For the Whumpril prompt 25 "Brace yourself" and the Angstpril prompt 11 "No Way Out" and 30 "The Last Time"
Emotional support is not the only thing Jaskier is good for, though. Seeing him lick his dripping-with-chocolate finger suddenly gives Yennefer an idea. There is a faster and easier way to get Cahir more blood than to regrow his own, and it is a lot safer than using Witcher blood which would only be a last resort. He has lived through it once, yes, but it was touch and go for several days then, according to what Vesemir told her. It would be too great a risk.
"Bard, you can have the entire bowl, but take it with you to the laboratory. I need you there," she says, or rather commands. Jaskier rolls his eyes at her, then shrugs and, for once, follows Yennefer without arguing or even asking any questions. It will be something to help Cahir, and he trusts the witch not to do anything that would put his life in danger, at least not too much. Whatever she has in store for him, for the pudding, it will be worth it.
It is not pleasant, no, not at all, but Jaskier is not a baby. He can endure a little pain. With a few ouches, of course, and some grimacing, yet he does not faint at the sight of the cannula sticking out of his arm only a few minutes later, nor at observing his blood flow through the tubing of Regis's apparatus and into the circulatory system of his comatose friend while Yennefer murmurs the spell that would keep Cahir's blood from clotting despite their blood not being compatible. When Regis is done, he does feel a bit lightheaded and his arm stings a little, but even he can see that Cahir does not look quite as pale as before and has stopped trembling. Yennefer's nose is dripping blood and she looks even more tired than before, however, after she has wiped her nose with his handkerchief, she throws him a bright smile.
"Thank you, bard, I won't forget this."
"He's my friend, too. It's what friends do," Jaskier says. "Urgh, you owe me a new handkerchief, witch," he then complains, wrinkling his nose at the bloodied piece of tissue. "This one is clearly beyond redemption."
"I'll get you a dozen new handkerchiefs, bard, but definitely not in that abominable colour."
"What's wrong with pink? Roses are pink and raspberries, apple blossom buds, the cheeks of a young maiden—"
"Pigs are pink, too, and butt cheeks."
"Oh, you- you're so not poetic, witch," Jaskier says, wagging his index finger in her face. "And know this," he adds with a smirk, "it's all your fault if I have to think of butt cheeks for the rest of the day."
"I'd propose the two of you move your butts back to the kitchen now and get something to eat," Regis interjects, smiling through pursed lips. "Something besides chocolate pudding." He looks pointedly at Jaskier who has started scooping the last remains of the dessert from the bottom of the bowl with his finger. "Take your time, too. I'll clean up here and look after Cahir."
"Thank you, Regis," Yennefer says, remembering Vesemir's delicious stew that is hopefully still waiting for them. Unless, of course, Lambert has eaten it all, which is a not-unheard of possibility. They both are a bit wobbly on their feet, Jaskier from the blood donation and Yennefer from magical exhaustion, but, supporting each other, they make it to the kitchen without problems, and there is more than enough dinner left for the bard and the witch.
The following days pass with not much happening, besides the usual Yule preparations. Yennefer spends most of her time at Cahir's bedside, of course, and feeling her magic becoming stronger and replenishing itself, she can perform more healing magic and finally knit the broken hip bones together again. His general condition improves a little with every day and the coma seems not to be as deep as at the start, however, Cahir does not show any signs of waking up.
Actually, there is one thing that is new and exciting. When Ciri discovers it, she immediately runs to Geralt to tell him. A comet has appeared in the starry night sky above Kaer Morhen.
"Can I make a wish?" she asks, gazing at the beautiful phenomenon with awe.
"Sure, you can. Only don't count too much on it to come true. It doesn't work like a djinn, and even those wishes often turn out different from what one might hope in the end." Ciri knows that Geralt had his very personal experience with a djinn quite a few years ago, Jaskier told her about it, and although even the bard did not know the full story and what exactly Geralt's wish had been, she knows enough that it brought quite a bit of trouble and heartbreak.
"You know, there are plenty of people who believe a bright comet such as this one is either a harbinger of war and destruction, or that it heralds the arrival of some kind of superhuman saviour. But if you ask me, that's all a pile of horseshit."
Ciri giggles. She has heard of all kinds of such legends and myths and the religious cults that promote them. There are even those who claim the end of the world is nigh whenever a comet dares show itself or a solar eclipse happens or the aurora borealis can be seen as far south as Cintra. They have always been wrong, every single time. It appears that Geralt is right. Nothing but a steaming pile of horseshit.
For the next couple of days, Ciri observes the comet as it grows ever brighter. Then, Yule has finally arrived and with it more guests, most notably Triss and, much to Lambert's disgust, her new lover Istredd. And Istredd has brought an elven friend. Ciri can hardly believe her eyes, but there is no doubt. There he is, in the entrance to the great hall. Dara. A very grown up and attractive looking Dara. He glances at her nervously, probably remembering what a prick he had been back when last they saw each other and their ways parted after the mess with the doppler. Well, that was how long ago? It feels like ages. They both were nothing than stupid children then. If she could forgive Cahir, she can forgive Dara, too. With a big smile, she welcomes him. He sighs with relief. And soon, they sit side by side at the big oak table and trade stories of their adventures as if they had never been apart.
Ciri is not the only one who has a nice Yule surprise. After having welcomed her former school mate and asked her for her help, she returns to Cahir's room with Triss. However, Triss's help is not really necessary. As the two sorceresses enter, Cahir stirs and blinks his eyes open.
"Y-Yen?" he whispers hoarsely when she takes his hand in hers.
"Yes, it's me, darling." Yennefer smiles at him, her eyes suddenly watering. He is awake and he recognised her!
Of course, Cahir is still weak as a kitten and does not manage to stay awake for more than a few minutes, just long enough for her to feed him a little tea. But it is a good, a hopeful start, and on this special day, too. Now Yennefer can really enjoy the opulent Yule dinner and the company of so many good friends.
It is close to midnight, when they all decide to go outside into the yard together to have some fresh air. Vesemir quickly gets his huge drinking horn and fills it almost to the brim with mead. Everybody puts on their thick winter coats and gloves and hats, for it is cold outside and there is a lot of snow, but that is as it should. It is in he middle of winter in the Blue Mountains after all.
Yet, when they open the door and step outside into the winter night, they can see a strange spectacle in the sky. Not only has the comet grown tremendously in size and is brighter than ever, but there are what looks like a thousand shooting stars all around it. They stare at the sky, mouths agape. Not even Vesemir has ever seen something like it. Then, they hear a hissing and howling noise.
"Brace yourselves!" Geralt shouts and pulls Ciri and Jaskier down to the ground with himself. The horn with the mead drops from Vesemir's hands as, horrified, he stares at the exploding firmament.
The sky is coming down on them and there is nothing they can do. There is no way out.
Together with Triss and Istredd, Yennefer creates a magical shield around all of them as the first glowing pieces of cosmic material hit Kaer Morhen. How long will they be able to hold it? No longer than a few minutes. Then they are doomed.
"I love you, my daughter," Yennefer tells Ciri for the very last time, and Ciri hugs her and Geralt and Jaskier as hard as she can. Jaskier and Geralt kiss one last time, and so do Triss and Istredd while blood is dripping from their noses. Then, the magical shield starts to flicker and fade.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The impact of the huge comet leaves the planet reeling and swaying and tottering. Thrown off its balance as well as out of its orbit, it drifts further and further away from its life-giving source of energy, the sun. And as it freezes over into a solid ball of whitest ice, every living cell on the earstwhile blue and buzzing-with-life planet freezes to death. Dead and cold it drifts into the equally dead and cold, endless universe, into the vast void of eternal silence.
The End
Notes:
Guess I ran out of motivation for this fic due to lack of nourishment (comments/reviews). Killing everybody off is much quicker than thinking of a nice, fluffy ending. My apologies to the two people on Ao3, Saelariel and Celebrithil, who took the time to leave a comment on this fic. And thank you to those who left a kudos.
