A/N: I feel sooo bad, guys! I didn't mean to wait a MONTH to submit another chapter D: Life has been more than a little hectic.
On a better note, I have high-speed internet (yay!), a week of school left, and this chapter is longer than most of the others (I think you'll like it, too *hint, hint*).
Updated A/N: I've posted my drawing for this chapter. Check it out by my DeviantArt link in my profile!
Enjoy!
"My own house…" Sophia's eyes gazed around the room. It was still hard to believe she was on her own now. An overwhelming feeling washed over her as she sighed. To distract herself, the young witch began to unpack.
Finn grasped the zipper to her book bag and yanked down, using his feet as support on the material. He fell unceremoniously with a grunt on the table once the bag was fully opened. To his surprise, Sophia started to pull out various household objects, like blankets, pillows, and a slender floor lamp with a powder blue shade.
The sprite's eyes bulged in shock, "How'd you get all that stuff in there?"
Sophia just smiled and continued unpacking, "Magic. You of all people should know that."
"Yeah, I guess so," With a push off, Finn hovered over the enchanted book bag peering inside, the little bell on his hat jingling as it flopped over his face, "Did you pack your bed, too?" He asked incredulously. As she placed a heavy skillet on the kitchen countertop, she laughed and remarked, "Don't be ridiculous. A bed wouldn't fit!" The girl proceeded to take out an armful of clothes and set them on the table. "I need to purchase one today, so after I'm done with this, I'm going to head into town."
"You don't need a bed!" Sophia watched curiously as Finn flew to the floor, stretching himself on his back and splaying his arms in the fashion of making a snow angel. "You can sleep on the floor." He laughed at his own joke.
"Oh, yes. I just love to curl up on the hardwood floor. It's so comfortable." Sophia followed his actions and stared at the ceiling, its blank textured canvas adorned with an old dusty fan. She sighed through her nose in content, closing her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she was. Even though the day wasn't even halfway over, the recent events seemed to drain away most of her energy. "All I want to do is sleep." She groaned, but picked herself off the floor and started to put her belongings in their rightful place.
After a few seconds, Finn flew back to the table, "I'll help!" He attempted to pick up the objects, some proving too heavy. Following a few strenuous grunts from the fairy, Sophia decided to give him a hand, holding out a small framed photo of her family, "Here. This should be light enough. You can hang it on the wall over there." She pointed to the blank surface next to the window. Finn took it carefully and made a move to fly to the wall. But when he stopped to look at it, a downtrodden expression befell him.
Noticing the silence, Sophia stood behind the magical being, leaning over him to gaze at the photograph. The fairy sighed and slid his hand over the paned glass where her mother stood, smiling happily. The photo was taken years ago when Sophia was a small, gangly child and her parents were still full of youth. Once the quietness was becoming too heavy, Finn whispered in a small voice, "She was the first person to ever see me. She didn't just think I was a clumsy sprite that was good for nothing."
"Finn…"
"She-and the Harvest Goddess- gave me a purpose. But… Molly was the only one that made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore." He sighed as his wings drooped.
Mildly taken aback by this sudden confession, Sophia went to her knees and folded her arms on the table top, speaking quietly, "Finn, what's bothering you?" She watched patiently as her companion's shoulders quivered, resting his head on the picture. It took a few moments before he whispered, "I'm afraid…"
"Afraid of what?" Sophia asked in confusion.
He turned to her, eyes downcast as if he felt ashamed, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint her."
Sympathy flowed through her for her friend as she gave him a sad smile, "Oh, Finn. If I know anything about my mother, I know she could never be disappointed with you."
He looked up at her with hopeful eyes," Really?"
"Of course," Sophia playfully rubbed his head with her finger. "Plus, who could ever be anything but proud of you? You're too fantastic." The comment elicited a giggle from the sprite. I'm the one she needs to worry about…
"Thanks, Sophia." He looked back at the photo, a minute smile on his lips, "You always know what to say."
"I know." She replied in faux smugness.
The duo continued setting everything in its place with a little help of Sophia's levitation magic, which sped the process along. Once finished with the chore, the witch's eagerness to see the town bubbled inside her with a newborn energy as she wasted no time going back to Verdure.
Earlier that day, when Sophia and Taro traveled back to his store to sign the land contracts, the old man informed her that the first place she should visit is the general store, where she could purchase anything she didn't bring with her. So that was where she was heading.
Time began to smuggle in evening, the sky turning a warm orange and soft shadows blanketing the village. Long legs striding in a quickened pace, Sophia began to worry that it could be nearing closing time for the shop. Thankfully, her assumption was incorrect and she bought a bed, along with a cheap refrigerator and some groceries to fill it, with ease, especially since that store owner, a kind man named Chen, offered to assist her and carried them home on a wagon.
With one final stroke of her hand to smooth out her bed sheets, Sophia was officially settled in her new home. Well, at least for the night. She still needed to pull the weeds and plant the crops and-hopefully, eventually-clean the floor and the windows. Yes, she still had a lot to do. But, right now, she thought it best to relax. After a simple dinner of BLT's with lemonade and performing the bedtime routines, Sophia and Finn sank into bed with a unified sigh of exhaustion.
The sprite stretched tremendously on a lone throw pillow next to her head, "Are you as tired as I am?"
"Mm-hmm." Sophia hummed as she leaned over to turn off the tall lamp. Darkness filled the room, save for the faint light filtered by her curtains.
She lay there, listening to the continuous tick of her alarm clock. Though she was quite excited and nervous for her first day of work tomorrow, her eyes fluttered shut, and she fell into a most welcome slumber.
-oOo-
BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!
The digital clock buzzed at exactly six in the morning, but the receiver was already up and about, pulling a brush through her silver hair. The sun had just climbed over the horizon and was shining brightly. No clouds were present, but there was a strong breeze that kept the air cool. It was a perfect day to work outside.
Seeing that the alarm didn't deter him from his sleep, Sophia said, "Finn, wake up." He stirred in his sleep, mumbling incoherently, as he snuggled deeper into the cushion.
With a hand on her hip, the witch repeated firmly, "Finn."
"I know, I know…" Finn grumbled, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes with the heels of his hands. Though wishing he was still immersed in sleep on the plush cushion, he floated to the clock lazily, hitting the snooze button, and then traveled to Sophia, who was counting the money in her beaded satchel.
"This should be enough," She closed the bag, the bronze buckle producing a metallic 'cling'.
"Enough for what?" Finn asked, sitting on the table top with a mouthful of toast slathered in apple butter the girl left out for him.
"Seeds!" She said in a matter-of-fact.
If she learned anything from living in a family with a successful farmer, she knew that to produce plentiful crops, it was best to plant the seeds early (an obvious fact, really). She was already over a month into summer, so she needed to buy them as soon as she could.
"More shopping? BORING!" Finn took another bite of his toast, miniscule crumbs tumbling from his mouth in a rather unsavory manner as he spoke, "Let's go explore or look for some Sun Stones."
"If you want to, you can go explore without me. I just really need to get this done."
"You wouldn't mind?" Seeing her shake her head, Finn exclaimed, "Okay, thanks, Soph!"
She smiled, "It's not a problem. But I need to go. I'll see you when I get home, alright?"
"Yep. See ya!"
And with that, Sophia stepped outside, the breeze making her hair dance lightly. It wasn't a long trek to Verdure Island. Well, at least not as long as the one from her family's home to Castanet. It made her wonder for the first time why no one had moved to the farmland earlier. It was a pretty decent place and was in close proximity to the town. Oh, well. It's best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Hmm…" She placed a hand to the side of her tan face, thinking. That's an odd saying… what's a gift horse, anyway? Just another way of describing a horse that was received as a present?...And why would anyone have the desire to look into its mouth? Unless you're a veterinarian, then I suppose it makes sense… But, still-
"Sophia! Yoo-hoo!"
The sound of her name retrieved her from one of her many day dreams. She peered over to her right. "Oh, hello, Taro." She noticed that two other people were accompanying him. They were much younger, perhaps even around her age. The pair shared the same hair color, which was a fascinating shade of rose. They must be related.
"Sophia, thought I'd help you get started with meeting the townsfolk," He gestured a veiny hand to the strangers, "These are my grandkids: Elliot and Natalie."
"Hey, it's nice to meet you." The girl named Natalie raised a hand in greeting while Elliot said a quiet hello.
"They and their mother live with me and help with the shipping." Taro told her.
The group chatted for a few minutes and Sophia saw that the two siblings were complete opposites. Natalie seemed to be headstrong and opinionated, while Elliot was more reserved and appeared to be the butt of his sister's teasing. The two reminded her of the relationship Angie's mother and aunt shared.
"Thank you, Taro, for introducing them to me. I wish I could talk more, but I need to run some errands." They said they understood as Sophia excused herself politely.
-oOo-
Are you sure you don't need any help?"
Sophia stepped out of the general store with massive bags of seed piled high in her arms, which blocked her face and obscured most of her vision.
"N-no. I can handle it," Her tentative steps faltered slightly as she didn't expect the small drop off from the porch to the ground. Her stumbling caused Chen to reach for her quickly, but stopped once she was steady. He looked up and relief crossed his face, "Ah, he doesn't look busy," The store owner cupped his hands around his mouth, producing a booming voice that made Sophia jump, "VAUGHN!"
The witch heard someone stop, then start walking toward them. The only thing she could see was the top of a dark taupe colored cowboy hat. It turned to where Chen was standing, "What?" The voice had a familiar edge to it, but Sophia couldn't put a finger on where she had heard it-
Oh…
"Could you help this young lady carry the seeds and fertilizer?" Chen asked.
The man named Vaughn looked at her. Or at least she thought so. Her arms began to quiver from the weight.
"…Sure."
Sophia sighed happily as she felt the gravitational pull lessen. Now that her eyesight was no longer blocked, she saw his face. And he hers.
Vaughn's eyes (which, Sophia had to admit, were a charming shade of amethyst) widened in mild shock, but just as quickly turned into a small scowl, "You."
"Me."
The scowl deepened at her subtle jest, "You're the one that ran into me."
"Yes, I am. Now that we have that out of the way, let's go. My arms are hurting." Without waiting, Sophia started to walk home. The cowboy directed his angry face to Chen, as if saying, 'this is your fault', but just received a confused shrug. He then followed the girl with much chagrin.
The walk was quiet, besides the sound of their footsteps and Sophia shifting the sacks in her arms. It was clear that the man wasn't going to start talking any time soon. He doesn't say a lot, be he doesn't seem like he would be a shy person, either. Sophia piped up, hoping to strike some sort of conversation. "I'm Sophia. I just moved here yesterday." She glanced up at him discreetly from the corner of her eye, seeing if he would profuse an introduction as well.
"Don't expect this as some sort of invitation for friendship."
Well, at least he was talking.
"That's going a little ahead, isn't it?" the girl laughed, "We're just carrying seed bags. I'd hardly call that as a sign of affection."
"Hmph." She heard a grunt of annoyance, but when she glanced at him again, a silver brow was raised as he glanced back at her in curiosity.
Ah, there was the silence again; so commonly pungent.
"So… Vaughn-am I correct?- what do you do on the Sunshine Islands?"
He expelled air through his nose in irritation, but answered nonetheless, "I'm an animal trader, so I don't spend much of my time on this godforsaken island." With a terse tone, he said, "We're here."
Sophia instructed him to set the merchandise next to the field, where he dropped them unceremoniously.
"Well, Vaughn, thank you for the help." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, the many silver studs glinting and causing Vaughn's eyes to dart involuntarily to the slight distraction. They soon snapped back to her face. He cleared his throat out of embarrassment, "You're welcome, I guess."
"I hope to see you around."
The cowboy scoffed and said, "Don't count on it," thusly turning on his heels and trudging back to Verdure.
Sophia watched him go with disgruntlement, mindlessly playing with an earring. One thought was going through both of their minds.
They're weird.
A/N: Yay, they actually meet!
I didn't want to give Vaughn any special treatment as the way of introductions. I wanted it to be as normal as Sophia meeting any other person.
What do you think of their meeting? Like it? Hate it?
As for Finn, I felt that he could be a more rounded person than what most people would portray him, though you can still think of him as more of a static character. I just wanted to show that he has more feelings than just happiness. Plus, he's lived for a long time so he has probably been through some hardships like anyone else. Maybe it did it too early in the story, but I thought it was the perfect opportunity.