7 DAYS LATER -
Frost clung stubbornly to the edges of the training yard, and the breath of the horses rose in slow, steady clouds as Vesemir and Eskel worked along the stables. Leather creaked, metal buckles clicked softly, as they groomed the horses as well.
Geralt had been gone for days now.
Eskel ran a hand along a horse's neck, brushing frost from its coat as his gaze drifted toward the mountains beyond the walls.
"…you think he found her yet?"
Vesemir adjusted a strap, not looking up immediately.
"If he hasn't," he said calmly, "she will, that woman wants him to come after her..."
Eskel exhaled through his nose.
"Yeah... but my question isn't whether he finds her," he muttered. "It's what happens after."
That got Vesemir's attention.
Eskel glanced sideways at him.
"Are we sure about this?" he asked. "Bringing her here. Yennefer."
A pause.
"Geralt might trust her… but we know mages."
His hand tightened slightly on the brush.
"They never do anything without ulterior motives."
Vesemir finally looked up, his expression was firm.
"Geralt may be a dimwit when it comes to his love life," he said dryly, "but he's not an actual fool."
Eskel huffed faintly.
"Could've fooled me."
"The fact that he trusts her," Vesemir continued, steady, "is enough for me."
Silence settled between them for a moment.
Then,
A sharp clang of steel rang out across the yard.
Both men turned.
Ciri and Sebastian.
Already at it.
Ciri moved first quick, determined, her boots sliding slightly against the frost as she closed the distance. Her steel sword cut through the air in a clean arc, aimed straight for Sebastian's shoulder.
Sebastian didn't move much.
Just enough, his wooden blade came up lazily with a tap, redirecting the strike with minimal effort.
Ciri didn't stop.
Another swing, faster this time, angled low.
Blocked again.
She pressed harder, frustration bleeding into her movements.
"Why do you keep insisting I use steel," she snapped between strikes, "while you fight with a wooden sword?!"
Sebastian stepped back lightly, deflecting another blow with a flick of his wrist.
"Because steel won't hurt me," he replied simply.
He tilted his head slightly as her blade came down again, crack, caught cleanly.
"And if I used one too," he added, pushing her blade aside, "it'd be cheating. You are not intangible like me."
Ciri gritted her teeth.
"I still think you're looking down on me!"
She lunged forward, putting more weight behind the next strike, too much.
Sebastian saw it instantly.
A parry, turn and then redirected.
Her balance broke and her foot slipped just enough and she went down.
The impact was light, but it echoed louder than it should have.
Sebastian lowered his wooden blade slightly, about to say something,
,but Ciri moved.
Fast, from the ground, she twisted, driving her blade upward in a sharp, unexpected thrust.
It struck his leg.
Or, It should have.
The steel passed through with a strange resistance, like cutting through heat haze, through something that wasn't entirely solid.
Still, It connected.
Ciri froze for a split second, then her face lit up.
"Aha!"
Sebastian blinked, glancing down at where the blade had passed through him.
Then back at her.
"…not exactly graceful," he said.
Ciri pulled back, pushing herself up with a grin.
"That counts."
Sebastian sighed, shaking his head slightly.
"Alright," he conceded. "That's… one."
He tapped the wooden sword lightly against his shoulder.
"Score's about a thousand to one now."
Ciri scoffed, but there was a hint of pride in her expression.
"You're..."
Sebastian smirked faintly.
"You're improving."
Across the yard, Eskel let out a quiet chuckle.
"Not bad," he called out. "Though next time, try not to fall before the trick."
Vesemir added, "You rely too much on surprise when you lose footing. Regain balance first, then strike."
Ciri turned slightly toward them, exasperation slipping through.
"Yeah, well.. nothing works against him!"
She gestured toward Sebastian, who only smiled.
"That's because you're still thinking like a swordsman," he said.
She frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means," he continued, lowering his blade slightly, "you're ignoring the one thing that makes you dangerous."
Her expression shifted.
"You mean my.."
"Your abilities," he finished. "Once you learn to control them…"
A faint glint crossed his eyes.
"…then we can have a real fight."
Ciri hesitated.
Just for a second.
"If I can control them…"
The doubt was small.
Sebastian didn't hesitate.
"You will."
Ciri looked at him for a moment longer,
Then tightened her grip on her sword.
"…again."
Sebastian sighed, but the faint smile didn't leave his face.
"Of course."
Across the yard, Vesemir and Eskel exchanged a glance of amusement.
And sound of clashes rang once more across the courtyard,
Then suddenly a ripple in the air.
It didn't happen gradually ther ewas no warning.
One moment, the cold morning air carried only the sound of sparring and the calm snort of horses
The next,
A sharp, violent distortion split the space near the center of the yard.
Ciri froze mid-step.
Sebastian's wooden blade lowered instinctively, his eyes narrowing as the tear widened,
A portal.
Eskel's hand moved immediately to the hilt at his back.
Vesemir didn't draw, but his stance shifted, ready.
The horses stirred uneasily behind them.
From within the swirling distortion,
A figure stepped through.
A woman.
Dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, stark against the black and white of her attire. Her posture was upright, composed. Violet eyes scanned the courtyard the moment her boots touched stone, sharp and assessing.
She took a few steps forward, the portal still crackling faintly behind her,
and then another figure stumbled through after her.
Geralt. He barely made it two steps before catching himself, one hand bracing against his knee as he exhaled sharply.
"…I hate portals."
The words came out low, irritated, as if dragged from him by long experience rather than surprise.
The portal snapped shut behind them with a sharp crack, the air settling as though nothing had happened.
The woman turned slowly, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard, taking in the worn stone, the fractured edges of the keep, the age in every corner.
Her lips pressed into a faint, unimpressed line.
"…charming," she murmured to herself. "Truly. Falling apart at the seams."
Geralt straightened behind her, rolling one shoulder as if shaking off the lingering discomfort.
"Kaer Morhen's seen worse," he muttered.
Her eyes shifted again.
First, to Vesemir.
They lingered there for a second longer.
Then Eskel.
And then
Ciri.
The moment stretched.
Something changed in her expression, she was both curious and interested.
And finally
Sebastian.
Her gaze lingered there just a fraction longer than it had on the others.
As if she sensed someone unusual, a young Witcher.
Vesemir exhaled quietly through his nose, his posture easing just slightly.
"Well, well," he said, voice calm "Geralt."
Geralt gave a faint nod.
"Vesemir."
Eskel relaxed just enough to release the tension in his shoulders.
"Took you long enough."
Geralt glanced at him briefly.
"Had to convince her."
Yennefer's brow lifted ever so slightly.
Ciri hadn't moved.
Her eyes were locked on the woman now, something between awe and uncertainty flickering across her face.
"…is that…"
Geralt stepped forward slightly.
"Ciri."
Her attention snapped to him.
He nodded toward the woman.
"Yennefer."
Yennefer's gaze returned to Ciri, slower this time.
She took a step closer, not too close, just enough.
"…so, this is the girl," she said quietly.
Ciri straightened slightly under that look.
Behind her, Sebastian shifted just slightly, subtle, but enough to place himself a fraction closer to her side.
Yennefer noticed and of course she did.
Her eyes flicked toward him again, interest sharpening.
"…and this," she added, almost idly, "must be the young Witcher.. the one that Geralt didn't bother explain anything about him properly."
Geralt exhaled.
"…it's complicated."
A faint smirk touched her lips.
"Anomalies always are.."
Vesemir stepped forward then,
"Yennefer," he said, giving a slight nod. "Welcome to Kaer Morhen."
/-\
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