Of Blades & Buttercups

Chapter 8: What the Water Gave Me

The next day...

Sleep was foreign to the three inhabitants of the small room. By early morning, the sun peaked over the horizon, Yennefer decided to stop fighting consciousness and stay awake. The girl by her side already awake and ready.
"Geralt?" Yennefer called out.
"Hmm."
"Where are those flowers? I'm going to see if they hold magical properties. I could find out what the fuck the thing is." Geralt went to retrieve the flowers before stopping.
"Where The fuck did they go?" He asked with venom and annoyance.
"What do you mean? They aren't where we left them?"
"They aren't anywhere, Yen." He was growing pissed, feeling as though he'd gone mad.
"Calm down Geralt, maybe we can get more?"
"I can go out and find some."
"No." The adults said in unison.
"I'm not a small child, and I can work a blade. I have my knife if I feel threatened. If I run into that thing, I think it will feel less threatened than if a Witcher were to go picking its flowers." She said matter of factly. The mage groaned.
"Ciri it's dangerous, we don't know what that thing is."
"If it wanted to kill me it would have last night. I'm not scared. Startled and nervous, yes. But not scared." They sighed, knowing they can't stop a rebellious teens spirit.
"Fine. Go out early though, there is less of a chance of it being awake and about at dawn. I'll pack you something to eat. If you aren't back in and hour, we're coming."
"And killing that thing if we see it." Geralt finished. Yennefer nodded.
Ciri got dressed as Yennefer filled a satchel with a variety of wrapped up meats, bread, and berries, she acquired from the tavern downstairs. Geralt handed her a small pouch. "One hour."
"One hour." She repeated back before she set out.

The sun filtered through the trees. A fog of cold air forming at Jaskiers lips as he tried so desperately to sleep. Trying his hardest to fight down the rising nausea in his stomach from hunger. His skin took on a pale blue tinge from the lack of proper care and cold. He had twigs and leaves strewn throughout his mud blackened hair. His pale eyes, blurry with hunger and iced from the biting cold. He moved through the woods as a living corpse.

Ciri strode through the village till she met the edge of the woods. She stood on and watched as the sun faded out and the trees grow darker the farther they went on. Giving an audible gulp, the young teen made her way into the brush, cursing slightly when her dress caught on a low hanging branch. She walked on, hopeless, not seeing a single flower. She made it to a small stream. Bending onto her knees, she took her gloves off and started to cup the water, bringing the icy liquid to her lips and sighing.

Jaskier, after trotting around his little den area, made his way down a shallow bank. Going slowly as not to slip, he got on all fours. He found himself doing this a lot lately. He made it to a small stream, his eyes transfixed by the running water. Without a care, he dunked his face into the refreshing stream, taking in large gulps much like a dog. Like a wolf. Bringing his face to meet the air, he shivered, continuing to lap at the water.

Ciri was so caught up in drinking she didn't hear the breaking leaves. She jumped slightly when she heard a splash from the other side of the stream. Looking up, all the color drained from her face. It was him...less thank six feet away. She wanted to run, but found herself transfixed by the way the beasts bones flexed with each gulp. A grotesque squelch every time it swallowed, like its bones were breaking through the thin layer of pale skin. She didn't even know if it were alive till it huffed out, choking desperately on the water as if it were the only thing keeping it alive. Minutes passed as Ciri just stared on. She wasn't scared. Shocked yes? Cautious, who wouldn't be, look at that thing. But the overall feeling she felt was...pity? Was this pity? She refrained from her thoughts when the gulping ceased. She swallowed hard when it brought a bony clawed hand to its mouth, wiping its blue lips. Then it opened his eyes. For the third time, there eyes locked, and Ciri, for once, was at a loss of words.