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

Chapter 2 - The Encounter -

I leaned against a tree with a fire in front of me. I groaned and rubbed my right wrist. It was sore from swinging around my sword so often lately. The fire made cracking noises, more like the branches in it did. I was in the middle of a forest just out of Cintra. Everything was quiet except for some crows being in the far distance. Far distance is fair enough, if they feast on corpses or if there is a Leshy there, I should be safe here. Seems like the crows are about an hour or two away, I could take care of that tomorrow after a good night of sleep. After two days of slaughtering, I deserve that. I crossed my arms and put my chin on my chest. "Good night, Amber." I said to the horse, I never did that, only when Geralt or Jaskier were around as if it was a joke but now I felt... lonely. Neither Jaskier nor Geralt was with me. There was no other company in general besides Amber and for just that I was grateful that I had at least her.

Crows flew away with a loud noise. I jumped up, my hand on its way towards my sword on the ground. I looked around only at the corner of my eyes. The sun was rising, painting the whole forest in warm orange and red. It's not so long ago, that winter ended, so it's still a little cool but that didn't really bother me. I made sure that nothing was wrong with the surroundings and stood up. I dusted off my pants and put my swords on my back. The fire was gone, only black branches that would fall into ashes if one touched them. Untying Amber I took her reins and got up on the saddle on her back, which had my bags attached to them. I made my way to the place where I heard the crows yesterday crowing and today flying away. 

Through the forest there was nothing even worth mentioning, it was all just old trees, bushes and a squirrel or deer running around here and there. When I was near the crows, which were gone now, I could see in the distance between even more trees and bushes a glade with something on it but I couldn't yet identify it. Amber refused to continue walking, I frowned and got off of her. With careful steps to not make a sound I walked in hiding behind the trees closer towards the glade. There was an old man, piling up corpses. What was he doing? I walked, still slowly and carefully towards the man. "What are you doing here?" I asked with a firm voice. What was this smell? It smelt like death and I didn't mean the corpses. The man jumped at the sudden sound and let the legs of a young boy fall to the ground. He put a hand over his chest and exhaled loudly. I looked at him with half-closed eyes and my arms next to my hips, ready to draw my sword at any moment.

The man gave me an inspecting look and squirmed his eyes to give something his attention, then he groaned. "Can't a man burn these poor souls for no more ghoul attacks, without being again interrupted by a Witcher?!" he groaned and put the corpse of the boy onto the pile. He was partly burned and one could only identify him as a boy by the sharp jawline and the broad shoulders. "Again?" I questioned and stepped towards the man. Again. That could mean, Geralt was here. "Yes, would you now be so kind and help me." he more demanded than asked for help. "If you give me information about this other Witcher, of course." I suggested a deal and raised a brow, waiting for his reaction. Without hesitation, he nodded and shrugged. "Yes, just help me." he agreed and so I did. 

Body after body onto the pile. I was lucky that I had my gauntlets on, burned flesh, dried blood, cut off and bitten off body parts. Swords and ghouls, definitely ghouls judging the huge and plenty bites on the bodies. I ignited them with Igni, the smell of burning flesh and the sound of cracking bones was filling the forest. "Now, who was the other Witcher who 'interrupted' you?" I asked the man and sat down on a tree stump. Legs crossed, just as my arms I waited for answers. "He got bitten by a ghoul, couldn't leave him there or else he'd died." he started to tell the story about his encounter with a Witcher. "Put him into my carriage and took him to my farm. On the way we made halt-" I raised a hand to stop him from continuing. "Stop, no, wait. That's not what I meant." I said and he raised a brow and gave me an expecting look. "You ain't the brightest candle in the room, huh?" I asked but got no reaction. I sighed and stood up from the tree stump. "What did he look like?" I specified my question about his encounter. 

"Oh, he's a butcher, the ballads are true. The white wolf himself, you wouldn't believe it!" Was he talking about my white wolf? I didn't know how many people would call themselves like that but I needed to make sure. "White long hair? About this tall?" I asked and gestured way above my head. "Golden, cat-like eyes?" I continued and the man nodded with every question I asked. "Yes, yes. Do you know him? Are you colleagues or something?" he asked and had an eager expression, he seemed to be pretty fond of Geralt. I snorted at the word 'colleagues' and nodded with a grin. "You could put it like that, yes." I approved of his choice of words. "Where did he go?" I asked the man. "I took him to my farm and he went straight into the forest after we arrived." he explained and I nodded, a little confused. "Okay,-" I put my hand on my chin and thought for a moment. "Could you bring me to your farm?"