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The Shape of Love Pt.1/6
The first time Jaskier had shifted he’d been just a baby. He didn’t remember it but his nurse had regaled him with the story many times. It was one of his favourites. Viscount and Lady Lettenhove had never discovered where little baby Julian’s magic had come from. All his parents knew was that one morning they’d went to visit their darling little baby and found a small russet wolf pup with startling cornflower blue eyes where there should have been a human child.
Or a shifter!Jaskier Geraskier AU - Rated T, check my pinned masterlist/ao3 for other parts (once they’re posted) and my other witcher fics!
The first time Jaskier had shifted he’d been just a baby. He didn’t remember it but his nurse, Lila, had regaled him with the story many times. It was one of his favourites. Viscount and Lady Lettenhove had never discovered where little baby Julian’s magic had come from, the rumours amongst the staff was that Lady Lettenhove had had an affair but the Viscount hanged anyone who dared mention those rumours in his presence. All his parents knew was that one morning they’d went to visit their darling little baby and found a small russet wolf pup with startling cornflower blue eyes where there should have been a human child.
At first they’d thought little Julian had been cursed with Lycanthropy but when Lila, had scooped up the tiny wolf cub in her arms he had shifted from a wolf cub to a small ginger kitten. It had taken days and a plethora of different animals before Julian to shifted back into a human, throwing Lettenhove Castle into pandemonium.
Jaskier had been poked and prodded by mages, healers and druids throughout his childhood but not one of them could explain his abilities. The nearest anyone had got was a sorceress from Aretuza, with long raven hair and violet eyes, eyes that still haunted Jaskier to this day. She’d suggested that his shifting magic must have been locked away in his genetic code, passed down through generations but never manifesting until he’d been born.
His parents’ obvious disdain in regards to his abilities and delight in treating him as a scientific experiment had been the driving factor in Jaskier’s escape at the age of sixteen. Lila had helped him escape the dimeritium prison that was his bedroom and he’d shifted into a hummingbird the moment his magic had regained enough strength, flying out of an open window and into the world before his parents could realise what had happened.
He’d never looked back. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to Lila but he just couldn’t risk returning to the castle. He couldn’t go back to that prison.
He felt an itch settle into his bones as he stared up at the ceiling of his room in the tavern. He rolled over with a sigh. It had been too long since he’d shifted, it was difficult to shift whilst he was on the road, especially now he actually had a handful of possessions to his name, most importantly his lute. Humans tended to freak out if they saw a wolf walking down the road carrying a lute and a satchel on his back. If he wanted to shift then he had to find a suitable hiding spot for his belongings, especially if he wanted to fly.
He stripped off his clothes and made sure his door was locked before he opened the window just wide enough for a bee to slip through. He took a deep breath before letting his magic loose. It was a strange feeling when he shifted, to him it almost felt no different to taking off a coat and sinking into a warm bath. Lila had always left the room when he’d shifted from his human form, apparently his skin almost melted away into fur or feathers or scales and there was a sickening crack of his bones adjusting but it never hurt. The magic made sure of that, but the sight was too much for the gentle-hearted nurse.
He blinked as his vision adjusted, the red tones of the brown wooden beams shifted away and he buzzed happily as he suddenly surrounded by a whole new spectrum of light. He flitted through the gap in the window and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the flowers that were in bloom in the surrounding fields. He shifted to a raven before his instincts drew him to the sweet nectar of the flowers. The world shifted again, becoming sharper and he could see further into the distance.
He cawed loudly and danced around in the sky, enjoying the feel of the wind through his feathers. Oh the ballads he could write about this feeling. There was nothing else like it. He’d tried a few times to write about the different colours and feelings he had experienced through the animal kingdom but no human could truly appreciate the genius.
He flew around the town for hours until the vibrant hues of red and purple began to dust the horizon as dusk fell. That was when he saw the witcher riding into town on a beautiful bay mare, with a head of a cockatrice hung to the saddle leaving a trail of blood on the path. The witcher had hair brighter than the light of the full moon and eyes like liquid gold.
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