Steel rang in the courtyard of Kaer Morhen from dawn until dusk.
Sebastian stood opposite Cirilla, wooden blade in hand, boots planted firmly in the snow-packed stone. Weeks had passed since that first awkward dinner. The bratty sharp tongue remained, but so did something else.
Discipline.
"Again," Seb said calmly.
Ciri lunged. Too high.
He pivoted, tapping her wrist lightly with the flat of the blade. "You're announcing it. Might as well just shout your attacks."
"I am not!"
"You are. Shoulders tense before you strike. Hesitation will get you killed."
She gritted her teeth. Adjusted. Tried again.
This time lower. Faster.
Seb barely managed to parry, surprise flickering through his golden eyes before he masked it.
"Better, now try it again."
She smirked. "I told you I'd outmatch you."
"Not today."
She attacked again.
Weeks passed like that. Bruises. Snow. Sweat freezing in their hair. Ciri fell often, but she rose faster each time. She studied his footwork, copied the angle of his stance, memorized the rhythm of his breathing.
Seb noticed.
She learned quickly. Too quickly.
And when she boasted, she backed it with action.
He liked that about her, everyone did.
It reminded him of himself and his tenacity in training years ago.
He corrected her mistakes with patience he didn't know he possessed. The same mistakes he had once made. Overreaching. Relying on speed instead of balance. Letting emotion lead the blade.
"You're thinking too loudly," he told her once.
"What does that even mean?"
"It means your emotion moves before you do."
She scowled. "You are a Witcher, easy for you to say that."
Then adjusted.
'She truly is a prodigy,' he thought privately.
A brat, yes.
But a prodigy.
****
2 WEEKS LATER -
News came on a wind colder than the rest, delivered by Geralt himself.
A trader, half-frozen and pale, carrying whispers from the south, met Geralt south of Kaer Morhen.
Cintra had fallen.
Nilfgaardian black banners now flew over its streets.
The hall was silent when the words were spoken.
Vesemir closed his eyes briefly.
Lambert cursed under his breath.
Ciri stood still.
Too still.
She did not cry. Not then.
She walked away quietly.
For a week she did not join them at meals.
For a week she did not train.
Sebastian watched from a distance.
He had known this was coming.
He had counted the days since she arrived. Calculated the timing. The inevitability.
But Geralt had brought her early.
Before the siege, before the slaughter. before she had to watch it burn.
'He spared her that much,' Seb thought.
And for that, he was grateful.
On the seventh day, he found her seated on the old outer wall, overlooking the frozen valley. Snow drifted around her boots.
She didn't turn when she heard him approach.
"Not now, Seb."
He stopped a few steps away.
"I know how it feels, Ciri." he said quietly. "Losing family."
Silence.
"It's just…" Her voice cracked.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Sebastian stared at it.
His mutations dulled many things. Heightened others.
But tears…
They felt distant. Almost foreign now.
He sat beside her carefully.
"I can't even remember my parents' voices anymore," he said after a moment.
She looked at him.
"Every year, I get stronger, sharper." he continued, staring ahead, "But everytime I gain something, something else fades. A detail. A sound. A memory.. And soon enough… I might forget what they looked like."
The wind whispered through the mountains.
Ciri looked at him, really looked at him.
"Is it that bad?" she asked softly.
Seb exhaled.
"I'm not saying your pain is lesser than mine," he replied. "And I'm not hating my life here. Kaer Morhen saved me, and I'm grateful."
He paused.
"You had time with your grandmother. With your people. You remember their laughter. Their stories. And you'll continue to carry that."
His gaze shifted to her.
"That's something you should cherish."
Her lips trembled slightly.
"Cherish the family you have right now," he said gently. "Uncle Vesemir. Eskel. Lambert. Geralt."
He hesitated a fraction.
"Myself."
"We're not alone," he continued. "All we have is each other now. And you have us. Always."
For a moment she just stared at him.
Then she leaned forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around him.
The movement caught him off guard.
He stiffened instinctively, then relaxed, returning the embrace with one arm, awkward but steady.
"Thank you, Seb," she whispered, a small smile breaking through.
He cleared his throat lightly.
"So," he said, tone shifting deliberately. "Are you going to resume training right now?"
She pulled back, eyes narrowing.
Then she punched him.
Fast.
Seb leaned aside effortlessly.
"Is that what this was about?!" she demanded. "To trick me into going back to drills?"
He stood quickly, raising both hands defensively.
"What? No. I was just asking."
She sighed dramatically.
Then laughed.
The sound echoed lightly over the snow.
"Those witcher mutations of yours," she said, wiping her face, "they're quite helpful in situations like this."
She smirked.
"I might ask Uncle Vesemir about that."
Sebastian immediately shook a finger at her.
"Oh no no no. NO. We won't be doing any of that."
She tilted her head.
"Why not? I know it's risky already but.."
"No buts... It's dangerous," he said firmly. "Very dangerous. And besides, you already have a.."
He stopped, too close.
Ciri's brows knit together.
"I already have a… what?"
Sebastian looked away briefly,
"You have a... a different path," he said carefully. "One that doesn't require poisons and mutations."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
She studied him for a long moment.
Then stood.
"Fine," she muttered. "But if I trip you during sparring tomorrow, I'm blaming you."
He allowed the faintest smile.
"I look forward to it."
She took a few steps toward the keep, then paused.
"Seb?"
"Yes?"
She hesitated.
"Thank you for this."
He didn't answer immediately.
"Don't mention it." he said at last.
****
Snow crunched beneath Sebastian's boots as he left the outer wall behind.
Ciri's laughter still echoed faintly in his ears. That alone felt like a victory.
"She needed to hear that."
Seb didn't startle.
He stopped walking, exhaled slowly, then glanced to his right.
Geralt leaned against a broken pillar half-swallowed by frost, arms folded, white hair stirring in the wind.
"You were listening," Seb said.
Geralt's brow lifted slightly. "You two weren't exactly whispering."
"And Ciri is loud."
Seb huffed faintly. "Right."
They stood in silence for a moment,
Geralt's golden eyes shifted toward him.
"So," he said evenly. "Are you going to share your little secret with her as well?"
Sebastian's jaw tightened just slightly.
"I told Vesemir. I told you. Eskel. Lambert."
"Yes."
"But Ciri is…" He searched for the word.
Geralt saved him the trouble. "Different."
Seb nodded once.
"She's already going trough enough," he said quietly. "Cintra and whatever she doesn't fully understand yet."
His gaze drifted toward the keep.
Geralt studied him carefully.
"I understand what you mean."
There was no judgment in his voice.
Only understanding.
Wind rushed between them again.
Then Geralt straightened slightly.
"We found a forktail nest," he said, tone shifting. "Not far from here. Up along the eastern ridge."
Seb's eyes sharpened.
"A Forktail you say?"
Geralt nodded. "Young one, male most likely. Still dangerous. Can't let it settle too close to the keep."
"Agreed."
"I'll be going with Eskel."
Geralt watched Seb from the corner of his eye.
"Vesemir thinks you're still too green for any sort of actual action," Geralt added. "Might be a bit harsh about it."
Seb's mouth twitched faintly. "He always is."
"But," Geralt continued, "I've seen your skill."
His gaze settled fully on Sebastian now.
"You can handle yourself."
A pause.
"Especially with your… unique abilities."
Sebastian held his stare.
"Really?" Seb asked before he could stop himself. "You want me to join you?"
There it was.
Just a young witcher who had waited his whole life to hear those words.
Geralt noticed.
And didn't comment on it.
"Yes."
"I even have a silver sword for you."
Seb blinked.
"You..what?"
Geralt's lips twitched, barely.
"Been meaning to give it to you."
He shifted slightly, lowering his voice.
"But keep it from Vesemir for now."
Seb's eyes widened faintly. "You're asking me to hide something from him?"
Geralt shrugged.
"Not hide. Delay."
"That's hiding."
"Semantics."
Sebastian couldn't help it.
A grin broke across his face, rare, unguarded.
"Alright," he said quickly. "Yes of course I'll join you."
The word came out with more excitement than he intended.
Geralt gave him a long look.
"Control that."
Seb cleared his throat, straightening immediately. "Yes. Of course. I mean..yes."
Geralt pushed off the pillar.
"We leave at dawn, get ready."
Seb nodded, heart pounding now with excitement.
/-\
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