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Jester staggered as the club collided with her shoulder, but she held her ground. Your mother eats unicorn dick! she yelled in Infernal, grinning at the troll’s obvious confusion as icicles formed around her and stabbed into its torso before its expression went blank. She skipped backwards as it collapsed to the ground before nudging the body with her foot and sticking out her tongue as the ice melted away as quickly as it’d formed. And you’re ugly besides, she muttered for good measure. There was a muffled cough behind her, and when Jester swung around she was surprised to see Yasha hurriedly turning away with what looked like a smile on her face.
Jester cocked her head to the side and frowned. Do you...understand me? she called out in Infernal, a fragile hope blossoming in her chest, but if Yasha did understand the words she gave no sign of it, merely sheathing her sword as she continued walking away. Jester pasted a smile on her face and laughed brightly to hide her disappointment.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Fjord asked as he dismissed his falchion with a quick wave of his hand.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Oskar?” she sing-songed, tapping his nose briefly before laughing again, for real this time, as his cheeks flushed a darker green.
Still, after that, Jester started paying closer attention.
Motherfucker! Jester raged as she counted out her coins at the inn. That cotton-headed donkey of a shopkeeper shorted me! Ooooh, when next I see that duck-faced shoehorn, I’m gonna—
A strange garbled noise knocked her out of her rant, and she looked up to see Yasha quietly choking on her stew.
Fjord leaned over and patted her firmly on the back. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Yasha muttered, refusing to meet Jester’s eyes when she glanced around the concerned faces of their companions. She hunched her shoulders and took another bite of stew like nothing had happened.
There were green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born
Don’t you forget my unicorn
“What is that you’re singing?” Caduceus asked with a smile as he glanced over his shoulder from his spot atop the wagon. “It sounds lovely.”
Jester raised one eyebrow from where she was lying in the bed of the wagon watching the clouds pass by. She knew for a fact that Infernal most definitely did not sound lovely, but Caduceus seemed sincere enough, although to be fair, Caduceus always seemed sincere, so that wasn’t really saying much.
“It’s a song my mom used to sing to me when I was really little,” she answered with a grin. “It’s about this crazy guy who goes around collecting all kinds of different animals for a floating zoo he’s putting together.”
Caduceus looked delighted. “Well I think that sounds just fantastic. Doesn’t it sound fantastic, Yasha?”
“We’ve already got horses, a weasel, an owl, and a blink dog,” Yasha pointed out. “I don’t think we really need to add alligators and unicorns to the mix.”
Jester blinked, sitting up abruptly, but Yasha had already kicked her horse forward to catch up with Fjord riding ahead. Jester stared after her, mind racing.
Someone hold me back! Jester snarled as she took a menacing step towards the Crownsguard who dared dared to haul her friend away merely for the crime of existing.
A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, holding her firmly in place even as she was startled out of her rage. “Nott will be okay,” Yasha said, nodding her head towards where Caleb and Fjord had already stepped in to speak to what looked like the man in charge. “See?”
“Yeaaaah,” Jester said thoughtfully as Yasha seemed to realize what she’d done and quickly removed her hand, “I’m starting to.”
“You’re hurt,” Caleb said, pointing, and Jester followed the line of his finger to see blood trailing down Yasha’s arm from three nasty-looking scratches.
“It’s nothing,” Yasha responded, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” Jester interrupted, seeing a chance to finally confirm her suspicions.
Yasha seemed to sense her intentions. “Really,” she protested, dragging her heels as Jester dragged her over to a nearby log, “It’s not a big deal. I know you and Caduceus are worn out after earlier.”
Jester waved her concern away. “Do not worry. I can take care of something like this the old-fashioned way.” She gestured for Yasha to sit, then leapt up on their cart and started rummaging through their supplies, frowning when she didn’t immediately find what she was looking for. She popped her head up over the side. “Hey Beau! Did you pick up another healer’s kit when we were in town?”
Beau cursed as she tripped over a rock and nearly dropped her armload of firewood. “We have two clerics. Since when am I responsible for picking up more medical supplies?”
Jester rolled her eyes. “Since you’re the one we have to burn most of our spells on, Beau.”
“...Fair. There should be one in my pack somewhere.” She dropped her load of wood next to the makeshift fire pit and brushed off her hands before glancing up.”Feel free to dig it ou — Oh, you’re already in my pack. Okay. Cool, I guess.”
Jester brandished the kit with a triumphant grin before hopping out of the cart and returning to Yasha’s side with a skip in her step.
“Alright, let me see,” she commanded, sitting beside her and pulling out some bandages and a small jar of cleansing ointment.
Yasha obediently held out her arm and Jester shook her head slightly at the deep scratches. “You shouldn’t hide things like this,” she scolded as she wet a clean rag and carefully wiped away the blood before applying a thick layer of ointment, biting her tongue as she concentrated on her task in the fading daylight.
Yasha just shrugged, making Jester hiss in frustration as her hand slipped.
“Don’t move so much!” she ordered as she set the ointment aside and wiped her hands before carefully winding a bandage around Yasha’s arm.
A loud commotion across the small clearing caught their attention, and they both glanced up as Beau cursed loudly before trailing off into unintelligible syllables as the fire she’d been building collapsed into an unusable heap. Jester cocked her head to the side, curious, but one mystery was more than enough for one day. Speaking of...
She’s cute when she’s angry, don’t you think? She commented idly as she worked, watching the tips of Yasha’s ears redden. That sealed it.
You do understand me! she accused, tying the bandage maybe a little too tighter than was strictly necessary. Maybe.
Yasha winced, though whether from the wounds or the words Jester couldn’t say. “A little,” she admitted finally.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I can’t — I’m not — .” She fell silent, hands clenching and unclenching in her lap as if the motion would somehow help her find the right words. “Some languages are more than just languages,” she began again, slowly. Then she uttered something that sounded almost like words and almost like music but wasn’t quite either to Jester’s ears.
She shook her head slightly; it was an odd sensation.
“They are a part of what you are, who you are,” Yasha continued quietly after the not-quite-music faded, “even if you don’t know yourself.” She shrugged, spreading her hands wide. “Some consider such things secret, sacred even. I did not wish to intrude.”
Jester pondered that for a moment. “You could have asked,” she pointed out.
Yasha inclined her head. “I could have.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I did not.”
“Why?”
Yasha looked away. “It...hurts.”
“Because of what you are?” Jester asked.“What?” she said with a shrug at Yasha’s startled look. “I’ve read a lot of stories. Not many other people out there with wings.”
Yasha let out a long breath. “No, it is not that. Using it reminds me of Molly, and that is...it aches still. I thought that if I stopped…” She shook her head. “Well, it doesn’t really matter what I thought at the time. I’ve learned that pain...it is not always such a bad thing.” She held a hand up to her heart. “It means I have not forgotten what they meant to me.”
“It was like a joke we had, just the two of us,” Jester said quietly into the somber silence that fell after Yasha’s words. “Infernal sounds scary no matter what you say, even something completely ridiculous like ‘treacle-covered unicorn dick.’ People always used to give me weird looks when I used it, but Molly — ” she cleared her throat against the sudden lump. “Molly just laughed. It was...nice.”
“You do say very funny things,” Yasha admitted before ducking her head, “I’m sorry I hid that from you.”
“I get it,” Jester said, knocking her horn against Yasha’s shoulder, “but it’s not good for you to be sad all the time. Maybe laughing once in a while would help?”
“I...will try.”
“Only if I say something super-duper funny though,” Jester added, almost as an afterthought. “You definitely don’t have to laugh at everything I say. That would be kind of weird and maybe scary.” She regarded Yasha for a moment and nodded her head. “Definitely scary, but in a good way.”
“Oh, ummm, okay.”
“Good.” Jester began putting away the unused supplies back in the healer’s kit. “Do you think we could just...talk sometimes too?” she asked after a moment, voice small. She hazarded a glance up. “Only if you want to, of course! It would just be...nice to hear it again.”
“I’m not fluent or anything,” Yasha warned, “and I’m told my accent is terrible, but Molly taught me ‘enough to get into trouble, but not enough to get out again’ as he used to put it.” She huffed a quiet laugh. “Thanks to him, I’m pretty sure I now know how to say ‘Hey, asshole, you owe me a new drink’ in about half a dozen languages.”
“A very useful phrase,” Jester agreed with a sage nod as she closed the kit with a satisfying click.
Yasha snorted. “For starting bar fights maybe. Not so much for actually getting another drink.”
Jester let out a watery chuckle. “I miss him.”
“I know,” Yasha said quietly, head bowed over her hands. “I do too.”
Well, that was definitely enough of that . Jester searched her brains for something to lighten the mood, and grinned as her eyes alighted on a certain monk. Perfect.
“Hey, Beau!” Jester called out, waving a hand until she got her attention. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! At Beau’s blank look, she glanced sidelong at her companion and raised her voice. Also, Yasha said to tell you that she thinks your eyes are a very pretty shade of blue and— mmpfgh!” The rest of the words were lost as Yasha’s hand clamped down over her mouth.
“Ignore her,” Yasha said calmly, though there was a distinct flush to her cheeks. She glanced down briefly and seemed to come to some sort of decision. She cleared her throat. I think fairy potatoes scattered brains to scarecrows?
There was a beat of silence before Jester snorted and collapsed into a giggling heap against Yasha as Beau just narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the two of them before apparently deciding to take Yasha’s words to heart.
Yasha finally pulled her hand away once Beau’s attention was firmly back on building a fire. Did I say wrong? she asked, a small frown creasing her forehead as she twisted her hands in her lap.
Jester wiped her eyes. “No,” she said, grinning. There was a lightness to her chest that hadn’t been there since — well, since the Iron Shepherds, and she felt almost giddy with the sensation. No, she repeated, grabbing one of Yasha’s hands and trapping it between her own, You said it exactly right.