Lillian walked down the unpaved roads of Forget-Me-Not Valley hoping that someone would stop her and tell her where she was. It was odd for her not to know where she was going, but at the same time she loved it more than anything else in the world. She loved the feeling of freedom and the nomadic sensation of being completely lost. All the same, it wasn't a feeling she expected to last. As soon as she found her way to the Inn that Claire had talked about, or the farm itself... Lillian paused and tried to collect her thoughts; she tried to remember where Claire had said the farm was (middle of the valley), tried to remember where the Inn was (middle of the valley), and tried very hard to remember the name of the farmer who owned the other farm in the Valley. It started with a V.

Absentmindedly she continued to ramble down the mountainside, when she realized the farm that wasn't Claire's was on either side of two bone-white spines running along the main road; it was the one where Claire's boyfriend lived. Her 'boyfriend:' the unofficial one who wouldn't admit he liked her but who Claire secretly thought liked the other girl working on the farm. Lillian couldn't resist the opportunity to meet the 'boyfriend.' She walked across the road to the house that was closest to her and knocked on the door. From deep inside the small farm house came a loud, rolling laugh, and then a voice called out, inviting Lillian inside.

As soon as Lillian walked in the room she could feel the warm welcome feeling of the country. It wasn't something she was used to. She had lived in the inner city for such a long time that something so rural but loving was, not quite new, but different to her. She tried to hide her smile.

Lillian closed the door behind her before she looked around. A small kitchen with a brown cabinet, a table for three, a bookshelf, two beds, blue and red, a large woman with voluminous, frazzled, brown hair in jeans and red tennis shoes, a yellow shirt and an apron, and next to the table, a man: that was the one Claire had been talking about, and Lillian knew it; thick, slick black hair, big eyebrows above a set of pretty blue-green eyes, a stern jaw, and a slightly open white t-shirt. She had to admit he was cute. If she wasn't sure of Claire's complete and undying love for him Lillian would have made a move. Instead she tried for directions.

'I'm really sorry if I interrupted anything, but my name is Lillian Sierzant. I'm Claire's friend. I don't know if she told you about me…'

The woman( whose name Lillian was sure started with Ve- (like ve-getable)) seemed to know exactly who the girl was and, as she wiped her hands clean and turned away from the sink, began to speak, almost shout, a response.

'Claire's friend, huh? Well any friend of Claire's is a friend of ours. I don't think I heard anything about you though. Marlin, did she tell you anything?'

The black haired man nodded his head and gave Lillian a small smile (she could definitely see why Claire would put up with the man who looked so sour upon first glance now.)

'Claire said something about you.'

Lillian smiled back at him and nodded her head. There had been a small metal ball tossing around inside of her, and suddenly it stopped rattling: she was glad that Claire had found a man who, unlike many of Lillian's previous boyfriends, had a glimmer of sincerity and kindness behind his solemn exterior. Although it was a bit sudden to make presumptions, Lillian was glad that he didn't seem to be a complete ass. Lillian had never been quite so fortunate, and seemed to have rather terrible taste in men, and experience had taught her that the quiet, brooding type always seemed to be the worst. But her experience with men had also given her bits of insight into the human heart, and the man standing across the room did not hold the haughty air that some did; he was simply shy.

The loud roar of the ketchup and mustard woman's laughter brought Lillian out of her thoughts. 'So what brings you to our farm?'

'Well, I was headed to Claire's place, but I of have no idea where I'm going, and your farm was right here, and I thought I remembered Claire saying something about the two of you so I thought I would swing by. Though I thought there were three… Actually I was hoping for some directions or-'

'Marlin! What do you say to giving little Miss Lillian a tour? It's nice and warm out today, and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to say hello to Claire. You haven't talked to her in a while.'

'Well… I guess I could.' Lillian noticed that Marlin was blushing and could only hope it was because of the woman's mentioning Claire. That would suite her just fine; and, of course, it provided her with something to wave in Claire's face.

'Thank you very much, Marlin.' She nodded happily to the man, who was now standing at her side before turning and nodding at his aunt. 'And you too… Vesta. It was a pleasure meeting you.'

Vesta laughed as Marlin and Lillian went through the door, for she knew full well that the new girl wasn't an idiot and she hoped that the sprite could help bring Claire and her faithful helper a little bit closer together. But it was only a small hope. When the door had closed, Vesta turned back to washing her vegetables, humming a quirky little melody and wondering when her dear Celia return home.

The walk to Claire's ranch took a little bit over an hour of awkward silence and a poor attempt at conversation. Still, by the end of the walk Lillian had managed to learn a little bit about Marlin, Vesta and the other girl who lived there, Celia. Marlin was Vesta's brother (Lillian was a little taken aback at the sheer difference between the two), and Celia was just sort of there ('She's from the city too,' he had muttered, but he wouldn't go into further details). A little while ago he had been struck with some terrible illness, which was why Vesta had added the part about the nice day. As they chatted Lillian understood why Claire was so convinced that the hunched farm boy liked Celia; he did. Not that he had told her that, but he had a look in his eyes, and a gentle air when he spoke of her; even from those few short sentences that he had managed to say about her Lillian could tell that there was something between the two. But—she noticed slyly—he had a similar gleam in his eyes when she mentioned Claire. Maybe the guy wouldn't be a completely lost cause.

'So, are you going to come in with me?' Lillian asked once they had reached the farm. 'I'm sure that Claire would appreciate some more familiar company.'

Marlin raised an eyebrow. '"More familiar company?"'

'Oh. Right. I didn't really… Well, my dad knew hers, but we've never met before. We've just been sending mail back and forth. We're friends though. I suppose we're pen pals more than anything else.'

Although visibly confused, Marlin nodded his head. He thought it was nice of Claire to invite an almost complete stranger into her house. It was one of the man things he liked about her: she was exceedingly kind. Then again, neither he nor Claire had any idea who this woman was. His eyes drifted around his head to look at Lillian who was focusing on the farm as they neared Claire's house. He would go with her: just in case.

Marlin sped up to the door and knocked. From inside the hose came nothing but a long and heavy silence, as if Claire was out and had forgotten about meeting her friend completely. Marlin thought that he might go around the house and check into the barn, but, after a moment, there was a crash, and then the cat was wailing, the dog barking and someone, presumably Claire, was yelling. Lillian laughed.

'Do you think she's all right?' she said through a pitiless smile. Marlin nodded, even though he himself wasn't entirely too sure: she could be rather klutzy sometimes. He just hoped she wasn't too badly hurt. Worry struck him and he knocked on the door one last time, just to play it safe.

'Sorry! You can come in! Oh! Oscar! No! I need that!'

What followed were a series of crashes, more yelling, more barking, a hiss, Oscar yelping, Claire screaming and a thud. After several seconds of shocked silence Marlin opened the door and walked in, Lillian following close behind.

Claire's house was a mess. There was a pot that had been knocked to the floor, one that might have at one point in time been filled with something that wasn't the black ooze spilling over the brim and onto cold wood floors. There was a series of paw prints that smeared across the floor one or two that stuck to the wall, a pile of grasses on the counter next to a spilled black beverage. Sitting at the top of a book case was a sleek black cat, glaring at Claire's dog, Oscar, on the other side of the room right in front of a staircase. Sprawled out on her stomach on the floor was a petit blonde who was covered in a number of small scratches and little stains from whatever it was that she had been cooking.

'Ow~'

'Claire!'

Marlin ran over to the place where Claire lay barely breathing on the floor. He knelt at her side as he gently rubbed her shoulder, trying to revive her. Lillian stood back and watched the scene with the smallest growing interest. She hadn't known Claire for very long but she definitely had learned a thing or two about her, and, ever so gradually, had come to care for the girl and look forward to her weekly letter. She had learned that Claire was a sweet, innocent young girl with a love for so many things. Lillian had grown very fond of the traits in Claire that were so rare in the city and now she wanted to see if this boy was really good enough for her. So, with all the intense gaze of a hawk, she watched them.

Claire was laying on her stomach, one arm holding up her head. As soon as she realized who was at her side she was almost up. She craned her neck and lifted her chest off the floor, keeping her hands down for support: up dog.

'Oh. Marlin… Hi… Um…'

'Are you all right?'

'Yeah. Sure. I'm sorry if I scared you… Um… Yeah… It was just Oscar, and then Yori and then…' Claire laughed a little and pulled herself into a cross-legged sit. 'I'm fine, I promise. Erm…' She quickly lowered her voice and turned her eyes to the ceiling. 'Just… ignore what I was baking…'

With Marlin's back turned toward Lillian she couldn't see the warm smile that he gave Claire before he offered his arm out to her, or the slight blush that rose to his cheeks as he helped her to her feet, but somehow, Lillian knew that something had happened. A small smirk spread across the city girl's lips as she took a step further into the room, drawing Claire's attention away from Marlin.

'Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't see you there.' Claire beamed at her and held out one of her claw mark covered hands. 'I don't think we've met.'

Lillian's smirk spread into a wide smile as she opened her arms. 'Maybe not met, but Claire, darling, I can't believe you wouldn't recognize the woman who's going to be living with you.'

Shock flickered into Claire's eyes. The next words that tumbled out of her mouth were stuttered (O-Oh!) and seemed to hold an air of recognition and glee. Claire tumbled over her own feet as she rushed to the other side of the room. Within seconds Claire had flung herself onto Lillian, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's neck.

'Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! It's so nice to finally-' Claire pulled back so that she could see Lillian's face. 'Oh! And you're so pretty! Those pictures did not do you justice. And you're taller too! Not fair! Oh, I am just so happy that you're living in the Valley now! I have been waiting forever to meet you and-' Claire caught her breath and, never letting go of Lillian, turned to face Marlin. 'I take it you've met, huh?'

Lillian saw the blush on Claire's face, and could only imagine that it was caused by Claire sudden inattention to Marlin and the explosive delight that she had just shown in front of the dour young man.

Marlin smiled at Claire, a full smile that caught Lillian completely off guard, and nodded. Lillian tipped her head forward and whispered just quietly enough so that only she and Claire could hear, 'So he's the guy, huh?'

Again Claire began to blush and Marlin seemed struck by a bolt of confusion. Claire tried to cover it up by commenting on how hot the autumn weather was but Lillian couldn't really see it working the way that she way sure Claire wanted it to. Marlin gave a small laugh before he spoke again. 'I guess I should give you two sometime alone.'

Rather surprised by the sudden offer to leave Claire tried to speak up and prevent Marlin from leaving, but his insistence and his overwhelming dedication to his work seemed to win out and within four minuets Marlin was gone.

With her most prominent infatuation walking back to his farm, Claire turned around. 'Well, hello!' She squealed happily. 'It's so wonderful to finally meet you. Um… I guess… Well, I'm Claire.'

'I figured,' Lillian said, smiling and giving off a small chuckle. 'It really is a pleasure. I can't believe that we're finally meeting. How has hick life been treating you?'

Claire pouted through a smile and rubbed her forearm bashfully. 'Ouch. Hick life? Well… It's not as bad as you think, I promise. I mean, there's a lot to do around here.'

Lillian smiled down at Claire, maneuvering her way through the kitchen and toward the oven where a smoldering pile was being inspected by Claire's cat. Lillian stoked the cats back for a moment then settled her fingers behind its ears where she scritched and scratched him.

'So this is the infamous Yori?'

'Yeah.' Claire moved across the room, pulling a broom from the side of a chest and walked into the kitchen. 'He's not normally this energetic. I think he felt something changing. Either you or the air.'

'Whatever it is he made quite the mess. Can I help you clean it up?'

Bending slightly at the knees and rocking back and forth on her heels, Claire mulled the offer over. 'You just got here,' she rationalized.

'I don't mind. Marlin helped me bring my bags in already. Though I'm not sure if this is where I'm sleeping yet…' Diana's eyes slowly crossed the spotted room where even the handsome grey walls had speckled prints dancing across them. It was quite spacious, two doors at one end, the bathroom and the toilet she assumed, a staircase leading into the basement, two boxes by the door, a bookshelf, a great round table where she was certain Claire and she would eat their meals, maybe accompanied on occasion by Marlin or another not as loved villager. The bed was quite large, definitely big enough for two, a king, though she wasn't certain Claire would want to share her sleep with another woman.

'I think I've got it all worked out. Cody—he's a friend of mine, an artist—he told me he has a spare couch which folds into a bed and that I could have it.' Claire twirled the air with one hand as she smiled, saying, 'It's a bit sparse in here anyway. A couch might be nice.'

'Claire, there is no couch.'

'Oh, not today; that's the only flaw in the plan. He said he was going to make it up a bit for me, have it fit the room a little nicer; he does that for me sometimes: makes things nicer. The bed for instance,' she pointed to the great, dark-skinned giant with intricate metal work around the legs, 'he did that and the shelves and those chests by the door; he does all sorts of nice things for me if I can find him the metals. Of course, Gotz did a special number on the kitchen.'

'I think you told me that. He had the boy from the town over help?'

'Mm-hm. They were so sweet to do it for me. After they'd finished I made them both a big dinner with baked corn and apple pie. Grey nearly smothered me. Gotz just laughed like a mad man, but that's kind of what he does.'

Claire flew across the room to one of her dark-wood chests and snapped a broom and dust pan out. She stretched a timid arm out and Lillian took the pan, taking to her knees while Claire swept away the pitter patter of pussycat paw prints.

'So what exactly is it with you and Marlin?'

'What?' Claire stumbled only slightly as she swept, bringing up a small cloud of powder. They both coughed lightly, Lillian through a smile. She shifted her position, coming off of her knee and simply crouching, scooting back far enough to gather more dust.

'Oh come off it, Claire. You write me about him all the time. I'm not an idiot. You're mad about him. There must be something happening between you two.'

'Lilly, that's silly. Marlin and I are just friends. We swap gardening tips, not saliva. Really… you just get here and you're gossiping already.'

'So… you're telling me that nothing has ever happened between you and Marlin?'

'No! I swear, we're just really good friends, that's all. I mean, down on Vesta's ranch there's Celia and she's a good friend of mine too, and she once told me that she… had feelings for Marlin.' Claire took the phrase delicately as she swept, modesty lingering over a fine agitation. 'I could never do anything to hurt her.'

'But nothing's sparked between you? I mean, hasn't he ever…'

When Lillian stopped speaking Claire's eyes grew large with confusion. 'What? Like, kissed me?' she managed with some sensibility, though Lillian could see the blush painted proudly across her friend's face.

'You never left high school did you? I'm not talking about just kissing and I'm not focusing on sex. What I mean is do you and Marlin just stare at each other with big doe eyes, or do you two flirt and smile and say dumb things, or sometimes when he comes into a room, does every modicum of speech melt from your brain and into your stomach?'

'I dunno, Lilly. I don't think—well, maybe… but it's nothing, I swear. You know what,' Claire leaned into her broom, producing a fine veil of dust that swam high into the air and settled just at eye level, 'If you want to know something sweethe's done for me, there was a time, one tiny little moment, when I came into the bar, the one just down the road, right as everyone else was leaving. It was just Marlin, and Griffin and Muffy behind the counter, so Marlin invited me to drink with him. Of course, he wasn't drinking. Well, I… I guess it hadn't been the best day, I had to take care of one of my cows who was sick, and I was a little bit tired so I slugged a few back and before I knew it I could feel him lifting me up…' Claire's grip on her broom handle tightened and for just a moment she closed her eyes.

'You are absolutely in love with him, aren't you?'

With an echoing thud Claire fell to the ground. She pushed her upper body up quickly and began to explain that Marlin was just a friend, just a good friend, that she didn't love him at all, at least, she loved him as much as any friend and that it was perfectly normal to feel the way she did about him. Claire smiled.

'First of all,' Lillian reached over to Claire's cheek, rubbing a giant black splotch from her face with a hand towel she had picked up from the floor, 'it is perfectly normal for you to feel this way Claire. You see Marlin every day and you say hello, and you are perfectly courteous. At the beginning of every season you buy your seeds from Vesta and you see Marlin there. And what do you do when you brew a fresh batch of wines? You bring him a bottle, naturally. But is it because he's a friend, Claire? That other man, what's his name: the bartender?'

'Griffin,' she breathed on a blush.

'Griffin. You bring him wine too, but you never wrote me of him as you did of Marlin. There was never the avid infatuation that you relate with Marlin. You see Griffin as a fatherly figure. You've even paired him with… the blond girl?'

'M-Muffy.'

'See? My second point is that the girl you mentioned earlier, Celia,' Lillian pulled the broom from underneath her fallen companion and, still crouching, began to collect the little footprints that splattered across the floor, 'You didn't even mention her the second time you tried to rationalize your feelings for Marlin. And you've even written me of her obliviousness. She doesn't seem to think of Marlin as much more than a brother.'

'They kissed once!'

'And that was because you tripped and Marlin fell under the mistletoe that Vesta had set up. It was your poor coordination and Celia kissed him on the cheek. There.' All the soot was gone, although in the kitchen there still remained a festering pile of black ooze. Lillian walked to the rubbish bin and emptied her tray. 'Now how do you suppose we clean this all up?'