I've no idea who Claire will be with yet, but we'll find out soon.

Chapter 2: The Touch of Rain

Claire ran inside and grabbed her bag. She checked her watched and saw that it was about 7:30. Surprised that so little time had passed, she decided to work in her fields for a little while and get ready for her seeds she was going to buy. After working for about an hour, she finally had enough land cleared and tilled for two bags of seeds. She remembered from when she would visit her grandparents, on their retirement farm, that in one bag of seed is enough room for nine tilled places of seed.

"I'll have to get this watering can upgraded if I want to use all nine tilled areas."

She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned to go into the city. Her eye caught the trunk she had forgotten about. Hurrying before she left to meet the citizens, she picked up the heavy trunk and staggered into her home. Thankfully, she was a little stronger than she looked. She laid it next to her bed and left. Following the path that Thomas and Zack had used earlier, she walked toward, what she thought must be, the middle of Mineral Town. She came to a cross roads and saw a few buildings to her right, and a bustling area ahead of her. She decided to go to her left and meet these people first.

As she walked down the road, she saw that the first two building, a poultry farm and a blacksmiths, were closed and no one was out. So she walked farther down and ran into a smiling old man. Timidly she waved to him and he stopped and smiled even more brightly.

"Oh, you're Claire everyone is talking about. May name is Barley. Nice to meet you. I own the dairy farm, so once you're ready to get some cows or sheep, come see me and I'll help you out! But I visit the mayor on Mondays so we're not open." A bit studded with his friendliness, Clare nodded and bowed.

"I'm sure I'll be visiting you. It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Barley." She bowed again and he chuckled.

"Just Barley please. See you soon." He scurried off down another path farther down the road. She watched him and shook her head.

"If everyone is so friendly and talkative I think I'll stick to my farm for a while…"

Being very timid and not a close people person, Claire wondered if this was a very good idea. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, tearing her from her thoughts. She looked up at a young man in a blue uniform that somewhat resembled a police uniform.

"Hello, there! You must be Claire. My name is Harris. I'm the constable of this town. It's very peaceful here, so just enjoy your life!" She took another look at him and her mouth dropped.

"Are you related to Thomas?" He smiled and chuckled.

"Yes ma'am, I am. He's my father."

"Oh wow that's weird…." She couldn't believe Thomas had a son so tall. He laughed as if he knew what she was thinking. Tipping his hat to her, he left and turned onto Barley's ranch.

Shaking her head, she followed Barley's path, deciding to look at the other places and return here on her way home. She entered town square and looked around. Everything was rather peaceful so she sat in the corner and decided to stay there for a few minutes. A leaf fell on her head and she grabbed in and examined it. She heard footsteps coming toward her, but she ignored it.

"Hey, what are you doing? Are you ok?" a low voice echoed in her ears, making her eyes flutter as she lost all of her thoughts. Regaining them, she looked up at the tall boy covered in a light, tan brown outfit with a strange blue hat that said Uma. She looked at him and then finally figured out what he said.

"Oh! I'm fine, just bored." She stood up quickly and brushed out her long, blonde hair. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the boy following the flow of her hair in the light breeze. Shaking his head a little, he hid under his hat.

"Oh…ok..well bye." He started to leave the square. She shrugged and started walking in the opposite direction. He stopped and turned around. Looking back at her, he wondered why she had just walked away. Most people around there would have called after him, but she didn't seem like most of them.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before," he called after her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. Turning around, she slowly walked up to him.

"I don't think you would have, I just moved here yesterday."

"Oh, you're at the farm, are you? Welcome to the boonies." Her eyebrow spiked when she heard the word boonies.

"Wow…I thought I was the only one weird enough to walk around saying that…." She stifled a laugh and held out her hand.

"My name's Claire." He looked at her hand, then her and grabbed it, a smirk crossing his face.

"The name's Gray." They shook and both shyly smiled. When they let go of each other's hand, they just looked at each other a moment.

"Well I have to go meet everyone in the town, I guess…. And you looked like you were going somewhere fast." He jumped at her words and hit himself in the forehead.

"Damn it! I have to run, see you around!" He ran from the square as fast as lightning and Claire couldn't help but laugh. Gripping her sides from laughing, she started the opposite way. She found herself at another cross road and decided to go forward. She didn't know why, but she started to run and ended up bumping into someone. The person was well built, because when she hit them, she ended up falling back in a daze and they just looked confused.

"Um…..are you…ok?" She looked up at him and smiled. He had long brown hair and was covered in what seemed like furs. The look on his face showed he was really sorry. She nodded to his question and jumped up.

"Sorry about that! I guess I should watch where I'm going, ha-ha." She joked around and he smiled timidly. Wiping the dust from her pants, she shook her head and laughed herself.

"Anyway, hi." She smiled at him and hopped she hadn't made him mad by running into him.

"……Hi……" Frowning a bit at his shyness she decided to start up a conversation, even if she was bad at it.

"Um well, yeah. I just moved here yesterday and I'm going around town introducing myself to everyone." He nodded and smiled brightly at her.

"…You moved into that farm? I see…"

"Yep. I'm Claire, by the way. What's yours?"

"My name? It's Cliff. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Cliff. Any ideas as to wear I should go next?"

"Well, I'm headed to the Church…..you can come if you want…." She smiled and nodded. So in silence, the two walked up the road to the large church. Not a very churchly person herself, Claire wasn't very sure if she should be there, but she went in with Cliff anyway. Cliff walked her right up to a man standing behind the podium.

"Hi. You must be Claire. Thomas told me about you. My name is Carter. I'm delighted to finally meet you." Claire bowed.

"Yes that's me. I'm glad to meet you too."

She chatted with Cliff and Carter for a while until she looked at her watch and saw it was nearly twelve. Jumping out of her seat, she waved the two goodbye and ran out of the church. She saw too buildings just down the road and decided to go see what they were.

Entering the first building, she saw a man sitting at a desk in the back. She quickly realized this was a doctor's office and decided it would be a good idea to go meet the doctor. He didn't see her as she walked up to his desk so she tapped the paper he was looking at lightly.

"Huh? I haven't seen you yet, have I?"

"No, you haven't."

"Well, are you new to this town?"

"Yes, seeing as I just moved here yesterday."

"Oh, you're the one who took over that farm. I heard about you from my patients. I'm Doctor, and as you can tell, I'm a doctor. Come to see me right away when you don't feel well." His suddenly found excitement made Claire want to back up a bit. She liked the quieter, non-jumping out of their seat type of people.

"I will." Was her only reply. Seeming content with her answer, he started off again.

"Everyone in this town is pretty healthy. There are many unhealthy people in big cities, you know. It must be the nature. I'm studying every day. There is no end to the world of medicine. So many challenges. How about you? Farming must be hard. You're a female too. Take care of yourself. Elli and I are here for you if you have any problems, okay?" Claire wanted to rip him a new one for looking down on her for being a female. She hated being looked down upon for just her gender. Taking deep breaths, she calmed herself and realized he was right. The way she was right now she didn't have much stamina so she did have to watch it.

"I will. Thank you." He smiled softly at her and nodded.

"By the way, Claire. There is a special tonic I got from another town. You can energize and recover from fatigue at the same time. It's not as effective as the medicine I got here, so I don't sell it, but…I made some improvements, so it should work. It's bitter, though." Not understanding what he was getting at, at first she just nodded along with him. Then she understood he was asking her to try it.

"o…okay."

"Right! I knew you'd try it. Go ahead, bottoms up." He handed her a drink the color of acid and she gulped. Looking at his hopeful face to the liquid she sighed and started to guzzle it down. It tasted horrid and she had to cover her mouth before she threw it up.

"It wasn't good…? But it works, right?" She thought about it, and she did feel less tired and more energized than before.

"Yeah it works." He smiled and seemed overjoyed.

"I knew you'd understand the quality of this tonic. One more?" Her eyes grew wide in terror and she shook her head violently.

"I'm kidding. Don't rely on medicine, okay?" He said, looking a bit disappointed at her reply. "It was fun to talk to you today, Claire. You helped me out too." She nodded and waved goodbye. Without going to meet the nurse, she ran outside before she had to try another tonic.

Sighing in relief, she went into the next building reluctantly. She was happy to find it was just the supermarket. She hurried and bought her seeds and some groceries, spending the little money she had left, and started back toward her farm before she even met anyone else. She had had enough of people for the day.

On her way home, she got to the cross roads that she had met Barley on. She decided she ought to finish meeting people here. She walked over to the farm that had a lot of chickens outside it.

She walked inside and saw three people, a boy with blondish brown hair, a bright girl with fluffy pink hair and a woman with pink hair tied back in low pigtails.

"Wow, cool." The pink haired girl said.

"They laid many eggs today. Everyone's healthy! I made some Spa-Boiled Eggs, so let's eat them together," the boy said.

"Okay," the woman replied, beaming at the boy. Claire decided this was a good time to walk in, so she walked forward. They all turned around in surprise.

"Hey, I've never seen you before. Are you a tourist?"

"Nope, I just moved in yesterday. I'm your guises new neighbor."

"Oh, I see. You're the new owner of the farm. I'm Rick. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Popuri. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Lillia. Nice to meet you." Claire couldn't help but smile.

"I'm Claire, nice to meet you all as well."

"Oh, hey, do you like eggs?"

"LOVE them, are you kidding!" She laughed and smiled.

"I knew it! Wait right there." Rick scrambled with something behind them and then walked over to her. "Here, it's a Spa-Boiled Egg." He handed it to her.

"Oh wow, thanks!" She suddenly remembered she hadn't eaten yet that day.

"Good luck with your farm!"

"Thanks. Well, see you around!" She left, casually putting the egg in her bag with her groceries.

Next she decided to go to the blacksmiths on her way home. She wanted to know how much an upgrade on her watering can would be anyway. When she walked in, she was surprised to see Gray standing in front of the counter, looking angry with the old man behind it.

"I wonder if the man messed up Gray's tool…?"

"What!? Explain to me what's wrong with it! Come on!" Claire was a bit surprised that the Gray she met earlier had such a temper, but she did to so she wasn't judging.

"What's wrong with it!? The answer is inside of you! You have much to learn!" the old man replied. Claire just shook her head. Now she had to know what was going on. She walked out of the door way and toward the two. Gray was surprised to see her, jumping when he heard footsteps behind him.

"What are you looking at!? If you have nothing…"

"Gray! How dare you talk to a customer like that!" The old man's face was haunting looking as he yelled at Gary.

"So…sorry."

"Welcome."

"Oh, Claire. …How are you doing?" Claire just looked at him dumbfounded. She knew that was how she acted too, but she never saw someone else act so clueless before.

"Uh, fine I guess."

"Sorry for earlier." His eyes shined with true sorrow and embarrassment. Grabbing the tip of his hat, he tried to hide his face.

"I didn't mean to be rude… My grandfather was giving me a hard time. He never approves of any of my work." She finally figured out why he was here. Looking over his shoulder at the old man, she couldn't believe they were related. Then again, they both had the same anger.

"I'm ready to quit. I feel stupid, you know?" Claire couldn't believe her ears. She might have just met Gray, but she didn't think he was a quitter.

"Gary, it's called TRAINING for a reason!"

"…You're right. I'm such a wimp. Sorry for complaining so much…"

"Damn it! How the hell did this girl get me to spill everything on my mind to her?"

"Don't worry about it. Just don't you go quitting! We might've just met, but you don't look like a quitter to me." He looked at her and smirked, hiding under his hat again.

"Thanks, Claire. I don't get what my grandfather is saying now, but I think the time will come. I just have to keep trying."

"Good man! Keep up the good work because you know I'm going to have to come to you guys for work soon!"

"Heh…yeah, well gotta go back."

"Ok, I should go plant the seeds I bought. See you around Gray."

"Seeya." He walked away and started getting something out in the back. Deciding to meet Gray's grandfather another day, she left the blacksmith and headed home. She quickly put her groceries away, eating the egg that Rick had given her, and went outside to start working. It took her a while to plant and water all of the seeds. Looking at her watch, it was 4:50. She jumped when she realized Zack would be there soon for something to ship. Not knowing what to do, she looked around and saw a honey tree a little ways away. She ran over to it and gathered the honey. Leaving it in the shipping bin, she started clearing her fields again.

"Claire, how's it going?!" She head Zack's voice echoed over to her at the edge of her field. Looking up, she waved.

"Hi, Zack!" She jogged over to him, putting her work gloves in her pockets.

"Looks like you didn't ship much, what did you do all day?"

"Ha-ha, sorry about that. I went around a met a few people, oh and bought some seeds too."

"Well that's good news! I expect some big shipping from you!" They both laughed and she nodded.

"Damn, look at the time. I have to go finish my rounds. See you tomorrow, Claire." She waved him off and decided to call it a day on her fields. Just as she was about to open her door and go inside, a light breeze blew past her. She looked up, seeing the top of a large mountain, and decided there was enough time in the day to go for a short hike.

Running in to leave her tools home, Claire brushed her hair back and put it up in a high ponytail. She set off, locking her house and saying goodbye to her pup, toward the area she had first entered her farm the day before. The forest was beautiful and vibrant with animals and plants. She gathered a few herbs that she could sell tomorrow. It didn't take her long to find a path, and she followed it.

She had never hiked up a mountain before, or at least one that wasn't paved, so she didn't realize how hard it was going to be. Looking at how high the mountain was, and how she had only just started and was tired, she thought about going back. She shook her head and started climbing again, bracing her feet against sturdy rocks and her hands out stretched to grab something if she fell.

"Like hell I'm turning back now."

She was almost half way, a few cuts and scrapes on her arms and leg, when she looked up at the sky and a drop of rain fell on her face making her look like a tear was streaming from her eye. That was the only warning as it began to pour. She cursed under her breath and decided it was a flash storm, so going up to the top would be ok, it wasn't that far anyway. Starting off again, she grunted in distress as it quickly got harder to move. So she tried to go down, but her foot slipped and she almost fell. The path was steep, and falling could lead to dangerous outcomes.

She climbed backup, getting her foot dug into the now muddy ground. Looking around, she tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't stay there, but going down wasn't working and neither was going up.

"Damn it. Why do I have to be so stubborn all the time!?"

Cursing herself in her head, she didn't notice the crack of lightning that struck a higher up tree. One of the large branches started rolling toward her, and it was too lat when she finally noticed it. The branch hit her head, and then rolled over her chest. She began to tumble wildly down the mountain side. Instead of going straight down, though, she started going toward the side, a side that lead to a cliff. She screamed out just before she began to pass out. Her body continued to roll, getting cut up and bruised, until she fell limp on a small, flat edge of the mountain. With the little consciousness she had left, she saw the tree branch fall on top of her, making her hit her head on a sharp rock and pass out as blood dripped off the edge of the mountain.

The rain continued heavily as the sounds of a man grunting as he climbed echoed along with the thunder. His shadowed figure looked over the edge, as if looking for something. When seeing Claire, he slid skillfully down the side of the mountain and landed in front of her. He groaned as he pushed the large branch off of her, watching it fall and shatter down the cliff. The shadowed figure look down at her, his face dark from the black cast of the lightning.

Claire opened her eyes a little bit, regaining a little consciousness. She saw a figure of a man above her.

"You with me?" the figure said, Claire's body flinched. She knew that voice, but from where? The figure bent over her, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, his other hand wrapping around her waist. Her body ignited under his touch, but the sensation was too much for her right now, and she passed out again, falling limp against the man. The rain grew worse, the winds howling as if angered. Lightning filled the sky, falling to the trees and making a few leaves ignite in flames for a moment before the rain killed them again. Thunder pounded so loudly that the shadowy figure's ears rang. He wrapped her arm around his neck and held her back. Then he grabbed her legs and started looking for a way down. Slowly, he began sliding down the mountain, stopping to regain his footing or his grip on Claire.