Shift My World (Witcher x Reader fanfic)

Chapter 15

He stared at her fiercely and she stared back with the feeling of a stone in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't her Geralt. Well, not unless he got cursed somehow. But even then she knew it wasn't him. The lines of his face, the nose, the beard. It all screamed not Geralt. So if it were not Geralt that meant the rumors were only half true. There was a witcher in town just not her witcher. When had Olivia begun to think that Geralt was hers? She didn't even remember. Furthermore, the figure in front of her was so similar to Geralt that it was uncanny so her vague enough description could have easily been mistaken for this man in front of her. While Geralt's long white locks usually hung in long tangles a little past his shoulders with the hair by his temples pulled back in a braid to keep away from his face this man's hair was not as thick and it was slicked back over his head down to only his shoulders. The slicked-back hair shows how far back his hairline goes due to his age which Geralt did not possess. Next was the beard that he had on his face was a contrast to Geralt's usual stubble or clean shaved face that he usually kept; while the rest of his face was shaven clean the man's upper lip had a thick white handlebar mustache downturned on either side of his mouth down to his chin. Frankly, if Geralt let himself go and aged Olivia could imagine a similar appearance for her old friend. 

The two stared at each other a long moment; one staring with a threatening stare whilst holding danger in the form of a blade to her throat while the other stared back in wonderment and ever so slight fear, I mean after all she did have a dagger to her throat for Pete's sake. It was clear to see that this man was a witcher and briefly Olivia wondered if Geralt knew of this man's presence; that he was not the only one out there as he had claimed. Letting the breath out that she had been holding for god knows how long she finally beat the man to the punch by breaking the silence with a whispered question as if anything above that level of sound would break whatever this was.

"Where's Geralt?" 

The man's features seemed to shift ever so slightly; almost softening in a way at the name before they hardened again and the blade was pressed against her harder. Olivia inhaled sharply and raised her hands ever so slowly as the older man watched for her next move. A small shaky smile graced her features as she spoke to his unasked question.

"I'm a friend of his. I traveled with Geralt for the past few years. I'm trying to find him." she glanced over the man's shoulder warily when she swore she saw a shadow move somewhere behind his back. 

"You could be lying," he growled but there was something behind his voice that hinted that he was only putting up a front

Olivia squared him with a knowing look and tilted her head. "Or I could not be. Are you willing to take that risk?" she questioned him with more bravado than she truly felt. 

But before the strange witcher could respond three figures came from the shadows brandishing weaponry that ranged from clubs to short knives that resembled something akin to pocketknives and one guy even had a bow and arrow at the ready. Both Olivia and the witcher turned to them just in time to miss the arrow that shot from the bow; bouncing off of the stone of the wall between their heads. The older witcher swirled around as he draw his sword from his back and Olivia used her cloak to twirl around to hide as she moved to the guy closest to her; using the movement of her fluttering cloak to distract the man as she kicked her foot out to dislodge the knife from his hands. She was no fighter but she did learn a thing or two during the training she had back in her cottage. It was little more than self-defense that a girl would have needed to know back in her world against a stranger on the street but it seemed to do the trick here just as well. 

But as Olivia bent to retrieve the knife from the ground a man came up behind her to grab her arms holding her still; pinning her arms to her sides with one arm while the other was wrapped around her neck with a blade near her face.