[ he watches consciousness slip over jaskier like a shirt, struggling through the last bits of it as it catches. it’s easy to tell when he starts feeling the pain set it, the tension shooting through him almost instantly. jaskier curses, and sam sets a hand on his shoulder, trying to hold him still from moving too quickly, pushing himself too hard. ] Hey, hey, you’re okay-
[ yes. yes he can feel his fingers. sam nods, relieved, checking off one more tick off the box. he can feel his fingers, so the nerves haven’t been cut. the ligaments are still together. there’s one more layer to go and sam’s been hesitant to peel that away just yet.
that’s when jaskier seems to come more to, and sam sees the pain, the tears, the insistence in him. sam reaches out, setting a hand on jaskier’s opposite shoulder. the magic from ciri from earlier crackles, but sam hesitates. just briefly. god- he hates doing this, he wants to ask, wants to make sure jaskier knows what he’s doing, but sam sees the panic. ]
You can tell her when she gets back, she won’t be long, but first- [ okay, he can’t do this if jaskier keeps moving. ] Jaskier, I’m going to try and fix this, okay? But to do that you need to- [ the tell tale signs of panic make themselves known - his breathing, yes, but more than that. his eyes, his chest, his heart- sam is well versed with the signs of panic and pain in others and to fix the bigger step he has to first get jaskier calm.
making a quick decision, sam leans forward, setting a hand to jaskier’s cheek and turning his face towards him. it’s tear-stained and brushed with sand, grimey and flecked with blood, and sam feels something akin to recognition drop heavily in his stomach. except this is different, jaskier is different, because he’s looking back. breathing. alive. sam holds his hand there to steady him, just for a moment. ] Jaskier, breathe. [ and with that, sam seeps the same magic as before - warm and soothing, settling and grounding. it won’t do anything for the pain, but the panic, that fear, that should all settle into something more manageable. honestly, sam doesn’t know what it feels like - hadn’t with ciri, doesn’t with jaskier, and part of him wonders if it’s too invasive, too strange. but if he can get jaskier to breathe, to slow down his heart rate just for a few more moments, sam can get something done. ] I can help, but I need you to breathe for me first. Yeah? Can you do that?
no subject
[ yes. yes he can feel his fingers. sam nods, relieved, checking off one more tick off the box. he can feel his fingers, so the nerves haven’t been cut. the ligaments are still together. there’s one more layer to go and sam’s been hesitant to peel that away just yet.
that’s when jaskier seems to come more to, and sam sees the pain, the tears, the insistence in him. sam reaches out, setting a hand on jaskier’s opposite shoulder. the magic from ciri from earlier crackles, but sam hesitates. just briefly. god- he hates doing this, he wants to ask, wants to make sure jaskier knows what he’s doing, but sam sees the panic. ]
You can tell her when she gets back, she won’t be long, but first- [ okay, he can’t do this if jaskier keeps moving. ] Jaskier, I’m going to try and fix this, okay? But to do that you need to- [ the tell tale signs of panic make themselves known - his breathing, yes, but more than that. his eyes, his chest, his heart- sam is well versed with the signs of panic and pain in others and to fix the bigger step he has to first get jaskier calm.
making a quick decision, sam leans forward, setting a hand to jaskier’s cheek and turning his face towards him. it’s tear-stained and brushed with sand, grimey and flecked with blood, and sam feels something akin to recognition drop heavily in his stomach. except this is different, jaskier is different, because he’s looking back. breathing. alive. sam holds his hand there to steady him, just for a moment. ] Jaskier, breathe. [ and with that, sam seeps the same magic as before - warm and soothing, settling and grounding. it won’t do anything for the pain, but the panic, that fear, that should all settle into something more manageable. honestly, sam doesn’t know what it feels like - hadn’t with ciri, doesn’t with jaskier, and part of him wonders if it’s too invasive, too strange. but if he can get jaskier to breathe, to slow down his heart rate just for a few more moments, sam can get something done. ] I can help, but I need you to breathe for me first. Yeah? Can you do that?