Juray danced around James as they sparred, her mentor shouting pointers as they did so. Instead of Vesemir, it had been James Juray had gone to to express her desire to become a Witcher and walk the Path. The two had discussed it at length and when James saw how determined she was to join their ranks, he agreed to convince Rennes, who was the head of the school. James had several Unexpected Children over the years, but Juray seemed to be the only one that he'd bonded with like this. He treated the girl as if she were his own flesh and blood daughter, the words her true father had uttered the day James claimed her making him want to show her what family was truly like. Juray, in turn, saw him as her father, even calling him papa, much to Vesemir's amusement. Juray was currently going through the Choice, the change in her diet and the rigorous training not seeming to phase her. James pushed her, determined to prove that she could handle it and prove Rennes wrong. She was resilient and stubborn, pushing herself harder when several of the boys around her were failing the trial.

After several blows that she successfully blocked and countered, James finally held his hand up. "Alright, enough," he said. Juray stepped back. "Go take a break."

"Afraid I'll kick your arse?" she asked with a grin.

James gave a laugh. "I need a break. I'm not as young as I look." He then shook his head as she went over to train with Geralt.

In the three years she'd been here, several of the older boys had taken her under their wing, Geralt, Eskel, and Berenger acting as older brothers. The three even had to break up a fight between Juray and Lambert. All three were certain that Juray was winning when they pulled her off him. Lambert had been particularly nasty towards Juray from the moment she started training, growing worst when she started the Choice. James sighed as he watched Juray dance around Geralt. She was at the age where she could go through her next trial. The Trial of the Grasses would be what made or broke her, would prove she had what it took to become a Witcher and he hoped resilience went along with her stubbornness and determination. The mages would be overseeing the next round of the trial next week and Juray had been on their list.

"Your girl is impressive, James."

The Witcher looked over his shoulder at Vesemir. "I don't think I've seen anyone catch on more quickly."

"She might be the only one here not pissed that they're having to become Witchers."

"She fits in here. Mostly." James looked over at his mentor. "She seems to have taken up with your boys pretty well."

While Geralt was Vesemir's ward, he'd taken over Eskel when his mentor found himself caught in the middle of a political dispute while on a Contract and wrongly executed for crimes he hadn't even been in the area to commit.

"Well, Geralt is the only other child she's met with white hair."

"Good point."

"I saw she's going through the Trial of the Grasses in a few days."

"Yeah."

Vesemir placed his hand on James' shoulder. "She's resilient, my friend. She'll survive it."

"I only hope you are right."

~~~

Juray held her head up as she walked into the mages' laboratory with nine boys. The mages explained that this trial would test their resilience and resistance to mutagens they would find in the field, warning that it would be painful and they would be changed afterward. Each child, ranging from ages 8 to 10, was then directed to pick a table and lay on it. They were then tied down to the table. Juray's heart beat harder at the feel of the ropes but was determined to pass the trial.

"I'll be here when you pass," James said. "This will determine if you have what it takes to be a Witcher."

"Eskel said girls don't usually pass the Grasses."

"None have in the past, but you are not most girls." He gave a mischievous smile. "You're the White Demon."

"Papa!" Juray hated the name with a passion, but it seemed to be following her around. Mostly from Lambert calling her that knowing how much she hated it.

"You'll pass, Juray. And I'll be here when you do."

Juray was determined to pass for her mentor. In her mind, he was her father and she wanted to make him proud. The mages began to administer the trial, cries from the other boys going up as the mutagens began their work. One mage stopped next to her, sticking a needle into her arm and injecting a mixture of mutagens and herbs into it. The pain was the first thing to hit her and she couldn't stop the scream that ripped out her throat.

~~~

Two boys died the first day, and by the second a third had died. It was on that second day that Vesemir approached James as he watched the tower the mages' laboratory was in.

"Staring at the tower isn't going to make the wait go by any faster," he said.

"I know."

Vesemir handed him a missive.

"What's this?"

"It's from Angelo."

James sighed and broke the seal, Angelo being a local noble that passed Contracts his way when he had problems with various beasts and monsters. James lost count of how many Drowners he'd killed for the man. He read the letter, thinking he was asking for another Drowner nest to be cleared. Instead, a beast seemed to be terrorizing his lands and he'd lost too many men already to it.

"He has a Contract for me."

"The Trial is going to take a couple of weeks. This will get your mind off Juray and give you something to do."

James gave Vesemir a look.

"It'll do you good. Now go. You're the only one Angelo likes working with."

"Fine."

Angelo paid well, although James didn't understand why the man wouldn't work with other Witchers. He went to his room and donned his armor, retrieving his swords as he walked out. He then headed to the stables to retrieve his horse, a stable boy having already saddled him up. James took the reins and mounted, riding out of the keep.

~~~

"It came out of the darkness," the man said to James. "I was lucky to survive. She killed the others."

"She?"

"It looked like a woman in beastly form. She ran on all fours, had claws that ripped men apart, wild blond hair, and a look of bloodlust in her eyes."

"Where did you encounter it?"

"South of the manor. Near the family crypts."

James nodded before turning and walking out of the room.

Angelo was waiting for him. "Well?"

"Has most of the sighting been south of the manor, near the crypts?"

"Come to think of it, yeah."

"I think I know what we're dealing with."

"What?"

"A striga. I can either lift the curse or kill her."

"What happens if you lift the curse?"

"She'll need constant supervision, amulets, and participate in rituals to keep the curse at bay."

"Why constant supervision?"

"She won't be all there up here." James tapped his temple. "The curse affects the mind even after being lifted."

"Wait... there was a family that recently moved into the village just south of the manor. They had a daughter that wasn't mentally there."

"I'll speak to them. And see if their daughter is the striga."

James arrived at the village not long after dawn. The residents were well acquainted with him, as he cleared out a grave hag a few years earlier from the cemetery near Angelo's family's crypts. The village elder waved to him as he went to meet him. James dismounted as the elder joined him.

"Master Witcher! You are a sight for sore eyes!"

"I'm sure."

"Are you here about the beast terrorizing Lord Angelo's lands?"

"I am. Have you had any trouble with it?"

"Not since I've had everyone be indoors by sunset. The beast only comes out at night and we have heard it going through the village in search of living beings to devour. We have lost much of our livestock to it."

"I was told a new family moved to the village not long ago."

"They did," the elder suddenly frowned. "You know, come to think of it, it was several weeks after they arrived that the beast first appeared."

"Where are they?"

The elder pointed at an unassuming house close to the blacksmithy. James nodded and headed towards the house as the elder went about his business. The Witcher knocked on the door and immediately heard someone scrambling and a gasp.

"Oh, gods," a female voice said in near panic.

"Calm down," a male voice said.

James heard footsteps towards the door. When the door opened, a middle-aged man stood there, his eyes widening.

"Oh, gods." He tried to shut the door in James' face, but his quick reflexes caught it before it could.

"That's rude," he said.

The man backed away, his wife running to him as James came into the house.

"I just want to ask if you've seen the beast that has been terrorizing the village."

The wife started to wail. "Please! You can't kill her! You can't kill her!"

"Amara!" the husband hissed.

It was just the confirmation James needed. "The curse relapsed, didn't it?"

The husband nodded. "We did everything we could to keep it at bay. It just wasn't enough. Excuse me a moment, Master Witcher." He disappeared into the back with his wailing wife and James could hear him telling her he would speak to the Witcher about lifting the curse again. When he returned, he motioned outside. "We'll speak outside."

James let him walk out first, not trusting him not to slam and lock the door.

Once outside, the man ran his hand through his hair. "A Witcher lifted Carolyn's curse while she was still a child. She used to go into a neighbor's garden and pick strawberries. Turned out, he was a mage and caught her stealing his strawberries and cursed her as punishment. She hasn't been the same since the curse was lifted. She wore the amulets, went to the rituals. But one day she disappeared and we found out she'd taken the amulet off."

"So Carolyn reverted back to a striga?"

"I'm afraid so," he sighed. "I speak to you out here because I'm asking you to grant her the mercy of death."

"You want me to kill your daughter?"

"My wife, she would do anything for her. But my daughter is gone. The sweet little girl she was before died when that mage cursed her. Having to be watched at all times, the amulets, the rituals. It is too much for me to bear. I cannot go through this again. Please, Master Witcher. I'm begging you. The life she's been living is no life at all."

James sighed. "Fine."

"Thank you."

James walked away to go and prepare for the fight he would have.

~~~

James waited near the crypts as night approached. The villagers were locked tight in their homes. Angelo had recalled his patrols, not wanting them to get caught in the middle of a Witcher's fight. James meditated as he waited and before long, the striga emerged from the crypt.

"Right on time," he said as he opened his eyes and quietly stood, drawing his silver sword.

The striga stopped, sniffing the air as James popped the stopper of a bottle with his thumb. The striga turned at the sound as James downed the contents. He gave a pained grunt as the potion went into effect, his veins becoming pronounced as it worked its way through his body. The striga growled, stalking towards him. James held his sword up defensively. The two circled around each other before the striga gave a long roar and charged. James dodged at the last moment, spinning around and bringing the sword down across her back, the oil he had coated his blade with causing the wound to sizzle. The striga screeched and came back for another charge. With a practiced hand, James cast Aard, the telekinetic blast sending the beast back. She dug her claws into the ground to stop her progress before immediately charging with a burst of speed and slamming into James, the two rolling in a tangled mess of claws, teeth, and metal. She managed to bite down into his thigh, James giving a cry of pain. The striga then jumped back with a yelp, spitting and whining.

"I don't taste too appetizing, do I?" James taunted, the Black Blood potion working its poison through the monster.

The striga stopped and glared at James as he staggered to his feet. She charged again and James cast Igni, the flames shooting from his hand towards her. She dodged it and landed a blow across his abdomen, the momentum spinning him completely around. He felt her claws tear straight through his armor and rip through his flesh. He gritted his teeth, grunting as he fell to all fours. He could sense the beast coming behind him and he threw his hand back, quickly casting Yrden. The striga walked right into the magical trap as James regained his footing. Unable to move, she could only screech at him. With a hand over his wound, he walked over to the beast. She screeched at him again, before she was cut off by the dismembering of her head. After cleaning and sheathing his sword, he gave a loud whistle, his horse soon appearing through the trees. He took the striga's head and attached it to his saddle as proof he'd killed her, before painfully mounting. He turned the stallion towards Angelo's manor.

~~~

"My lord!" one of Angelo's guards unceremoniously burst through the door of the dining room.

"What is it?" he asked, annoyed.

"James has returned, but you should come quickly."

Angelo frowned at the urgency in the guard's voice and excused himself from his family. He and the guard quickly made their way through the manor and to the courtyard to find several servants around one area.

"Back to your stations," he ordered and they scattered, but didn't go far.

Against the wall of the manor sat James, his head leaned back and an arm across his abdomen.

Angelo crouched down next to the Witcher. "James?"

James, who seemed to look paler than normal, nodded his head towards his horse. "Striga is dead."

"What happened?"

"She was pretty pissed that I was there to kill her. Gave it her all."

"Get the herbalist."

One of the servants ran off to do as he commanded.

"Should have used Quen. Wouldn't be in this predicament." He gave a scoff of a chuckle. "To think a fucking striga is the one to do me in."

"You're a Witcher. Your kind is hard to kill."

The herbalist joined them and went about examining James' wounds.

"If you weren't a Witcher, you'd have been dead long before you reached these walls," she said.

"I'm a Witcher? Had no idea."

"Didn't know you had a sense of humor," Angelo commented.

"There's nothing I can do, my lord. His wounds are beyond anything I can do."

Angelo nodded and the herbalist left. He turned his attention back to James. "What can I do?"

"Send a bird to Vesemir in Kaer Morhen. Tell him what happened and to keep an eye on Juray for me. She won't take this news well."

James could only think of how he'd broken his promise to his adopted daughter. He'd wanted to be there, to see her through her trials. He had confidence she would pass them all and become one of the few female Witchers.

"I'll send word, James."

One of the guards immediately left to fetch the scribe.

"I've seen you come back covered in blood. You've had to have worse than this."

James didn't reply.

"James?"

The Witcher wasn't moving and Angelo shook him, fear gripping his heart.

"James! No!" Angelo's shoulders slumped and he reached over and closed his golden cat-like eyes. "Goodbye, Great Uncle."

Miles away, at Kaer Morhen, Juray gave a deep gasp and opened her eyes, their once bright blue now a golden yellow. She had passed the Trial of the Grasses at the moment James breathed his last breath.