Blood and Wine

Ch.15 Bard

"Look at him, poor bastard must've been starving.." Lambert states, gazing over at Jaskier who looked absolutely miserable right now. Geralt stood there watching quietly with crossed arms, not saying a word the entire time. He felt sick to his stomach at seeing the state of the bard.

Jaskier was practically lifeless, he looked completely worn out and weak compared to how he usually was. He had bags under his eyes and he didn't look too healthy. He also looked rather tired.

Geralt walks toward him, standing beside him as he stares at his frail figure. He notices how pale and thin he looks, how his clothes hang off of him. He notices how small he seems. "Jaskier.." Geralt tries speaking as softly as possible, causing Jaskier to snap his head up, his eyes widening at the sight of Geralt. He lets out a shaky breath, his eyes filling with tears.

"Geralt.." He breathes out, reaching out his arm and wrapping his fingers around the edge of the Witcher's tunic, The group watches quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever moment the two of them were having.

"I thought.." Jaskier trails off, swallowing hard, "I didn't think that I'd.." Geralt sighs heavily, placing a comforting hand atop of Jaskiers shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"I know.." Geralt replies softly, giving him a sympathetic smile. He could imagine exactly what it must've felt like for Jaskier the past few weeks, he wanted to know everything about what had happened but decided it was best not to ask at the moment.

"We're glad your back and safe.." Ciri interrupts quietly. Jaskier nods slowly, sniffing as he wipes the corner of his eyes hastily. He opens his mouth again but no words came out, instead he let out an unsteady sob.

The others exchange worried glances, not knowing how to help. "I'll take him to his room, he needs to lie down." Yennefer offers quietly. Geralt stays silent while Yennefer helps Jaskier to his feet, leading him to the hall.

Ciri stands there watching the two leave, "Is he going to be alright?" She asks softly, glancing over at Geralt. The Witcher merely gives her an unreadable expression before nodding.

"He will be." He assures. "He will be fine."
She frowns, clearly unsatisfied with his reply but says nothing more, choosing not to question Geralt any further.

Geralt then turns to the rest of the group, who seemed to have finally returned to their senses. "What do you think has happened to him?" Eskel asks, looking extremely confused.

"Not sure. We won't know until he talks." Geralt states, crossing his arms. He doesn't want to think about it, he doesn't want to wonder what might have happened to Jaskier, he wants to believe he's going to be fine.

They all end up sitting around the main table together once again, with Jaskier still asleep inside his room. None of them really seem comfortable with talking about what had just transpired. "Don't you all find it a bit odd that Jaskier just appeared out of nowhere especially since he's been missing for weeks?" Yennefer asks cautiously.

It wasn't uncommon for people to disappear without a trace, but it was unusual for them to appear out of thin air.

"None of us sense any sort of magic on him." Lambert says. "He doesn't seem any different besides being more jumpy than usual." He adds.

"Maybe it's just the adrenaline wearing off." Eskel offers, "Humans go through it." He continues.

"Except he's no longer human." Geralt counters.

"Well, I've heard enough," Ciri says standing up from her chair, "I'm heading to my room." She leaves without another word. Everyone watches her leave silently, before Lambert starts to speak again, "That's the bard in there."