Hey guys, I was playing Harvest Moon Tale of Two Towns when I kind of noticed that Lillian looked like Chelsea but with purple eyes, like Vaughn's. So I thought to myself, how would Vaughn react to his daughter dating, and in a foreign place as well. And thus this story came to life. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon.
When Vaughn had married Chelsea he thought his life couldn't get any better. The grumpy cowboy was finally content with his life, he had a loving wife and was surrounded by nature and animals. He finally had his own family. It was only two seasons later that his wonderful wife had done the impossible, she'd made him even happier.
It was a bright and sunny summer day when she'd announced her pregnancy to him. Suddenly his world grew by one more person. He hadn't even met their child yet but he already loved them. Months later, his world grew by yet another person once again, twins. They were having twins. But it wasn't until the twins were born that he'd known true elation, far greater then the happiness he'd felt at the alter, seeing Chelsea walk towards him, a vision in white.
A girl and a boy. The girl, Lillian, was the eldest, followed by her younger brother, Philip, a mere four minutes later. Vaughn had never felt the need to protect something or someone so fiercely as he did watching his tired wife proudly hold the two sleeping bundles against her chest.
They both took after their mother but Lillian, his dear sweet Lilly, had his eyes. Secretly she was his favourite, his little flower princess. Chelsea made sure to constantly tease him once she had overheard him murmuring the nickname to their daughter during their goodnight wishes. But that wasn't to say he didn't love Philip, but the boy took a real shine to his mother. He was her spitting image in both looks and personality.
His next burst of happiness surprisingly did not come from Chelsea, but instead from her brother Mark and his estranged wife. Mark had had an accident, one which robbed him of his life. His wife, all blonde curls and scarlet eyes, had soon after befallen into a deep mystical slumber induced by grief, one of which the likes of she would never awaken from again. The tragic pair had left behind a little blonde boy with scarlet eyes, Neil, a few years junior to their own children. Of course Vaughn and Chelsea had immediately taken in their nephew, adopting him as their own. And thus, his family had grown once more.
Over the years Vaughn and Chelsea watched their darling children grow up, far too fast in Vaughn's opinion. But soon they were both on the cusp of adulthood and sought to move elsewhere. Both Lillian and Philip had taken after their mother's dream and each wished to run their own farm, but as Chelsea was still capable of taking care of Sunny Ranch, the twins had decided to make their lives elsewhere. They'd settled on two towns, separated only by a mountains pass.
As sad as he was to let his children go, he knew he'd be proud of them and believed they would succeed on their own. Privately, he was thankful young Neil was still fifteen and had a ways to go before he too eventually decided to leave, following in Vaughn footsteps as an animal dealer. So it was with a heavy heart that Vaughn wished his children all the best as they set off for the twin villages, Bluebell and Konohana.
The twins wrote frequently to him and Chelsea, detailing their lives and occasionally asking for advice concerning both raising livestock and growing crops. Philip told them of the beauty of Konohana and its eastern atmosphere, while Lillian wrote about the western charm of Bluebell and its citizens. Vaughn's week was always brightened when their letters arrived. Little did Vaughn know, these weekly letters would soon become the bane of his existence.
It had all started a few weeks after the twins had set off, just after they'd managed to settle in.
"Vaughn, the posts here!" Chelsea called as she entered their home, drenched in sweat and caked in mud. She walked over to the kitchen table he was sitting at, handing him the bundle of letters, "Here, you take them, I'm going to go shower."
Vaughn's nose wrinkled in disgust as her smell hit him, "Yeah, you reek," was all he said, unwrapping the bundle of letters and beginning to sort through them. Junk, junk,
"Ow!" He cried out, rubbing the back of his head where Chelsea had promptly smacked him.
"Hmmph, serves you right, don't you know you're supposed to compliment your wife, even if it means lying?" She turned her nose up at him in a mocking manner.
"I'd think after twenty something years you'd know me being honest is one of the greatest compliments you'll ever receive," he smirked. Chelsea did not look very impressed, instead choosing to turn away from him and head to the shower,
"What did I do to deserve this…?" Vaughn could hear the humour lacing her voice.
"You married me," he quipped back, loud enough for her to hear in the bathroom.
"What a mistake!" She playfully called back, just as he heard the shower start. Vaughn chuckled to himself as he returned to his task of sorting the mail. Junk, junk, bill, bill, bill, junk, junk, shipping payments, junk, and ah… here we are, Philip and Lilly's letters. Vaughn smiled, taking the two letters out of the pile, shoving the rest of them to his left. Figuring his wife could read them later, Vaughn tore open Philip's letter first, eager to read about how he was settling.
Philip's letter was short and sweet, he didn't mince words, only writing of how he had finally managed to unpack everything in his tiny shack of a home and had begun to grow some basic crops. He hadn't been out visit his sister yet, but was planning on doing so sometime during the following weeks. He summarized that the villagers were kind and welcoming, but no one had stood out to him as of yet as he was still getting to know them. Philip ended his letter with a question posed towards Chelsea, asking what was the best way to grow tomatoes and a wish of luck to his parents and Neil.
Done with Philip's letter, Vaughn quickly grabbed Lillian's, carefully opening the scented envelope. Leave it to Lillian to find the most obscure things… he thought as he was hit with an even stronger floral scent once he unfolded the letter.
Dear mom and dad (and Neil too, I guess),
I just managed to unpack everything and finally settle in! Bluebell is just so wonderful! I wish you guys would come and visit sometime soon and see for yourselves. It's so charmingly rustic here, a real western feel to it.
I've managed to plant some crops here, but not a lot as I don't have all that much field space. Oh! But I have plenty of space for raising livestock, you'd love that dad! Speaking of which, one of the other ranchers here, Jessica, gave me a cow! How wonderful is that? The villagers here are so friendly, I feel right at home.
I've made tons of friends, soon worries on that front mom, and in your face Neil!
Vaughn chuckled, vaguely remembering the night before the twins had left, Neil teasing Lillian about how she'd have no friends, claiming her personality to be too much for any sane person. Lillian, in turn, joked how he would never find good friends, let alone a girlfriend if he kept up his rude attitude. Though she had laughed it off, Vaughn knew that his daughter hadn't considered not getting along with the villagers of her soon to be new home and a genuine fear soon settled within her. Luckily it seemed she didn't have much to worry about.
There are two girls here my age, Laney and Georgia. They're so sweet and helpful, I feel like I've known them my whole life. I really feel like I'm a part of their group. Jessica has a son named Ash who's around my age as well.
Vaughn paused when he read that. Boys, there were boys there and his little Lilly was alone and unprotected from those… those mongrels. He sucked in a breath, suddenly consumed by worry. He continued reading.
He's really nice but a little too wrapped around his little sister's finger. She gets really jealous of anyone who tries to take her brother's attention away from her for too long, I wonder if I can be friends with him? It's really cute watching him fumble around Laney though, I think he has a crush on her.
Vaughn let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, relief flooding him.
The mayor and his wife are really welcoming, helping me out here and there, explaining how things work here. They make such an adorable couple, Rutger, the mayor brings roses to his wife Rose every day. Rose loves flowers but Rutger tells me he only brings her roses so that he can see the beautiful flowers pale in comparison to Rose's beauty. How sweet is that? Maybe you should bring mom some flowers, dad.
Speaking of flowers, there's a florist here too. His name is Cam.
Panic seized Vaughn, Cam… the name brought forth a foreboding feeling. Reluctantly, Vaughn continued to read.
When I first met him he came across as cold and rude, he's a total jerk! He dismissed me almost as soon as I met him! If it wasn't for Ash, (his best friend), I'd never have even gotten his name. That guy makes me so mad! Though I've talked to him a few times since, he hasn't lightened up at all. I don't think he likes me, which makes it really awkward going to his stand. I think I'm going to try and befriend him! Laney (she's basically his sister) tells me he's really shy and kind of socially awkward so I'm going to try and get him to lighten up! At least so I can buy flower seeds in peace.
The panic gripping Vaughn suddenly turned into terror, flooding over his entire being. The story of Cam... and Lillian was beginning to take an all too familiar form, right from the very start. Vaughn couldn't move, he sat at the table in frozen horror. My dear Lilly… Her words were almost exactly what Chelsea's had been about him when they first met and look how that ended up.
Frozen in his seat, hands shakily holding up a scented letter, violet eyes wide with terror, that was how Chelsea found her husband when she came out of the shower. Concerned, she slowly walked up to him as not to startle him, "Vaughn? Yoo-hoo, are you there?" She waved her hand in front of his face a few times.
Vaughn blinked, his eyes coming back into focus, "…boys…" being the only coherent word she could hear from his quiet mutterings to himself.
"What." Chelsea looked at her husband in confusion tinged with worried. She noticed his eyes never left the paper he was holding. Plucking it out of his now lax hand, she quickly skimmed the letter from her daughter, happy to note she was settling in well, though the letter didn't give Chelsea any insight as to what had Vaughn so scared.
"Vaughn, I don't understand, what's got you so worried?"
His gaze snapped to hers, purple eyes blazing so fierce she physically stepped back a bit, "Cam…" he hissed.
"Cam? The…" here she looked back down at the letter to remind herself who this Cam was supposed to be, "The florist?"
Vaughn only grunted in affirmation. While grunting in answer was not uncommon for Vaughn, it sadly did not help Chelsea in understanding what got her grumpy cowboy into such a tizzy.
She sighed, "Well?"
"I don't like him."
"Like father like daughter I suppose," Chelsea giggled.
"Don't joke about this. It's a serious issue."
"What?" Chelsea asked dumbfounded, "Listen now Vaughn, not everyone likes everyone. It's okay if someone and Lillian don't get along, its natural."
"Chelsea, that's not the issue here," he grumbled, glaring at his wife who was clearly failing to see the problem.
"I'm afraid you've lost me then," she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Read between the lines, Chelsea! This Cam… is going to take our Lilly away! It's only a matter of time before he whisks her away from us forever!" Vaughn let out in an uncharacteristic cry.
"That… that makes no sense honey, personally I'd be more worried about this Ash character, he's got a lot more in common with Lillian, being a farmer as well." Privately, Chelsea was now rooting for whoever Cam was, she loved a good love-hate story, though she couldn't let her husband know that in fear of sending him into cardiac arrest. Best to try and throw him off the scent. It was clear to her that Lillian was interested in this Cam judging by the amount she had written about him in comparison to the others.
"You don't see it Chels, this story is starting out a bit too familiar for my liking." Vaughn glared at the offending piece of paper now held loosely in Chelsea's left hand.
Chelsea let out a laugh, understanding washing over her like a wave, "Are you talking about us, Vaughn?"
"History repeats itself, Chelsea," he grunted out the saying, his delivery grave.
In the following weeks, Lillian and Philip continued to write back home, informing their parents of the occurrences in their lives. Lillian mentioned Cam few times more, but on a whole didn't mention him too much. Vaughn was glad to note that some weeks she didn't even mention Flower Boy at all. His dear Lilly gradually stopped talking about Cam, a fact he was most grateful for. Though he couldn't help but be a bit suspicious, Lillian was never one to go down without a fight, she would either befriend this boy or die trying, yet here she was, all but giving up on him as evident from her written word. Vaughn chose not mention this suspicion to his wife.
One Monday evening during late Fall, he'd come back from the city earlier than usual. On his way home, he'd seen Chelsea sitting in Felicia's home through the window with said woman, Julia, Natalie, Lanna, Lily, and Sabrina, the friends all chattering away together. He decided he'd greet his wife at home and leave her undisturbed amongst her friends, a decision he'd come to later regret. Vaughn would come to greatly understand the saying: ignorance is bliss.
Entering his home, Vaughn could vaguely make out Neil's voice coming from further in the house. Curious, Vaughn silently walked towards his adopted son's room and leaned near the wall, straining to make out who his son was talking to. A girlfriend? Nah… he's too much like me.
"-get him to like you? Why are you asking me this?" He heard Neil mutter. He could imagine the angry blush on the blonde's face.
"He's like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Vaughn's curiosity was further spiked by Neil's indignant yelling.
"Listen Lillian, why don't you go ask your female friends to help you out with this crush? I don't even know the guy-" CRUSH!? LILLIAN?! Who dared to be the object of his little girl's affection?!
"H-hey! Stop yelling at me! What do you mean not a crush?" Vaughn desperately wished he could hear what his darling daughter was saying to his traitorous son.
"Obviously it is one! Why else would you be calling me?!" Vaughn was beginning to feel light headed.
"You call every. Week. Lillian. Asking about the same. Goddamn. Thing." Neil sighed, Vaughn could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Just give him flowers or something, he likes those yeah?" At the word flowers, Vaughn perked up, only one boy coming to mind who would like flowers. Cam… Gathering his strength Vaughn walked away from the traitors' room. Lillian was calling him every week to ask for advice on Cam... She was waiting for Mondays when she knew Vaughn wasn't home.
How would she know that Vaughn hadn't reacted well to the news of Cam... though? Neil wasn't home to see his reaction only Chelsea was there- Chelseaaaa… Even his wife was against him. It was obvious, Lillian kept mentioning Ash and the others a normal amount, only Cam...'s mentions were dwindling. His own daughter was working against him, his precious Lilly…
His house was full of traitors who were set out to take his only daughter away from him. They were Cam sympathizers. They were part of the enemy. Vaughn swore to get to the bottom of this, even if he had to do it alone. No one would claim his daughter's heart and live to tell the tale.
First things first, he had to confirm if his wife was in on this conspiracy Neil and Lillian held against him.
Vaughn went into the kitchen, beginning to prepare dinner. If Chelsea was in a good mood, he might be able to coax her into spilling some information. Deciding to make her favourite, rolled omelet, Vaughn began to plan out his mission, maybe I could enlist Philip as my man on the inside? It'd be risky, for all I know Philip is friends with Flower Boy, or Goddess forbid, supporting of Lillian's crush…
Vaughn heard the front door open, signalling his wife's return. Plating the omelettes, and setting them on the table, he waited patiently for her to come to the kitchen.
"Neil? Did you cook- Oh! Vaughn, you're home early today," Chelsea smiled warmly at him, her smile turning into a grin once she realized he'd prepared her favourite dish for dinner. She walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss, before sitting down at the table and calling for Neil.
Dinner was mostly a silent affair, if you were anyone but Chelsea. She chattered away the whole time, detailing the events of her day to the two antisocial men she called her family. Neil ate as fast as he could, excusing himself the moment he was done. Teenagers, Vaughn thought in a amusement, as he stared at the vacant spot Neil had occupied only a few moments ago.
Realizing that now he was alone with his traitor of a wife, Vaughn decided to put his plan into motion. He looked up at Chelsea, who was still blathering away about something Lanna had said earlier. Vaughn cleared his throat signalling his desire to speak, Chelsea stopped talking, looking at him curiously,
"So, I was rereading Lillian's last letters to us and I noticed she'd stopped talking about Flower Boy," he started. Chelsea only looked at him in confusion.
"What about Cam? I thought that was what you wanted?" Ah ha! She's practically confessed into getting my dear Lilly to stop telling me about that heathen!
"Oh nothing, just thought it was mighty strange for her to just give up on something like that. She's normally such a fighter, I'd've thought she'd keep trying to befriend the boy," he tried to sound as nonchalant as he could, which coming from him sounded borderline disinterested.
Chelsea gave him a suspicious look, but he could detect a hint of panic in her eye. It seemed his intuition was right. Now he'd have to lie back and wait for Lillian's next few letters, where she would confirm whether or not his wife was the traitor he suspected her to be.
Low in behold, the next few weeks did not disappoint. Lillian had gradually started talking about Cam... again, although Vaughn noted in distaste, the things she was writing about him were far more pleasant than they were in the beginning. He'd noticed too late, she's making progress… He eyed Chelsea with mistrust, just how is she informing Lilly? Is she in cahoots with Neil? He does apparently speak with her every… Monday… Mondays! His backstabbing wife was communicating with his precious flower princess on the one day of the week he wasn't here!
Vaughn needed solid confirmation before acting, thus he stalked to the home phone hanging by the fridge, checking if the coast was clear, and dialled up his boss. Luckily it was Sunday and thus Vaughn did not have to wait long for his plan to unfurl.
"Hey," Vaughn rasped, trying to make his voice as scratchy as possible, "It's Vaughn".
"…Vaughn?! Geez buddy, you don't sound great. In fact you sound as if you have a cheese grater shoved down yer throat," his boss' incredulous voice rang in his ear.
"Yeah… that's why I'm calling. I don't think I'll be able to make it in tomorrow. Hate to miss work but I don't want to risk exposing the animals," he punctuated his explanation with a fake cough at the end. He felt embarrassed acting like this, but he was desperate. He needed to keep his daughter away from the clutches of men…
"I think I'm with you on that, hoo boy you sound like yer about to cough up a lung there. I'll see if Dave can cover for ya, don't die on me, Vaughn, we need'ya."
"…Thanks," pathetic sniffling was added to his performance.
"No problem, bud, just feel better and we'll see ya next week!" Vaughn bid his boss farewell and hung up, letting out a relieved sigh, glad it had worked.
The following morning, Vaughn woke up at his usual time and bid Chelsea goodbye, feigning going to work. Leaving the house, he circled back and hung around near the back of the house.
Several gruelling hours later in the fall heat, crouched underneath the windowsill of his kitchen, did Vaughn's plan bare fruit. The phone rang. He waited with baited breath.
Chelsea picked up the phone, her voice carrying through the open window Vaughn was cramped up under, "Hello?… Oh, Lillian darling, how are you?" Vaughn tried to suppress his feelings of angry betrayal at hearing his precious daughters' name.
"Hmmm? Oh me? I'm fine, how are you holding up?" Vaughn silently willed his wife to talk faster and cut the useless chitchat, he was starting to lose feeling in his legs. He was much too tall to be comfortably crouched under a window for more then fifteen minutes. He'd been there for four hours.
After what felt like hours later did the conversation become interesting, "So…" Chelsea began mischievously, signalling to Vaughn that the real conversation would be starting now, "How are things going with Cam…?"
Traitor!
Chelsea giggled, "Well that's wonderful darling! I'm so happy to hear that!" Hear what?! What was that heathen doing to his daughter!
"…Hmm? Yes, yes I know dear, but it's for the best, you know how your father is. His hair is already white, please don't make it fall out from stress, I quite like the way he looks!" Vaughn tugged at his hair in horror, it wasn't feeling thin, was it?!
"Ah well, Philip is bound to be like that, hun. He's just protective of you, pay no attention to him." The rest of Chelsea's conversation went unheard as Vaughn was too busy celebrating at the fact that there was still one sane person left in his family. It seemed Philip was destined to be his favourite child. It was decided then, that Philip would be his inside man. Now if only he could uncurl from his ungodly position under the window…
Several hours later, long past the time he was supposed to be home, Vaughn accepted the fact he was stuck. His old age had apparently caught up with him as his knee joints had locked into place long ago and now he couldn't stand up. He was sorely tempted to call for help, pun not intended, but his pride wouldn't let him. Hence he remained crouched under the window, helpless as he listened to Chelsea worry about where he was.
It was only when she decided to phone his workplace to ask his whereabouts, did Vaughn attempt to get her attention. The last thing he needed was for her to find out he had played hooky just to spy on her to find out if she was betraying him by being Pro Team Cam.
Willing his joints to move, Vaughn suddenly and quickly tried to stand. His knees sprung into action with a sickening pop, unfortunately Vaughn forgot about the sill and promptly slammed his head into the bottom of it, letting out a strangled cry as his knees seized up again and his head felt like it had split open.
Having heard the commotion, Chelsea ran out the house, rounding towards the back expecting a burglar or wild animal. Instead, she was met with the sight of her idiot of a husband lying on the ground clutching his head while cursing traitors. She sighed heavily, smacking her forehead with her palm, Ugh, men.
"Alright Vaughn, you have a concussion right now, I've given you some pretty strong painkillers to help with the pain in both your head and your joints. You need to be careful, you're forty six, not twenty-six, your body is more fragile then it used to be," The Doctor spoke to him. Though Vaughn could hear him, he couldn't quite understand what the doctor was saying, his head felt pretty strange, fluffy almost. So he nodded dumbly in affirmation, regretting it almost as soon as he'd done it, dizziness and nausea washing over him in waves.
"Good. I'll be off now, I've left a note for Chelsea explaining how to properly care for you. Neil, would you give this to your mother when she gets back?" The doctor asked the blonde boy.
Neil grunted. The Doctor took that as a yes, "Alright, well I'll be off now. Take care Vaughn," without looking back the Doctor took his leave, throwing out a casual wave goodbye.
"I'm going to my room, mom'll be back soon," grunted Neil, before shuffling off, leaving Vaughn alone, confused, and completely delirious. The medication was not affecting him all that well, testament to the airy feeling he had in his head, and it was boosting his newfound paranoia to an all time high. He couldn't remember what had happened at first, but looking around his home he noticed the pile of letters from Lillian and it all came rushing back, his traitorous family, Flower Boy, and his precious little girl.
Vaughn shakily got up and headed for the phone in the kitchen. Picking it up he tried dialling Philip's number. After a few horribly failed attempts, Vaughn by some miracle punched in the right number. A few rings later, Philip picked up.
"Philip…" Vaughn rasped
"Dad? Why are you calling? You never call," Philip's surprised voice came from the other end.
"Listen, there's no time. Your brother is in his room and I have no idea when Chelsea will be back, so listen up," Vaughn spoke quickly and quietly, a slight tinge of hysteria in his tone. After Chelsea had dragged him inside the house and helped him to lie down on the couch, she left to go fetch some ice, orders from the doctor, from Charlie, who had taken over the store when Chen retired a few years back.
"What's going on between your sister and that boy, Cam…?" He bit out. He heard Philip groan on the other end,
"Ugh, why do you have to bring him up, it's bad enough I have to see them being all lovey-dovey together on their dates on the mountain path when I'm foraging, now you want me to think about- Uh, dad? You there still?" Philip asked, noticing the line had gone deathly silent. DATES?!
"What." Vaughn's rage was so great it limited his speech to only singular words.
"Didn't you know? They're dating. I thought you knew, seeing how she calls home so often. Neil approves and Mom's super excited, I swear she's planning the wedding already," Whatever love and trust Vaughn had left in his family just shrivelled up and died. He was alone in this cruel world, abandoned by those he thought loved him. Oh how wrong he was to have trusted them.
"Philip, I've been betrayed by your brother and mother." Vaughn grumbled into the phone.
"What?" Now it was Philip's turn to pose one worded questions.
"You're the only one who isn't working against me Phil, you're now my favourite child." Vaughn proclaimed and promptly hung up. It was decided, if everyone was against him, he'd have to do things on his own. Standing up with stiff joints, Vaughn walked unsteadily to the front door, exiting his house. He was a man on a mission and no one could stop him… As soon as he figured out which way he was supposed to walk to get off the farm.
By some miracle, Vaughn managed to stagger his way over to Kirk, the resident boatman.
"Heya, Vaughn! What can I do ya for?" Kirk cheerfully greeted. Vaughn lethargically swung his gaze over to Kirk, almost managing to make eye contact. At best one could say he was looking slightly above Kirk's shoulder, at worst he was looking in the completely wrong direction.
"Bluebell, takeme to Bluuell," Vaughn slurred, swaying on his feet.
"Hmm, Bluebell you say? That's mighty far, but why not? You look like you need the vacation. Twin towns right?" Kirk began prepping his equipment, oblivious to Vaughn's current state, "I'll need to go get the bigger boat, just wait here, big guy." Vaughn collapsed into a sitting position on the dock of Verdure Island, watching as the now elderly Kirk hobbled away, presumable fetching his bigger boat. To be fair to Kirk, he had gone a little batty in his old age.
A half hour later, Vaughn found himself lying on the deck of Kirk's bigger boat as the old man sped across the ocean at unrecommended speeds, towards the mountainous region containing the two towns. The whole trip felt like a dream to Vaughn, the rocking of the boat messing with his already spinning head, all he could do was stare up at the sky and answer Kirk's questions to the best of his current abilities. Vaughn mostly spoke gibberish to the old man, but being out of it himself, Kirk perceived it as truly stimulating and enlightening conversation.
"Land ho!" Kirk called out. Vaughn lifted his head off the wooden deck trying to catch sight of the island, but couldn't see over the ships railing. He dropped his head back down and decided to wait until they docked.
Vaughn felt the boat come to a stop, "Here we are!" Kirk called down to Vaughn from his place behind the wheel.
"…Greaaaat," Vaughn mumbled, his words drawn out. Kirk looked at him in concern for the first time during the entire trip,
"You ok there, big guy? A bit seasick, are ya?" Vaughn let out an unintelligible groan.
Kirk, on the other hand, seemed to have made interpreted something of the garble that had come from Vaughn's mouth, "Oh bugger, it's hit ya hard, eh? But I understand ya, I'll get ya to the beach. You just said your son should live nearby, yes?"
"Arrgfhl…"
"Brilliant, let's go!" And with a dexterity a man of Kirk's age should not have, he lifted Vaughn to his feet and helped drag him over to the side of the boat, shoving him down the walkway and onto the beach. Barely catching his feet, Vaughn began shuffling down the beach towards the forest lining the edge, there appeared to be some sort of path leading inland, or so Vaughn assumed.
Kirk gazed at Vaughn's retreating back, "Ah, what a strapping young lad, best wishes to him!" He exclaimed before heading back to his boat. Kids these days, so ambitious, to think he's a world renowned fruit distributer, truly he is living the dream…
Vaughn was lost. His medication was rapidly wearing off, leaving him very lost, confused and in pain in the middle of a random mountainous path, a fact which further served to confuse him because there were no lush mountainous regions in all of the Sunshine Islands archipelago.
"Where the hell am I…?" Squinting up into the sky, trying and failing to get his bearings, he failed to notice where he was going and stumbled over an unfortunately placed tree stump. Vaughn fell to the ground, his consciousness leaving him he second his head hit the ground. Just before he abandoned the world of the waking, he thought he heard a feminine voice yell out in alarm.
Vaughn found himself passing in between consciousness and unconsciousness. During his few lucid moments, he felt himself being jostled around, frantic voices yelling incoherent voices over him and sharp fingers prodding around his head.
Reina had been studying a particularly large and succulent moondrop flower when out of the bushes a silver haired cowboy came stumbling out, collapsing a few feet away. Thank goddess he didn't crush the flower… reality soon caught up with the botanist though as she fully registered the unconscious foreign man in front of her. Still she was really grateful he hadn't landed on the flower… Shaking her head to get her priorities clear, Reina grabbed the flower and dashed off down the mountain path. She came across Sheng's place first but figured the old man in the panda suit wouldn't be as helpful as say literally anybody else, so she kept running.
Thankfully Kana's place was right next door. Reina ran up to the door, pounding on it as hard as she could. She could faintly hear Kana's slow and heavy footsteps approaching the door.
"Woah, woah, woah, calm down, I'm coming!" She heard him yell out from inside. Reina kept pounding, silently urging him to get his ass in gear. Finally, Kana opened up the door,
"Reina? Why are you knocking? The door is always unlocked during the day. This is a store you know?" He looked down at the normally refined but now flustered botanist in slight concern.
"There-there's a strange man passed out in the middle of the mountain path. He needs help, but I can't-can't carry him myself," Reina stuttered, trying to catch her breath from her mad dash down the mountain. Luckily, Kana instantly leapt into action. Grabbing her arm he led her into the stables, towards a sleek black horse named Yoko.
"Get on," he said, lifting her up onto the horse before she even had the chance to answer. Kana lifted himself onto the horse behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist so as to make sure Reina would not fall off, "Lead the way, tell me where to go!" And they were off, racing down the mountainous path in search of the mysterious man.
"Turn here!"
"Left!"
"There! By the bushes!" Reina grabbed the arm wrapped around her waist with her left hand, pointing towards a silver haired man lying face first on the ground with her right. Kana slowed Yoko to a trot and finally came to a complete stop. Unsaddling, the two of them approached the cowboy.
Kana looked at Reina, "Grab his legs, I'll get his torso. We'll carry him to my horse." She nodded, "Okay, on three." Kana placed his hands under the man's armpits, as Reina grabbed hold of his booted feet.
"Ready?"
"Mm."
"One… Two… and three! Lift!" The two young adults worked together, managing to lift the surprisingly heavy man together. They carried him over to the horse, slinging him over Yoko's back like a sack.
Kana sighed, stretching out his hands over his head, muscles flexing, "Alright, let's bring him over to Dr. Ayame's she'll know what to do." Reina once agin nodded, eyes fixed on Kana's arm muscles. Together the two set back to Konohana with a slightly hurried pace.
Philip had just gotten back from Lillian's. After that strange phone call from his dad about Cam, Philip decided to go chat with his sister and figure out just what the heck was going on. Unfortunately daddy's little princess was clueless, not having talked to her father in any medium other then letters in months. Tired and confused Philip was looking forward to getting home and calling it a day. That was his plan until he saw what was practically the entirety of Konohana crowding around the clinic. Curious and slightly weary, Philip slowly made his way over to the crowd.
Stopping by Nori, Philip heard her whispering to Reina and Yun, "He really is quite handsome, though a bit old for my taste," she giggled.
"I guess," muttered Reina. Yun only laughed,
"My, I'd say he's still quite young dears." Philip's curiosity only grew,
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked no one in particular.
Nori turned towards him, "Reina and Kana found a cowboy passed out on the mountain path. He was quite injured but Dr. Ayame and Hiro are treating him right this moment."
Philip opened his mouth to reply, but right at that moment Hiro burst out of the clinic, looking tired but cheerful, "Alright everyone, our mysterious guest has woken up. Please try not to crowd him, I fear he's still slightly disoriented and doesn't know where he is."
Excited murmuring broke throughout the crowd, everyone wanting to see who this man was and what his purpose was in Konohana. They all started trying to enter the clinic, but Hiro stood steadfast at the door, denying them entrance all at once.
"Please everyone, stand b-"
"Sir! Sir! Please wait! Where are you going?" The crowd quieted down as Ayame's indignant shouts floated past the doors of the clinic. A beat, before she once again launched into a flurry of frantic shouting,
"Wait! You're still not well sir!" A tall, middle aged man stepped out from the clinic, pushing past Hiro. He paused next to the doctor in training when he saw the large gathering of faces, all eagerly awaiting to see the mysterious new arrival. Excited chatter broke out through the crowd.
"There he is! See isn't he handsome?" Philip heard Nori sigh dreamily, but he could only stare at the man in disbelieving shock. Only one word escaped past his lips,
"D-dad?!"
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Philip asked his father who was now sitting at his kitchen table, ice pack held firmly to his head.
"Would you believe me if I said I'm really not sure?" His father bit out gruffly.
"Geez, dad, what happened?" Philip shook his head, another thought quickly coming to mind, "Wait, does mom know you're here?"
"Err… I don't think so," Vaughn reached for his black stetson to tilt over his eyes, but as he grasped for it, he remembered he'd taken it off to instead replace it with the ice pack. He now held.
Philip groaned, "You're dead," was all he said before he headed to the phone on his wall. He rung up his mother.
"Hey mom," he started off when he heard her pick up.
"Phil?" Her voice was shaky, "Philip, honey, this is not a good time… I-I've lost your father, I don't know where he went! He's injured and heavily medicated, I'm worried what he could've gotten up too! It's been a few hours since he disappeared," He heard her sob over the phone.
Philip cleared his throat, trying to end his mother's hysteric rant, "Yeah… about that. I think I found him…"
"Philip…" her tone was dangerous, "What do you mean you found him?"
"He uh, he somehow managed to wind up here in Konohana," Philip nervously revealed.
"Philip, would you be so kind as to hand your father the phone? I'd like to speak with him, thank you very much." She finished, her voice so sugary sweet it was almost acidic.
"Yeah, sure, no problem," Philip quickly handed off the phone to his father, not wanting to be the one on the receiving end of his mother's wrath. Vaughn nervously grabbed the phone and held it up a ways away from his ear. The moment a hesitant hello left his lips, the line on the other end exploded into a flurry of shouts and insults. Philip watched his father solemnly take the deserved verbal abuse from his worried mother.
Knowing this would take a while, Philip left to go take his deserved nap.
Forty-five minutes later, Philip woke up feeling refreshed and bright eyed. Walking back into his kitchen he found his father still rooted by the phone, his mother having not let up at all judging by the angry shouting he could make out from where he was standing. Philip turned around and reentered his bedroom. He could deal with this another time.
"So are you going to head back home now or…?" Philip trailed off, looking at his father. Vaughn looked away from Philip, focusing his violet eyes on the front door,
"…Yeah, probably. Might check on Lillian and her boyfriend… while I'm here too," he replied. Now, Philip probably should have realized this was a bad idea and stopped his father, but he was just so tired and frankly couldn't care at the moment so instead he pointed Vaughn towards Bluebell and wrote out the directions, wishing him good luck and a safe trip.
Now that Vaughn was no longer under the influence of strong painkillers, the trip to Bluebell was quite straightforward. He made it in record time. Looking around the village he had to admit Lillian's description was spot on, its rustic nature did have a charming quality to it. Enough about the scenery, I have to find Flower Boy.
Vaughn laid his eyes on a young red-headed girl, deciding she would do, he stalked up to her, " S'cuse me ma'am, would you know where I can find a man named Cam?"
The girl had obviously not heard his approach and startled at hearing his deep voice. She turned around in confusion, ready to answer but blushed when she caught sight of him, "O-oh! Ya scared me there sir. Ah was it Cam you said you were lookin' for?" She stuttered out, her southern twanged voice coming out quite loud.
Vaughn nodded.
"Oh, well he's usually tending to his shop 'round this time a day," the red head regained her composure, "Mind sharin' what yer business with 'im is?"
"…Flowers for my wife…" Vaughn grunted out the lie. He saw the girl visibly deflate when she heard the word wife leave his mouth. Personally, he was grateful, these younger women interested in him were his daughter's age and it creeped him out if he were honest.
"Ha ha, makes sense, sir," she smiled, pointing vaguely north she continued, "His stand is right over there, by Howard's cafe. Hope yer wife likes the flowers, Cam's real good with 'em."
"Right." Was his curt reply, before he stalked off in the direction she'd pointed to.
Upon reaching Howard's cafe, Vaughn noticed the flower stand was conspicuously unmanned. Ignoring that it was lunch time, Vaughn immediately jumped to the conclusion that Philip must've tipped off the boy… that he was coming. Philip you betrayer.
Vaughn walked into the cafe, remembering Lillian mentioning the owner was Cam…'s surrogate father. If anyone knew where Flower Boy would be it'd be him. Immediately he was greeted by a large effeminate man,
"Hello! Oh my, I've never seen you here before, stranger? What can I get you?" The man's voice was surprisingly deep and clashed horribly with his image. Shaking off his surprise, Vaughn just replied,
"I'm looking for someone."
"Aren't we all?" The man sighed wistfully before straightening himself out, leaning in towards Vaughn over the counter, "But enough of that, who're you looking for?"
"Someone named Cam," Vaughn replied, trying to keep his voice civil.
The man's, who he presumed to be Howard, entire disposition turned to one of mistrust, "What do you need Cam for?"
"Business." Now Vaughn meant the business with his daughter in a threatening manner, but luckily Howard took it as him meaning the boy's flower business.
"Oh, ok," he nodded amiably, "Laney!" He called for his daughter. A young blonde girl hurried down the stairs, rushing towards Howard,
"Yes?" She glanced over to Vaughn, blushing slightly. Howard ignoring this or at least pretending to, proceeded,
"Laney, dear, do you know where Cam might be?"
"Cam? Hmm I'm not sure, I think he's supposed to be going out to lunch with Lillian in a bit, so he should be somewhere near by. He said they'd be meeting here." Going to lunch are they? Not while I'm here. That filthy heathen can keep his hands off my daughter!
Howard turned towards Vaughn, "Well, you heard Laney, he'll be here in a bit. Now why don't you have a seat, maybe order something while you're here. I recommend the lunch special today." Vaughn only nodded, to far gone into the thought of what he would do to Cam… when he saw the boy to really pay attention to Howard.
"Excellent," Howard smiled, before coming around the counter and helping to guide/shove Vaughn into sitting at the nearest table.
Fifteen minutes later, Vaughn found himself waiting for Cam... at the same table he was unceremoniously shoved into and eating a surprisingly delicious turnip sandwich, the special of the day. Hearing the chiming of the bell signalling customers Vaughn turned his head and caught sight of a tall young man with dirty blonde hair and striking emerald eyes.
"Cam! You're back," Howard greeted amiably, "There's someone here to see you."
"Oh?" Came the quiet and smooth voice of Cam… The boy approached Vaughn's table, coming around to sit on the other side. Vaughn looked up at the boy, seeing his features clearly for the first time, dammit he's a pretty boy! Seeing the boy's handsome features made Vaughn falter, it would be much harder to convince Lillian to leave this boy now that he knew he was good looking too. Vaughn clenched his teeth.
Cam…'s countenance was calm and cool, while Vaughn's took on an increasingly hostile feel. He could see the boy start to get nervous, watching as his green gaze flickered worriedly over to where Howard was standing behind the counter. Vaughn kept staring at Cam…, purple gaze never faltering.
The longer Vaughn stared the more uncomfortable the boy seemed to become. Vaughn added this to one of the boy's numerous faults, a man who couldn't look danger in the eye was a man unworthy of his daughter. However, as soon as Vaughn finished the thought, a cool mask seemed to settle over the boy,
"What business do you have with me?" Came the clipped words. Vaughn could see why his daughter was off put at the start.
"Plenty." The air surrounding the two was hostile, "You need to learn to stay away, heathen."
Confusion exploded onto Cam…'s expression, "Stay away? From what?"
"You know exactly what," Vaughn's words were clipped and harsh. Though Cam... was confused, and it seemed Laney as well, from what Vaughn could see on her face from her position at the table behind theirs, Howard's facial expression blossomed from one of concern into one of complete understanding.
"I'm afraid I don't if you don't care to explain," the boy's quiet voice had an angry edge to it.
"Think real hard, boy."
Cam… sighed before obviously giving up. He moved to stand and presumably leave, something Vaughn would not have, not until he agreed to stop dating his precious Lilly.
"Stop." Flower Boy paused, glancing down at him, "I'm going to warn you only once, stay away from Lillian." Cam… glared.
"Lillian? Ugh, not another one…" the boy was growing increasingly hostile. Vaughn was too for that matter.
"Again, stay away from my d-" Vaughn cut himself off noticing the boy's glare and focus had now shifted towards something behind Vaughn. Why that little piece of… Turning around to see what had caught the boy's attention, he saw through the cafe window his little flower stopped by the fountain. She was talking to a man with a ponytail.
Vaughn recognized him as one of the villagers from Konohona, Kama, Karma, or something. He'd apparently been the one who helped bring Vaughn to the village when he'd passed out in the mountains and Vaughn had been grateful to the tanned young man. Any amiable feelings towards the boy quickly disappeared though when he saw him purposefully flexing in front of his Lilly. Something which Lillian seemed to enjoy watching. He heard the wood of the chair in front of him creak. Looking back, he saw Cam… angrily watch the exchange going on.
"..That damn Kana, trying to hit on my girlfriend," Cam… grit out. Then out of seemingly nowhere, a young man dressed in the apparel of a postman approached his daughter and the tan mongrel. Vaughn watched as this new man blushed heavily while shyly giving Lillian a bundle of letters. Vaughn willed him to go away, but this new mongrel lingered, trying to flirt with Lillian, though rather poorly thought Vaughn, glancing at the slightly embarrassed expression his daughter had. Horse Boy, as Vaughn had dubbed him, in turn was glaring at the new arrival of the newly named Shy Boy.
Vaughn's attention was roughly yanked back to Flower Boy, when he heard him roughly stand up, the chair scratching the wooden floor harshly. Cam… stalked out of the cafe, purposefully heading towards Lillian and the two stooges trying to hit on his daughter.
Cam was having a bad day. First, business was slow today, second he was almost late for his lunch date with his darling Lillian, only for her to end up being late herself, being held up by Kana and Dirk, each trying to steal her away from him, and thirdly he was accosted by some strange geezer apparently also after Lillian. So it was safe to say Cam was not a happy man right now.
As he approached the trio, he heard Kana ask Lillian if she'd come by and visit Hayate, his horse, right now because the horse missed her presence. Cam snorted, yeah right, only if the horse was a human named Kana.
Before Lillian could speak, Cam reached them, "Sorry Kana, we have lunch plans you're currently keeping her from," he spoke cooly. His entire demeanour was calm and collected, only his eyes betrayed his fury at the other men. Lillian looked sweetly at Cam, placing her hand on his forearm lightly,
"Sorry Kana, Cam's right, maybe some other time," she replied sweetly, oblivious to the surrounding men's feelings. Some other time!?
"Sure," Kana replied before clearing out with Dirk, the two men sensing Cam's silent rage. Calling out a goodbye to the two of them, Lillian then turned back to Cam,
"Sorry about that, Kana stopped by because of something Philip asked him to do. I think he got sidetracked when he saw me though, because he started to talk to me about how my horse, Levi was doing, and then Dirk came to give me my mail," Lillian explained calmly, unaware of what Kana and Dirk had been doing. Cam huffed in annoyance, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to tell her who to talk and not talk to, he could only just hope she remained oblivious to the other men's advances and stayed with him instead.
Jerking out of her light grasp, Cam headed back to Howard's, he was going to deal with the third annoyance of the day and get him to back off his girlfriend. Lillian was left standing by the fountain, watching her normally reserved boyfriend stalk away from her and back to the cafe. She stood frozen in her spot until she saw the door to Howard's cafe swing shut, before rushing over to calm Cam down.
Vaughn had watched the entire ordeal between his daughter and the three men. He saw how her face had lit up when Cam… approached and how it fell when he headed back to the cafe. Vaughn's expression softened, she really cares about him, huh?
Cam… reentered the cafe, his movements conveying tightly controlled fury, "Alright, I'm going to ask you to back-"
"Are men always approaching Lillian like that?" Vaughn interrupted, voice tight.
Cam… looked at him in confusion, "Yes…"
"Lillian's quite popular with the boys in the two towns, Cam here's having trouble keeping them all away, even when they're dating, ho ho ho," Howard chimed in. Cam… glared at Howard in annoyance, before turning it back to Vaughn.
This piece of information struck Vaughn like an arrow, my princess is popular with men?! One was bad enough but now there's a hoard of them? I can't stay here to keep them all away. Vaughn looked critically at Cam… before making up his mind. He'll have to do… for now.
Cam... had opened his mouth to reply something but Vaughn once again beat him to it. Grabbing Cam… by the shoulders, Vaughn looked him straight in the eye,
"Listen here, Flower Boy, I never thought I'd say this but, you have my approval, just keep those filthy heathens away from-" Vaughn's frantic speech caused by the thought of multiple men after his daughter was cut off by said daughter bursting through the cafe door,
"Cam! Wait! Please don't be upset…" Lillian started off passionately before trailing off, ending on a confused note as her eyes took in the scene in front of her. Vaughn watched as his daughter looked around, seeing Howard grinning to himself as he dried off some dishes behind the counter, Laney's wide eyed stare, and himself, clutching her boyfriend by the shoulders, mouth poised to yell at the boy.
Lillian opened her mouth to presumably question what was going on but at that moment Kana burst in, frantically looking around, taking in the sight of the people within the cafe, before his eyes settled on Lillian,
"Lillian! I forgot to tell you! Philip sent me to warn you that your dad is here on some sort of anti-Cam crusade fuelled by an intense painkiller induced paranoia!"
Shocked, wide green eyes met now familiar annoyed purple ones.