#tldr: camera crew get shown around kaer morhen II and try to figure out the pack dynamic

[jaskiersvalley]

I’m honestly so here for the shifter modern au. I love it so much, and I would be so fucking down for a whole story on Ao3. (Only if you want to) And may I suggest. Wolf Vesmir pick fox Jaskier up by the scruff when his boys get to rowdy. Jaskier would be so small!

(I’m adding an anon’s request here too because I’ve been overwhelmed by asks about this ‘verse and I can’t give everyone an individual story so I’m bundling ideas together into one at times, I’m so sorry!)

These stories will, eventually, migrate over to AO3 (with a quick scan for typos - though those are kind of the norm in my writing, and my apologies to everyone about my lazy (read: utter lack of) editing). But that’s beside the point, let’s just jump straight into another installation of this story that has gotten utterly out of hand.

Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

There was a trend for celebrities to show off their houses. And, in a wild twist of events, Jaskier had found himself in high demand. Everybody wanted to see where he lived and find out more about his wolves too. After some discussion and a few key rules agreed, Jaskier graciously allowed the camera crew to descend on their home.

“Welcome to Kaer Morhen II,” he greeted as he opened the door. By no means was the home large and getting the regular amount of camera crew in was a bit of a struggle. They were much more used to large, sprawling mansions with more rooms than the occupants could hope to ever need. Now, they were knocking elbows in a very homely living room with soft sofas that looked comfortable and well used.

The questions about whether Jaskier lived with his bodyguards was quickly answered when Jaskier was making introductions and the most terrifying growling drowned most words out. He rolled his eyes and held up a hand with an “excuse me one moment.”

In a display of simplicity, he walked to the open window and stuck his head out, only to yell, “Oi! Cut it out you lot! Our guests are here and I know you could hear them arrive.”

After a moment there was a sheepish reply of “sorry!” and some furious whispering about whose fault it was but by the time any of the crew got a chance to look out, there was nobody out there. While the house was on the smaller side, that couldn’t be said of the garden. It was large, sprawling and with a pond, a copse of trees as well as a summer hut with throws and beanbags. Cosy in its own way and inviting for both two and four legged entities.

“Ah, Vesemir!” Jaskier pulled him close, an arm around his shoulder. “Come meet the lovely crew who will be living with us for the next four days.”

It was four very long days. Or at least, that’s what Vesemir would have said if anybody had asked him. Rules were set up quickly, there were two rooms that were out of bounds, two bedrooms. Otherwise everything was fair game. The questions were unending from the crew and Jaskier seemed happy to prattle on while Vesemir was a quiet, solid presence beside him. Sometimes Geralt would appear and Lambert had no qualms about flouting his presence. Even worse, he made it his mission to steal the big fuzzy microphone off the sound boom at all opportunities.

“Does Eskel not live with you?” The question came as everyone was sat in the garden happily eating a home cooked meal. Geralt was, as per his habits, sleeping in his wolf form, pressed flush against Jaskier’s thigh.

“Who do you think cooked?” Lambert shot back, happily chewing the end of a chicken drumstick. The bone crunched between his teeth, seemingly making him happy. “Right, thanks for the company. Got places to be.”

In the blink of an eye, he was loping off as a wolf, back into the home. In the darkness of the room, the camera crew swore they saw another pair of eyes before a hulking, dark form turned away from them, followed by Lambert pouncing after them.

From then on, it became a bit of a race to catch a glimpse of Eskel. It wasn’t that he was camera shy, he was hiding from the crew even when they weren’t filming. Sometimes someone would catch the glimpse of a tail slinking off around a corner or there was the sound of a voice humming quietly in the kitchen but before anyone could go see, Lambert or Jaskier would be pulling the crew in the opposite direction.

Curiosity grew amongst the crew about the dynamics of the pack. Vesemir seemed to never assume his wolf form and Jaskier was never out of sight of at least one wolf. The few times the crew thought Jaskier was alone, they quickly realised that wolves were predators. Just because they couldn’t see a wolf didn’t mean they weren’t in a wolf’s sight.

“What is your relationship with the wolves?” The question was finally asked and Jaskier laughed at that.

“Yes.”

“Yes?” That made zero sense.

“Exactly. See, you get it! Now, have I shown you the setup we’ve got for play?” Just like that, the conversation was twisted out and Jaskier was off and talking a mile a minute. The camera caught Vesemir hiding a laugh into his hand behind their backs.

The setup for playing wasn’t anything majors. Quite literally a tarpaulin that they could put various things on. Sometimes they made it slippery and wet, other times it was covered in sand, the edges held in place by sandbags that also acted as a crash barrier. They were definitely needed because Lambert, Geralt and Jaskier had all shifted and were haring around, playing while Vesemir watched.

“Are they your pups?”

“I raise them,” Vesemir agreed easily.

“But are they yours?”

There was a flicker of annoyance and Vesemir looked away from the bundle of fur that had become a rolling ball of yips and playful growls. Before he could say anything scathing, there was a sharp, sudden yowl of a fox in pain and both Lambert and Geralt were leaping away. The next moment a weathered old wolf was leaping into the ring and, after soft prod of Jaskier with his nose he delicately picked him up by the scruff and carried him inside.

Scrambling, the camera crew followed. By the time they were rolling, Jaskier was sat on the sofa, sniffling and holding an ice pack to his wrist, fox ears and tail still out, too preoccupied to shift properly.

“Sorry,” Lambert said, looking forlorn in the doorway. He was pushed aside by Geralt, still a wolf as he hopped up on the sofa.

“Have a bit of quiet time,” Vesemir suggested. “Jaskier, you and Geralt stay here, I’ll take our guests into the garden.”

There was no arguing with Vesemir. He led the camera crew out into the garden and they all settled in the summer hut, quietly chatting without the pressure of filming. It meant that Vesemir was also more amenable to answering questions until he shook his head with a fond smile when things returned to the topic of the pack’s dynamics.

“Go in, have a look on the sofa and you’ll understand. Go quietly.”

Tiptoeing back int the house, the crew stuck their heads into the living room and almost cooed. Jaskier was a fox again, curled up tight, nose hidden under his tail. However, he was on top of Geralt, half sinking into the thick white fur. Everybody froze when one golden eye opened and Geralt regarded them, assessing their intentions before closing his eyes again. It got even better when the large, soft body of another wolf wound between the camera crew and Lambert hopped up onto the sofa, doing a few circles before settling down, sprawling over Geralt’s haunches.

After the impromptu nap, Jaskier and Vesemir were keeping the crew entertained when vicious snarling sounded from the garden. Everyone jumped, thinking something terrible was happening. However, neither Vesemir nor Jaskier seemed worried.

“Go on, go have a look.”

As one, the crew looked and were horrified. It looked like Lambert and Geralt were in the middle of a brawl, snapping, snarling with noses wrinkled to show more teeth. They charged, slammed into each other. Lambert’s scruff was sodden with drool. It was truly terrifying and sounded like they were trying to kill each other. Even worse, Jaskier, still human, stepped closer, seemingly not bothered by the violence.

“Are you quite done killing each other?” His voice was lost as Lambert and Geralt pounced, pulling him down and bundling on top of him. It drew a gasp and even a yell of distress from the camera crew, fearing they were going to witness Jaskier be torn apart by his own wolves. Instead, they got to witness Jaskier laughing, batting away Geralt as he was intent on licking his face like an enthusiastic puppy. Lambert was bouncing around, nudging them and bowing down for play.

From somewhere behind them there was a chuff of another wolf and Lambert was off like a shot, tearing through the house even as Vesemir called after him to not break anything.

“Children. I don’t know how many hundred years old and they’re still children.”

In the garden, Geralt looked far too smug, two large paws pinning Jaskier down by the chest. Drool dripped from his mouth as his tongue lolled in happy pants.

“Geralt, stop being a brat!” At Vesemir’s words all drooling stopped and Jaskier wiped his face in white fur.

It only increased the crew’ curiosity about the relationship between everyone. This curiosity was their downfall, despite the clear instructions and rules, they just had to take a peek into the forbidden rooms. They agreed to do it on the last night, when everyone was asleep. As silently as possible, they approached the first door that Jaskier tended to disappear through each night. It was unlocked and they door swung open on silent hinges. Inside was a rather plain bedroom, most of the space was taken up by a gigantic bed. On it, Geralt and Jaskier were entwined, Geralt’s nose buried in Jaskier’s hair. It was sweet until they realised that it was a bare hip that was visible and all answers about that particular relationship were answered.

Interestingly, there were two doors along the wall, both open. One was obviously a bathroom but the other seemed to open into another bedroom. Any further investigation was cut short by a low, menacing growl from behind them.

If the play fighting between Geralt and Lambert had been scary, it was nothing compared to facing down an unknown wolf in the dark. Eyes almost glowing, teeth gleaming in the low light, Eskel stepped closer, head lowered in a snarl. It made the differences between play and real fighting abundantly clear and the crew were thoroughly terrified. It didn’t help that as soon as Eskel’s growls got louder, Lambert was tearing through the door from the connecting bedroom, hackles raised and stalking closer from the other side.

A light came on and Jaskier blinked, sitting up in bed. Geralt didn’t need to change into his wolf form to look intimidating, even naked.

“What’s going on?”

“Caught some idiots sneaking in on you while you were asleep,” Eskel’s voice was low, a growl still evident and betraying his fury. “Want me to see them out?”

That sounded more like a threat than anything else. Tiredly, Jaskier rubbed his eyes. “I think they can find their own ways back to their beds. You come to bed too, look, Lambert’s already settling down for the night.”

A quick glance revealed that Lambert was indeed fussing with the blankets. As a human. Scowling, Eskel stepped around the crew, gave them one last glare before shutting the door in their face. There was the sound of the bed creaking a little as another body joined the pile and the crew looked at each other. Just when they thought they had the mystery of the dynamics cracked, it got more complicated.

[captainmaxatx]

Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️

I’m honestly so confused about the pack dynamic and relationship too, but it’s fucking adorable so I’m good.

I’m honestly so here for the shifter modern au. I love it so much, and I would be so fucking down for a whole story on Ao3. (Only if you want to) And may I suggest. Wolf Vesmir pick fox Jaskier up by the scruff when his boys get to rowdy. Jaskier would be so small!

(I’m adding an anon’s request here too because I’ve been overwhelmed by asks about this ‘verse and I can’t give everyone an individual story so I’m bundling ideas together into one at times, I’m so sorry!)

These stories will, eventually, migrate over to AO3 (with a quick scan for typos - though those are kind of the norm in my writing, and my apologies to everyone about my lazy (read: utter lack of) editing). But that’s beside the point, let’s just jump straight into another installation of this story that has gotten utterly out of hand.

Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

There was a trend for celebrities to show off their houses. And, in a wild twist of events, Jaskier had found himself in high demand. Everybody wanted to see where he lived and find out more about his wolves too. After some discussion and a few key rules agreed, Jaskier graciously allowed the camera crew to descend on their home.

“Welcome to Kaer Morhen II,” he greeted as he opened the door. By no means was the home large and getting the regular amount of camera crew in was a bit of a struggle. They were much more used to large, sprawling mansions with more rooms than the occupants could hope to ever need. Now, they were knocking elbows in a very homely living room with soft sofas that looked comfortable and well used.

The questions about whether Jaskier lived with his bodyguards was quickly answered when Jaskier was making introductions and the most terrifying growling drowned most words out. He rolled his eyes and held up a hand with an “excuse me one moment.”

In a display of simplicity, he walked to the open window and stuck his head out, only to yell, “Oi! Cut it out you lot! Our guests are here and I know you could hear them arrive.”

After a moment there was a sheepish reply of “sorry!” and some furious whispering about whose fault it was but by the time any of the crew got a chance to look out, there was nobody out there. While the house was on the smaller side, that couldn’t be said of the garden. It was large, sprawling and with a pond, a copse of trees as well as a summer hut with throws and beanbags. Cosy in its own way and inviting for both two and four legged entities.

“Ah, Vesemir!” Jaskier pulled him close, an arm around his shoulder. “Come meet the lovely crew who will be living with us for the next four days.”

It was four very long days. Or at least, that’s what Vesemir would have said if anybody had asked him. Rules were set up quickly, there were two rooms that were out of bounds, two bedrooms. Otherwise everything was fair game. The questions were unending from the crew and Jaskier seemed happy to prattle on while Vesemir was a quiet, solid presence beside him. Sometimes Geralt would appear and Lambert had no qualms about flouting his presence. Even worse, he made it his mission to steal the big fuzzy microphone off the sound boom at all opportunities.

“Does Eskel not live with you?” The question came as everyone was sat in the garden happily eating a home cooked meal. Geralt was, as per his habits, sleeping in his wolf form, pressed flush against Jaskier’s thigh.

“Who do you think cooked?” Lambert shot back, happily chewing the end of a chicken drumstick. The bone crunched between his teeth, seemingly making him happy. “Right, thanks for the company. Got places to be.”

In the blink of an eye, he was loping off as a wolf, back into the home. In the darkness of the room, the camera crew swore they saw another pair of eyes before a hulking, dark form turned away from them, followed by Lambert pouncing after them.

From then on, it became a bit of a race to catch a glimpse of Eskel. It wasn’t that he was camera shy, he was hiding from the crew even when they weren’t filming. Sometimes someone would catch the glimpse of a tail slinking off around a corner or there was the sound of a voice humming quietly in the kitchen but before anyone could go see, Lambert or Jaskier would be pulling the crew in the opposite direction.

Curiosity grew amongst the crew about the dynamics of the pack. Vesemir seemed to never assume his wolf form and Jaskier was never out of sight of at least one wolf. The few times the crew thought Jaskier was alone, they quickly realised that wolves were predators. Just because they couldn’t see a wolf didn’t mean they weren’t in a wolf’s sight.

“What is your relationship with the wolves?” The question was finally asked and Jaskier laughed at that.

“Yes.”

“Yes?” That made zero sense.

“Exactly. See, you get it! Now, have I shown you the setup we’ve got for play?” Just like that, the conversation was twisted out and Jaskier was off and talking a mile a minute. The camera caught Vesemir hiding a laugh into his hand behind their backs.

The setup for playing wasn’t anything majors. Quite literally a tarpaulin that they could put various things on. Sometimes they made it slippery and wet, other times it was covered in sand, the edges held in place by sandbags that also acted as a crash barrier. They were definitely needed because Lambert, Geralt and Jaskier had all shifted and were haring around, playing while Vesemir watched.

“Are they your pups?”

“I raise them,” Vesemir agreed easily.

“But are they yours?”

There was a flicker of annoyance and Vesemir looked away from the bundle of fur that had become a rolling ball of yips and playful growls. Before he could say anything scathing, there was a sharp, sudden yowl of a fox in pain and both Lambert and Geralt were leaping away. The next moment a weathered old wolf was leaping into the ring and, after soft prod of Jaskier with his nose he delicately picked him up by the scruff and carried him inside.

Scrambling, the camera crew followed. By the time they were rolling, Jaskier was sat on the sofa, sniffling and holding an ice pack to his wrist, fox ears and tail still out, too preoccupied to shift properly.

“Sorry,” Lambert said, looking forlorn in the doorway. He was pushed aside by Geralt, still a wolf as he hopped up on the sofa.

“Have a bit of quiet time,” Vesemir suggested. “Jaskier, you and Geralt stay here, I’ll take our guests into the garden.”

There was no arguing with Vesemir. He led the camera crew out into the garden and they all settled in the summer hut, quietly chatting without the pressure of filming. It meant that Vesemir was also more amenable to answering questions until he shook his head with a fond smile when things returned to the topic of the pack’s dynamics.

“Go in, have a look on the sofa and you’ll understand. Go quietly.”

Tiptoeing back int the house, the crew stuck their heads into the living room and almost cooed. Jaskier was a fox again, curled up tight, nose hidden under his tail. However, he was on top of Geralt, half sinking into the thick white fur. Everybody froze when one golden eye opened and Geralt regarded them, assessing their intentions before closing his eyes again. It got even better when the large, soft body of another wolf wound between the camera crew and Lambert hopped up onto the sofa, doing a few circles before settling down, sprawling over Geralt’s haunches.

After the impromptu nap, Jaskier and Vesemir were keeping the crew entertained when vicious snarling sounded from the garden. Everyone jumped, thinking something terrible was happening. However, neither Vesemir nor Jaskier seemed worried.

“Go on, go have a look.”

As one, the crew looked and were horrified. It looked like Lambert and Geralt were in the middle of a brawl, snapping, snarling with noses wrinkled to show more teeth. They charged, slammed into each other. Lambert’s scruff was sodden with drool. It was truly terrifying and sounded like they were trying to kill each other. Even worse, Jaskier, still human, stepped closer, seemingly not bothered by the violence.

“Are you quite done killing each other?” His voice was lost as Lambert and Geralt pounced, pulling him down and bundling on top of him. It drew a gasp and even a yell of distress from the camera crew, fearing they were going to witness Jaskier be torn apart by his own wolves. Instead, they got to witness Jaskier laughing, batting away Geralt as he was intent on licking his face like an enthusiastic puppy. Lambert was bouncing around, nudging them and bowing down for play.

From somewhere behind them there was a chuff of another wolf and Lambert was off like a shot, tearing through the house even as Vesemir called after him to not break anything.

“Children. I don’t know how many hundred years old and they’re still children.”

In the garden, Geralt looked far too smug, two large paws pinning Jaskier down by the chest. Drool dripped from his mouth as his tongue lolled in happy pants.

“Geralt, stop being a brat!” At Vesemir’s words all drooling stopped and Jaskier wiped his face in white fur.

It only increased the crew’ curiosity about the relationship between everyone. This curiosity was their downfall, despite the clear instructions and rules, they just had to take a peek into the forbidden rooms. They agreed to do it on the last night, when everyone was asleep. As silently as possible, they approached the first door that Jaskier tended to disappear through each night. It was unlocked and they door swung open on silent hinges. Inside was a rather plain bedroom, most of the space was taken up by a gigantic bed. On it, Geralt and Jaskier were entwined, Geralt’s nose buried in Jaskier’s hair. It was sweet until they realised that it was a bare hip that was visible and all answers about that particular relationship were answered.

Interestingly, there were two doors along the wall, both open. One was obviously a bathroom but the other seemed to open into another bedroom. Any further investigation was cut short by a low, menacing growl from behind them.

If the play fighting between Geralt and Lambert had been scary, it was nothing compared to facing down an unknown wolf in the dark. Eyes almost glowing, teeth gleaming in the low light, Eskel stepped closer, head lowered in a snarl. It made the differences between play and real fighting abundantly clear and the crew were thoroughly terrified. It didn’t help that as soon as Eskel’s growls got louder, Lambert was tearing through the door from the connecting bedroom, hackles raised and stalking closer from the other side.

A light came on and Jaskier blinked, sitting up in bed. Geralt didn’t need to change into his wolf form to look intimidating, even naked.

“What’s going on?”

“Caught some idiots sneaking in on you while you were asleep,” Eskel’s voice was low, a growl still evident and betraying his fury. “Want me to see them out?”

That sounded more like a threat than anything else. Tiredly, Jaskier rubbed his eyes. “I think they can find their own ways back to their beds. You come to bed too, look, Lambert’s already settling down for the night.”

A quick glance revealed that Lambert was indeed fussing with the blankets. As a human. Scowling, Eskel stepped around the crew, gave them one last glare before shutting the door in their face. There was the sound of the bed creaking a little as another body joined the pile and the crew looked at each other. Just when they thought they had the mystery of the dynamics cracked, it got more complicated.