The White Wolf and the Black Nightingale

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 07

((a/n: Happy New Year folks it's now the first day of 2020 may this year be less fucked up than 2019))

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True to his word, Geralt and Shalea had taken about six days to get from Wyvernbourne to Flotsam.

They had ended up taking a small detour when they got a request from one of the villages they passed to deal with some Wraiths that had been wandering the village's graveyard. It had paid them some good coin, and with the two of them, the monsters had been taken care of in no time.

Shaela had almost forgotten how annoying it could be to camp outside. Too many times did she wake up with a slightly sore body from sleeping on the hard ground. And she certainly cherished the one night they could stay in an inn.

"Here it is. Flotsam" Geralt brought her out of her thoughts as he steered Roach in the direction of a rather gloomy looking town.

She didn't know if it could really be called much of a town. The place had a wooden wall surrounding it with a dock just by the east entrance where the two approached. The sky was covered in dark clouds, giving Flotsam a very gloomy appearance.

"Might want to cover those ears. Humans here don't take too kindly to elves or dwarves" Geralt murmured as he got off of his horse, Shaela following suit with a frown on her face.

She knew the dislike between humans and the other races were strong around the world, but she never realised just how much they all hated each other. She was lucky to live in a village like Wyvernbourne where humans were much more open to elves and dwarves.

She adjusted the braid she had made in her hair so the pointed half of her ears were covered, not wanting to know how people would react to her elven heritage.

She stuck close to Geralt as he lead them to the stables at the outskirts of Flotsam, paying the stable-boy some coin to keep Roach and Oidhche in the stables for a few days.

People sent nasty looks in their direction as soon as they noticed the Witcher. It made Shaela feel extremely uneasy, sticking as close as she could to the white-haired male and avoiding the gazes of people they passed by.

The two entered the inn, the sound of chatter and music filling the air. Though the second the two had entered, the chatter instantly died down as everyone stared at Geralt.

The Witcher simply ignored the stares as he walked over to the innkeeper, the female following close behind as she glared back at the people in the inn.

"A room for two." The innkeeper swallowed nervously as he took a key from behind the counter, handing it to the Witcher and taking the payment from him.

"T-Third door o-on the left" the innkeeper stuttered out as he avoided eye contact with the white-haired male.

Geralt let out a light hum as he took the key, turning to look at the female behind him. Before he could say anything to her, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Geralt! Didn't expect to see you around here." The two were approached by a brown-haired male dressed in a dark blue, a lute strapped to his back indicating he was a bard. Behind him stood a brown-haired dwarf, his hair styled in a short mohawk and a beard to match.

"Jaskier, Zoltan" Geralt greeted the two with a nod and a grin at seeing his friends again. Shaela stood beside him, awkwardly shifting her weight from side to side as she watched the three of them.

Jaskier was the first to notice her, giving an overexaggerated bow while grabbing her hand and planting a kiss on the back of her hand.

"What a beauty to grace our presence today. My name is Jaskier." Shaela couldn't help but feel somewhat flustered at the action, a light red covering her cheeks.

"Don' mind him. He's always like that with all the women he meets. Name's Zoltan" the dwarf beside him gave him a firm pat on the back before holding out his hand towards the female for a handshake.

"Shaela. It's nice to meet you both" the black-haired female spoke once she got out of her flustered state.

Jaskier lead Geralt and Shaela to the table they were sitting at while Zoltan went to order some beer for all of them.

"So, what brings the two of you to Flotsam?" Jaskier asked once everyone was seated with a mug of beer and some food to share.

"Could ask you two the same. Have to speak to Cedric and Iorveth. I'm helping Shaela with some personal things" the white-haired Witcher responded, glancing over to the female beside him who was chugging down the mug of beer in one go.

"We were passing through here on our travels. Just arrived here yesterday evening" Zoltan spoke, looking at the girl in amazement when she had chugged her beer in one gulp.

"Are Cedric and Iorveth the elves you mentioned?" Shaela asked with a small tilt of her head as she placed the now empty mug back on the table.

"Mhm. We'll talk to them in the morning. It's late and we've been traveling all day" Geralt finished up his own beer shortly after, thankful for the beverage after not drinking much all day.

The four spend a while longer simply chatting and drinking. Geralt, Jaskier, and Zoltan shared stories of how they all had been since the last time they had seen each other, and Shaela told them a bit about herself and how she ended up traveling around with the Witcher.

"Think it's time for bed" Geralt noted as she glanced at the female beside him who seemed to nearly nod off at this point.

Shaela let out a soft noise of protest, not wanting to sleep yet even if her whole body was screaming for some much-needed rest in a soft bed.

The four bid their goodnights before each making their way to their rooms at the inn.

Shaela let out a soft sigh in relief as there were two separate beds in the room she would be sharing with Geralt.

She quickly pulled off the corset top, leaving her in a loosely fitted undershirt as she crawled into one of the beds. she instantly fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Geralt chuckled softly at the female, stripping down his own armor until he was left in his trousers and got into the other bed. It took a little longer for him to fall asleep as well.