The New Conjunction (a Witcher->Real World crossover)

[justmedk]

When she heard the calm, collected way he answered her, Ciri started crying again. As if it wasn't anything. It was hurt, and a monstrous sense of betrayal on her face, but she had to admit that she HAD hurt herself, and she knew enough to know that wounds such as the one she just had, had to be disinfected, or it'd get worse.


How much worse could it get? her inner voice said. Now in Lambert's voice. He'd always been a bastard. Correction: I've never been a bastard, because I don't exist, and neither do you.


It was all Ciri could do to keep herself from hissing "shut up" as she headed for the bathroom with him, but she did manage to do so even as she limped all the way, wincing with every step as her little toe was really starting to hurt. She sat down, still carefully, at the chair he pulled up and reached out her hand. She listened to him starting to explain. She nodded. What else was she to do? He was tending her wound. He had food. He had shelter.



You lived in the wild with Geralt on the way back to Kaer Morhen. He taught you how to survive.



She became silent for a while at the voice's pointing out that fact, but suddenly realized that an answer was expected. "So when I told you my name yesterday. And felt awful for having hidden it from you. You stood there and pretended you didn't already know", she said, now quietly but her voice was still seething with rage, hurt and a feeling of betrayal, even as she hissed in pain at the cleaning of her wound, and her toe still throbbed.


"So, I'm not real", she said matter-of-factly. "I feel real. But some random person with an unpronouncable name thought me up. Everything that happened to me, that sick bastard made up", she hissed. She was very much not in control of her emotions right now. Any 13-year old would be hard pressed to be in control of their emotions. Someone in Ciri's position, even more so. When she tried to stand up again when he was done, she crunched her face in pain, and tried to hide it. But couldn't hide her limp as she went back towards the stairs. Slowly.

[guesswho]

He doesn't deny any of it, of course he knew. But he also notices the limping and that walking doesn't come that easy to her right now.


"Ciri, come back here, we need to look at that foot as well. Put it up and stay, for fuck's sake. I know you hate me right now, and I can't blame you, but you're also injured. You'll have plenty of time to hate me when we do something about it." He finds her something to put under her leg and goes to get some ice from the kitchen. Did she try to kick things with bare foot? She's real enough to understand that's not a good idea. Also some pain gel and hopefully it's not broken. He comes back with all the stuff and looks at the poor girl. Identity crisis can be harsh, especially when one doesn't even know if they're real.


He sits down to her foot and looks at the injured toe. Does it look broken? How would he even know? He's not a doctor.


"Should hurt a bit less after this." He shows her the cream. "Look, Ciri. Yes, I know who you are and I knew your full name yesterday. I was hoping I could kinda...dunno, ease you into it over time or something. I don't know. You're starting to go into weird metaphysical thoughts that you don't even have a vocabulary for, so let me just stop you right there. You are real. If you weren't, I wouldn't be here worrying about your toe. Hell of a witcher you are, lose a fight with cupboard." He winks at her, while gently spreading the gel on her toe.


"Clearly, your world exists...somewhere, because we don't have an infestation of literary characters on a daily basis here. Like...we'd know by now if that shit happened normally. How does the old bastard know what happens in your world, I have no idea, but since you're here, it might as well come to him in a dream or through magic or whatever. I dunno. I'm a blacksmith, I understand iron, not quantum metaphysical bullshit. Here, put this on it." 'This' is a piece of frozen vegetable older than Ciri, now covered in a piece of linen. He bought it once, when he wanted to live healthy, and found it disgusting, but has been using it as an icepack for more than a decade now, never letting it defrost.



"Now, we're done. If you want, you can limp to your room and hate me there, just make sure you hold this on your toe. Or come with me back to living room and we'll try to figure out what's going on." It's her choice, in the end, and he's not going to force her. She'll need some time to deal with this anyway.

[justmedk]

Ciri stopped for a moment, and did come back. Now it was her turn to not deny something said. At the moment she did not like him very much at all, no. But she did put her foot up as he instructed. Whatever else was going on, she knew that he could help her with her injury. She held still as she could, and cried out when she felt him touch it ever so gently. Even though she was angry, she knew he wouldn't hurt her. She tried to take his words in. She was still very angry. She didn't understand that meta-something he was talking about, but she did understand what he said about keeping something cold on the injury, nodded.

"Thank you", she said calmly and politely, walking slowly over to the stairs and up them, heading to her room, and when there followed his instructions tp put it on her toe. She found an ingenious way to strap it against its target by using a pair of panties she rolled up into a string, then tied the pack against the to, then put a pillow under her foot, lay back on her bed, and tried to read a bit, though her mind couldn't focus.When it came time to dinner, Ciri's mind was made up. Her toe was feeling at least somewhat better. And she was hungry. She got up, still limping slightly but not as badly as previously, and very cautiously went down the stairs and handed him the icepack. Maybe it could refreeze so she could use it tonight as well

It turned out that tonight wouldn't be one of those nights where she'd complain about bedtime at all. As soon as dinner was over, and she'd helped clean up, she headed up to her room again, with the re-frozen icepack. Then she tied it around her injury again, and tried to sleep a bit. She would need it.

________________

It turned out that some rest, some elevation, and some cold did her toe wonders. She could barely feel it by the time she woke up. Judging by the shade of darkness it was after Daniel would have gone to bed too. She nodded. Everything would depend on how her toe felt walking. She was not stupid. Monsters or not, she'd be in bad shape without the ability to run, not to mention walk normally. Luckily, she could do that without a problem. There was some tension left, that was all. She smiled, then got dressed in the warmest clothes she had, several layers in fact, packed a bag of clothes, changes of socks, left the icepack in the room on the table, and then headed downstairs as quietly as she could. She headed to the big white box, where she found a large bottle of water. She could get more from a local stream, but initially, cold water would be nice. Then she grabbed some bread from teh bread box. She didn't bring any cold meats or other stuff to put on the bread, apart from some butter, because she'd have no way of keeping them cool enough to be safe for eating.

When she'd packed what she could, and could carry, Ciri headed out the door, heading towards the forest where she'd arrived. If she could get back there, to that exact spot. Then maybe...just maybe...she could find the same conjunction and get home!

A few hours later, however, it was clear that wasn't going to happen. And now she was wet from the rain. She was exhausted, and her foot had started to hurt again. She sat on a tree trunk. She'd been an idiot. And now she was going to die from exposure in this forest. Ironically just like Lambert had said in her nightmare. She hid her head in her hands and cried again.

[guesswho]

Next morning, laying in bed and playing over yesterday's events. It could have gone better. "Oh well." Daniel gets up and goes downstairs, yelling for Ciri to come and get breakfast. Downstairs, he starts making breakfast for both of them, but notices some things missing. Bread. And water. Looks like someone had munchies during the night. Making nothing much of it, he finishes the breakfast, but by then, Ciri didn't answer to multiple calls and a suspicion is starting to claw its way in. He knocks a couple times, but since there's no answer, he comes in anyway. Most of her stuff is missing, along with Ciri.


"Fuck..." Where could she go? He doubts she went to live with neighbors, he'd have heard about that by now. And it's raining outside...god, every teenager contemplates running away ever so often, but to do so during rain requires extraordinary determination. If she just ran away in random direction, he'll never find her without help, and he doesn't really feel like starting a search unless necessary. She could have gone back to the forest, though...in which case, the wisest course of action would be to wait until she gets hungry and comes back, tried and true solution for most of these issues. But she took food with her, so this was premeditated, to an extent. Stupid, but he'd seen people think stupid ideas through to an extreme degree before.



He has to at least try. Swearing all the time, he gets dressed for rain and heads out, toward the place he'd met the crazy girl. He's got a way to keep out rain, but he's a mud monster up to his knees anyway, by the time he reaches the forest. Now, where was that place? He picks a direction that seems like and starts walking. At least the rain is lighter in the forest.



"Ciri! Are you here? Yo, Ciri, can you hear me? I've got chocolate!" A shameless bribe, nothing more. He yells, as he searches for the place.

[justmedk]

Ciri had just about given up on life, working on resigning herself to her awful fate. She had cried all her tears for now. She thought back to her early childhood, which had seemed happy for a while at least. She tried to live in those memories, as she felt her strength drain away.


So this is what it it's like to die from exposure she thought. Then tried to push the thought away. At least for a little while....then she heard his voice. She jumped up, and when she heard it again, she ran towards the sound, and as she sees him, her eyes widen, and she sprints towards him as fast as she can on a foot whose toe is acting up again, in a scene very much reminiscent of this one, throwing her arms around him. She hadn't even heard the chocolate-line. She didn't care about it all. Right now - though maybe not in a few days - she didn't care if she never got chocolate again. She just wanted to be safe. She wanted to be with him.

"I'm sorry I was an idiot, please don't send me away, I'm sorry I stole from you, I needed provisions, but I'm an idiot I didn't think it through, I won't run away again, I promise!", she ranted very quickly. She was genuinely worried about him having had enough of her now that he'd found her again, and really, really hoped that wasn't the case. She didn't know what she'd do if that was so.
She wasn't really much to look at. All her layers of clothes were soaking wet. She was cold, and the wind-chill factor didn't help. Her toe hurt again, the swelling not as bad as the day before, but it was still sore. All in all, she looked rather mousy, and felt even more so.

[guesswho]

A little bit of yelling, but it brings results. Or, more precisely, completely soaked through Ciri cannoning into him. He only gets a part of her rant, but it seems she's thinking he's gone to all the trouble of looking for her in the rain just to tell he doesn't want to see her again. She clearly has no idea how lazy he is.


"At least pick a warmer day next time. Come on, let's go home." Daniel says warmly, happy he found her and certainly not planning to send her away. "Feel real enough now?" As they start to walk towards home, he pulls out the chocolate and hands it over. "Eat. You need energy and warmth. I'll light up a fireplace when we get home." The girl looks like...well, someone who went out in the rain without thinking it through and now is shamefully coming home to get dry clothes. He helps her through the forest and the fields behind his house, by now both wet, miserable and covered, but at least in Daniel's case happy he found her. The operation of getting inside without covering the whole house in mud is complicated, but in the end he manages to do so with minimum damage and brings some new, warm clothes for Ciri, while her old ones go straight to the washing machine.



"Go chill out in the living room, I'll make a fire, then we'll talk about this." He's not sure right now which way this'll go, so he does his best not to sound too threatening.

[justmedk]

Ciri followed him home, sticking very VERY close to him. She heard the warmth in his voice when he suggested to go home, and she had nodded eagerly. She was cold and she was tired. She'd been monumentally stupid, and it was only thanks to some kind of providence that she hadn't died. She'd lost much of her former confidence in her own abilities.

His jab about feeling real enough hit home, and she whimpered and nodded. She deserved that one. She sniffled when he gave her a chocolate bar. She didn't feel she deserved it, but she saw his point. She was beginning to limp a bit again; though the pain in her toe was nowhere near as bad as last afternoon or night, she did still feel it. And she needed the energy to make the trek home.

"I...I'm sorry", she said as they walked. "A...also for....for stealing from you", she said, deeply ashamed now. Well, she hadn't EXACTLY broken the promise she'd made to him at the store a while back. She hadn't, in fact, stolen from a store at the market.

You've done something far worse. She cringed as she knew that the inner asshole was right, and she wolfed down the chocolate, for that quick energy boost.
Once they got home, she meekly followed his lead in getting inside without making the house look like a battlefield. She gratefully accepted - with a tear rolling down her cheeks - the new warm clothes and got to the living room where she lay down on her back on the couch and used the cushion to hide her face. It was a childish gesture, certainly, but right now she felt she just wanted to hide from the world in shame.

When he eventually entered the living room, she removed the cushion from her face, sat up....but didn't look at him. She looked down again.

"I...I'm sorry" she repeated, and crippling shame shone from her body language. "You...you've saved my life. And...and I repaid you by stealing from you and running away", she whimpered. "I...I don't know why....I just...wanted to do something. I...I didn't think it through. I...I'm sorry", she finished, very intensely studying the floor.

[guesswho]

He comes back with some wood and paper to start the fire, but Ciri starts apologizing again. When in fact it was him who wronged her. Well, kinda. The intentions were good, but the outcome was less than amazing. Daniel sighs and drops it off in fireplace before coming to Ciri to comfort her.



"Ciri, you took a loaf of bread so you don't die of hunger. Doesn't really fit into my definition of stealing." He sits down next to Ciri and pulls her into a hug. "It's okay. Yes, you didn't think it through, but last days were difficult and an emotional rollercoaster. Don't be so hard on yourself. I understand why you did it, though you do deserve a trip over my knee. Now, wait for a bit, I'll be right back." The fact is, he doesn't feel great after this slog through the mud and rain early in the morning. He's not eighteen anymore, and his body doesn't like this kind of treatment. He might be in good shape in regards to physical strength, but he's certainly not used to spending his mornings in the cold rain. So he leaves Ciri on the sofa while he goes to start a fire to warm his old bones. But with the roaring flame, the room suddenly looks much more comfortable and homely. He grabs some snacks as comfort food and comes back.



"See? Much nicer." Daniel smiles and drops back on the couch. The room is warming up, finally. "I'm just glad you're alright, really. Please don't do this again. Or at least pick a warmer day. And preferably without rain." He shivers a bit. Daniel's not a big fan of spring. It just rains all the time and it's cold and muddy.



"Now, what to do with you." His tone and whole body language says there is probably going to be some punishment, but it's not going to be particularly harsh. Probably more for her own conscience than because of some particular feeling of being wronged on his side. "I don't mind the book throw yesterday, though I could do without it in future. You have painfully good aim. Still, I deserved that one. And I understand why you ran away, but you could have died. It's concentrated misery out there and you wouldn't be first to die that way. Also, you scared me...like, for real. I don't mind you hate me because I didn't tell you about the whole thing with the books, but I would much more prefer if you hated me somewhere safe and warm." Daniel relaxes, the fire is starting to warm him and it's feeling pleasant. He could ground her, but he also knows Ciri is the kind of person where this causes more problems than it solves.



"So it'll be a trip over my knee for you, young lady." Daniel says, as he reaches out to grab Ciri, and firmly, but gently pulls her over his lap.

[justmedk]

Ciri clung to him when he hugged her, even not tensing at his words about the punishment she deserved. She obviously didn't want it, but she couldn't really deny that what she'd done was stupid and dangerous. She let out a sob when he smiled at her and said that he was just glad she was alright. She didn't know much right now. She was still very much a mess of conflicting emotions because of what had happened.


When he said "Now, what to do with you", she whimpered a bit. She heard the tone in his voice. She wasn't frightened of him as such, of course. He'd just saved her life. Again. But no kid wants to be punished, not even when she deep down - or not so deep in Ciri's case - knows she deserves it. She sobbed again when he pointed out that she could have died there. For many hours until he found her, she was certain she was going to. At the mention of the painfully good aim, Ciri lets out a sniffling chuckle - a little bit of humor in the midst of misery. She knew what was coming before he said it, though, and had resigned herself to it. Also to show him that she WAS sorry.
So when he pulled her over his lap, she didn't protest or struggle, though she could not stop herself tensing. Her

"I'm sorry!"


was not an exhortation for him to don't do this, but a profession of remorse. She could not stop herself from breathing heavier, though. A spanking was still a spanking, and it was the closest thing to hell on Earth.


Second-closest, her inner monologue told her, as she lay over his knees, her butt sticking up, and her head hanging down. And this time it was in her own voice.

[guesswho]

No resistance or pleading now, which only half surprises him. Girl looks like she knows very well she deserves this, so maybe that's why. Clearly, she's not happy about the prospect of eating her lunch sitting on a pillow again, but there are worse things in the world.



"I know, Ciri." Daniel says, pulling her pants down, leaving her butt exposed. At this point, he's pretty sure that even though her backside is going to sting for a while, her mind will feel much better when they're done. So he lifts his hand and gets to work. Long series of sharp slaps starts raining on her exposed backside.



"You could have died out there, Ciri. You were lucky temperature didn't drop any further, or I might have just found a corpse. Why did you even go there? Did you think you'd get back to your word? If you so wanted to get back to your world, I would've helped you. You're not a prisoner here, Ciri." Daniel talks, while spanking her cheeks, alternating between them and making sure to cover her sit spots and upper thighs well. While he's not going particularly hard, she still needs to sit uncomfortably for while after he's done with her.



"Every kid wants to run away at some point, and I don't begrudge you that, but at least try to do it in less deadly weather. I really, really don't want you to get killed. Understood?" The last couple sentences of his scolding are accompanied by a series of harder slaps, and when he asks the question, he stops for a while, giving her a chance to think about it and answer him, before continuing...