"Alternatively, I can leave after I've been paid an you can remain to chace it down. The choice is yours,"

Sara was surprised when a pang of hurt shot through her. Did he really dislike her company that much that he would be willing to just leave her behind? She supposed that she understood the reasoning for not chasing the source down, not that she completely agreed, but she could accept it. And if she had heard right, he wouldn't even leave her with money! Using that small kernel of anger, she mustered up the strength to shove the hurt of his statement from her thoughts, and hopefully her face. While she had perfected the art of schooling her features, she knew that her eyes were less than willing to cooperate.

As the moment of silence stretched on, Sara's mind fought with itself. To stay here alone and rid the world of someone insane enough to bring koshcheys into the world, or go with Gawel, who was becoming more and more, a friend.

"I want to go with you." To Sara's horror, her voice came out strained and quiet, not at all how she had wanted to sound.

((take five at getting a post done >.< I WILL finish this time!))

"I want to go with you."

Gawel smiled, surprised at the genuine relief he felt with such a statement. "I'm glad," he said sincerely. He found he had grown used to her company, despite the short time they had spent together, a mere three days really, and the annoyance she could sometimes bring with her stubbornness.

"Do you have preparations for tonight? I assume you haven't changed your mind about coming," though he had hoped it. He didn't want her hurt, but he also didn't want to be worrying about protecting her as well. "You should be as prepared as possible for it. Koshceys are incredibly resistant to just about everything. What do you know about them?" he asked. Gawel himself knew very little in comparison to other more common creatures but it was his living to know about monsters so it stood to reason that he would know more about it than Sara. She did have magical training, however, and the koshchey was summoned through magical means so it was possible she knew something of it, depending on where her training had focused.

He turned his back to her, still listening, to look over what he was doing. The majority of potions he was preparing were performance enhancing ones, designed to allow him to see in the dark, make his movements faster than lightning, accelerate healing, for he had no doubt he would not walk away from this battle unscathed. He just hoped that he would be able to take the vast majority of them after they were outside, in the dark where Sara would not be able to see most of the changes. He didn't want her to see him like that.

{{Dang, five times? Well I am greatly thankful that you are not too bored with me to post! :D Oh and check your dratted trades would ya? Jeez, you make it so hard to be nice... :heart: ;) Oh, and Chris had a great idea for how we could kill it. After a long battle, Sara could run off to a pond or something and have Gawel follow her, making the koshchey to follow him. He jumps, completely clearing the water, and when the koshcheys legs hit the water, Sara freezes it, giving Gawel just that second before it breaks free to stab it in the face XD}}


"I am just about ready. I have a few things to attend before we leave. As for what I know of them... that, as much as I hate to admit, is not something I have a great deal of knowledge on. I know that they are created from magic, and it takes a very powerful mage to create one. It's a very specific knowledge of how to do it, without getting yourself killed in the process. I know that they are not susceptible to most things, but silver does more to hurt it than a chunk of iron." She moved two fingers up to touch her chin in thought. "I will assume, in this case, that this koshchey will be vulnerable to fire and light, given that it is only sent out to attack in complete darkness."

She watched curiously as Gawel mixed various things, interested in what he was doing, but somehow thought better of asking.

((why would I be bored with you? No I've tried so many times normally cause of my shitty computer or starting a post then being too tired to finish it. Didn't know I had trades but I'll look when I turn my computer on since I'm using my phone laying in bed ATM. And I had an idea for how the fight should be won that would force Gawel to respect Sara's abilities more but you can definitely use your freezing it in place idea. Trust me it'll be good :) ))

Gawel nodded and said, "It's true about the silver it does hurt them more than iron and while spells work against it, there are no weaknesses as such. I suspect it is only bein summoned at night to be more effective against the villagers, to play upon those fears. From what I know the best way to fight them is with a solid defense to minimize their attacks. So use defensive spells and avoidance," he advised hoping that those kinds of spells were part of her arsenal. "My potions will take most the day to be ready, they are powerful, I don't normally use these ones but I don't normally come up against a koshchey either. There's an abandoned house I thought we could use, meet me there at sunset and lets do this."

*

As it was it was a little after sunset that Gawel arrived so Sara was likely there waiting for him. "It's me," he called, to make sure Sara didn't blast him or something. He hadn't taken any of his potions yet, there was still a smudge of light and Gawel wouldn't take them until his face couldn't be seen. "No light," he reminded her.

It was a good thing that Gawel had thought to call out, letting her know it was only him sneaking through the deserted house. It was old. Very old. And it gave Sara the creeps. Nobody had taken a duster to this place in a very long time, and she hated spiders. Cobwebs hung to the rafters and in corners, dust lay in thick sheets over everything, she had been afraid to sit down. Sara had arrived about fifteen minutes before sunset. Mostly because she was anxious that she'd go to the wrong house, or miss it all together. Although how anyone could miss this eyesore was beyond her...

As Gawel came closer to her, just as the sun was leaving the last remnants of it's beams on the earth, she began to feel very calm. It was the calm before the storm, and Sara very much enjoyed that she could still be as cold and calm as she had been before.

"No light."

He said it as a statement, and Sara could only assume that he was reminding her not to light a fire to alert the koshchey they were in this building. She only nodded, her eyes unseeing as she listened for any unusual sound, and for the tug of magic that she would undoubtedly feel as the koshchey came nearer their ambush spot.

Not hearing or feeling anything quite yet, she turned to Gawel. "Do you have a general plan of attack?"

"Do you have a general plan of attack?"

"Not really," he said. "I mostly planned to just wing it." It was how he did most fights. There was some planning of course, which potions to take, which would take the longest to prepare. But as for the fight itself? It was usually impossible to guess how it would occur and thus impossible to plan.

It was dark now, dark enough that even Gawel struggled to see. Time to get a move on. He selected three potions, unstopped them and downed them in quick succession. They hurt, like hot needles coursing through his blood, and his body convulsed, but it was only brief, the pain fading and when he opened his eyes once more he could see clearly, as though it were the middle of the day in the height of summer. He glanced briefly to Sara but she was staring rather blankly, giving no sign of seeing the details of his new features though she had probably caught the movement of his momentary weakness. Now, however, he could see in the dark, his reflexes were at an inhumane level and his skin, bones, his very body, was tougher and harder. He couldn't let her touch him either.

He had both his swords despite only wanting to use the silver; who knew what could happen in a battle, he could lose his silver sword somehow and, despite the resistance to iron, he would rather not be weaponless. He would have his signs of course, but to use them constantly would require the use of another potion to stop them from wearing him out and his toxicity levels were already high enough. He refused to consider Sara as a part of his fighting strategy. He had managed to convince most of the villagers to either hide in the more secure tavern or in underground bunkers that had been built to avoid it. Only a few refused and remained in their houses.

Looking out the window, Gawel's head twitched slightly as he caught sight of movement through the trees. "It comes," he said, his voice low, speaking slow in a deliberate attempt to sound more normal. Moving with what seemed to Gawel to be painful slowness, he drew his sword and stepped out of the house, though in reality it was only slightly faster than normal. "Stay hidden and safe, at least for now," he said. He wanted to gauge it first without the distraction of having to protect Sara just yet.

He moved out into the open, sword held ready in his right hand while his left was held loosely at his side and he waited. It came upon him quicker than he had expected and all thought of hiding what the potions did to him went out the window as he began moving with supernatural speed, his sword just a blur of motion and his body little better as he leapt at the creature, swung his sword before darting away again. He kept up these lightning attacks, darting in and out, but the koshchey was just as quick, not to mention big. A few times Gawel had only narrow escapes and once a razor-sharp leg brushed against his arm which would normally have sliced him open were it not for one of the potions he had drank.

Inside there was a tiny trendal of worry. This one was older than the one he had witnessed previously, and it had taken three witchers to take down. It was near the end of his training when he had been allowed to come to a nearby job that didn't involve him actually going into the town to witness it. He wasn't allowed to partake in the battle but as a prized student he had been selected to watch. It had severely injured one of them before it had been taken down and it had only been an adolescent. This one was a full adult, larger, faster, hairier and sharper. And he was just one man. And Sara, but he didn't want her to come in on the fighting until absolutely necessary.

The koshchey as it grew older, developed a kind of semi intelligence; it knew that Gawel was goading it, and after several minutes of this during which time the witcher had managed to score several minor cuts on it, it suddenly changed its strategy and caught Gawel a rather strong blow to the chest with one of its razor-sharp legs. Gawel grunted in pain and rolled with the movement. The cut had laced through the straps holding his swords to his back, his leather jerkin, and the countering strap that held a number of his potions, flaying him to the bone. There were more at his hip though and he quickly downed one before rolling to his feet once more. It was a swallow potion, it would speed the healing and already bone was no longer visible, the muscles starting to knit together. He had no time to allow it to finish it's job though before he was on the defensive once more.

Again he managed to score several more hits, even slicing through a leg, coincidentally, the same one that had injured him. The koshchey seemed about to run but instead it merely backed up then charged at Gawel. It came on too fast for even his heightened reflexes to avoid completely and as its body slammed into Gawel's another leg gave a shove, sending Gawel flying through the air, crashing into a house. The back of Gawel's head slapped the wall with enough force to split a watermelon were it not for his potions, and he was sent through the wall, the house collapsing around and on top of his unconscious form.

"It comes."

Sara nodded in the direction she believed Gawel to be. It was very dark, and she thanked her Elvish blood. She couldn't see very well, but enough to have noticed something odd about Gawel. His voice was different. Just slightly, and if she hadn't been listening for the Koshchey as well, she probably would have missed it.

"Stay hidden and safe, at least for now,"

She ignored the urge to cross her arms and pout like a child at his commandment. She did as she was bid, watching him as he moved out the door. Something was different. The limp he had because of his leg had completely vanished, and though he walked carefully and silently, it was faster than she would have thought he would normally venture. Before she had time to really ponder the sudden changes in him, a loud crash resounded throughout the house, shaking Sara to her core, literally. The vibrations of the giant creature shot flickers of cold fear up Sara's spine.

Not able to help herself, she moved to the window to watch the fight as best she could. She could see very fast flashes of light, but couldn't pinpoint what it could be. Finally, she gave up trying to be normal, and dug in her memory for the spells she wanted. Casting a quick spell, she gave herself the eyes of a cat, and when she opened her eyes again, her teal eyes had canted and she could see so much better. Not that it helped her understand what she was seeing.

The koshchey was big. No. Not just big... huge. Six legs gave it the appearance of a crab, with two large pincers that it used to slash the air. Sara squinted. It wasn't slashing at the air... it was slashing at something that was moving barely faster than the monster was. With a start, Sara realized that it was Gawel. He was so fast! She watched, amazed, as he baited the creature around, landing several hits, but none seeming to make any difference.

Sara gasped, a hand flying to her mouth when Gawel was flung backward, his grunt of pain reaching her ears. Almost immediately, he stood, and that was the only thing that kept Sara from leaping out of the window to his defense. How she wished she had studied more battle magic! Her mentor was against learning more than the basics of those things, focusing her on the healing aspects of magic. But, once again, Sara gave her perfectionistic thirst for knowledge a pat on the back. That was the only reason she had read every book available to her, including combat magic and strategies.

She was just pulling as much magic into her as she could, to use when she saw the monster charge at Gawel. She saw his body, limp as a rag doll, fly through the air and crash through a house. Her body froze, her magic forgotten. Her eyes were wide with fear and shock as she stared at the house, willing him to get up and charge back at the monster. But he didn't, and then the koshchey moved forward towards the house where Gawel lay.

"NOOOOO!!" A rage induced scream wrenched through her throat. Before she understood what she was doing, she had flung herself out of the window, bright red flames leaping from her hands to blast itself into the koshchey's eyes. As she landed on the ground, she continued to pelt the monster with every powerful spell her body felt like. Her mind shut itself off, no longer thinking of the dangers of taking this thing on, no longer thinking of Gawel laying hurt or possibly dead in that house, no longer thinking of anything at all except her rage.

She must have startled it, because it was backing up, trying to get away from her and the blasts of fire she was torching it with. Her screams filled the air, words hardly discernible. She stopped for a moment, when she didn't feel the heavy thumps in the earth of the koshchey moving. Panting heavily, she waited. Smoke billowed up from the still creature, and little fires burned lazily around them. Sara took a slight step back, as if to turn to leave. A sharp leg flung out, grazing Sara's shoulder, startling a shocked gasp from her. She flung herself to the ground just as another leg flashed by her. Ignoring the searing pain in her arm, she started up her barrage of fire again. The koshchey moved in on her, adding a sense of panic to the situation.

She was very thankful that she had thought to tie her hair back into a ponytail, and to give herself cat eyes. After dodging, barely, another leg, she tripped over a large rock. Her face slammed into the ground, and she briefly registered that she was thankful she had landed on dirt and not on more rock. Her eyes opened in a flash of brilliance. Dirt! She was laying on dirt! Shooting up to her feet, she called lightening down to zap at the creature, hoping to blind it for just a moment. As the lightening struck, it illuminated everything for a brief moment, but long enough to tell Sara what she needed to know. As the creature shook itself, trying to rid itself from the blinding light that Sara was keeping stuck to its head, she let some magic flow through her shoes and into the earth, rounding up all of the water she could managed to find. She was relieved when she found an underground river, and collected all of that. Slowly, Sara brought it up to the surface, drenching the earth and turning the street they were on into a swampy mess. The struggling creature was beginning to sink, but not fast enough.

Sara continued her hold on the light, but could feel her hold on it loosening. Thinking as quickly as she could, she began to run towards the collapsed house were Gawel lay. As she ran, she pulled up more and more water, thoroughly soaking the street. She made the muddy water, for that's what it was at this point, as deep as she could, trying to get as close to the house as possible before she let the light go. When her sink hole was as deep as she could do, the light broke free, and the creature surged forward after her, right into the mud. Sara shot one last prayer to the heavens, along with a mighty yell, as she forced every bit of magic she could muster into freezing the water around the koshchey's legs. The water, now turning to hard, solid ice, was moving quickly to trap it, moving up it's legs, pinning it in place.

Sara didn't stay to see if it would hold. She was exhausted from that, but she ran to the house anyway, throwing bits of rubble out of her way, shouting Gawel's name over and over again, her desperation growing. Without thinking it, magic flowed from her and found Gawel, helping the potions he had taken to heal his body. "Don't you dare die on me you lousy witcher! I haven't even started annoying you yet! And when I find you, I will tie you to the god forsaken bed if I must!" Tears were making it's way down her face, but a loud crack split the air, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around, horrified as she watched the koshchey break itself free of the ice and come charging at her. She began flinging more fire at it, trying to burn it's eyes out. She looked around for things she could use. Looking down around her feet at the rubble, an idea struck her. She began to fling fire with her hands, and the bricks with her mind.

After one particularly bright fireball, a sharp flash caught her attention. She through a smaller ball, towards where she had seen it. Casting a wary look to the creature, she book it over, tossing herself forward as the koshchey struck at her, it's pointed claw going through her calf. With a scream of pain, she fell flat, reaching the object of her interest. Gawel's silver sword! She picked it up, getting shakily to her feet. She held the sword in two hands, defiantly facing the monster.

It seemed to look straight back at her, it's eyes almost laughing as it slowly moved forward, and Sara could see that it intended to kill her now. Well. Gawel was gone, so she had nothing to lose. Nothing at all.

A savage scream split her throat as she used the last of her strength to throw the sword, and her mind to propel it faster than lightening towards the koshchey. It hit home. Right between it's largest eyes. An unearthly howl wrenched the air, forcing Sara to drop to her knees and cover her ears. Removing one hand, she continued throwing fire at it, as the monster zigzagged around, smashing homes. After a moment, smoke billowing from it, the koshchey collapsed, the sword gleaming in the orange glow of the flames.

Tears choked Sara's dry throat, her cracked lips bleeding. Her hair was a mess, and she was only partly aware that it was singed. Shakily, she stood and painfully made her way back to Gawel. Whatever strength she had, she used to move the collapsed house away from him. When she did find him, she was so happy, but sad, that she just collapsed on top of his chest. Silent tears made their way down her dusty, scraped cheeks.

She sat up suddenly, and wiped the wetness from her eyes and glared at Gawel's face. She hadn't been laying down long, but it was long enough to bring a slight blush to her face, which just added to her annoyance at him. Pulling the last shreds of her magic out and into him, helping his body heal, she began to rant at him. "You lazy son of a toad! I had all but cracked the shell and melted the butter for that damned crab, and here you are taking a nap!"

A slight grunt of pain escaped Gawel's mouth when Sara collapsed down on top of him. He had been literally crushed by the rubble and while his tougher than normal skin had protected his vitals, he still had cracked ribs that were slowly mending, and a cracked skull too. Not to mention all the scrapes and bruises that were already fading. Semi-conscious, Gawel ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth but was relieved to find all his teeth in place; witcher potions could heal a lot, but they couldn't replace something that was lost, a limb or teeth included. Then he noticed something, he was healing faster than he should, faster even than was possible with the aid of his potions.

"You lazy son of a toad! I had all but cracked the shell and melted the butter for that damned crab, and here you are taking a nap!"

Gawel's eyes snapped open to find Sara sitting over him and with the potions still coursing through his veins he could see her cat like eyes, eyes that would allow her to see in the dark. Instantly he flung his arm up and turned his face away from her, covering it with his arm. "Don't... don't look at me," he said, or rather, begged. He knew what he looked like. Like death. His skin so pale as to practically be translucent and looking as though, just under the skin, there was cracked stone. His pupils were so large his whole eyes seemed to be completely black. There was little he could do to hide the abnormal size of his muscles but he didn't want her to see his face like this, she would find it repulsive, just as he did, and want nothing more to do with him. "Don't look at me," he repeated, "I'm hideous."

Sara was startled when he spoke. She was just about about to say something rash when she caught a flash of his eyes. As she continued to look, she began to notice everything she hadn't in the dark house. His skin was... thin. Or it looked that way. She could see his veins and muscles, very large muscles, under his skin. As she recalled his eyes, completely black and unseeing almost, she suppressed a shudder.

"Well you look a sight better than that thing." She said, trying to play off her unease. She liked him, and didn't want something so minor as looks get between their friendship. She continued to look at him, through a healers eyes instead of a girls. When she did that, her mind began to work again. "This is just through the potions." Even though she said it as a statement, it was more of a question.

Gently, she touched his arm and felt the muscles bunch under her fingers. "I could never think of you as truly hideous." She said softly, then returned to her firm, hopefully stern, voice. "As much as you don't think you need my help, I think I've proved myself very well tonight to you, so lay back, shut up, and let me heal you!" Her disheveled, and slightly singed hair fell in front of her face as she forced her eyes to focus on something else. She couldn't help but be more than a little disturbed at his appearance... who wouldn't be? But she was furious with herself for thinking, even more a fraction of a second, that he was a monster. He was nothing like the monster she had just killed, and even among humans, he was no greedy, lying monster. She refocused her thread of magic and shoved it into him, helping the potion already in his system along. The more she went through his body, the more amazed she was by the fact that he wasn't dead, so she decided to say as much.

"You should be dead."

"Well you look a sight better than that thing."

Gawel had caught the brief hesitancy in her answer that gave way that she had already caught a glimpse of him before he had managed to turn away. And it hurt. Just as much as every other time he was called a monster. He reached for his potion satchel at his side for the potion he had made to neutralize it but found nothing but broken glass; his remaining potions must have smashed when the place collapsed on top of him, if not before.

"This is just through the potions."

He gave a single nod. It hadn't been a question but he thought he should answer anyway, but whether she believed that the potions had created him thus, warping his true form, or the other way around, that they had merely brought his true form to light, remained to be seen.

"I could never think of you as truly hideous. As much as you don't think you need my help, I think I've proved myself very well tonight to you, so lay back, shut up, and let me heal you!"

The softness of her voice, followed by the firm command to let her heal him reassured him that, at least for now, she wasn't going to run away screaming monster. It wouldn't be the first time. Slowly, very slowly, he removed his arm and lay back. He was tempted to close his eyes, to at least hide them from her since that seemed to be what people associated most with him being a monster, but he decided not to. If she was going to run, let it be now, save himself the pain of it happening later. He was badly injured, it was true, but not so much that he couldn't just collect his payment and go. For now, at least, he lay back and let her use her magic on him, uncomfortable as it was. His senses still heightened he could hear that the koshchey was dead so he could relax a little.

"You should be dead."

Gawel was about to answer that when a stone bounced off his shoulder, closely followed by another missing his hand by millimeters. He closed his eyes and sighed, recognizing it for what it was. His time to rest was over. "Yes, well, it takes more than that to kill a monster," he said dryly as he sat up, waited a moment then stood and offered a hand to help Sara up, heedless of the rocks now bouncing off his back. He turned to face them then and inwardly flinched as they stepped back from him after catching sight of his changed appearance.

"Your koshchey is dead," he called to the gathered villagers, again being careful to speak at a normal rate; no use giving them even more to fear from him.

"And so are our homes, you monster!"

"You're no better than the koshchey!"

"Demon!"

And the rocks started again. Gawel closed his eyes and sighed before moving his fingers in the Quen sign. A shield formed around him, shimmering yellow whenever a stone struck. He rested an arm around Sara's waist, drawing her close inside the shield to protect her as well. "Let's go," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice though his black, bottomless eyes, showed nothing. He led them first to the koshchey where he pulled his silver sword from it, then picked up his other, iron sword with the torn sash still attached to it and, with one arm still around Sara's waist and the other holding his swords, keeping the shield up, he led the way into the forest away from the village and the angry villagers.

Sara felt the rocks, but didn't understand what they meant until Gawel stood up and said, "It takes more than that to kill a monster." Her eyes opened in shock at him, but allowed herself to be led along. Her brain caught up with her as the villagers began throwing more stones at them and shouting very angry words.

Sara was just about to shout at them, a very unlady-like rant forming on her tongue, when Gawel grabbed her waist. That swept every word from her mouth, and every thought from her head. She followed him to the koshchey, and couldn't help a flinch as the sword was extracted from it, a sickly, sucky sound accompanying it. Where Gawel's arm had been, her skin was warm and tingling, and now that it was not there, that same place began to feel cold.

As he came back, sadness etched into his face, Sara longed to reach out to him. There was probably nothing she could really say to him, but she longed to try. With his arm around her once more, she moved closer, moving her body so her side was flush with his. They moved into the forest with the angry villagers still shouting their hateful words.

When they finally were out of the village, and could no longer hear the mob, Sara stopped and laid a gentle hand on Gawel's chest. Softly, she whispered, "You still need much healing." She brought her eyes, still cat-like, up to meet his. She had expected herself to flinch, but to her surprise, and probably to his, she didn't. Thousands of words barraged her, trying to form into the right sentence to portray her sorrow at the way he was treated, but none came. She moved in front of him, only a small space separating their bodies from touching. "Gawel..." She started, but nothing following, to her great annoyance.

Not finding any other way, she tilted her chin up slightly and kissed the corner of his mouth. "You are not a monster." Her voice was shaky, mostly with embarrassment with herself at her impetuousness. She took a step back and cleared her suddenly thick throat. "Please, may I finish healing you?"

When they were in the forest and he no longer felt the stones striking his shield, he allowed it to fall - it took too much energy to maintain it for any length of time and to keep reweaving it when it faltered - and let the arm around Sara drop as well. He didn't move away from her just yet, but he felt no need to hold her close inside the shield any more.

"You still need much healing."

"It will heal on its own," he said absently, not really listening. Until Sara spoke his name. Nothing more, just his name. And somehow that was enough. He paused and looked down at her, meeting her eyes and was mildly surprised when she didn't flinch.

And then she kissed him. Despite himself and his best efforts not to react to that, not to get involved with any of those kinds of emotions, a slight blush coloured his colourless cheeks and despite his best efforts to feel nothing, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. Especially looking like he did, that she could still bring herself to show such affections.

"You are not a monster."

He looked away at that. He didn't really believe it but when he was so often called it, it was sometimes hard to disbelieve it. It was one of the reasons he went back to Kaer Morhen every year, to reaffirm his connections, to feel normal amongst his own kind. If someone was being nice they wouldn't call him a monster and they would do their best to not look at him or treat him any different than a normal human, but no one apart from other witchers had ever said of their own will that he wasn't a monster.

"Please, may I finish healing you?"

Gawel said nothing but then nodded and moved to sit down, his back braced against a tree and swords across his lap. "What about you? Your leg and arm should be healed first. I have potions, where you have only your magic."

Noticing the blush in his cheeks, hers flamed higher. Her heart was fluttering away from her, and her lips still tingled from where they had met his. She heard herself speak, but didn't really know what she was saying as she watched him lean against the truck of a tree, moving his swords across his lap.

"What about you? Your leg and arm should be healed first. I have potions, where you have only your magic."

"My...?" As if on cue, the pain in her shoulder and leg sliced through her again with newfound rigor. "You shouldn't have reminded me." She said, while she tried not to wince. She moved and sat down next to his knees, letting her thigh brush against his. While the back of her mind registered the contact, she was focused on her shoulder. She released her magic on the clothing, then ripped the sleeve of her tunic at the shoulder. "Better."

Craning her neck to see it, she was glad it wasn't very deep, most of the bleeding had stopped already. Moving to her leg, she was almost afraid to look. Without looking, she knew that the muscle had been cut, nearly shredded, where she had been skewered by the koshcheys leg. Once again, she ripped her clothing, this time her pants at the knee, revealing a smooth, pale surface of skin, except for the large, still bleeding wound. She also removed her boot, and stuck a finger through the holes. "Now, that, I can't fix." Sara lamented over the loss of her boots, but only briefly. Seeing that her leg was bleeding, she took the ripped section of clothing, and bound it around her calf. "It'll wait." Sara shrugged.

She placed a hand on Gawel's knee and sent her magic into him once again. "Don't quibble, just hold still." She said as she felt an argument rising in him.

The corner of Gawel's mouth twitched in amusement when she complained about being reminded. He knew what a wonderfully powerful drug simple adrenalin could be. He opened her eyes when she said she couldn't fix something and couldn't resist a smile of amusement when he saw it was only her boot. "No, but I'm sure a cobbler could," he said.

"It'll wait."

"No," Gawel said firmly, and he took her hand from his thigh and rested it instead on her calf. "Your arm maybe but not your leg. I'll let you heal me on the condition that you heal that injury first. The worst of mine are already being taken care of. You don't have the luxury of potions, my potions would kill you. Heal your leg first, we still have a way to go, not to mention the up hill walk to Kaer Morhen and you cant do that with that kind of injury. Mine can wait and you don't have the energy to heal both of us. I can see that in your eyes," he said, his mind set on the matter. If she was insistent, he would simply get up and keep walking, not allowing her to heal him at all but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She pursed her lips at him in amusement, although she was trying for a glare. It was a logical argument, and while she knew he was right, she didn't like admitting that. When he moved her hand back to her leg, her amusement faded. She flicked a protective gaze up to him. "You are the one who could have died, Gawel." Despite her resistance, she couldn't ignore the pain any longer, and she set to work fixing her calf.

Sara closed her eyes, not because she needed the focus, but she was very close to tears. Knitting shredded muscle back together was very painful, and she had never had to do anything close to this before. His words kept coming to the front of her mind, "you don't have the energy to heal both of us..." giving her a small burst of energy, just to prove him wrong. When her calf was finally pieced back together, small beads of sweat dotted her hairline.

As she ran a hand through her hair, she felt the singed part and groaned. "I look like an absolute mess, I am seriously starting to doubt that all of those comments were directed at you..." She opened her eyes, despite their protests. "There. Now I will finish with you." She stubbornly moved her hand back to his thigh. She could feel her mind going to sleep, while her eyes betrayed her as well. She poured her remaining grains of energy into fixing him, pushing herself to not fall asleep until he was just as he was before. Hopefully, he didn't mind or notice, that she was also attempting to heal his legs scar...

"You are the one who could have died, Gawel."

Gawel shok his head without opening his eyes. "As I said, it would take more than that to kill me. Maybe if I had been unprepared it would have but not with the potions I had taken. But not as it stands. I may hurt for a few days but I will heal."

"I look like an absolute mess, I am seriously starting to doubt that all of those comments were directed at you..."

"You look no where near as bad as I do, trust me," Gawel said, his eyes still closed, resting. He let her rest her hand on his thigh and felt it when she started healing him after she had finished with herself. As he had promised he remained still for it despite the discomfort it caused him. He really didn't like the feeling of magic being used on him, that lack of control along with the actual physical sensation, ever since he had had magic used on him to help shape him into becoming a witcher. Consequently he could tell exactly what it was she was doing so when he attempted to heal the scar on his leg he reached out and gently removed her hand. "That's enough," he said, eyes opening once more. "We aren't safe out here and I would rather not have you unconscious for extending yourself too far." And he didn't like her healing that one, though he couldn't really say why.

When he removed her hand, again, Sara was too tired to argue. She was to the point where she would have readily collapsed into sleep, and the only thing keeping her awake was the fact that she knew he was right. They weren't safe, even in the woods in the middle of the night.

"So do I at least get a thank you? You know, for killing the koshchey by myself?" Sara was surprised how sarcastic her words were. Boy, being exhausted was maybe worse than being drunk; it sure was loosening her tongue. She did want Gawel to at least smile at her, and while she wouldn't pinpoint exactly why, she wasn't about to tell him that she had had no official combat training. That would probably just upset him, she figured.

Sara stood, wobbly, fighting with herself to keep her eyes open. She let the magic giving her use of the cat eyes go, and that barely lessened the fatigue she was fighting. "So, were do you propose we go, oh great witcher?" Again she had to wince at her own words. She tried to tell herself her poor attitude was due to the intense pain, the ferocious battle, and Gawel's scaring her by going unconscious, and that it had nothing to do with the practically ignored kiss and the flickers of sparks she felt towards him.

"So do I at least get a thank you? You know, for killing the koshchey by myself?"

An eyebrow rose at that and he said slowly, a hint of regret in his voice, "I was going to give you the money for it. You certainly deserve it after killing it when I could not, and more than likely, saving my life. Somehow I doubt they'll give it to me now, however." She was just tired, he told himself, using that to explain away why she was suddenly so bity when before she had practically been loving. Women. So moody. It was no wonder women were generally barred from Kaer Morhen.

"So, were do you propose we go, oh great witcher?"

Gawel glanced at her when she stood, not moving yet, and sighed at her words, looking away once more. So much for her not thinking any different of him after seeing him in proper action. "No where yet," he said slowly. Reaching up he took her hand and gently pulled her down again, this time to get her to lay her head on his lap. "You need sleep and I don't think it will be good for my health travelling with a moody sorceress. My potions will last several hours yet, enough to see me through the night and make sure nothing comes close in order to protect us. Come morning they will have faded of their own accord and you won't have to worry about how I look."

Hearing him tell her about his plan to give her the money, she instantly wished she could withdraw her words. She was upset and exhausted, and while she had meant to jar him enough to get a thanks from him, she hadn't intended to hurt him.

"You need sleep and I don't think it will be good for my health travelling with a moody sorceress. My potions will last several hours yet, enough to see me through the night and make sure nothing comes close in order to protect us. Come morning they will have faded of their own accord and you won't have to worry about how I look."

When he pulled her across him, her heart fluttered in her chest, and as the warmth from him flowed into her cheek, she began to drift off to sleep. As the last part of his words come into her already foggy mind, she sat up and looked at him. "I don't worry about how you look, if I did, would I be willing to sleep literally on you?" Unable to awaken herself enough for a full retort, she moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest and snuggling in close. "If you don't mind sharing your warmth... I'm too tired to keep myself warm..." As she closed her eyes and began drifting off again, she muttered faintly, "Moody sorceress my arse."

"Moody sorceress my arse."

Gawel gave a snort at that but otherwise wisely kept silent. After Sara had fallen asleep against his thigh, he took his silver sword and cleaned it before re-sheathing it. He then took up the sash that he used to fasten the two swords to his back, a little mournfully. He had the things to repair it but it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't look as nice and he had rather liked how it looked. But, he supposed, it would have to do at least until he got to Kaer Morhen. Likely until after that too until he found a skilled leather worker who could recreate it for a decent price. Maybe he could find an elven craftsman to do it, they were always very skilled and produced beautiful work. In the mean time, he pulled out a leather-working needle and some coarse thread to do some repairs, to that first and, finishing and laying it aside, he pulled his leather jerkin off, careful not to disturb Sara's sleep and worked on repairing it as well. The shirt he couldn't do anything about since he didn't have any thinner thread and needles for it, but with the jerkin over it, it didn't matter.

These jobs done he pulled the vest back over his head and settled back against the tree once more, allowing his mind to rest, slipping into a meditative state fairly easy. This way he could rest and remain alert enough to detect danger if it came. He could travel for weeks with only this form of rest, though it would eventually wear on him if he didn't sleep properly at some point; he may not be completely human any more, but he still retained enough human features that sleep remained a necessity eventually.

He passed the night thus and faced nothing more dangerous than a curious fox. Come dawn he gently shook Sara awake. "Time to keep going," he said, standing once she had gotten up and stretching to ease the kinks out of his still sore body. Sara had efficiently healed the broken bones and bruising of his brain that would no doubt have led to a mild concussion before the potions took care of it. He was still stiff and sore and bruised in several places but these two would mostly heal by the end of the day. The potions had also left his body several hours before dawn so he appeared completely normal once more, well normal apart from his twin swords, wolf head medallion and the white streaks in his hair, all of which marked him as something a little more than human. "We should get moving, make up for lost time. I don't think I'll be taking any more jobs on the way to Kaer Morhen, well paying or not," he said.

Sara awoke reluctantly, but was glad for the little bit of sleep she was able to achieve. She stretched, rubbing her neck and taking a slight pause to forlornly stare at her torn sleeve and pant leg. She fiddled with her boot, trying to tie the hole closed, but was more unsuccessful than she would have liked.

"I think that's a good plan." She said between yawns. "Are we going directly there, then?" Sara was very curious to see what Kaer Morhen looked like, and was rather excited about winter coming again, even though she knew it would make Gawel's leg act up.

She paused and looked Gawel up and down again, contrasting the way he looked now, to how he did last night. There were some surprising differences, and while she could understand the way people reacted in fear to him, she couldn't bring herself to see him as anything other than 'Gawel'. Realizing she was staring, and trying to forget that she had fallen asleep in his lap of all places, she rubbed her hands together and then ran them through her very tangled hair.

"Are we going directly there, then?"

Gawel nodded as he swung his swords over his back once more, testing the strength of the repair he had made. It would hold, though not with any great strength. He would definately have to get a new one later. "That's the plan," he said. "I'm looking forward to seeing my friends again, and my old teacher. And if we delay too much longer we delay the more likely the passes will close before we're through."

They set off and the furtherer the went, camping along the way, the colder it got. Mostly Gawel was able to hide how the cold made his leg ache, though he knew that Sara was probably already aware of it. He still refused to let her heal it, stubbornly saying it would heal itself. Instead he eased it at night by the fire's warmth, which was sufficient to take the ache out of it for the walk the next morning.

"It's going to be close," he said one evening as they set up camp half way through one of the passes. "We'll probably be one of the last to arrive."

Sara shivered under her cloak, wary of using any of her magic. While it had been several days since the koshchey, Sara could feel that her magic had taken a toll, and her shoulder still ached sometimes. Sitting next to the kindling fire, she rubbed at it, nodding at what Gawel said.

"Are there many other women up there?" She asked. It would be interesting wintering among the other witchers, and although she had little idea of how many there actually were, she was looking forward to it.

"Women?" Gawel repeated as he set about making a fire. He shook his head. "No not normally. As I said, women are normally barred from the place. To much distraction for adolescent boys in training. Oh, there have been guests before, but they are generally kept away from the courtyards where most of the training takes placed, and have their own rooms in the towers. I believe their is a female witcher school somewhere, with the same rules as Kaer Morhen, not allowing men in the place for the same reasons, but I have never seen it, nor have I seen a female witcher. Perhaps they are rarer because their bodies don't respond as well to the changes, or perhaps it is simply usually a boy child that is born under a promise. Who knows?"

Finally the fire was made and he rubbed his hands before it, warming them. They had taken shelter in a small alcove in the cliff face that sheltered them from the worst of the wind but with winter only just around the corner this far north it was still bitterly cold and the fire was a must. Gawel was also growing tired from not sleeping, only meditating at night but he knew it would be safe enough to sleep properly once they reached Kaer Morhen. He wondered what he should tell her about the place, but then figured perhaps it was better he not give information so freely, only answering questions she asked provided they didn't seem to reveal too much.

Sara rubbed her hands over the fire, glad of the warmth. "There are female witchers?" She asked. "I read somewhere that there were rumors of them, but I assumed like most rumors, they were false." Her interested was piqued now with the conversation, liking any chance to actually talk to Gawel.

"And what do you mean by a child born under a promise?" Aware she was sounding very sheltered and ignorant, Sara hoped to find something, any topic, where she could at least input answers instead of just questions.