Note: This is my first story. It's based on Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town. I've changed Claire into my own character.
Disclaimer: Harvest Moon and it's characters (excluding Erin) belong to Natsume.
Chapter One: A New Life on a New Farm
A chocolate brown-eyed girl sporting shoulder-length semi-wavy auburn hair is standing on the edge of a messy field. Her attire is rather plain: a cream-and-green plaid blouse over a cream-colored t-shirt, blue jeans, dark brown pleather boots, and a small rucksack on her back. She raises a slender arm and brushes her side-swept bangs off of her freckled face. Her partner, a dog name Connor, is sitting at her side her, tongue lolling. A slight breeze plays with her hair as a short older man steps onto the property.
"Hello there. Are you a tourist?" The man approaches her, a curious look on his face. He looks like a ring master from a circus. Glasses and a brown mustache complement a red top hat, red-and-white suit, and yellow bowtie.
The girl turns, looking at the man in surprise. She shakes her head. "Actually, I called MT Realtor about an ad in the newspaper. They said something about a "refreshing" life on a farm in Mineral Town, so here I am," she states. Connor, obviously ignoring the two, spots a butterfly in the distance and races off.
The man nods in understanding. "MT Realtor sent you here, huh? So, you're the new farmer…" He begins to laugh uncontrollably. "You've been tricked!" He settles down, taking a few deep breathes. "It used to be a gorgeous farm, but the owner passed away a while ago and it fell into decline."
"What?!" The girl's shout echoes slightly around the vacant buildings. She blushes in embarrassment.
"I still can't believe you believed that cheesy advertisement!" The old man breaks out into a laughing fit once again. "No one wants to run this farm anymore, but you actually came!"
"Why you…" The girl pulls a hammer out from her rucksack, her face red with anger. She holds the hammer back and swings it at the man, hitting him in the foot.
"Ow ow ow! Please forgive me!" The man steps back, cowering a little.
The girl lowers her hammer, sighing. Her face turns back to its pale and freckled state. "Fine… You see, it's just that I quit my job and moved out of my apartment specifically to move onto this farm," she murmurs disappointedly.
The man frowns. "I see… That's too bad…" He pauses to think for a moment. "Hey! Maybe you can just try to run the farm! I mean, the house is still livable and the buildings are intact. With a little elbow grease, it could look as great as it used to!" The girl looks up at the man to see him grinning. She smiles, putting her hammer away.
"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I'll try as hard as I can!" She grins back at him, putting her hands on her hips. Connor, who was bored chasing the butterfly, had returned and barked happily.
"As the mayor of this town, I will help you as much as I can!" He begins to leave, but pauses and looks back at the girl. "By the way, my name is Thomas."
The girl nods, tilting her head to the side. "My name's Erin, and this is my dog, Connor. See ya later!" Erin waves a little to the departing man. She turns to Connor, smiling. "We'll make this the best farm in the world, won't we?" Connor responds with another bark and begins to wag his tail. "Right! I bet we will," she giggles.