Cahir had thought he'd seen the last of the Oxenfurt sewers months ago. Wading through heaps of filth hadn't been his plan then either. He breathed through his mouth as he made his way through the festering tunnel. He had to wait until the tavern emptied for the night. He had seen the wanted posters when he reached the city, his face was plastered on every wall top to bottom.

He climbed up the slimy ladder to the cellar and tried to keep a semblance of his wit. He had to be quiet. If he revealed himself before the place emptied he'd be dead before he opened his mouth. The reward for his capture was substantial and if anything it would put bravery into any poor wretch even if alcohol had dulled their senses.

Cahir sat down on a barrel and waited. He sat through four songs and three poems before the infernal clapping engulfed the entire tavern. At one point he heard the bard climb up on the bar and swear the next five drinks were on the house. Cahir had never in his life wanted to quench the need to entertain the masses out of the fucking bard so thoroughly as he did sitting there on the damn barrel.
He had to sit and wait while Auri was back in the cave, slowly rotting away as the necrosis spread. He had to sit here and fucking wait as she crumbled in his furs, the furious fucking mage that had consumed him before he could stop her.

He'd kissed her forehead to feel something, to feel anything but dread and horror as his mind shattered. He hadn't checked the wounds. At all. He'd just let her sleep on his chest, running his hands through her hair and talked her through the delirium. He hadn't thought to check the-

'What are you doing here?'
Cahir lifted his gaze to find the bard leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. His hair hung down in his eyes and the red coat gleamed with spilled alcohol.
'I need help.' he said and took a step toward the glaring bard.
'Hah,' he said and lifted a finger in the air. 'Last time I helped you I got you on a ship to Cintra. It's not my fault you didn't stay there. You're on your own now, Commander. Fuck off.'

'Oh, shut the hell up!' Cahir spat. 'I'm not asking you to help me, I'm asking you to help Auri!'

Jaskier's face fell and his gray eyes flared, and he moved so fast that Cahir's lower back hit the barrel before he could blink.
'Auri?' The bard's breath reeked of wine. The lute fell from his grip and the twang made him cringe. 'Where is she? Tell me what happened.'

Cahir shoved the bard away from him and pointed to the bar above.
'I'll tell you the moment I'm out of this cellar. We have to hurry.'

Jaskier kept swallowing shots of vodka while listening. That Cahir needed him to be able to walk didn't seem to matter much to him. He told him almost everything, for the sake of his own life he left out the part about the original mission. He only said he'd lost his rank, was wanted and Auri had promised to help him to safety because he asked. Jaskier didn't buy one word of it.
'Fine.' Cahir said and took the bottle of vodka. 'I'll tell you, but you have to promise that whatever violence you undoubtedly plan will have to wait until she is safe.'

How he got him to agree he had no idea. Jaskier simply nodded and pointed down to the cellar.
'I'll meet you on the outskirts. I'll bring what I have. I tell you now, that if I get to that fucking cave and you've done anything to hurt her-'
'I don't care. Hurry.' Cahir ignored the rest of his carefully planned threat and ducked back down to the cellar. He waded back out the way he came and groaned when he saw the bard already on his horse.
'Move.' Cahir said when he walked up to him. No fucking way he'd let him have the reins. He had no proof whatsoever that he wouldn't shove him off the moment they got clear of the city.

Jaskier did as instructed and Cahir swung a leg over the saddle. The bard's hands immediately locked around his waist when he kicked the horse into a gallop and his voice was nearly drowned out by his hoofbeats. Cahir spoke until they reached the woods. He spoke until his voice was raw and breaking. The bard said nothing when he finished, but Cahir could feel his angry gaze burning a hole between his shoulder blades.

'Did you try to kill her?' he asked.
'Yes.'
'How many times?'
'Three,' he said. It was the truth. He had actively tried twice. The last time didn't count.
'When did you decide to stop trying to kill her?' Jaskier asked and something in his voice had shifted.
Cahir had only one thing to lose. Her. If he lied now and Jaskier decided to stop helping she'd die. He had seen the flare of terror on his face when he said her name so he knew there was no way in hell, but he refused to take the chance.

'Do you know what she is?' Cahir asked and moved the horse through the darkening woods.
'A selkie with a fondness for fire. I know. I followed her to Aretuza. I heard she was at Sodden, then I heard she moved to Temeria to help Foltest keep Nilfgaardians out-'
'The fire,' Cahir said. 'The fire consumes her. She thinks it will kill her like it did her mother. I decided to not kill her when I saw that my touch calmed her down. I wanted to tell her everything, and I would have had we not been attacked by fucking scouts. They carved her up, bard, and ratted me out. She nearly killed me for it.'
'You had it coming.'

Cahir turned in the saddle.
'I know. Fucking hell, I know. Stop with the poetic justice-speech and listen to what I'm telling you! I thought I'd killed the infection by closing the wounds and removing the shards of dimeritium. I assume the fucker coated the blade in something too and I didn't notice until now-'
'Why?'
'I was too busy trying to get her to eat and not choke on her vomit, mind you, she isn't the easiest!'
'I know. She nearly burnt down my bar a couple of years ago.' Jaskier said and stifled a laugh.
'She stabbed me in the ribs, threw a dagger at my face and tried to burn me alive.'

He wasn't going to tell him that he'd been too occupied looking at her sleeping on him, that he was too busy trying to get her through her delirium and promising her time and time again that he was real, that he was helping her and that she was safe. He had standards. And bleeding his heart out to a bard known for tragic prose wasn't something he'd do.

Cahir made him get off the horse first.
'I gave her herbs to keep her from running away. She has tried to flee more times than I can count. She's sleeping. Do what you can-'
'I'm doing this for her, not for you. Remember that.' Jaskier said and disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

Cahir tied Sir to a tree and kicked a rock so hard into the nearest tree it skittered off it and landed in the water. Of all the fucking people it had to be the bard with a grudge. It had to be the only bard for miles who held a grudge like his life depended on it. Of course he wasn't doing this for him. Only for her. The drenched supposed selkie he'd found on the beach. He chuckled desperately to himself as he regained his composure and followed the bard into the cave.

'This is so much worse than what you said,' Jaskier whispered from Auri's side.
'I know. I didn't want to tell you in case you refused to come. I didn't know what else to do.' Cahir admitted and dragged a hand through his hair.
'Can you help?'
'I will do what I can, you'd be better off with a mage,' Jaskier began and rolled up his sleeves.
'I am out of mages. I know Fringilla and Yennefer, and I have no idea where either of them are, so-' Cahir pointed a finger at the bard and sighed 'you're my best hope.'

Cahir protested only once. He ripped his dagger away from the bard only once.
'You're not carving her up again!'
Jaskier pointed his own dagger at Cahir's neck and rolled his eyes.
'Did she teach you nothing? I have to cut away the dead flesh, she must have done the same to you-'
'She burnt it off.'
'I have no fire, Cahir!' Jaskier said in an exasperated tone and moved the dagger down to her festering chest. 'This is the only thing I can think of. I will cut away the blackened skin, leave you some herbs and go to Novigrad.'
'Novigrad?'
'We need Triss Merigold.' Jaskier said and placed a hand under Auri's back. 'You said something about a hot stream?'
'At the back of the cave,' Cahir said and moved to help him. He steadied her head against his chest and grabbed a hold of her before the bard got a word in. He knew Jaskier only wanted to help but it annoyed him nonetheless. He should have checked. He should have made sure she was fine.

Cahir sat down in the middle of the stream with his back to the edge. Jaskier moved Auri between his legs and stayed on the edge of the water. He had known about the cave for years, that was the reason he'd taken her there in the first place. He had thought the hot water would heal her faster, but he hadn't realized the scope of her injuries before it was too late. He had wanted to kill the infection before he let her in the water.

His skin hissed when he hit the water. It reached just above his waist, the burning water soaked through his clothing in minutes. Auri moaned weakly when the water washed over her and her hands fell from her lap with a wet slap.
'You have to hold her. Tight. Do not let her move.'

Cahir moved his legs around hers, folding his hands around her waist while still keeping her head resting against his chest, making sure the shirt didn't slip more than it had to. She'd definitely kill him now. Jaskier walked into the stream and knelt by her side.
'Ready?'

Cahir nodded and moved his head out of the way.

Auri's eyes flew open the moment the blade met her skin. Her breathing quickened and she strained against his legs.
'Shhh,' Jaskier said from her side. She immediately snapped her gaze to his face and Cahir could hear her jaws clench.
'Hello, little Selkie. This will hurt, if you need to bite, please bite him, I need my arms.' Jaskier nodded toward him and smirked.
Cahir understood it for what it was and pressed his leather clad arm into Auri's mouth.

He kept holding onto her as the bard worked. The smell got worse the more blackened skin he removed. Cahir cursed himself yet again for not paying fucking attention to anything beside the feeling of her face on his chest. Auri bit. The leather creaked and he feared her teeth would break off as Jaskier meticulously removed thread after thread from the wounds.
Cahir tightened his grip around Auri as Jaskier cut and cut. He worked as quickly as he could, alternating between pouring alcohol on the dagger and her wounds. Tears ran down her swollen cheeks when the blood flowed. Cahir was drenched in hot water, blood, alcohol and tears by the time Jaskier threw the dagger away and wiped his shaking hands on his shirt.
'This is the best I can do. Give her more of the herbs, keep her in the water as long as possible and I will fetch Merigold.'

Cahir took the herbs the bard handed him and gently traced a finger along Auri's jaw to get her to stop biting.
'Please swallow this, it's over now. I promise.'
Cahir shook as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and tightened his grip on her, trying to stop her fevered shivers.

Cahir didn't see the bard dry his eyes and release a weak breath as he stared at the two of them in the steaming water. Cahir paid no attention to the soft smile across Jaskier's face as he left the selkie in the trembling arms of the former Commander General of the entire Nilfgaardian army.