and I really want her to be resting right now" The herbalist's eyes turned to one of slight worry, and Leon raised his hand before she could voice her thoughts, "It's alright, we've already taken care of the wound and she's a Witcher, this ain't something she cannot handle"
"She's a Witcher!?" At her surprised expression, Leon laughed and nodded, "That explains the sword, I guess…", Leon hummed in response, "She did give off some scary vibes when she first entered the store"
"That's Ciri, terrifyingly beautiful" He smiled to himself and his luck before continuing, "But she's a good person, don't doubt that"
"You can take these plates and bring them back in the morning, dear" The old lady finally decided to speak and Leon gratefully bowed before taking out his pouch of coins, "No need, it's on the house, consider it payback for what you promised earlier today" The archer's heart squeezed tight and he nodded twice with a forced smile.
He'd make sure they took care of the bodies as soon as possible
"I thank you, missus" Leon turned to look at the herbalist with a smile, "I'll see what I can do, but please don't refrain from enjoying your night, even if we don't join up" Lena took a breath and threw him a sad side smile before turning around to return to her table.
"Well then, I should head back to the awaiting lady" The hostess giggled again before nodding knowingly.
"Never keep a lass waiting...or hungry" He chuckled and nodded a polite goodbye.
Ciri, on the other hand, had used the free time alone to meditate as much as her body allowed her to.
At one point, she had decided to set her ears free of her augmented magic, in order to stop herself from spying on Leon's obvious chatter with a familiar toned, girly voice, and let herself fall fully into her concentrated state.
It was only at the sound of the door opening that her emerald orbs finally opened.
"Sorry, met up with someone while I ordered the food" She let out a fake and undignified humph as she tried to stop herself from drooling at the smell of warm food.
"Cute girly trynna' hog you off for herself?" Leon blinked twice at her with an expressionless face before just walking forward, entirely shoving away her joke.
"I brought you something, hope it fits the princess's taste" He shoved the plate in front of her and she took it gratefully.
"Thank you, and I'm kidding, by the way" He smiled at her and placed his plate on the little drawer, obviously opting to eat standing rather than on their bed, "I heard her offer, y'know, Witcher ears" She shrugged, "And I don't think I need to tell you my answer" She wouldn't talk about what the herbalist had said either, maybe her white lie had been caught, but apparently she was still in the clear.
"I know, Witchers are all anti social people" She pondered whether or not to throw her fork his way, but considering she'd need it to eat her dinner, she decided not to, "I'd rather spend time with you either way, even if it's in silence"
"I was about to say that you could go ahead if you wanted, but that's fair as well" It was Leon's turn to shrug.
"There were some big guys at that table, probably Lena's friends, and their eyes seemed to be judging me the wrong way" She frowned for a second as she munched.
"You know I'd beat up whoever tried to get a hand on you"
"I don't think it would get to that, but I don't like sitting between snakes" She giggled a little at his joke, "I prefer wolves" The comment caught her off guard, and she felt her cheeks warming up at his wittiness.
"Don't get me started, Lion" She pointed her fork his way, as a bad habit of hers, "The only thing keeping me away from eating up your bones is this stupid arm of mine" He laughed as she continued to point her fork in his direction, "That's what you are, a Lion" Leon looked at her with confusion.
"How am I a Lion?" He chuckled, "It doesn't even makes sense"
"Leaving the fact that it also doesn't make sense for me to be a wolf, you are a Lion…" Ciri stopped for a second to think something up, "Right, because you're shy, and careful; but at the same time, when you're in comfort, you turn playful, prideful, you become this sort of leader" He was about to refute and she cut him over, "Yes you are, you're always taking the lead without even noticing, you always have a last say in the matter, and even though I may act less mature than you, you're still a little prideful at times, just like a Lion", Leon looked at her with blank eyes, and even though he seemed happy with her words, he didn't really understand where she was coming from.
"We sound like little kids, talking about which animal we'd like to be" Ciri chuckled and nodded, with her dish clean in her hands.
"Nothing wrong with a little fun talk from time to time" Leon walked close to her and offered to take her empty plate.
"I always have fun talking with you" Her took her plate and placed it on top of his own finished one before leaving them both on top of the drawer, "You're something else, Cirilla" Leon walked closer to her, yawning before crawling on top of the bed.
"You tired?" She turned around to see Leon already laying down on his side of the bed.
"I'll be silent, I know you're not tired, so I'll let you be while I sleep" Her hand reached his auburn locks, and started running her fingers gently around his scalp.
"I've meditated enough this past two days" Ciri found ruffling her fingers around his face and his hair to be soothing for her as well, "I'll stare at you until I grow tired of your pretty face" Leon's eyes opened up to stare at her with a strange expression.
"That's...a little weird, but okay" She laughed before changing from her sitting, legs crossed position to just laying down next to him, "You should rest a little, I'm waking you up extra early to get those corpses we promised to burn away" She hummed in response, continuing her caresses.
Leon quickly gave in to her hand, and started snoozing away after a few minutes of mindless chit chat, leaving Ciri completely to her thoughts.
There wasn't much to go through,, the plan was clear: leaving Velen, reaching the damned port city and traveling north, and gathering coin to pay for it all in the process.
Leon's heartbeat calmed her down to a resting point, and even thought it was a few hours before she usually went to sleep, this time she fell easily into slumber, with her limbs all tangled around the unmoving figure that was her partner.
—
"I love the humid smell of an early morning" They were both now back on the field where Ciri once eliminated a group of drowners, this time searching for bodies all around the area.
"I can't believe you woke up before me, it should be impossible for you" Ciri was on the back part of Kelpie's saddle, "And it smells like dead fish around here, I don't know what you're on about"
"It's hard not to wake up to some strangling limbs attacking me", Ciri laughed at the memory of Leon hastily waking her up with the excuse that her arms were cutting away his ability to breath
"Stop whining, I was giving you love" Leon pfft'ted and laughed with her.
"Wow, escalating our relationship aren't we?" She hummed in response, even though the love part was rhetorical, and smacked him on the back.
"It's not like you aren't head over heels for me as of right now" Leon shrugged at her statement, not really denying it, and continued searching.
"Concentrate on finding these bodies so we can leave this place" He cut their chit chatting short and scanned the area again with his eyes.
"No need, I think that's 'em"
And indeed, where Ciri's finger was pointing, laid two deceased bodies, though they wouldn't had been able to find them if there hadn't been an increasing amount of flies around the entire circle where the bodies would've been.
"They're but a pile of rotten bones now" Leon mentioned with an expressionless face and jumped down Kelpie.
Ciri was glad the initial smell had dissipated almost completely; she didn't think Leon would've liked to meet the disgusting smell of rotting bodies this time around; unlike any other smell she had ever detected, human corpses still topped her list.
She followed Leon without dropping out of Kelpie, and waited patiently as he sat down close to the remains.
He started praying a short chant, and her eyes widened as his bow started shining a bright yellow, almost golden colour.
Ciri remained silent through the entire ordeal, watching as he gathered all the visible remains with a stick, and only voiced her questions once he ignited the bodies with said stick.
"What does it mean, when your bow starts shining?" She asked, half expecting him to say a usual How would I know?.
"I think it has to do with emotions" He replied as he climbed on top of Kelpie one more time, "But this bow also shines whenever it pleases, so I wouldn't know for sure" He tapped the bow before urging Kelpie to start galloping.
Ciri just hummed a silent okay and continued thinking, enjoying the peaceful sound of Kelpie's throttle as they travelled through the zone.
"So now we're finally heading out of Velen?"
"Mhm, we're out of this hellhole and into another one" Leon chuckled at her words and nodded twice, shuffling into his seat to get more comfortable.
"Is there any inn we could cross by or…"
"Not that I'm aware of, not until we get out and into the next territory" She smirked, "So in other words, you missed your chance to get all hot and dirty with me" Leon, caught off guard, exploded into a red ish ball of stutter, a sight that Ciri hadn't realized she was missing.
"S-Shut up already, Cirilla" He dismissed her tease while waving his hand, "It's not like that's the only thing I have in my mind. I'm not an animal in heat, unlike you"
Ciri stared at him with a wry smile.
"Weren't you the one that confessed he was falling all pathetically for this little ol' me?"
Leon, embarrassed out of his mind, decided to give Ciri the cold treatment.
—-
"This routine feels a little monotonous"
It was nighttime already, and even though they had finally left the entirety of what one would define as Velen, the place surrounding them didn't differ as much; short trees, bushes and the leather camp that Leon usually built up with ease.
The thing was already a little rugged over, almost looking like it was nearing its expiration date, and Ciri wondered whether or not they'd need to buy a new one once they reached somewhere remotely decent.
"It's because you're so rough around the night all the time, crazy woman"
Is what Leon had said when she commented over the actual status of their little hut, and, admittedly, her easy-to-get-to gears started turning at his slight teasing, which in turn prompted a vast amount of mouthfuls and pokes meant towards the auburn haired boy's hair, all provided by the short tempered Witcher.
"You don't even let me touch you anywhere funny without flushing your blood all over your cheeks, virgin boy"
Is what she had last said as a sweet finale, not acknowledging the fact that it was indeed her that had taken away the archer's chasty-full title, and even though he was mostly laughing at her antics, she still felt satisfied with her rant.
"What do you mean by 'monotonous'?" Now they were both laying down on the floor inside their safe tent, with all the necessary traps already laid around their area, and an empty hot pot left to cool off outside, "Would you rather we fought terrifying, cursed to hell ghosts that we wouldn't be able to hit without a two day preparation routine?" The Witcher was laying on her side, staring at Leon while she used her already permanently labeled pillow, Leon's arm.
"That wouldn't be an issue, because I'm sure a certain white haired Witcher wouldn't let me even get ten meters close to whatever you just mentioned"
Ciri frowned as she remembered their most recent, if not first of all if at all, argument.
She'd call it a fight, but in the end it had been her that had been overthinking the entire issue rather maniacally; and it had been Leon that had decided to put his troubles to the side to help clear out her never ending dire.
Now she felt a little guilty, for it had already been almost a week since the incident, and they still wouldn't touch the subject.
But it was so damn hard!
It broke their synchronization almost to the point where Ciri didn't know what to do anymore; she'd never call or see him as somebody that was weak, or not reliable, but even then, the very thought of him getting barely scratched by a nightwraith turned her blood into ice cubes, and she'd never forgive herself if that sweet of a boy somehow got his golden heart wrenched by any dark monster.
And even though he had already witnessed what it really meant to be outside in this rotten world, and had albeit vomited rather extremely at the sight of it, his eyes always told her he'd rather be there with her and fight, than be left alone to wait for her arrival.
Truly, it was a dilemma she'd need to figure out rather quickly, lest a monster decided it was time to take away Leon's first time seeing blue blood before she planned on it herself.
"I sense discomfort"
His own voice kicked her out of her limbo of thoughts, immediately making her realize that she was still silent on top of his slightly pale arm (out of the need of a little blood circulation).
Now she was debating if this would be the right time to talk about the subject in question, "It's just something I've been thinking about...y'know, ever since we fought back at the village?"
To her words, Leon turned around to look at her with bewilderment.
"Wait, we've...fought already?"
His eyes didn't showcase any spark of teasing behind them, and adding that to his serious tone, it let Ciri know that it was only her that had labeled their little storm off get away from me for a second, a fight.
"I-I mean, we did kind of...separated a little?" His bewildered look turned into one of worry, and she had to wave around her arms like a child in front of him to clear off his misunderstanding, "Not in that way, no! Just that, well, I insulted you, and you basically divided us to look for that damned herbalist"
The damned part had escaped out of her mouth without her even realizing, but it apparently fazed him little, if not at all.
"Ah…", He made a sound of understanding.
The following minute was spent in silence, with Ciri looking at him with expectation, and Leon processing the information as fast as he could.
"Woah, you've been thinking about this stuff a little too much, haven't you now?"
After a soft punch and a few bad words, he finally stopped playing around the subject.
"It wasn't much of a fight as it was a disagreement, at least for me, Cirilla"
These last few days he had taken the habit of using her entire name rather continuously.
At first it felt as if it was to reprimand her, but after a few bickering moments with him, Leon had confessed to having taken a liking to the sound of her name.
It did make her blush a little at the time, so she allowed it.
"I just decided that I wouldn't let you have a say in the matter" Had it not been because of the tone he had used while saying those words, she would have somehow felt a little offended, "I will join you, drowners or not, fear or not, and fight by your side"
His honest smile didn't let her even retort back, and she only groaned before decidedly burying her head to his side in frustration, and to lay down the butterflies that she could feel on her stomach.
"Just don't play hero and ultimately leave me in this world without you"
His hands found the small of her back as she muttered those muffled words, squeezing her tight onto his lean body.
"I wouldn't throw my life away like an idiot monkey, I think you know that"
The reassurance did leave its mark on her, immediately letting her understand that indeed, Leon wouldn't just stupidly walk towards his obvious death without first pondering his options, weighting out his chances; this was Leon they were talking about.
A box of surprises.
A smart ass with an attitude.
A shy doofus with a charming something surrounding him.
And ultimately, the one that kept occupying most of her mind space.
"Fine, fine, you win, you big charm of a dumber" She didn't even know what was coming out of her mouth anymore, but she felt different.
Good different, and she enjoyed it.
"Might as well teach you a few things about monsters then, just to make sure you don't pass out at the mere sight of them" Ciri was sure he would be excited to learn about the entire book of horrid creatures she always hid inside her travel back, but just for the sake of fun, she's keep it hidden for the time being, until he already grew into the knowledge of monsters.
Especially clerics and vampires, but she could leave those two tabs for later; it wasn't a usual thing to encounter, even for a Witcher like herself.
At the slow sound of Leon's heartbeat, and his tired look, she moved the scheduled talk to tomorrow as they traveled.
Anchor was merely half a day away from them, and even though they planned to skip the place entirely, it wouldn't hurt to search to a contract or two they could do in the meantime.
If it took too long, she wouldn't mind spending another night at an Inn with Leon.
With that thought in mind, and at the sound of Leon's soft snores, she seemed the night done, and drifted off cuddling the tree log that was Leon when asleep.
—
Hello, sorry it took so long, this new job is a little taxing to me.
You'll notice a change of style by the end of the chapter, I've been reading some other books and I just took to them because my brain works that way; I guess it still works fine.
Thank you for reading,we're finally reaching some monster action, at last.