Days came and went, the brightly colored wildflowers slowly curled back into themselves, wilting and withering. They were soon replaced by browning grasses and leaves, then frost. Solstice had grown a few inches as had her hair. Her vividly colored eyes reflected more life and energy each day. She learned to love the boys surrounding her like brothers, never afraid to call on them in times of need. all but one boy accepted her quickly, as the dark-haired boy only seemed to observe her from a distance, unsure of her worth.

Solstice sat in a large window, a bear fur blanket under her, giving a slight cushion to the hard cold stone. Her small hands traced over the scripts on the page in the leather bound book resting on her legs. She read of the Witchers. She enjoyed reading this passage, still learning something new every time she went through the words. There was some birds still singing outside, and, despite the warmth of the sun on her skin, the wind held a sharp chill on it. She breathed in the fresh chill, her nose stinging slightly. Her birthday was coming, the cold reminded her, the way it always did back home, but she couldn't remember the exact day, just that it was coming. She frowned slightly, looking out the window as she tried to remember the day her mother always made her favorite food and made Hannah a new dress to match what she was wearing that year. Nothing really came to mind, even in the quiet of the early afternoon.

A clanging of metal on wood brought her mind back to the present, making her look down at the courtyard below where there were wooden mannequins for practicing. She saw a blur of dark hair as the boy twisted and turned, practicing his swordsmanship. She watched how he handled the sword, each turn and parry, each lunge and twist. He was something to behold, and oddly good for his age. The other boys in his age group seemed good, but something about this Dark-haired boy just seemed even more so. He was fast, agile, and precise. She wanted to learn like him, but had barely even spoken to the boy after that first night. She was worried he did not want her there.

"Solstice, there you are." Vesemir's gruff voice made her jump and turn to face him.

"Hi, Mister Vesemir. You scared me." She smiled, chuckling softly.

"I see that." He smirked, sitting on the window ledge at her feet. "Will you go with one of the boys to gather a few things for me? You've taken to herbs so easily, unlike some of the others."

"Yeah! I'd like that!" Solstice grinned, nodding. She closed the once dusty book, and stood up excitedly. "What do you need? I can find them!"

Vesemir gave the grinning child a list of herbs, some she couldnt yet prenounce, but recognized the writing. Each herb and flower on the handwritten list brought a vivid picture to her mind. "Who am I going with?"

He thought about it for a moment, then looked down at the courtyard where Geralt was self-training. "Take Geralt with you, you'll be safe, and he could use the time out." She nodded, swallowing a bit hard. She couldn't understand why she felt uncomfortable with the decision, seeing as she had known him nearly seven years now. Even so, she gathered herself, running to her room and stepping over all the books and writings strewn across the floor and grabbing her belt sack and strapping it over her slacks. She had the bright idea about a year back in the spring to make it, and hadn't regretted it. She found that it was perfect for when she was tasked with gathering herbs and various other ingredients.

She found her short cloak, hoping to keep the bit off chill off of her arms while they were out, and made her way down to the courtyard, where Geralt was now sitting, sword on his back.

"Vesemir already talk to you?" Solstice cocked her head to the side slightly. He simply nodded, looking her up and down, a slight roll to his eyes when he looked away. "Look i'm sorry that this is such a chore, but I didn't ask you to come." He waved off her defensive remark and started on out of the gate. it had been decided to walk, horse in tow. The site of growth wasn't far, but the horse would provide extra carrying and a quick trip back home after they were done. The dark haired boy walked slightly ahead, quiet as they made their way down to a low-lying valley with a small river running through it.

Solstice slowly sat down beside the river, her fingers gently tracing some honeysuckle. She picked it, inhaling slowly, eyes closed. She gathers a few of them, her hair falling into place causing blinders in a sense. Her fingers traced a red speckled flower, it's stem nearly purple in color. Geralt watched as she slowly and diligently picked the flowers along with the leaf-like grasses at its bases, gently wrapping each individual ingredient in a small cut of cloth before placing it in her bag, separating each one from each other.

"Care to go for a swim?" She spoke gently, tucking her hair behind her ear, not looking up from her work.

"A swim? Really?" He stood there, looking at her with confusion.

"Yes, really. I need the Buckthorn from the bottom of that river." She sighed and looked up at him, wiping her hands on her trousers and placing the last wrap in her bag. "I'm not looking forward to even touching it."

"Oh?" He couldn't help but look at her with a curious smirk.

"You'll see. It smells of rotting flesh the moment it hits the air." She stood in front of him, a bit annoyed that he was questioning her. She didn't write the list herself. He was such a smug boy and it irked her nerves.

He simply shrugged and pulled off his sword and shirt, handing them to her. She rolled her eyes as he turned to the water and secured his sword to Roach's saddle. Geralt dove into the freezing water, diving to the bottom of the riverbed. There he found a seaweed-like plant. It was almost oily to the touch, even underwater, and a bit brown on its weed-like leaves. He grabbed a few bundles of the weed, then pushed off of the bottom of the river, resurfacing and taking in a gulp of air.

"Ugh! It reeks to high heavens." Solstice complained as he walked ashore, a leather bag open in her hands, her head turned to make the smell slightly bearable. The boy shoved the weed in the bag and she tied it off tightly. "I don't think anyone could get used to that stench." Solstice tied the bag to the horse, turning her nose up and offering Geralt his shirt.

Shrugging on the cloth shirt he tussled his hair, flinging water droplets in all directions. She chuckled softly as the droplets hit her.

"Is there anything else?" Garelt asked, his lips a bit blue from the cold.

"No, we can go back. I don't want to be too late getting back." She sighed softly. " It looks like i have some lessons tonight." She patted her bag with her fingertips.

Geralt, nodding, gently offered her his hand as he held Roached lead in his other. Shocked at the slight act of kindness, Solstice accepted the helping hand onto the horse,sitting to the side and looking down at the boy as he guided the animal back towards the strong hold.

The Walk back seemed to be a bit longer than it had been earlier in the afternoon. Clouds were starting to gather overhead, and the air felt almost heavy. Solstice watched as her breath puffed out in a small wispy cloud.

"Why don't you like me, Geralt? You've never liked me."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Her question broke the silence, taking him off guard.

"Ever since I got here, you've only shown annoyance and disdain." She sighed softly, looking down at the dark-haired boy. His mouth opened, as if trying to say something, but its as if there were nothing to say. He didn't understand what she wanted from him. From a young age he thought of her as weak and meager. She hadn't proven him wrong. physically, she was just that. Weak. Meager. She was smart, and quickwitted around the others, never to take a joke without firing back. He admired her for that.

" It's not-" A loud screeching from over a nearby treeline grabbed their attention, making everything stop in its tracks.

"Get down." Geralt looked around at the sky, commanding Solstice. She stammered in confusion, forcing him to turn and grab her, pulling her off of the horse and pushing her into the underbrush. He wiggled next to her, his hand loosely over her mouth.

"Roach, what about Roach?"

"Shut up, okay? Roach will be fine, he will be waiting for us at the stronghold. now keep quiet." Geralt held her mouth firmly, watching her nod. He watched between the branches as a Griffin soared into sight, its screeching call overwhelmingly loud.

Solstice covered her ears, squeezing her eyes tight with fear. The ground rumbled with the creature's landing, and the swirling wind forced the underbrush back, exposing their hiding spot. IT was then that they were seen. Geralt pushed Solstice back, wedging his body between her and the creature, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Don't move," He mumbled to her, an intense stare-down in process between he and the creature. The Griffin's eye darted around in a very birdlike mannerr as he seemed to sniff the air. Solstice rocked back slightly, trying to push herself deeper into the brush lining the stone wall, although succeeding to hide her body better she happened to snap a small twig. The creature's head poped up, its eyes locking on the two; And with a loud thunderous cry, the Griffin jolted towards them.

Geralt unsheathed his sword ready to deal his blow, his eyes tracking the movements.

Solstice's hands went up in defensive reaction, her eyes wide in terror. Suddenly there was a smokey white pulse of light that took the monster off guard, launching it through the air and tumbling down to the ground with a harsh thump. The Griffin scurried to its feet, confusion filling its body language. It whined towards them, launching itself into the air awkwardly and flying away from them, back to where it came from.

Geralt didn't move, confusion fogging his mind as he looked at the spot where the monster had just been. It was only then when he heard Solstice's heavy breathing behind him. He looked at her, here eyes brighter and electrified looking, more than he had ever seen before. Something about her eyes seemed to put off a glow.

"Geralt! Solstice! Are you okay?" Vesemir's voice brought Geralt back to the present, away from Solstice's appearance.

"Yeah, yeah. We are fine." He shook his head, offering Solstice his hand to pull her back to the trail. She seemed distant, her mind not fully there, as if still frozen in a tick of fear. "Sol, hey, where are you?" He cupped her face, making her look at him, and she seemingly snapped back to, weakly chuckling off her behavior.

"I'm fine. I guess thats just the first time I've seen something I've only read about." She smiled slightly. " It was probably just the Buckthorne that attracted it."

Vesemir nodded, still atop his horse. "Let's get you two back shall we?" Something in his manner showed suspicion, like he was tumbling things over in him mind. He had seen the flash of light from a distance, but didn't know where, or who, it had come from.

They had started to walk back to the strong hold, Geralt telling Vesemir what had happened.

"Geralt." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but he turned to look at her, as did Vesemir. It was then that her eyes rolled back and she collapsed, her knees buckling from under her.

"Sol!" Geralts voice echoed in her ears as she fell, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes. The darkness slowly engulfed her.

Nothingness...

Just Nothingness..

Just a note: i don't own most of these characters.

I'm trying to get atleast a chapter a day, but starting monday my writing may be slightly slower, given that i have a new job starting. BARE WITH ME 3