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

[justmedk]

"You're not a black sheep", she disagreed with him more forcefully than she had planned. Then she blushed a little. "All I mean is...you're very good at what you do. You're kind, you're smart. It's quite frankly their loss". A modern teenager might have regarded it as "cringe" to say stuff like that to a parentel figure. But Ciri was not a modern teenager, and she felt it needed to be said - he shouldn't think of himself like that.




As soon as she heard the noise of the duels, Ciri put the book down and went over to the window, looking. These people were no Geralt, but it was clear that they knew how to use those swords. And in the absence of Geralt, Vesemir and the others, it appeared that these were the best chance she had.



Ciri admired their techniques and tried to emulate with a make-believe sword in her hand, trying to study their movements and try to combine it with what she'd picked up of witcher training.
When she saw them stop and Daniel approach one of them, she didn't need to know what he was talking with them about. And her heart started racing. She didn't think she'd ever need the skill anymore, of course, but by the gods it was the one thing she'd trained for, and she wanted SOMETHING she was good at in this world. No matter how little practical use there ended up being for it. In expectation of a positive answer, she almost jumped over to the bags of clothes and put on a pair of pants that seemed like they be good to move in and also of course decent, then a blouse that allowed for movement, and a pair of sneakers, befores he almost lept all the way downstairs, waiting by the door to see what the result of the conversation had been.

When she finds out the results, she almost squees from exitement. For a moment forgetting that she's actually kinda tired from the long day and many impressions, she waits for him to come tell her, fidgeting the entire time, then takes the wooden sword she's given and heads out. She's both exited, and nervous. She wants to make a good first impression and not embarass him, but she also wants to show that she's not just a silly little girl with a fancy obsession. Not knowing how to greet a stranger here, she defaults to what she knows and does a polite curtsy.

[guesswho]

Of course she's already waiting downstairs, when he goes to call her. The sheer excitement is so incredibly cute, but she still only gets a wooden sword, just like her opponent. For now, at least. Finally, he'll have a chance to see how much training Geralt and others managed to get into her.



"Guys, this is Ciri, my niece. I think you knew my sis, right? No? I'm sure you've met, but she did tend to keep to herself, so I guess you never really talked. Anyway, Ciri, this is Mojmir and his group. They train historical forms of swordsmanship." Daniel takes a couple steps back, so they have enough space to do their swordy things. Daniel's own knowledge of swordplay is just enough to know he knows nothing about it.


Mojmir pauses, confused by her curtsy, but decides to play along and bows.



"Nice to meet you. So, you'd like to train with us? You're a bit...young, to be honest, but let's give it a try. Daniel says you know some basics? So, show me." He gets in a defensive stance and raises his wooden sword just as if it was a real one.


Daniel watches from the side, and a realization comes to him that he's not actually sure who'd he bet on. Mojmir is good, but his skills are mostly for show, since no one uses swords for real combat these days, while Ciri was trained by brutal fighters, who very much need to be good at it, or die horribly. He knows who'd he bet on if Ciri had the full training, though...

[justmedk]

Ciri raised an eyebrow and a smirk at his comment about her being a bit young, but that only emboldened her to show them what she had. She had no illusions that she was better than these people, but she hoped to prove she was not a random rank amateur playing either. She took up the opening pose of what Lambert had called the "Temerian Devil". She'd seen both Lambert, Geralt, and Vesemir use this in training. The others were in armor. Of course she knew it was only going to be a sparring match, but she treated it as she had been taught to treat a real fight, and so she went with the style suited to that.

It seemed that he expected her to just come at him, and she decided to oblige with a strong attack, deliberately clumsy, which he predictably blocked, but then she continued with a feint to her left, causing him to shift his weight. She took that opportunity to do a pirouette and use the wooden sword do a leg-sweep, taking the man unawares and off guard and having him prone on the ground. She pointed the outstretched sword towards the top of his head, but took a step back before doing so, to make it clear to him that she wasn't going to actually attack him.


She couldn't help but smile a bit as she saw her maneuvre worked. It was the first time she'd "fought" against anyone other than Geralt, Lambert, or Vesemir, and of course she'd never won against any of them. They didn't believe in letting her win. As Geralt had said: "Monsters won't let you win either".
But this time she had legitimately won, and she was beside herself with "giddyness"

[guesswho]

That was unexpectedly quick, and looking at Mojmir, still stunned on the ground, he's not only one who wasn't expecting that. The rest of the guys start cheering for Ciri after a moment of surprised silence. It's all in good fun, though the defeated swordsman keeps throwing weird glances from Daniel to Ciri, trying to figure something out. How long would it take for them to figure there's a girl called Ciri, using moves they've all seen in the games, defeating people? Of course, they'd think it's a joke, but he would have to have a very uncomfortable talk with Ciri afterwards...one he can't postpone indefinitely, cause sooner or later someone will mention the books and games.


"Well, that was...interesting... I seem to have underestimated you." Mojmir speaks slowly and deliberately. There's no anger behind his words, but very real and very serious confusion as to what the fuck just happened. It takes him a little while to analyze, but then he nods and turns back to Ciri. "Rematch? This time without underestimating?" It is already clear he'll have to stand by his word and make a real sword for Ciri, since clearly she knows how to hold it without injuring herself. But what did he even expect? Someone's gonna be immensely popular among the local kids. Each and everyone stopped by at some point asking for a sword, but their parents always vetoed this, allowing wooden swords at best. Wisely, one has to admit.

[justmedk]

Ciri nodded eagerly at his suggestion of a rematch, and basked a moment in the cheer that rose from the onlookers!
She twirled the sword around in her hand a bit, taking a few steps back to reassess. Now he knew that she was more than she seemed, so he would not be so easy to beat this time.


Don't underestimate him either! inner-Geralt admonished her. He'll still go easy on you because you're a child, but he'll not let his guard down like last time


She took up the defensive stance this time, and waited for him to attack her. When he did, she first blocked the strike, and then attempted to parry his next strike and then counter-attack. The ruse was 50% successful. She did manage to parry, but the counterstrike missed, causing Ciri to lose balance for a second. She managed to do the same kind of "flip" she'd been practising on the pendulums at Kaer Morhen, but unlike there, ther was now an opponent in front of her, and the precious few seconds she had to spend steadying herself again, was time she could not spend getting ready for his next attack.
Of course he didn't swing of all his might, but the slap of the wooden sword against the fleshy part of her arm still stung a little bit, and she yelped, and dropped the sword


"I yield!", she exclaimed, and it wasn't forced or theatrical; as if she'd been saying that phrase so much that she'd gotten sick of it


She took a few deep breaths and looked at him with a grin.

"Next one wins?", she asked, and right now there wasn't much of the slightly shy, insecure girl who didn't know what to do with herself in a strange world left. This was what Ciri was good at. This, she knew how to do. She was in her element.

[guesswho]

Despite her defeat in the second round, Daniel can't miss the change to Ciri's attitude. And neither can others, they're already exchanging looks full of expectation that there'll possibly, quite soon, will be a new member of the group. Daniel's not sure whether to allow this, but then realizes he doesn't really have a choice.



Mojmir watches Ciri, calculating. Her style is much more acrobatic than what they teach in these parts, which tends to be more grounded, slower, never dropping guard and never putting one's self at risk. He has seen this before, though, and after the second round, he decides to go against everything he has been taught and take a risk, emulating the style he'd seen in Witcher. Since the girl's doing it...oh and he'll have to ask about that name later on. Daniel said to avoid any comment on it while Ciri is present, but maybe once she's tired and gives up? But no matter what, the girl looks like she's enjoying it immensely, so he raises his sword once again.


"Alright, let's try something new." Mojmir throws caution to the wind, and charges, adopting a fast, aggressive style to the third round of their duel.

[justmedk]

Unfortunately for him, Ciri recognized Geralt's fighting style when she saw it, and was prepared for it. She could never beat Geralt, but this man was no Geralt, and though he did a fair approximation of the style, he lacked Geralt's skill. When he made a low swing, she jumped over his blade, ending on her right foot, did a spin and quickly ended up with him having his back to her.
At that point, she repaid the favor from before, and hit the sword against his arm hard. She was confident that it wasn't hard enough to hurt him truly.


"I win!", she grinned happily, and then paused. Only now that the duel was over did it occur to her properly.


He fought like me Geralt-of-her-head said. Not as good. But definitely like me. Where did he learn that if there's no witchers here?


She stared at him for a moment, then asked the question:

"Where...where did you learn that style?", she asked cautiously.

Once the others had gone, Ciri looked at Daniel.


"Something's not right here", she said in a more grown-up tone than she had used before. In other circumstances it could have been comical. Right now, though?

"That man knew how to fight like Geralt", she pointed out towards where they'd duelled. "Granted, he was not as skilled as Geralt, but I know his style when I see it. There are no witchers here - I accept that. Why should there be, when there are no monsters? But how does this man then learn to fight like a witcher?"


Confusion, and not just the general "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going with it"-type, instead the "The moon just turned into a banana and started whistling "Dixie" "-type, was painted on her face.

[guesswho]

Daniel doesn't know enough about fighting with swords to notice immediately, but when Ciri asks Mojmir, he figures it out. At least the guy has the presence of the mind to say something along the lines of experimenting with different styles, before they pack up their stuff and go. But that only leaves him with the Ciri inquisition.



"Well..." He's not sure for how long he can keep her uninformed, but that time is getting short. But how does he even explain it? And another problem is trust. She will find out sooner or later, and she's not so stupid not to figure out he's been lying to her. That fucking guy. "I dunno. But really, I'd say it's just that there are thousands of various fighting styles, each culture has its own, each country has its own. Lot of regions have their own styles. And...I mean, if your style could work in this world for some reason is it such a stretch that it evolved somewhere? We don't have monsters, but clearly it's viable in a human fight too. Anyway, let's not dwell on that, come and try this." And he feels like a right bastard for lying to her, but unlike Ciri, he didn't have a nap and a refreshing fight with some guys, so most of all, Daniel's looking forward to bed. It's just that he can't really go to bed before Ciri's bedtime, right? So he tries to cover up for as long as possible, like a fucking coward.



And so, he puts a large bottle full of dark liquid on the table. It says Kofola on the cover. It hisses when opened. Daniel pours out two glasses and pushes one towards Ciri, bubbles sparkling on top of it.



"Give it a try. It's non alcoholic, made out of herbs and caramel and stuff like that." Highly superior to any competition in the cola like drinks.



"It's sort of a...national drink? At least as far as non alcoholic goes, anyway."

Daniel drinks his own glass, and the sugar kicks in fast, giving him a short term boost of...well, not something he'd call energy, but at least it might keep him awake until Ciri's bedtime.


"So...anyway. I said you'll get a sword, if you show you can use it. I guess we can say that demonstration went quite well...what kind of sword would you like?" He's not getting out of this one, so might at least look it in the eye and get it over with.

[justmedk]

Had Ciri been less rattled, she would have likely seen the mild deception in his body language or heard it in the way he began his explanation. Or poked a hole in the explanation of how staggeringly unlikely it was that a world with no monsters should develop a swordfighting style aimed at killing monsters.
As things stood, however, she didn't. She was tired from the day's long impressions, and accepted his explanation. He hadn't lied to her before, whyh should he start now?



She followed him and jerked back a little when the bottle hissed at her. She was not used to that. Geralt had told her to tell the difference between things that were good, or at least safe, to drink, and not. By the very nature of it, he had not covered carbonated drinks, but she was pretty sure he'd have mentioned if good things were supposed to hiss when opened.


I would have also mentioned horseless carriages at inhuman speeds...if I'd known about them


That, she thought, was a fair point, and she looked at the liquid in the glass, sticking her head closer towards it. So close, in fact, that she jerked her head back a little as the bubbles hit her face.

She looked at him questioningly but didn't have time to say anything before he answered her unspoken question. It....sounded delicious enough. And she took a sip, smiling widely as she tasted it. This was delicious!
She gulped down the glass herself, and felt the boost of energy already!
When he asked her about what kind of sword she wanted, she was almost giddy! But forced herself to calm down a little to answer him properly. This was a big decision, after all!

"A witcher's sword!", she said gleefully, then blushed as she realized he wouldn't know what that was.

"Here, I'll show you!", she said exitedly, and went to find pencil and paper! She quickly found use for the boost of energy she'd just gotten as she stressed over making every detail as accurate as she could, to give him the best material possible.


"Like this!", she said exitedly after she'd used about an hour of furious drawing, stopping to remember how it looked like, etc. Then she showed him the drawing

"I...tried to make it as accurate as possible", she said, "But....if you can't do it exactly like that, don't worry, it's likely not 100% accurate like Geralt's, but it's close!", she smiled, and then hugged him.


"Thank you", she said. "I...I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't been there when I came through."

[guesswho]

Daniel has to stop himself from blurting out he knows exactly what a Witcher sword looks like and made more than one in various levels of quality. That would be incredibly stupid, since he somehow got away with his not very believable explanation. So waits, watching her draw, but he already knows what the drawing will look like. Once Ciri declares she's done, Daniel gets up and walks over to her, looking closely at the drawing, inspecting it from all sides.



"Ookay, I can work with that." He wasn't expecting the hug, but it's nice. What would she do? She'd probably be in hands of someone more competent in explaining how this world works. But also without a sword, and what would he, personally, prefer at thirteen? Sword, obviously.



"Well, you wouldn't have a sword." He doesn't really have any better answer than that, but returns the hug, kind of...happy she's there, even though he finds it weird. He never expected to have kids, or even wanted to, but for now, doesn't mind being stuck with one. Even though there's going to plenty weird about this, he's sure.


"Okay, so I'll start working on it sometime soon, just don't expect it to be done within three days, alright? I've got some more orders that need to be finished as soon as possible. But, you will get your sword soon." Though possibly not in time for easter, as that could result in injuries. Even though he always felt some people take the tradition maybe too seriously and could do with a girl charging at them with a twohander.



"By the way, when's your birthday? I don't know how your months and years relate to ours, but would it be soon, or did it just occur recently?" Going by her not protesting being guessed around thirteen, the years should more or less line up, but he's not sure how it's supposed to work.