Chapter Text
Ciri’s sword cut through the air time and time again. Sweat dripped down her face, making her eyes sting as she dodged her imaginary opponents’ attacks. As she tried to control the uncomfortable knot growing in her chest.
She had thought seeing Avallac’h’s study would make her feel better. That she’d find it just full of boring papers and tomes. Maybe find some embarrassing porn she could use to tease Avallac’h.
What she couldn’t have expected was; finding drawings of someone who looked like her and notes detailing research on elder blood, his notes about Ciri. She didn’t expect to find evidence of trying to create living beings of elder blood with no human DNA. Was she some sort of animal to be studied? Was that all there was?
And that bitch. The she-elf. Standing there like she owned the fucking place. Looking Ciri likes a cheap piece of meat.
“He tries his darndest to save you every time you do something stupid”
The she-elves voice echoed in her brain. Hammering nail through Ciri’s heart.
“He says you share some of Lara’s features. I don’t see what he sees. It’s like trying to drink water from a mud puddle.”
“Shut up”, Ciri whispered beneath her breath as her swings became quicker. More reckless. The more she tried to force her brain to keep quiet, the more it pushed back, like trying to force a wooden log underwater.
“But to have to use something like THAT. It’s humiliating!”
Ciri jumped into the air envisioning that she was jumping over a monster's venomous spiked tail.
Approaching the ground again, her left leg stepped on an old arrowhead. Which was enough to twist her ankle, making Ciri stumble onto the dirt.
The woman used her fist to hit the ground as she let out a frustrated yell, making birds fly out of their nest.
Avallac’h barely managed to dodge Ciri’s sword when it flew towards him, clattering into a mud puddle behind him.
“I sincerely hope you didn’t try to aim at me”, Avallac’h shook his head, offering the woman his hand when he walked next to her.
Ciri swatted his hand away.
“I can help myself, thank you very much”, she snorted coldly and stood up from the ground, not bothering to wipe off the dirt and mud from her clothes.
“What do you want?”, Ciri gave the sage an angry furrow as she crossed her arms.
“I want to talk”, Avallac’h answered, crossing his arms behind his back. His gaze travelled down Ciri as his nose wrinkled in disgust. The sage cleaned off the dirt and mud from her clothing using his magic, only to get an exaggerated eye roll as a reward.
Ciri’s right foot started tapping the ground beneath it impatiently. “Well, I don’t so… Go away, I need to practise.”
Avallac’h looked towards the sword laying now behind him. “Something is bothering you, Zireael”.
“Oh wow! The almighty sage is so observant”, Ciri rolled her eyes sarcastically. Shouldering the elf as she went to pick up her sword only to be grabbed by her wrist and held still. “Let go of me, Avallac’h”, if looks could kill, Avallac’h would have burst into fire by now, but he didn’t flinch.
“No amounts of childish temper tantrums will solve your problems, Zireael”, the sage’s voice was calm but firm. It just made Ciri’s blood boil hotter.
“If I’m so childish then leave!”
“You know I can not do that, Zireael.”
Ciri bit her lower lip so hard she could taste iron. “Why? Because my elder blood is so fucking precious to you? That is what it’s all about isn’t it…”
“I have kept no secrets from you of my desire to keep the power in your veins from ending up in the wrong hands”, Avallac’h scoffed.
“You are a dangerous weapon, Zireael. You have the power to destroy this world. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t feel obligated to keep that from happening!” Ciri yanked herself free, and picked up her sword from the ground silently, while Avallac’h spoke.
He sounded angry and frustrated at her. His usually composed demeanour was breaking.
“Well, maybe you should have just bled me to death then… Instead of making me think you actually cared for me”, Ciri spat the blood from her mouth. “But how could you… I am a filthy human in your eyes. Nothing more. It was stupid of me to think otherwise. But don’t worry it won’t happen again”.
Avallac’h watched as Ciri walked away from him, her head held high. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if he followed, as she’d always done in the past.
His heart hurt when she spoke so lowly of herself and doubted his conviction to her cause. But she wasn’t entirely wrong, he had used her on many occasions, and he had thought of her as a disgrace to Lara’s legacy…
The strong image of Lara, Avallac’h had seen in her had been fading rapidly as they travelled together. What he used to look at with disgust had slowly transformed into curiosity. Many times he had caught himself wondering what faces he could make her do, how could he make her smile again, make her cry, how to push her buttons just right for her to get frustrated at him.
On the uncomfortable nights where Lara’s face would haunt his dreams, he’d wake up and see Ciri sleeping near him soundly, with her hair messy, and he would feel calm again.
Avallac’h let out a long sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. This was no time to second guess himself. They were so close to defeating the wild hunt, so close to defeating the white frost.
It didn’t take long to find Ciri. She sat under a big tree just outside the harbour, oiling her blade as she listened to the ocean waves hitting against the rocks. The sunlight pierced through the tree leaves, reflecting beautiful shadows across her pale skin.
Ciri slowly looked up from her swords as Avallac’h kneeled to her level to meet her eyes. But soon found holding said eye contract made her feel embarrassed. She quickly turned her focus back to the blade.
“Feeling calmer now, Zireael?”
“You know that line tends to just make people angrier, right?”, Ciri scoffed bitterly. “If you are here to scold me, just get it over with.”
I will take that as a yes, Avallac’h thought to himself. He knew elder blood was fierce, but forgot just how fierce from time to time. “I’m not here to scold you unless you give me a reason for it.”
“You ALWAYS scold me…”
“You do have a habit of giving me reasons for it.”
Ciri couldn’t help but chuckle “I guess…” She put down her sword oil and wiped her hands on a rag.
Avallac’h was quiet for a moment. His eyes scanned the woman’s face like he was trying to confirm something for the last time.
He let out a long sigh before taking Ciri’s hand to his own and giving a gentle kiss on her fingers, making the woman tilt her head in surprise. “I must ask. Where did you acquire the idea of me not caring about you? Have I done something to convey that?”
Ciri felt her heart jump up to her throat. “I… N-no, not really”, she tried to hide her embarrassment by avoiding the elf’s eyes but found herself almost unable to look away. “I just… We found a woman in your laboratory and she… Uh, she told me.”
Avallac’h rolled his eyes before giving another kiss on top of the small scars on Ciri’s fingers. “So, instead of coming to confirm what she claimed was true with me, you ran with it? Believing her word over mine?”
“How could I ask you something like that? What would stop you from lying to me?”, Ciri tried her best to keep her composure, to stand her ground.
“I haven’t lied to you. I have kept secrets, yes. However, I have always been honest with you on things that truly matter, Zireael”, Avallac’h let go of Ciri’s hand. Instead gently lifted her chin so she couldn’t look away.
“The woman didn’t lie to you. Not exactly” Ciri felt a sharp pain go through her heart.
“I saw you as a vessel of sorts at first. Someone who had stolen Lara’s face and put it on a lowly human to spite me. The very thing that took her away from me so many years ago… Now stood before me wearing her likeness, in a bitter irony” Avallac’h eyes looked sad as he spoke.
“But you have an annoying habit of breaking down walls, Cirilla”, his voice grew slightly bitter. His brows furrowed slightly.
“Literally and figuratively”, Ciri let out a sad chuckle.
“Indeed”, Avallac’h scoffed and fell silent again.
The sage let out a sigh as his shoulders loosened up before continuing. “As we travelled and I got to know you, I found myself fascinated by you. I found myself caring for you, not as Lara Dorren’s kin, but as an individual”, Avallac’h smiled slightly.
“Zireael, I do not ask for your forgiveness. I do not ask for you to trust that my intentions are and always were pure. All I ask is that you trust me when I say; I care for you and I will keep you out of Wild Hunt's hands no matter what. No matter the cost”, Avallac’h let go of Ciri’s chin, tucking a few strands of hair out of her face as she sat there processing what Avallac’h had said to her.
He looks honest enough, Ciri thought as her eyes wandered around Avallac’h face. Looking for any signs of dishonesty or anything that would set off warning bells for her.
Ciri tried to piece together all her memories with Avallac’h. She remembered the horrible things she had gone through, the pressure and sadness that haunted those memories. She also remembered the good times. When she was sad and lost, Avallac’h would just listen to her, not asking for anything in return.
Ciri leaned her head against the sage’s hand as it gently cupped her left cheek, caressing her scar so gently and tenderly. She felt safe like this. Like she could do anything.
“Okay, Avallac’h. I believe you”, Ciri finally said, pressing a gentle kiss on the sage’s palm.
“I am delighted”, Avallac’h smiled, his eyes closing as their foreheads pressed together. Ciri’s slender, callused fingers brushed through his hair, and come to rest at the back of his neck.
“I’m still mad at you tho, don’t think otherwise”, Ciri murmured. “Haven’t forgiven the fact that you hid things from me tho, Crevan ”, Ciri used his real name and rolled it out of her mouth with a teasing grin and made Avallac’h open his eyes. “But I’m sure I can think of something that might help me forgive you~”
“And what might that be, if you don’t mind me asking?”, Avallac'h arched his brow
“Oh, but I do mind. I would rather just show you”, Ciri smirked devilishly and shamelessly let her gaze fall onto the elve's lips, biting her lip and slowly pressing their noses together.
“(The little swallow is playing with fire)”, Avallac’h whispered in ellylon. He could feel how Ciri’s pulse grew quicker as the elf ran his hand down the human woman's neck, feeling the slight imperfections and nicks in her soft skin. The way their lips barely brushed together made the sage's ears burn and lit up a fire inside him he long thought lost.
“(Don’t I always?)”, Ciri smirked back before finally growing impatient and closing the distance between their lips. The kiss was awkward for the first seconds as it wasn’t something neither of them had expected or prepared for, but it slowly grew as they found a natural rhythm.
Ciri pushed her hand against Avallac’h, forcing him to sit down on the grass while she climbed onto his lap.
The sage’s hands travelled down the woman’s neck, down to her hips as he gently yet firmly kept her from moving.
Avallac’h couldn’t help himself but look at Ciri from behind his lashes as she nibbled his lower lip.
For the first time in what must have been centuries, the elve’s brain had gone quiet. He was fully in the moment, surrounded by Ciri’s scent and nothing else.
It was a foreign and slightly uncomfortable feeling, but something he was drawn to. He could see himself beginning to enjoy this new draw towards the pleasures of the flesh.
The kiss left them both breathless.
Ciri threw her head back as she tried to catch her breath and calm down her hammering heart.
Ciri sighed when Avallac’h’s soft lips found her jaw bone, leaving a trail of kisses towards her ear.
“Have I finally found a way to keep you quiet and still?”, Avallac’h scoffed in amusement.
“You think I'd be able to learn anything like this?”, Ciri laughed breathlessly, running her fingers through Avallac’h hair. As soft and smooth as always.
Avallac’h thought for a second before sinking his teeth into the skin right between Ciri’s ear and the start of her neck, making the woman gasp and squeeze her thighs around his back. “I hear rewarding a person for good behaviour is an excellent teaching method”, the elf smirked, getting a smack to the back of his head from pouting Ciri.
“Ciri! Where are you?!”, a distant but fast-approaching voice broke away their tender moment, waking them both back to reality.
“Oh fuck! Fuck shit! It’s Triss!”, Ciri hissed between her teeth as she quickly stood up and tried to hide the evidence of their makeout session. “Get up, you old pavienn!”, she gently kicked Avallac’h’s boot while he stood up and brushed his clothing from dirt.
Old, the elf repeated in his head, slightly offended.
Triss jogged to them with a warm smile that quickly turned into a suspicious one as she eyed them both. “So… What are you two doing here?”
“Sorting out misunderstandings”, Avallac’h answered while straightening his long outer robes and casting an almost bored glance towards Triss.
“Mmmhm. I see”, Triss hummed while nudging at Ciri’s shoulder, making the woman blush.
“Shut up”, Ciri hissed through her teeth and tried to hide her shy smile while swatting the redhead away from her.
Avallac’h furrowed his brows slightly. “I am sure you two have all kinds of… Business to attend to”, he gave a quick nod to the two women before making his way back to their ship.
His mind was beginning to race, making him almost yearn for the quietness he had witnessed while kissing Zireael.
When Avallac’h’s boots hit the ship’s deck, he could feel Yennefer’s eyes shooting daggers into him. Geralt didn’t look the happiest either. Glaring towards the elf, like an animal waiting to sink his claws into its prey.
“Staring isn’t good for your eyes, dh’oinne”, Avallac’h sneered while walking towards the ship's front. “If you have something on your mind, say it”.
Aquamarine eyes met the violet once head-on. The air around the ship seemed to freeze over as the two opposing powers seemed to clash.
“We saw your studies. We saw it all”, Yen walked to the sage, high heels clomping on the hardwood almost like she was trying to break the deck.
Avallac’h felt Yen’s magic crackling around her when she stood before him, hand on her hips.
The sage leaned on the railing behind him and crossed his arms. “So I hear. I trust it was as enlightening as you’d hoped, daerienn?”
“We know what you want from Ciri!”
“What I want is to keep Ciri and her elder blood from the Wild Hunt's hands and for her to learn to control her power like I have made no secret of.”
“The she-elf from your laboratory says you hate her. Yet you swear to only want to protect her. That isn’t a contradiction in your mind? Conflicting interests?”, Geralt stepped next to Yennefer, his arms crossed and eyes fixed tightly on Avallac’h.
Why do I feel like a teenager being interrogated by some girl's parents? Avallac'h couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. “You do not honestly expect me to confess my feelings, do you?”, Avallac’h couldn’t help but scoff and roll his eyes.
“You’d better believe that I do. I… We have to know that we can trust you”, Geralt took a step forward, straightening himself up, almost looming over Avallac’h.
“Let us imagine a scenario where I did hate Ciri. Couldn’t stand her. Why would that hinder my ability to do everything within my power to guarantee her power didn’t fall into the wrong hands? Are you humans so blinded by your emotions that you can not separate duty from feelings? Have you not fought and protected something or someone you simply couldn’t accept, Vatt’ghern?”, Avallac’h stood up properly and crossed his hands behind his back.
When neither of them gave him an answer, he continued; “Besides. You trust me enough to let me teach and be near Ciri. It is more than I had ever expected of you, Gwynbleidd. And is more than I will ask from either of you.”
“You hurt her in any way or force her to do anything against her will, you will answer to me”, Yennefer’s voice was chilling, her fingers sparkling with magic.
She stormed off below the deck, leaving Geralt and Avallac’h behind.
They both stood there in uneasy silence before Geralt spoke again: “Beautiful place Tir ná Lia. Never understood how someone surrounded by so much beauty and art could murder us like nothing, feeling no remorse for their actions. And then actually see yourselves as the superior.”
Avallac’h looked at Geralt, his nose wrinkling in frustration. “Do not flatter yourself, Geralt. You might be a vatt’ghern, but you are still a human. Has your kind not slaughtered Aen Sheidhs like vermins since the very beginning? Even after they taught your mages the control their abilities? Chased them out of their homes and executed their young? Do you not get jobs to execute Scoia’tael in regular intervals? How is anything the Aen Elle is doing so different from your actions?”, Avallac’h scoffed, looking at the witcher down his nose.
Before Geralt could open his mouth to respond, Ciri walked toward them and stood next to Avallac’h with a slight smile on her lips. “What are you two talking about with such serious expressions?”
“The weather”, Geralt just scoffed drily.
He noted how Ciri tried to secretly take hold of Avallac’h’s hand, locking their fingers together ever so slightly. He also noted how Avallac’h eyes softened the second he saw Ciri approach.
“Talk to you again, Avallac'h”, Geralt sighed as he walked away. Perhaps it would be better not to bring any more attention to this. At least not for now.