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kingbabydollbilly · 2 years

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Change of Fate (Eskel x Mom!Reader)

Series: The Witcher

Characters: Eskel, Lambert, Vesemir, tiny bit of Geralt.

Summary: A twist in the peaceful life of Y/N and her two children will change them forever. Know this; a mother will do anything to help her kids, even if it means using the help of some witchers.

WARNINGS: Animal attack, injured child, blood, fear, light swearing

Word Count: 7.4k Way too many

The heat on this midsummer night hung heavy in the sky. No relief in sight, as the midnight stayed silent, free of any light breeze or gusts. Within the thick heat on the countryside outskirts of White Orchard village is a small, somewhat dilapidated irregular shaped cottage, seemingly overrun on the outside by thick and thorny vines. Although the outside appears to be in ruins, the inside is a warm, cozy, and inviting interior. This unique structure serves to be the home of a loving single mother, Y/N, and her two pre-adolescent boys, Cain and Oman. At the young ages of nine and eleven, the children easily share a single bedroom, just big enough for two twin sized beds and one roughly handmade dresser.

Despite the intense dry heat plastering the air, the entire family is sleeping in peace, all blankets discarded onto the floor. The only sound present throughout the whole house is a soft snore stemming from Cain. This snoring goes unnoticed by Oman, who is exploring his own dreams.

Y/N begins to stir in her bed, feeling the need to stretch. She sits up, her loose wavy Y/H/C hair falling over her shoulder. Her arms raise to stretch while a yawn escapes her mouth. Feeling a strain in her legs as well, she swings them over the edge of her bed, then standing up onto the hard, uneven wood flooring. Now that she is awake and mostly conscious, she becomes much more aware of the high heat, wiping away a bead of sweat threatening to drip from her eyebrow into her eye. Thirst on her mind, she makes her way through a short hallway attached to the two bedrooms, entering the living room. Connected to this room in the corner is a small but charming kitchen. She remembers she had left a tankard half way filled with water on the counter. Reaching her goal, she takes a large sip of the water before chugging the rest. A droplet misses her mouth and drips down her chin, quickly being wiped away by the ruffled sleeve of her nightshirt. She yawns one final time and turns around to return to her bedroom and resume sleeping.

She plops back down onto her bed, creating a slight creaking sound. Following the sound of the loose bed legs, she hears a louder snap of wood in the darkness. Afraid that she awoke Cain or Oman, she gets back up to check on them. To her confusion, she looks into their bedroom and sees that both of them are still dead asleep and have not moved. Suddenly, an almost identical sound sprung out, only much louder. Her head snaps towards the hallway, expecting to see her bed halfway onto the floor, collapsed. Seeing her bed fully intact only confuses her more. An uneasy feeling arises in her stomach as she tip-toes out of their bedroom, carefully closing their door behind her.

Moving into her own bedroom again, she eyes an ax resting against the wall underneath a window. She picks it up, gripping the rough wooden handle tightly, ready to investigate the source of the sound. Heading back down the hallway, steps as light as air, she abruptly stops at the entrance to the living room. Completely frozen in place, her eyes widen in horror when she witnesses the last thing she was expecting on this night.

A bear.

A massive, hulking looking bear, as black as the shadowy night that surrounds Y/N and her family.

The enormous creature found itself occupied with a cluster of scents wafting from the dining table. Three white antique plates with scraps of uneaten food from the day’s dinner and three matching tankards, some half filled with cow’s milk, another empty, were left forgotten without worry. Now these once meaningless things represent temptation for the bear, as if they are welcoming the bear into the house for a feast. This temptation proves to be too much. Y/N watches the bear raise itself to stand on its hind legs, moving to rest its giant front paws on the dining table itself in an attempt to obtain the origin of the sweet and salty smells before it. What the animal does not comprehend is that the table is a simple one at that. A plain table once made of thick, sturdy oak wood, has seen its lifetime at this point, wood splintering in numerous spots, the wood itself beginning to wither away. The table buckles with ease underneath the weight of this full grown bear, the wood and dishes crashing to the ground and breaking into hundreds of pieces. Startled but determined, the bear shakes its head, loose fur falling to the floor, and then continues to sniff around the now easily accessible food.

Some of the fear freezing Y/N in place melts when she takes the table breaking under the bear’s weight as a warning by the universe, knowing she would be no match for it, and thinks of how she could take action and get her children to safety. Quickly, she comes up with the plan to lead them over to the single window within the walls of her bedroom. Underneath this window is a door covering an underground cellar that locks from the inside. With more confidence than she’s had through this entire ordeal, she turns around with intention to tip toe back to the children’s bedroom. The second she turns, her eyes become wider than they’ve ever been before, hands trembling around the ax handle. Standing before her are the previously thought oblivious Cain and Oman , now awake from the loud crashing and clashing of the bear in the dining room.

In mere seconds, a sharp clashing sound from the bear swatting at the broken dishes in an effort to find scraps within the rubble, some pieces breaking underneath the creature’s paws. Not knowing the events that have been taking place while he was sound asleep, Cain lets out a startling yelp when the noise invades his eardrums. The bear suddenly becomes alert and aware that three scrumptious snacks now stand before him. A sinister guttural growl unleashed from the bear’s throat.

“Oman! Take your brother to the window in my bedroom and both of you go outside into the cellar! Lock the door behind you, I’ll follow you soon!” Y/N cried out, pointing her arm towards her room.

Oman immediately grabs the sobbing Cain by his smaller hand and darts for Y/N’s bedroom. Once they are out of sight, Y/N ever so slowly steps forward farther into the living room, hoping to deter the bear from moving deeper into the house and following the boys. Her knuckles are white and sore from the pressure she is applying with her grip on the ax. The bear stood less than fifteen feet away, staring directly into Y/N’s Y/E/C eyes, waiting for action. Not knowing what else to do, Y/N walks forward a few more feet, eyes locked onto the threat. The final step she takes proves to be the end of the bear’s fuse; it unleashes a second heart-stopping growl, and rushes forward. Y/N raises the ax and swings at the lunging bear as hard as she possibly can, only seeing fault in her aim, clipping its right front paw as it raises to knock her back into a wall. Her full body weight slams against the rough textured wooden wall, knocking the wind out of her briefly. The bear gives her no time to recover, swinging down once more, leaving a deep gash within her shoulder and tearing out a small chunk of hair that had still been resting there. Y/N screams but still experiences adrenaline coursing through her veins, giving her the strength to use her unaffected arm to swing the ax at the beast. The ax connects with its chest, earning a yelp from it while it falls on all fours and slowly backs away from her.

Given the opportunity, Y/N returned to an upright stance, doing her best to ignore the blood flowing out of her destroyed shoulder. Only having one functional arm has not taken away her drive to fight and survive, even if only for her two children. She must survive. The bear seems to have recuperated and begins to step straight ahead, its target still in mind. He repeats his stance, standing up onto his two hind legs, towering six feet over Y/N. One paw swiftly moves into the air, ready to come down onto her soft flesh for a second time. She closes her eyes for a split second, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, and elevates the ax above her head, preparing to land another blow. Before anything can happen, the sound of metal and stomping boots resonates through the living room. The metallic sound abruptly turns into a dull and deep thud, focused from the bear’s back. Speechless, she watches the viscous beast drop to the floor with a hefty crash, splintering a few pieces of wood as it thumps down. He is dead. How?

Y/N wonders if her mind is playing tricks on her now. She sets the ax onto the floor and rubs her eyes, one at a time, with her uninjured arm, then heavily blinking in the direction of the now deceased animal. Standing next to the slain bear stands a man, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the perfect time.

“This must be a result of exhaustion” Y/N thought to herself.

She continues to stare at the man, now looking closer at his features. His bulky frame is at least six feet tall and littered with scars, the most apparent being a series of scars on his face. Several of them appear deep, running from his temple down his cheek, and some over his lip. The possibility of each story behind every scar runs through her brain. The man’s deep blue eyes complement his shoulder length brown curly hair in a way she could not describe. His hair was half tied up into a bun, giving off an aura of elegance to combat the fact that his skin and clothing was covered in blood spatter. After staring for much too long, she snaps out of her trance to see the man is holding out a hand to her, offering help to stand back up.

“Oh….thank you….” Y/N gently grabs his hand and allows him to pull her up. “I’m sorry, I must have been in shock…..I did not notice I had fallen to the ground again.” She says, sounding dazed.

The man simply nods in acknowledgement. He almost immediately begins to open his mouth to speak instead, but is cut off before any words can form.

“Cain! Oman!” Y/N shouts, sprinting out the gaping hole that was once the front door to the cottage.

Following close behind her, the mysterious man went to investigate who these two names could belong to. He trails her just around the cottage where two corners meet, noting a cellar door protruding from the damp ground. Y/N pulls on the outside handle to the door, momentarily forgetting that the boys most likely had locked it from the inside. She begins pounding on the door with her fist, calling out for them.

“Cain?! Oman?! It’s okay to come out! You are safe my loves!” Y/N yelled out, tears now running down her face passing by her open mouth.

After a moment that seemed to last an entire lifetime, the quiet sound of the cellar door being unlocked entered her ears. The door then opens, Oman appearing first, flinging himself forward into Y/N’s arms, shortly followed by Cain. The boys gripped her as if they have never felt the warmth of a hug before.

“Boys, you’re okay! It’s safe! It’s all over now, you don’t have to be scared. I love you so much, more than life.” Y/N cried into them, not caring about the pain in her shoulder from their grip.

“Mama….what’s wrong with your shoulder?” Oman pulled back slightly, feeling the wetness of her blood on his thin clothing.

“Oh, it’s nothing, darling. Don’t worry, I will be okay. Are you okay?” Y/N asked, her eyes darting between both boys, now standing in front of her knelt form.

The conversation is cut short by the man who came to her rescue running back over, shouting that all three of them must go down into the cellar and lock the door. Y/N stops wiping away the tears streaming down her sons’ faces, turning around to look at the man and the scene unfolding before them. Emerging from the line that marked the end of the nearby grove, two more black bears made their way onto the property.

“Male….female….” The man mumbled to himself.

Viewing the action along with his mother, Oman quickly turns around, grabbing his younger brother’s hand to pull him back into the cellar with him. To his dismay, he has to let go in order to lift the door with two hands, the strength not being apparent in his arms. Y/N rushes over to the door instead and lifts the door up as if it was a simple feather. Oman races down the stairs to safety. Before Cain can fully enter the safe space, the female black bear dashed towards them. Y/N takes hold of him in her arms, diving away just in the knick of time before the bear’s tremendous paw swipes down, narrowly missing them and instead smacking into the siding of the cottage which takes out a small chunk of the slowly rotting wood. Y/N rushes to get back up and crawl farther off to the side with her son. When she and Cain have settled, she watches the man running towards the female bear with his steel sword held high, prepared to make contact. As luck has it, his sword plunges into her shoulder blade. She snarls a thunderous roar and drops to the ground. The man focuses his attention onto the male bear now, taking into consideration that he just attacked and wounded his mate, likely enraging him. This was found to be correct when the creature lunged at him. With ease, the man’s sword cut through the air and stuck straight up into the bear’s ribs. He plummeted down but had not yet passed. The man finished off his attack by slicing clean through its neck, its head separating from its body. His sword now appeared as if it was made of fur and blood, no metallic likeness in sight. Y/N’s eyes were locked onto his movements through the ordeal, the voice of her youngest son being the thing to catch her attention.

“Mama….my tummy hurts.” Cain whimpered.

“Love, it’s okay, we can rest and eat soon.” Y/N consoled him, assuming the young boy was tired and growing to become hungry. “We just need to-” She stops, heart sinking, blood running cold.

Cain’s white long-sleeved nightshirt was now tattered and tainted with a pool of warm crimson blood centered around his abdomen. In pure panic, Y/N lifts the fabric to get a better look. Her darkest fears came true, now playing out in front of her. The female black bear had not completely missed him. Her claws had mercilessly torn into the boy’s abdomen, leaving behind a seven inch open cut that gushed out a waterfall of blood.

“HELP US!! PLEASE!!” Y/N yells out for the man who had been more than helpful the entire night.

The man whips his head around to them, seeing the situation is dire, and starts to jog towards them. However, he stops halfway when he notices that the female black bear is still alive and begins rising back up onto her feet.

“I need to take care of this first, before anybody else is hurt!” He shouts to her and walks away.

Oman then emerges from the cellar, returning outside. The first thing he sees is his mother knelt onto the ground hovering over Cain, attempting to apply pressure to his wound. He sits in front of them, tears reappearing in his eyes and streaming down his face. Just a moment later, the group hears a loud yelp coming from the bear. A few seconds later, the man’s running footsteps are heard as he returns back to them. His red and black multi-layered armor is now riddled with the bear’s blood.

The burly man bolts as fast as he can over to the family, falling to his knees and tossing his woven pouch of supplies onto the ground in front of himself. His bloody and calloused hands frantically search through it, eventually pulling out what appears to be some sort of yellow flowered plant with long green stems accompanied by small leaves protruding out of them, a rough-edged grey stone bowl, a roll of bandages, and a pestle tool for crushing things. A quick exam of Cain’s wound reveals that luckily the bear’s claws did not severely damage any internal organs but it was still too deep for comfort, the boy being at risk for bleeding out. The man places the unidentified plant into the bowl, then uses the pestle tool to crush it into a fine pulp. Once it is mashed enough, he starts to sprinkle it throughout the wound, making sure every inch is slathered.

“Need to prop him up so I can apply the bandages.” The man informs.

Y/N immediately complies, slowly and carefully propping up Cain into a sitting position, taking care to not disturb his wound even more.

“Who….what are you? Why were you here at my home?” Y/N questioned the man.

He glances at her for a moment before replying. “The name is Eskel. I’m….witcher is my profession.” Eskel continues wrapping the bandage around the boy’s abdomen, wondering if he should say more. “The village nearby contracted me to hunt down a couple of bears that maimed a child and acted as thieves, stealing crops and scarfing them down. The girl lived,” Eskel pauses. “but she’s hardly living a life since the bears have been destroying the village’s food supply. I’m used to larger, more dangerous creatures but the people would continue to suffer. Plus,” He stands up, finished with the wrapping. “it was easy coin. I tracked their footprints most of the way down the grove, all the way to the line that started your yard. Then I could just smell them. I heard the sounds of the attack shortly after and just went to where I heard it.” His shoulders shrug. “You know….there’s not a healer ‘round these parts.”

Y/N’s eyes grow wide, quickly figuring out what he was suggesting. “What can I do? He’ll die if I keep him here! Where can I go?” She has desperation in her voice.

“I can take you to Kaer Morhen. It’s….my home. ‘Bout a day’s ride from here. Any farther than that and the boy won’t make it. I’ve diminished my supplies and that celandine plant I rubbed into his gash won’t last forever. There’s other witchers there who can help you. My uh….mentor, Vesemir, will be more helpful than I. He is skilled in this sort of thing. The two of you can ride on top of my horse, Scorpion and your other boy can walk alongside me.”

Y/N cannot deny that she felt skeptical. Other witchers? She recounts the numerous stories her father told her as a child, always telling her to avoid them, as they were evil and disgusting beings who would slaughter any human without a second thought. Even nowadays, as an adult, she constantly hears the whispers of villagers talking down on witchers, saying anything and everything they possibly could to tarnish their reputation. However, this is different. Her child is dying. And there is not a damn thing that can stand her way of getting him help.

“Let’s do it.” Y/N announced.

Eskel stands speechless for a moment, eyes blinking in rhythm, never expecting her to agree so fast.

“Well….” Eskel delicately picks up Cain off of the ground. “shall we then?”

*ONE DAY AND A HALF LATER*

The journey up to Kaer Morhen is a fairly smooth one. The worst weather they experienced was nothing more than a thick fog while riding through a moist and dreary swamp land. Other than that, the traveling clan had a warm, clear, cloudless night. Cain remains mostly stable in condition throughout, although his bandages quickly became completely soaked with his blood. Eskel was unable to properly clean them and the boy’s wound, fearing that once removed he would begin to bleed profusely again. He was still breathing and that’s all that mattered.

Finally riding up to the entrance to Kaer Morhen, Y/N is in absolute awe. Deep within the mountains of the kingdom of Kaedwen lay a massive stone stronghold, partially in ruin. The castle has walls and towers as far as the eyes can see, seemingly impenetrable, even with the obvious rubble scattered around the land from various demolished walls, gates, and some stonework on the ground. If one were to take a close look at the architecture, they would see randomly placed fossils of different sea creatures who once swam the Earth, clearly having meaning to the structure. Y/N imagines what this place was like when it was in its prime, thriving with witchers and trainees from all over the Continent., when the castle itself was intimidating, strong, and resilient.

Cain is sleeping as soundly as he can, nestled against his mother’s chest, when they stop directly in front of the huge caged iron gate serving as the entrance to the stronghold. Eskel motions for Y/N to hand him down the boy to carry. She is reluctant but obeys. Oman reaches his hand up to his mother in order to help her step off of Scorpion without trouble. Once down, Eskel returns Cain to her arms, a deep sigh coming from the young boy.

“I’m going to take Scorpion to the stables, get ‘er settled down. Wait here just a moment.” Eskel turns away from the family, taking a hold of Scorpion’s reigns, before turning his head back again. “Lass….Cain’s heartbeat has slowed, I can hear it. I’m afraid he may have an infection…” He pauses, moving one hand absentmindedly rubbing against his scarred cheek. “I will be quick. Then we will see Vesemir. He will help.” Eskel turns back in the direction he originally intended to go.

“What’s going on, Mama?” Oman asks.

“Oh, love, it seems our dear witcher friend was right…..that…..cela-something plant he used to hold over your brother’s wounds until we got here has in fact, not lasted forever.” Y/N tearfully speaks.

Oman says nothing, walking forward to embrace his mother, but then stopping in worry of awakening Cain while he is still taking refuge in her arms.

Eskel returns a few minutes later, having definitely rushed to settle Scorpion in for the night. Without a word, he opens the gate to the keep, entering inside first.

“Well, this is it, darlings. We’re here.” Y/N speaks to both children, then follows the witcher inside.

Immediately upon entering, three pairs of eyes lock onto Eskel and his three unknown guests. Quicker than Eskel’s can collect his thoughts and come up with a brief explanation, a man with red curly hair speaks up.

“Who the fuck are they?” He blurted out, standing up from the scarred wooden table bench he is resting on. A witcher among the group with shoulder length white hair and golden eyes shoots him a glare.

“This boy needs help, he has been wounded.” Eskel motions to Cain, still in his mothers arms. “I rubbed celandine into the gash but he won’t make it without anything else done.”

A moment of silence fills the room, the three witchers exchange glances.

“Follow me.” The witcher, who looks like an older version of the white haired man, advised.

The two witchers left behind in the Great Hall stare at the group as they exit.

The room the older witcher leads them to looks like something Y/N only reads about in stories of witches and other magical beings. Wide rugged shelves lined the walls surrounding the room, each at least six feet tall. Hundreds of beakers and bottles filled with various colors of liquid, along with piles and piles of herbs found home upon the shelves. Scattered scrolls and papers were seemingly haphazardly tossed amongst them. Although surrounded by decades of knowledge and skill, Y/N could only focus on the long rickety oak table in the center of the square layout.

“Let’s see what we can do to help your boy.” The witcher motions to the table, directing Y/N to place Cain down.

Cain groans softly as he is placed down, still only partially conscious. With careful hands, the witcher removes bandages covering his abdomen to examine the wound closer, fully taking in the severity of the situation. The man sighs heavily and takes note of the thick layer of sweat on Cain’s face and body.

“What’s your boy’s name here?” The witcher asks, not looking away from his face.

“His…his name is Cain…sir.” Y/N chokes up.

“Alright then,” He walks closer to Cain’s head and leans down to hover over him. “Cain, if you hear me, my name is Vesemir. Your mother is worried for you. How about we change that, yeah?”

A faint smile creeps on Y/N’s face.

“I’ll give it to you straight. Your b-...Cain has an infection and has taken on a fever. It….it won’t be long now. He has lost too much blood and was too far from our keep to be mended in time.” Vesemir glances at Cain’s form, releasing another deep sigh. “At this stage, there is only one option.”

Vesemir pauses for a moment, taking in the sight of Y/N and Oman breaking down in sobs. Part of Y/N’s entire world is about to be cruelly ripped away from her. What started as a peaceful night of sleep and sweet dreams, as typical as any other, suddenly turned into a mother’s worst nightmare. Fate is a fickle thing…..However, actions happen to be the seed of a change in fate.

“What can we do for him? What’s our only option?” Y/N clutches Oman at her side, afraid of him leaving her grasp.

“Witcher exclusive potions.” Vesemir uttered.

“What? Witcher potions? I thought those could only work on witchers and would harm humans! My children are no such thing!”

“Cain will not survive if he stays human. The transition must be complete for his wounds and fever to heal. It is the only way, I’m afraid.”

Y/N’s heart drops, becoming heavy in her stomach, her eyes followed by tears pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall once more.

“There are no tools or potions to reverse this kind of damage.” Vesemir breaks the silence. “Of course, the transition itself is a great risk. I imagine however, a small chance for Cain is better than zero chance.”

“This….this is the only ch-choice we have. It has to be done. I will not allow my son to die.” Y/N looks at Cain lying on the table. He is completely unconscious.

“Mama…I wanna do it too.” Oman chimes in.

A sudden coldness rushes through Y/N’s veins. “What?!? No! That is not necessary!” She turns to Vesemir. “I will not risk the lives of both of my children!”

“Mama, please! I wanna be able to help him! I could teach him how to do stuff! He’s little, he needs me! I don’t want to stay human when he’s gonna be a witcher!!” Oman begins to shout. “If I was a witcher, Cain would have never gotten hurt!! I could have made the bears go away!!” His fists are at his side, balled up.

Speechless, Y/N glances at Vesemir.

“What….what do you think Vesemir?” She questions.

“Well….it’s not the worst idea a child has had. It’s true, Cain will need Oman with this transition. He won’t know how to be so incredibly different from his own brother. He might need the support of his own blood. However….it is also true that the risk remains.”

“Oman, do you really want this? Do you really want to undergo the same mutations as him? You want to go through all the training?”

“Please, Mama!!”

“.....Very well.” Y/N’s voice shakes. “Vesemir, let’s get this done. Before I lose Cain. We’re out of time.”

“It will be done. Y/N, please pick up Cain off of the table and follow me.”

A short walk down a dark and cold hallway is all it takes to reach the new destination. Upon entering, Y/N observes four twin sized beds, all aligned in a row against a wall. Each bed features a wooden headboard and two wooden posts at the foot of them. The headboards and posts all have small rope loops attached to them. She squints to look closer at each headboard and thinks she sees…..scratches?

“Oman, lie down in one of the beds.” Vesemir orders. “Y/N, place Cain down on another.”

Oman practically jumps onto a bed. Y/N side-eyes him before laying Cain down on the adjacent one.

“What is….um….what are the ropes for?” Y/N’s curiosity gets the best of her.

“The transition is….a complicated process, to say the least.” Vesemir glances back and forth between the two boys. “They need to be restrained down.”

With a silent nod, she gently places Cain’s wrists and ankles through each loop. She takes a deep breath, disturbed by the sight before her, never guessing that their lives could have ever turned out like this. Even worse, she turns to help Oman, who took it upon himself to put his own hands and feet through the loops. Her thoughts and focus are interrupted as another witcher enters the room.

“What’s going on? Why is the other boy strapped down? He’s healthy!” Eskel questions.

“Eskel-” Vesemir starts to speak.

“No. This isn’t what was supposed to happen. It’s bad enough that one has to go through it to save his life. He is healthy and CONSCIOUS at that. He will feel everything. This is not necessary…..Vesemir, you must see that.”

“This….this is what Oman and his mother want.”

Eskel whips his head to Y/N, who instinctively looks down with guilt. This angers him, prompting him to walk right up to her.

“You are making a mistake.” Eskel looks at the two children, perfectly positioned within the beds. “And you must live with it now.”

Before Y/N can respond, Eskel exits the room, slamming the door behind him. Vesemir ignores the interaction, knowing he must move fast. He grabs a large syringe off of a shelf to his right and fills it with a golden colored liquid. The concoction is made up of forktail spinal fluid, one manatcore poison gland, one albino bruxa tongue, bryonia, ribleaf, and one mandrake root crushed together and blended. The witcher takes one more look at Y/N, who is still nervously darting her eyes back and forth between each of her children, then he moves over to Cain’s right side. Not wasting anymore time, he pushes the needle into the boy’s arm vein, slowly pressing the end of the syringe allowing the fluid to enter his body. Once it is all in, Vesemir pauses for a moment to observe his resting face. It remains unchanged.

“Are you ready, boy?” Vesemir asks Oman, now standing adjacent to his bed.

Oman does not respond with words but simply nods his head, feeling determined to make the change for his brother. Vesemir gives him a tight-lipped, thin and sympathetic looking smile, then repeats the process of pushing the needle into his skin. A subtle wince comes across Oman’s face as he tries to hide his discomfort.

“And now we wait.” Vesemir says quietly, almost coming to a whisper.

Only about ten minutes pass before Oman begins to stir uncomfortably. Vesemir glances at Y/N, knowing what is about to come. The slow process of the chemicals breaking down the children’s human components has begun. It is an odd case of luck that Cain is completely unconscious, unaware of the excruciating pain that is to follow. The room fills with Oman’s groaning and yelling, no longer capable of holding back the pain and irritation. First comes their new speed and endurance. The two youngsters can now keep up with werewolves and other creatures of incredible speed. Golden liquid rushing through their veins, the ability to be immune to almost all human diseases arises. While the children become stronger than Y/N could ever imagine, she is struggling more than ever to keep it together listening to her one healthy child yell and scream and watching the other stay as still as a wood plank.

Y/N’s breathing hitches and her muscles tense up as Oman suddenly becomes silent. As she and Vesemir observe the two boys, the room becomes so quiet that someone could notice the sound of a feather drifting down onto the floor. Time seems to pass in slow motion, even though only minutes have passed before the witcher walks over to Oman. A mere foot away from the boy’s face, he waits silently. All of a sudden, his eyes open and a brief weak smile appears on Vesemir’s face.

“Come look at your boy.” He says to Y/N.

She hesitates slightly but takes small steps over to Oman’s bedside. He is still quiet and barely moving around yet but his eyes are now completely open. A gasp escapes Y/N’s mouth. Lying before her is her once typically innocent eleven year old son who features the same colored eyes, but now resembling a feline’s, a slit running down the middle of each. Upon seeing this, the reality of everything that has happened up to this point fully sets in. Y/N realizes their lives will never be what they were just two days ago.

With his composition, eyes, immunity, strength, speed, and senses heightened dramatically, Oman begins to settle and become more comfortable. He has survived the transition. Assuming her oldest child is stable for the time being, Y/N rushes over to Cain to check his progress. Vesemir, already standing with him, glances at Y/N, then back to the boy. He sighs deeply and slowly lifts his shirt that was covering his wound.

“Oh….oh gods!” Y/N’s hands fly up to cover her mouth, stifling a chuckle. “It’s….it’s just a-”

“Scar.” Vesemir cuts her off, a grin creeping up on his face.

Seeing how his wound changed, Vesemir decides to check his eyes next. Gently, he pulls one of Cain’s eyelids upward to expose his irises. His eyes resembled a feline’s, just like his older brother. One difference was immediately apparent, however. The color of them was pools of melted gold, similar to the witcher Geralt. A type of golden color that was both smooth and solid, yet held so much power within it.

“Well, it seems that both of your boys have successfully made it through the transition. That….is impressive. I would be lying if I said I had no doubts. Most children do not survive.” Vesemir pauses briefly. “Oman and Cain are stronger than most, I suppose.”

*THREE DAYS LATER*

The intense scent of Lambert’s questionable dinner stew filled the Great Hall’s air. One can only describe the smell of his ….odd cooking as similar to sweat. How he got the food to that point is a mystery. The aroma seems particularly strong today to Oman and Cain now that they are fully recovered and are still becoming used to their heightened senses. Everyone is sitting at the same table and benches. Eskel sits across from the new witchers, stirring a spoon in his untouched bowl of stew. His eyes lock with Oman’s.

“What are you staring at me for?” Oman asks Eskel.

Eskel stops stirring his spoon in circles and sits up straight, placing his hands on his thighs.

“When shall we begin your training?” Eskel questions the older boy.

“Can you train us Eskel?? Please, please, please!!” Cain begs. “You saved our mama!!” A large grin appears on his face. “And me!!”

“Yeah, can you, can you?!?” Oman says.

Eskel chuckles lightly, completely dumbfounded. The last thing he expected from the new witchers was to be begged for him to train them and teach them all there is to combat and dealing with the different talents and abilities of dangerous monsters throughout the continent.

“Well….I suppose since you have already gone through and survived the transition, it would not make sense for me to refuse to help you the rest of the way. You’ll need knowledge on how to live through the Path.”

“Really?!? Let’s start right now!!” Cain shouts.

Eskel laughs. “We will start in the morning, it’s late. Now,” He stands and steps over the bench where he was seated. “finish your supper then get some sleep. You will most definitely need it.”

Y/N’s eyes slowly flutter open the next morning, ending her peaceful night’s sleep. The sun beams through a small window within the room she chose to stay in for the night, the warmth of such gently kisses the skin on her face and shoulders. It is a warmth that she had not fully felt for days since the attack. The sun has shone since then but the ice cold fear was rendering the rays useless until now.

Not long after she opens her eyes, the events of the previous night come flooding back to her. Her boys need to start training today. This motivates her feet to move onto the hard stone flooring and over to her small burlap sack of clothing she had managed to grab before departing for Kaer Morhen. She tosses on a white flowing blouse and dark forest green trousers she had made out of a repurposed blanket several years before. A piece of thin leather scrap is tied around her waist, serving as a belt to hold up the just barely too large fabric.

Even after being at Kaer Morhen for almost a week, Y/N can’t help but stand for a moment and gawk at the huge doors of the entrance before passing through them. Once outside and taking in the sun’s complete effect, she admires how the clear blue sky is perfect for a day like this. She smiles softly when she notices Oman and Cain armed with wooden short swords, unleashing relentless attacks against various helpless training dummies with only wood and straw for defense.

“Boys! Remember what I said about your footwork! One wrong step and you’ll be gutted by an Archgriffen! Their claws won’t wait for you to figure it out!” Eskel shouts from several feet behind them, pacing back and forth to examine each and every movement of the children. “And don’t forget to block and brace! It’s not all about offense!” He chuckles and then turns around to face Y/N, having heard the sound of her hair blowing through the gentle breeze.

A smirk appears on his face as he then makes his way over to a rack holding two steel

swords and a single fir wood shield. “Oman and Cain, over here!” He motions with his hand for them to come towards him. “So,” Eskel holds the shield up to himself. “let’s show your mother what you have learned so far, yeah?”

Both Oman and Cain are now sporting huge grins as they both glance at Y/N, who is still watching the situation from in front of the doors. They wave at her before turning back and start swinging their steel swords every which way at Eskel and his shield. Each and every comment he makes to the boys about their technique and movements are taken to heart. At the end of each piece of advice, the children noticeably change accordingly, following his word as if it was the law.

“Go easy on him, boys!” Y/N yells out and sees Eskel laugh at her playful comment.

“I believe your mother thinks you are the most skilled witchers we’ve seen in decades!” Eskel says and grunts, jumping out of the way from Oman’s slash attempt.

Out of nowhere, the two boys suddenly stop what they’re doing and exchange mysterious looks. Without a word of explanation, they both drop their swords and begin shouting while charging at Eskel. Confused and speechless, Eskel stands his ground, waiting to see how this is going to play out. Within the next second, he feels Oman and Cain grabbing his legs, trying to take him down. He decides to humor them and allows his body to be tackled to the ground, dropping his shield. At this point, Geralt and the red-haired witcher Y/N came to know as Lambert step outside and stand on either side of her.

“They are certainly…..creative in their methods of attack.” Geralt jokes as he watches them wrestle the giant witcher on the ground.

“I think this is their version of a break.” Y/N laughs. “They deserve it. They’ve been working so hard with Eskel. He’s….a good man. He is teaching them well. Might make you two look like mice.”

Lambert laughs loudly and obnoxiously at the statement. “I take that as a challenge. If anything, they’ll give Geralt a run for his money. He’s already got the hair of a mouse! And those feet! Daintiest trotters I’ve seen on a man! You should see him scurry!” He positions his hands at his chest and imitates a mouse running.

Geralt huffs and rolls his eyes as Y/N and Lambert both find the joke amusing.

“Boys, why don’t you come inside for a while now and eat breakfast, you’ll need it!” Y/N calls out to her children.

Without a second thought, Oman and Cain sprint over to their mother, Eskel walking at a slow pace to follow behind them.

“Mama, what’s for breakfast?” Oman asks, Cain already having entered the Great Hall.

“Well, today it’s-” Before she can finish, Oman rushes past her, following his younger brother.

“That speed of theirs will definitely come in handy for training.” Eskel chuckles.

“Their speed, you say? HA! How about their ability to take out a tree of a man three times their size by charging at his knees?!?” Lambert chimes in.

“Ha ha very funny, Lambert. It seems as if you’re a little jealous that you’ll never be as speedy and nimble as them again, old man.” Eskel fires back, emphasizing the words ‘old man’.

“Old man?!? Who the fuck are you calling an old man?!? You are–” The end of Lambert’s argument fades away as he goes inside, continuing to argue by himself.

Geralt rolls his eyes for what seems like the hundredth time before also turning to join the others inside. Y/N and Eskel are the only two left outside.

“So, Eskel.” Y/N starts. “Think you’ll be able to handle my boys?”

Eskel laughs. “I have dealt with many creatures but I must say…adolescent boys are by far the most difficult I’ve come across in my days.”

“They are definitely a handful, if I do say so myself. But….I have faith in you, Eskel.” A more serious tone fills her voice. “Thank you. For….everything. Me and my boys wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you. You saved us.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Y/N. I was just-” Eskel is suddenly stunned in silence by Y/N lunging forward to give him a tight and intense hug.

After a few seconds, she pulls away. “Well, we too should go inside for breakfast. You might need your energy more than them. You’re the one who is training them, after all.”

Y/N leaves Eskel standing in place; he does not immediately follow her inside. He rubs his face with both of his hands, one pausing to rub the corner of his mouth.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

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