Her Sweet Kiss | Geralt of Rivia X OC | The Witcher FF

Chapter 13 - A Griffin's head -

The splattered blood revealed that it was hectic while charging at its target. "It may have injured some of your other cows. Noticed anything?" I asked him as I still tried to identify what part of the cow it was. It wasn't the nose and it's too squishy to be the hoof. Part of the ear could be. "No, yet haven't checked that." he said and scratched his neck. I nodded. "To be honest, we haven't been out 'ere since the first attack." he admitted. "Explains why they look so starved."

I walked between the cows and checked their bellies and legs for scratches or any sign of an injury caused by a claw. A calf was limping. I walked towards it and it wanted to run away but it couldn't really. It fell. A front leg had a bigger scratch but it didn't bleed anymore, it would be alright. I used Axii on it to calm it down a little. "Seems like a young Griffin really got lost." I said as Kazimir walked next to me to inspect the calf. "It'll be alright. It was lucky enough to get away." I said and he sighed in relief.

I walked back to the pool of blood and smeared my index finger across from it. The nearly dried blood stuck to my gloved finger. "Going by the coldness and how dry this already is, the Griffin attacked your cows around six hours ago." I explained and wiped away the blood. Kazimir's raised his eyebrows in surprise. I looked for more drops of blood which lead to west and I followed the small trail of blood that was left behind. "The trail end here." I said as I jumped over the fence and the drops stopped.

I smelled on the spot where the blood had been on my glove and my surrounding. "Around 150 metres into that forest, there I should find the Griffin, the smell of old and wet feathers and blood leads there." I said and Kazimir's jaw fell a little. "You smell that? I smell nothin'." he said shrugging. "You're human." I said and began following the trail of the scent that I just found. 

Between the trees the branches cracked and a distant growling was heard. I took a small bottle from my belt and popped it open. The scent of wet dog embracing the air around it with the slight mix of white myrtle petals. Hybrid oil. I poured it over my silver blade and kept it steadily in my hands.

The forest lead up to a small hill where from the distance I could see the feathered wings bopping up and down. I could hear the satisfied growls and slurps it gave away. It must be eating at the moment. It was alone and it was indeed a young Griffin. There was an attempt of a nest but that was barely a few sticks and a little bit of frozen hay laying on the ground, looking more like being used as a campfire than a nest. 

I made a fist and formed Quen to protect myself from it suddenly getting scared and trying to fly away and hitting me with its wings. If it would have been an older Griffin it would have seen me a long time ago but this one didn't even notice me when I stood mere metres away from it with no hiding behind trees. I charged forward and lunged at it. It roared and hissed as I made a cut from its neck to its belly. It wasn't deep enough to kill it but deep enough to enrage it. 

It lunged back at me with it's wing but without success. It started flapping furiously and started to lift from the ground. "Oh no, you're staying here." I growled and shoot it with a wave of Aard what took him the air below its wings. It fell to the ground with its wing first. The Griffin was limping now and tried to get back in the air again but the limp wing wouldn't allow it. I screeched in my direction and with all its strength that was left he tried to lunge at me, bite me, everything. It was helpless. It was lacking experience. It was a young one but it doesn't belong here. 

I landed a few strikes near the wound I had caused only minutes ago. The hits of the Griffin were sloppy and lacked in strength already, which made it easy for me to block them with the sword. As it changed the wings I buried my sword in its chest and twisted it a few time. It screeched and roared in agony and stumbled forward and fell on the ground, dead. I wiped away the sweat from my forehead and put away my sword. 

With a pocket knife I cut the head from the creature's shoulders and bound it together with some rope so I could throw it over my shoulder and carry it easier. With that I made my way back to the farm where only the cows where standing now. Kazimir must've walked back home, waiting there. 

With the Griffin's head over my shoulder, that was leaving a trail of where I went with the dark blood, I walked through the gate of the village again and got the same stared again. Some held their noses, other held their children's eyes closed. Nobody spoke, they watched me in silence as I walked the path towards the oak in front of Kazimir's house, where I knocked.

The same woman as before, his wife, opened the door with a smile. It faded as soon as I pulled the head of the dead monster in her sight. She averted her gaze and held her stomach a little. "Kazimir." she called for her husband and walked away from the door. He approached me and tilted his head at the sight of the light yellow, covered in the blood of one of his cows, beak and the light blue feather on its head. "You killed it!" he exclaimed yet somehow disgusted by the cut-off head. I nodded and he smiled at me. "Thank you, Witcher! What's your name? In case we got another monster problem here." he said and wanted to shake my hand but they were full by holding the Griffin's head.

"Evelyn of Rivia."