Shift My World (Witcher x Reader fanfic)

Chapter 19

It was fucking freezing outside. The blizzard she had glimpsed through the window all day was much worse when standing in the brunt of it. Its iciness pelted her in the face causing a stinging sensation to tingle along her skin while the rest melted and then collected on her clothes and hair. The bowl of warm stew would not last long in this air so Olivia forced her feet into the white snow on the ground to make her way toward where a lone figure partly blurred by the whiteness of the harsh blizzard moved along the tall towers of posts that were once a bridge of sorts. The dull sound of metal hitting wood could just barely be heard over the howling of the wind but grew more audible the closer she got to his location. 

Geralt looked like a beast up on that broken ledge. His movements were precise and practiced; sure-footed as he placed one boot in front of the other while his body twisted this way and that as he maneuvered himself in the old dance of swordsmanship; a dance he had learned long ago and knew by heart. But it was his face that caught Olivia's attention as she craned her head upward to look at him through squinting eyes lest she gets snow in them. There was tension about his shoulders and his face was plastered in a snarl that only worsened as whatever rolled inside of his mind caused his movements to grow more aggressive the longer he stood up there. Olivia had the kind of hunch she knew that it was all her doing. But Vesemir and the other had accepted her enough still despite their feelings of anger at the betrayal; they truly held together like a family and even went so far as to encourage her to seek Geralt out. Fearing to disappoint them any more than she already had the raven-haired woman clenched the bowl close as if to seep the warmth it still managed to withhold and swallowed the thump in her throat. 

"G-Geralt?" she called but even to her ears, her call sounded pitiful. If the witcher heard her he did not make a move toward her so she tried again. "Geralt! It's freezing! Come inside before you die out here!" she called above the wind. 

The hunter paused mid-swing and cocked his head slightly towards her. At least he acknowledged she was there. But it did not give her hope as she watched him sheath his sword and leap down; the sound of his body connecting with the ground was a sickening crunch of snow. His body was tense and he loomed across at her despite only being a few feet away from where she stood. She could feel the heat of his glare even through the snow that coated her lashes and the wet tangled strands that hung in his face obscuring most of his rugged features from her view. When she thought he'd, at last, say something to her she found crushing disappointment as he moved past her without so much as a word. But she had to get something out of him! Anything, she needed to hear her out!

She rushed after him and reached out a hand; she'd blame the trembling of her hand on the cold and not the sudden terror she felt at his dismissal of her. His muscles were familiar and strong beneath her grasp - they flexed beneath her cold touch as if he was going to pull away but instead, he didn't and merely halted his step. She preyed on any gods above this was a good sign. 

"Please Geralt...can't we-" she swallowed as her hand tightened around his bicep as if she feared he'd pull away again. "Please can't we just talk? Can't you hear me out?" she pleaded softly

It seemed that was the wrong thing to say. The bowl of stew sizzled loudly as it hit the white snow beside her while an equally startling hiss came from her as her back hit painfully hard into the cold snow that froze her spine and wetted her clothes. The giant hulk of the witcher hung over her and despite the hold of him pinning her to the ground the blade he held at her throat was as if he held a blade of fire to her skin and it made her eyes tear up as they looked up into the bared snarl that loomed above her. 

"Did I tell you the next time you dared try to speak to me I'd kill you?" the guttural growl was more animal than human as his eyes bore with such hatred into her misty blue.