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“Geralt I swear, I’m fine,” I insisted, pushing down the pain in my ribs so as to not show him how bad it really was. I was fairly certain I had cracked one during my nasty fall down the hillside.
To be fair, it wasn’t entirely my fault. I had been caught off guard by some weird creature that, to be honest, looked like an enormous, armored lizard darting through the trees. It hadn’t been after us, as seconds before a smaller, but equally as frightening, lizard had skittered past us and through the undergrowth.
I had lost my footing and slipped, falling down the incredibly steep hill, no, mountainside, and had miraculously caught onto a sapling. I had hauled myself up onto a ledge, where Geralt had angrily given me his hand and tugged me the rest of the way up. He had held me tight to his chest for a moment, before shoving me away. And here we were now.
“You almost died! Take a good look over that cliffside. You caught onto the last fucking handhold before you would have went tumbling over to your demise.”
“But I didn’t-”
“It’s always that, but one of these times you will and I’ll be stuck with your dead body.” He growled. “And I’m not fucking burying you.”
“Wow thanks, Witcher.” I snorted.
He was silent, stalking down the path like a mountain lion.
As we continued on, I could feel the tension growing in the air between us before he finally halted, obviously feeling it too.
“You’re clumsy. Useless.” He spun around on his heel, his yellow eyes piercing into mine.
“Excuse me? You’re the one that brought me along with you, you offered to train m-”
“Only because you attached yourself to my sleeve like a parasite! You’re worthless. No amount of training will get you anywhere.” His voice was low, dangerous. “Fuck.” He muttered. He sharply turned, taking in the area. “We set up camp here.” His voice was emotionless. How quickly he could change.
Usually, we slept under the same makeshift tent. Tonight, I tossed down my things along with my bedroll down by the base of a thick tree, facing the opposite way of him. I could feel his gaze glaring at by back. I ignored it.
I knew what we were in the area for. There had been reported sightings of these “giant, insect-like creatures” with “venom on their claws that could easily kill a man with two swipes”. I figured the large lizard-like creatures we had encountered earlier only solidified the claims.
I grunted slightly as I laid down, sending a sharp pang through my ribs.
I lay there for awhile, my breath slowly turning into short pants as it became harder to take in deep breaths without causing myself any sort of pain. I groaned, unsteadily rolling to my feet. I glanced over at Geralt, who seemed to be sleeping soundly.
I knew it wouldn’t take much noise to wake him up so, as quietly as I could, I snuck out of out makeshift camp, sword hastily tucked onto my belt as a precaution.
As I drew further from camp, I allowed myself to limp a little, not so concerned about being quiet anymore.
Soon, I had become short of breath. I leaned my back against a tree, slowly sliding down it as I tried to get oxygen back into my muscles.
As I regained by breath, I contemplated.
I still couldn’t believe what Geralt had said earlier. All those times he had praised me, told me how quick and well I learned, how efficient I was and how he trusted me at his back, were all those times lies?
They had to be. I had known him for a little over a year now, and I knew he was not someone that said things purely out of anger. No, each word was calculated, thought through before it even left his mouth.
All this time, I had been a burden to him.
But then, I didn’t know him to lie just to make someone feel better. He was blunt.
I was teetering on the edge of making the decision to leave. I could pack up at daybreak and be well on my way by the time the sun was at its peak in the sky. I would no longer be a parasite to him, I decided. I didn’t want him to think of me that way and, if he really was keeping me around out of pity, I didn’t need it. Didn’t want it.
My brain was fogged, tired. I didn’t have the energy to think about this anymore.
The exhaustion that I couldn’t find to overtake me back in camp suddenly hit me, and my limbs felt too heavy to move. I took a deep breath, wincing, before staggering to my feet.
“Fuck.” I hissed. I hunched over and clutched my side. I hadn’t even thought to wrap my ribs until now. Too late.
I stumbled forward, in the direction I was 98 percent sure was camp. My ribs felt like they were shifting about much more than before.
I had barely limped another hundred feet when my steps faltered. I heard a hissing in the bushes. I started panicking, my chest tightening causing my breaths to come in short, sharp pants.
Ordinarily, I probably could’ve take this creature on my own. Given, I wasn’t exactly sure how to kill it, but I could’ve at least injured it enough to get away.
Right now, I was in no shape to fight it but I had no choice. I shakily pulled my sword out of its hilt, raising it with a single hand, my other still clutching my ribs.
I gave the sword a couple of experimental swings. I was incredibly off-balance. It was way too heavy for a single hand.
I slowly removed my hand from around my ribs, gritting my teeth. I got into the proper stance just as the bug leapt at me.
I barely dodged it, crying out in pain as I threw myself to the side. The creature recovered far quicker than I did, taking another running jump at me.
This time, I was ready. I dodged it in time, holding my sword out to where I had been moments before, effectively slicing one of its many legs off.
It screamed out a horrible screech, landing with a thud, but that didn’t stop it. It immediately scrambled up onto its remaining legs and readied itself to pounce once again.
Studying it, I noticed a soft, fleshy looking spot on its side; a hole in its armor. Glancing quickly at its legs, it had 5 left. 5 incredibly dangerous legs with venom-tipped claws. If I could manage to slice them all off without getting struck, I could sink my sword into the weak spot on its back.
With a plan now in mind, I lunged at the creature, somehow catching it off guard and slashing another of its legs off.
The oversized insect became more aggressive. As I dodged one of its swiping claws, I tried to duck underneath to hack into it when I heard the sickening sound of tearing flesh. I felt the white hot pain less than a moment later, searing, burning its way through my side. I gasped, dropping my sword to the ground and curling up in a ball despite my ribs protesting.
My hands shot up to the gash, instinctively pressing down on it to slow the bleeding. I cried out.
The creature, sensing my weakness, slowly approached, assessing my state. I shakily, weakly, reached for the dagger on my hip. As it grew closer, I readied my dagger. As soon as it was over me and about to strike, I let out a fierce cry and drove the dagger into its side, past the armor and straight into its flesh.
With one last, inhuman shriek, the gigantic insect collapsed on the ground next to me, it’s remaining legs twitching slightly.
Gasping, I forced myself up, feeling the pain burning through my side. I slapped my hand over my mouth, muffling a choked sob.
Slowly, I made my way back to camp. As quietly as I could, I dug through my bag, pulling out bandages and a couple of clean rags. I stuffed one in my mouth and dampened the other with liquor, pressing it onto my side firmly, tears welling up in my eyes. I was breathing hard through my nose as I squeezed my eyes shut.
I wadded up another clean rag from my bag, holding it against the wound as I firmly wrapped the bandages around my middle, extending it up to my ribs and snugly wrapping them as well.
Afterwards I allowed myself to slump down onto my bedroll, falling into a restless sleep.
When I awoke, the pain was immediate. A dull burning in the surrounding area around the gash. It was nothing I couldn’t handle.
The sun had yet to come up over the horizon, though the dim light from it’s rays were just barely lighting the ground. I fell back onto the blankets, wrapping them tighter around me as I shivered. I had a fever, and not from sickness or an infected wound. The gods only know what the venom of that thing would do to me.
After some uncomfortable and restless shifting, I once again drifted off into a fevered rest.
I was met with the nudge of a boot. “Time to go.” The witcher grunted. I could hear rustling as he packed up the makeshift camp.
I groaned, tightening my arm around my side and squeezing my eyes shut. My head was pounding horribly and my entire body ached. The dull burning around the claw marks had, surprisingly enough, subsided quite a bit. But according to the stories, this was just the calm before the storm. Either way, I’d take it.
I staggered to my feet, clutching onto the tree for dear life when a sharp jolt of pain ran through my entire body. I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips.
I could feel Geralt’s gaze on me, I knew he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent. I glared up at him as he turned away to finish packing.
I tied my bedroll and tossed it along with our other supplies onto Roach, biting back a groan as I did so. He said nothing to me. I was getting sick of his silent treatment.
We continued down the not-so-beaten path, tension still hanging heavy in the air.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I interrupted the tense silence. “Are you still mad about yesterday?” Nothing.
“Get over it. When we get to the next town, I’m done. I’m leaving.” That got his attention.
He slowly turned his golden gaze towards me, glancing over his shoulder. I refused to back down, I glared right back at him.
“You’re what?” Underneath the anger, I could hear the masked surprise.
“I’m fucking leaving Geralt. You said it yourself, I’m a burden to you. I don’t want you to keep me with you just because you feel sorry for me, I don’t need your pity.” I spat, disguising my pain with the betrayal and anger I had been feeling since he had spoken those words to me.
“I’m not-” I was cut off with a strangled gasp as a pang of literal fire burned and sliced through me. I clutched my middle, falling to my knees. I curled into myself, whimpering.
I heard his footsteps approach rapidly, then saw his boots. My head shot up and I scrambled back away from him. “Get the fuck away from me.” I hissed through clenched teeth.
I forced myself onto my feet, hunching over and now clutching both arms to my side where the gash was. It had opened up again with the fall and I could feel warm blood soaking the rag. I barely choked back a sob as another fiery jolt ripped through my abdomen.
I stumbled backwards until my back hit a tree, then slid down. I heard Geralt approach me again, but I paid no attention. The fire felt as though it was spreading into my veins now and dots were starting to creep into the edges of my vision. My breathing was sharp and irregular.
I sensed Geralt’s presence in front of me. I could hear his voice far away.
Involuntarily, my head lolled to the side, my grip on my stomach loosened. My eyes slipped shut. The last thing I felt was burning, white hot fire spreading through my veins, my arteries, my heart.
I woke in the soft bed of an inn.
The fire in my veins wasn’t so hot or sharp now, but it was still very noticeably there. I whined, turning over onto my side and curling into myself, arms wrapped around my side.
I soon realized I was swimming in a large tunic that wasn’t my own and the bandages on my side were fresh and clean.
I started to push myself up onto my forearms, vision still hazy. I began to panic, suddenly wondering where I was. The fire only increased as the blood pumped through my veins at the movement.
I held back a whine,vmanaging to prop myself up against the wall behind the bed. My breathing was pained and ragged.
I heard a door open across the room. I struggled to swing my legs over the mattress, my breaths quickening. Blackness crept back into my sight as I shakily stood up, leaning heavily against the wall. I realized I had no weapons.
I barely heard their quiet footsteps quicken as they rounded the corner and I slumped over in relief before remembering our confrontation.
“You’re awake.” I said nothing, glaring at him. I now realized it was his shirt that I was wearing.
“Look- Fuck. I don’t even know where to start.” Geralt sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving,” I hesitated. Looking to the frosted window outside. It looked to be late in the afternoon. “How long was I out?”
“Three days.” He said softly. A tone I never thought I’d hear out of him.
“When did that thing get ahold of you?” His voice rose back to his normal, flat tone.
I ignored his question. “I’m leaving tomorrow. You won’t have to worry about me ‘clinging to your sleeve’ anymore.” I quoted him harshly. I moved to push past him as another sharp pain tore through me, leaving a burning trail behind it. I gasped, doubling over and leaning on the bed.
Geralt took two strides over to me, gently holding me by the waist to support me. “Lie down.” He instructed. I didn’t argue, curling up on the bed and wrapping my arms around myself. My hands tightly grasped Geralt’s tunic I was wearing.
A sob escaped my throat as I felt the bed dip beside me. He gathered me up in his arms, pulling me to his chest and softly stroking my hair. My breath came in short pants as the pain worsened. I clutched onto his sleeve, curling further into him.
He hummed, a sound I heard more through his chest than anything else, pulling me closer. My eyes started to drift closed when another wave of pain wracked through my body. I didn’t have the energy to do anything else but whimper. I lay there limply, dreading the next excruciating jab.
I tensed in his arms. “Shhh. The potion should kick in soon.” He murmured.
“Potion?” I rasped, raising my head.
“Don’t worry. It won’t harm you.”
“But I thought humans couldn’t-” I broke off with a weak cough.
“Shh. I wouldn’t use anything on you without knowing its effects.”
Not exactly reassured by his words, I lay my head down all the same. After a few moments, when I didn’t feel the same agonizing pain, I wondered.
“Why?” I mumbled.
“Why what?” I felt him shift beside me.
“Why take care of me? You said I was 'seless you should’ve left me by the side of the road.”
“I didn’t mean that. You scared the shit out of me.” He sighed.
“You know they say whatever you say in anger is true.”
“Not always.” He whispered. After a moment of silence, “You’re the strongest person I know. I wouldn’t trust anyone else at my back.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? How long had you been hiding it?” I knew exactly what he meant.
“After our argument. After you went to sleep,, I took a walk.” I paused before adding, “At least I killed the damn thing.”
“You should’ve told me.”
I managed a hoarse, humorless laugh. “You already told me how useless I am, you really think I was going to give you a reason to drive that in deeper?”
“I-” His voice was hesitant. “I’m so sorry. I never mean to make you feel like you can’t come to me for anything. Especially when it’s something that could kill you.”
“I’ve lost so many people in my long life. But you. Anyone but you.” I tensed as I felt another burning pain, not nearly as intense as the others but still agonizing nonetheless. Geralt had loosened his grip on me, but tightened it again when I tensed up.
I felt safe.
“I think the potion is starting to take effect now.” He rumbled, pulling away. He must’ve noticed the confused expression on my face. “The pain has lessened?” I nodded slightly. I was still incredibly weak.
He gently tucked me back against his chest as my eyes drifted shut. The dull burning sensation was now almost gone as well, though I wasn’t sure how long it would last, I was going to make the most out of it. I was exhausted. “You’re not leaving.” He mumbled into my hair.
“Not unless you want me to.” I barely managed to get the words out as I was fading into sleep.
“Never.”