Llama: Hey! New story I'm writing! So I usually write all of this on my ipad that has autocorrect.. buuuuut instead I'm writing it on my nookcolor thaaaat doesnt... so bear with me here! I'll most likely rewrite this when I have a computer. But until then.. just try to bear with it. Another issue, I'm literally deciding what fandom/pairings/subject/inspirations this will be as I write this. I have no idea yet. Okay.. rate and review pretty please my delicious kitties! And after finishing this note, I've decided on AshxCam
It was a particularly warm autumn afternoon that the unusual sound of a wagon's wheels against the dirt round rounding the corner to the small village of Bluebell sounded. There were only a handful of residents living there; most of them their families had resided there for a few generations. There in attendance was the mayor Rutger and his wife Rose, the carpenters with their daughter, a frail old farmer who lived just a small walk out of the center of town, a man and his young daughter, and the family that sold the animals. The sound of a customer or perhaps a new arrival struck hope into the small town. The few children gathered along the fence of the animal farm and watched the wagon roll to a stop infront of Howard's cafe.
Ash, the second-oldest of the three watched carefully as a tall man in a blue outfit strolled up to the overly girly shop-keeper. The children couldn't hear their conversation, but the shaking of hands among the two adults piked their interest.
The youngest, Laney, who was Howard's daughter, finally broke the silence, "Did he order a package?"
Ash shook his head, his semi-long dirty blond hair swaying. That wagon was not designed for a package. "It's designed for customers!" he confirmed aloud. Laney gave him an odd look. The quiet one, and oldest, of the three seemed to be lost in thought. "What do you think, Eileen?"
Eileen was much older than the other two children; fourteen to their nine and ten. She stared intently at the wagon, as if about to interrogate it. Upon being asked, she broke out of her trance with a soft laugh, replying simply with "I'm not sure, Ash. Maybe we should just wait and see, It looks like he's going to open it up."
Following her gaze, Ash stared once again at the average-looking cart. The horse pulling it looked rather nice, much bigger than his pony he had out grazing in the fenced in area behind them. Ash was rewarded when he saw two feet step down onto the ground, though the cart blocked his view of the actual person, he could tell the arrival was short in stature because Howard had his head down smiling. Ash noted the arrival's strange style, instead of having work boots like him and most of the men here, they donned sneakers that were black. He had seen some that resembled that style when his mother had taken him to the city once.
Laney had become less interested in the new arrival, considering he or she would probably be occupying the empty room below her's in her home. She was the most patient of the three children. Eileen was also very patient, but Ash, on the other hand, wouldn't be satisfied unless he could do things now, not later. So asking for Ash to wait was often very difficult.
Laney sat down on the grass, picking the little wildflowers that grew. she started to braid the little flowers, weaving them intricately. Ash looked down and sat next to her, watching her curiously. His curiosity got the better of him finally and he asked meekly, "Where did you learn to do that?" having never seen her give any attention to flowers before now.
"Well," she started, drawing Eileen's attention to sit and listen also, "my father took me to the city once to visit Auntie Sharron. Her godson lived with her too because his parents left somewhere a long time ago and he was very nice, you see. Auntie told me to go play with him so I did and he taught me some cool things!" She smiled wide as she finished her speech. Ash kept his eyes trained on her flower weaving, partly paying attention as her fingers weaved skillfully.
With the slam of a wagon door, the wagon barreled out of the tiny village. The children glanced up to sneak a peek at the new arrival but were disappointed when they saw that they were already hidden inside the cafe with Howard closing the door behind them.
"Let's go see!" Ash announced a moment after. Eileen looked reluctant and Laney looked indifferent. After all, she'd find out who this new person was later anyway. But she didn't mine figuring it out s few hours early.
Eileen still looked reluctant as Ash shot off towards the cafe.
"Ash, my dear boy! What brings you to my humble of ode?" Howard inquired in his unusually high voice. It was somewhat unnerving when he was younger and scared him away from asking if Laney was home. But he'd gotten used to it eventually.
"I, uh, just wasted to..." He trailed off, haven't yet thought of a fib to use. Howard raised a perfectly plucked brow. "I, uh... Wanted to... Help you fix the leak in your roof!" Ah blurted out.
Howard was taken by surprise at the sudden suggestion. He regained his composure a moment later, replying with "Ash that is very generous of you, but it is a man's job to fix these things! It's a child's job to run and play, but I think what you're looking for is in the room to the far left. No rough-housing though!"
Ash was stunned by Howard figuring him out so easily, but nodded mutely and shuffled on to the extra room behind the counter. He heard the cafe door open and looked behind him to see Laney shuffling in.
"Darling! Be a dear and follow Ash and greet our new arrival, but could you also be sure to check the oven every fifteen minutes? I have a delicious ham cooking." and with that, the man shouldered a hammer and tied on his pink belt that held his other tools and nails, and trudged upstairs.
Laney walked up to Ash's side and knocked gently on the door. Before she could open it, it was opened from the inside by another child. The newcomer was shorter than Ash and hard very green eyes. They reminded Ash of the jewels on her mother's necklaces And rings. The shorter boy also donned a purple checkered hat that was slightly tilted upon his head. The long-ish hair under the hat was almost the same color as Ash's, maybe a little darker. But it looked much softer, probably used to expensive shampoo and hair products.
"Did you need something?" The shorter boy kept his eyes trained on Ash and not noticing the shorter girl off to the side. His voice sounded annoyed.
"Cammy!" Laney launched herself forward into the shorter boy. The boy made a short noise of surprise before tumbling backwards onto the floor. Laney tumbled with the boy with a squeal of surprise. Ash grimaced and watched the chaos of the two tangled in a mess on the floor; Laney was hugging the boy tightly and the boy looked like a scared cat, trying to escape the grip Laney had on him. But Ash knew for a fact that the girl had a strong grip. Whether or not she got that trait from her father was a mystery.
About ten minutes later, the two had untangled and sat themselves down in the café area of the large two-story home. "So why did you come to Bluebell?" Laney asked, crossing her legs at her knees carefully with one on top of another and twining her fingers on the top knee.
Cam, Ash had learned was his name after their short introductions, didn't reply at first. But after a few moments, he took a breath and began, "Sharron is ill. So Howard offered to take me in until she regained her health. The city air is also not good for my condition."
"Your condition?" Ash blurted, also stumbling over the unknown word.
Cam nodded, "I am also ill, sick, unwell, not healthy." He offered similar words and Ash had finally understood. "I have a breathing problem, Ash, the city has many air pollutio- problems," he corrected himself, figuring the bigger words would cause more issues.
"Well out here the air is nice!" Ash exclaimed.
Nodding, Cam replied, "it is, I feel better already. But I do hope Sharron gets well soon."
Ash understood how that was, his mother wasn't feeling very well recently and trusted the farm to his small hands. But he was very capable of it, his father was away on a business trip to the city and wouldn't be returning for half a season. The farming was relatively easy, though. Feed the cows, ket them graze, watch over them for a few moments, and then let them back in before the day is over. Laney often came to visit to play with the baby animals they had in stock.
Laney had stood up to go check on her father's ham and also start boiling water for herb tea. Cam watched her curiously at work in the kitchen, noting, "when you last visited, you couldn't even craft a sandwich. You've grown a lot, Laney."
Laney snorted, "the last time I visited you and Sharron, I believe I was only five or six, Cam! And what of you? Have you discovered all of the flowers yet?"
Sensing he was about to be ejected out of the loop, Ash quickly interjected, "Flowers?"
"Yes," Cam answered, looking flustered as he pushed a strand of hair behind his ear.
"Why flowers?"
"Why not?" Cam shot back.
Ash felt the need to justify his questions. "I just wanted to know why," he told the smaller boy, "I wasn't going to make fun of you, Cam. I think they smell pretty! My dad used to bring home these red ones to mom and she would be so happy. If you like flowers then that's great! Maybe you could teach me abput some! And I can teach you about farming!"
Cam was dumbfounded. Ash wasn't going to mock him if his choice of studies? Call him a girl? Question his sexuality? "You-You don't... think that it's girly?" Ash shook his head. Cam found a smile pushing at his lips and soon couldn't hold back the grin as he scratched the back of his head shyly, knocking his hat off his head and onto the table. He reached out to return it to his head but too slow as Ash snatched it and sat it perfectly on his own head.
"What do you think Laney?" Ash asked with giggles, "Do I look as pretty as Cam?"
Laney had finished the tea and carried three cups over to the table, distributing them among the three of them. She looked up at Ash and laughed, "Never! Cam is prettiest!"
Ash's bottom lip stuck out in a childish pout. Cam couldn't help but blush as the two fought over who was prettier.
Llama:Well this concludes chapter one. I worked pretty hard on this for a few days and during school so if you could take a minute and review it or point of my mistakes, that'd be great! I love criticism too if you love to argue things. Next chapter will be a TIME WARP! Nine years into the future with a few paragraphs of the past in italics. And Auntie Sharron doesn't exist in the game, she's an OC.