(no subject)
Title: Out of the Frying Pan
Author: starshinedown
Rating: Gen
Crossover: BtVS/The Witcher (Netflix/novels mostly. Some game references.)
Word Count: 1207
Disclaimer: I own neither Buffy the Vampire nor The Witcher
Note: I'd intended to write more, but I'm taking a break from work to get this written and posted tonight, so I don't have as much time as I'd like. Thanks for being to kind to a new contributor!
Summary: Paying it forward and treading water. Part 7; companion to previous installments: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
Much to Dawn’s relief, it didn’t take much to settle on her contribution to the costs of keeping her fed, warm, and safe.
Years ago, when the Key’s powers had first started manifesting with Dawn finding herself in worlds not her own, with limited ability to get home (almost never just when she wanted to do so), she’d worked with a couple trusted fellow Watchers, a demon ally, and Willow to stock her bag with survival gear as well as non-perishable items she might be able to barter or sell no matter where she was. She had a small fortune in raw and cut gemstones, unrefined minerals, fresh and saltwater pearls, and various metals portioned into small ingots, and yards of cloth (for barter and survival both). For security, Willow had spelled the bag so only Dawn, Willow, or Buffy could access it, with the added caveat that it would only open by their hands if they were alive and not under duress.
From her collection, she pulled a smattering of the raw and cut gemstones, as well as a smaller ingot of silver. She knew his silver-coated sword was probably one of the costliest parts of Geralt’s kit, and thought it might be useful for when he needed it re-coated.
Geralt balanced the ingot in his hand thoughtfully. “You didn’t hesitate at all in handing this to me. Knowing I could just take it and there’s little you could do about it if I did.”
Dawn shrugged. “Yeah, you could, but I’ve been around you enough to know that you wouldn’t. I have no reason not to trust you at this point.”
He frowned at her. From his side, just out, she suspected, of his line of sight, Jaskier beamed at her.
Geralt sighed and made to hand the silver back to her. “This the one ingot alone is over payment. Useful, yes. But too much.”
“Told you so.” She laughed and pushed his hand back. “Consider it a thank you for dealing with all hateful people who demand you save them, then cheat you out of payment.”
Knowing Jaskier wouldn’t really be able to use the silver, she pulled out a bolt of some of the best quality natural fiber cloth she had - a beautiful weave of silk and wool. It was a fairly neutral blue gray, so she wasn’t sure if Jaskier would like it. The sheen on it, though, and the soft warmth of it, made her offer to cut several lengths, so he might have it tailored into something he’d enjoy.
He gaped when he ran his hands over it. “This feels amazing.” He pet the fabric for a few moments, considering. “I have a tailor I trust in Oxenfurt, who would love to work with this fabric, but it will be months before I will be back there. Keeping this safe from,” here he paused and made a broad gesture that encompassed the world around them, “everything seems fraught.” He sighed. “So pretty, though.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Dawn hesitantly offered - this was not part of the sell or barter collection - “I have a water proof wrapper you could store it in. Maybe enough for a chemise rather than an entire outfit?”
“Water resistant?” He asked, looking tempted.
“I meant what I said. Waterproof. The weave of the fabric is water resistant by itself, but it’s been spelled to repel water. Any liquid, I think. Water beads up on it and rolls right off. The same witch who made my bag made the wrapper.”
Jaskier and Geralt shared a look. “You’re overpaying us both,” Geralt informed her. “By quite a margin.”
“For the past couple weeks, maybe. But we don’t know long I will be here, so consider it an advance on the future feeding and clothing of Dawn. If I’m here long enough for winter I will need much warmer clothing. And by then I’ll need boots, too.”
Both men looked reluctant, but nodded. She got it. People being too generous with her, especially when she felt she didn’t deserve it, made her hugely uncomfortable. She’d meant it, though. There was no telling how long she’d be in this world. And they’d both gone far out of their way to help her out and hadn’t asked for anything in return beyond basic chores around the campsites.
That settled, they set to finishing up the campsite.
Just as they were settling in for sleep and Dawn’s eyes were heavy, she heard Geralt curse softly. “Dawn,” he hissed, “Jaskier! Behind me. Now.” When they didn’t move fast enough for him, he snarled and emphatic “Now!” That had her out of her bedroll, her sister’s gifted short sword in hand, and heading toward Geralt’s voice without further thought.
She saw that Jaskier wasn’t far behind her. He too had heard the urgency in Geralt’s alarmed command.
They pulled up short as Geralt engaged with something tall and shadowy and very, very fast right in front of them. There was more than one of whatever these were; Dawn had her sword up to block a strike just in time. She had a tough time tracking the shadow’s movement. Whatever they were, they moved at a speed only a Slayer or maybe a Witcher could keep up with.
She kept as close to Jaskier as she could, not wanting to be separated from him.
Dawn saw the blow coming, but not in time to move completely out of the way. The monster’s arm caught her right across the chest. There was no way to keep her footing, and her training kicked in as she bent her knees, sat into the fall, tucked her chin to protect her head, got her arms out to the side, waited for the ground to knock the breath from her lungs. But she just kept falling.
Far longer than she expected.
She had a moment where she got the impression of a lot of water - oh gods, an ocean!?- and curled into ball seconds before hitting water, and hard. The strength of the impact and the pain of it disoriented her for a few precious moments.
Again, training saved her, and she unfolded, tried to figure out which direction was “up,” and swam. She broke the surface about when she was sure her breath was going to run out, and she took great gasping breaths as she treaded water.
Calmer, she rotated around and took in the vast, vast amount of water surrounding her. She licked her lips. Salt. Ugh. Hopefully she’d find her way to land soon. Nary a piece of land in sight, though. Rather large shadow overhead blocking the sun? Hmm.
She tilted her head back and let her body follow, working to float a bit on her back despite the weight of her clothes and bag. She was just in time to see a vaguely cylinder-shaped, smallish…ship? fly overhead, then loop back in her general direction.
A tinny voice that sounded a whole lot like Andrew came out of speakers she couldn’t see. He was a bit garbled, but welcome nonetheless. “The…coven…a Seer! They said…here today. We have…the Caspian Sea looking for you…sent a message…coordinates. The nearest team…soon. Don’t drown!”
Author: starshinedown
Rating: Gen
Crossover: BtVS/The Witcher (Netflix/novels mostly. Some game references.)
Word Count: 1207
Disclaimer: I own neither Buffy the Vampire nor The Witcher
Note: I'd intended to write more, but I'm taking a break from work to get this written and posted tonight, so I don't have as much time as I'd like. Thanks for being to kind to a new contributor!
Summary: Paying it forward and treading water. Part 7; companion to previous installments: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
Much to Dawn’s relief, it didn’t take much to settle on her contribution to the costs of keeping her fed, warm, and safe.
Years ago, when the Key’s powers had first started manifesting with Dawn finding herself in worlds not her own, with limited ability to get home (almost never just when she wanted to do so), she’d worked with a couple trusted fellow Watchers, a demon ally, and Willow to stock her bag with survival gear as well as non-perishable items she might be able to barter or sell no matter where she was. She had a small fortune in raw and cut gemstones, unrefined minerals, fresh and saltwater pearls, and various metals portioned into small ingots, and yards of cloth (for barter and survival both). For security, Willow had spelled the bag so only Dawn, Willow, or Buffy could access it, with the added caveat that it would only open by their hands if they were alive and not under duress.
From her collection, she pulled a smattering of the raw and cut gemstones, as well as a smaller ingot of silver. She knew his silver-coated sword was probably one of the costliest parts of Geralt’s kit, and thought it might be useful for when he needed it re-coated.
Geralt balanced the ingot in his hand thoughtfully. “You didn’t hesitate at all in handing this to me. Knowing I could just take it and there’s little you could do about it if I did.”
Dawn shrugged. “Yeah, you could, but I’ve been around you enough to know that you wouldn’t. I have no reason not to trust you at this point.”
He frowned at her. From his side, just out, she suspected, of his line of sight, Jaskier beamed at her.
Geralt sighed and made to hand the silver back to her. “This the one ingot alone is over payment. Useful, yes. But too much.”
“Told you so.” She laughed and pushed his hand back. “Consider it a thank you for dealing with all hateful people who demand you save them, then cheat you out of payment.”
Knowing Jaskier wouldn’t really be able to use the silver, she pulled out a bolt of some of the best quality natural fiber cloth she had - a beautiful weave of silk and wool. It was a fairly neutral blue gray, so she wasn’t sure if Jaskier would like it. The sheen on it, though, and the soft warmth of it, made her offer to cut several lengths, so he might have it tailored into something he’d enjoy.
He gaped when he ran his hands over it. “This feels amazing.” He pet the fabric for a few moments, considering. “I have a tailor I trust in Oxenfurt, who would love to work with this fabric, but it will be months before I will be back there. Keeping this safe from,” here he paused and made a broad gesture that encompassed the world around them, “everything seems fraught.” He sighed. “So pretty, though.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Dawn hesitantly offered - this was not part of the sell or barter collection - “I have a water proof wrapper you could store it in. Maybe enough for a chemise rather than an entire outfit?”
“Water resistant?” He asked, looking tempted.
“I meant what I said. Waterproof. The weave of the fabric is water resistant by itself, but it’s been spelled to repel water. Any liquid, I think. Water beads up on it and rolls right off. The same witch who made my bag made the wrapper.”
Jaskier and Geralt shared a look. “You’re overpaying us both,” Geralt informed her. “By quite a margin.”
“For the past couple weeks, maybe. But we don’t know long I will be here, so consider it an advance on the future feeding and clothing of Dawn. If I’m here long enough for winter I will need much warmer clothing. And by then I’ll need boots, too.”
Both men looked reluctant, but nodded. She got it. People being too generous with her, especially when she felt she didn’t deserve it, made her hugely uncomfortable. She’d meant it, though. There was no telling how long she’d be in this world. And they’d both gone far out of their way to help her out and hadn’t asked for anything in return beyond basic chores around the campsites.
That settled, they set to finishing up the campsite.
Just as they were settling in for sleep and Dawn’s eyes were heavy, she heard Geralt curse softly. “Dawn,” he hissed, “Jaskier! Behind me. Now.” When they didn’t move fast enough for him, he snarled and emphatic “Now!” That had her out of her bedroll, her sister’s gifted short sword in hand, and heading toward Geralt’s voice without further thought.
She saw that Jaskier wasn’t far behind her. He too had heard the urgency in Geralt’s alarmed command.
They pulled up short as Geralt engaged with something tall and shadowy and very, very fast right in front of them. There was more than one of whatever these were; Dawn had her sword up to block a strike just in time. She had a tough time tracking the shadow’s movement. Whatever they were, they moved at a speed only a Slayer or maybe a Witcher could keep up with.
She kept as close to Jaskier as she could, not wanting to be separated from him.
Dawn saw the blow coming, but not in time to move completely out of the way. The monster’s arm caught her right across the chest. There was no way to keep her footing, and her training kicked in as she bent her knees, sat into the fall, tucked her chin to protect her head, got her arms out to the side, waited for the ground to knock the breath from her lungs. But she just kept falling.
Far longer than she expected.
She had a moment where she got the impression of a lot of water - oh gods, an ocean!?- and curled into ball seconds before hitting water, and hard. The strength of the impact and the pain of it disoriented her for a few precious moments.
Again, training saved her, and she unfolded, tried to figure out which direction was “up,” and swam. She broke the surface about when she was sure her breath was going to run out, and she took great gasping breaths as she treaded water.
Calmer, she rotated around and took in the vast, vast amount of water surrounding her. She licked her lips. Salt. Ugh. Hopefully she’d find her way to land soon. Nary a piece of land in sight, though. Rather large shadow overhead blocking the sun? Hmm.
She tilted her head back and let her body follow, working to float a bit on her back despite the weight of her clothes and bag. She was just in time to see a vaguely cylinder-shaped, smallish…ship? fly overhead, then loop back in her general direction.
A tinny voice that sounded a whole lot like Andrew came out of speakers she couldn’t see. He was a bit garbled, but welcome nonetheless. “The…coven…a Seer! They said…here today. We have…the Caspian Sea looking for you…sent a message…coordinates. The nearest team…soon. Don’t drown!”