Disclaimer: I do not own harvest Moon: Island of Happiness.
"My toe..." Taro grumbled, his walking stick clunking on the old wooden floor of the farmhouse as he paced. "My big toe's telling me it's gonna rain tomorrow..." Standing up straight, Elliot placed a large crate on top of a stool, emerging from behind a large stack of wooden crates.
"Oh, Elliot!" Taro said, thumping his walking stick on the floor, causing the young man to jump slightly.
"Hey Chelsea..." Pushing his glasses back up onto his nose, he smiled sheepishly, seeing who Taro had been talking to.
"Chelsea was just telling me that she was going to thresh and grind some wheat. You're not busy, why don't you go help her?" Taro eyed Elliot, raising a bushy eyebrow suggestively, holding back a smirk.
"Oh, it's okay, I can--" Chelsea started waving casually, before she was cut off by the old man again.
"Nonsense! Wheat is some messy business." Taro exclaimed, nudging the girl around with his stick towards the door. "Now shoo, the prosperity of this island rests on your shoulders, young lady."
"Alright..." Chelsea said, giving Elliot a curious look. He merely rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, following her out.
"Heres the next one..." Elliot grunted, dumping a sack of threshed wheat into the gaping chute of a large flour mill. "Just three more," he sighed, tossing the empty sack into a pile with the others.
"Thanks Elliot, I couldn't have done this without you." Chelsea said, pulling a lever on the large machine to actuate the grinding motor.
"Don't men—" Elliot started before his voice was drowned out by the engine-like sound of the mechanical grinder. Visibly sweat-dropping, he crossed his arms and leaned against the machine, watching Chelsea, his thoughts wandering.
"Woah!" The mill jumped into overdrive, visibly shaking as the pitch of the machine increasing to a screeching whine. Chelsea yanked the machine's lever, powering down the mill. "What just happened?!" During the commotion, Elliot had jumped, tripped over a flour sack, falling into the pile of sacks tossed to the side.
"S-sorry..." he said, pulling a sack off of his scarlet face. "That was my fault, wasn't it...?" Sighing, he began to stand.
"Here, let me help," Chelsea said, offering her hand to him with a smile. Elliot looked up at her with a puzzled expression. On any other occasion he would have been scolded by his younger sister for his clumsiness and uselessness. Grasping her hand, he couldn't help but grin.
She wasn't his sister.
She's actually nice.
"There, no harm done." Chelsea brushed off her hands, peering at the mill. "Ah." Turning a dial, she chuckled, glancing at Elliot. "Next time you decide to lean on something, might wanna look out for any stray dials or switches." Elliot flushed embarrassedly, handing her the flour sack from his head.
"Yeah, nice..."