Chapter Text
"I’m here to get what’s mine."
Villager’s breathing was rapid, his eyes squinted a bit – he was nervous, but he tried his best not to show it. Yet, there was nothing he could do: the law of surprise was full motion and it has been, four, five years? Honestly, Eskel did not want to do this, but they had pissed him off, which was an achievement of its own. So, the witcher decided to pull out the ace off his sleeve, and this pathetic excuse for human was definitely not happy.
They stared at each other for a few moments, and the villager averted his gaze. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, and his tanned rough hands landed on his sides, trying to contain the amusement.
"Ye think ye’re smart, eh? Well, get what ye ask for, champ. Hey, you, idiot!"
Surprised at this unexpected shift in the mood, Eskel followed man’s gaze. His ears picked up light steps from within a hut, and a small child peaked outside.
"Came home and saw that," he pulled the kid out and pushed them towards the witcher. "My dearest found ‘er in forest and decided to bring home, ‘tis useless piece of shite. ‘S your surprise, freak."
Eskel looked down at the girl. She was tiny and skinny, yet she had a strange look on her face. His nostrils flared - she did not smell of fear, just a bit nervous. He notices her looking at the sword behind his back, which was probably the reason behind his anxiety. That was… unusual: children, even adult, were always afraid of him, scars and all, but she did not seem to be fazed by that. She met his gaze and looked into his eyes. The girl slowly lifted her hand and waved at him, corners of her mouth slightly bending upwards in a ghost of a smile. He smiled back at her, and she smiled a tiny bit wider. Eskel curiously absorbed this picture, mentally capturing it to analyze later.
"What’s your name?"
"Ha!" the villager angrily spat on the ground. "Don’t speak. Weird as hell, suits your kind well, ‘tis nasty stupid child."
She was unaffected by what was said, there was no sadness in her, no anger, nothing, as if the girl tuned the villager out. She was still looking at him, and Eskel knew that the kid was studying him.
"Does she have any belongings?"
"Nah, I told ye, we found ‘er in the woods. A bit dumb, ‘tis one. Don’t react to anything."
"Hm," she did not look stupid or even unresponsive. Yet, she was not a regular child either.
"Ah, she got a book," the man remembered, happiness evident in his voice. "One ol’ gran gave it to her, she reads it. Ye want it?"
"Do you want that book?" Eskel asked the child. She nodded. "Bring it."
"Wait 'ere."
The witcher watched the man disappear in the hut. His hearing picked up a quick conversation between him and his wife: both were content to get rid of the girl and save their other children. There were hurried noises of his rummaging through the stuff looking for the book. Slowly, Eskel crouched down to be on the same level with the girl, trying to look as less intimidating as possible. She was watching him and still not afraid, and it strangely pleased him. They were looking at each other for some time.
"Found it!" the villager tossed him the book, and the witcher read the tittle. It was an adventure novel. "My debt`s paid. Now take ‘er and get out, and let us be."
There was no rush in his movements, when Eskel carefully picked up the girl and mounted Scorpion. She reacted calmly at his touch and even snuggled to him. She must have been cold, so Eskel pulled out his coat and covered her with it. He already knew that she did not have other clothes, and even if she did, they probably would not have given it anyway. There was no drama and there were no tears, when they were leaving, with relieved voices behind. It was uncommon, but still, at least the child would feel some sort of sorrow to leave into the unknown. Yet, the girl was mostly tranquil and unbothered.
They slowly moved away from the village. Eskel told her who he was, why they were leaving and where they were going. She nodded each time, showing her understanding, complicitly staying still in his arms. He tried to tell as many relevant details as possible, for she could not ask any questions. They rode without any issues, she even dozed off on his chest, and Eskel could finally assess the situation without her staring.
Closer to the night, they stopped.
"Gather the wood," he told her, and she obediently started picking up twigs and branches for the fire, while he was taking care of the horse.
They were eating in peaceful silence, much to Eskel’s surprise. There were no awkward glances, nervousness around him or useless attempts to run away (not that he felt that she was planning to, but still). She smelled of him and of the forest, he realized, there were distinct notes of trees and soil, and leaves. Her hair had a slightly reddish hue in the fire light, it made her blend a bit with the background. She felt his gaze on her and met it with a calm look, chapped lips twitched a bit in a glimpse of a smile. She continued eating and drinking herbal tea that he had made for her.
"Can you write?" tiny nod of her sharp chin. "Write your name on the ground."
She picked up a small twig, its pointy end hesitantly froze over the ground.
"Not sure how to spell it?" the girl nodded and hesitantly pressed the twig into the ground. "Saoirse? Your name is Saoirse?" she beamed at him, and he couldn’t help but smile in return.
They went to sleep soon, and the girl cuddled in his arms without any doubts. That was new. Was she a hugger? Eskel smelled her hair, but there was no hint of anybody on her. Which means they did not snuggle with her. Yet, here she was, lying peacefully next to him, pressing her cold nose into his neck. She smelled of contentment and tiredness, and of the fire. He did not go to sleep fast, instead he was listening to girl’s even breathing, brooding in amusement of the situation. How many children were so calm while they were taken by a stranger to start a new life of training, discipline and later disdain, and, most likely, death? Did she not understand what was waiting her? She did not strike as stupid, so he would need to observe her more.
When Eskel woke up, Saoirse was still sleeping. He gave her a couple of more minutes and then started to gently rub her back. She nuzzled closely, fussed a bit, but woke up, her tiny fist rubbing her eyes while shooting him a good morning smile. He liked when she smiled at him, he realized, even though it was really weird. People do not smile at witchers. Days were getting colder, so Eskel decided to rush, so they ate their breakfast while riding the horse.
Travelling with her was somehow easy and uneventful, yet still… strange. Saoirse never asked for anything. She never signaled to him that she was hungry or thirsty. She never showed how cold she felt. She never showed how tired she was. Unless asked, Saoirse kept to herself even with her gestures, and it was a bit unnerving. Eventually, he found out that she was eight, but she looked smaller compared to her peers. Her body was bony, barely any meat and muscles, hollow cheeks, pale skin, dry lips.
It was evident that the villager and his family were not treating her well, but Saoirse did nothing to communicate her basic needs, and Eskel wondered if that was what the man meant when he said that she did not react. She seemed quite well-behaved, but withdrawn. What was happening in that head of hers?
Saoirse was very interested in his stories that he was telling her to make the travelling less boring for both of them. She was following his every word, her hazel eyes glued to him, while the witcher was going on with his adventures. Eskel also discovered that she could silently giggle, her scrawny shoulders briefly twitching. She liked the nature as well, that is why he was stopping from time to time, so Saoirse could enjoy a rare scenery. But what baffled him was that the girl was not afraid of touching him.
It seems that, initially, he was wrong: she was a hugger, a cuddler and a toucher; the villagers were the ones who did not spare their affection. Saoirse was holding his hand when they were walking beside Scorpion to let him rest and to stretch a little. She was cuddling every night before falling asleep. She was warmly pressing against him in the saddle. She touched his arms or hands. Sometimes, she even asked him to pick her up to have a closer look at a bird, or a leaf, or whatever the fuck she was interested in. Those were casual touches, apparently, because during their third week of travelling she started giving him affectionate head bonks on his chest as a goodnight treat. All of it was unusual to our Eskel, who simply was not being used to receive so many kind gestures, especially from children.
But Saoirse, Saoirse was different, it was as plain as day. Was it because she was his Child of Surprise? Was it because of his personality? No, she had seemed calm when they had met, so there was no way. Nevertheless, it was strangely pleasing to the witcher, knowing that this weak, tiny child of his had presented such trust and disposition. Considering his previous experience, he could not but be content with this reaction, even though it did seem too good to be true. At least, Saoirse was not scared of him, and it was a very nice start of whatever that was waiting for them.
Once, she was taking too long to wash her face in the nearby stream, so Eskel went to check up on her. He doubted that she had attempted to run off, because he would have heard it and it had never happened, which made him even more curious. His concerns were groundless, though. Eskel spotted her from afar thanks to his enhanced sight, so he stopped to observe. Saoirse was squatting on a huge rock near the stream, head propped in hands, pointy elbows on her knees, watching a deer across the water, as it was slowly munching on something. Her face was relaxed, even her pulse was slower than usual. Somehow, the girl started to blend with the background again, with the colors of the nature behind, with her unmoving figure and even breathing. She seemed like a natural element in this picture, the deer definitely saw her, yet was not bothered by her presence. Eskel waited. Saoirse was not getting tired in this pose, so he had to gently call for her. His voice alerted the deer and it rapidly took off, whirling few leaves in the air.
Something bothered him in this picture, but Eskel could not figure out what exactly and it frustrated him. His senses did not pick up on anything in the air or around, there was nobody except for them. But still, somehow, something was amiss, and it was connected to the girl. She did not possess any magical powers, at least, he did not notice anything. What was it? Was it because she seemed to be a part of the nature? What was it?
They were getting closer to Kaer Morhen, when Saoirse started getting anxious. Eskel did his best to be reassuring, constantly reminding her that they are a pack now, describing each one of them, commenting on their characters and personalities, but, for some reason, it did not settle her fears. The kid was growing restless, before eventually calming down, but the witcher could sense a strange gloomy feeling that was oozing from her. They were half a day away, when Saoirse suddenly tried to stand in the saddle. It was the first time the child tried to do so, and Eskel stopped Scorpion for a moment only to be embraced by her skinny arms, circling around his neck and shoulders. Something desperate was in this hug, and he got worried.
"Are you still nervous? Don’t be, I’m sure they’ll like you."
The kid hid her face in his neck and took a deep breath, slowly inhaling. She was smelling him, and it gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach. It was the first time he felt vividly her emotions, and Eskel did not how to react, since he did not even know what was wrong.
Saoirse reached further and inhaled again, smelling the forest, horse and cold on the man. It was a smell that she grew accustomed to and that calmed her down. She needed to remember it for later. She placed her small hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes. Eskel looked flustered and confused, so she offered him a smile. It was not a sincere one, forced and sad. He smiled back nonetheless, and she stared into his face. She needed to memorize them, she had to. Soon, when the training starts and there are more people, he might realize how useless and weird she is. He will probably not be kind to her anymore, and the thought of it stinged, so she had to, she had to remember this moment, engrave it in the memory to ravish when the inevitable would come. The witcher could smell her desperation, so she drew a deep breath, accepting the situation and mirky future. Nobody ever liked her long enough to stay. She had to be strong and trust the Forest, who told her to go with this bulky man.