Chapter 5, enjoy!

Fallem Stars On Barren Lands

Chapter 5

It's Only A Dream

"There are many worlds and spaces," Cirilla looked outside the window, tapping her chin, "I wouldn't even know where to start or where to end, Yennefer, and infinite amount of worlds and spaces," she closed her eyes, "If he is even still alive, that is."

Ash fell gently from the sky, blanketing the city in a soft bed of the grey ash. The earthquakes had simmered but the ash still fell from the sky, even though it had been nearly a year since the mountain collapsed and erupted. A year since the sun shined down on The Continent, a year since there had been warmth. If it wasn't for the help of druids, mages, sorceresses and other magical beings, plant life would have been gone long ago, due to the ash and the winter cold that now blanketed the land.

Cirilla looked over to Yennerfer and said, in a soft voice, "Besides, there is a kingdom that needs to be ran and I cannot leave it, during this time, has any mage or sorceress attempt to stop the mountain?"

"The area that the mountain lies, the magic, though it has snapped, is still there and still dangerous," Yennefer said, recalling the story of a mage that went to stop the ash but instead, was found near the base of the mountain pass, mangled beyond recognition, "Any use of magic there will most likely set off another reaction that, from what I see now, we will not be prepared for."

"Has Triss been able to find a translator," Yennefer shook her head at the question, "How goes her work?"

"She's been at it for months," Yennefer sat close to where Cirilla stood, looking out the window as well, "Nothing, she might have something if we could get the help of the elves."

Cirilla winced at that statement, after the ash started to fall, people began pointing the finger at anything anyone. The Eternal Fire was angry, the gods were angry, who could be blamed for this. Humans were quick to look to the elves, or what was left of them. The elves, facing another genocide fled, all of them, even those that had integrated with humans. The half elves, the ones that tried to stay, at first soon became the target of hate and no matter how many decrees or laws any leader had put out. It had become a common sight to see the bodies of half elves in alleyways, floating upstream in the ash choked rivers, or hanging from trees. When news about the death of a small half-elf child began the spread, the half elves fled too, going to where the full blooded elves went.

Where they went no one knew for sure. Some say they left the world, others claim they went to the erupted mountain.

"Yes, perhaps they could help us, but we would have to find them," Cirilla said, closing the curtains to the window, "But for now, we must deal with the here and now, the demand for magical folk from land owners, it's putting a strain on how many we have now and I'm certain the schools of magic can't keep up with the demand, something will have to give."

Yennefer stood and walked over to Cirilla and said, "I will go look for the elves, perhaps they can aid us-"

"No, you can't," Cirillia said it so quickly, it startled them both, "You can't leave, Yennefer, you're one of our strongest sorceresses, this year's crops won't be as bountiful if you're not here to help it grow."

"Cirilla-" Yennefer started.

"And, where would you even begin to look for the elves, they could be so far away," Cirilla looked to Yennefer, "And-you can't leave me, Yennefer, I need you, I've lost Geralt and now you speak about looking for the elves, what if I lose you too!"

"Cirilla," Yennefer walked over to the woman and hugged her, "I have to do this, for us, if there's anyway to stop the ash from falling, if there's anyway to-" she kept the last past in the air, "I have to find it. I shouldn't have opened that book."

"It's not your fault, Yennefer, you didn't know what would have happened," Cirilla said, looking at the sorceress, "No one could have…guessed that all of this-"

"Let me try to fix my mistakes, Cirilla," Yennefer pleaded, "Let me try to do right by everyone, by Geralt, even if he may not be alive, I can do right by him this way, I'll leave after the last of the harvest is bought in, I swear, when the first snow falls, I will leave and try to return before planting starts up."

Cirilla hugged Yennefer back and said, "Okay, we should be fine during the cold, Yennefer, you can go look for the elves, to find us some help."

"Thank you."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Alright, you old bastard," Geralt said, backing out the chicken coop as the old rooster chased after him, "I'm just-shit, fine, I'll go!"

He closed the big door to the coop that was shaped exactly like the house and then walked out the enclosure, blowing feathers off his shoulders. Heidi had been right, the old rooster was downright dangerous and wasn't affected by his signs, in fact, the signs made the rooster angrier.

"Told you," Heidi said from where she sat on a wooden fence, "Cranky old fart!"

"You ought to kill him, pluck him clean and cook him, chicken does sound good," Geralt said, making his way over to the woman, still pulling feather out of his hair.

"He'll be too tough to cook, might have to stew him," Heidi said as she plucked a feather from behind Geralt's ear, "And does chicken sound good? Actually it does, ever had fried chicken?"

"No, but now I'm interested," Geralt said, looking inside the empty barn, "Where are the other animals, I've been here all of three weeks, haven't seen hide or hair of them, you weren't lying to me when you said you had other animals."

"No, I told you, they roam," Heidi held her hand out and summoned a small paper bag, "you just have to call them," she opened the bag and revealed the contents to Geralt, "sugar cubes, they all love them, even the testy llama."

Geralt waited until after Heidi shook the small bag in the air to ask, "So, what is a llama?"

"You'll see," Heidi said, pointing to the field that led into the woods, "Oh look, here come the horses, the rest should be here soon."

Geralt turned and watched as three horses came trotting out the woods, their dark manes whipping in the air as they galloped over to them. There was a mare, a stallion and a foal, perhaps several months old, all of them black, save for the foal, that had white specks dotted along it's body. All three of them seemed to, sparkle in the sunlight, their coats glimmering as they ran, he had never seen horses sparkle. They were tall, thin things, not bred for work but most likely for riding because they made quick stride over to the two, stopping short when they saw Geralt. They pawed at the ground, nervously, looking over to Heidi and then to Geralt and then to the paper bag in Heidi's hand.

"Here you go, Geralt, the way to a horse's heart is through it's stomach, only one sugar cube," Heidi said, as Geralt opened the bag again and shook it.

"I know how to handle horses," Geralt said, taking slow steps over to the three, "Watch."

He took out a lump of sugar and held it in the palm of his hand, aiming for the stallion that stood in front of the mare and foal, "I got something sweet and tasty, come here, buddy."

The stallion took a half step back, but the offer of sugar was too tempting. He slowly made his way over to the man, sniffed his face, as if checking for any danger and then licked the cube right out of his hand. Geralt ran his hand over the horse's nose and said, "You liked that, you become friends with me, I'll let you have seconds."

The stallion ears flickered at the incentive and looked over to Heidi who had her arms crossed, looking at the horse.

"Really?! You too, first the cat and now you?!" Heidi sighed as the stallion rested his head on Geralt's shoulder, "None of you are loyal!"

Seeing the stallion at ease with Geralt had the mare and foal go over to him as well to get a sweet treat. The mare let Geralt pet her nose but was skittish about the foal getting a nose pet. The foal took it all in stride and pranced over to Heidi, gave her an affectionate head butt in the stomach, demanding ear scratches.

"Can never say no to you," Heidi said, as she gave into the horse's demands, "You're growing up into a pretty mare, I bet those-" she stopped talking and said, "I bet you're going to be the envy of all the horses in the area!"

The foal nickered and then pranced over to its mother and father. The stallion pulled away from Geralt and then led the other two into the barn.

"They're stunning horses," Geralt walked over to Heidi who wasn't looking at him but out in the field, "Where'd you get them from."

"Here and there," she said absent mindlessly as a smile formed on her face, "Uh oh."

"What-" Geralt turned just as the bag of sugar was snatched from his hand and came face to face with the weirdest creature he had ever seen.

It stood tall and proud, on four stubby legs, covered in thick, wooly fur of white and brown. It had large black eyes that looked smugly at Geralt and had a mouth that only it's mother would kiss. In said mouth was the bag of sugar cubes. The creature chewed up the bag quickly and then walked around Geralt, as if searching for more treats.

"That's the llama, her name is Llama," Heidi said as the llama headbutted Geralt in the rear, as if displeased it couldn't find any more sweets.

"Llama the…llama," Geralt let out a noise as the llama pushed at him again, "you're right, testing little thing."

"Yup," Heidi said as a small heard of goats and sheep made their way over as well, along with- "Is..is that a dog?!"

Among the small goats and sheep trotted a dog, with black fur and a curled tail. It broke off from the group and made a beeline to Geralt, barking, tail wagging to the nines. It launched itself at the man and Geralt caught the dog, earning a face full of dog kisses. Heidi walked over to the excited dog and the still Geralt, saying, "It sure likes you, I guess it can stay," she gave the dog a head scratch earning herself a lick, "I don't know how Meow is going to take it, we should name it Bark."

"You're not naming it, that's an awful name," Geralt said, earning a look from Heidi, "You named the llama Llama, what are the horses names?"

"Horse 1, Horse 2 and Baby Horse," It was Geralt's turn to give Heidi a look, "What?"

"Awful names, no wonder why they took charge of this place," Geralt looked down at the dog and said, "I'll name it, Dandelion, reminds me of one."

"And you talk about my names!" Heidi said as Geralt let the dog down, "What should you name the horses then."

"The stallion looks like a good Roach to me," Heidi sighed, "The foal, a little on the wild side, but determined, I'll name her Cirilla, and the mare, she.."

Geralt paused and looked over to where the horses stood, eating fresh hay, "She looks like a Yennefer."

Heidi was silent, so silent that Geralt turned to look at her with questioning eyes, "You said that name, when were trying to wake up, Yennefer, was she someone you left behind."

"Aye," the man said, walking over to Heidi and resting against the fence, "She was there, when what happened to me happened, I pushed her out to safety, she's a strong woman, I know she made it."

Heidi hopped off the fence and said, "But she doesn't know that you made it, or that you're in another place, another time, another world."

"She's like a dog with a bone," Geralt said, "If she's looking for me, she'll find me."

He at least hoped she would find him.

"I hope they find you," Heidi said and then turned to the dog, "Dandelion, you stink, you need a bath, go on over to Llama, you both can get a bath."

Dandelion barked and then trotted into the barn, Heidi turned to Geralt and said, "Well, animal keeper, they await, I'll get started on the chicken,"

"Coop's that way," Geralt said, earning a hand gesture from Heidi.

"The rooster lives!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Where does it all go?" Heidi finally asked Geralt as he at the last piece of chicken, "You just..and I just.." she shook her head, "You eat for three people."

"Witcher's use up a lot of energy," Geralt said as he grabbed Heidi's plate to finish her meal, "I need plenty of food."

"I shouldn't be surprised anymore, but I am," the empty plates joined the washing pots and pan and Heidi said, "It's Friday night, you know what that means!"

"No, I don't," Geralt said, earning a hiss from Heidi.

"Well, you will!" Heidi said getting up and going over to the counter to pick up a glass dish, "Brownies and movie night, since I've skipped the last two weeks, we can start right, you can pick out the movie, anything goes, consider this another introduction to earth culture."

Heidi ushered Geralt to the couch, where she had blankets and pillows ready for them. She turned the lights down low, turned the TV on and switched to streaming saying, "Anything that pops out, we'll watch!"

"That one," Geralt said, pointing to a picture of a man holding a bloodied knife, "Seems interesting."

"Bloody Sunday Murders," Heidi said, wincing, "Well, you're…you're the picker here," she turned the movie on, pulled a blanket on her lap and settled beside Geralt, "Ugh…."

She couldn't even eat her brownies so Geralt ate them for her, instead she buried her head in his arm, with each violent scene, whimpering in fear. She turned to look at the screen just in time to see the killer raise a scythe and cut off a person's head.

She screamed. Geralt merely ate another brownie slice and said, "Weak…" shaking his head at the screen.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense, so….they use this car to go back in time to help his parents get together?" Geralt looked at Heidi who nodded her head, "That's impossible."

"Yeah, it isn't possible, because it's a movie and it's fake!"

"And how are they going back to the future if they're going to the past?"

"Ugh!"

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Animals can't talk…"

"I'm so through with you!"

"Who thought a talking pig named Babe would be a good movie."

"…I don't like you right now."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"This one isn't even scary," Geralt said as he felt Heidi's head on his arm, "It's about-" he turned to look at Heidi, only to find her with her eyes closed, sleeping soundly. He looked over at the clock on the wall. It was past 2 In the morning.

He turned the TV off with the device Heidi taught him to use, got up and picked Heidi up with ease. She let out a noise in her sleep, turning her head slightly but then went still. He carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, laying her in bed and pulling the covers up around her. She turned in her sleep, with a sigh, burying her head in the pillows. Geralt walked out her room and closed the door behind him and made his way to his own room, where Meow lay on his pillow, curled up in a ball and Dandelion lay at the foot of his bed, chasing rabbits in his dream, it seemed. Geralt stripped off his clothes tossed in the laundry basket and climbed in bed, picking Meow up and placing him by the dog. When he was settled in the bed he thought about several things, like most nights. He thought about Heidi and this new world. He thought about the world he came from and if he would return to it. Why him? Why was he placed in this position?

He lay there looking up at the ceiling for a long time, before finally falling asleep. Most times, his dreams depicted Yennefer, the mountain, Cirilla, the worried faces of the people close to him, wondering if he was fine.

Most times,he had those dreams, tonight, was not one of those times. He had dreamed he was standing in an open field with red flowers that reached up to his hips, the sun shining down him brightly, the heat making the smell from the flowers perfume the air. It was like, being back in the fields of Velen, but this wasn't Velen, it was different, he could taste it in the air, this place wasn't home, but he didn't-

"Where is the big White Wolf?! Is he coming for you!?" Geralt turned his head and watched as a child jumped out from within the flower jungle, looking up at him with big eyes. The child couldn't have been no more than four, with a big smile on their face and curly brown locks framing that framed that innocent face. They were dressed in white, and the pockets of the clothes they wore were full of red flowers.

"Are you the big White Wolf?" The child asked, tilting their head at Geralt. "Are you?"

"I've been called that, many different times," Geralt said crouching in front of the child, who wrinkled their nose at them, shaking the head, "I'm not the big White Wolf?"

"No, you're not," the child said, before launching at Geralt, "You're Papa!"

"Am I?" Geralt asked, looking down at the child in his arms, "I'm Papa?" This dream was getting too wild for him, but it was just a dream, he could play along with it.

"Yes! But you can be the White Wolf too!" The child said, leaning in and whispering in Geralt's ear, "We have to find the hare, let's go find the hare!"

"Where is the hare?" Geralt asked, looking at the child's serious face.

"In the flowers," the child said, "We have to find them!"

"Then let's go find the hare," Geralt said, carrying the child into the thick wildflowers, "do you hear the hare?"

The child cupped their ears for a moment and then said, "I think so, Papa, I hear the hare singing."

"Falling stars in barren lands," Geralt could hear someone singing and carried the child to the singing person, "Falling stars in barren lands...um...what else...?"

Geralt moved the wildflowers to the side to see another child sitting on crushed wildflowers, making a flower crown, with the red flowers humming the song. The child stop singing and turned to Geralt, their eyes getting big, "PAPA!"

Geralt caught the other child with each and let them kiss his cheek and put the flower crown on his head. All three of them looked up in the sky to watch a falling star fly across the flowers and land in the middle.

"Let's go catch the fallen star papa!" The children begged together, "There's always treasure with a fallen star!"

"Let's go get the treasure then," Geralt said, carrying both children through the wildflowers, "What do you hope the treasure is?"

"Candy," one child said, making the other nod their head, "Oh, ice cream."

"What do you want the treasure to be Papa?" One child asked, as Geralt walked.

"I don't know," Geralt said, looking down at the two children, "I have everything I want here, in my arms."

"No you don't!" One child laughed, as they got closer to the fallen star, "Let's go get it, let's go get your treasure."

They walked and walked until they made it to the fallen star but instead of a fallen star, a person lay in the grass, curled up in a ball. Geralt walked over to the person, crouched down and turned them over, saying in a soft voice, "Treasure?"

"Papa's treasure is here!" The two children perched themselves by the person who slowly sat up in Geralt's arms, "It's Papa's Treasure."

"Geralt?" the person asked, confused, "What are you-" Geralt pressed a finger to their lips and said, in a soft voice, "It's okay, I'm here now."

He leaned down and kissed the person, waking up as he did. He laid in the bed, keeping his eyes close, that dream, what in the hell, why did that dream happen?

"Oh no! I overslept and the swarm is here!" Geralt opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling, hearing Heidi's voice, "Oh no, the brownie mess is still on the table!"

Geralt sat up in the bed, looking over to Dandelion and Meow, who looked back at him with interest, "That was an interesting dream, a very interesting dream, what do you suppose it means?"

"Meow," Meow began to lick himself clean and Dandelion jumped off the bed, stretched and left the room to go into the bathroom, just as Heidi came in, her eyes big.

"The swarm is here, you, take your time, getting ready," She said, looking over to Geralt, as she put her hair up in a bun, "I'll keep them downstairs, so you can shower in peace, They bought brunch, so, I hope you like quiche."

"Who are the swarm," Geralt asked as Heidi turned to leave, "Should I be concerned?"

"My friends, Geralt, they are the swarm," Heidi smiled at him and then went back to panic mode, "I'll see you soon, get dressed! Oh-"

Heidi held a hand out and pointed to Geralt's face, muttering the conceal charm to his eyes, "There we are, see you soon!"

Heidi rushed out the room, closing the door, leaving Geralt to his thoughts. He rubbed his chin and said, in a soft voice, "Fallen stars, Meow, what does it all mean?"

"Meow."

"I suppose you're right, it was only a dream."

TBC...

To the trash dump!