Chapter One
Hello and Goodbye

Taki was yelling, he was upset...with me. "Claire, can you get down from the roof, you're going to hurt yourself!" He yelled. "But, Takkkii I need to fix this roof before the winter comes." I whined. "Claire, don't be a child, your fifteen. You need to act like an adult!" Takukura glared at me. "But-" He cut me off by yelling. "GET DOWN NOW! I'll get someone else to fix the roof!" I sighed. Taki was mad, very mad; I jumped from the roof, groaning as I landed on my stomach. "Claire!" He limped his way towards me. I sat up laughing; he groaned and slapped his head.

"I say Claire, one day you're going to end up like your father." I pouted after he said that. "-But Takkii, I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself, see look; fine as a twig." I stood up and pointed towards myself. "Jeezes girl you are very childish for a girl your age." He shook his head and walked away.

I laughed and stumbled my way towards the barn. I opened the door to see Booboo with her calf besides her. I smiled and walked towards them. "Hey girlies!" I petted Booboo gently on the head. Then she mooed, her head moved down to her calf. "Oh. Hello Branflakes." I was just about to pet her on the head. Then I saw a silver letter that was on the red ribbon that I placed around her neck the other day. I pick up the small letter and read it.

Tonight I shall come
to
bless your beautiful calf.
-Phantom Skye

I stared at the letter, confused. Phantom Skye? Who's Phantom Skye? I bet this is probably some stupid joke from that idiot Rock. The writing was beautiful, I never seen such beautiful writing before, but how can it be from Rock when he sucks at everything? I glanced at the letter once more before I placed it in my back pocket.

My mind was distracted while I did my daily chores. I should get that roof fixed before the beginning of winter or else I'll freeze to death. I'll get to that when Taki goes for a walk. Yeah, that will be okay.

"Boo!" I screamed loudly and looked up to see Jill with a grin on her face. I sighed and stood up straight. "Jill, I swear one of these days you're going to give me a heart attack." I frowned while she giggled. "You sound like Taki!" She put both hands on her hips with a smile. "Okay, what do you need?" I blew my bangs out of my eyes, but they ended up in the same place.

"Nothing, I just wanted to come see my best friend." Jill grinned like a wild women. "If by visiting, you must mean the bar." I said calmly, her grin turned into a frown. "How'd you know?" She raised an eyebrow. "You only come to my barn to borrow something or you want to drag me to the bar. Besides I'm..." The letter in my pocket felt heavier all of a sudden. "Busy." I said that word calmly, like I wasn't lying. To tell the truth I was a horrible liar.

I smiled. "Besides, you got Rock to go with you." She flushed after I mentioned Rock. "Oh yeah, if you see Rock tonight can you tell him to stop with stupid the pranks?" I sighed. She'll probably help him along with his prank. "What pranks?" Jill had questioning tone. "Yeah, he sent me a stupid letter." The letter started to burn in the back pocket. I frowned. I should talk to someone about this; I don't think Jill would want to know about her boyfriend playing pranks on her best friend, right?

"It's nothing Jill, I got to go see Lumi. Bye!" I walked past her, she followed me. "Tell me Claire. Now." I flinched after she said the last word. "Can't, it's just something about 'blessing' my cow." Jill started to laugh. "That's all? And you're worried about this!" Her laughter filled my ears while I flushed a deep red. I walked Jill to the bar, it was only twelve in the afternoon, and yet she wanted to go to the bar? She was an odd girl indeed, but somehow I managed to find friendship with her.

I made my way to the Villa, I sighed as I walked up the beautiful brick road. The trees hanged over the brick road causing it to look more beautiful. I finally made my way up the hill and saw Lumina sitting in the grass. Thank-Goddess! I sat down beside her, she was off in her own little world at the moment. I notice because she had that blank face. She's been in her own little world a lot lately since...well since Jill started dating Rock.

"Hey." I whispered. She snapped her head up and looked at me with a smile. "How long were you sitting there?" She asked. "Since a second ago." I laughed. "Oh." Lumina frowned and looked down. "Is something wrong?" I asked. "...No." Lumi sighed. I felt pity for her, she been crushing on Rock for years, and then she had enough courage to confess. But of course Jill got to him first.

"I want to show you something." I pulled the letter from my back pocket and showed her. While she read the letter, I wondered what it was like to watch her loved one get taken away from her. I'll probably cry and be depressed forever. It was kinda sad to see someone you love get taken away from you. Then of course I had to be friends with Jill, so now they are both expecting me to take a 'side'.

"Oh!" She gasped. I stared at her confused. "My grandma got the same letter! Except ours was a little while ago." I groaned, so there really was a 'Phantom Skye'. "Claire. You gotta be careful! You can't just let him steal Branflakes!" Her voice was urgent. "I was hoping it was a stupid prank from Ro-." I didn't want to say his name, knowing it'll hurt Lumi.

"What should I do?" I asked. "I think you should stay with Branflakes for the night and maybe try to trap him, or seduce?" I groaned and fell back into the grass. "Seduce? I don't even know how to flirt Lumina!" I moved my arm over my eyes. "Well...the Phantom is a flirt. Believe me, I should know..." I sat up quickly.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Lumi looked down and flushed. "It was embarrassing..." She started to pick at the grass. "So, what happened?" I leaned closer. She flushed a dark red. "No, No, NO! You didn't do something you were supposed to, right?!" I moved closer.

"Well... I. Uh. Kind of, sort-of kissed him." I gasped loudly. "Thank you Goddess!" I wrapped my arms around her. "That's not bad?" She asked. "No. I was kind-of expecting you to say you hit home run." Lumina frowned in confusion after I said that. "...Homerun?" Lumina looked at me. Oh that's right, Lumina never learned about 'that' yet. I laughed. "You'll learn later."

Then I heard a low noise from the woods. I glanced at the woods, I frowned, it suddenly felt like somebody was watching us. I shivered, feeling the goose bumps rise on my arms. I stared into the woods only seeing darkness. My stare turned into a glare, hoping whoever was there would know to back-off.

"Are you okay?" Lumina asked. "Don't you ever get that feeling that someone is watching you?" I whispered. "No. Why?" She frowned. "It's nothing." I glanced at the woods again, I sighed as soon as the presence disappear. I stared at the woods for a bit until I realized Lumina was trying to talk to me. I let her ramble on while I just nodded and "mmm" every few minutes. Then the presence came back again, but this time it felt closer.

"Hey! Claire!" I snapped my head back to her.
"Yeah, I heard you. Very interesting..." I mumbled.
"You think dinner is interesting?" She raised one of her eyebrows, I laughed.
"What about dinner?" I looked at her.
"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Lumina smiled.

"Of course, I'd love too!" She smiled at me; I haven't had dinner with Lumi for a long time or even a sleepover. I fell back and closed my eyes. I wonder what I should do tonight, since this Phantom guy is real. Should I stay with Branflakes all night, or just go on in life.

"By the way, what ever happen after you received the letter?" I asked my eyes were still closed. "Oh, he stole all of our chinaware. He's a thief Claire." She sighed. "So you're telling me to seduce a thief?" I heard another noise come from the forest. I growled, or attempted. "Are you mad at me?" She asked. I shook my head, I'll never be mad at her, she was my best friend.

"So you'll stay for dinner?" Lumina asked. "Yup." I smiled. "So what are you going to do about Skye?" I sat up and looked at her. "His name is Skye?" Lumina nodded. "And he's so dreamy." She sighed, her face went blank. "How can a thief be dreamy?" I shivered. I thought of him as a scarred up guy with gray hair and has a lot of tattoos on his arms. He had piercing eyes and he used a pix-axe to kill anyone who catches him at night.

I sat there waiting for Lumi to snap out of it, but instead it felt like hours. I stood up and turned my attention towards the forest. I know you're in there somewhere. I walked slowly towards it, what am I doing? Just one little look wouldn't hurt, right? I kept walking until I was just at the front wall of the forest. I glanced around slowly, maybe just a small walk in and back. As I made my way in I heard a small voice in my head yelling at me to go back. I stopped, the presence was too close. I turned around slowly, searching the darkness for someone, anyone. Then I saw it, a guy standing beside a tree, his arms were crossed. I stared at him, I couldn't see him well, the darkness was covering half of his body.

"Why, hello." He came out of the darkness. As if my nightmare came true, he was what I thought the thief was. Long scars were on his face. He had a bunch of tattoos on his arms. Then I noticed he had a bloody pick-axe in one hand, while the other had Lumina's head. I screamed and fell back against the ground. Then I started shaking and crying. He got closer and closer. "Claire, Claire, Claire...Claire!" He screamed my name.

I sat up quickly to see Lumina with tears streaming down her face. I looked down to see I wasn't in the dark forest, just in the front of Lumina's house. I was crying. I glanced at the forest, it was still dark. I shivered and felt myself get pulled into a tight hug.

"Lumina. Can't. Breath." I muttered. She pulled away. "You scared me Claire." She whispered. I watched as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's okay, Lumi. I'm fine. It was just a...nightmare." I looked down. "Are you sure? It looked like you were dying." Lumina bit her bottom lip; I felt an ache in my heart to comfort her. I pulled her into a hug and whispered that I was okay.

"It's late." She mumbled into my shoulder. "What time is it?" I looked up in the sky to see it was an orange colour. She pulled away. My guess is around 7. I don't think you should stay for dinner..." She looked away upset. "Hey I'll come over tomorrow for lunch, I'll bring my famous curry." I watched as a spark started in her eyes. "Okay! Promise?" I nodded. "Cross my heart." I placed my hand over my chest.

I stood up just about to leave, until Lumina called my name. I turned around to see her with the silver letter in her hand. "Don't forget this." She passed me the letter and ran inside her house. I frowned while I read the letter home, I kept reading it. Staring at the beautiful letters. I was past the bar until I heard Jill call my name.

"Hweereey, Cw-air-beaarry!" I groaned, she was drunk.
"Com-com-com wiwtfe mew, haweve a coueple drsinks." She was way past drunk.
"No. I'm going home. Bye." I kept walking, not going back.

I smiled, I was proud of myself. I made my way up the small hill that leads to my farm. I walked down the small path, I heard a loud moo. Oh! I ran into the barn to see Booboo and Branflakes were still there. I sighed of relief and walked over to pet them. Then I heard a neigh. I turned around to see a large black horse. I stared at it, and then it gently pushed my shoulder with its head. I pet him lightly for a bit.

How did this day go by so quickly? I got up, did my chores, went to Lumina's, and now I'm here. Then my stomach growled. I groaned, I'll have an apple to shut it up. I was just about to leave, but then I remembered something. I walked back towards the horse and kissed its neck lightly.

"I'm going to name you..." I looked down 'there' to see if it was a boy or girl. Girl. "Mika. Welcome to the family." I hugged Mika before I left. As I left the barn I bumped into a very angry Taki. He was very angry, his bushy eyebrows were pushed together, and I couldn't see his eyes. Taki's arms were crossed.

"And where were you?" He asked. "Lumi's place. Why?" I was confused, normally he wouldn't mind. "You were gone for seven hours! And you'd think I wasn't worried. I don't want you to leave this farm with out telling me first!" I raised an eyebrow, when did he worry about me? "Yo' Taki! Chill." He growled, like an actual growl. "I don't want you to leave because there's a thief around here, and he might hurt you." He glared at me, or so I thought.

"Oh, okay. Do you mind if I sleep in the barn tonight?" Woah when did I start taking Lumi's advice? "What?! Why?!" He spat the words at me. I passed him the silver letter, I watched as his face changed different colours. It was like the fireworks show in Mineral Town. He growled, again. "I'm going to lock-up the barn's door extra well." He passed the note to me and disappeared into his small house near the entrance.

"I'm just going to stay in the barn tonight." I mumbled and walked into the barn and layed in the clean stash of hay in the corner. My cows came over, both curious why I was sleeping in here tonight. Branflakes lay besides me, I sighed. I was very wide away, thanks to that nap at Lumi's house.

As the hours went by, it got quiet and darker. The only noise that were heard where Mika and Booboo both snoring. I laid in the haystack until I couldn't stand laying there. I walked around for a bit, then I started to clean the barn while the animals sleep. I put down a fresh bed of hay for my animals and put some hay into their bins. I swept the floors and even washed the floors. As I made my way to the haystack, a thought came across my if he used that as a prop, to steal things from my house? I jumped and started running towards the door. My house is problem empty now! How can I be so stupid?! I flew the door open. I groaned as I landed on the ground with an 'ump'! I sat up slowly and looked down to see someone under me. My hands were on the person's chest and I was just sitting on top of his waist.

"My, my, arn't we a little impatient?" The voice was husky, I screamed.

"Oh no! Oh goddess! I'm seducing the thief! I'm seducing the thief!" I jumped up and ran into the barn. I ran towards Branflakes and pulled her into a hug. I held onto her for a bit, then I realized I forgot to lock the door. I turned around to see the thief leaning against the door, smirking. I stared at him like an idiot. It wasn't what I was expecting to see. This wasn't the thief from my dream! He looked to god-like to be a thief. This can't be...

I still stared at him, my mouth was slightly opened. Jeezes Claire didn't your mother teached you manners? I closed my mouth and frowned. If looks can kill, this would be a perfect moment to hurt him with my glare. He smiled and walked over. As the lights shined on him, I couldn't help it but my glare turned into a stare. I couldn't get past the 'my goddess he's to god-like to be a thief' part.

I looked him over, what an odd person. He wore tight purple jeans, his blouse or dress shirt was gray with dark gray lepord spots. His shoes were okay, I guess. His dress shirt was slightly unbuttened revealing part of a black clothing. Then I saw a dog tag around his neck. What the heck was with his style?

I tried to move, so I could make a run for it with Branflakes, yet my body froze up. Stupid body anyways, any other time your working now you want to freeze. He smiled and came closer, I gulped. Goodbye beautiful world. I thought of my will as he came closer. The farm would go to my cousin Mark. My lucky bracelet can go to Lumina and Jill can get my luckey hat.

"Why hello Angel." I jumped at the sudden out burst. I looked up at him, he was right in front of me. I moved back a little with Branflakes. I stared at his face, silver hair, green eyes or somewhere near a gemstone colour, what the heck is he?

"What are you?" My faced flushed after realizing I said that out loud. Idiot I screamed in my head. He smiled. "The prince from the stars." He placed both hands on his hips. "Well whatever thief... Just don't touch me or else I'll kick you somewhere that will make you wish you weren't a prince." I said in an odd way. He chuckled, I flushed.

'Wow great comeback.' A small voice said. Great I'm going crazy now. "My, my, you look stunning when you are confused maiden." Yay another Rock...just great. I frowned. "Shut-up and leave." I looked at Branflakes, she just mooed. "Not you Branflakes, I meant him." I whispered to her. "What an interesting name for a stunning calf." He smiled.

"What the hell-er heck do you think you're doing!? Flirting with my cow?!" I screamed. He came forward and smiled. "No, but I do believe I have my eyes set on the most beautiful thing in the world." He looked at me. I flushed, then my glare came back to life. "I would love to talk to you more, but I have to leave now. Chick beam!" Chick beam? I sat there confused. What the hell? I pulled my cow closer.

"Hey mister! Are you crazy?" He stood there confused. "Chick beam!?" He said once again, but this time it sound more like a question. "Dude, whatever you're trying to do, it ain't working." I smiled. Thank-you goddess. "I'll be back!" I watched as he ran, he dissapeared out the door. My opinion on this guy is he's gay/wierd/into wierd things. I smiled and kissed Branflakes on the cheek.

"Thank goddess. I didn't lose you." I grinned while she mooed.

Disclaimer: Doesn't own Harvest Moon, but does own her diginity!
A/N: Like I said, I was going to restart this story and some of you might read my other stories, I know I haven't posted in a while. More like two months (laughs). Claire seems random in a odd way, but now we know that chick beam doesn't work on her. I wonder why? We'll see later on in other chapters. Claire's option at the ending is interesting, so no offence to any people who are gay/wierd/into wierd things. Don't worry I'm wierd in a funny way, I'm just random. So peace and love!~RaISinGdAWn
P.S. There are some mistakes and language.