Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of the witcher. Those are property of Mr Sapkowski and I using Netflix series canon mixed with the books and my twisted version of the lore.

Warnings : Whump (physical and emotional). Blood (a lot). Angst. Self-loathing and depression. Alcoholism. Swearing.

This is the turning point of the story for the relation between Geralt and Jaskier. And the whump is a bit strong. Enjoy lol.

The Djinn - Part 1

Mortal

###

The problem was that Geralt's anxiety never went away. He used all his techniques to try to tame this terrible feeling but nothing works. Between hellish nights and tormented days, he didn't know what to do. Civilisation was making everything worse. He was taking the minimal amount of missions, just to get enough money to survive. He was collecting fruits and roots, hunting and fishing for food, and slept all the time in his pickup when exhaustion was winning over him for a few hours.

This wild life had begun to have an impact on his appearance. He was more negligent. Didn't wash as much. Didn't comb his hair clean, as he used to, just hoping that his hat would hide his disheveled head when he was in a city.

Rinde was his main stop a few days ago. And he had learnt there that maybe a solution existed to his problem. He had learnt that a Djinn bottle was in a lake a long way from there. As desperate to find peace, he tried to get the artifact back and was fishing with a net around the designated lake for three days now.

The redundant activity had the merit to help him focus.

###

This was the end of the afternoon when a car sound broke his tranquility. Someone parked next to Roach, and Geralt was not very happy about that. He tried to ignore the person coming toward him but then…

- "Hi there my dear White Wolf." The man said.

Geralt recognised his friend's voice immediately and his heart sank.

- "Jaskier ?" He turned round to see him approaching.

- "Glad you remember my name at least."

His human hadn't physically changed but he could tell he was different. He was no sunshine, smelled no flowers, and the more he was coming closer, the more the alcohol scent was pregnant. Was he still heartbroken ?

- "What are you doing here ?" He asked, confused.

- "I was in Rinde a few days ago, like you, and I heard someone had seen you. It took me days to find you in this hole."

- "Why did you do this ?"

The hurt in his friend's eye was visible.

- "You lied then…"

- "Lied ?"

- "When you said you will come back to me."

- "I said, don't wait for me also." He was annoyed now.

Jaskier scoffed dryly.

- "I waited, Geralt… It's been two years and a half. Thank you very much…"

- "What ? That can't be that much…"

- "It is."

Jaskier took a small bottle from his pocket and drank a short but a heavy gulp. Geralt could smell the strong alcohol from there.

- "Since when, you drink like that." He asked.

- "Since everyone is abandoning me. Vespula is doing whatever she wants and plays with me. Last week, the countess of Stael broke with me. You… Take one muse of a poet, he will want to die already. Take all of them… what I am supposed to do… at least alcohol makes it almost bearable."

- "I am sorry. I didn't mean to stay away that long. I swear. But I am completely exhausted, lost and unphased. Don't push me."

- "I would have listened to you and helped if you had come to me." The words were a little bit slurred but he was sincere.

- "I know but I was overwhelmed and I flew away. This has alway been easier for me alone… I didn't mean to exclude you."

Geralt was sincere too but he surely wanted to end this discussion quicker. Jaskier looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes but very judgemental. He ignored him.

- "So! Now that we are here, what are you doing here ?" The young man asked, trying to get his composure back. That quick reunion wasn't satisfying but he clearly needed it and refused to show it.

- "I am trying to find a Djinn." Replied the witcher honestly.

- "A Djinn ? Like the ghosty creature with bad temper and bad manners ?"

- "Yeah… It will grant me wishes." Jaskier laughed and that irritated the witcher greatly. He snapped at his friend the next second. "If this is to laugh at me that you came, then, just return to Rinde already. I need that Djinn because I can't fucking sleep !" He growled.

Then he turned back and threw his net one more time in the lake. His friend stopped laughing but continued speaking. Geralt was very not in a patient mood, and if Jaskier had decided to make the conversation the way he usually did, that wouldn't be pleasant. And to his damnation this was worse : he had decided to lecture him and he was particularly on point, putting salt in the wound he didn't want to reveal.

- "You know, maybe that whole sleeplessness isn't just a thing. Maybe you are anxious, and asking a Djinn to give you back your sleep won't help on the long run. Maybe you are not trying to get to the root causes of the problem. I would be very anxious too, if I were suddenly a father. If the child surprise thing happened to me I would also be depressed and scared. But maybe running away from your responsibilities isn't making things better. And you will find soon or later other things that would make you miserable. I mean…"

- "Shut up !"

- "Well, I have put my finger on a sensitive nerve there then." The singer smirked.

- "I already thought about that, so this is not the problem anymore."

- "Is it ?"

- "Well, before lecturing me, maybe you could ask yourself some questions."

- "What are you implying there ?"

- "I don't know. You started pushing. Don't be surprised to be pushed back." Geralt pulled the cord and the net was caught on something. He grumbled.

- "I was trying to help."

- "You're not. And if you did this to your other muses, no wonder why they left." He pulled again. Still blocked.

- "What ?!"

- "That or the noise you make… bleating your love songs..."

- "Geralt. This is not funny."

- "Well... Poking me when I tell you that I am at my worst isn't either."

- "I don't know what to say."

- "Good. At least I won't have to suffer from your squeaky annoying voice."

Geralt was attacking a little bit too hard and he didn't mean half of it. But the moral fatigue he was experiencing was deshinibiting him as much as the alcohol was for his friend. And all his frustrations were suddenly materializing. To that last sentence Jaskier was outraged. His shocked drunk expression made the witcher laugh and he pulled harder on the rope. The net came back to him slowly with something in it.

This discovery had the merit to focus their chaotic minds and tame the aggression a little bit. But this was a short moment of peace. He extracted the object from the mud and the net. This was an amphora with a seal. This was magic he could tell at the symbols engraved in it and the slight vibration of his medallion. Jaskier approached, curious about his catch.

- "What is it ?"

- "I think that's it. The seal wears a magic signature."

- "Nice." Jaskier took one arm of the amphora and pulled toward him. Geralt resisted. "Oh common. Gimme that thing. I just wanna look."

- "No." He took the head of the amphora and pulled back.

The receptacle opened with a sounding pop and Jaskier looked inside with a critical eye.

- "That's a bit of an anticlimax." Suddenly the air around them seemed ticker and the light dimmed gradually. Then an unnatural wind blew, turning like a slow tornado around them. Geralt's medallion was reacting strongly to the chaos suddenly expanding. "Or is it !" Jaskier rushed, unsteady, to the edge of the water and pointing at the lake he exclaimed. "Now Djinn, I am your master. First, I wish my father a slow and painful death after he gives me back my human rights !" Geralt was stunned by the audacity and the very crude wish. He didn't react at first. "Secondly, I wish the countess of Stael coming back to me, with glee and very little clothing…"

This time he reacted. He grabbed Jaskier by his shirt and pulled back with force. The young man stumbled backwards but managed to keep his balance.

- "Stop that ! There are only three wishes. This was my Djinn."

- "And what do you want ?" Screamed angrily the singer at his face.

- "I just want some damn peace ! I was better alone, in silence !" He screamed back.

- "Here is your peace then !"

Jaskier just threw the amphora to the ground where it shattered. Geralt was furious. He tried to get the pieces back together and cut his arm in the process. The wind was stronger and louder. When he stood up again, with the rests of the amphora in his hand, the scene had taken a sudden terrifying turn.

Jaskier's hands were frantically trying to grip something invisible around his throat while he was slowly quitting the ground. The Djinn had no receptacle anymore and was attacking his friend in his fury. Geralt's first reflex was to cast Yrden, but it happened to be the worst mistake he could have made.

First, he saw the fantomatic creature appearing, whirling around Jaskier, in the howling wind, but as it was materializing, he saw that its hands were plunging inside his friend's throat and whatever it was doing to him, his cast made it more tangible. His reaction was a second too slow. Jaskier let out a cry that would hunt his night forever as the creature's hands clearly moved deeper before fading as he released the sign. His scream sounded like static noise and was soon drowned in his own blood filling suddenly his airways. The red liquid was dripping out of his mouth as he was trying to get the air in.

Geralt clenched his jaws and fists, he had no other choice to separate the two.

- "Aard !" He screamed.

Jaskier was propulsed in the air and fell onto the ground in a heap a few meters away. The djinn rushed over the water and disappeared in a ball of dark fog. The winds stopped and the light came back.

For a brief moment a lost dream played back in Geralt's head. He had seen this before. And as if everything wasn't clear enough a crow screeched somewhere in the trees. Destiny was moving forward and catching him, and who he cared about, with vengeance. If this was what Vesemir and Mousesack were talking about, this was brutal and his whole being was rejecting all of this with passion.

He rushed to his friend who was already trying to get up, which was good news. He helped him to sit. Jaskier's throat was marked large with red traces. His breathing was very worrisome though. The air seemed to get in his lungs with a lot of difficulty. His lips were turning bluish under the blood dripping from his mouth.

- "Are you ok ?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

But what happened next sent them both in panic mode. As he tried to answer, Jaskier suddenly spasmed and vomited an awful lot of blood on the ground between his legs. Geralt didn't have to think twice. He put the seal in his pocket and helped his friend up. He urged him to his car. He secured him on the passenger seat and drove back to the city.

- "You have to hold on, buddy. We're going to Rinde."

- "Too far..."

He was right but Geralt's blood ran cold when he heard the voice of his friend. This sounded like the scream before. Static noise modulating themselves painfully into sounds. He barely got the words this was supposed to be.

- "Military… camp…" Jaskier forced out of his destroyed throat, provoking a dry cough that led to new blood vomiting.

- "That's a good idea. Now. Stop talking. Try to calm down."

He remembered indeed seeing a military camp on the road, on his way there. Maybe they could help.

His eyes were scrutinising the forest, searching for any sign of human installations. Next to him, Jaskier's condition was deteriorating fast. Each attempt to take a deep breath was resulting in dry coughs leading sometimes to impressive blood vomitings. Soon the front of his shirt and his pants were saturated.

Geralt was feeling a fear he never experienced before.

Both of them experienced danger and were hurt sometimes during bad hunts or in problematic towns. But except for cuts and contusions, Jaskier was always unharmed and never in a deadly danger. Geralt was always there to kill the monsters chasing him if it happened they targeted his human from afar, or he was always there to protect him from brutes. Now this was totally different. He was going to lose him to a horrible death. And much as Jaskier told him that losing his muses were like a death sentence to him, suddenly the idea of losing his friend was unbearable to Geralt. He realised something essential that Vesemir warned him about several times : "Humans don't live long. Humans are fragile."

Jaskier was painfully mortal and Geralt had made all the mistakes at once. He forgot about the time, abandoning him, only because he returned to the core of a witcher life, illustrating how much he had changed since the singer was part of his life. And because he wasn't prepared for everything that happened to him more than two years ago, he put himself into an emotional corner that made him lose his temper, forgetting how a witcher should be. Sure Jaskier had been a pain in the ass but this was not deserved. Because of his negligence, this time he couldn't protect his old friend from a monster and the price in the balance was his life. He was seeing literally life quitting the body of this man in carmine effusions and that was more painful to him than all the wounds he had ever received. Vesemir was right... He got attached to that human to the core and losing him was unthinkable.

- "I beg of you, Jaskier. Hold on." He pleaded, after a new impressive blood vomiting, happening because of a long dry cough. "Try to calm down. You need to stop coughing."

His friend was trying his best to do as told, he could tell that. But that was becoming harder by the minutes. The wheezing was louder and his throat was beginning to visibly swell. The air wasn't coming into his lungs properly. Geralt was foreseeing the moment when his friend's body would just stop functioning. He was trying to stay stoic, but inside he was panicking too.

He didn't like the idea but he had no choice. He muttered a soft apology, almost covered by the noise of the car, and he casted axii on him, using only the calming effect. It worked. Jaskier slowly relaxed against his will. This had the nice outcome to drastically reduce the coughing. But the whizzing didn't stop and was soon followed by a worrisome intermittent gurgling sound. The blood was still in his airways and he wasn't expelling it as much anymore.

A few minutes later, Jaskier's eyes rolled on his sockets and he lost consciousness. His breathing much slower in his sedated state was buying him more time, even if now blood was slowly but constantly dripping from his mouth. Geralt stopped the cast and, with a lump in his stomach, he drove faster.

###

He finally found the camp, after a half an hour-long drive. He stopped in front of the guard post and asked for help. The soldiers were mainly young and visibly doing maneuvers exercise in the forest under the supervision of older instructors. The chef was called and after establishing his witcher status and seeing Jaskier on his passenger seat, he authorized them to get to the medical tent. This was not the best but they had some material and a doctor.

- "My name is Chireadan." Said the elf physicist, welcoming them. "What happened to him ?" He asked while Geralt was lying with precaution his unconscious human on the observation table.

- "He was attacked by a Djinn."

- "This is a rare creature. I see that you are a witcher. Did it happen on a hunt ? Why this civilian was with you, sir ?"

- "This wasn't a hunt. More the consequences of unfortunate events. Can you help him ?"

The elf took some instruments, opened his friend's bloody shirt and began to auscultate him. For a brief moment, Geralt internally blessed the fact that they found an elf here. In general, they knew better than humans about the hidden world and the old creatures of the Continent. This one seemed quite experienced and trusted by the humans around, which was unusual but encouraging. To be accepted as a human physicist in a military environment was impressive for an elf who didn't try to hide his race, especially in Redania.

- "Blue lips. Short breaths. There is quire a lot of fluid in his lungs. He is trying to compensate but he has not enough oxygen." Chireadan noted. "His heart is strong but beating too fast. His skin is cold to the touch. He is going into shock."

He palpated with precaution the swollen areas but the pain triggered a cascading reaction. Jaskier regained consciousness suddenly. The weak moan and the involuntary movement he did made him cough violently as his airways were obstructed. He turned on his side and vomited another impressive quantity of blood.

- "He has vomited like that a lot since the attack."

- "This is very impressive, but this is better out for the moment at least."

- "But he is bleeding too much." Said Geralt without hiding how much he worried.

Jaskier was unfocused and panicking as he was still struggling to get the air in. He wanted to sit up, pushing the hands that were trying to keep him on the table.

- "Hold him still, please ! He needs to calm down. All this agitation could aggravate his condition badly." Warned the physicist.

- "I am sorry, buddy…" Said Geralt before axii his friend again, but with the mind control effect this time.

He had to act fast and more effectively than just slowly calming him. Jaskier went slack on the table in an instant. The terror on his face was hard to handle for Geralt though. He knew that axii was just a trick of the mind and he could feel in a mirroring sensation what his friend was going through. Jaskier was half aware of everything happening to him but his will was suppressed by his. Geralt was forcing the body to react the way he wanted in an induced hypnosis state.

He rarely used axii that way. First he was feeling too much of the other's experience, like that Selkiemore he disembowelled and stranded on the beach of a Skellige island. Secondly, because this was basically a rape of the mind. He already had remorse for using it on a monster. This was his friend he was forcing the mind there.

His glassy eyes were searching for him, in his internal and locked in panic and pain. Geralt smiled sadly at him, trying to push in his mind the positive things he couldn't share properly. His free hand reached his friend's and he squeezed it for support. Jaskier was doing that for him sometimes. Maybe this could help the other way round. He hoped.

The elven doctor understood his actions, not surprise by the sign magic, and asked him to keep him that way for his next observations.

- "I will be as quick as I can." He said. Geralt nodded in silence.

Chireadan palpated the throat some more and then took a strange device, linked to a screen. Geralt felt his medallion vibrate against his chest. The chaos was not coming from the elf but from the machine. This was this kind of thing created by mixing science and magic.

He moved the device from the chest to his friend's throat and the screen showed a blurry image in black and white.

- "This is bad, sir witcher. His throat has been torn apart from the inside and this goes down almost to the lungs. I can see, here and there, the ripped tissues." The elven doctor was pointing to dark areas on the screen. "A Djinn did this, you said ?"

- "Yes."

- "By Metilete. This is cursed then. I cannot undo that and it will continue to spread if nothing is done. That will kill him... With the material I have here, I can just ease the pain and help him breathe better for a few more hours. But you have to understand that even if he is treated well in a hospital, you will need a mage for a total remission. From what I can see now, he could survive the curse with modern medicine but he would probably lose his vocal cords in the process. They are already extremely damaged."

This information almost made him break his axii cast.

- "You are saying that he could lose his voice forever ? But he is a singer…"

- "Maybe he would be able to talk a bit. But sing, impossible… To be fair, surgery could help to get his voice back all the way but the curse would simply reactivate itself if we tried to repair the part that was aimed initially. And it is very hard to tell what the first part touched was. This is a mess… Each level of his throat suffers from a multitude of cuts. Medically, we can just treat things superficially, if I may say, and stop the bleeding of course. That's enough to save him. The good news is that technically he is not hemorrhaging. The impressive blood vomitings come from the constant pressure of the swelling on his throat, making him to force to get air in and the fact that the tears are maintained open by the violent coughs. I will give him something so he shouldn't cough that much for the next hours and that could preserve his throat a bit more."

- "He could lose his voice…" Geralt repeated absently, releasing the axii sign this time. "He is Jaskier the bard. And I am his White Wolf… You cannot tell me that…"

He sat in the next chair, defeated. The information was like a punch in his guts. He was looking at his friend now shivering from the shock progressing as he was returning back to consciousness and a more visibly stressed state.

Jaskier's voice was everything. He regretted so much what he said earlier and that he never told him how much he loved his voice in reality.

How many times the young man helped him find peace when he was in pain, just because he was there singing to him… He was having a hard time containing his emotions now. A witcher shouldn't be that sensitive. Maybe this was his exhaustion taking the toll on him. Maybe Vesemir was right all along. After all, even after two years separated, he cared for his human more than his own brothers. He wouldn't admit it. Never. But he loved him more than his dear life and he currently wished he could switch places with him. Witchers don't love... He tried to convince himself but this was it, as clear as a blade in his heart. Platonic, unadulterated, love.

- "I am sorry for him, but at this stage this is a certitude, sir." The elf said, bringing him back to the atrocious reality. Then he gave the young man two injections. "This is to help with his breathing and the pain. The painkiller is a strong one and should take effect soon. This is not recommended with alcohol he probably still has in his system, as I can smell it on his breath, but this is a risk to take. Now you have to choose what to do."

- "I would choose to sit on a scorpion rather than let him lose his voice." Said Geralt resolute. Jaskier looked back at him with tears in his eyes for a brief moment before losing focus progressively. Wheezing and shaking, he finally lost consciousness certainly because of the drugs. "Is there any temple or mage around here ? I need to lift the curse. I can't let him lose his voice. I would never forgive myself if I don't try. And as I know him, he wouldn't forgive me either."

- "Well, there is nothing between us and a Rinde. And there is this mage there… but… this is complicated. There is also a good hospital in the city. Rinde is at three hours, at best, and the wound is bad. Even without hemorrhage, delaying proper treatment could cost him more than his voice. If modern medicine cannot lift the curse, it could still save his life. Think about that…"

- "Why are you suddenly pushing for the hospital when I say I'll get to the mage. The mage isn't competent ?"

- "This is not what I said. The mage is powerful but tricky and has taken over the mayor's house. You could run into big trouble. The hospital is the safest choice… I think… You could still find a mage after he is stabilized. That one would enchant you and play with you. I was under a spell once and… I am not sure…"

Chireadan seemed both confused and dreamy there.

- "I am a witcher. I am immune to that."

- "I don't think you can resist that… No man can…"

Geralt didn't wait for the rest of it. He had chosen. He thanked the doctor for his medications, took Jaskier in his arms, princess bride style, and went out of the tent. His friend was already breathing better but he was definitely out of it. He secured him again in the car next to him and rode as fast as he could in the direction of Rinde.

Notes :

I changed the Valdo death wish to one linked with my Jaskier's past. I hope it is ok for you. I wanted something less random and less gratuitous.

I tried to push more of book Geralt in there who genuinely takes very badly Jaskier's condition after the djinn attack.

Also I hope that the triggers from Passiflora begins to make sense now as Geralt is beginning to realise that he indeed feels many things, including love. He still wants to reject it but he cannot anymore. Too mentally exhausted and overwhelmed. I know I f. up with this story but this is still a pivot for Geralt especially so...

Anyway. See you soon, my fellow clutching readers. Thanks for that :).