ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛᴇᴏᴜs ᴍᴀɴ ( ᴊᴇɴɴɪғᴇʀ ᴀɴᴋʟᴇs ) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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abraxaslogs2023-05-20 02:32 pm
righteously) wrote in abraxaslogs2023-05-20 02:32 pm
Tʜᴇʀᴇ's ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ʙᴇ ᴀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛᴀᴄʜᴇ ᴛᴏɴɪɢʜᴛ
Who: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jo Harvelle, Castiel, Ciri, Geralt, Jaskier, Sam Wilson, probably others that I'm forgetting
When: Last week and a half of May
Where: Cadens, the bad lands, and the Winchester-Harvelle house
What: Demon Dean triggers his master plan to snatch Ciri and take her to the singularity to portal him off-world. The gang catches up and things get violent before Dean is eventually subdued and cured.
Warnings: Demons trying to be as demonic as possible, with all the gross violence and mean language that entails. Also, needles.
𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ
𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛' 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦
𝐼𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐴 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐴 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
When: Last week and a half of May
Where: Cadens, the bad lands, and the Winchester-Harvelle house
What: Demon Dean triggers his master plan to snatch Ciri and take her to the singularity to portal him off-world. The gang catches up and things get violent before Dean is eventually subdued and cured.
Warnings: Demons trying to be as demonic as possible, with all the gross violence and mean language that entails. Also, needles.
𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ
𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛' 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦
𝐼𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐴 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐴 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤
jaskier.
He brings another bottle of whisky with him. Might've stolen it out of the hunters' cabinets, might've gotten Jaskier to bring him some. Doesn't really matter, he just wants to keep drinking. They're waiting, still, for results. No one can quite tell him how long it might take. Could be a day, could be a week. Between the unknown properties of his blood and the Mark's behaviour on this sphere, who the fuck can say?
But he won't leave Dean while his state is uncertain. So he's here, waiting, Ciri recovering nearby. He's left her side for now while she rests, knowing she would want him to keep a close eye on the demon. Jaskier has remained, as well. Geralt has not argued or tried to send him home. Truthfully, he wants his friend nearby. Jaskier's come this far, after all. He has Jaskier to thank in helping him stop the demon from reaching Ciri.
It's his friend whom he notices below, door swinging open into the night. He glances down—gives the bottle a small shake as an invitation. If the bard wants to join. ]
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It is not that Jaskier is incapable of climbing a roof. Perhaps he doesn't look it, but he has a bit of spider-wit in him. He's climbed plenty of roofs. Climbed out of windows. Through windows. Over doors. Down lattices. A man has to be quite spry and quick when he's -- romancing the butcher's wife.
Only the one time.
But things have changed. Jaskier gives Geralt a little shake of his head, and is still while something like a tree branch begins to grow under his boots. It spreads, creating a small leaf-like platform, that slowly rises him through the air. Much safer than that thing Thancred called an elevator.
He steps off of it onto the roof next to Geralt. The epitome of work smarter, not harder. And though he has used much of his magic, it still sparks and pulls at him with a desire to be used. (And he plans on sleeping for a full day when they return home.)]
Are we getting drunk on purpose, or for the fun of it? [Note that he doesn't wait for the answer before taking the bottle and a long swig. He hisses.] Oh, that's. That's shit. Must not make much coin hunting if he can't even afford suitable whisky.
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He uses the new leafy platform to set the bottle on—until Jaskier snatches it up. ] Could be worse.
[ Whisky seems serviceable to him, but Geralt hasn't got Jaskier's particular palate. Or perhaps he's too tired to give a fuck. Nothing tastes like anything to him right now, and he doesn't much care. He's told Jaskier to stay away from poking into the demon's room—no point in listening to it speak bullshit—though he supposes it hadn't needed to be said.
He takes the bottle back. A heavy blanket of silence settles over them. He's worried about Ciri. He is concerned about what the process will result in. And he does not know if Dean will truly be all right at the end of it. Trapped in limbo and full of unknowns—he hates being here. ]
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Jaskier drinks a heavy swallow instead of saying any of that, then hands it over.]
You're moping. [It's not as much an accusation as a statement of fact; a prerequisite understanding to tackle whatever conversation, or lack thereof, lay in this moment.
Jaskier gives him a pat on the arm.] I suppose it's quite warranted this time. But I remain optimistic -- I will have to be so for the both of us, I'm sure. His people will know better than either of us if it can truly be... corrected.
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He's prepared for an outcome that leaves them no better than where they began.
A long moment passes. He studies the mouth of the bottle. ] I knew. For a long time. Months before he died, he asked me. That, should it come to it, I would end it. I'd thought there was more time.
[ Those obsessed fucking zealots had thrown everything into chaos. And even then, Dean had tried to reach out to him. Both conversations have stayed with him ever since. He knew what he'd told Dean—that when it came to Ciri, to his people, he didn't need to be asked, that Dean needn't worry about burdening him with the task—but the reality is, it'd have always been a weight. How could it not? He's made these choices before. More than once. It never changes how it feels.
Some part of him had been relieved when Dean died at sea—not because he'd needed to be put down like a rabid animal, but for doing something he'd have wanted to be remembered doing. Saving people. Then the demon took over. Dragged his body back. No matter how this resolves, Geralt knows those memories will not leave Dean. ]
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[For a second, he can feel himself be furious about it -- if only specifically because the demon threatened him, likely because he is both an easy target and someone close to Geralt -- but he sighs and covers his face in his hands, letting it out. It is not an easy situation, and this is one he's even more embroiled in than he was when it happened to Ciri.
Gods, it's all so fucking stupid, isn't it? The hunters just make each other worse. Stuck in a hellish life where they're doomed to die, and then when they become close, they force even more trauma upon each other.
It is easy to wish Geralt had never gotten involved with Dean, because none of this would have happened. Perhaps he would have made himself someone else's problem. And why kidnap Ciri? He must have known things about her, what she was capable of -- from either Ciri, or Geralt himself. Either that, or the girl is simply demon bait.
It's easy to want such things when he's on the tertiary himself. There is nothing more human than wanting to eliminate their problems before they have even begun.]
I do not understand how this sort of thing always seems to happen with you involved. I suppose he refrained from telling you it would nearly be impossible to kill him when that happened, didn't he? [He drops his hands.] Of course he did. I'm sure he hoped it wouldn't happen. The sort of thing we can almost fool ourselves into believing, when the inevitable stares us in the face.
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[ He breathes out sharply. Embroiled in this shit as long as he's been, he forgets how much Jaskier could not possibly know. Any of them. Geralt had not been keeping it a secret, necessarily. He'd simply not imagined it to escalate so rapidly, that he would be absent for weeks. That death would be what triggered the transformation. And though Geralt rarely explains himself in detail, Jaskier deserves more than haphazard truths this time. He doesn't want Dean taking the blame for something he hadn't done, either.
Or perhaps he'd had a touch too much whisky. Enough to loosen his tongue, enough to draw forth all of the things he rarely says. ]
Some time ago, he explained a mark appeared on his arm. A curse. His memories terminated at receiving it. We knew it made him aggressive. Violent. But nothing like this. It was... [ He pauses. ] Tavern brawls. A short temper. The worst of the bloodshed I witnessed was when men attacked me and he intervened.
[ Aggression born of a protective instinct, in other words. Frustration. Emotions he can understand. The demon is something else entirely. Hollow, as he's said before. Empty. No trace of the man he once called a friend beyond superficial cruelty drawing on those memories. ]
He wasn't aware of his near-immortality. I uncovered that possibility. We hoped it wasn't true.
[ It would mean stopping him was an equally impossible task. Impermanent. In truth, Geralt had been searching for a method to remove the Mark as much as he'd been searching for a method to kill the bearer of it should he need to. Neither had born fruit. ]
Dean never lied to me. Humans who dedicate their lives to eradicating monsters are not always the kindest to Witchers. But he was... [ Different. ] He was a good friend. I wanted to try where I failed with Eskel. Maybe I was fucking wrong.
[ Is, was. He no longer knows. ]
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And so he does. Jaskier's eyebrows knit together, his fingers knitting together too. This... this is far more complicated than what happened to Ciri. Isn't it? (To be fair, he still doesn't completely understand what happened then, either, as drunk and hungover as he'd been.)
But she had not been cursed. Not as far as he heard. That is something else entirely.
Jaskier rests a hand on Geralt's arm.] I apologize for telling you you should kill him. That was rather cold of me. [To put it very lightly...] I didn't realize you had become so close. [Perhaps the tree should have clued him in. He only thought it would be for another fallen hunter. Jaskier was not particularly liked by other Witchers, but that didn't mean he thought they should be forgotten. And neither should hunters here, either.] You don't know if you're wrong yet. You must hold onto that. And whatever I can do to help -- whatever it is, Geralt, you know I'll do it for you.
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But he does appreciate it. The sentiment behind it. He keeps his friendships close to his chest, it's true. Dean, Nero—even Alucard. They're people he would rely on in a heartbeat, but whom he simply does not speak of much. It's not deliberate. Habit, maybe. The nature of a Witcher, wandering from city to city, kingdom to kingdom. Forging bonds with people who would never meet in their lifetimes.
Here, it's different. How interconnected they all are.
In the end, he hums, accepting the apology for what it is. ]
I know. [ His answer is soft. The warmth of Jaskier's hand seeps into his skin. ] I realize I told you to stay in the city. But I'm glad you were there.
[ To intervene, to help, to keep him grounded. He needs his friend. That's no longer a point he contends. ]
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He would not be left behind again.
Jaskier gives him the bottle back.]
I'm mostly sticking to my promise. I stayed out of the most dangerous parts. Though I think, for a moment, Castiel was also considering putting my insides on the outside. [Very lucky he decided not to.] You know, if you had told me the man was in love with Dean, I would have approached him very differently!
no subject
Geralt lifts the bottle to his lips. ] If he had, he would not be alive.
[ Best that Castiel kept enough of his senses. As for in love. Now Geralt does take a drink. Love always does complicate the situation further, doesn't it? And yet. They all find themselves grasping onto it with both hands. ]
Didn't exactly have time to write you a letter. I only learned it hours ago.
[ Is Geralt perceptive? Yes. Is he also a man who prefers not to dwell on other people's business if it needn't concern him? Also yes. He's been aware from the start Castiel and Dean were close; whether they loved each other romantically or fraternally was not something he found worth untangling. Though perhaps it does answer why Dean had reacted how he did over what was—to Geralt—neither a thrilling nor surprising revelation that he and Jaskier fucked on occasion. Striking too close to home, he supposes. ]
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Jaskier cannot blame him for being in love. Perhaps he can blame Castiel for being in love with a very stupid man, and then being very stupid about it himself, but --
He can't claim many would fair much better.]
It would've only taken a sentence. [He leans against Geralt's shoulder with a note of humor in his voice. He can afford to find it humorous now, in all its absurdity, when he is now (relatively) safe from the creature. Perhaps in time he will be able to accept the threat wasn't personal beyond the fact that the demon likely knew of the bard and the Witcher's unique friendship.] Are you going to be all right? Whether or whether not this works?
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Mm. [ He rests a hand briefly on Jaskier's leg, then picks up the bottle again. ] Ciri is safe. As are you.
[ And Sam and Julie and Nadine. The outcome could have been catastrophic. It wasn't. The weight has not yet lifted—probably won't for a while—but. He'll do what needs to be done, to protect what's most important to him. Sometimes that means choosing one loss over another.
He sits with Jaskier in silence for a bit. Eventually returns inside when the hour is up. It's a slow, painful process—but he can admit, it's better knowing his friend is nearby. ]
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For Geralt has never given him a different answer. And likely he never will.]
Sentimental of you, Geralt.
[Jaskier takes to quiet, and there is only the sound of their bobbing apples as they swallow, or a ring hits the glass, or the desert crickets out in the sands begin their nightly song. It doesn't feel like the last time they will approach an aftermath this way, but it is... it works. It works for the two of them.
Because it is always the two of them on the other side. The two of them, and Ciri, and -- and he hopes it stays that way.]