cointosser: ([014])
Jaskier "old-timey fuckboy" Alfred Pankratz ([personal profile] cointosser) wrote in [community profile] abraxaslogs2021-10-01 09:35 pm

[ CLOSED ] when I'm like this, you're the one I trust

Who: Jaskier, Ciri, Geralt, eventually Sam?
When: First week of October
Where: The desert outskirts of Cadens
What: Jaskier attempts to help Ciri learn magic with disastrous results.
Warnings: Bodily injury, may move to mild body horror depending.



[With the climate they found themselves in, it only made sense for them to really embrace their new... eccentric talents. At least, that was what Jaskier tells himself, and when he tells himself it -- regarding Ciri, in particular -- it all makes sense, of course. If they are all gifted with magic, then it only makes sense to make use of it.

After all, it's free. And they need skills to make a living off of. As far as he understands, Ciri is, er, well. Like Geralt. A hunter.

Magic, hunting. It all fits together.

Okay, fine. He's terribly bored also. And he's tired of being the only one with magic around here. (He's still avoiding the whole plant thing. He prefers not to think about it, actually.]


All right, my dear. I -- well, I don't claim to know many, er, spells, but we can start on what I started on. Simply a little bird. [He, of course, adds a completely unnecessary flourish to his movements, and a bit of sparks, holding out his hand with a dove sitting on his palm.]

It's a bit hard to describe. I sort of... imitated watching it, I suppose.

[He sort of definitely wants to see Ciri try to imitate his flourish.]
falcony: (ia_200000078)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-08 11:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Then Red can go ahead, might help shave off some time. Here- [ he keeps one arm around jaskier to keep him up, and reaches for his own coinpurse, pushing it into her hands. ] Right inside the gate, there’s a stable. Tell the owner you know me, he’ll help. [ he doesn’t have time to tell her that’s where geralt’s horse came from, or that sam had done a favor for the owner. honestly, he doesn’t know if ciri even hears him, or if she’ll listen once she makes it in. he doesn’t care all that much, whatever gets her to geralt fastest. even so, as she starts off, sam calls after her- ] Be safe! [ which, okay, may be a bit much, but sam can’t help it even as jaskier’s body crumples back.

jaskier. a cool chill runs down his spine that turns his attention back, resituating jaskier as he pushes the mule forward.

getting to his place takes too long, and sam isn’t even sure he breathes as they rush into the city, pushing down alleys and roads. briefly, sam hopes alina isn’t home, if only because he’s not sure he has the time to try and explain this on top of keeping jaskier up. god, god, dan’s heart has stopped three times already on this trip, just because he hadn’t been able to feel a pulse. but as they get to the building and sam slips his arms under jaskier, trying to be both gentle in his movements without jostling, and trying so hard to move as quickly as he can.

when jaskier’s voice breaks through sam’s concentration, it’s relief that floods him. even if it’s barely a voice at all, it’s something, and sam can work with something. ]
Not quite, but she’ll be back soon. [ he smiles, though he’s not sure jaskier is really seeing it, eyes on the slowly approaching landing. it’s only ten feet, maybe fifteen, to his door, and he has to keep jaskier awake. ]

But morning to you too, beautiful. How you feeling? [ eight feet, seven feet. his voice is calm, and will remain so, but with a tension through it, even now. it’s the same tension keeping his limbs from getting tired, the same tension keeping him moving forward. peter’s out, which means sam will use his room, but first he has to get through the door. ] Good? Hungry?
falcony: (ia_100000055)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-09 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ sam nearly laughs at that, the rough sound of his voice, the graveled not very good. no, he supposes not, but an answer at all is better than nothing.

they make it through the door, and sam is taking stock of the room. the couch, the center table. walks them both through the small space, into the small bedroom, and sets jaskier down on top of the blankets. he makes a note to apologize to peter later, setting the bag down and hands going to the bandage around his arm. ]
She’s on an errand, but she’ll be back. She’s okay, don’t worry, I made sure. You’re at my place, you got hurt so I’m fixing you up. [ his voice is quick as he tries to answer what he assumes jaskier is thinking, his fingers gentle as he unwraps the fabric around the wound, sensitive to when he feels it start to stick, where the blood is the thickest.

his mind is shuffling through next steps, the small amount of fear wrapped up in what he knows is his next step, if only because it’s out of his experience, the vial packed tight in the interior pocket. ]
I know it’s not good, but can you tell me a little more? Can you feel your fingers?

[ the bandage is almost off, and it’s heavy with blood, thick and dark. sam feels his throat tighten, but doesn’t allow it to show on his face. ]

Do you remember what happened? [ his eyes go to jaskier’s face before pausing in the un-dressing of the bandage, reaching down to grab the bottle and set it on the counter before pulling out the basic first aid items he keeps in the pack. he doesn’t know the extent of the potion, but the need to clean the wound, first, overwhelms him. ]
falcony: (SNv3yLD)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-09 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ 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?
falcony: (pic#14983155)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-09 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ sam knows that the magic takes a moment to sink in, knows that it will be at least a moment, if not a couple. but even still, the anger tinged with jaskier’s panic hits close to home, and sam’s mind immediately moves to plan b. to the next option, if this doesn’t work. he doesn’t yet feel confident in his own abilities, here, so it’s possible it just didn’t work at all, but-

oh thank god, sam let’s put a breath the moment he feels jaskier settle. sam, meanwhile, entirely believes it’s the magic more than himself that has jaskier letting out a breath, leaning into his hand. ]


Good. Perfect. [ sam rubs a thumb across jaskier’s cheek, just for a moment,
to reinforce the soft words, before he sets him back against the pillow. ]


I’ve got a potion for you. It’s going to fix all of this right up. Should. You just need to drink it. [ sam’s voice is gentle again, less urgent, as he lets go of jaskier’s face and reaches for the bottle, sliding it into jaskier’s palm. ] It’s not much, but it’ll fix this right up, alright? Can you drink this for me? [ he pauses, just for a brief moment, to make sure jaskier’s fingers wrap around it before he uncorks it, supporting wrist as he pushes it up to his mouth. his other hand, as subtly as he can, tugs at the last layer of dried blood, making an effort to keep himself from wincing as he has to pull the fabric away from the muscle and tissue. ] It’ll help, okay? I just need you to drink this.

[ there is a thought, briefly, that he may need to force jaskier to drink it, but he hopes not, as he pulls the rest of the bandage away from the open wound. ]
falcony: (✗ >> 12)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-10 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
I never said you were. But you’re also in a lot of pain- just wanna make sure you know what’s happening.

[ sam moves quickly, then, one hand holding jaskier’s wrist up to his mouth and the other pulling away the fabric of ciri’s- god. that’s her shirt. sam’s mind is spinning, his attention both on the vial of potion that is supposed to help heal this, that he prays to god fixes this, and the now open wound. the muscle, he can see. the bone.

but jaskier manages to swallow it all, and sam has the fabric out of his wound, so hopefully it’ll heal. it’ll all heal. without the fabric, would the extra equipment. god, sam wishes he has any medical equipment at all, but jaskier swallows the potion and sam exhales, one step complete.

he doesn’t catch the bottle when jaskier drops it, letting the vial fall to the ground as he makes sure jaskier’s body settles back on the pillows. simultaneously, he thinks about how he’ll need to wash him, change his clothes, will the potion make it so he doesn’t need to dress the wound? how fast will it work? sam hovers, close and concerned, as jaskier coughs, blood on his lips. ]


Yeah? [ his brain circles through the symptoms, the possible things that might happen now that jaskier’s consumed the potion. hallucinations, zelda had said. just like down in the tunnels. he braces, hoping the magic he’d used would balance out trauma of the pain itself. ] This should be easy, then. You’ve already survived this before, you’re basically a master. [ does he need to keep him awake? sam’s eyes dart between jaskier’s face and his arm, watching as the colors seem to get brighter. as the muscle, the tissue, the blood itself seems to come alive. he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do, but there’s a part of him that just wants jaskier awake. ] What happened last time?
falcony: (ia_100000047)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-11 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
You are not dying. [ there is a kind of intensity behind the words that almost scares sam, by how quickly they escape from him. he's been worried, through this whole process, working on a level of adrenaline-fueled experience that, no matter how often he finds himself in this situation, will always come with an undercurrent of fear. but it's the ferocity of the words that catch him, the force of how much he needs to convince jaskier, as much as himself, that it's not going to happen.

( and yes, okay, he realizes that there's a good chance jaskier's focus point is somewhere else entirely. that he may not be speaking sense at all, or that he means it in more of a general sense, rather than this specific moment. people die all the time is all he says, and maybe sam shouldn't be so defensive about it in the first place, but something akin to protective desperation is - apparently - waiting just below the surface. )

it's a relief, as he watches jaskier react to the taste of the potion, that the magic has worked. sam had already experienced his fair share of hallucinations from others, so he knows to prepare himself for the worst (he still can't quite wipe away the distant smell of blood after seeing alucard's, still haunted by shadows in the dark from geralts). so, once jaskier has swallowed it back, sam is checking - the wound, as it slowly seems to shift in place. the room around them, and what jaskier might bring into this.

for all that sam believes himself prepared, though, he doesn't seem to know what to do with the image of a single woman - a figure in black, by his bedside. isn't exactly sure how to react to her, as she steps in close and brings her hands around jaskier's. he doesn't recognize the crooked jaw, but something about those eyes. he looks from her, to jaskier, wary though still feeling that burn of protectiveness, keeping himself poised over jaskier's wounded arm, keeping himself from staring too intently as the magic begins to work. ]


I came as soon as I knew. [ sam watches her hands squeeze, gently, around jaskier's hand as she pulls it close to her chest. he is still uncertain, though now incredibly curious, his own head tilting close as if trying to follow that familiar twinge he can almost grab hold of. sam wants to ask right out what is happening, what memory this woman is associated with, but he's reminded that jaskier wasn't in the tunnels and may not, exactly, grasp what is happening. so sam goes for a more round-about way through the conversation itself. ]

Who's our friend? [ polite, a small smile playing at his already tired expression. it's barely been a couple of hours, now, but until jaskier's arm has completely stitched itself back together, sam's not going to be quite ready to breathe. ]
falcony: (ia_200000028)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-13 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ sam's eyes fall back to jaskier's arm briefly, and linger for a moment longer than he intended, a little mesmerized by proof that the potion has started to work. he wonders if it's painful, how the tissue and veins stitch themselves back together, but jaskier barely seems to notice. sam's fingers gently curl around jaskier's wrist, feels an unnatural warmth coming from his skin closer there, but it's all good. it's magic. it's working. sam reminds himself to breathe a bit as his eyes turn back to the others, now, the woman who is giving jaskier a small, shy, and possibly a bit embarrassed smile. the way she steps a little closer, how she squeezes jaskier's hand a bit more.

it's not until jaskir says yen that sam feels his eyes widen. there's...no way, is there? the eyes are close enough, maybe, but the rest of this scene is too different from what sam knows of yennefer. lauded across the continent he says, and if sam wasn't already trying to keep up, he might have lifted a brow at that. ]


Of course. [ yennefer says, looking concerned but...fond? maybe? as she reaches up to brush hair from jaskier's forehead. as she tuts at him, worried, though with very little attention to the actual blood or sand or scrapes that cover him. some of those start to close too, with the potion, but there's a good chance sam won't really notice that until much later. because right now? he figures he just needs to start feeling comfortable in the confusion, which is why he's not at all the least bit surprised when another creature appears, fluttering behind yennefer's head.

this is jaskier's hallucination. it could be much worse. much worse than...whatever that flying, talking, round creature is apparently supposed to be. ]


You've already got an apprentice? [ sam tries to sound light, like he's more impressed with jaskier's teaching ability than anything else. ] Yeah I can...see how that would complicate things. [ paws...talking... sam glances back to the wound, only slightly using it as a grounding effort, and feels an immense relief in realizing he can't see bone any longer. it's working, but it still needs time. ]

He should play something, right?
falcony: (ia_200000168)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-16 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ it’s comforting, truly, that jaskier doesn’t seem at all in pain. whether it’s the potion working, or something else, the shifts in his expression are at some curious, at times soft, but generally in-edges by the level of pain he must be in. sam notices his fingers curling, and worried that it may be a tightening of muscles and tendon, sam slides his fingers between jaskier’s. he doesn’t think much of it, about the gentle way his hand settles in jaskier’s, but another glance shows him the potion is working. that jaskier’s arm will be okay.

his attention shifts up at the appearance of another figure, and he allows himself the easy smile upon seeing geralt, with a green eyes girl on his shoulders. geralt and ciri, yennefer and moglad. sam watches them all come to jaskier’s side, worry and concern and companionship, all in different ways.

sam blinks, the sudden thought of a family at a sick loved one’s bedside filtering through. jaskier makes some comment about his kitchen, about being busy, and sam squeezes his hand. ]
It deserves a chance to be used. It’s been a while since I cooked for so many.

[ so many, all brought together through jaskier. so many, all here just for him. of, maybe, it’s more apt to say - so many that jaskier would want, here. in the tunnels, the visions sam had and had shared were all of the darker sort, traumatic events laid plain and open. here, jaskier brings him a family. his family.

( and sam, in some distance way, feels almost like he’s intruding. a bystander, in an otherwise private moment. )

the smell that wafts through the room is warm, seasoned, stew. sam feels his own stomach grumble, at it, and even if he knows none of this is actually real, he can’t help but eye the way this yennefer squeezes jaskier’s hand. how she makes room for ciri, one of her arms going over the young girl’s. ]


Jaskier… [ sam says softly, trying to get his attention. ]
falcony: (✓ >> 4)

[personal profile] falcony 2021-10-19 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ this is the part sam had been expecting - the odd sensations, the things that aren't quite right, figures that don't make sense for the space or the things around them. there are some faces sam recognizes, some he isn't sure are from here or home. they all come with the same intention, the warmth of comfort, of gravitation. sam is a bit struck at how, given the opportunity, jaskier hallucinations a doting crowd - but not exactly in the way he might expect. it holds the smile on sam's face as he watches them, coming close and then backing away again, focus and features solidifying and then easing away again.

the squeeze around his hand, though - that's something of note. something good. sam's eyes go immediately down to their hands, and then to jaskier's face, smiling broadening with the first piece of solidly good news. he can work the hand, still, and while the wound is still piecing itself together, it looks better with every second. better, good. sam lets out a breathing, without realizing he'd been holding it for a few moments. ]


I'm right here- not going anywhere. [ the words remind him of their conversation in sam's home, of what it feels like to return somewhere, to stay. sam squeezes jaskier's hand back gently, reaching up with his still free hand to wipe away some of the dust and grime from jaskier's brow, his forehead. ] Nowhere I'd rather be.

[ and that is when sam feels jaskier's grip so slack, watches as his had turns into the pillow. the images around them start to fade off, disappearing with jaskier's consciousness, and sam waits. for minutes, for hours - with his hand still in jaskier's, one finger on his pulse line just below his palm.

jaskier's heartbeat is stable and consistent, sure, but sam just. needs a moment to double check it stays that way. ]