#with Cintra burning down happening and Sodden and Geralt searching for Ciri - even if he had known

[spielzeugkaiser]

Ciri feels a bit like she's been in the way, once Geralt and Milek become closer - like she held him back somehow.

The thing I think is crucial about this - things went wrong and Geralt missed out on seeing Milek growing up - but Geralt is a dad. The parallels are there.

[witchersjaskier]

Jaskier running around as a cat after the mountain because he's a cat shifter and somehow ends up getting claimed by Yennifer as her familiar.

It’s truly not the worst fate Jaskier can imagine for himself after that dreadful mountain. Being damn-near pampered as Yennefer’s familiar is not the worst thing he can do, even if he still hates her a tiny bit.

He also understands her a tiny bit because Geralt of Rivia can be a right bastard sometimes, as was proven back on that mountain.

Jaskier may dislike her a lot but he enjoys the free food and silk rugs and nice smells of her potions. Even if he sometimes has to assist her in some magic? That’s not a big price to pay, given that he’s not exactly capable of using Chaos on his own. Unless, of course, a traumatic event happens, but he prefers to not do that. Last time he accidentally decimated an entire city and Jaskier’s not a destroyer.

It’s a bit weird, going with Yennefer everywhere and hearing her take new lovers but well, Jaskier is adaptable and observant. He sees how she’s deeply insecure, how she wants to look beautiful but at the same time hates it, how she’s cruel but detests herself while doing it. Yennefer is an amazingly complex person and Jaskier is itching to write something for her.

It takes 3 months before she mentions Geralt and Jaskier just makes a small sound and then it’s all pouring out. Poor thing probably never had a confidant like that and well, he feels a bit guilty that he’s pretending to be someone else but… It’s for the greater good and all that.

After 5 months, Jaskier decides he likes her and is pretty content to stay with her, travelling all over the Continent and avoiding the Witcher. It’s also what he would’ve done so he can’t exactly complain.

Then, the battle of Sodden happens.

Jaskier honestly isn’t sure what’s happening most of the time but Yennefer is drawing energy from him at an alarming rate and then everything goes up in flames. He searches and kills whoever he can get his fangs into, until he finds her, slumped over, unconscious.

“Fuck,” he mutters, the second he shifts back into a human.

The air smells like ash and burnt flesh and it makes him want to sneeze but he has to go now. Carefully, Jaskier gathers Yennefer into his arms and focuses. The link she used to draw energy from him is still partially open so it’s easier to open a portal that spits them out vaguely in the same area as an abandoned cottage they used a few months ago.

“Fuck,” he says again, but walks on, glad that it’s dark. 

Inside, he lays Yennefer on the bed and then undresses her clinically to make sure she’s not wounded or burnt. If she was anyone else, Jaskier would be all over her, but she’s...Yennefer. Beautiful, undoubtedly, but just a bit too sharp and vicious for him. He spreads a thick leftover salve on her burns and then dresses her in an old shirt, leftover from her old loved from their last stay there.

Everything is musty and kind of old but well, Jaskier survived in worse conditions so he sets off to make fire and find some food. He leaves Yennefer just long enough to hunt a deer and then sits down in the entrance to skin and portion it. He can hear she’s not waking anytime soon, so Jaskier prepares some sparse, bland food and strokes the fire, and then sits down on the bed to think.

“I could’ve guessed you weren’t a familiar,” she says suddenly, in the early hours of the morning.

Jaskier smirks and shrugs, turning to face her. He doesn’t feel guilty, not really, and he did just save her life probably.

“I’m full of surprises,” he says cheekily, flashing his fangs and cat eyes.

Yennefer, surprisingly, just sighs and looks around. “I think we’ll be staying here until further notice.”

He just smiles and sets off to work.

It takes them less than a week to make the cottage habitable again and then it’s just a slow, painful process of healing. Yennefer is pretty much fully depleted and she can only take so much from him before it starts doing more harm than good.

They both know what happened in Sodden, they know what happened in Cintra. Jaskier should be worried about Ciri but she belongs with Geralt, no matter how much the Witcher tries to deny it, and she will find him. Chaos finds a way.

That’s why he’s not surprised when the wind carries a familiar smell of horse, ash and sword oil. Geralt doesn’t really smell like opinion normally and Jaskier knows his smell intimately. He also knows Ciri’s smell so he just shoots from the house into the road, where he can see them.

Ciri makes a small, delighted sound and jumps from Roach, accompanied by Geralt’s shout, only to drop to her knees and hug Jaskier tightly around the neck, burying her face in his fur. Jaskier makes a small ‘mreow’ and lets her cling.

“Don’t try to kill him, Geralt, you will regret it,” Yennefer states dryly from behind them and Jaskier twitches an ear at her. “Now, come in, no need to make a scene.”

“No,” Ciri mutters into his fur, childishly stubborn. 

Jaskier just sighs and shifts under her hands, standing up with Ciri in his arms, held like a child. Geralt makes a choked off sound and the scent of regret and relief get almost overwhelming.

“Jaskier,” he says in that gruff voice of his so Jaskier turns around to face him.

“Hi, Geralt,” he says brightly, ignoring the pain in his chest. “Long time no see, hm?