Ardal stretched his legs out in front of him, enjoying the warmth from the blazing fireplace. Though it was spring, the nights were cool enough still to keep a fire going, and he enjoyed the heat anyways. Next to him on one side was his dog, a large golden retriever who lay fast asleep, and on the other were sheets a paper, some half covered with words and ideas, while more than a few lay crumpled up in the corner. He tapped his pencil against his chin, frowning as he searched for ideas to put to paper. His thoughts were disrupted by a familiar rapping at the door, and he looked over to the door with a knowing smile. "Come on in, the door's unlocked!" The dog lazily perked her head up, tail wagging as a purple haired figure entered. "Hey, you. Crops are looking good so far," the young woman noted as she ambled over, looking down with a grin.
"The parsnips are coming in nicely, but I'm a little worried about Belle though, Abby. She's been staying in the barn while the others go out to graze and looks generally unhappy… Well, as unhappy as a cow can look," he frowned. "It's been warm enough in the day now, I figured she'd want to enjoy the sunshine after that long winter." He tidied up his stack of papers nearby, and patted the floor next to him. Abigail plopped down, the dog coming over to push her head into her lap. The girl stroked the retriever's head with one hand, facing the farmer as she spoke.
"Hmmm… Maybe it's a cold? Allergies from the flowers? Can cows even have those?"
"I… Don't know? I'll have to ask Marnie next time I stop in for supplies," Ardal shrugged. "I've only had the cows for a month now, so I'm not really sure what's normal and what isn't for them."
Abigail shrugged. "I'm sure she'll be fine. If something is wrong, then ole' Marnie will be able to help, I'm sure of it!" Noticing the stack of papers nearby, she reached over for them. "What's all this here, Ardal? Did Elliot send you another manuscript to read over?" The farmer turned bright red, reaching for the papers. "No, err, you don't want to read those… It's just a new… Solorian Chronicle adventure I found for Sebastian, that's all." The young woman grinned devilishly, holding the papers out of his reach. "You have met me, right? I'd be all over reading that!" She pushed Ardal back with one hand, eyes skimming over the papers as her smirk turned into a light smile.
"Aww, you're writing a story! What's so embarrassing about that?" Ardal finally snatched his papers back, while his dog had left the commotion and decided to lay down under the table across the room.
"It's just not very good," he answered lamely. "I was really inspired by Elliot's reading in the library last week, and wanted to do something at night after I had finished up on the farm." Abigail brushed a stray hair from her eyes, stilling grinning widely. "That's ok! Everyone has to start somewhere after all. Before I was drawing Orcs and Wizards, it was stick figures and square castles." Ardal relaxed, returning the smile as he offered the papers back to her.
"Yeah, yeah… I guess you're right. If you want, you're welcome to read it. Just don't expect much- Writing doesn't come as naturally to me as farming." Abigail eagerly accepted the writing, leaning against Ardal's chest as she began to read. The farmer drew an arm around her, his cheeks red as he waited for her judgment. A few minutes later she set the first page down, looking up at him with a smile. "It was good. Really!" He raised a brow, still unconvinced. "Maybe work on introducing your characters better though? I didn't really know who the second man was, or how he was related to the witch."
Ardal grinned back, nodding. "Alright, I'll go over it again tomorrow night. Maybe you could read the revised version this weekend for me?" She nodded, her head brushing against his chest as he reached over to stroke her hair. "As long as you're willing to look at more of my art, sure! I drew an Ogre shaman I'm quite proud of." The farmer nodded. "It's a deal."