Jaskier ran from the top of the mountain as fast as he could, away from Geralt and the broken shards of his heart. Years, he had given Geralt years of his time and devotion, his loyalty and love… and in return what did Jaskier get? Scorn…
He had done so much for the man, had improved the Witchers reputation with song after song, in town after town because he couldn't see them suffer so…
But he never wanted you to join him to begin with Julian…
He in fact told you several times verbally and with actions.
How many times has he snuck away from you? Told you to fuck off…
Jaskier let out a sob, pushing himself faster to run away from the thoughts that bubbled in his mind. He didn't want to hear them, not here and not now, because if he let them hook themselves into his mind then Jaskier would stop and right now he couldn't… wouldn't…
He had to reach Roach.
Aches and pains of slipping on the stones had him hissing, his palms scraped raw, knees and trousers ripped and bloody. He hoped in some way Geralt would smell his blood and come running, like he always did when Jaskier got hurt… but that was a little piece inside of him that was always begging for scraps… still begging for any scraps Geralt would give to show he cared.
You're a pathetic man Jaskier, with a fool's heart.
Anemone's caw from above had Jaskier skittering into the shrubs, heart pounding with adrenaline till only his eyes were visible. Everything within his being said to greet them, to show them that he was fine but right now Jaskier didn't wish to be seen by anything and especially not the sweet Falcon he had help raise…
A sob lodged in his throat as he buried his face into his knees, curling tight, hands coming up to cover his ears as words begin to filter through. Distant and close, confusing him greatly… but it really shouldn't have, should it?
Everything began to make sense now or well not really. He has many clues that he can connect, the fact he can understand animals, something he had been ignoring steadfast so he didn't go insane… but how could he ignore the fact he and roach have so many conversations, how can he ignore the chirps or hisses when he replies to Anemone or any of the other animals he has come to care for?
Borch called him blessed.
Blessed by what exactly?
What did Jaskier do to deserve such a blessing?
Speaking with the animals was only the beginning because Jaskier has realised that he hadn't aged in a very long time. He still looked like he was in his twenties when he was sure that he was in his forties now. That was one thing that took him the longest to realise, but when you're friends with immortals, one such thing as age just doesn't occur to you.
But now here he was, huddled under a bush hiding from the falcon he helped raise, ignoring the voices of the animals in the wild, his heart bleeding and broken… he's alone… and he's going to continue to be alone because…
No Julian… you cannot allow this to break you. You're unfortunately a Pankratz and Pankratz never give up.
Taking a deep shuddering breath Jaskier stood and kept moving, he needed to be off this mountain before Geralt, needed to be gone before the man even realised Jaskier was still on the mountain, before more hate filled words could be said.
With that in mind Jaskier took off in a run, not once slowing down till Roach was in view.
Roach reared slightly, pulling at the reins that held her to the post as she heard her noisy-foal running towards her with the speed of He-of-the-Night. The wood cracked with another jerk of her head but held, a scream of frustration escaping from her as she tried to free herself to protect her foal from danger.
Where was White-Hair? He wouldn't leave her foal alone unattended on a mountain, something must be wrong.
"Foal! FOAL! Let me free and I'll protect you, where is White-Hair!?" she screams as her foal comes close, but something is very wrong because he looks at her with wide eyes.
"R-Roach… n–nothing is following me." Jaskier whispered brokenly as he came to a stop at her side, burying his face in her mane for a moment before moving to the saddlebags. He begins the arduous task of separating his things from Geralt's, making sure to grab everything he needed, leaving his spare potions and healing salves.
There was no need for them now.
"Where is White-Hair? What is wrong?" She asked, whipping her head to the side to watch as her noisy-foal grabs things from their carrier bags and shoves them in a small sack of his own.
"I'm sorry my girl, it seems… it seems I have to part ways for now." Jaskier choked out as finally finishes gathering his things, hands planted on her flank. "He doesn't want me… if life could give him one blessing it would… it would take me from his hands."
Rage ignited within Roach at those words, her voice and words garbled as she tries to curse her White-Hair and plead for her Noisy-Foal to stay, she would fix it but once again her words fall on deaf ears as she watches her foal walk away, misery radiating off him in waves. She could feel his heart breaking and she knew… she knew the ache of that would slowly wear him down till he was nothing but a shadow of himself. for he held the heart of a Unicorn and a Unicorn's heart broke slow and all consuming.
She watched till she could see him no more before turning her attention to Rider-of-Currents whom had landed on the post beside her. "Tell me everything… then go tell the others."
By the end of the story her ire was beyond meaning and when her White-Hair finally made his way down to her, she refused to let him ride. He can walk in his shame.
P
He-of-the-Melodies was not like his herd, pure white except the small smattering of spots on his left flank that looked like flowers. But that is not what made him stand out, no, it was the refusal of traditions and desire to see the two-legged.
He wanted to bask in their songs, the melodies they created that was so beautiful and unlike his own kind. He still hid himself well away from their prying eyes after the story of his older brother was discovered, taken after a fall and his wings taken from him.
But oh did he wish he could get closer, wish he could master his magic enough to hide his wings without losing concentration.
He-of-the-Melodies was cast from his herd after an incident where he led a pack of those two-legged back in his haste to get away. A punishment he dolled out himself so he would never risk anything but himself.
Didn't mean it made him any less curious, nor did it stop the loneliness creeping in.
It had been a long time since He-of-the-Melodies wandered close to a two-legged herd settlement, still adrift after self-appointed isolation. It had also been a long time since he had come across any other herd, be it pegasi, Tulpar, Unicorn or even wild Horses the two-legged loved. Sometimes he could feel them with his magic, a caress across his flank or a flutter in his wings… but never searching, never… broken like this.
He could feel the heartbreak of a Unicorn, an itch under his wings and hair, sharp like nettles biting. He-of-the-Melodies followed the sensation, hooves making haste when the flutter of a Tulpar brushed against him followed by the power of a Pegasus… one that felt like Herd.
Yet as He-of-the-Melodies grew close to the power, something felt off. The power felt like an echo, a gift rarely given rather than the source. Yet, still the heart of a Unicorn breaking had him urging forward, till the sound of a melody reached his ears.
It was slow and sorrowful, a sound he had not heard before, broken and invoked the feeling of loss within the lone Pegasus. Words of the two-legged followed, a jumbled mess that He-of-the-Melodies could barely understand or hear.
This song, this melody of the creature who radiated the blessings of Herd, of the Wind, of the Love was unlike any other He-of-the-Melodies had heard before. It struck him deep within his own core, pulling forth the memories of his youth and the loss of his brother and the agony that rippled through the herd.
"Curious creature to feel such sorrows." He snorted, rearing back as the melody screeched and the being whipped their head around.
Now that He-of-the-Melodies could see the creature, he was surprised to discover that it was a Two-Legged. Young by the looks of it, carrying an instrument that He-of-the-Melodies hadn't seen for a while that some of those that sung played.
"Oh… you frightened me!" The two-legged gasped, standing to its full height and causing He-of-the-Melodies to blink in surprise. "Come out now, I won't hurt you."
Slowly He-of-the-Melodies stepped into the small field with caution, wings tucked firmly into his sides as tight as he could comfortably. His concentration wouldn't be good enough to hide them for long, not with how curious he was over the fact that this Two-Legged could speak the language of his kind.
" How can you understand me when others of your kind do not?" He asked slowly, one eye locked on the two-legged at all time as he circled.
Jaskier blinked as the sounds slowly began to translate. "Uh, a blessing… so I have been told."
The horse before him was nothing Jaskier had seen before, beautiful with a coat so white that it looked like freshly fallen snow, little buttercups painted on his flanks… but it was the wings that threw Jaskier, he had never seen such a creature… and it was a wild horse as well, not a Witcher raised or claimed. That was new, normally it was Witcher companions that sought him out.
"What… what are you?" He asked cautiously so not to offend. "I have never seen such a creature like you."
He-of-the-Melodies pulled up short, wings twitching with confusion. "I am a Pegasus. I would think you would have seen one like me before to gain its blessing. You must have done them a kindness, shown them kindness beyond anything else."
"Uh…" Jaskier blinked in surprise at the tone. "No, I would remember seeing wings… so far the only…"
The words died on Jaskier's tongue as a memory popped into his mind, Eskel and Scorpion standing near the healer as they stitched up the wound after the battle that Lil' Bleater found him. He recalled seeing a large, jagged scar run down near his spine, a copy on the other side. He also recalled, that by the end of their travelling that Scorpion basically guarded Jaskier always when Eskel was too preoccupied or on a hunt. That it confused Eskel at some points as Scorpion was hard to trust humans, considering it took Jaskier a week or two compared to years for Eskel and the others.
Oh…
"He doesn't have wings… they were…" Jaskier couldn't even find the words to tell the other Pegasus what had been done to the one that blessed him.
Thankfully it seemed the creature knew what Jaskier was trying to say with how its head bowed and eyes turn shiny, a small mournful whinny escaping its lips.
"It is common since my kind was brought here, many of us hunted down for our wings. Tulpars didn't have this problem as their wings cannot be seen by any creature but those like it and Unicorns got hunted for their horns till their magic evolved to hide it." He-of-the-Melodies explained while stepping close to the two-legged.
If a Pegasus with stolen wings could bless this creature, then He-of-the-Melodies could trust them.
"I am called He-of-the-Melodies." He introduced tipping forward in greeting. "What are you named young one?"
Jaskier jolted surprised at the name, snippets of memories where he had heard names much like it but was ignored in favour of delirium or figments of his imagination. He-of-the-night , Dancer-of-War, Seer-of-Omens, Rider-of-Currents. Not just that… he can recall the names he was called by.
"I am named Jaskier by my people…" He replied unsure if he should give He-of-the-Melodies the names he was given by the other animals.
He-of-the-Melodies noticed the tone change. "But that is not all that you are called."
"No. I am called by many names. Young-Foal, Noisy-Foal, Eyas, Snakelet, Kitten-Tamer, Julian the Blessed…" Jaskier explained wryly, watching as the Pegasus reared back in surprise and wonder but a twisted ached tore through the bard. "Useless, shoveler of shit, bastard, unwanted wretch."
The agony that poured from the two-legged's lips tore through He-of-the-Melodies. How could a being blessed by so many creatures of power, claimed as a foal think such things? How could he be cast aside so cruelly by those of his own kind and He-of-the-Melodies knew that it was two-legged's that caused that ache by the words spoken.
Something then and there shifted in He-of-the-Melodies as he watched water well and leak from the blessed one's eyes like a trickling river, as he heard the melody in the being's soul crack and break… He-of-the-Melodies would do all he could to protect them, to help carry that burden so very much like his own.
"Come young-foal, let me help carry this burden with you." He-of-the-Melodies whispered as he stepped close and tucked him close with a wing. "Together we can stand, together we can find the soft melodies that make us who we are once again."
A sob tore through Jaskier as he buried his face in the warmth of He-of-the-Melodies, tears dampening the pure white hair to silver. It was just his luck that he now has a reminder of Geralt, the snow-white matching the Witcher's hair, even dampened by tears… yet… yet something felt soothed as well by it.
Suddenly he didn't feel so alone, so broken… "Thank you… Pegasus."