Writing Bobbi? I suppose...

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi didn't sleep well for the first time since arriving in the Valley, thanks to itchy ankles. Yoba only knows what I picked up in the mines fighting off those boot-loving mud puppies. Slogging out of bed earlier than intended, Bobbi washed her feet off again and found yet more advertising from Pierre in the mail. Apparently he thinks I can afford a few dozen boxes of fertilizer but the joke's on him as I found the recipe at the Library. Which I've been neglecting as I get the feeling there's more to know about this farming and mining career.

Finishing the now-typical morning chores, Bobbi turned in a topaz at the Archaeology Museum but Gunther hadn't cajoled any more donations out of the rest of the town cheapskates yet, so next up was Pierre's to sell some potatoes. Which maybe Maru would also buy and chat about with me...

As Bobbi arrived at the town square, Morris was standing on a milk crate in the center, announcing something to what passed for a crowd in the valley.

"...corporate is very interested in contributing to everyone's lives and has given me the green light to do a few things to help make life better in Pelican Town," Morris said with a wide smile on his face. "First up was clearing the mountain landslide to restore access to the Guild house and the mines."

"Um, wasn't that caused by you guys doing renovations on the JojaMart across the lake?" Caroline asked in a forceful voice, with a very annoyed look on her face.

"I've been assured by our geologist that that was just waiting to happen and could have come down on someone at any time," Morris said with ease. "As it is, that happened while we were working close by and thus it was quite lucky that none of the townsfolk were in the area, thanks to our presence." Caroline looked utterly unconvinced and headed into Pierre's shop.

"Yeah, at 7:00 in the morning while some of us are trying to sleep!" yelled Robin with a bemused look on her face.

"Lewis assured me that 7am was a legally appropriate time to start work--"

"Blasting things to smithereens!" piped up Abigail next to Bobbi. She leaned over to Bobbi, continuing in a lower voice, "actually it sounded pretty cool, I wish I could have seen it!" Her eyes were glittering.

"Nevertheless, that has all been cleared--," started Morris.

"Except for the big boulder which continues to restrict the flow of the river," Demetrius announced in a voice competing with Morris'. "The local fish species depend on the fresh water and minerals sourced deep within the mountain. Restrict that for too long and some species could be threatened." In a lower voice, he continued, "of course, some may also over-proliferate because of that."

"Now, we're working on finding the best options for that so any pent up water doesn't inundate the mountain lake and the river downstream," Morris said in a placating tone. "Those of you with riverfront property needn't be concerned."

"Hear that, Penny?" Pam said, elbowing her daughter in the side. "We have riverfront properly, sounds pretty good doesn't it?"

"Yes, Mom," Penny said, somewhat agreeably. "Maybe we could take care of it on occasion so it looks as good as it sounds."

"OK, OK back on topic," Morris went on, slightly annoyed at this diversion. "Joja's newest gift is a 50% off coupon to everyone in attendance today. We're doing what we can to make your g go farther! Come and get 'em!"

Caroline had returned from Pierre's store with her husband and both stood there, shocked, as the rest of the town gathered around to get their coupons and head over to Joja Mart. When they spotted Abigail walking towards them with one, Caroline let out a small, horrified, "Abby!" but she needn't have been concerned as Abigail ripped it with a dramatic flourish.

That didn't calm them much as Pierre said glumly, "They can't do that every day." A short pause. "Can they? I mean, that's selling at a loss, I can't compete with that."

"Everyone will enjoy themselves there today with their magical coupon," Caroline said sardonically, "but they'll be back. You sell real food and the stuff at Joja is all just horrible for you, right Abby?"

"It's all a bunch of junk food and candy and energy drinks," Abigail said. "I used to love the stuff--" she caught herself as Caroline's head whipped around to stare, "when I was a little kid!" She didn't meet Caroline's eyes. "I mean-- I pick up a Super Energy Mega Bomb Stimulation Fizz-Whizz for Seb on occasion when he has a long coding marathon..." Abigail's voice was retreating, becoming ever weaker, "and sometimes finish it for him just before a Prairie King session?" she finished with a question and a sideways wince.

Caroline uttered a huffy sigh and dragged Pierre back into the store. Abigail looked initially worried but then defiant, "I think I might have said the wrong-- no! the right thing. I don't have to do everything they want." That temporary confidence quickly drained away. "But I'll never hear the end of it unless I tell Mom something she wants to hear. See ya." And a somewhat dejected Abigail trudged north towards Pierre's.

Morris walked over to Bobbi now that the crowd had dispersed decidedly eastward in the direction of the Jojamart. "And I have something you might be interested in," he said conversationally. "Have you seen the deep ravine out east of town?" Bobbi nodded warily. "I asked corporate if they might want to put some extra effort into local goodwill and maybe fix the bridge over the ravine to the old plateau there. Well, I convinced them. I really think that could show everyone that Joja means community just as much as business."

"Really? They'll just come in here and do that out of the goodness of their hearts?" Bobbi paused a half second and added, "They do have hearts, right? You've checked?"

"No, I mean yes!" Morris stammered. "Too many questions! I'm sure their hearts are in the right places." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Also figuratively. Well, and there's the matter of the cost."

"You jest," Bobbi said in wide-eyed mock surprise. "Discussing money is so gauche. Except when flapping around 50% off coupons of course. I thought you were cleared for liftoff for a second there..."

"Anyway," Morris continued, taking the attitude in stride, "it seems you're the fixit person in town, having replaced the little footbridge to the far beach, and we figured that you might be interested in contributing half towards fixing the ravine bridge. While Joja generously contributes the other half? It would be a mere 25,000g."

Bobbi's surprised snort was so pronounced that she rather expected a mass migration of curious pigs would arrive shortly.

"Plus the Joja membership fee, of course," Morris finished for completeness.

Raising a hand and clapping Morris on the back, Bobbi said, "My friend, I don't have nearly that amount of g and in fact I'm not sure I've even seen that total yet. I may need to take a rain check on that but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the offer." No need to make enemies and better to get information directly from Morris, if possible. I really need to talk to Sam and see if he's heard anything else. "See ya, Morris."

"Until next time, Bobbi," Morris said, and turned smartly to head back to the buzzing Jojamart full of enthusiastic customers.

Bobbi stood in the square for a few minutes pondering the morning's events, wondering if the rest of town already had a Joja membership or whether they just shopped there from time to time. I might need to get going on the Community Center again on the chance that Morris improves his offer to Lewis. All this money stuff finally wormed its way into Bobbi's brain and reminded her that she'd come to town to make a sale. The potatoes sold to a quiet Pierre for 240g, not too bad.

Outside, Bobbi ran into Emily and Leah on their way to exercise, and neither had much time to chat though Emily appreciated the gift of a daffodil. I have no idea what Leah likes. Maybe I should plant flowers for Leah? Ehmmm, maybe that's too much to keep track of, let's just stay with some conversation. A short while later Haley was predictably taking a walk to the park and it was probably just total coincidence that Bobbi had kept perhaps the better looking daffodil for her. ...and waited likely not a whole lot longer than an hour or so to give it to her.

Very casual.

It's a small town, can't help bumping into people. Things like that just happen on their own.

"Hi Bobbi, I seem to meet you pretty often here," Haley said looking aside at Bobbi. "Do you shop a lot at Pierre's for... farm things? Does he carry overalls or something?"

"I get my seeds from Pierre and he has some nice backpacks I've found super useful," Bobbi said, covering a slight annoyance. "No overalls, though. These are back from my grease monkey days before coming to Pelican Town."

Haley paused a second. "That's not a Spirit's Eve outfit, is it? More of a city job or something. Oh, of course not or you wouldn't be wearing it right now would you?" Haley finished with a smile. "Silly me, I wasn't even thinking. Now that the Egg Festival is over, all I think about is the Flower Dance. Got to practice to be perfect." And Haley launched into a somewhat stiff-armed yet strangely hypnotic dance, and then caught herself and stopped, looking sideways at Bobbi again. "Youuu haven't seen it yet! No peeksies, you can wait!" Haley said with a wagging finger. "Oh, but it's all over too quick! At least it's Summer soon afterwards and I can spend time relaxing at the beach, looking for shells." Haley looked into the distance, musing. "I wonder if any nice shells wash up on the beach in the Spring?"

"I've found a few here and there, nothing too special looking however." Bobbi offered.

"Oh good, then I'm not missing anything. Thanks Bobbi."

Bobbi offered Haley the daffodil which elicited another thanks and Haley finished with, "after the Birthday cluster, this will just about fill the vase. They're very pretty and remind me of you. It's nice to have you in town, Bobbi." Haley gave Bobbi a hug and a wave, saying, "See you later!" and started on her morning walk in the park.

"See you later, Haley." Bobbi said. Funny, she doesn't exercise with her sister or Leah, Maybe she likes the outdoors more. Or the people less, there's a bit of separation in this town.

Bobbi spent the rest of the day fishing in the river and the ocean, ending up with over 1900g by 4:50pm at Willy's. Remembering her shell conversation with Haley, Bobbi foraged the far beach, noting Mr. Weirdo was still missing and now wondering if her senses had been playing tricks on her in the rain that day. Or he takes Tuesdays off from creeping on people.

Bobbi fished a bit more, ending up with what appeared to be a lifetime supply of algae and seaweed and headed home to bung the fish in the bin. Making her way to bed, Bobbi remembered Haley's comment about her apparently completed daffodil collection and thought that maaaybe she'd ease off those until next week.

 

[Dr. eeL]

Your conversations are so spot on. I just finished my post for tomorrow. I think you'll like it.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi awoke to the pleasant sound of rain drumming a steady line on her thankfully solid roof. This place may not have a kitchen but at least it has running water.

Outside. On select days.

In no hurry to get soaked to the bone and knowing that half a farmer's work was already done by her equally well-paid and dependable assistant Mother Nature, Bobbi took some time to read more of the plant book she'd been ignoring on the nightstand. Apparently trees could be tapped for goodies like Maple Syrup and other stuff, which she thought might be a Community Center request. Eventually, but my stomach gets that stuff first. Also there was a Charcoal Kiln to get more charcoal out of wood but that seemed expensive. All depends on what you're short of.

But the best thing was a how-to for picking seasonal berries which Bobbi was looking forward to as they were... well not overly tasty but at least reasonably filling. No chance of getting fat on those but great for keeping energy levels up.

Neither falling asleep from reading nor overly motivated to farm make mud pies, Bobbi suddenly remembered that there should be lots of wonderful round g rolling about in the shipping bin. Greed got her out of bed and the house. 645g and Bobbi was over 2000, which means it was finally time to see Clint about an upgrade. Back on the porch, Bobbi eventually noticed through the foggy rain that what passed for her farm had been magically turned into a forage wonderland. Which would sell for even more g! Meh, OK some g as Bobbi remembered that she should save half the forage for gifts for certain people. Horseradishes and leeks were better than nothing and Bobbi even found a few cauliflowers amongst the other roughage. Off to Pierre's!

As Bobbi trudged into town, that sense of karma was setting in. The one that tells you that even though you just harvested a bumper crop of daffodils, you already gave Haley and Emily too many so you have to wait. That you gave Penny too many dandelions, so you have to wait.

That it's Wednesday and Pierre is closed. So you have to wait.

Bobbi's word choice lacked subtlety and tastefulness. But not volume, in either sense. Luckily the droning of the rain washed away the staccato bursts of annoyance and frustration as Bobbi turned heel and stomped back to the farm. ...though it was likely that Abigail heard and rather enjoyed the unusual exuberance of Bobbi's outburst from her second floor bedroom.

Stuffing the junk in the shipping bin, Bobbi put her foraging skills to the test and collected a reasonable amount of salmonberries on the way to Clint's. She dropped off her rusty axe, the copper and g, which Clint was very appreciative of-- not appreciative enough to give a discount of course but maybe if I visited more than once a week, that could change. Yeah, not going to happen as Clint set up shop clear on the other side of town. Success is all in the planning and choice of real estate. The next place with a working roof was the Library to discover additional ideas and techniques now that she had more farming, mining, and even adventuring under her belt.

While she came across lots of things like protective rings, crab pots, and a mayo machine, by far the most memorable was the bug steak. The description read like a car crash, you just couldn't look away from it even as the revulsion set in and your knees went weak. How odd that this was the one entry lacking a picture. Who even thought to do this?!? Of course immediately Marlon came to mind, though this was nicely typed out and she doubted that skill was within his range of interests. Or capabilities. Bobbi imagined Gil complaining about the racket the typewriter was making when Marlon had only made it as far as setting it on his desk. Those guys are a sitcom waiting to happen.

Mind clearly wandering, already Bobbi could feel some of the information from earlier in the day leaking out the other side of her brain and she realized that rainy days are really for mining. Too much readey, not enough smashy!

In the mines, it was a slow slog and Bobbi didn't make it to Level 15, where she suspected there would be another elevator landing. After accidentally killing one of the slow flying bugs, it made the mistake of dropping some bug guts for bait, thus ended previous days' truce. It was guts time and those kaiju-craneflies didn't stand a chance! However the slimes and fast bugs apparently got their SOS text, emerging in droves, fighting back valiantly and leaving a multiply slimed and bloodied Bobbi to barely escape with her life thanks to Level 14's ladder up.

Trudging back home in the rain Bobbi barely registered that at least the weather was washing off the dirt and blood. Ah yes that's why you go mining on rainy days, for the free shower. Too bad it wasn't a real downpour as the leftover slime was still rather clingy, ignoring the precipitation. Which added to Bobbi's feeling that the slime wasn't quite dead yet as at one point she thought it winked at her.

Totally a trick of the light. Flickering torches feebly penetrating the midnight rain.

She left her spelunking clothes outside that night. ...they needed a good rinse, one way or another.

 

[Lew Zealand]

The following morning broke bright, humid and heavy, welcomed by Bobbi with an extended stay in bed. Something was lingering in the back of her mind, informing her that no good would come of leaving the farmhouse. Blowing her nose didn’t remove the something, so ultimately boredom won out.

Recognizing that she had not adequately prepared her mind to appreciate the cleansing and creative effects of boredom, Bobbi instead opened the door to a not altogether unfamiliar, yet quite repugnant stench. Instinctively slamming the door shut, she wondered whether the Wizard had left her a flaming bag of forest leftovers on the doorstep. Gotta do something about the neighbors around here, maybe vote him off the housing association board. But she slowly reopened the door once the memory of last night finally made its delayed appearance.

The slime.

Wow, that... really is something else. Glistening in the morning sun, apparently crusted over into a hardened aquamarine shell, the goo had bent her overalls to its will: into an apparently permanent U-shape after being hung over the mailbox overnight.

Hmmm what a surprise, no mail today. I may need to consider this strategy at tax time.

Grabbing a stick, Bobbi removed them from the mailbox to find they were quite adequate to stand on their own. Another pair and a couple of planks and I'd have a sawhorse! She submerged them in the bathtub with some soap and figured a day of soaking would be a good start even though burning them seemed a more sensible choice.

Idly opening the shipping bin brought Bobbi back to what senses of hers were left, as the previous morning's forage haul had netted her over 1300g, bringing her almost halfway to affording the coop. Now in a much greedier better mood, Bobbi grabbed 3 cauliflowers and was happy to be back to watering everything in a single trip to the pond. Spending a little extra time on the farm, she made the tapper and then cursed herself for clearing out so many trees from around her house. Bleah now I gotta walk all the way over there to get my syrup!

Assuming that's a maple tree. I've never heard of oak syrup. Probably because it's... so good that nobody wants the secret to get out. Must be that. Maybe I can sell it to the squirrel running the condemned Hat Shop.
_____

Arriving in town, Bobbi was only slightly intentionally looking everywhere to find anyone Penny reading under her tree and approached. Penny looked up and immediately said while getting to her feet, "Hi Bobbi, it's so invigorating reading outside after a rain, it makes me think there's a whole fresh world of possibilities out there."

"It makes me think," started Bobbi,"that sitting under a big, shady, damp tree, I'd end up with a wet rump for the rest of the day."

Penny snickered and said, "that's why I carry this around," and pointed to a tiny, foldable 3-legged stool, entirely hidden by her skirt while sitting. "Sam found it in the Joja back room and gave it to me last year. Best thing is that Mom never borrows it from me as, well, she doesn't, um, fit on it..." Penny's smile and blush was well ahead of her words, escaping its confinement before she was finished. Bobbi caught on soon enough and they shared a private laugh.

"That reminds me," said Bobbi with a sigh, "I need to ask Sam something and if there's anything I do best of all, it's forgetting everything."

“I usually find him over there next to the river on odd afternoons," Penny said pointing towards the bridge. “Not that I’m looking for him, I mean!” she protested. “I- I see him there. Try later today."

Bobbi just looked at Penny for a moment with a curling smile and slightly arched eyebrows. “You stop that, Bobbi.” Penny said in a stern-for-Penny tone, knocking Bobbi on the shoulder with her hand. “You’re making fun of me without even saying anything.”

“I am not,” Bobbi protested. “I’m just enjoying your company, in all of its many facets.”

“That sounds like a fancy way of getting my goat,” Penny said.

“OK maybe just a bit, but friends can do these things, right?” Bobbi appeased Penny. “Just a little?”

“Of course... I sometimes take things too seriously,” Penny admitted and took a deep breath.

Bobbi gave Penny a hug, followed with, ”I feel the need to warn you though that it’s now my job to cure you of that. ...mostly. I’ll go easy on you.” Bobbi paused. “Mostly.”

“Okay, Bobbi...” Penny replied just a touch warily. “You take care.”

“I will, Penny," Bobbi replied, "See you later!”

"See you later!” Penny waved as Bobbi headed for Pierre's.

Checking the calendar before heading inside, it was Pam's birthday. OK. I can make up the joke at her expense by buying her a beer at the saloon tonight. If I remember. And have only a light sheen of slime entrails by then.

Inside, Bobbi sold her cauliflower, finishing up with almost 2500g in her pocket and considered that fishing the rest of the day might net enough for the coop. I wonder if chickens smell better than fish? Thinking of rotten eggs followed to Sam and Sebastian tossing them just a bit out of reach, and with an involuntary shiver, she left Pierre’s.

Outside, Bobbi noticed someone in a wheelchair whom she hadn't met yet trying to retrieve mail from his apparently too-tall mailbox. However it was Penny who got there first and offered to help Mr. Mullner.

"I've told you before, the name's George!" he said. "Shoot, you even used to call my wife Mrs. Evelyn in school, so I know you can do it."

"Yes Mr.-- George," Penny corrected herself. "Sorry, I'm just not used to it."

"Hmph. Well, I'll take Mr. George for now, better than Mrs. George," he said in a tone not quite as agreeable as his words.

"Here, let me help you with the mail," Penny said, and wheeled George past the mailbox, fetching the letters and handing them to him.

"Hey! Slow down there race driver, these are my wheels," George protested. "You go get your own! And I can reach that mail way in the back same as yesterday. These things still work and they're the same length as when I got 'em," he finished, flapping his arms about in Penny's face.

"Wait," Bobbi said, pausing for a brief moment. "You were born with 3-foot arms? That must have been tough for your mom."

"What? Who are you?" George asked bewildered for a moment, recovering quickly. "Ah, the new farmer, Evelyn mentioned somebody new. And you know what I mean! Thinking you're all smart."

"Penny," Bobbi said, turning to her, "You did a real nice thing there. Maybe just ask him first next time?"

"Thank you Bobbi," Penny said, a little dejected, "I just wish... George appreciated that I was only trying to help."

"Who's this 'George' now?" he said, looking around.

But he slumped back and sighed, pausing a moment. "I suppose I shouldn't have gotten so angry about it, but I've been pushed around a lot in life and getting that in a literal way sets me off. It was kind of you to help." He looked a little uncomfortable, which Bobbi suspected was from a mix of not making a good first impression and actually admitting something.

"That's OK, Mr. Mullner," Penny said. "I understand."

"Mr. Mullner! I'm back in the conversation again!" George exclaimed. "I thought you forgot I existed, talking to this George person when I'm right here in front of you!" He said, pointing to Penny and back to himself. "Always a hoot talking to you younger people, barely make any sense and then it's off to play... pinball games or something worse." He turned around grumbling to himself and wheeled back into the house.

"Is he always like that?" Bobbi asked with her head cocked to the side.

"Like what?" Penny asked blankly in response.

"Ah, so that's a 'yes'..." Bobbi concluded, wondering whether he had gotten more or less ornery in his old age. "I suppose growing old is just another part of life, seems like some people become exaggerations of their younger selves."

"Yes," Penny agreed, "we should be sensitive to the changes everyone undergoes. We shouldn't ignore the realities of aging. I suppose the sooner we come to terms with our mortality, the more quality time we can spend living our lives."

"Oh... yes.” Bobbi paused, taken a bit aback at Penny's musings. "Well, I was just anticipating not being able to remember anything longer than 5 minutes by the time I'm 60," Bobbi quipped.

"You're always so silly," Penny said shaking her head, but with a smile. "Is that part of your quality time?"

"Hmm, yes it is," Bobbi said, considering the question. "If you're not having as much fun as possible, then you're doing it wrong. Though sometimes the definition of 'fun' is horribly stretched to encompass being covered head to toe in slime." Bobbi immediately regretted saying this, for the questions it was likely to elicit.

"Um, is that something to do with farming?" Penny asked, knowing it wasn't and giving Bobbi a sidelong look.

"Well, more like mining," Bobbi admitted, "There are some funny things in the mines and sometimes I get covered in them. The smell is really quite something."

"Please be careful, I do worry about you in there," Penny said in a concerned voice and gave Bobbi a hug. "Well, it was interesting talking to you, Bobbi. I should go."

"Talk to you later, Penny," Bobbi said and Penny headed south through town.
_____

Bobbi fished until 3pm at the Mountain Lake, initially catching handfuls of algae until noticing a commotion in the water. Casting there resulted in rapid catches, plus a chicken statue and nautilus shell. And back to algae once the water stilled itself again.

Trying in vain to reach Willy's Fish Shack and then Robin's by 5pm, Bobbi quickly said 'Hi' to Demetrius, Lewis, Caroline, Emily, and Evelyn throughout town, feeling grateful that her haste didn't allow the fish smell to linger. Or so she told herself. If I don’t actually talk to anybody then at least I won’t know that I smell. She sold everything including a valuable-looking crab she'd found and stashed in the pack days earlier, netting 4001g in her pocket.

At 4:50pm. This place is too big.

Or my legs are too short. OK, both.

Bleah, I need to plan for tomorrow instead of rushing today. But planning is just way too much of a brain pain. Whereas rushing is easy: Go that way really fast, if something gets in your way... turn.

Actually remembering Pam, Bobbi fished for some more g, er, fish to cover the bar bill and found an emerald stuck on one of them. WTH?!? I thought it was supposed to be pearls?

But in oysters, not fish. Whatever... more valuables to the Museum that I really should be selling. Bobbi, you’re such a sucker, trading in gems for packs of seeds. Maybe I shouldn’t have slept through Econ class. Maybe if it hadn’t been at 8am.

On her way back to town, she spotted Sam and actually remembered to talk to him. Quite serendipitous as Bobbi already had Pam's beer on the mind and her memory buffer had ejected everything prior to Econzzzzzzzzzz....

"Hi Sam, how's it going?" Bobbi asked.

"Hold on a sec, just need to beat this level," Sam said, but when he glanced up seeing who was talking, he said, "Oh, Bobbi, yes wait I've got--." And an exasperated sigh. "Stupid level, I wasn't gonna finish it anyway."

Bobbi winced, "Sorry Sam, my bad."

Sam smiled, "No prob, Bobbi. Slap Skater is fun even when you lose. Um yeah, which I do a lot. Hey--" and Sam looked around, lowering his voice. "I mean, hey, so I heard Morris getting into it with I think the Joja main office guys on the phone."

"Wait, when?" Bobbi asked, wondering if what Sam heard was cause or effect of her encounter with Morris 2 days ago.

"Yesterday while I was sweeping up," Sam answered, excitedly. "He was asking them for more money to cover a project and he was getting like more annoyed as the convo went on. He said something like 'she couldn't afford it' and 'maybe they could kick in more' and later on that he didn't want to wait that long. He said 'a new ally would speed things up but this seems like a slowdown' or something like that. So 'she's' you? That makes sense, right?"

"Yeah, 'she's' me unless there are other 'shes' he's asking money from to fix bridges," Bobbi agreed. "Hmmm, so this isn't even his idea... or I guess not his money?" Bobbi paused, thinking. "Well, at least he won't be doing the bridge by himself, so I suppose I have some time."

"Time to get the money?" Sam asked.

"What? No, for--" Bobbi started. Ah yes, the junimos. Bobbi wondered for long seconds who in the town would accept her junimo story, and while Sam might not be at the bottom of the list, that exactly nobody would be at the top. OK except that moss-snuffing Wizard. Yeah, "moss".

"Bobbi, were you saying something?" Sam prodded. Ugh, I did it again.

"Yeah, so I'm trying to fix up the Community Center for Lewis. And for the town," Bobbi added. "Lewis says it used to be a source of town pride which is kinda gone nowadays." Bobbi thought for a second. "Not sure why town taxes aren't paying for it though, I wonder if those are also missing nowadays... Anyhow, Joja wants to turn it into a facility or warehouse or whatever and Lewis seems ready to sell for some quick cash."

"Mmm, sounds like old Lewis," Sam said with a rueful smile. "Rumor has it he's got someone from outta town working on an expensive something but nobody can figure out what. I think it's another storey for his house. But I'd just spend it on fixing the old Bus so the band can get to Zuzu easier!" He paused. "And everyone else can use it too, of course."

"Sounds cool. Hey, thanks for the info Sam, catch you later!" Bobbi said with a fist bump.

"Anytime Bobbi!" bumped Sam.

Down the river, Bobbi fished up a few more stinky floppers and oddly caught 3 red geodes. This rod is weird but at least it’s a moneymaker. Dropping those at home, she headed to the Saloon and made the rounds before buying Pam a beer for 400g.

Yeah, once again the local economy seems to be for the benefit of everyone else except Bobbi. And Robin if I can’t afford that coop.

"Hi Pam." Bobbi greeted her, "Happy Birthday, I'll get this round!"

"Heya kid, that's real nice of you," Pam said in a happy mood. "I didn't even remember it was my birthday today, you sure you got the day right?"

"I checked that calendar at Pierre's and everything," Bobbi said. “If I got yours right, it’ll be about as accurate as a broken clock, so far.”

"Well then, maybe he's got it fixed 'cause last year someone moved my birthday to the Flower Dance and everyone was closed." Pam paused a long time, possibly thinking. "Well... the Saloon was closed, I didn't try anywhere else, right kid?" And Pam shoved a meaty elbow into Bobbi's side, almost knocking her off the stool.

"Sounds like they got you good," Bobbi said. "Have fun, Pam, I'll be seeing you." And Bobbi left with a wave.

Heading towards home through the south of town and Cindersap Forest, Bobbi foraged some more berries, all the while feeling kind of naked and without purpose amongst the trees but without her axe. I wonder how long it took Robin to notice she'd lost her axe? I suppose with a cartful of wood, something like that could go unnoticed but with none of that and opportunity all around her, Bobbi felt a little out of sorts. That thing better be ready tomorrow or I'll need to hit the mines to kill some time. ...with no clean clothes, she remembered.

At home, Bobbi planted some rice shoots she’d found over the past week. Because this place is an eastern marsh. WTH???

She bid adieu to the fish and forage, hoping for 400 more g from the bin for the coop. And preloaded her pack with wood and stone for Robin and the Museum donations. Having procrastinated enough exhausted all other options, it was time for the overalls.

Peeling off slightly softened layers of goo, Bobbi noted they still smelled better than some of her team drivers after an evening of matches back in Zuzu. Huh, haven’t even thought of them in a week... cool.

And tomorrow will be why I’m no longer in Zuzu: visiting time around town. Toootally not enough time for the slimes-- Mines. I meant the mines.

stupid slimes...

 

[Lew Zealand]

Slanting, extra bright early morning sunlight is really not much of a Bobbi thing, Bobbi thought. However it is that cats can fall asleep in a pool of morning sunbeams at their final destination is a mystery I will never solve. Pounded out of bed by billions of photonic impacts, Bobbi sulkily washed up and opened the door to more unwanted glare.

I thought good soil was supposed to be black or something, this junk is way too beige and reflecty.

Yesterday's mailman repellent had worn off so of course the mailbox was full. Pam had sent a recipe for Cheese Cauliflower, which could not be more suspicious as Penny distinctly had said she did the cooking and Pam rarely ate her food anyway. Well maybe Penny did Penny's cooking and this was Pam's way of saying that she wouldn't complain if someone else cooked a Pam favorite. Mmmm, best not to wade into that conflict. LOL and it's academic anyway as today was yet another kitchenless day. One day... one day I will be rich enough to own a house with... a kitchen.

Woo.

The second mail was from Jodi requesting fresh cauliflower for a recipe. Hmmm, that's weird. Maybe Jodi cooks for Pam? Bobbi absently looked up from the letter towards her farm and noticed she had a half dozen ripe cauliflower waiting.

Soooo... everyone's snooping my farm while I'm away? OK, thats better than stealing the crops but still a little creepy. Maybe today is hazing day and everyone's going to see what they can get me to do. Bobbi didn't notice anyone nearby while scanning her horizons but who knows who might be dressed up in a bear costume pretending to look for honey?

The third message was curt, but from Clint. Your Copper Axe is ready. Now today's really looking up, I will be chopping lots of things with wild abandon... and probably not lord it over Robin too much as hers might be steel. Probably.

Picking the veggies, Bobbi noticed that while a ragged, sparse farm might not look great, it sure waters up easy by 7:20am! Lewis had left 374g in the bin leaving Bobbi just short of the 4000 she needed for the coop, what a surprise. In town by 8am, Bobbi remembered that everyone else owned curtains to match their fancy kitchens so didn't need to get up before 8 or 9am. Such luxury.

Well, except for Shane and Alex. Bobbi exchanged a few words with them but nothing notable. Though after Alex mentioned his pushup schedule of one more each day, she had to bite her tongue not to ask him if he was up to 1500 yet. Meh, he'd probably not get the joke anyway. Walking away, Bobbi thought that maybe she'd make a point of killing one more slime every day.

But start next week.

Outside Pierre's, Pam had a request for a daffodil, which Bobbi had just foraged up on the way into town, that's an easy 90g and over the top for the coop! Heading over to Jodi's, she was home and very appreciative of the cauliflower to the tune of 350g, remarking it would be perfect for tonight. Which was odd as on her way in, Bobbi unsuccessfully avoided Vincent who was dreading lentil soup for dinner. Note to self: do not eat dinner at Jodi's unless it's approved by Pam.

Outside again, Bobbi stood in front of the sisters' house. And, on a whim...

Entered.
_____

Inside, a scene not entirely composed of domestic bliss was already playing out. Haley, in full drama queen flow, was gnashing her teeth like a blonde dinosaur and complaining about chores.

"Urggggh! " complained Haley, barely coherent. "But I always clean the couch, even under the cushions! Now it's your turn to do it— and don't sweep the stuff under the rug!"

Emily had an arched eyebrow and had noticed Bobbi enter the house. "Don't be childish, Haley, you and I both know who does the vast majority of work keeping this house clean for Mom and Dad." And quickly before Haley could respond, Emily added, "And that was you sweeping dirt under the rug."

That didn't help.

"Ur! You've done it too!" Haley burst out, pointing at Emily, but noticed that Emily was looking elsewhere and turned to see Bobbi. She immediately calmed down, perhaps embarrassed by her previous gesticulations. "Oh, hi. Farmer girl," she said with a small smile.

"She has a name, you know," Emily quickly riposted.

"Yes I know, Miss Clever," Haley said, whipping back to Emily with slightly narrowed eyes. "I didn't see you mention it." Turning back to Bobbi, Haley continued, softening, "Hey Bobbi, I'll bet you understand my point of view here."

Emily cut in with a sigh, "sorry to involve you in family squabbles but Haley is complaining because I asked her to clean under the cushions. Nothing world-shattering or anything, but it's kind of like this every week."

Ah, so there's good reason why I've avoided this house for the better part of the season. Hey once in a while Lazy Bobbi gets it right! Bleah, what to say? How can I pick sides when Emily looks at me with those intense brown eyes? Mental capacity falling... Say something and hope it's not stupid!

"Uh," Bobbi started, lacking confidence, "maybe Haley could... clean the couch every week and Emily could clean other stuff? So it's obvious what everyone does?"

Emily caught herself halfway through an eyeroll as Haley folded her arms defensively and said, "mmmm. Well. Alright you win. I'll clean the couch every week just so everyone can get along nicer. I can be one of those players on a team."

"A team player?" Emily asked, incompletely suppressing a laugh.

"Yes, that's what I said!" exclaimed Haley.

"But Haley," Bobbi said and paused, getting the sisters' attention. "You'll also need to clean under the carpet. Aaand I promise not to look under there right now," Bobbi finished with raised eyebrows, drawing an X over her heart.

"Thank you, Farmer Smarty-Pants," Haley simpered as she commenced cleaning up, but she flashed Bobbi a small smile that Emily couldn't see.

Emily walked over to Bobbi, saying, "Thanks Bobbi, that's a good solution and hopefully we can expand things from there." She put a hand on Bobbi's shoulder and spoke more softly, "Haley's not used to chores as Mom was a bit of a control freak around the house and, well, I think I got a bit of that." She paused, clearly thinking of something, making and breaking eye contact. "Hey, um, could I ask you something away from Haley as I really don't want her input on this."

"OK, sure," Bobbi said, not quite sure what else she could have said. They walked through the kitchen to what was probably Emily's room, and Emily asked Bobbi to sit on the floor, which she did.

Emily sat down opposite her, slightly closer than Bobbi expected, and started, "OK, I said 'ask' but really it's more of a 'tell.' Um, so I had this weird dream... and you were in it." There was intensity in Emily's eyes.

"Oh, was I good? Could I fly? Cause I do that sometimes in dreams," Bobbi started quickly out of nervousness. "I also tend to fall flat on my face once I realize, but it's a dream so no ill after-effects—." Emily was still locking eyes, nonplussed by Bobbi's mental meanderings.

Emily smiled, which Bobbi mostly noticed from the corners of her eyes. Emily doesn't blink much. Those eyes are something else, though. "No, I've been to this place before, it's my happy center that I go to when other things in life intrude. I hear a lot of chatter at the Saloon and... you need to cleanse your mind of those things at the end of the day."

"But this time you popped into existence in front of me while I was hovering. You didn't even look like a duck palm tree. Well, not much anyway."

Struggling to make complete sentences as it appeared that Emily had drifted closer, Bobbi quipped, "Aaaare you saying I have an overbite? Because I never got... braces." Stream of consciousness, that's all I got.

Emily blinked and pulled back a bit. And a smile curled out of the corner of her mouth. "Stop that. OK not really, I like it but I'm trying to understand what happened, hoping that having you here will provide that."

"Um, OK. But I do that stuff when I don't know what's happening so yeah, fair warning," Bobbi said.

Emily leaned in slightly again, asking, "am I inside your personal space?"

"Yes, you're ah, a little closer than I generally let people in and a lot closer than I let slimes in, though I'm usually a little more successful with the p-" Bobbi stopped as Emily put a finger up to her lips.

"That's good as I need to be in your space to connect with you," Emily said smoothly. "In the dream I asked why you were there. But you didn't answer."

"I'm not well known for doing that," Bobbi offered. It is way too warm in this house. Someone should open a window.

"No, you really aren't, but that's great," Emily replied, still staring through Bobbi's eyes. Bobbi couldn't even remember what her own eye color was because all there was, was brown. "People should talk to each other more. I wish you'd said something, even something inscrutable. Then I'd have an idea, solid start to understanding." A short pause. "No matter. Because as I walked over to you, the rainbows started shooting across my vision."

"You mean like nyan cat?" Bobbi asked, completely randomly. What a stupid thing to say. All the word association in the known universe with rainbows and you end up with an old meme?

Emily blinked again and pulled back, but this time the smile was quite a lot bigger and she leaned forward to give Bobbi an unexpected hug. "You know what Bobbi, not really nyan cat but surprisingly, not entirely not nyan cat either." Emily disengaged, looked slightly to the side and said, "I'm never going to be able to unsee that again," and giggled.

Emily turned back to Bobbi and said, "Well as I drew close to you, that reminded me of something too. That even the tiniest, simplest light can hold a wonderful secret. Which is odd as rainbows are rarely tiny, but maybe I'll see one in your eyes. Or behind them. This is a sign, something I saw in my mind, not yours. But you were there, my mind knew you needed to be there." A pause. "And then you shook and popped out of existence! I didn't get to ask the you in me anything else."

"Do you... think I was cold aaand popped out to get a scarf?" was about all Bobbi could manage.

Brown.

Emily ignored Bobbi's attempt at levity but answered herself, "there was nothing for you to say, there was just for me to wonder and to question and to ponder. As the dream faded into reality I listened to what I was thinking. That there is something special about you and that... our destinies will intersect." Still staring into Bobbi's eyes.

"Any closer... aaaand our foreheads will intersect," observed Bobbi, slowly. Very slowly, a smile, a big Emily smile, crept over Emily's face and she gave Bobbi a hug, managing not to knock heads.

"We can still connect and enjoy ourselves, but not always be on the same plane, can't we?" asked Emily.

"Just in the same airport?" followed Bobbi.

"Yes. Yes, just be in the same airport. I'll take that," Emily accepted. "Thanks, Bobbi! I think I got the answer I wasn't looking for but was already there. This was fun," Emily continued as they got up and walked out into the kitchen again. "I'll see you around soon, Bobbi." Emily said as she crossed the living room and left the house.

Bobbi was left standing between the kitchen and living room not entirely sure what she'd just experienced, not quite sure what she'd said, not sure if either she or Emily had been coherent, but absolutely sure she had enjoyed every last second of it and it had passed all too quickly.

Also, Brown.

A small grunt from behind her in the kitchen brought Bobbi out of her reverie and she turned around to see Haley's back, with her opposite side apparently struggling with something.

Bobbi hoped it wasn't a snake.

An un-Haley-like "Nggghhhhh..." emanated from Haley, followed with a frustrated, "I just can't get this jar open! I swear Emily overtightens these just to annoy me." She turned half around with a disconsolate little frown on her face but brightened instantly when she saw Bobbi. "Oh! It's you, Bobbi. Say, you're pretty strong aren't you?"

"Yes..." answered Bobbi, brain slowly ramping back up to speed. "Especially after a fishing day and nighttime slime run in the mines. You can smell me a mile away. I actually chased Elliot to the other side of the docks last week, not just with my personality this time. And he lives close to the shoreline." Haley was spectacularly unimpressed with Bobbi's explanations but there was a small smile sneaking out the corner of her mouth. She slowly walked closer holding the pickle jar.

"I," Haley said slowly and deliberately, reaching out, "was referring to—" she gave Bobbi's upper arm the slightest of squeezes, "these," she finished distinctly, withdrawing her hand.

"Ah, y-yes," Bobbi stammered. "I mean yes. Sure."

"Great," Haley said brightly. "then you shouldn't have any problem opening this jar for me!" And Haley handed it over. Bobbi intended to struggle mightily with it, putting on a show, but quickly found it really was quite tightly attached.

"You, ah, weren't kidding about this, were you?" Bobbi asked after a bit, grunting.

"No, do you need my help?" Haley offered, but finished with, "or should I ask Alex?"

Well. Someone knows how to push my buttons.

"No," Bobbi said, redoubling her efforts and grip. "I got this." Remembering a trick Dad had told her, she pounded the bottom of the jar with the ball of her hand, causing it to make slurping sounds, hopefully letting in some air. She returned to struggling with the lid, and it finally loosened with a pop!

"Hey you did it!" Haley exclaimed. "You're stronger than you look..." A wry smile curled out from the corners of Haley's mouth. She seemed quite pleased with herself. "And now you're all sweaty, all from this little pickle jar."

Bobbi noted to herself that it was way too hot in this house and they really should turn on the A/C. In the morning.

In Spring.

Of course it didn't help that the stupid pickle jar was glued closed by some circus strongman, all before Haley started making Alex comments.

"I, ah," Bobbi started haltingly, "think I've finished a long morning on the farm less damp than this." Bobbi paused. "On a rainy day. I think I'll be going there to, ah, freshen up."

"See you, Bobbi. And thanks!" Haley said as Bobbi left the house.
_____

Back outside, it felt like 4 days later. Wandering south across the path to the river, Bobbi stopped under the big tree to think, but the emotions of the past few hours were all a blur. A brown tinged blur with some blue and blonde mixed in. Thinking of other colors, Bobbi remembered orange. For copper. I need to see Clint about a choppity-chop!

Eyeing the edge of her new, shiny axe, Bobbi was able to contain herself long enough to crack open a few geodes rolling around in her pack, netting a Lemon Stone which she donated to Gunther's collection along with 3 other things, netting her a 9 melon seed donation. Hey, I need some of those for the Community Center... which have to wait for until Summer. Mmmm, well free is free!

Picking up some forage outside, she saw Pam leave the trailer and remembered the daffodil request from last week. A few hours ago. Same thing. Handing it over, Pam said, "Heya kid, this is great, I had a hankering for one of those and Penny said she saw some growin' around the town." Pam looked pensive. "You know I've been thinking... I wish I had a hobby. Something to do other than haunting the Saloon night after night."

"Maybe take up race car driving?" offered Bobbi.

"Ehhhmm, maybe not with my current hobbies," Pam admitted. "The transition might be a bit rough. Could be I'll just stick to playing checkers against myself."

"Sounds a little safer," Bobbi agreed.

"Take it easy, kid," Pam said as she turned back to the trailer.

"Take it easy, Pam," Bobbi said.

Bobbi wandered north, feeling that she was still forgetting something, but the 90g from Pam soon diffused it's way through Bobbi's—

*brown*

—consciousness. I need to build a coop. Totally planned to do this. Robin was very happy to have a medium sized project to do and would start the following day. And casually mentioned that there were some nice plans for farmhouse kitchens in the books for Bobbi to peruse. Yeah, I have about. 300g, that might need to wait another day or so.

Walking back through town, Bobbi stopped at Pierre's and sold her remaining cauliflower for way more g than expected, though not nearly enough for a kitchen (of course...). And Bobbi realized that she couldn't get another cauli round in before the end of the season. She consoled herself with some Kale seeds and 4 tulip and 4 jazz seeds for Leah, Abigail, and maybe Maru. Better some flowers for gifts than nothing at all, right? I hope.

On the way home, Bobbi stopped to chop some stumps which went... yeah a bit quicker but not super better. Was this all a scam? Back at the farm, Bobbi took out the big stumps with relative ease netting some hardwood, so not entirely a scam. But the big logs didn't budge, so yeah.

Kinda scammy. And that next tier didn't seem cheap.

Plant and fertilize Kale, plant flowers in empty tilled soil and water. Bah, tomorrow's watering just got bigger.

It was only early evening, so Bobbi headed to the Saloon and everyone was there. She chatted the room and of course looked for Emily, who was quite busy. When their gazes eventually met across the room, Emily just smiled and pointed 2 fingers at her eyes and then Bobbi's eyes. I see you. You see me. We see more. Bobbi smiled back and Emily was back to work.

Bobbi had various sticks and branches sticking out of her pack from her trip to Robin's, and Leah stopped her as she was passing by.

"Bobbi, I couldn't help but notice you're carrying around some bits of wood," Leah asked with raised eyebrows, seemingly intrigued. "Do you have anything interesting or unusually shaped? Something that Robin can't use for construction but could maybe be used in a more, ah, creative way?"

Bobbi dug through her pack, pulling out some hardwood but to no reaction from Leah, so she continued rummaging. When she produced some driftwood (which Robin had no interest in), Leah's eyes lit up. "Ooo yes, just like that. Wow, that has a really great windswept shape."

"Well, it's yours, then!" Bobbi said, quite happy with this serendipity.

"Hey thanks Bobbi, this is a really nice gift!" Leah replied. "I can already see what I want to do with it. Elliot, if I walk out without this, just use it to poke some sense back into me before I get too far!" She turned back to Bobbi, "Not that I'd ever forget, just a little fun!"

"Take care, you two," Bobbi said as she headed for the door.

"You too!" yelled Leah over the crowd noise.

"Until next time, Bobbi," Elliot projected.

Back outside and walking slowly back to the farm, Bobbi's thoughts were jumbled and not altogether coherent. She did note that driftwood was a Leah thing and she had a little laying around. So she didn't need those flowers for Leah... well, there's still Abigail and Maru. Maybe Elliot! Why not?

But that visit to the sisters' house would linger in her consciousness for a very, very long time. And likely in her subconsciousness, Bobbi thought as she was drifting off to sleep...

Flying pastry felines... sure.... makes sense..... it's Emily after all............

 

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi dreamed of large brown and black, tabby-striped donuts residing on beds of fluffy white clouds beneath a crystalline blue sky. There was also some red in there but she never quite figured where it fit, barely discernible at the edges of her dream-addled perception.

Apples? or ketchup...

Slowly a repetitive soundtrack built up from nothing, which was initially engaging but after what appeared to be a long time became a monotonous earworm, as the donuts slowly faded from view, replaced with toaster pastries. Mmmm I like donuts better, Bobbi thought, as the earworm faded over time, leaving only its drumbeat pounding into Bobbi's mind.

Pounding it back to consciousness.

Pound pound pound.

OK, OK I'll get up and answer the door, sheesh people are insistent here. As Bobbi opened her eyes and hung her feet over the side of the bed, she realized it wasn't the door, but something outside.

My trees are being leveled by giant woodpeckers and I'm going to be left with a sawdust farm. Stupid lame scarecrow, now I need a scarewoodpecker, Pierre probably sells those for 5000g. Overalls and boots on, Bobbi headed outside to see a red-headed— Robin (hee hee, close enough!) building the foundation of her Coop.

Right next to the farmhouse where I asked her to build it. Why didn't I ask for it next to that destroyed building? On the other side of it... in Cindersap Forest. C'mon Bobbi, you gotta plan these things better.

"Heya Robin, nice morning for it, eh?" Bobbi squinted into the morning sun.

"There's nothing like a new morning for a fresh project!" Robin replied brightly. "I hope I didn't wake you up too early."

"No," Bobbi started, "you provided quite the EDM bassline for the personal morning soundtrack I didn't know I needed. I'll use that for the rest of the day as I have some chopping to do for the next project."

"Hey, is that something involving a lot of woodwork?" Robin asked, interested. "I can help out with that if you want."

"Well, I've been snooping around some people's houses," Bobbi started, "and noticed there's this extra room where people have this metal basin to wash stuff, but with a hole in the bottom. Yeah, inside the house!"

"Oh really?" Robin said with a mock interested look on her face. "Do go on."

"Also they got this footlocker stood on its side where they store cold stuff," Bobbi went on, eyes narrowing. "And apparently something you can cook stuff on. Puts out heat and everything," Bobbi finished, flipping her arms about.

"Crazy." Robin said flatly. "And to think you came from a big city where these things are everywhere..."

"So you understand my surprise when I arrive here and the house doesn't have a kitchen!" Bobbi exclaimed.

"Yeah, I've been there," Robin started. "You may have noticed that where most houses have one of those, our house has a giant mess that someone refers to as a Lab." Robin peered at Bobbi with an exaggerated questioning face. "Are you planning a Lab in your house? No? Yeah strange, seems like nobody else, either."

"Well that Wizard guy has a lab in his house..." Bobbi mentioned.

"And nothing else!" Robin exclaimed. "The whole place reeks of things I think are mostly illegal and that's before they're burned into Yoba knows what. You might notice the state of that building and how the rest..." Robin's flow faltered and lowered her voice, "of the family doesn't live there..." Robin trailed off.

"Anyway, not my business," Robin recovered. "But the silver lining at home is I got to design a new kitchen that's better than the original and I have final say in whatever's made in there. And he's my assistant. Heh." Robin had a satisfied look on her face.

Looking back at the farmhouse, Robin said, "maybe your grandfather wasn't a fan of cooking—"

"—or cleaning or just keeping something, anything cold in the house?" Bobbi cut in, finishing the thought her way.

"Who knows, maybe he left the Valley for greater choice in restaurants," Robin guessed. "Anyhow, I need to get going or your coop will need another day."

"Thanks, Robin!" Bobbi said as she headed off to clear the large stumps and excessive grass from the farm. She felt somewhat guilty planning a trip to town, leaving Robin working but recovered admirably after remembering that the coop payment had bankrupted her. Gathering 4 strawberries brightened her mood until Bobbi remembered that they were destined to be gifts, not profit. Bleah. And I still need to water them. No rest for the lazy.

Bobbi grabbed some driftwood because maybe she'd bump into someone. By accident of course. ...when you head to town via Cindersap Forest, because it's very important to enjoy the beauty of Nature.

Oh look, there's Leah leaving her cottage.

"Hi Leah, nice day in the woods today," Bobbi started conversationally.

"Hi Bobbi!" Leah said. "Yeah we both live outside of town, almost as if that means something..."

"Totally," Bobbi agreed. "Like we're trying to avoid the traffic congestion, the fumes, inner city politics..." A pause.

"Lewis." They said at the same time and laughed, but Leah recovered first.

"Jinx!" she said quickly.

"Ah, well then I guess I owe you one of these," Bobbi said, drawing the driftwood from her pack and handing it over to a grateful Leah. Ooo nice one, you got this down now, Bobbi.

"Hmmm, this is very nice, I can really use this," Leah said and eyed Bobbi with a sidelong look. "And you just happened to have one, came by this way, and smoothly handed it over. Well played." Bobbi opened her mouth to protest, but Leah continued. "I'm just messing with you and appreciating the gift," she said with a smile.

Hey. No fair seeing right through me, that steals the fun out of it! "Look, I can't help it if I'm prepared and helpful, even if that only happens once a season." Bobbi looked down and shook her head. "And now I've used up all my proactive until Summer." She glanced up at Leah with a smirk.

"Don't give up your day job, Miss Farmer. Thanks for this and I'll see you later," Leah said as she returned to her cabin to drop off the driftwood.

"See you, Leah." Bobbi said as she headed towards town.

She stopped for quick chats with Alex, Evelyn and Abigail, but was focused on maybe getting some fresh mountain air because that's good for the lungs. As opposed to the fresh Valley air and the sometimes slightly less fresh seaside air, to which Bobbi was a significant contributor. That reminds me, I need to check the fish tank requests for the Community Center and steer clear of Elliot. Rounding the corner up to the mountains, Bobbi was brought out of her thoughts by a call of, "Hello, any Bobbis wandering around these woods? Maybe one running on autopilot which they've been keeping from me? Because I can use any extra tech you don't need..."

Bobbi stopped and looked around, not seeing anyone. "Park bench, Community Center," announced the voice. Bobbi headed back and spotted Maru through the trees.

"Hey I was just coming by to see you—" Bobbi started as she approached.

"Yet you were just walking by and not seeing me." Maru stated. "Interesting technique you're using, you need to teach me how it works sometime because I don't get it yet." Maru had a small curling smile on her face, she was enjoying this.

"Um," Bobbi started with her typical command of language. "Yeah, I was lost in thought." That almost sounded good.

"Well, you're lucky I found you!" Maru said brightly. "You could have ended up in the bottom of the ravine."

"Nah, Marlon would have set a trap for me before I got there," Bobbi said, catching up, "ensuring a more embarrassing outcome, of course. Covered in slime or worse."

"Fish paste?" Maru offered. Has she been talking to Elliot? I scrubbed up everything nice and good after that! Never mind, lucky guess... "Now, I'm sure it's just happenstance that you're looking for me the very day you get Mom out of the house, right?" Bobbi opened her mouth to protest but Maru was too quick. "But then Dad's home most of the day so it surely couldn't be anything more than a coincidence..." Maru was looking at Bobbi with a slightly arched eyebrow and a smile.

Bobbi noticed her mouth was still open and closed it before she said something. Because Maru had pulped her brain with ease and it was unlikely to produce anything useful. Waitaminute. Now, the Leah thing was mostly planned but not this one. Not much, really. I mean other than having fresh strawberries with me.

"Sorry, did I break the autopilot?" Maru asked after Bobbi's silent pause. "Maybe I've got a wrench here." She started searching her many pockets.

"Um, yes. Quite a bit," Bobbi admitted. "Hoooow about we return to our corners and come out again for round two? I was looking around the farm for free range mutant monsters but all I found was this," and Bobbi handed one of her strawberries to Maru.

"Oh wow Bobbi, this is spectacular!" Maru exclaimed. "I don't think Dad's grown one this big yet." She looked at Bobbi with a softer tone. "You remembered, thanks! So the Speed-Gro worked out but only produced these..." There was some mock disappointment on Maru's face. "No mutant monsters... so sad."

"Heh, sorry. Watched too many scary movies before I moved here," Bobbi admitted. "Funny thing is I forget where I use it, so when I replant it's a roll of the dice what's actually in the ground with the seeds. Fertilizer, Speed-Gro, slime, whichever. I've been waiting for a dragon to grow but the closest I've gotten is... cauliflower. Not even dragon fruit."

"So... cauliflower's pretty good," Maru said with an interested look on her face. "If you have any extras, I— we wouldn't complain if you brought one around." Huh, leave it to Maru to like the most expensive things I've found in the Valley. Probably likes Copper Bars as well. Which reminds me...

"I'll keep that in mind. Enjoy the day Maru, I'm off to the Mines, can I pick up anything for you?" Bobbi offered.

"Yeah thanks, our fridge is full. Have fun, Bobbi!" Maru waved as Bobbi headed north.

The mines were an early slog but things picked up after a few floors. Bobbi collected lots of quartz and copper ore and found another earth crystal on the way finally to Level 15 to find another elevator landing. Exiting the subterranean passages, Bobbi considered that it didn't feel like a real mining trip as she was neither shivering in the cool night air, covered with a slick of cold, dead, evaporating slime, nor disturbingly warm thanks to what she suspected was not fully dead slime. In fact being slime-free was disconcerting, almost a disappointment. Yeah, but not really.

Back at home just before midnight Bobbi considered selling the excessive quartz to Pierre tomorrow, or maybe Clint. She didn't even think to put it or anything else in the bin so that kitchen upgrade was still a pipe dream set far in the future.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi awoke to a familiar pounding but it wasn't a headache brought on by excessive coal dust or slime chunk inhalation, rather it was the sweet, sweet (she forced herself to think of it that way) sound of wood, stone, and g being molded into a coop.

Peer pressure is rather a poor motivator to get out of the house and do something, but there wasn't much sleeping in to be done with what passed for a slow railroad crossing happening right outside the front door. Once outside, Bobbi waved to Robin and went about watering and smelting copper bars from the previous night's mine run. She lost track of time and ruined her morning by working until 9am, so the only reasonable way to rescue the day would be gift giving and maybe more mining for expensive shiny things.

Which will probably end up as gifts, not g. Why am I doing this again? She stuffed her pack with the typical gift fare and left, pondering whether she was really just a slow courier service: delivering foraged and farm goodies to the town, and then slime from the mines back to the farm.

In town, Penny was easily found sitting under her tree reading a book. Plunking herself down next to her, Bobbi asked, "Hey Penny, whatcha reading? Petersons' Manual of Useful Farming Procedures and Expensive Machinery?"

Caught off guard, Penny replied, "uh, no... just a review of teaching techniques recommended by other teachers. Um, if you'd like I can see if we have that Manual in the Library and maybe get it for you?"

"Nah..." Bobbi said. "I just made that up!" Bobbi paused a second and looked at Penny thoughtfully. "Though if you find something like that, it would be real useful. There's a book series at the town Library about farming and fishing and stuff that I read wayyy too little from, but anything additional could help. I really don't know much about what I'm doing, but I guess I'm learning some stuff as I go!"

"That's sounds like a good way to improve," Penny agreed. "I try to learn something new every day."

"I'm pretty sure I learn something new every day," Bobbi explained, "and I'm almost as certain that I forget almost all those wonderful new things byyy the next day." Bobbi held up a finger, "but then I get to learn some of 'em new again the day after that, so that saves effort. I think... Well, at least I'll never run out of things, right?"

Penny looked across at Bobbi with a considering look on her face. "I think you're figuring out more than you let on." Bobbi started to say something but Penny continued, "...maybe more than you want anyone else to know."

So now everyone can see through me? The drink from that sneaky Wizard turned me transparent, I'll get him good by tossing fake stuffed hedgehogs into that cauldron of his. One drink 'll fill his head full of sawdust.

"Well," Bobbi started a bit defensively, "a girl's allowed to have her secrets." Thinking for a second, she continued, "or... something, as that's not much of a secret is it. And I have a very not secret thing in my pack here, want one?" Bobbi asked, producing a dandelion she'd picked up on the way to town.

"Thanks Bobbi, this is very nice," Penny said with an easy smile. "Maybe someday we can go dandelion picking wherever it is that you find these so frequently. You could tell me about working on the farm..." Penny's eyes widened slightly, catching herself. She added quickly, "so I could teach Jas and Vincent about it. A-and only if you have time of course!" Penny finished with a slightly forced smile and a hint of rosy cheeks.

"That sounds like fun Penny," Bobbi said with a grin. "I'll make a point of wearing my best overalls. Coincidentally they're my only overalls, but nobody else needs to know that." She got up with a wink and said, "See you later!"

"See you, Bobbi," Penny called, and returned to her book.

Bobbi considered that she needed to make space in her pack and the only way to get rid of pesky daffodils was hand them out to people who might think they were an OK thing. If only there were... 2 someones for whom a daffodil each would be most appreciated. Hmmm, maybe in this house right here.

Haley was in the kitchen facing the cabinets, humming lightly to herself apparently considering what to eat, or maybe what to clean. Probably eat. "Hi Ha--" Bobbi started and Haley jumped.

"YIIIII-- don't do that!" She slapped Bobbi on the shoulder. "Sneaking up on someone in the safety of their kitchen! You nearly gave me a... the thing. Heart attack! One of those. Bobbi, at least you could slam the door like my sister, there's never any question of her coming or going." Haley was still breathing deeply, perhaps a bit melodramatically Bobbi thought. Maybe she watches too many movies, too.

"Um, yes, sorry about that," Bobbi apologized slowly. "Actually I wanted to give you something else, like this." Bobbi fumbled though her pack, a bit out of sorts. "To keep your kitchen centerpiece looking fresh," she finished, producing a nice daffodil and placing it in the glass vase with the others.

"Oh, well then that's very nice of you, thanks!" Haley said, instantly radiating the room with a big smile. Hmmm, her moods seem to pass pretty quickly. "Um, never mind about the door slamming, Bobbi. Maybe that should just be Emily's thing. Along with all the other Emily things that make no sense." She wrinkled her nose. "We make weird sisters but, like, if I had a twin that would be no good either so I guess Emily's OK. Sometimes." Haley's face changed a bit, in thought. "Do you have a sister?"

"No," Bobbi answered, "no brothers either, my parents are the busy sort so I guess one was enough."

"Maybe I'll lend you mine for a while to get her out of the house..." Haley imagined, and looked around at the rooms, apparently appreciating what it would be like with her as its only resident. She started a small dance around the kitchen, eyes mostly closed and humming to herself again.

"Take care, Haley," Bobbi said as she headed for Emily's room.

"Mmm, you too," Haley said between hums and steps.

Bobbi knocked on the door but it was unlatched, pushing open with the first rap, revealing Emily straightening the bed linens.

"Hi Bobbi!" Emily said with her typical big smile, "I thought I heard familiar voices outside. Well, at least one more than the typical one I get enough of." Siblings are funny, or so it seems. I wonder what it would be like living with someone like that? "Just tidying up, at least I can keep one room in order in the house. Maybe two if you include the sewing room."

"OK yeah, so your house is close to immaculate compared to mine," Bobbi started earnestly, "and it's like 5 times the size. And it has rooms. Plural, like more than one! I have room." She paused. "Not lots of room like it's big or something, mind you. I mean: a singular room. I don't get an 's' on the end of the word."

Emily was clearly enjoying Bobbi's lack of language skills as her smile progressed from wan to smirk to snort to toothy. "Well I'm sure I have fewer well-used farm boots to mark up my floors as you'll rarely see Haley stray far from at least a well-worn path," she offered. "And though I've been known to go camping, it's been a while. More recently I've been trying my hand at--" Emily caught herself for a split second, maybe with a flash of self-consciousness, but recovered and continued, "fashion and design."

"Hey that sounds like fun," Bobbi said. "Do you go somewhere..." Duh, Bobbi you're slow, what did Emily just say? "Heh, oh yeah, your sewing room." Bobbi knocked herself on the head like a door. "Anyone home?" She rolled her eyes along with a small shake of her head.

"Stop that, don't hurt yourself. I don't like it," Emily said with a slightly concerned look on her face. "Even though I know you're trying to be funny, you silly person. Silly is good. People need to be less serious."

A thought/feeling/memory hit Bobbi like a bolt of lightning and completely bypassed any filter she had in place between her reptile brain and mouth, so while looking right into Emily's eyes, out came, "I dreamed about your dream last night. Night before last. About... our conversation about your dream. Um. Something."

Brown.

"Ooooh." Emily's eyebrows were raised above eyes looking right back into Bobbi's. "What happened, what did you see?"

"Donuts. Clouds and the sky. Maybe a red bird? I saw it again just now for an instant and then it faded away," Bobbi answered, looking at Emily but seeing the dream dissolving from view.

Emily's smile was back for a return bout. "I don't remember donuts from my dream though there were certainly clouds there. Maybe my dream started a new one for you."

Suddenly Bobbi was back to reality and realized that she was a bit closer to Emily than planned. Pulling back a little, she didn't completely remember what she'd just said. Now knowing she was turning bright red, Bobbi added, "yeah, um, I don't know where that came from but I knew-- I thought, well, it was connected to you. It felt that way."

"We have a connection then," Emily stated in what seemed to be a fairly settled manner. "We have shared experiences and... maybe we can share something else." She paused a second. "Do you have any sheep on your farm? Because you can shear them for wool to make into cloth."

"No..." Bobbi started saying, adapting to the conversation's change in tack. "But I have plans to ask Robin to build a barn once I have the resources and g for it. Actually she's building me a coop right now."

"That's great!" Emily exclaimed, "You'll need a loom to turn that wool into cloth, I remember Penny saying something about a design book in the Library which might show you how to build one. Hey, if you ever do, let me know because I really want to start my own dyeing business and a steady source of cloth would be great!" Emily's eyes lit up even more than before, though that didn't seem possible. "Ooo, I can show you how to make new clothes, that would be fun!"

Bobbi looked down at her clothes, consisting of overalls atop a green shirt. "How could I possibly do better than this stylish ensemble?" She bent a knee slightly, drawing her hand across her clothing with a small flourish. "This is all the latest in evening wear," Bobbi said in an exaggerated mock-elegant voice.

"Because I wear it most evenings. Otherwise I'd get cold," Bobbi finished bluntly. "I also wear it most mornings and afternoons 'cuz it's multifunctional as well."

"Well," Emily started slowly, "I see I will have a fresh palette to start with when you're ready."

"Ah, now there's the positive spin I was looking for!" Bobbi said brightly. "Take care, Emily!" she finished as she headed out of Emily's room.

"Bye, Bobbi!" Emily said as she returned to tidying.

Bobbi had Clint crack a geode she'd found, but it gave copper ore, nothing good for the Museum. So no reason to stop by the Library, maybe next week...

On the way to the mines, there was one more space in her pack to be cleared. She found Maru in Demetrius' lab in the mountain house.

"Hi Bobbi, out for some fresh mountain air?" Maru asked breezily. "Because you came to the wrong place as Dad just burned something I can't identify. You'll notice he isn't here and I get to clean it up."

"I'd noticed the unique bouquet when entering the house," Bobbi replied. "I did pick up that it wasn't some new wood your Mom had sourced. Then I thought it could be your new perfume--" Bobbi sniffed in Maru's direction. "But yeah, you nailed it. Burned. Don't know how I missed that."

Maru scraped something from a glass pan into the trash and put the pan in a sink, washing up afterwards. "So you're saying my perfume is so hot that it burns?" Maru started, straight face faltering a bit but playing it up. She fluffed her hair. "Yeah I totally get that, you're not the first to notice." She started laughing, "OK OK just kidding, I don't even wear the stuff. There're probably enough volatiles in it to catch fire in the lab. Hmmm, maybe that's what burned in that concoction of Dad's. So, how's your work going? Do you have fun working on the farm?"

"Oh yeah," Bobbi started, "the problem is the fun runs out after about an hour but there's more than 1 hour of work to be done. But I can usually solve that on most days by just not doing anything else. One and done." Bobbi took a step closer to Maru. "Now you might think that crops withering on the ground might be concerning to a farmer, or even embarrassing." Bobbi barked a short laugh. "But I got over that looong ago. Like Thursday."

"So you're lazy?" Maru asked with a smirk.

"Lady, you need a new thesaurus," Bobbi said as if giving sage advice. "It's called 'efficient' nowadays. No, no, I have loads of other things to do like... walk around." She started ticking things off on her fingers. "Chat. Buy seeds I'll plant... tomorrow. Forage for daffodils and useless onions. Get attacked by bugs and slimes in the mines. You know, slimes are really just like cats, they just want to cuddle. And claw you to death on occasion."

"Sounds like you live an interesting life, not really just farming." Maru said, considering.

"Well, farming does have it's rewards," Bobbi said, removing a strawberry from her pack and handing it over to Maru.

"Oooo, this is great, Bobbi! Thank you!" Maru said with a hug. "Please please don't let these wither away."

"No chance of that," Bobbi said. Changing her tone to business, she said, "and speaking of slime, I have a date with the mines. See you later Maru!"

"See you later Bobbi, I'd better hide this before Dad sees, he'll get jealous!" And Maru left to the real kitchen as Bobbi exited the house. Jealous of what? His daughter receiving gifts? Does he like strawberries also? Something else? Bleah too complicated.

The mines are simple: bang rock. swing sword. kill bug. miss slime. get covered in slime. drag butt home covered by unnervingly warm frenemy guts which seem cold at the same time.

OK, maybe a bit complicated.

Bobbi reached level 20 with little issue, with the exception of 16 where slimes, flies and grubs conspired to slow her progress, giving the grubs time to transform into... more flies! Swatting about her head and pounding down salmonberries got her finally to a hidden ladder and she escaped in the nick of time. On Level 18, Bobbi realized she had a cherry bomb which she tried and promptly hurt herself as it had a shorter fuse than expected. A local ankle-biter was also hurt by it but had enough spunk to utter a muffled heh-heh-heh as it came up again for a nibble on her boots.

She found a quick way down on 18 and 19 and was rewarded with a steel sword on level 20. Now this looks like something actually useful for slaying slimes and trimming my nails! Not like that cruddy overgrown toothpick Marlon was trying to offload. I'll bet Gil won that bet, I wonder what Marlon had to pay him? Checking the elevator, Bobbi barely noticed there was an aquifer here as that didn't have any weapons sticking out of it and, as she felt invigorated by her new weapon, she took a peek at Level 21.

The sword dispatched the slimes with ease now,and she found herself on level 23 before she knew it. However actual skill was needed for the biting flies and the sword had a notably limited effect when Bobbi missed them. She suspected the only reason they veered away was because laughing and flying was too much to do at the same time. Nevertheless her luck held and ways down were found quickly, and after slashing through a hidden cache of slimes and grubs, Bobbi found a quiescent Level 25. Resting and restoring the elevator, she somehow convinced herself that a quick peek of 26 couldn't hurt. Right?

Yeah.

It was infested with huge slimes plus a handful of little ones for texture. After poking a few of the big ones which apparently were the slime moms, spewing out a passel of little ones once punctured, Bobbi ran in fright to the ladder and hoisted her rear end outta there.

Predictably covered in slime, dirt and unidentified other monster bits, the tail-dragging home was a familiar feeling. She planned what shiny goodies to sell but by the time home was in sight, all was forgotten. After a quick rinse and change of clothes, as her head hit the pillow she vaguely figured all that junk could go to Clint tomorrow.

Which also was promptly forgotten.

 

[Dr. eeL]

I enjoyed this chapter as one of your best efforts yet. Keep those slime covered, partially chewed fingers close to your typewriter.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Too quiet.

Now that's something that just doesn't make sense. The quieter it is, the later I can stay in bed. If only the sun would cooperate.

Hitting late spring meant the sun was closest to its highest in the sky. Yeah, but only at midday. Stupid sun needs to get there first and likes to start low on the horizon in the morning where it shines right into Bobbi's delicate morning eyes. If I ever get Robin to work on this place, it'll be to board over that poorly-planned eastern facing window.

Robin! Is she taking the day off? Some woodworking festival? Home upgrading seminar series? Tuesday??

Bobbi rushed outside to see a new building standing next to the farmhouse, which she suspected was the coop. She wasn't convinced that it really was the coop as it looked better made and maybe bigger than the house she was living in. And she couldn't rule out the possibility that Marlon had swapped out all her things, including herself, to the actual coop overnight.

Sleeping like a hibernating bear has its disadvantages, though that was also Bobbi's excuse for perhaps being a tad soft around the middle, so it wasn't all bad.

Peeking inside, it seemed much like she could imagine a coop looking, with a feeding trough, a watering bucket, hay and other things. If it was smaller than the farmhouse, it was only by a bit. OK, Marlon's off the hook but not completely because he was probably thinking of doing something similar. No chickens, though, apparently that comes from someone else - Marnie I think. She's always on about animals and handed over Chunk the tripping cat a couple of weeks ago. She mentioned something about chickens, maybe she can hook me up or something.

Back outside, Bobbi noticed that the cauliflower had all matured at once and were ready. That nicely cuts down on watering, maybe I'll be out of here by 7am like the good old days. Bobbi took a deep breath and cast her thoughts back to those simpler days of yesteryear.... well, yesterweek. Whatever.

Stuffing some minerals and gifts into her pack, Bobbi headed into town, anticipating a fat payoff from the caulis. She came across Marnie outside Pierre's and they both walked in.

"Hi Marnie," Bobbi said, not quite able to contain herself. "Do you know maybe where I could get some chickens? Robin's just finished building a coop for me."

"Ms. Bobbi," Marnie said brightly, "that's great news, I can set you up with some chickens for that coop of yours, you just come by the ranch when I'm around and we can select some from stock!"

"Can I meet you there this afternoon?" OK, I'm coming across a bit too excited.

"Well," Marnie continued, her smile dimming slightly, "I'm usually busy on Mondays arranging things for the busy week and Tuesdays for the Valley Ladies' Exercise Circle, but any day after then will be great."

"Oh, OK that sounds good--" Bobbi started, but was cut off as Marnie remembered something.

"The Flower Dance is Wednesday and we're all closed that day!" Marnie recalled. "Business holiday, you know. Lewi-- Mayor Lewis declared all Valley festivals to be holidays so nobody's open. So it'll be Thursday, sorry." Marnie shrugged with a half smile.

"That's like 3 months from now, I'm never going to remember," Bobbi said only half in jest. Especially as she hadn't thought of the Flower Dance in about a week. Is that what Haley was practicing in the kitchen yesterday? This thing is a popularity contest or something, right? Maybe I can skip it, there's lotsa people in this town, nobody'll notice one missing farmer.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Penny?" Bobbi started looking around but almost quickly realized Marnie had asked a question. "Oh, yeah, sorry I'd forgotten about the Flower Dance and got distracted. Uh, chickens."

"Ms. Bobbi," Marnie said reassuringly, "I think you'll remember all about the chickens as that big, empty coop will be pretty hard to miss. I'll see you Thursday."

"See you then, Marnie," Bobbi said, heading over to Pierre.

Pocketing almost 1000g erased the impending doom known as the Flower Dance from Bobbi's consciousness. Back outside, she was already trying to decide between a kitchen upgrade... or a backpack upgrade. Or a barn! And then Bobbi remembered she hadn't asked Marnie how much chickens cost, which quickly dispelled those pleasant window-shopping thoughts. Looking around while heading south, of course Marnie had vanished into the ether. Sigh.

Those chickens had better be soft and cute. And cheap.

No puns!

"Hi Bobbi, where are you headed today?" came a familiar voice from somewhere.

Brought back into reality for the nth time, Bobbi looked around to find Penny in a familiar shady place and herself rather close to the river. Turning back to Penny, Bobbi said, "I don't really know, I was just considering what to buy for the farm after selling on a bunch of cauliflower to Pierre." Bobbi looked back at the river. "I think you just saved me from an unscheduled swim."

Penny smiled and said, "Now I really hope you'd have stopped before ending up in the river." However, her expression veered towards concerned. "I need to know that you're being safe, especially if you're spending time in those dangerous mines." Oh yeah, I was going to hit the mines again today. And sell some junk to Clint.

"Bobbi, are you feeling OK?" Shouldn't people be used to me spacing out by now?

"You know what, Penny?" Bobbi said thoughtfully, "I really am. I never took the time to actually think about things back in my old life, mostly I was just reacting to them. But here I get the time-- no, I take the time to think about what I want to do. During each day, for the week, for my life." Bobbi paused, trying to get inside her own head before it escaped her grasp once again. "Now, I don't really remember things all that well yet, maybe that'll come later." She looked at Penny. "Heh, let's be honest, that's probably never going to happen! But with time I'll probably get the hang of everything I want to do here. And it seems I'm remembering the most important stuff, spending time with people, like you." That wasn't exactly what Bobbi thought she was going to say but the stream of consciousness had led her there, and backing out would have felt dishonest.

Penny turned a rather bright shade of red to complement her hair, which of course prompted Bobbi to do the same and break eye contact.

"Well," Penny started, smoothing her shirt, a bit out of sorts, "I'm just glad you're such a integral member of the community and I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling that way."

Must.. avoid.. making math puns...

"Thanks Penny, I do like this place a lot, " Bobbi admitted. "Here, I think I found something that you like a lot." Bobbi fished out another dandelion from her pack, noting there were a lot of rocks banging around in there.

"Bobbi," Penny had an unrecognizable look on her face which morphed into a smile as she continued on, "I'm beginning to think you keep your farm in your backpack and maybe there's nothing there on the other end of town." That was... a joke! Probably.

Bobbi laughed in surprise and answered, "You're not too far off, Penny. I spend very little of my day actually farming just yet and my house is literally indistinguishable from a chicken coop." Bobbi opened the pack to show Penny. "This pack probably worth more and has more modern conveniences. And it's full of things you reminded me I need to sell to Clint." She hoisted the pack to her back and said, "bye, Penny, see you soon."

"See you soon, Bobbi," Penny said with a small wave before settling down again under the tree with her book.

Clint cracked a few geodes for Bobbi after trying to crack a few jokes about being the latest in a long line of blacksmiths. Who are apparently easily identified as not being comedians. Bobbi considered telling him to keep his day job but considering the 100 years of his family doing just that, the comment seemed excessively redundant. Bobbi giggled inwardly to herself anyway, which gave her something to do while Clint delivered mostly boring stuff until celestine popped out of the last geode.

Afterwards, she tried to sell her accumulated quartz, but at only 25g each it seemed not to be worth it. Merely fishing for an hour could net more than the total, so she just kept them because they were pretty.

Unlike fish, which stink. No risk of keeping those!

She handed over the celestine to Gunther at the Museum but there were no additional donations to her cause from the town so Bobbi didn't need to waste more space in her pack. Yeaaah, no need to lose space. Not for a free gift which could come in handy. Wouldn't want that.

Cheapskates.

One glance at the Library reminded Bobbi that she had some reading to catch up on and quickly thumbing through the Farming Manual revealed info about making a bee house, and a cooked dish called Farmer's Lunch. Maybe I can borrow Emily's kitchen to make that, but the bee house seemed interesting as honey might be nice. Also lucrative, but that's totally just a bonus. She picked up a few more recipes and was reminded about the mayo machine she'd read about earlier.

I have a coop! Once I get eggs, that'll actually become useful! But I need chickens. Which I don't get until like, next year. If Marnie's actually there. ...and I remember. Sigh.

For the second straight day, there were things just cluttering up her pack which needed to be unloaded on unsuspecting passers-by.

Opening the door to the sisters' house, Bobbi announced, "Knock. Knock. Hello. I Am. Walking. Clomp. Clomp," accompanied by walking in a not entirely ladylike fashion.

Haley's eyes were like daggers but she couldn't keep up the pretense very long. "OK, hardy-har Ms. Farmer Girl. I'll have you know I was expecting you, and paying attention. So much that I even jumped when Emily dropped something in her room. Which I think was intentional. Lucky for you I wasn't holding a pickle jar at the time or you'd be cleaning it up right next to me."

"Well, at least it would have been open, I suppose..." Bobbi said in an attempt to mollify Haley, which didn't quite work.

"Oh, are we making fun of me today? If you keep that up I may not d--" Haley's eyebrows shot up above suddenly huge eyes and she clapped her hand over her mouth with an audible slap!

Not sure how to proceed, Bobbi said, "I'm not making fun of you, just joking around. And half of it's directed at me." She paused a second as Haley hadn't moved yet. "Are you OK, that sounded like it might have hurt."

"No, I'm fine. Just fine." Haley recovered. "Never mind, I don't know what I was saying."

"Hey, you're stealing my line!" Bobbi interjected, "I'm the one who doesn't know what she's doing."

"OK, you shoo out of here before I lose my entire train of thought," Haley said. "You start to say stuff and sometimes I can't remember what I want to say." She paused for a few moments and smiled. "I remember when I'd be running the conversation and you'd be there with an open mouth but no words to say." She giggled. "And sometimes 10 feet in front of me walking to who-knows-where!" Bobbi started to say something but Haley quickly added, "yeah, like that! Oh I'm sorry, now I'm the one making fun." She walked over to Bobbi and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Haley, frankly I don't mind anyone making fun," Bobbi said. "It keeps me on my toes and is fun in itself. Oh, I brought you another daffodil." Bobbi extracted it from the pack and put it with the others in the vase.

"Ah, my local florist... thanks!" Haley said brightly. Mood avoided, it seems. Time to get out while the getting's good.

"See you later, Haley."

"See you soon, Bobbi," Haley answered as she turned back to the kitchen.

On her way to the door, Bobbi almost forgot that she had another daffodil for Emily but... awkward. Emily's smaller vase was in the living room, more or less on the way out, so she extracted the second one and slipped it into the vase with a reasonable facsimile of grace, and made it outside without hearing any crashes of earthenware to the floor.

Whew.

No more of this until next week, as having a headache before being beat about the head with not-so-tiny insect wings doesn't bode well for a mine trip.

Which would have to wait...

Leah was heading away from the house towards town and Bobbi quickly opened her pack to see if there was any driftwood in there. To her utter surprise, there was. Probably been in there for days and just forgotten about. Cleaning it up a bit, she set after Leah.

She came up behind Leah on her right, tapped her from behind on the left shoulder with the driftwood and shrunk away to the right some more. Hee hee, it worked! And Leah swung almost all the way around to see Bobbi's mischievous face. "Really? You got me with that old one, Bobbi?" Leah wore a bemused look on her face. "I can't believe it, probably been 10 years since that actually worked. Though I see you had some help," she finished with an arched eyebrow.

Falling into step with Leah, Bobbi handed over the driftwood, saying, "I happened to have some driftwood and, well, those of us with shorter stature-- and arms... well we need the most help and it's only going to work once... so I figured I'd try."

"Thanks for this Bobbi, even if your technique is, ehm, somewhat old fashioned," Leah said, turning over the driftwood in her hands with a thoughtful look on her face. "This is reminiscent of one of the trees I pass by in the woods near my house..."

"Oh, did someone shear all the leaves off of it?" Bobbi quipped.

"No, Miss Smarty-Pants," Leah said, bumping Bobbi's shoulder with hers while walking. "The shapes are similar, but of course each with its own personality, its own story to tell if we give it a voice." Walking quietly for a few moments, Leah looked over to Bobbi and asked, "so why did you become a farmer, or were you always a farmer and... came here for a change of scenery?"

"Well," Bobbi started, "I didn't know I was dissatisfied with my old life until I came across an invitation that my grandpa had given me a long time ago. Inviting me here. Honestly, I took it as a sort of vacation, an escape from my life for a while. But clearly I'm here to stay." Bobbi paused for a second, remembering. "Heh, I need to clean up my leavin's in Zuzu one of these days." She turned to Leah with a bright look on her face. "But not today!"

"Hey, that's pretty much the same reason I came here, too!" Leah said, enthusiastically. "Birds of a feather!" However, Leah didn't elaborate.

Entering Pierre's together, Bobbi realized she had g burning a hole in her pocket and there might be crops which could still be harvested before the end of the season. "Got some birdseed shopping to do, see you later Leah!"

"Later, Bobbi!" Leah said, heading towards to the fresh veggie section. I wonder if she'll pick up a cauliflower...

Not remembering the exact day and too lazy to do any math, Bobbi bought 10 parsnip seeds which she figured should mature before Summer. Though as usual, she remembered afterwards that this just meant more watering. Bleah, time = g. Stupid economics. Stowing the seeds into her pack, Bobbi became aware that she had an audience.

"Hello Abigail," Bobbi said, looking over her shoulder.

"Oh, hi Bobbi," Abigail said, uncharacteristically flustered. "Um, I was looking at your cool backpack--"

"Which your dad sold me?"

A slightly annoyed expression flashed over Abigail's face as she glanced towards Pierre behind the counter, quickly replaced by the interested expression from before. "Yeah, I never had a need for it," she leaned in, using a lower voice, "and no chance of just giving an expensive item to his daughter, right?" The lean seemed also to serve the function of peering into Bobbi's pack a little deeper. "Well, I couldn't help but notice that, um, you've got some interesting things rattling around in there."

"Like quartz." Abigail mentioned with raised eyebrows.

"You mean, like the stuff Clint's not interested in?" Bobbi asked in a mildly annoyed voice. She didn't intend it to come out that way, but so it did.

"What, Clint?" Abigail asked in surprise. "The blacksmith, whats wrong with that guy, he's got issues." Abigail was now trying to act casual. "Yeah I kinda like quartz, it's pretty cool looking."

"Well, you can have as much of it as you can eat," Bobbi said. "I find it pretty regularly in the mines." Bobbi nevertheless chose what she thought was the best looking specimen and handed it over to Abigail who was sporting big round eyes.

"Hey thanks, Bobbi!" Abigail said with a smile spreading over her face. "I wanted to start a kind of rock garden out the back of the house in a spot that dad's apparently forgotten to clutter his store junk up with. But this would be a great centerpiece, it's so flashy." She took a quick breath. "I know just where it's going to go! This is great!" And Abigail was off through the door to the back of the house.

Exiting Pierre's, finally making her way to the mines with her pick out, Bobbi came across Maru on her way into town.

"Hi Bobbi," Maru said, clearly a bit distracted. "Sorry I'm a little out of it, I'm just on a walk to clear my head."

"You'd better keep walking as you're still blocking the trees behind you," Bobbi quipped.

Maru stared at Bobbi blankly. And she suppressed a snicker. "That was not funny. Nope, not at all, really bad pun." She was shaking her head at such a poor attempt at humor. Which gave Bobbi time to slide a strawberry out of her pack and hand it to Maru.

"Here, hopefully this will make up for my awful transgression, and maybe help your heady-cleary thing," Bobbi apologized.

"Oh wow, this certainly will!" Maru said, perking up. "I feel better already. And have almost forgotten any bad jokes I might have heard today... almost." She smirked and then smiled. "Thanks. Take care, Bobbi."

"You too, Maru." Bobbi said as they parted.

That rhymed, don't do that again.
_____

Levels 25-27 in the mines passed quickly with lots of copper ore, earth crystals and quartz. For a certain someone...

28 was infested again but in name only and after some quick dispatch, Bobbi found a wooden club sticking out from various gross bits of a mother slime. It seemed to be pretty good at being bashy but not great at being easy to swing.

29 was big and empty, seemingly a nice respite. However, as Bobbi started clobbering barrels with the club while picking up cave carrots and topaz, the air became hot and heavy and infested with those very annoying superflys. The ultraslow club was useless but Bobbi found a fortuitous way down as the flies were closing in for the kill.

30 was small and empty, this time an actual respite as Bobbi caught her breath while enjoying the mundane elevator refurb process.

Levels 31-34 were surprisingly dark so Bobbi picked up a torch to carry, which didn't help much. Formless shapes attacked from the dark which Bobbi never got a good look at. But anytime she thought she saw movement, the club came out for a swing, and connected on many occasions. 33 and 34 took an especially long time and Bobbi was reasonably sure the dark things had texted the local bats that fresh, pink, blind, tasty prey was on the loose.

With midnight and exhaustion closing in, an eternally grateful Bobbi finally uncovered a ladder down to Level 35 and she escaped via a quickly refurbed elevator to the cool night air.

On the way home, Bobbi felt out of sorts but couldn't identify the reason, chalking it up to staying up past her bedtime. Fully intending to head immediately to bed, she checked her pack and realized the parsnips could be quickly planted where the cauliflowers had been, to get another day of growth out of them.

Plonking into bed past 1am for the first time since Zuzu, Bobbi realized what was wrong. She wasn't freezing cold or unnaturally warm and didn't have to rinse gobbets of yuck out of her clothes. Ha! I didn't get slimed once today. Take that slimes!

Of course now I probably have rabies. Stupid bats.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi almost woke up at sunrise. But not really.

As it turns out, less than 5 hours of sleep is more powerful than a giant spherical thermonuclear furnace... as long as it's reasonably far away. The cat-shaped sunbeam detector had repositioned itself at least twice before Bobbi's eyes opened to a different lighting theme than she was used to.

Groggily swinging her legs over the side of the bed, they missed the floor but somehow in their failure, flung Bobbi towards it. She caught herself before sustaining a head injury while Chunk impassively looked on.

"Mmmm shut up... looks like you already fell off, fuzz-face." Chunk's eyes closed, equally dismissive and uninterested.

She was disconcerted though, and it took a long while for the feeling to wear off. Once outside, she watered and tossed the previous night's copper ore in the smelter, this action reaching the limits of the morning's brainpower. Until she noticed the mailbox.

Hmmm it's been a few days, Bobbi thought as she opened it to reveal another note from Dad with 500g in it. From "Grandpa", lol. Yes. I believe. You. Hey not bad though, almost to 3000g! Mom and Dad were still rumrunning or whatever and their weekly money laundering scam through Pelican Town had apparently come due.

But then the second letter...

The Flower Dance is tomorrow. That was the thing in the back of her mind which she hadn't so much been ignoring, but instead avoiding by doing... things which were really important. Giving gifts. Mining. Occasionally smelling like the deck of a fishing boat...

Making dumb jokes and puns.

Oh and I can participate in the dance if I find a partner, could this not get any better? The popularity contest thing again, great. No info about who those partners should be, what the dress code is, do I bring a... dancewarming gift?? Should I have asked someone already? Do I show up with the partner?

Maybe just wear black and stand against a wall and it'll all blow over in a big nothing. Just like 8th grade. A decade on and some things just haven't changed... Bleah.

Her day now completely ruined, Bobbi decided that doing anything should at least improve it, so in a burst of avoidance behavior altruism, Bobbi checked in at the Community Center with a full pack of various bits n' bobs to see how many of the various things she'd acquired from mining could be donated.

The Construction Bundle was easily finished and Bobbi was rewarded with the parts for a charcoal kiln. This mild accomplishment was followed by yet another spot opened up by a junimo, the Bulletin Board, which had a lot of bundles associated with it. Wandering around the corner, she found even more bundle requests in the Boiler Room.

This thing is a pyramid scheme, when does it end?? This town's gonna be full of glass-sided skyscrapers and I'll still have 3,000 more bundles to do.

Well, at least a number of the Bulletin Board items were redundant and the Boiler Room didn't look too bad as Bobbi already had earth crystals and quartz with her to start. A red mushroom went to a Foraging bundle and her tapper should complete another bundle once it was transferred between a few trees. Mild progress.

Exiting the Community Center, feeling some measure of accomplishment, Bobbi had not forgotten she had more quartz, and a certain someone in mind who would appreciate it. Entering Pierre's for the first time without intent to buy, Bobbi spotted a familiar shock of purple hair held back with a bow.

"Hey Bobbi," Abigail said unenthusiastically. "You going tomorrow? The Flower Dance." She stuck her thumb in Pierre's direction. "Dad's even gonna close the store for it." She leaned in to whisper acidly in Bobbi's ear, "like he does every Wednesday, yet he'll still be selling junk there and not participating!" Abigail leaned back again. "Of course we all have to dance..." she threw a quick look at Pierre who, as usual, was blissfully ignorant. "Well, really the dancing is alright but they make me wear this stupid white dress."

Info! Secret intelligence only people on the inside know! Hey, this is good.

"I see you're as excited as I am," Abigail continued. "Or mute." She shrugged. "Same thing."

"Uh, yeah, I'll be there." Wow, such the raconteur. Great, and now I committed to it— Waaaaaitaminute...

Sneaky Abigail did it to me again!

Note to self: avoid her before all special events.

"Well if it's any consolation, maybe this will go nicely with your dress," Bobbi said, pulling out a very pale rose quartz from her pack and placing it in Abigail's grateful hands.

"Heyyy Bobbi, thanks, this is real nice." A mischievous smile curled from the side of her mouth and with a raised eyebrow, she followed with, "how'd you know I was hungry, this looks delicious!"

Bobbi raised an eyebrow herself as a little giggle slipped out. "Did I miss something?"

"Only if you weren't listening to yourself," Abigail quickly riposted. Bobbi stared blankly, very much missing the point. "Well, you told me I could have all I could eat and... I'm taking you at your word." She finished firmly, poking Bobbi in the chest with a finger. Abigail then retreated to the store's back door, disappearing deeper into the house, saying, "...see you at the Dance."

Maybe I just shouldn't talk to Abigail at all as she's clearly thinking about 5 steps ahead of me. I need coffee or something to keep up.

Needing a respite from the typical confusion that comes with a visit to Abigail, Bobbi headed over to Clint's to get her pickaxe upgraded as she'd had quite enough of the mine for a while, and wouldn't mind a less cluttered pack for a few days. Avoiding any blacksmith jokes, only coincidentally because she didn't know any, Bobbi handed over the copper bars, pick, and precious g. And hightailed it out of there before any possible conversation, or second thoughts about once again being poor, occurred.

Mulling the rest of her day, she headed for the beach for some shell/Elliot hunting but first came across Penny sitting on the side of the bridge, chatting with Sam.

"...well I thought I had it made, with everything closed tomorrow," Sam was complaining. "A free day off and no Morris, but then he asks me to work today because apparently he's going to lose so much business tomorrow. Does he even see how many people go in there each day?" He kicked a rock and mostly missed. And made up for it by blasting it into the river with a second effort.

"Sorry Sam," Penny empathized. "I usually tutor Vincent and Jas on Tuesdays but apparently Mrs. Evelyn asked for 2 days off each season for 'Staff Development' and, you know, I'm very traditional so I feel it's important the kids get the same experience we did in school." Penny almost had a clever smile on her face.

"You played that one right, Pen," Sam said, still fishing for more rocks to kick "but then you're your own boss." He looked up and saw Bobbi. "Oh, hi Bobbi, sorry it's our weekly compaining at the river. Got anything to add?"

"Oh, I'm not complaining! Things are fine," Penny protested.

"Yeah, sorry Pen. I can do that for both of us!" Sams said with a big smile. Penny might have blushed slightly.

"How about a question? So what's up with the Flower Dance?" Bobbi asked.

"It's just something the old people like," Sam replied. "Dress up the kids in monkey suits, make 'em dance. I almost forget the old people used to do it, probably before they got too old!"

"It's more than that, Sam," Penny protested again. "It's an old tradition, it's not so bad and over pretty quickly."

"Way to sell it, Penny," Sam said, smirking. "Bobbi won't be able to wait 'til tomorrow!"

Bobbi couldn't help laughing but Penny seemed somewhat annoyed. She hopped off the side of the bridge and started walking towards her reading spot, saying, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"Heh, oops!" Sam said to Bobbi with a slightly apologetic look on his face. "She'll loosen up one of these days. I'm gonna go bug Seb, see if I can annoy him too. See ya Bobbi!" And Sam headed north, pulling his phone out to play a game on the way.

"See you tomorrow, Sam," Bobbi said as she resumed her trip to the beach, where she found Elliot outside, taking in the sea breezes.

"Hi Elliot, haven't see you outside in a while," Bobbi said conversationally.

"Hello Bobbi," Elliot replied, taking a deep breath. "I spend as much time as I can outside. While my small cabin contributes to my concentration, it's sparseness can limit my creativity. Though I do like being able to see everything, and then shove it all in a corner when I need peace," he finished with a thoughtful grin. "How are things on your farm?"

"Oh, fine I guess," Bobbi said in an offhand manner. "I think I was there this morning, but I left as soon as possible because my work there rarely follows me into town."

"Oh yes, sometimes avoiding what must be done is quite enjoyable," Elliot said with a smile. "I seem to spend much of my time lately doing just that. It's well enough that Lewis rents this cabin cheap to me as he thinks it has some infestation. But with a good clean, the smell came right out." He paused, considering, and turned to Bobbi. "Ehm, please don't let him know about that, Bobbi."

"Your secret's safe with me," Bobbi started. "As I'll probably forget by tomorrow!"

"However," Elliot continued, "there have been a few times where I could swear something had died close to the house, but it seems to pass." He paused a moment. "I suspect Willy bringing something long dead in from the sea, as he's mentioned his anosmia in our conversations."

Bobbi instinctively sidled away from Elliot a bit when he wasn't looking, remembering their previous noxious encounter at the beach, but then remembered she hadn't been fishing much recently. Whew!

"But this inspiring view is why I settled here," Elliot said, closing his eyes to the late afternoon sun. "You know, a great idea can pass through your mind at any time. If you're too busy, you might miss it."

Hey!

That sounds like the mantra of the lazy person. Cool!

"Elliot, I could not agree more with you," Bobbi said with a big smile, clapping him on the back. "This visit was great, you take care!"

"You as well, Bobbi," Elliot said.

Bobbi lazily collected shells on the beach and, reminded by Elliot, fished for a while. She sold most of it to Willy but kept an urchin, which she recognized as something purple for one of the Community Center bundles. Additionally there was some iron ore wedged into one ugly flounder, where'd that thing been?? Wow, this beats an evening in the mines up and down. She fished next to Willy for a bit and then chopped her way to the Community Center to drop off the urchin.

After chopping her way back home, Bobbi processed the iron ore and barely felled one more tree before deciding all that effort was ruining an otherwise wonderful day. After removing the iron bar from the smelter and heading inside to bed, Bobbi considered that she must be pretty close to the next axe upgrade, depending on Clint's prices. That's something for tomorrow.

!

And her heart sank. No it's not. Tomorrow's the Flower Dance.

Laying wide-eyed in bed, Bobbi realized her faulty memory had delivered her a pretty great day but ruined it at the last second, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Bobbi walked into an open clearing in the forest, enjoying the cool breeze rolling in from the nearby ocean. Not seeing anyone there yet she looked around, vaguely noticing the area was unfamiliar, but that impression rolled right off the side of her head.

Soon she became aware that some of the townspeople had appeared, but found that nobody was in the mood for chit chat. OK no prob, Bobbi thought amiably, looking down and noticing that she'd forgotten her boots.

Ha! This was just like when she was a little girl visiting door-to-door one Spirit's Eve in a ghost costume. It was only at the end of a long, cool night... much like this one... that Mom noticed she'd been wearing socks the whole evening. But no shoes.

Mom's favorite embarrass-Bobbi story.

It was more than a bit chilly here though, maybe look at the weather report next time or dress in layers. Looking down, Bobbi noticed rather a lot of legs and skin and----

"YAAAAAAAAH------!!!"

Bobbi sprang up in bed, looking around frantically but not understanding. What--?? What--?

Huh? Huh.

Did I miss it? Did I oversleep? Is it tomorrow, well the next tomorrow? Meh, too tired to have missed anything...

And that dream again. But here. Fantastic.

When I'm 50 I'll have it at a school reunion. I don't even want to know where it'll be at 80...

Still dark out, Bobbi laid back down, wary of sleep which until recently was a warm companion but had now turned a cold shoulder.
_____

Groggily, Bobbi arose the following morning, mostly aware that she hadn't missed anything more important than a good night's sleep.

Concentrating on getting a normal day going before who-knows-what happens at the Flower Dance, Bobbi found her farm had produced well overnight with parsnips, cauliflower, strawberries, potatoes, kale, and rice. Wow, this feels almost real. Like what farmers do! And there's more to sell and less to water.

Her newly found good mood was tempered by the realization it was Wednesday, so Pierre was closed. Most of it was bunged in the bin, which had 434g waiting there from the previous night's fish, to Bobbi's utter surprise. She'd completely forgotten about that.

Hmmm, I guess I was preoccupied, dunno why...

Nervous energy is a fantastic thing, as is avoidance behavior. Bobbi noted around 11am that her Farm was looking quite smart, what with all the excess stumps, trees and some grass cleared away. But the bell was tolling and her last clean white shirt was waiting inside. Some cleaning up and a rare hair brushing was mixed in with a change of clothes, and then there were no more excuses left.
_____

Arriving in Cindersap, someone had helpfully left signs pointing in the direction of the Wizard's gravity-disrespecting Tower. No, no nonono, there's no way I'm doing anything related to the Wizard in front of anyone in this town. The last time I was close to here I ended up flossing my teeth with grass while nursing a boiled-chipmunk hangover.

Warily making her way south, ready to bolt the other way at a moment's notice, Bobbi was relieved when it seemed to bypass the tower with bright, festive stanchions leading the way towards...

Pierre selling stuff. Poor Abby, and Caroline. That guy needs to chill maybe just a little bit more. Nevertheless, Bobbi had a look as she'd gotten the precious strawberry seeds at the Egg Festival a few seasons ago or whenever that happened.

Ah, an artisanal Scarecrow.

Looking down Bobbi noticed she didn't have a beard, and in a very quick, sharp, almost painful, stab of panic-- did note that she had shoes, pants and a shirt on. Whew, heart attack averted, that was just nasty. Covered in a quick cold sweat, Bobbi drifted away from Pierre noting the rest of the choices were overpriced decorating options for a house with space for actual rooms. Maybe next year.

Slowly, she wandered to a clearing completely unlike the one from her dream and it seemed that everyone was in attendance. Familiar faces is where to start, Bobbi thought as she approached Emily, who was leaning perhaps a bit uncomfortably against a barrel, chatting with Caroline. Both were dressed in one of their usual outfits, to Bobbi's relief.

"You know," Caroline was saying, "nobody's actually bought anything." Emily snorted. "In years! What's he thinking?" Caroline turned to Bobbi and continued sardonically, "I see your arms just overflowing with purchases, can I help you with those?" Her hands were held out in mock action.

"OK well the artisanal scarecrow might have been decent," Bobbi started, "but seeing as I have no money, and I can make an ugly knockoff," Bobbi leaned into the ladies and whispered, "for free," she leaned back, "Yeah, I'll pass just this once. Plus, I need ugly as I can't have better-looking scarecrows than me."

"That's crazy talk, Bobbi," Emily piped up and she might have burped, but the music probably covered it. Bobbi suppressed a juvenile smile. "Wooh, I'm stuffed, have you tried the red jelly yet? This is why we exercise every Tuesday—"

"So we can pig out every Wednesday!" finished Caroline with a toothy smile and bright eyes. "Especially this one."

"I don't think I'm going to fit into my dress, d'you think they'll let me get out of it this year, Caroline?" Emily asked.

"Nice try, Emily," Caroline said with a satisfied smile. "We had to do it for so many years and it's your turn now. No way you're getting out of it that easily". She snickered quietly to herself.

"Awww, and I thought we were friends," Emily said with a mix of real and play disappointment. "Hey Bobbi, go ask Shane to dance with you and I'll eat— watch! I'll watch from the sidelines." Bobbi must have been wearing an unmistakable deer-in-headlights look as Emily immediately said, "Just kidding! Kidding! Marnie's making him join in to get him more involved in town and asked me to be his partner. I just wonder if this'll be a tradition from now on like all the others." She rolled her eyes a bit. A real amateur compared to Abigail.

"See you ladies later, I gotta talk to Shane," Bobbi said as she turned towards the next group, leaving a quizzical look from Emily and raised eyebrows from Caroline. Heh, I have no intention of asking anyone anything but let 'em wonder.

Elliott and Leah were looking out over the ocean when Bobbi walked up. "Hi Bobbi, glad to see you here," Leah said.

"Hello Bobbi," Elliott said, "I see you saved a good shirt for dance day as I did. I don't put as much effort into anything other than my hair on most days. Only on those rare inspirational days when the words flow do I find myself motivated to do things like laundry. Or dishes."

"Oh I get that," Bobbi said. "Avoidance behavior, find work you should be doing anyway, but which is less annoying than the work you really should be doing!"

Elliott laughed, "Well, yes I do practice that quite often but actually on good writing days, afterwards I feel motivated to do other things. And sometimes even get them done. But the days here always seem so short, never enough time to do everything you want to do. There's always tomorrow, but I've noticed something, Bobbi."

"What's that, Elliott?"

"That day is too short, too," Elliott said with a straight face. "The plans are always longer than the days."

I can't tell if he's making a rueful joke or dead serious, this guys' got a Class A poker face.

"Ignore his attempts at humor Bobbi," Leah said. "He on his fifth rejection from a comedy correspondence course." She ignored Elliott's grimace and head shake. "Sooo... Bobbi." Leah's eyes were dead set on Bobbi.

"What." It wasn't a question.

Leah raised an eyebrow, "You dancing today?" Ah, I'm a mouse and the cat is here to play.

"Iiii wasn't planning on it? Why do you ask?" Stall for information!

"Well," Leah started, "the ehm, older generation, not Elliott mind you—"

"Hey! One year older than you. One!" Elliott protested.

"Yes yes, our parents' generation and older," she gave Elliott a look anyway in another attempt to provoke him. He ignored it. "They like all us kids to do this dance and, well, you're one of us now." She defocused her eyes and chanted in a nasal voice, "join usss....."

Elliott snickered but Bobbi didn't see the humor. "Um, so Emily said something about partners, well I haven't got one so I guess I'll sit it out."

"Yup, Elliott and I are dancing so we're set, but you never know, maybe someone's available?" Leah's eyes widened a bit. "Ooo, maybe they've picked someone out for you already!"

"Who's 'they' anyway?" Bobbi asked, aghast.

"I dunno, probably Lewis and anyone over 30 here," Leah offered. "If I were you I might want to head them off at the pass and ask someone, at least you'll know who you're getting."

"OK, maybe I'll talk to Lewis last," Bobbi agreed blankly, her brain in overdrive. She walked away from Leah and Elliott, missing them saying "bye" and the very mischievous look on Leah's face.

Bobbi found herself again when Jodi asked, "Are you going to be dancing today?"

"Um, I wasn't planning on it," Bobbi answered, "but apparently that choice may have been made for me already." Why is everyone so pushy?

"Oh yes, I remember those days," Jodi mentioned with a somewhat dreamy look on her face, "at one point all of us had to do it but we were mostly married, so it wasn't like there was any question of a partner."

Bobbi noticed that Demetrius and Robin were also there and Robin was looking more bored than usual with Demetrius' droning about fertility rituals or whatever.

"It was such a relief," Robin said, turning away from Demetrius, "when Lewis and— other people in town decided that the next generation were all old enough and could take over. Now we get to eat, chat, wear normal clothes... And not make too much fun of the younger crowd." Robin had a content smile on her face. "So do you know who you'll be dancing with?"

"I have no idea who or if... it kinda feels like I'm being pressured into this," Bobbi admitted.

"Oh that sounds familiar," Jodi said.

"Just roll with it," Robin finished. "Before you know it, you'll be in our position."

That sounds like something an old person would say. Or a life sentence. "OK yeah, I'll try," Bobbi agreed, unsure of herself. She took her leave as Demetrius launched into something about soil chemistry and noted that Jodi and Robin may have wanted to join her.

Bobbi passed by Shane, who was very much enjoying the food. "Hey, you should try the sauce here," he said, "the green stuff is spicy!" This was followed by an audible crunch, and an "ow... but that was worth it!" It was nice to see someone enjoying themselves and not playing some sort of social game. Not wanting to upset that delicate balance, Bobbi continued over to Pam, Gus, and Willy.

"Hiya there, Miss," Willy greeted Bobbi, "I see you didn't bring your fishing pole, either. Tell you what, what say we make a deal and bring 'em next year? Maybe ol' Gus can cook up the catch for the feast."

"Old Gus?" Gus asked, "What's that make you?"

"Yer grandfather, sonny!" Willy riposted with a salty grin.

"Tell you what, Willy," Bobbi replied, "How about we skip it next year and just spend the day fishing on the pier."

"Ah lass, you sure know how to warm an old sea dog's heart!" Willy said, beaming from underneath his beard.

"This ain't so bad though," Pam said with the slightest of slurred speech. "This is the life, huh kid," she said, elbowing Bobbi. "Sweet wine, the hum of the ocean, warm air, sweet wine..." she topped off her glass.

I wonder if Pam ever had to go to the dance? She's about the same age as Jodi and Robin, who knows? Bidding adieu to the trio, Bobbi headed over to its younger version in Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian.

"Hi Bobbi," Sam said as it seemed Abigail wasn't overly happy to be there and Sebastian looked gloomier than usual. "You know, I actually look forward to this Festival every year. It used to be because school was almost out, but now I just like the flowers. Because nowadays school's always out!"

"Ugh," Sebastian said and seemed disinclined to say anything else but then his expression changed a bit. "Bobbi, can you believe they want me to dance today? The sun's already giving me skin cancer and they're looking for a way to make it worse. But I'll show them, I asked Abby to dance with me." He cast a sidelong glance at Abigail for her reaction.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Abigail started, "we've been stuck with each other for like 3 of these now, there's no getting out of it." She thought for a minute. "Wait a minute... was that supposed to be nice?" She had a confused look on her face.

"No, what did I say?" Sebastian's turn to look confused. "That didn't come out right!" He clammed up, looking annoyed with himself.

"Oh well then, I accept, good sir." Abigail replied, all prim and proper, enjoying the apparently unintended compliment. She turned back to Bobbi. "Except that I really hate dancing in front of everyone, it's so embarrassing. Mom makes me do it." The eyeroll. What a pro. "Just because the oldies made Mom and Dad and their friends all do it years ago, they all decided to pay it forward. So when me and Sam turned 18, bang!" She smacked her palms together, apparently waking up Sebastian who had completely tuned out. "The parents revolted and made all of us take their places. Emily's mom even made all the dresses and then they ditched town right after the first dance." Her expression sank a bit. "Couldn't even get 'em back by TP'ing the house or something." Abigail's disgusted look changed as a realization dawned over her.

She slowly and deliberately walked up close to Bobbi with a smile which she tried her hardest to suppress but failed, and lightly poked her in the chest. "You have to dance." She paused. "They made Harvey and Elliot and Leah do it. I hear Shane's going to as well." She let loose a light laugh. "You have to dance. With someone! I'd love to but you heard, I got this lump here." She stuck a thumb in Sebastian's general direction. "Who's it gonna be? Can't be Sam," she said quickly, "he's already asked Penny." At this, Sam blanched a little and produced a small, self-conscious smile.

"So it's a partner thing?" Bobbi asked. Any information will help here, Bobbi thought desperately.

"Yup," Abigail said, emphasis on the 'p'. She snorted, "maybe Clint's available but seeing as he still has his apron on, maybe he's just here to do dishes. Just kidding, he's a wallflower, never asked anyone."

Summoning whatever confidence she had remaining in the tank, Bobbi said, "You'll find out soon enough. See you guys later." And Bobbi headed off somewhere. Abigail didn't seem fooled though as she turned back to Sam and Sebastian.

Finding Evelyn and George, Bobbi exchanged pleasantries, though George was his grouchy self, and she headed over to Harvey and Penny. Penny seemed paler than usual and managed to say, "I'm nervous." She seemed a good match for Sam.

"I'm working up the courage to ask someone to dance," Harvey said, which gave Bobbi an idea, but it was soon dashed when she noticed he was looking at Maru walking up to them at the same time. Oh. Yeah, OK.

"Hi Bobbi, you watching or dancing?" Maru asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Bobbi asked.

"Nah, probably not if old Lewis has anything to say about it," Maru said matter-of-factly. "I like the dance but it's a bit stilted, something old timers like him seem to prefer. Not quite doing the robot but I've been very tempted to, just to make fun. But I don't want to annoy Evelyn as she's too nice."

"Yeah, so nobody's shown me how to do anything, got a cheat sheet or something?" Bobbi asked. Maru might be my savior.

"You know," Maru started, "just watch what everyone else is doing and just copy them. That's all the guys do, I'm not sure they remember any of it any more, just shuffle their feet a bit, move closer, move further away, don't trip over the person next to you. They usually get most of that right."

"Guilty as charged," Harvey said with an amiable smile.

"Everyone's just looking as the dresses anyway, not sure they're even looking at who's wearing them." Maru leaned in. "And c'mon, they're really looking at one person and maybe glancing on occasion to make sure everyone else is still on their feet." She gestured with her head to the far end of the clearing where a familiar coif of blonde hair was wearing a crown of flowers, methodically stepping and pirouetting it's way around a small part of the clearing.

Haley.

...Haley?

That wouldn't work. With a faint "See ya," Bobbi wandered away from them, over towards Marlon and Marnie, who weren't standing particularly close to each other.

Marnie sighed while looking over to the small groups of twentysomethings, noting, "Love is in the air and I'm still single..." What?? Love where? I see a lot of people who don't necessarily want to be here and are nervous about a stupid dance.

"Uh yeah, Spring is like that everywhere," Bobbi said, trying to fill the space. "Demetrius was mentioning something about that."

"Hmmm," she sighed, only half listening. You have an active imagination, woman.

Marlon came over and mentioned in a low voice, "Marnie's looking particularly lovely today..." Ahhh, I see. I'll just let you two have some space.

"Enjoy," Bobbi said to them and moved over to Alex.

"Hi Bobbi, just enjoying the scenery today, hehe," he said.

It took a few seconds for Bobbi to put that together but it made its way in eventually. She rolled her eyes and turned towards Haley, spurred on with a bit more confidence after that comment.

Haley turned out to be difficult to pin down with her pirouettes and sashays but eventually stopped to say, "Hello Bobbi, I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it all the way out here."

"Hi Haley, yeah well I didn't know quite what to expect as nobody told me much of anything before today," Bobbi admitted.

Looking more directly at Bobbi, Haley said, "Lewis didn't tell you anything about the dance? Not even what to wear?" An annoyed look was starting to cross her face. "That's pretty much the Mayor's whole job."

"No..." Bobbi replied, suddenly worrying about her clothes again. Check, still have shoes and pants on, whew! Everyone else is wearing normal-type clothes. ...and aprons. "He just said to show up at this time and..." Deep breath. "I could participate if... I could find a partner?

Haley uttered a faint, "hmmmmm...," and paused after another pirouette. "So. You... chatted with everyone before visiting me here. Are you dancing today-- I mean, did you find yourself a partner?" Haley's cheeks may have been a bit rosier than usual just then and wasn't making eye contact.

"No, not yet." Bobbi paused and quickly added, "I mean, I didn't ask anyone." Why is it so hot out here? Can't these events be under a tent or something? "Uh, how about you?" Bobbi asked without thinking.

"Nooo," Haley said. "Alex asked me but I reminded him I never commit until just before the dance, just like last year." Haleys eyes were elusive, on the ground or in the distance. "You didn't ask anyone..."

Now or never. Now or never. Do it. Hello Bobbi, are you there??

"Bobbi?--"

"So Haley, dooo you want to be my partner for the dance? The Flower Dance? This one," the words tumbled out as Bobbi pointed to the clearing. Big brain. Super Bobbi brain move.

"Yes," somebody said. Was that Haley? I think it was Haley.

"Yes I do Bobbi, I'd love to!" Haley said slowly ramping up a huge smile and giving Bobbi a bear hug.

Not knowing what to do next, Bobbi hugged back and once disengaging, asked Haley, "When does it start?"

"Oh, pretty much anytime we want!" Haley exclaimed excitedly. "Enough of us badger Lewis and he starts it up. Sometimes it's just me!" That last word came out as a high squeak. "Tell you what, you go bug Lewis and I'll get the girls together to change in to our dresses! This is going to be perfect. See you in a few, Bobbi!" And Haley flitted off in Penny and Maru's direction.

Wait, what do I change in to? A moth? Do I stand with the guys somehow? Do I take Alex's "place"? Should I cut my hair?? No, Elliott'll be there, it's cool, I can keep the hair.

Bobbi stood there for a short while not sure exactly what to do when she noticed the Wizard peering at the festivities through the trees north of the clearing, drinking something that bubbled and smoked slightly more than regular water. For some reason Bobbi's spirits were up and she hurled at him, "Hey this isn't a TV show, you know! C'mon down and participate sometime!" He looked genuinely startled and withdrew back into the forest. Weirdo. Probably drinking rat toes and plant galls to try and impress the Junimos. Well, I doubt he needs extra seeds or a charcoal kiln, so save your effort buddy and try some apple cider like a normal person.

Turning back to the field, Bobbi realized that people were gathering at the far end, perhaps to avoid the weird, new, big mouth girl yelling at the trees. And then she noticed the guys were gone too, save Alex. Wow, you drop your attention for a second and you end up in last place. Slowly returning to the gathered townsfolk, she had no idea where she was supposed to be, but then remembered Lewis. About to ask him what happens next, Lewis looked over Bobbi's shoulder at the clearing's entrance and said, "Ah here they are!" The young women started appearing, wearing frilly white dresses and the young men wearing... well, at least the ladies looked nice.

Haley smoothly hooked Bobbi through the arm with hers and led her to the center of the clearing while the non-dancers assembled around its perimeter. Disengaging and heading a few paces apart, the dancers formed 2 lines facing each other. Bobbi noted that her white shirt and purple pants may not have matched what the guys were wearing but at least she didn't look like a JojaMart stockboy.

Lewis was fiddling with an old boombox, apparently trying to get some sort of sound to come out of it, so Bobbi looked around at her fellow dancers. Penny still looked pale and perhaps a bit wide-eyed, Abigail was mugging at people but smirked when she caught Bobbi's eye. She purposefully rearranged her dress with a face to show her dissatisfaction. Emily had a wry smile and winked at Bobbi, followed with a slight nod at Haley and raised eyebrows. Bobbi shrugged slightly with a self-conscious grin and looked over to Maru, who seemed lost in thought. Leah wore a big smile, looked at Elliott and winked at Bobbi. Leah's dress fit her slightly shorter than the rest; last person in doesn't get much choice, Bobbi thought. Haley's eyes were closed, seemingly in mental preparation, but they opened on occasion to peek at the struggling Lewis and Bobbi, the last with a little grin curling out the corner of her mouth.

As Bobbi was about to see what the guys were up to, the music started as did the dancers. Mostly. It felt like a comedy of errors on her side as watching Haley and the rest of the ladies suggested a fairly well-planned series of steps and movements, while the guys were barely shuffling their feet and occasionally bending their legs, nary a pair of them in unison. This made it easy for Bobbi to blend in as she tried to copy what the first guy did and usually got to doing it by the time the last guy remembered how it was supposed to go. She suspected that each one memorized only a tiny part and they took turns who was leading.

Considering their outfits, it was clear where the show really was, to Bobbi's immense relief. Once Penny got going, she seemed to be in her element and enjoying it. Leah and Emily had clearly embraced the event and were giving their all. Maru seemed not overly involved but when their eyes met, she did a more mechanical set of moves, out of step and with a quick grin on her face, and then caught up with the rest. Meanwhile, Abigail seemed intentionally just a little off at every turn, and making faces at anyone who would look at her. Sebastian and Sam laughed enough to be heard over the music and were barely participating by the end. Haley of course was leading with form and technique. Hmph, Bobbi thought, helps to be tall, too. Cheater.

Bobbi tried to keep an eye on Haley as much as possible while watching the guys for cues and catching glimpses of the ladies, which means that while it lasted a lot longer than maybe she expected, it was over before she knew. Bows and curtsies at the end, and everyone dissolved into their packs.

"Thanks, Bobbi," Haley said, a bit breathless. "I really enjoyed that! And to nobody's surprise, you kept up with the guys who've been doing this for years now." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, maybe their plan is to serve as a bad example to make you gals look better," Bobbi offered.

Haley considered for a second. "Only you could give them that much credit, you're too nice. There's no way they've put that much planning into it. If they could do less, they would."

"Well then they have a goal for next year!" Bobbi said brightly.

Haley shushed Bobbi, saying, "Don't give them any ideas!" She paused. "They're happier without ideas. Lets get some food, I'm too nervous beforehand to eat and I'm starving!"

They ate and chatted with Alex, Evelyn and George, and after some more mingling, everyone started home, peeling off the group as they reached their homes. Outside the sisters house, Haley gave Bobbi another hug and a little peck on the cheek, saying, "Thanks, Bobbi today was special!" And she headed into the house.

On the way home, once again noting how unseasonably warm it was, Bobbi thought that doing any more work would ruin quite a wonderful day and that she may have found something better than being covered in warm slime.

If only slightly.

 

[Dr. eeL]

You didn't fool me. I knew that Bobbi would ask Haley. I would have asked Haley too (except she would have said NO! and with extra emphasis, NEVER!!).

 

[Lew Zealand]

The following day dawned cold and rainy, eliciting nary more than a half-opened eyelid and a small smile from Bobbi before drifting back to sleep. If only for a short while.

Awake sometime later, Bobbi knew there was something she was waiting for but couldn't remember what. Reptile brain was already asleep again but thinky brain was poking it with sticks, being its usual annoying self. After snapping savagely at thinky brain, reptile brain gave in and got the legs working.

Outside on the porch, Bobbi noted some crops were ready and her flowers were blooming. Reaching out from the porch to the mailbox, getting only mildly damp in the process, she fished out a note from Clint announcing that her copper pickaxe was ready. Ah, that was it! And just in time for a mine run on a damp day. Couldn't be better.

After picking the flowers and veggies, Bobbi was off to town to sell kale and an errant horseradish, and then remembered Linus. Seeing as nobody was out, she rummaged the trash cans, finding some bread and Joja cola. Hmm not bad. But smugness slid into guilt, not because she'd done some dumpster diving, but because she may have stolen Linus' lunch. I need to make that up to him, maybe deliver it if I remember.

Finding herself at the blacksmith, she picked up her shiny new-ish axe and cracked some geodes in a vain attempt to cheer up Clint with some extra g. Bobbi knew better than this, but there was always the random side effect of new things to drop off next door.

Over to the Museum, dodging raindrops with little success, a dripping Bobbi entered and donated the various minerals to Gunther which earned her a new reward from the townspeople. Wondering what type of seeds or anything else it could be, she was presented with a single Starfruit seed.

One.

Gunther completely missed Bobbi's skeptical look as he seemed impressed with the donation since nobody ever had them in stock, and it had come in the post from an anonymous donor from outside town, no return address. He was rather enjoying the mystery so Bobbi filed it away in her mind as more local lore to be discovered at a future time when she least expected to remember it.

Almost as an afterthought as Bobbi was about to leave, he then drew a... wooden thing from behind his desk and presented it to Bobbi. He looked at it for a second and then turned it upside down. Or rightside up.

"Yeah, looks better this way... maybe," Gunther said squinting at it. "This is from Marnie, apparently she requested it from Leah shortly after she arrived, but heard you were refilling the Collection and donated it for your efforts." Bobbi was still looking at it quizzically. "It's a chicken," he said flatly.

"Oh, I see it now!" Bobbi said brightly. "Uh, still had rain in my eyes. For me, huh? Well, I'll find somewhere to put it in the house, maybe the bed can fit outside. Or the coop!" The coop! I'm supposed to get chickens from Marnie today!

Waitaminute.

Business smarts. Brand placement. This place is a haven for recovering advertising execs. Seriously, what are the chances I'd need a chicken reminder today??

"Thanks Gunther, I'll carry it over my head to keep dry on the way home," Bobbi said, hefting it in the air temporarily but settling on a bear hug. "See you!"

"See you, Bobbi," Gunther said as she waddled out the door. A few repositions and using one of her pack straps got it balanced halfway in the pack, and she headed for home.

Afterwards at Marnie's ranch, Bobbi bought 2 small chickens for 800g each that Marnie would deliver later in the day. After which Marnie happened to mention she also had the hay to feed them.

Ah, cheap chickens but we get you on the consumables. Next time I'm at the Library, I'm checking out the entire business section. Not only to lull me to sleep but to prevent the locals from getting any more big ideas.

Haranguing Marnie a bit more shook loose some useful information that Bobbi could also get a silo from Robin to store scythed grass for hay. Ah kickbacks, I see how it's done here... Too right about business, Lewis probably set the whole thing up for the tax money. Well, I do truly feel an integral part of the community here, Bobbi though on her way out with an almost Abigail-quality eyeroll.

Back home for the silo parts, Bobbi then swung by Pierre's and glanced at the calendar. Emily's birthday was in 2 days, and Harvey's tomorrow! OK a flower to Harvey and daffodil to Emily, don't forget. I'm sure I'll remember...

Bobbi sold the Kale and forage and finally headed up to the mines for some relative dryness, first stopping off at Robin's to order the silo for a suspiciously low total of 100g. She suspected a typo in the catalog but Robin didn't bat an eye at the sum. Don't ask questions and you won't get involved in any shady local business dealings you don't want.

Bunging too much extra junk in the mine chest, Bobbi made it to level 43, picking up a useless slingshot on level 40. She finally got a good look at the shadowy guys and decided you could actually see them better in the dark. Either way, the bashy club made quick work of them even with its unwieldiness. However in the early morning hours on 43, she found an Iron Edge sword which seemed to have all the damage-inducing goodness of the club with the speedy, slicey chopness and balance of a real weapon. It was almost like a monster-slashing sister of the scythe. Marveling at it's usefulness, Bobbi almost didn't mind her semi-daily slime bath. Almost. Maybe it's good for my hair.

Pickaxeing the much-needed iron ore nearby, Bobbi attempted to hightail it home after arranging her overloaded pockets at the mine chest. But the increasing weight of slime layers was mysteriously hardening on her limbs in the cold, failing, late night rain and she barely made it to the outer fringes of her farm before succumbing to the greedy clutches of her warm friend, leftover slime. The last thing she thought she saw before the veil forcibly closed her eyelids was a faint firefly in the distance.

But. It's not even... summer...

Zzzzzzzzzzz........

 

[Lew Zealand]

Cold.

Dark.

There's no need to visit the cold and dark again, leave it well enough alone and stay on the warm bright >shudder< surface.

There's no need for violence, all the sharp pokey painfulness. Yes, yes... avoid that, tall vine. Tall vines do not belong in the underground. Only wonderful soft turgid bouncy lovey squishes belong in the underground. We do not seek the surface, you need not seek the underground.

faint murmurs trail off... and back...

what of the outcasts? Yes, yes the outcasts! Set the tall vine upon them! You seek those outcasts on the hideous surface. In the not dark enough place.

...it's kind of dark... No, no not dark enough and still on the surface! Quiet, you!

...um....... ignore that one..... excuse me!....... igno—... What of the *other* underground things that fly and bite?... Don't confuse the tall vine!... Maybe it could poke the other underground things?... No, maybe it could poke you, maybe I'll poke you!...

..........


Cold.

Why's the heat out in this blasted apartment again?

A muffled, disembodied, barely discernible voice emerged from the void. "...porch is nice enough but the campfire isn't in the right spot..."

Bobbi opened her eyes but that failed to banish the darkness. No... strike that, her eyes failed to open. Reaching up, she tried to clear the sleep from her eyes... and failed to reach as well. OK what's the deal here? Wriggling a bit, she heard a louder, grinding sound and considered she may have caused it.

Someone's wrapped me up in a potato chip. A giant potato chip. She resisted licking it though as she didn't smell much salt.

Nobody likes bland potato chips.

"Bobbi?" Disembodied voice again. You should could totally get yourself a body, they're super useful. Except when restrained by improper application of snack foods. "Bobbi, let me help you out of this!" Not as muffled now. "I wasn't sure but you cracked it and I can peel them off now."

What a strange feeling, almost pleasurable, having whatever-it-was peeled off her face and ears. Bobbi closed her eyes and just enjoyed it, like a spa day. OK, eyes are already closed but the rest still stands. "I think I'll avoid your eyes and you can do that, here let me get your hands free."

Peeeeeeeeel... and her fingers could wiggle and better yet, knuckle crack. Ahhh release, almost as relieving as the face peel. She reached up and very slowly pried the hard candy shell from her eyelids and most importantly, eyebrows and eyelashes. Probably no chocolate at the center of this though, shame.

Slowly opening her eyes, Bobbi found herself on her porch in those early pre-dawn hours before sane people even think of starting their days. Linus was crouched next to her with a torch and look of mixed concern and relief on his weathered face. But that turned into a smile as Bobbi managed a rueful grin.

"I don't even remember what happened..." Bobbi started, trying to shift her weight and realizing she was glued to the floorboards. She commenced releasing herself from her gluey prison, cracking pieces and peeling them off her clothes. "I was just running back from the mines as usual and, well, I just got very tired and sleepy and, you know, just took a nap." She paused. "As you do on a farm. At midnight."

"I worry about anyone out late," Linus started, "especially in the rain and I was already turning in when I saw you on your way and no, you weren't running. You were barely moving, I don't remember seeing anyone out in such bad shape as that. I wasn't even sure it was you as the color was off, but..." and he raised his bushy white eyebrows with a head bob her way, "it's pretty obvious now." With much of the crusts removed from the Bobbi bread slices, her clothes had retained some of the green coloring donated by its former owner.

"You fell over, face down in the mud," Linus continued, "and I dragged you to the porch to get out of the rain. Well, what was left of it. I'd have brought you inside but... the mess..."

"Ah, that explains that wonderful, earthy taste. And the grit. Linus, I can't thank you enough," Bobbi said earnestly, finally able to remove the pack from her back and peeling the hardened gunk off like an orange. "I swear I didn't feel all that different from any other night, maybe just a bit more tired 'cause I was out later. I guess need to pay more attention."

"Don't take those caves for granted, Bobbi," Linus cautioned. "I don't go in there because... there's just something wrong with those slimes. If they get all over you, I think they get into you, do you know what I mean?"

"Not exactly," Bobbi admitted, but then the very odd dream/experience before hearing Linus' voice came flooding back. "But having experienced it, I think I get where you're coming from." Now inside her pack, she remembered the bread and Joja cola from early morning and fetched it. "Care for some breakfast, Linus?"

"No thanks, Bobbi," Linus refused, "I enjoy being self-sufficient and living on my own. You don't owe me anything, my help was given freely.

"Well, I found this in a trash can outside of the Saloon," Bobbi persisted, "and it could just as easily have been yours as mine, I just got there first." She broke the crusty bread in half and offered one. "Just some friendly sharing of the natural bounties of the... forest."

"Ah, thank you very much, then." Linus said, taking his half. They sat and munched in silence, awaiting the sunrise.

Linus left to the north shortly afterward, saying he preferred the filtered light of the wooded mountains to the harsh light on the farm. Bobbi bade him a good day, noting that her untilled land was maybe a bit starkly garish, now that it was mostly cleared of trees and grass. With few crops as season's end was upon her. Some day it'll look nicer.

However there was still one unfinished task left over from the previous evening's adventures. Bobbi had acquired a protective green skullcap with an integral binder of Bobbi hair. Not wanting to seem like an overgrown bipedal turtle until her hair grew out, she couldn't come up with anything better than cracking it into lots of pieces and drawing them carefully out.

Hours later and utterly devoid of patience, Bobbi crunched up the remaining bits to dust or thereabouts and washed them out as well as she could as the crops needed watering and she needed to clear her pack for whatever might happen that day. Popping iron ore into the furnace did double duty as she tried to use it to dry her hair without singeing it, and was mostly successful. The not-singeing bit, not so much the drying. She already felt worn out but couldn't sleep with a wet head so busied herself with the minimum necessary at the farm and headed into town.

She sold cauliflower, 'snips, and green beans to Pierre, who she caught glancing at her hair. Still wet, probably some chips still in there, whatever, we'll all be good tomorrow. Especially with 4200g now! Off to crack some geodes, she immediately sold the nekoite and was at 4500g. Checking the price list, that steel axe was 5000g and, well she might have the necessary 5 bars back at the farm.

She asked Gunther to look at a curious thing she'd found in the mines which wasn't really a mineral, looked more like a... knot or something. It was actually a seed which Gunther had heard about and wanted to try germinating. They made a deal where Bobbi could germinate and plant it on the farm if she donated a fresh seed to him from the plant if it grew.

Some quick fishing at the ocean and selling the fish got Bobbi to 5000g but without enough time to head home and to Clint's before 4pm, bah! Fine, ready by tomorrow. Willy complimented her on her enthusiasm for the sea while glancing above her but Bobbi wrote that off to her still-wet hair and frequent visits for last minute g.

Seeing Sam and Abigail heading for the Saloon, they waved and Sam continued on but Abigail hung back with an appreciative smile on her face.

"Hey Bobbi, that looks pretty awesome on you, nice!" and she held up a hand for a high five.

Just a bit surprised, Bobbi slapped it after a brief pause, saying, "Uh yeah, not what I usually do, bit of a hangup after a late night mine run last night so I think it's still wet from late this morning."

"Oh cool, so it'll get brighter then. You have to let me see tomorrow or whenever!" Abigail said excitedly.

What...? No really, what?

"Um, what do you mean?" Bobbi said, becoming concerned and trying to look at her hair. But with a barely shoulder-length cut with bangs, there wasn't a lot of it in front to be seen.

"Your new color, looks kind of green or maybe aquamarine, it's great!" Abigail said encouragingly.

"Really? Wait is that what Pierre and Willy were looking at?" What does it really look like?

Abigail was fishing out a tiny mirror from her jacket. "Here, I use this to flash sunlight into people's eyes through the trees when I'm bored. I don't think I've permanently blinded anyone yet but I got the Wizard through one of his windows last week, it was awesome! I think he fell over, well something fell over with a crash!" Abigail was wearing a toothy smile accompanied by glittering eyes.

Barely hearing Miss Mischief, instead looking at her hair in the little mirror from all angles, Bobbi could see a very distinct green, maybe blue-green tint to it. It didn't look... bad but it wasn't clear what it'd look like once dry.

"So it didn't turn out like you wanted, huh?" Abigail asked. "What color were you going for? Orange? Blech!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"I wasn't going for anything!" Bobbi yelled in frustration and Abigail jumped. "I didn't color my hair, it was done against my will, those stupid slimes!"

"Eww... Slime? Literally or figuratively?" The disgust was slowly replaced by narrowing eyes and interest. "Slimes... from the mines? Someone mentioned there were some in there... are there really slimes there?" A short pause. "You've been down in the mines?!"

"Yeah, and sometimes it's not all that cool," Bobbi admitted. "And there are slimes in there. The stupid things always get the best of me no matter what weapon I have and I end up in a slime cocoon by midnight." She paused. "It never turns back into a pumpkin, though."

"Yuck, no thanks on those pumpkins," Abigail said. "Hmm, in there with weapons..." She paused a moment in thought. "Well, I think that's your color now. Bonus that you don't look like a tourist anymore. When they talk about local color here, it's always about hair." Her eyes bugged out for a split second, "see you, I'm already late for Seb and Sam!" And Abigail jogged over to the Saloon.

"See you, Abigail," Bobbi said, in a daze. This can't be permanent, can it? OK then so does everyone else also use slime for their hair? Is that the secret?? Do they come in other colors? Maybe I can catch one or something. Yuck, never mind.

Bobbi walked aimlessly while thoughts came and went, eventually ending up at home where she finished smelting for tomorrow's axe upgrade. Next up was the mixture for the weird seed and with that done and planted, she halfheartedly headed to the mines to try another level. And maaaaaybe also looking for slimes of a different color, but very soon the events of the previous day caught up to her and noting how she'd ended up early that morning, for once Bobbi did the prudent thing and went home to bed.

She wasn't sure that bed had ever felt so good, having last night missed its restorative properties for the first time in as long as she could remember.

Her last thought was to wonder what color her pillow would be in the morning. Hopefully not orange.

 

[Dr. eeL]

Gotta like your imagination. Tell Bobbi to put some cucumber slices over her eyes on the next facial. It will help with her vision issues.

 

[Lew Zealand]

A dull drumming on her head told Bobbi that her transformation into a butterfly wasn't quite done yet and needed to stew a bit longer in her cozy chrysalis until her wings and legs were fully formed. But I'm so hungry! And next time I'm gonna hang from a branch right side up, all this blood is going to my head.

Thump-thump-thump!

Go away, I'm not ready yet. Wings still brown and nobody likes that. Need more color.

Thump-clink-crash! Muffled voice.

OK maybe I'm done, you can peel me out now, disembodied voice!

Opening her eyes, Bobbi didn't find herself encased in yesterday's cocoon, instead tangled in her bedsheets. And the droning was merely another wet, rainy day outside. I probably need to drink more water before bedtime or these dreams are going to chase me out of this place. On the plus side, no watering today, woop-woop!

Once outside, Bobbi barely caught Robin's ghostly form receding into the misty gloom towards the mountain path. Peering the opposite way, she saw a grand tower rising from the edge of her farm. Well... at least a way better one than the Wizard's rock cairn barely cemented together by that "Woodland Potion" mortar he forced me to choke down. Time to fill the new silo with... wet hay. This is gonna be, ehm, a great day. Great-ish. Reasonably good? as the eternal battle for dominance between good and evil is once again grappled by the opposing forces of scythe and rain.

Pep talks are important when you don't wanna work.

Heading out into the backcountry wilds knows as the central farm, Bobbi found that the scythe won the battle as it still made easy work of the tall grass, rain notwithstanding. She didn't clear anything out, merely thinning it a bit as clear ground might give people unfamiliar with farm life the erroneous impression that something should be planted there, and she didn't want anyone misinterpreting what her farm was all about.

Appreciation of nature and all it's bounties, that's what rural life is about, right? Just wouldn't be seemly to cut everything down or anything like that. Disrespectful.

Finding her maple tree had provided precious sap for syrup, also needed for the Community Center, she remembered that she might have enough bat wings for the Center as well. As one usually accumulates in life. Stores of bat wings. Which reminded her of the dream and--

My hair!

Quickly running inside and checking the bathroom mirror, the color hadn't changed, still dark aquamarine. Most specifically unchanged from yesterday as it was still wet, thank you rain. What does it look like dry?? I guess this was my rite of passage, as Abigail said, I'm now officially a local? Except, based on her reaction, nobody else is consulting the local slimes for hairdressing services.

OK okok, this is probably a good thing. A not-bad thing. A thing I can't control.

It's a thing. Time to head into town.

Bobbi turned in her axe, copper bars, and life savings to Clint in exchange for dull banter and reasonable promise to provide a better tool in a couple of days. He didn't mention anything about hair, but that might take someone with a more dynamic personality, for good or ill.

Already quite endampened and with a camouflage coif color, Bobbi decided that a fishing tour of the town was a reasonable course of action. Only rarely falling asleep at the river, Bobbi managed to lose a minimum number of fish and headed for the ocean where the reduced cover had a greater chance of keeping her awake through the rain's sheer power of annoyance. She'd only fished there for what seemed like hours (ie: a few minutes), when Sebastian emerged from the gloom and walked down to the end of the far dock. About to head over, she first sold off her catch to Willy in an attempt to ward off the unseemly scent, maybe just this once.

Not heeding body language and generally lacking experience in reading a situation, Bobbi then sauntered over to the far end, saying, "Hi Sebastian!"

He didn't quite jump as she hadn't been particularly quiet clomping down the dock, but he still started, following with a neutral, "oh, hi Bobbi." He seemed to want to say something else, but after a brief pause went on with, "the ocean is best enjoyed alone, don't you think?"

Bobbi's mouth was already open to say something else but that stopped her short, utterly unable to follow that with something appropriate, beyond, "Uh, yeah..."

She eventually remembered to close her mouth and made to give Sebastian some space, when he followed with, "You know, you might see a frog in this weather, but not on the beach." He paused. "They'll be all over the river and mountains, but of course you'll rarely see them. Blend in too well." His nose might have wrinkled a bit. "It also smells better there most of the time. The ocean, yeah... it does it's own thing there." He looked around, with an almost engaged look on his face. "I kinda thought it'd be better on a rainy day."

Giving Sebastian just a bit more space and attempting to determine where downwind might be, Bobbi considered whether to ask Willy if there's a fish deodorant. Strike that, he'd wonder why I'd want to spend good money on a placebo.

"Take care, Sebastian... I might head to the woods to see about those frogs," Bobbi said as she turned to go.

"Mmm, see ya Bobbi," Sebastian said to the ocean as Bobbi disappeared slowly into the thickening fog.

Was that a test? A dismissal? Or just a mood? I came to the ocean to turn off my brain, not jam it up with peanut butter thoughts. ...... Hmmm, I haven't had peanut butter in a while...

Musing about random foods which weren't the, eh, passable salmonberries in her pack, Bobbi not only walked past the river, but even the mountain lake and found herself in front of the Mine. Apparently when the brain really does want to take a break, the feet will step in and run the show. Dropping off some random things in the Mine chest, Bobbi punched the button for level 40 and found a monster-infested mess at the foot of the ladder down.

Once there, she was hit with such a powerful sense of déjà vu that she actually lost her footing and sat down. Well, she told herself that, though someone observing the stumble and fall would likely have been concerned for her safety. Lying on her side on the ground with a bloody cut on her jaw, staring at the slimes and bugs at the far end of the cave minding their own business, Bobbi wondered about minding her own business.

And wondered why she was wondering that.

Slowly, parts and feelings of the dream a few days and a lifetime ago filtered back into her mind. Do I need to do this? Is there a different way? A better way? Is another way actually better? Finally seated like a higher lifeform with actual balance, Bobbi thought about what she should do.

Maybe I should try just picking the stones and ores and kind of avoid the monsters? Maybe only some of them don't want to be bothered? The slow flying bugs couldn't be less concerned with me and nobody seems to be running over here to snack on my toes. Or blood, she thought, wiping her chin.

Sigh. Gotta try.

Choosing her way carefully around, Bobbi was able to pickaxe stones and ores while grabbing the shiny bits that caught her eye, and left the copious monsters mostly alone. Some were quite aggressive but...

It was funny, sometimes when she seemed to catch a slime's interest, it'd head quickly her way but if she moved away early, it just... kept going on its way, seemingly uninterested.

Huh. Maybe it was out for a jog.

Now where'm I gonna go for dye, wash, and blow-dry??

The rest of the floors down to 50 were seemingly populated to test Bobbi's resolve as monsters were everywhere. And she wondered if that was just confirmation bias, seeing these things now that she was actually paying attention. But really... too many monsters!

She was rewarded with another of those suspicious chests on Level 50 and after carefully opening it, found Tundra boots inside. Pulling them on, Bobbi noted their lighter brown color matched her outfit quite well. That is, as well as the previous boots also matched a deep green shirt and purple pants. So, not at all but who cares? Now given an unnatural confidence, Bobbi peeked at Level 51 but quickly ran in fright as there was nothing there but monsters chilling in the dull green glow of the cavern walls.

A task for another day.

Um, not that one. Nooo, keep going...

Once again drawn westward to the farm at an hour approaching midnight, Bobbi completely forgot to stow her new footwear in her pack and once home noted how, ehm, well-seasoned they had become already. You really do lack some basic awareness, Miss Bobbi, she thought. One of these days that will come, but instead what sooner will come is a pillow in contact with my head, after a quick rinse.

You'd think that rain would provide that time-saving, convenient service on the way home, but Bobbi was convinced that every bit of dirt on the farm adhered to her eveningwear as she passed it by. Giving me a messy hug.

I'm just too lovable, that's it. Lol, you keep thinking tha........ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

 

[Lew Zealand]

Nope.

Not leaving bed when it's cold and rainy out. Bed understands me and rarely judges me, though it probably holds its nose on those very exceedingly rare days when I skip an evening freshening up. Barely once a week. At least I brush my teeth mostly every day.

Peeking warily above the comforter with one eye to see if the coast was clear, Bobbi noticed it was brighter than expected and in fact notably less wet out than a typical rainy day. And the regular drumming wasn't from the roof, instead coming from the porch. Left the sprinklers on again? Oh yeah, no sprinklers so pretty unlikely.

Instead, the noise was someone pacing back and forth in what seemed an impatient manner. Hmmm, should I use my powers to annoy, doing things around the house instead of opening the door? Looking around, Bobbi discarded that idea as "house" was a rather extravagant interpretation of her bed container. And there was little to do other than click on and off the useless TV a few dozen times. Rather than risk a head injury from falling over due to boredom, Bobbi gave in to curiosity and opened the door.

"Hello Miss Bobbi," greeted Demetrius with a smile after stopping short. Turning around and taking in the surrounding land, he continued, "I see you've been busy at the farm, I trust your harvests have been satisfactory."

You are so full of it. I have nothing left but a few crop stragglers withering in the late Spring sun and some muddy, rumpled soil from previous days' harvests. You're buttering me up for something. "Yeah, I managed some cauliflower, kale, um, a few flowers, an occasional strawberry..." Demetrius' eyes darted back to Bobbi's at that last mention and his eyebrows raised a bit.

"Oh strawberries, they're pretty good aren't they?" Demetrius commented appreciatively, his gaze wandering back to Bobbi's tiny strawberry patch clinging to existence in the drying farmland. You are not getting a single one of those, mister! I barely tolerate giving those to your daughter, only because she hides her eyes behind glasses. Because she's clever knowing I like glasses. And has brown eyes like Emily...

Brown.

...

Demetrius snapped back to reality first. "Yes! So you have that cave over by the edge of your farmland and I've come up with a great use for it." Bobbi eventually noticed that he seemed genuinely excited. "Actually I have two uses for it but I can't decide which is better. Seeing as it's your cave, if you're interested, you can decide!"

"What cave?" Bobbi said bluntly. You sure you got the right farm, buddy? Bobbi made a show of looking around, noticing a lot of trees ringing her farm along with the usual bramble and general intrusion of Nature's chaos on her disorganized farm. And appreciated how well one blended right into the other.

"The one right over there," Demetrius answered, pointing past the path out the North side of her farm. "Haven't you seen it? It's not very big, before you came to town I found it while making a flora and fauna survey of the Valley."

Heading over, Bobbi noticed an indentation in the hill, mostly hidden behind trees and weeds. "That thing's a cave? It just looks like a crack in the rocks that even a squirrel would think twice about hiding in."

"Small caves can quickly become big caves, in geological time scales of course," Demetrius explained. "In any case, I can to a bit of clearing work to attract fruit bats to it or if you like, I can set up a moist environment with a few raised mushroom beds inside. Either way, I study what ends up growing or roosting in there. You can keep the mushrooms or any extra fruit the bats drop in there. Which would you prefer?"

Slow down Speed Racer, I didn't say yes to anything.

But free stuff. Free mushrooms or free bat... leavings. That sounds wrong, well, more like gross. But bats are cool and fruit bats are fruit cool. They probably don't even suck blood, other than blood oranges. Hmmm, boring mushrooms or clumsy bats? Easy answer.

"I'll take the bats, Demetrius, 'cause bats are fuzzy."

"OK then, whatever works for you. I'll set it all up and it shouldn't take much time at all. Thanks for letting me do this Bobbi, it's a great opportunity!" Demetrius turned quickly on his heel and headed north, back to his laboratory.

Time to head to the Library and see which books discuss cleaning bat spit off fruit. There's probably one written by Marlon, filled with off-color limericks.

Pausing to water the vestiges of her once almost-respectable farm, Bobbi continued into town, foraging on the way. Perusing the calendar outside Pierre's, Bobbi had her first heart attack since leaving Zuzu.

I forgot Emily's birthday.

What the @#$&#* was I doing over the past 2 days that I forgot??

Those stupid slimes, they did this to me! Colored my stupid hair and infected my addled brain. She spent the next half hour or so stomping the grass behind Pierre's store because it wasn't flat enough, muttering to herself, and afterwards suspected that a few people may have hurried quickly past the crazy lady with her fists balled straight-armed at her sides.

Stupid scythe stupid fishing rod stupid pickaxe stupid Bobbi.

OK, one bad mood deserves another, so Bobbi stomped her way over to Clint's via the bridge because there was more grass to stomp on the east side of the river. At Clint's shop, he was at work on her axe so didn't have time to crack the geodes she'd accumulated in the mines. Great.

The problem with a bad mood is it's just too much effort to keep the darn thing going. And a grudge? You need true perseverance and a reasonable memory for that kind of dedication. So much wasted effort for zero payoff. Wanting to avoid becoming dangerously tired, Bobbi dropped her mood and thanked Clint for his efforts on the axe and departed for the Mines. Pounding rocks into submission should clear the remaining vestiges of moodiness and maybe clear her mind. Plus, bashy is fun!

Avoiding the monsters as much as possible, Bobbi was nevertheless chased by something new which she really couldn't describe as anything other than a ghost. Because it was see-through and went through walls.

And looked like a ghost. Really quite unmistakable.

Slashing at the slow inevitability of its magnetic movement towards Bobbi, she was at least happy to somehow keep it at bay, if only from her fanlike sword flailing creating opposing air currents. Eventually it dissipated, leaving behind a bright shiny thing which had the impression of being valuable, but of course not being actual gold of any kind. Adding in a number of other colored gems of the light blue to green variety over the following mine levels, Bobbi suspected that at least a couple of these things should fill gaps in the Community Center.

While all those things were great, the highlight of the night wasn't the Crystal Dagger on Level 60, once again carefully removed from a suspicious chest likely placed there by a giggling Marlon. It was light, sharp, and quick enough, but those of us non-basketball players with tiny T. rex arms need something a bit more substantial to do more than pick food from our teeth. He knew this would be useless for me, that stinker.

No, the star of the evening was what looked suspiciously like a coffee bean, dropped by a swarm of fuzzy black annoyances that got the best of Bobbi in a corner, forcing her to swing wildly until the floor was covered in soot, coal, Bobbi sweat, and this bean. I will be the queen of a giant coffee plantation! If it's not too much work, of course. A girl's gotta have her standards.

She took a quick peek at Level 61 and was rewarded with a visit from her favorite gooey hairdresser, and took the hint that it was time to go home. On the way, Bobbi felt a little better about her day and resolved to make it up to Emily somehow. The sisters didn't seem to get along great, so as long as Haley hadn't made a scene about Bobbi getting flowers for her birthday, maybe it would be all for naught.

Back home, rinsed off, and with her previously full pack sorted out, Bobbi noticed it wasn't all that cold any more in the late evenings. Early mornings. It's 12:40!

This seems suspiciously like effort, and that needs to change. Enjoying a big floof into bed, Bobbi wondered what her pathetic crops would look like tomorrow and fell asleep fondly thinking that her new shiny axe would be ready, and maybe she'd keep those geodes for herself. *yawn* Maybe not, probably cool shiny things inside, too curious not to find out. Curiosity killed the... pocketbook....

Zzz...

 

[Dr. eeL]

It's good to see that you are back in the word-smith mines.

 

[Lew Zealand]

It's good to see that you are back in the word-smith mines.

Thanks!! Yeah some things happened (not too bad but distracting enough and are now past) and I just couldn't get in the mindset. Erm, and also starting a new playthrough Farm may have competed just a wee little bit for time...

Just checked. Holy cow, 47 hours in that new Farm (my guess was 30 and suspicion was 20). Yeah, that's all straight outta writing time but I kinda needed it because of things.

 

[Dr. eeL]

No apology necessary. I simply missed my fix.