The Witcher (One shots)

Wrong Place, Wrong Time.

(Geralt x Jaskier)

“How deadly are leshen exactly?” Jaskier asks as they tread through the forest, notebook in hand ready to jot down any important facts that Geralt won’t tell him later.

“Deadly enough that you’re staying at the camp, when we find a clearing good enough.” Jaskier nods, though Geralt doesn’t see, and continues speaking.

“So, even if I was stealthy…would I still get killed?” Geralt stops and sighs before he turns to Jaskier behind him. He rubs the bridge of his nose between his index finger and his thumb.

“Leshens they- look it’s- they can control the wildlife around them. Even if you were quiet, they would spot you and you would die and that’s on me, got it? Stay. At. The. Camp.” Jaskier gave a hearty laugh, though his face didn’t change to a smile.

“Ha, I get it. No need to rub it in. I’ll pester you when you get back, I know that’s your part,” he smirked. Geralt huffed with only the hint of a smile on his face that Jaskier didn’t notice.

}{

A branch snapped, jaskier’s head looked up from his lute to the trees around him. His fingers stopped moving on the strings and the forest turned silent apart from the slight breeze that brushed past the leaves in the trees.

Another snap and a low huff of breath. Jaskier would have thought it was Geralt, if not for the large footsteps to follow after; Geralt may have been a heavy guy, but he wasn’t that heavy.

There was another huff, then, out of the corner of jaskier’s eye, a large brown bear appeared, making it's way over to both his and Geralt’s satchels. Luckily, Geralt had taken Roach with him.

Jaskier instinctively stood up from the rock he was sat on, preparing for a fight.

Geralt had never taught Jaskier about bears in the wild. They were basic animals, he said, easy to fight.

Yes, well, Jaskier thought, maybe for a Witcher they’re easy to fight, but what of humans…

The bear nosed it's way through their packs, searching for food and managing to find some of Geralt’s ingredients. Jaskier decided then to speak up, what would the Witcher say if he knew Jaskier had let a stupid bear eat all of his stuff, the money they would lose!

“H-hey! Bear!” He puffed up his chest, pushing his feet apart to look larger, was… that what you were supposed to do when facing a bear? “Stay- eh- stay away from our stuff! ”

The beast looked up and sniffed the air, turning it's dark, beady eyes towards Jaskier. It almost looked sad, the creature, loneliness filling the black void of it's eyes. He could probably write a ballad about it, he would actually, and he’d get started once the bear was gone.

The bear did not leave. Instead, it stood up on its hind legs, something that made Jaskier very much want to piss his pants right at that moment, but he didn’t. It towered above him, huffing and moaning. When it landed back on all fours, the ground practically shook beneath them. Jaskier was possibly imagining that, his mind was not working as it should at that moment.

It walked towards him slowly, sniffing the air. Jaskier grabbed his lute by the neck, brandishing it like a weapon with both hands and shaking his head. He had to think straight, he had to focus.

It was too close. It was too bloody close! Jaskier swung his lute, he couldn’t help it, the beast was standing there and any small movement it made felt as though it was about to kill him.

The thing roared, practically deafening Jaskier in the moment and swiped it's claws at Jaskier's lute, smashing it out of his hands and onto the ground. Jaskier eyed it for a moment, mourning it's loss, before the beast stood up once more, shielding Jaskier from the bright sun above them.