Chapter Text
Geralt awoke with something tickling his nose and lips. He opened his eyes and plucked the offending object from his face, grunting when he saw it was only a gold and brown leaf. He looked down at the shabby blanket he'd gotten the week before and saw it was covered in red, gold, yellow, and brown leaves that camouflaged him perfectly with the forest floor. He looked over to where he remembered Jaskier laying down to sleep and saw he was completely hidden under a pile of leaves. Deciding to let the sleeping bard lie, Geralt got up and took his waterskin to refill it at the nearby stream.
The morning sun shone through the multicolored canopy of the forest bathing the forest floor in golden light. It gave the fallen leaves and dying plants a very regal look to them. The stream Geralt knelt by to fill his water skin was looking exceptionally beautiful, shimmering gold from the morning light with flecks of blue where the sky peeked through the trees. Colorful leaves floated down the stream adding more color to the water. It reminded Geralt of an illustration he saw in a book of fairy tales where little faeries used leaves as boats.
He finished filling his water skin and made his way back to camp. Normally he didn't like making noise when he walked, but there was something about the sound of crunching fall leaves that he found relaxing. The earthy smells that came with fallen leaves was nice too. By the time he reached camp Jaskier was up and was shaking the leaves off his blanket. He looked up at Geralt when he heard the crunching of leaves and smiled.
"There you are! I was about to go looking for you once I got this colorful mess off my blanket. I really hope there aren't any slugs making their home in it..." He checked his now leaf free blanket for slime trails as Geralt made quick work of getting the leaves off his blanket. Jaskier continued talking as they broke camp.
"I heard a few weeks ago that there's a fall festival going on in the villages by the Yaruga. We're about half a day’s ride from there, right?"
"You're asking if we can attend."
"It'll be fun...well, as fun as a festival in a small village can be."
Geralt thought for a minute as Jaskier continued about how enjoyable a fall festival in a cozy little village would be. It had been a while since either one of them had gone to a festival, the last one they attended was nearly a year ago and was an excuse for everyone to get drunk and spend too much money on overpriced knick-knacks. Regardless, Geralt did enjoy watching humans and non-humans alike get 15 different kinds of drunk, while Jaskier had a ball performing while he was also 15 different kinds of drunk.
"We'll go."
Those two words made Jaskier beam in excitement. "Excellent! Try not to get too drunk off whatever it is they're offering!"
Geralt smiled slightly at Jaskier's excitement. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, it made Geralt happy seeing Jaskier happy.
They arrived at the village just past noon and were surprised at how well decorated the place was. There was a banner held up by two wooden polls that had WELCOME painted on it in big, orange letters. The poles had sheaves of wheat tied to them along with bright orange pumpkins placed around them. All of the little houses and buildings had pumpkins of every size and shape on their doorstep, and there were carts and stalls lining the streets and walkways selling all manner of things, including food.
Geralt took Roach to the nearest hitching post while Jaskier wandered off to the nearest merchant. He turned with an amused look on his face when he heard Jaskier gasp and squeal in delight. He waved Geralt over to look at what he'd found.
It was a chocolate brown beret style hat made of silk with gold stripes and a gold pin holding a brown and white turkey feather in place. Geralt couldn't deny it was beautiful, well made, and worth every crown.
"Say...My nephew was tellin' me about a bard he heard last summer who was travelin' with a Witcher. Might that be you?"
"That would be me!" Jaskier said with a smile and a bow.
"Ha Ha! Splendid! I'll be willin' to give ya a discout if you were to sign one of his lesson books..."
Jaskier's smile widened. "Anything for a dear fan! Is he here by any chance?"
"Sure is. Helpin' pick apples for cider. What are ya' gettin' at?"
"Well, I'd be willing to put on a little performance for him and his friends if you'd like..." Geralt immediately knew what he was up to and shot him an amused look.
"You do that, and I'll take half off. Does that sound good?"
Jaskier pretended to think about it, then he shook the merchant's hand. "You sir, have a deal! Now, where is your orchard?"
Geralt followed behind Jaskier and the merchant silently as they talked and gossiped. He was more interested in the sights, sounds, and smells around him than hearing about which royal was being unfaithful to their spouse. He could smell apple and pumpkin pastries, spiced fruit pies, soups and stews made with fresh vegetables and various types of meat, spiced honey cakes, spiced cider without alcohol, cider with some alcohol, and very hard cider. The warm colors of the decorations used were easy on the eyes. They were bright, but not as saturated as the colors Jaskier liked to wear daily.
Jaskier drew a crowd the second he stepped into the orchard. It was amazing how fast someone could climb down a ladder when properly motivated. Geralt was also amazed by the amount of bushel baskets he was seeing around each tree, and by how many different varieties of apples there were for an averaged sized orchard. He snapped back to the present when he realized the crowd was starting to close in around him and quickly made his escape.
He leaned against a tree several meters away from the crowd and listened to Jaskier perform for his adoring fans. Despite the music, and noises from the crowd, he could still hear the light footsteps approaching from his left. He turned and saw a little girl, no more than 3, with a bouquet of leaves walking clumsily towards him.
Confused as to why he couldn't sense any fear from her, he knelt and waited patiently for her to either get closer or get bored and wander off. She studied him for a moment, his eyes in particular, then pulled a golden yellow leaf from her bouquet and stuck it in his hair behind his left ear.
"Pretty eyes!" She giggled before wandering back to her mother and father. Geralt, normally not superstitious, considered the interaction a good omen. Once he stood, he adjusted the leaf in his hair so it was better secured and wouldn't blow away. Jaskier finished his ballad soon after and took a quick break to sample some of the hard cider and bring some to Geralt. He saw the leaf and smiled.
"I see you've gotten a new accessory. Gold really suits you!" He joked as he handed Geralt a cup. Geralt "hmm"ed in response and took a big swig of the spiced drink.
"I've got one to two more songs, then we can wander the village to our heart's content." Geralt nodded. Jaskier quickly resumed his performance and Geralt resumed watching from beneath the apple tree. Three songs, and one more pint of hard cider later, the two were ready to explore the village. Geralt had to admit, Jaskier's new hat really suited him.
They passed by several quaint cottages with wreaths made of leaves and flowers on their doors before they got to the center of the village. Stalls and wagons adorned the streets selling anything and everything someone could want. Jaskier was immediately drawn to the tailor’s wagon while Geralt walked over to where the leather, and blacksmiths were selling their goods and supplies. To Geralt’s surprise, the craftsmen were as polite and professional to him as they were to humans and fellow townsmen.
After getting his supplies he met Jaskier at the cobbler’s booth where the bard was examining two very fancy pairs of boots. From what Geralt could tell from their exteriors, one was a status symbol made of maroon fabric and gold thread, while the other was slightly more practical being made of leather but favored design and fashion over the comfort of the wearer. While Jaskier was distracted and the cobbler tried to convince him to buy both, Geralt looked over the selection of footwear for himself. A hint of gold caught his eye and he saw a pair of leather boots stained chocolate brown with golden buckles. He could tell they were sturdy enough to be good walking or riding boots, fancy enough to wear to court, the buckles served a practical use in that they allowed the wearer to adjust the boot to their foot and leg size, and they matched Jaskier's hat.
He took them, plus a simple pair of black leather boots for himself, and held the brown ones up for Jaskier to see. The second he saw what Geralt was holding he seemed to forget about the previous pairs of footwear and gently took the chocolate and gold boots from the Witcher.
"You, sir, are brilliant!" He said to Geralt. He turned to the cobbler holding the boots out to him. "I'll take these, plus the pair my companion has chosen for himself." Geralt opened his mouth to protest but wasn't fast enough. The boots he was holding were snatched from his hand, paid for, and put back in his hand before he could form a complete sentence.
"You didn't have to do that..." Gerald said as they left.
"But I wanted to!" Jaskier said as they started walking towards the food stalls.
"...Thank you." Geralt finally said after a minute of silence.
"No need to be so emotional about it, but you're welcome." Joked Jaskier which brought a small smile to Geralt's lips.
The rest of the evening was spent sampling various apple and pumpkin delicacies, drinking cider until the world started spinning, and going to bed in a cozy inn with full bellies. Both men were in agreement that this was the best fall festival they'd attended in years, and were already planning on attending next year.