[ The pounding in his head has not stopped since. He already feels like shit; this isn't helping.
He'd give less of a damn were he alone. He isn't. He has more than himself to look after. But the truth is, he's no longer certain what sort of protector he can be when he can't concentrate, his wounds will not heal, and he could swear his old scars are beginning to crack, splitting open like fissures.
And yet. It's the noise that gets to him. If his senses were fucked before, they've only gotten worse. Every scrape and thump reverberates through his skull. He's been through this before—decades ago, crawling out of a pit much smaller and darker than this, a thousand shards of glass scraping in his ears. He learned to use it. He can manage now, too.
He leaves the crackling fire, the light from it now searingly bright. Slips behind a heavy boulder and closes his eyes. He just needs. A second or two. His nails dig into his thighs, a little harder than he means—or maybe that's simply where the next wound has decided to bloom. Either way, Geralt does not appear to notice the fresh blood trickling. ]
aftermath ; louis.
He'd give less of a damn were he alone. He isn't. He has more than himself to look after. But the truth is, he's no longer certain what sort of protector he can be when he can't concentrate, his wounds will not heal, and he could swear his old scars are beginning to crack, splitting open like fissures.
And yet. It's the noise that gets to him. If his senses were fucked before, they've only gotten worse. Every scrape and thump reverberates through his skull. He's been through this before—decades ago, crawling out of a pit much smaller and darker than this, a thousand shards of glass scraping in his ears. He learned to use it. He can manage now, too.
He leaves the crackling fire, the light from it now searingly bright. Slips behind a heavy boulder and closes his eyes. He just needs. A second or two. His nails dig into his thighs, a little harder than he means—or maybe that's simply where the next wound has decided to bloom. Either way, Geralt does not appear to notice the fresh blood trickling. ]