Bird Jaskier - Tumblr Posts

Prompt 24

!!!SPOILERS FOR SECONDARY QUEST FROM BLOOD AND WINE (WITCHER 3 GAME DLC)!!!

There's a curse inspired by a quest (The Warble of a Smitten Knight) from Witcher 3 B&W so I put a spoiler just in case you don't want any of it spoiled <3 The curse is surprisingly a very small part of the actual quest, but like,,, I don't wanna take any chances! I'm using the curse as my base (ALL PICTURES ARE FROM THE WIKIPEDIA PAGE FOR THE GAME) I see two ways of this starting. EITHER Geralt arrives in a town only to overhear some hushed comments in a tavern about how awful the bard playing is, and how they miss the one that went missing ever since he went into the forest a few years back, followed by the other man at the table chiming in with the fact more men have disappeared in that exact same forest or Geralt is riding through a forest only to find a note that has hastily written "HELP - REDWOOD FOREST" on it, either stuck in a tree branch, on the ground, or attached to the foot of a bird. Geralt meanders around the woods, and no matter which way he learns of the danger, he comes across a huge tree, with a home carved into it. He enters the home and finds it has many floors. Geralt hears someone singing. He climbs the steps for quite frankly an annoying amount of time, before he comes across what appears to be some sort of... Witchy labratory. Note that I'm also heavily inspired by Auntie Ethel from Baldur's Gate 3 so I'm kinda thinking of some sort of hag-witch-thing like her as the villain, but you can change it into pretty much anything with magic and a bad attitude. Geralt sees beakers and flasks and bibs and bobs and an abnormal amount of bone jewelry and furniture, and in the corner of the room is a large birdcage, holding a chained man inside. The man, upon noticing Geralt is there, beams and begins explaining how he always knew help would come for him. The witch (or whatever else) kills anything she deems has "trespassed" too close to her home or too long in the forest in of itself. Jaskier is the only survivor, as she heard his singing and decided she wanted to keep him. To make it harder for him to escape, she has cursed him to have the likeness of the very songbird she likened his singing to. It's songbird of your choice, really. He could look like a lark, a nightingale, orioles like in the original quest, a literal songbird, it's all up to you.

I however like to imagine Jaskier has two large wings on his back, and maybe even bird feet. Now I don't fuck with her "can only live seven more years" or "give some of the curse to another person" outcomes, I like to think that that if Geralt cures Jaskier, he can keep his wings at the least, and there isn't any bad consequences. Perhaps maybe still thinking sticks would be great in his bed or something funny like that lmfao If Geralt can't cure Jaskier, he can just protect him from townsfolk, poachers, and creatures alike. Perhaps they get a glamour spell enchanted item from a sorcerer or something for him to appear human so he can play music for crowds. If he does get cured, perhaps this can be a way they hide his wings!

Prompt 64

Jaskier has been cursed to turn into a Lark during the day for years now. It makes following his dreams very difficult, what with a lark not being able to carry a lute nor his money pouch, but he just waits to move at night, when the magic turns him back into his human form. Which means he technically has a very awful sleep schedule, but that's not what we're focusing on. Jaskier is sat in a tree one afternoon, trying to sleep, when a horse neighs below him. He peeks down and to his surprise sees a witcher. A witcher! What stories he must have! Jaskier must follow him so that he can ask him questions once he becomes human again! So a very sleepy bird follows after Geralt, twittering and singing all the while. Geralt evidently notices, but ignores the bird for the most part. That is, until the bird lands on Roach's back. Geralt sighs. These birds will stop at nothing... He reaches into his pack, and plucks off a few pieces of bread, and scatters them along the road behind them. He watches as the bird eagerly hops down and pecks at them. Jaskier isn't usually one for eating off the ground, but he's technically a bird right now, and he really mustn't let free food go to waste! It's only after he's finished his banquet that he notices the witcher has ridden off. Oh drat. He'll try and find him that night. When he's not so tired. The next day, Geralt is sat at his camp with Roach, and is surprised to see the same hungry lark as yesterday flying over to sit beside him. Geralt once again shares a bit of his food, and even gets to pet the bird's head. He admits he's grown a fondness for the little lark. That afternoon, just before the sun has set, Geralt is armored up and ready for a fight. Roach is tacked up, he has his potions, his swords, his lark, his oils, hi- Wait, his lark? The lark keeps insisting on following him, until he finally shoos it away with a firm "Don't come. It's dangerous." and the bird seems to understand. Geralt is unnerved at the implications, but he has a contract to attend to first.

Geralt wakes up the next morning, bloody and beaten, no longer high on potions. It was very nearly a pyrrhic victory, it seems. Geralt brushes himself off and looks at his surroundings and sees that the monster and him tore the forest up a bit during their tussle in the night. He's walking back to his camp when he spots it, a fallen tree, and next to it, his lark. Geralt races over, and sees that the tree is pinning the lark to the ground by one of it's wings. The lark opens it's eyes and chirps frantically at him, kicking it's little legs and batting it's free wing erratically. Geralt manages to get the lark unstuck and mends it at camp. He plans to see to the lark's healing, and then release it back into the wild. This is complicated by the lark turning into a man in the middle of his camp later that night.