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

[justmedk]

Ciri beamed in the praise Denisa threw at her. The young woman would probably get the idea that her opinion meant a great deal to Ciri, so this too made her besides herself with pride. The amazed looks of the people around them also made her blush a little bit deeper with shyness. She was about to say something when she noticed the crewmember and looked at him. She smiled widely and accepted the box. She looked at Denisa as she saw the contents.

"I can't eat all of this on my own", she lied, and lied very obviously. "Wanna share tonight?", she asked as they headed towards the changing rooms to get changed. She didn't know the ancient human instinct to share food with people you like, but that was what she felt like anyway. She was clearly pleased with herself, and felt a bit on cloud nine. She was getting a bit worried, however, when she saw people continue to stare and point at her as they headed for and left the changing rooms. And when she overheard the guy talking about witchers, it was only her training that kept her from panicking and saying something stupid.

What did you expect woudl happen? Geralt-of-her-mind - who happened to have all of the real Geralt's wit and perception and none of his tact and sensibility - pointed out to her. She guessed that she only had herself to thank for potentially outing herself. But then again, she could not have simply flunked the obstacle course. Giving anything less than your best was unacceptable. She could almost hear Geralt admonishing that even if your best isn't very good, that can be improved. A poor attitude cannot be.



"Thank you", she said softly, trying to hide her worry at the remarks about witchers she overheard. "For....like...today....letting me borrow your clothes when I got here....yeah...everything really". She was getting tired, that much was certain. She had trained like a witcher, yes, but at the end of the day she was a child, with a child's physique. And she was tired now.

[guesswho]

Of course she's tired, but Denisa is surprised to see her really acting like...just a tired child. Infinite energy has ran out for the time being. She doesn't even know how to react. It was more fun than she imagined, and it gave her lots of food for thought.



"Oh, I'm happy you could visit, didn't have this much fun in a long time. But let's go home and rest." She'll be at least able to catch a glimpse of night life, the crowds of students in various stages of drunkennes. Usually, she'd be among them, but today was a nice change of pace. "Dunno about you, but I'm looking forward to bed." The last obstacle of course is to actually get home, and this takes some time to do by bus. It didn't look such a long journey in the morning, but suddenly, the half an hour on bus doesn't look appealing. Yet still more than walking, so bus it is.


"This kinda reminds me coming home from a festival..." She muses idly, when they board the bus. "You're tired, you're dirty and you're pretty sure you want to spend the rest of eternity in a hot bath." And this is after just one day. The bus, with its many stops, finally brings them almost home. When she checks her phone, there's a bunch of messages asking if she's going out partying today, but with Ciri in tow, that wouldn't end well, even if they weren't this tired.



"Shit, we still need to buy some stuff. I'm not eating candy for dinner AND for breakfast." Denisa realizes, when they're near home. Luckily, the small store nearby is still open. "Want something specific?" The choice is not great, but it'll keep them alive for the time being.

[justmedk]

Ciri nodded with fatigue as Denisa suggested they go home. If she was being honest with herself, she wouldn't have been able to take much more today.
She couldn't help but be a little bit disconcerted when she saw the spectacle of drunk people staggering about. But then again, she'd seen it before. Not so much at the palace in Cintra, but witchers were not known to be teatotalers. Of course none of them had ever hurt her while drunk - she smiled a bit at the knowledge that Geralt would have done something unmentionable to anyone who'd tried - but at first it had been a bit scary to watch.
Later, it became just amusing to see them in different elements. The noble, serious warriors she looked up to, letting loose.

This was different. She did not know any of these people. Did not know their hearts, their intentions. So she stuck a little bit closer to Denisa than before, with a bit of a worried look on her face as she looked at three drunk guys who passed the two of them.
Once in the bus, she relaxed a little bit more, strange as that was to realize while travelling faster than people were meant to be able to travel outside of portal-travels. She leaned against Denisa on the bus, and almost instantly dozed off into the kind of light sleep one could get on a bus. Meaning she was all the more groggy when she woke up when it was their time to get off.



When Denisa said they needed to buy groceries, Ciri still nodded again, not about to argue. She was too tired for that. When asked if she wanted something specific, Ciri shrugged. Not the indifferent teenage "I don't care"-shrug, but an actual "I don't really know". Then she rememebered something Daniel had served that hadn't tasted half bad. "Wh...what about Zelňačka?", she suggested cautiously, not wanting to burden Denisa too much, but when asked, it was polite, she thought, to give a response.

[guesswho]

She raises an eyebrow, but shrugs and buys the ingredients, such as they are. Not that she feels like cooking, but the idea is good, and they can always eat it tomorrow, in case Ciri just falls asleep before it's finished. "Alright, I guess." The old lady at the counter knows Denisa to be a regular customer, and is surprised when no wine is being bought today.



"Oh, your sister is visiting? Little too young for your kind of party?" Denisa grins at the old lady, something of a party animal herself. She's clearly drunk already.



"You know how it is, parents would be mad if she came home with a hangover." She says while paying, and makes sure to ask if everything is alright, but the old lady and her cats seem to be doing just fine. Her cackling at some joke in the ancient radio is accompanying them out.


"I shop here often. It's nearby, you know. And she's nice, even though she's drunk most of time." Denisa explains shortly, slightly ashamed at her familiarity with the old lady. "I buy a lot of wine here. Sometimes, I keep her company. She tells a lot of stories of the old times. And sells cigarettes and booze to children, and when confronted says that youth today is not rebellious enough." She shrugs. It's cute, in its own way, and mostly harmless.


It's just a couple more steps home, and Denisa quickly searches how does one actually make the requested meal. But it doesn't seem too complex, so she starts the preparation.



"Well, we'll be eating in about an hour, if you can keep eyes open that long. Wanna help me out around here?" She has no illusions of how useful Ciri will be, but it should give her something to do to keep eyes open.

[justmedk]

Due to fatigue, CIri was a lot more shy than she'd normally be. While she didn't exactly cower behindd Denisa - she wasn't afraid of the woman by any means - she WAS much too tired to be very social with new people right now. So she did step a little bit back behind Denisa, in a gesture that made her seem younger than her 13 years. The fact that the woman was clearly drunk did not help her unease. She was semi-used to seeing drunk MEN. But women were another story. And certainly not OLD women. The whores that some of the witchers had brought to Kaer Morrhen a few times, sure. But old women were supposed to be respectable, wise....not...like this.

She kept her thoughts to herself, though, as they finished their business at the shop, and left. She listened to Denisa's explanation about the old woman and fatigue could not hide her frown at the description. While she might be privately pleasant, she did not sound like a very good person, or a good role model to emulate for...well....anyone?
Not that she was about to say it out loud. She knew that she didn't know enough about how things worked in this place yet to be able to form an opinion she could stick by without sticking out like a sore thumb. Though she HAD figured out by now that those "cigarettes" were harmful to you, and hard alcohol certainly could be. So why she was supposed to look up to someone who sold that stuff to children was something Ciri could not understand.

All things said and done, though, they got home, and Ciri took off her jacket. She smiled and nodded as Denisa asked her if she wanted to help with preparing the meal. She did. If for no other reason than to show her that she didn't want to be a burden on her more than necessary.

"I'd love to" she smiled "But...I don't know what to do?", she finished before washing her hands. She knew that much, at least.

Once the meal was done, and they sat down to eat it, Ciri's eyes widened and she smiled a tired smile. This was really very good. She didn't know if it was really good because of how exhausted she was and any meal would be good...or if it was because the meal was actually good. But it also made no difference at the momente!

"This is very good!", she said, and it was anot empty flattery. She meant it.

[guesswho]

Together, eventually, they manage to produce an edible version of the soup. Denisa never really tried to prepare it herself, in her eyes, this is kind of food you seek out around third morning of a festival, when your throat feels like an ashtray and head as if someone used it for anvil. But it's surprisingly good, even when one doesn't feel like dying.


"Oh yeah, it came out well. Surprisingly well, really. I guess there's not much you can do wrong about this kind of soup anyway." But they've been prolonging the wakefulness long enough, and even though it's nowhere near Ciri's bedtime, Denisa decides she's had enough of this. She's tired and Ciri looks like she currently needs adult supervision mostly to not fall asleep and drown in her own soup.


"There's enough for tomorrow too. Let's get some sleep." Today's over, as far as she's concerned. Maybe if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she'll do some light reading, but right now, bed looks too good to pass up.



____________________


Even though Denisa thought she might wake up during the night, yesterday's exertion was too much, and while she woke up earlier than usual, she still slept until morning. And now everything hurts. She's no stranger to movement, but exertion like yesterday is unusual.



"Good morning..." She says, once she crawls out of the bed and Ciri turns up as well. "Dan says he'll come pick you up after lunch, by the way." Does she feel like eating same thing as yesterday? Eh, might as well...

[justmedk]

Ciri would normally have argued about bedtime this early, but tonight? Tonight's a very different night. She would not have suggested it, as she didn't want to seem like a little girl who can't stay up even to her bedtime. But when it was Denisa herself who made the call, it was a different matter. She nodded calmly.

"Alright. If you're tired, let's go to bed", she acceded. Secretly happy, because she was starting to have to force her eyes open.
She went to brush her teeth, and then hugged Denisa.


"Thank you", was all she said before she headed to sleep. She was out like a light almost the instant her head hit the pillow.


___________

The next morning, however, she was full of energy once again! She got up and quickly showered and changed clothes, before heading downstairs. Her stomach was telling her rather impatiently and rudely to fill it with something, and she felt obligated to honor its request! So she headed for the kitchen, saw Denisa, and smiled, hugging her.


"Goodmorning!" she said enthusiastically, before sitting down. The news of Dan picking her up after lunch was received neutrally. She wouldn't mind spending more time here, but also realized that Denisa also likely had a life that didn't involve her, and it was unfair to expect anything else. And she did kinda miss Daniel too, she realized.


Denisa's choice for breakfast did surprise her a bit - having dinner for breakfast? But she was not one to point such things out. The dish was tasty, and the company was good!
She looked at a clock on the wall and saw that "after lunch" was still hours away.

"What'ya wanna do until then?", she asked exitedly. She didn't know what they'd have time for. Certainly not going back to the place where they'd played that laser-game yesterday. But Ciri didn't much care, either. To her, it was the company which mattered

[guesswho]

Of course she's back full of energy. Denisa still remembers when she was like that, and realizes it's probably only going to get worse with age. It's nice out, warm, but not too hot yet. One of the first warm days of the year. It'll get worse, but today seems sunny.



"Weeell...it's warm, so how about boards, by the river?" She brings two longboards. "And actually, we can save Dan the journey and get you home directly. Look." Denisa pulls up a map on her phone, where there's an almost direct bikeroute between Brno and Wien, going very close to their village. "I mean, if you feel like it, you know. It's doable, but quite far. If not, we can always come back, or have him pick you up somewhere along the way." And while they're at it, she grabs a drone, it's always fun to have it fly above them, especially when doing tricks. Or learning them. The distance should be just enough for Ciri, if she's even up for it, to arrive home just about ready for bed.


"We go every summer with some of my friends, but only as far as the lakes." She scrolls to lakes some distance further from the village. "Maybe we can take you with us, when you're a bit older." She's pretty sure Dan will not frown at some light supervised drinking even if she's slightly below eighteen. In case he does, he'll be reminded of all the stories being told by him, and about him.


"So, feel up for it? It'll be a bit of a challenge, but I'd say fun."

[justmedk]

Ciri at first seemed eager for the challenge, when she pointed out the route. Surprising Dan by showing up all of a sudden, unannounced, made her giggle.
She, of course, very quickly realized the one problem with the plan, and her facial expression turned from exitement at the challenge, to sadness and a little bit of shame.


"I...I don't know how to use one of those....bike...things", she admitted. She had of course seen them. In movies, in the city, and in the village even. But she didn't know how to operate it. For sure, it looked easy enough, but she was old enough to know that not everything that looked easy, was. Geralt made fighting look easy, but the training she'd gone through had taught her that it by no means was.


"I'm sorry", she said apologetically. "I...I'd love to do that, but I haven't learned how to use one of those...."bikes", she tasted the word as she spoke it. It sounded funny. "So I...I don't think a long trip on one is a good idea".
"How...how about something here? At home?", she asked, trying to change the subject away from her own failings. "Or...or close by? Anything fun there?", she tried, desperate to find something to distract Denisa from the fact that she'd just had to admit to not being able to do something that - she'd seen on TV and in person - small children were able to.

[guesswho]

Who doesn't know how to ride a bike? Well, somebody who grew up in a forest with a crazy mother probably wouldn't. Denisa shrugs, as if it's no big deal. There are to this day people who don't know how to swim, which blows her mind much more than not knowing how to bike.



"No worries, and certainly no need to apologise. How about...how about I'll teach you how to ride all the things next time I'm in the village?" While thinking about something fun to do, Denisa realizes there's an improvised playground nearby, and there's usually kids playing version of football for anything between one and about sixty seven players.



"Here's an idea, get you sports gear on, I do believe there'll be a bunch of kids your age, more or less, playing football nearby. I'm pretty sure they'll let you join. Rules are simple, don't pick up the ball in your hands, don't kick and punch other players unless they start. You'll pick up the rest fairly quick, I'd say." She says, while pulling on her boots and getting something to read in the meantime, as she's in no state or mood to join in on the game.



The park is about two minutes walk from their place, and there's a bunch of kids playing football with backpacks used as goalposts, but there's also an outdoor gym and some acrobatics equipment nearby.



"See, I told you. Go ask if you could join, from here it looks one side is short a player..." Based solely on the odd count of players, but the game is usual chaos of kids playing football, so who knows.