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Caira and Geralt waited in silence until they heard the three crows from the morning rooster. At that very moment, Geralt shoved the stone cover of the crypt open, both of them taking in a breath of fresh air. The two looked like a beaten mess, their hair tangled, their faces bloodied and bruised. They looked like true warriors fresh out of battle—and their sore bodies made them feel like it too. The two climbed out of the coffin and approached the young girl whom had just transformed from a creature to a beautiful young woman. Caira took off her coat and laid it over the girl who seemed to be shivering as she slept on the cold, stone ground.
She seemed afraid as she shivered on the ground, but Caira was still weary of touching her. She was still wild in nature, but Geralt didn't seem to think of that, as he reached for the girl, then got attacked. She bit his neck, tearing out a piece of his, then retreated once Caira ripped her off of him. Geralt reached for his now bloody throat and laid back, in shock at what she had done.
* * *
"Geralt." Caira whispered as Geralt seemed to begin to stir from his slumber. He had knocked out after the princess took a chomp out of his neck, and Caira had taken him back to the main levels of the palace to clean his wound up a bit with rags and fresh water.
"Geralt." She worriedly called out his name. Geralt's lips parted, as if he were about to speak. Caira continued to press cool, damp rags to his forehead. "Caira." He muttered, his eyes still closed.
Suddenly, Geralt's eyes opened, revealing his yellow irises. His eyes widened as he came into the realization of the pain he was in. Caira was in similar pain, but she hadn't had a piece of her neck bit out of—so she managed. Geralt grunted as he felt all the pain hit him at once. "Triss gave me some medicine to help with that, I haven't felt anything since I took it." Caira handed him a warm cup of thick syrup Triss had concocted for her and Geralt.
Geralt looked around, panicked, unsure as to where he was. But, the moment his eyes landed on Caira, he relaxed. "The princess?" Geralt asked her.
"Triss sent her to the Sisters of Melitele. I think our work deserves some compensation—perhaps you can talk to Triss about receiving some coin. Then we can part ways, for good." Caira rubbed her fingers together, indicating she was ready to get paid.
Geralt smiled small at her, observing every little scratch and bruise all on her arms. "We make a good team, C." He admitted, admiring her battle wounds. She was a true fighter, despite being human.
"I know." She shrugged, smiling down at him. "But I'm never doing that again." She assured him, chuckling.
Geralt stared longingly into her eyes, feeling a strange sensation bubble up in him. She was beautiful, she was strong, she was different and her scent, he couldn't seem to shake. Everything about her was appealing, and after seeing how well she fought the night before, it was the final nail in his coffin of admiration for her. Caira couldn't deny Geralt was also attractive, but she knew he was a wither and she could never be with someone like him—especially if she desired to have children one day. Despite all that, in the heat of the moment and the lustrous attraction the two had, they felt each other begin to lean in toward one another. Butterflies fluttered rapidly within both of their stomachs, as they craved to feel one another's lips. Geralt's eyes lowered to her lips, his fingertips trailing up to her chin. Caira parted her lips, feeling herself drawn into him, especially after his skin touched hers. She placed her hand on his bare chest, causing his heart to beat quicker as the warmth from her palm transferred to him. They quickly grew excited and wanted to rip each other's clothes off like animals, but also enjoy every desiring moment as they lingered before one another.
Unfortunately, their lingering seemed to have taken too long and Triss barbed into the room, causing both of them to snap their heads away from one another and pretend like everything was normal. Geralt cleared his throat, looking away from Caira and Caira turned her attention to her nail beds. "Your coin." Triss held out a small bag for the two, and tossed it over at Geralt.
"This is all life is to you two? Monsters and money?" Triss asked, unsure as to how they could go on simply killing things and merely surviving.
"That's all it needs to be." Geralt covered up what he truly believed with his bitter words.
Triss shrugged and left the two be once again in the room. "You really think that?" Caira asked him, curiously.
Geralt didn't dare look at her in the eye. He felt an incredibly strong emotion for her, and he could not describe it. It was one of lust, protectiveness, caring and compassion all at once. He wanted her to himself and wanted her to be in his arms, but he was afraid of getting to close to someone, afraid she wouldn't feel the same way for him. Afraid to share such a fond connection to someone in case he'd get hurt in a way his physical injuries could never compare to. Caira placed her hand on his cheek, brushing his loose, white hair away from his face. "We all have a fate, Witcher. We just haven't discovered what it is just yet." She turned to leave, but Geralt grabbed her hand, once more keeping her by his side.
"We can keep doing this, and with the two of us, we can charge a lot more for slaying monsters together. Call it a business partnership." His eyes were pleading.
Caira half heartedly chuckled, at first assuming he was joking. But, once she noticed his sincerity by his golden eyes, her smile fell. Her chin lowered at him in disbelief. "What." She was taken aback.
"Just think, we could finish the jobs a lot quicker together. We work well together, and we'd make a hell of a lot more money together." Geralt persuaded her.
Caira pondered the offer momentarily. She knew it was a good proposition, but it'd need some reworking, of course. "Fifty, fifty?" She wanted to make sure she was evenly reaping these rewards, especially after Geralt had seen how skillful she was in hunting the striga.
"Fifty, fifty." He assured her. Caira confirmed her acceptance of the deal by squeezing his hand—in which were still interlocked. "Deal." She smiled at him. A sudden wave of relief overcame Geralt. He felt relieved that moment wouldn't be the last time he'd see of her.
