I grunted as I cleared out yet another rock in my field. My pickax was up to the task, but my arms were starting to give out. Pressing on, I pulled back with all my might and managed to uproot the buried thing, leaving a small chunk out of the ground. My pick was a great cast of iron and the handle was just perfect for my hands. Of course I had melted the ore into ingots and rough forged it at Clint's black smithery. It wasn't perfect, but my Junimo friends had worked their magic into it for me. I could see them now, playing around the plants that were growing alarmingly fast. They seemed so happy to have the farm going again, and they only asked so very little in return, mainly just some crops to eat. I wasn't sure if they were pets or housemates still, but I was really considering them all my mythical friends at this point.

Stardust VII

By: Satashi

Robin was walking over to me, so I steered my wheel barrel full of rocks and sticks closer to her to meet half way. "You're done!" She exclaimed, flipping her hammer with one hand before catching it and sheathing it on her jeans. "A one horse shelter fit for a king." She moved her hand back to show it off and I grinned to myself. It was perfect for my needs. It had a trough for food, a section covered from the rain for some hay, and a watering trough as well on the side. My farm was pretty much fenced off around the perimeter so I could let it roam free until I needed it . "What do you think?"

"Love it," I confirmed. It had taken several days to fix, as it was barely able to stand on its own, but was completely worth it. "Thank you!"

"You're very welcome." Robin smiled. "It feels good making a structure again, I've been primarily making furniture lately. " He wiped sweat off her face. "But it's really hot out, how are you going to last in the summer?"

"I asked myself that already," I laughed. "I'll be fine. There's a pond down there, I'll just take a dip if it gets too hot."

"Sounds good. Would you like a ride to Marnie's farm?"

"I would love one." I confirmed, heading over to the truck with her. The ride was short, but cut my travel time down by almost ninety percent. Waving to her, I headed over to Marnie's barn.

"She's in town," I heard a voice tell me. I looked over near Leah's cottage and saw an old man sitting on a small foldable chair. He held a fishing pole with both hands, skillfully working it to attract fish. "Will probably be back later tonight. Why don't you pull up a seat and fish with me?"

I made my way over to the man by the lake. "Hi, I'm Kim."

"New farmer," the man nodded wisely. "Leah has told me about you. Good lass, that one. Lets me fish here all the time. Good place to catch them as they move with the stream."

"I see…"

"Willy. I run the fish store by the docks." He reached down and offered me a spare pole next to him. "Come, toss a line." I really felt like I wanted to. Accepting his offer, I picked up the pole and threaded a worm on the hook. With a flick of my wrist, I sent it soaring out into the waters. Willy nodded as I sat on the grass next to him, gently reeling in the line. "You've done this before."

"Company fishing trips, pretty much mandatory to go on if you wanted your vacation time. It wasn't really fun, but I did enjoy fishing sometimes." I actually felt a small nibble and I leaned forward.

"Don't rush it," Willy advised. "Let it hook first."

I resisted the urge to jump the gun and waited a few seconds more before I felt a sharp tug. "Got it!" I stood and started to fight the fish.

"Move the rod down and reel in, then pull back," Willy spoke calmly. I took his advice and found it much easier to do so. "That'a girl," he praised while getting a net. I managed to pull it out of the water and gawked at the size of it. "A mighty fine catch." He netted the fish and dispatched it with a quick flick of a knife.

"Wow! Of all the luck!"

"Some people just have it," Willy told me. "You have it. I can tell."

"Thank you." I looked at the fish as he de-hooked it. "You keep it, I live far away and it wouldn't be good to just carry it all the way back."

"I think you should cook it. I mean it gave its life to you, the least you can do is make a meal." He nodded back at Leah's cottage. "She's been in there all day painting. I don't think she's eaten anything at all."

I looked over my shoulder and say Leah's frame in front of an easel, a brush in hand. "Really? All day?"

Willy nodded slowly and recast his line. "Go ahead, she knows how to cook it. I'm going to finish up here in a moment anyway."

"Well... okay. Thank you Willy." I handed him the pole but he shook his head.

"Keep it. If one more person takes up the art of fishing, my life would mean that much more."

"… Thank you, I will." I accepted the offer. "I'll get this cooking. Good luck out here." The man nodded at me and I turned to go back to the cottage. A soft knock made Leah come to the door and answer it with a smile. She had multiple colors of paint on her hands and even a streak of blue across her face. Seeing me hold up a fish, she laughed. "I brought dinner!" I joked.

"I know just what to do with that." Leah invited me in and closed the door. "Sorry my place is a mess, I've been really in the mood lately."

"Mood? Oh, artistic mood?"

"Yeah!" Leah made room on her cutting board and took the fish from me. She began butchering it so quick I was worried for her fingers. She didn't nick herself at all, though, and before even a couple of minutes passed it was de-scaled and filleted.

"You're really good at that." I couldn't help but praise.

"I love seafood." She began getting things down from her cabinets. "You don't have to stand there, make yourself at home! I'll have us dinner before you know it."

"Oh, I didn't mean to imply you had to cook for me-"

"I know, and I want to."

I happily looked around her house, amazed at all the artwork and sculptures everywhere. "Wow… These all look so… so nice!" I felt a little lame at my lack of words. "This is wood… You carved this out of wood?" I gazed at the statue of a fox. I could vividly see the features of its face and even teeth. The fur was so lifelike, I could hardly believe it. "Wow…"

"Thank you!" Leah called out happily. "I love working with wood, it's so… so easy." She laughed. "I mean it works well with you, giving enough to not make as many mistakes… you know?"

"I don't, but I understand." I breathed out, going from one display to the next. "You have so many, do you sell them?"

"I… I'm kind of shy. I mean… I've sold some before, and a few online… but…"

"But what?" I asked defensively. "You're amazing! People need to see this!"

Leah looked positively flattered. "Wow… Thank you Kim… I don't know what to say…"

"Say you'll seriously consider selling some, if that's what you intended to do."

"I mean... it would make me happy…" She was blushing now, and was focusing more on the fish. "I'm… not really used to getting encouragement like this."

"Why ever not?" I asked, shocked. "You're like…" My mind went blank. "Like… Leonardo Dicaprio of our time."

"Da Vinci?" She asked, amused.

"Yes, him." I felt my cheeks coloring. "You know who I meant."

"I did," a giggle. "And thank you."

I looked around a little more, focusing on each painting and asking a little something about each one. They ranged from scenery to animals to a few self portraits. There were printed pictures everywhere, clothes pinned to various canvas and paper. I noticed a printer hooked into a laptop on her desk, filled with small picture papers. "You like taking pictures?"

"Not really taking pictures, but having them really motivates me. I enjoy seeing them." I hummed at that and picked up her digital camera. Turning to her, I smiled.

"Say cheese!" When she looked I snapped the picture, much to her distress.

"Don't take a picture of me, I'm a mess! And covered in fish guts!" Her words made me take another picture and laugh at her.

"Can I print these?"

"NO!"

"Plug in here?" I continued, putting the cable in and getting her software instantly pop up on the small screen.

"No, no!" She was laughing though.

"Annnd print!" I declared, hitting the button and making the pictures come to life.

"You're so mean!"

I watched the images come out and happily picked them up. "These are going on my nightstand." I informed her, getting a mean but playful glare. "I'll call them…" I held them out at arm's length and spoke in my best art admirer voice. "The many scales of Leah." This earned a full out laugh from her.

"You are such a dork!" She finally managed to put the fish in her oven and came over to me. "Let me see?" When I looked at her doubtfully she shook her head. "I'll give them back…Oh my, I look hideous!"

"That's true art!" I protested. "You look… " I sniffed. "Fishy. Yes, fishy." This got another laugh and we both sat down at her table. "For real, though, I love all this stuff. It's so neat to be able to see things like this."

"Really?" She put both elbows on the table and propped her chin up on her palms. "You mean it?"

"Mmhmm." I nodded to emphasize it. "What? You're grinning ear to ear."

"I just… it feels nice… hearing someone say that."

"Should I continue then?" I teased her, getting a quick shaking of the head." In that case, what's your favorite thing to do?"

"A tie between wood working and painting, I think. Maybe I like wood better because I can always count on wood to be there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She looked to the side a little, cheeks coloring. "Things I want to paint aren't always… there to look at."

This perked my curiosity. "Like what?"

"Well… I want to paint someone…" She looked down at her thumbs and twiddled them. "… Nude."

"Oh there's nothing wrong with that, lots of artist do it!" I waved it off. "That's just fine! It would look wonderful. I promise."

"Yeah, but… I can't just ask someone 'Hey, do you want to strip down naked and lay on my bed?' you know?"

Oh yeah, that was true. "I guess not…Okay, I can see that… but what about online?"

"It's not the same. I came here to see things; to get inspired from what was around me. I don't want to look at a computer screen and try to paint something off it."

"Well… don't give up. I'm sure whoever you ask would understand and be thrilled to have the opportunity." I nodded to myself.

Leah looked at me for a moment and when I was about to ask what she was thinking, the oven buzzer went off. "Food!" She exclaimed joyfully, hopping up and trotting into the kitchen. "It needs a few more minutes, this is the salad buzzer."

"Salad buzzer?"

"Just enough time to make a fresh salad before it's complete!" She worked quickly, chopping lettuce and lots of fixings for it. "I love a good salad, I eat one a day at least."

"Oh yeah, vegetarian."

"Not vegetarian," she corrected. "I eat fish. That's not vegetarian."

"Cow?"

"Nope."

"Chicken?"

"Nope, nope." Leah tossed the salad in some of her home made dressing.

"Pork."

"I won't turn it down. I've never named a pig before."

I could live with that. "Okay. Not vegetarian." She called me over and made me a plate. Together we ate dinner and talked constantly about everything and nothing. I learned a little about the city she was in before moving here, and in turn I shared a little of my boring office life as well. It was already starting to become late before I realized I still needed to talk to Marnie before she closed down for the night, if she hadn't already. My friend actually looked a little depressed at this and pouted slightly. "I had a lot of fun. Thank you for the nice meal." She walked me over to the door slowly.

"Thank you for bringing it to me to make for us. I had a really nice time." She rolled on her heels, hands clasped behind her back. "I haven't really spent time with someone since I left the city…"

"Let's do it again then."

"Sure!" she agreed at once. "It's a date then."

I couldn't help but smile at her choice of words. "A date then." She took a hold of my arm when I was about to leave.

"Hey, uhm, a question? " I looked at her and she gazed right into my eyes, a little unsure of herself. "Would you… like to strip down naked and lay on my bed sometime?"

I instantly felt hot and I could tell my face was rapidly turning red. "I… I mean…" She looked a little scared, but at the same time really hopeful. "I…" I covered my chest with one hand and looked down in embarrassment. "No.. I mean… I'm… flat chested and…"

"I think that's wonderful."

"And… and my hips are big…"

"Perfect figure."

I swallowed, too shy to really look at her. "I'm… super embarrassed…"

"… It's okay, I won't pressure you." Leah's voice was clearly hurt. "Just forget I asked, okay?"

"W-wait!" I couldn't bear that sound. She was way too happy to sound like that. "H-how about… underwear? And… maybe after that… we could try?"

"Is… that really ok?" She leaned down a bit and moved forward to make me look her in the eyes. "Please don't agree if you don't want to…"

"I'm super shy, but… I think it would be okay for now… I can't promise nude later but…" I fidgeted a little. "I'm a little flattered you asked me so… I'd like to try… you helped me so much as well, I can try to help you as well, right? That's what we do."

Her bright blue eyes looked a little moist. "I've never had someone really try for me like this before… Thank you."

"Yeah…" We both looked at each other a moment before giving a small laugh. "When should we do it?"

"Whenever you want to. Just come by and we'll go from there. No rush, let's make it as natural as possible. There is a feeling with art that's important. Doesn't matter if it's tomorrow or a few months from now, just knowing I have someone so awesome with me is enough to fuel my art for a long, long time."

I felt a little overwhelmed by her sincere words. "I'm… just posing? It's not that big of a deal?"

Shaking her head, she tried to explain a little to me. "There's a story behind it. Let's just say for now, it's just so very encouraging. Maybe I can make a good living off of this after all… " Wiping her eyes, she quickly turned into her normal happy self again. "Now go say hi to Marnie for me and get your horse!"

"Yes ma'am!" I saluted her playfully. Grabbing my new fishing rod by her door, I left with a smile.


I decided to take my new horse into town once my fruit trees had a few more offerings. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make a few good gold pieces. My horse came to me when I gave a loud, sharp whistle and stopped a little in front of me. "Good boy," I praised him. I saddled him quickly and loaded up the back with a custom made basket to hold the weight evenly over his body. "Not too bad is it?" He shook his head and made a noise as if he understood, so I took that as a positive sign. "Alright then, to town!"

The track to town was so much easier now, and I was so relieved not to have to walk it anymore. I chose to go the south passage and grinned when I saw Marnie outside talking with her cows. As I approached, I took out a over ripened peach and leaned over a bit to offer it to her. She gave me a bright smile and accepted it with a thank you and good afternoon. As I continued on I saw Willy wishing by Leah's house so I tossed him an orange. The man nodded his thanks and I continued along, seeing Leah out decorating her bushes with some more spring flowers and wooden birds carved from wood. As I passed, I gave her an apple, which she took gratefully. "What's your favorite color?" I asked curiously.

The question took her off guard and she chewed on her bite a moment before answering. "Light emerald green, why?"

"Just curious." I waved at her and got one back before popping the reigns lightly to make my horse pick up speed. As I went, I saw Sam and Sebastian hanging out together but they were far enough away that I couldn't offer them anything. I continued on into the village and stopped at Pierre's shop. Leading my horse around back, I tied him off. "Stay here for a bit." I asked him while unloading the baskets. Pouring them both into one, I carried it inside. "Delivery!" I called out happily.

"Kim, hello!" Pierre greeted me. "Are those the newest harvest?"

"Yeah, not a whole lot but enough to restock you a bit. I think I'll have to do one type at a time and let the others grow while those sell… It'll keep you supplied longer with fresh fruit and will allow my trees time to regrow."

"That would be fine, I can make a sale out of it to attract more customers." Pierre nodded. "Did you count already?"

"I did," I gave him a list and he looked it over.

"Could I get store credit on part of it?" I pondered. "So I don't have to carry all that money on me?"

"Oh absolutely!" He agreed instantly. "We always offer store credit to the local farmers. You actually get five percent more if you do that."

"Sign me up!" I cheered. We set it up and made myself an account. "Is Abigail home?"

"She is. She's grounded."

"Grounded?" I suddenly had a bad feeling. "May I ask why?"

"She went out and joined the adventurer's guild! After My wife and I specifically told her not to! Can you believe that!?"

I looked at his angry face and weighed my options. I could try to lie and stay on his good side or I could defend Abigail an possibly lose my best and almost only customer. Deciding to stand by my friend, I chose my words carefully. "Oh, I knew!"

"You did!?" He looked shocked.

"She saved my life in the mines. I was in there trying to get some iron to make myself some farming tools." He nodded for me to go on. "She was there, saved me from a king slime! I don't know what would have happened to me if she wasn't with me at the time!" I put a hand over my chest. "I wouldn't be here if not for her… I owe her everything for protecting me!" I think I might have laid it on a little thick, but Pierre was shaken enough to not protest.

"I… I see… She did, did she?"

I nodded and decided to push my luck a little more. "I may not have the right to say this, but… I don't feel safe not having her be in the guild… She's like my guardian… and without her I couldn't keep bringing you fresh produce like this so often."

"Oh… I see… Yes, I suppose you're right, but… My daughter-"

"Is very brave and strong." My words made him look down.

"She is… But she's a girl! She needs to-" He looked at me and I cocked my head to the side, indicating that I was a girl as well. "To find what makes her happy, I guess…"

"I think so," I took the slip of paper from him that had my new balance on it and smiled. "Thank you Pierre, and when you see Abigail, thank her again for me?"

"I will… I will, Kim."

Walking outside, I took out my cell phone and tapped on it, finding her name right near the top. Opening up the messaging, I sent her my first text. 'you owe me one' and added a little heart at the end. When I was finished undoing the ties on my horse's reigns I felt a buzz in my pocket. Checking it, I grinned. 'What do you mean?' with a frowny face. 'You'll see' and a smiley face.

I was already back home before I got another text back. Abigail sent me a picture of herself in front of the guild giving a peace sign. It was a rather nice image and I couldn't help but set it as my wallpaper. The Junimo near my house greeted me happily when I got back. They did a little dance like usual, which I now dubbed the 'back home from work' dance. "Hey little guys," I told them. "What sounds good for dinner?" I knew they didn't like my cooked food, but it just felt natural to talk to them now.

I looked at the calendar by my refrigerator before cooking and pondered on it a moment. I had written down many things on it, sort of like a little diary. Picking up the pen hanging near it, I wrote down today's message. "Saved Abigail's butt and made money." Above this date, last week, I saw another note: "Leah asked me to pose." I sighed out at it.

I was over the initial shyness of the request, but I was still self conscious about it. Leaning onto the counter top, I hummed. "What do you guys think?" I asked a teal Junimo who was next to me. He raised up one hand at me and made a supportive sound. "Go for it?" He nodded.

"I mean, it's not like it's… anything weird, right?" I stood up and walked around, my friends following. "But she did call it a date earlier… so does that mean she wants to start dating?" I turned and paced the other direction. "If so, then getting undressed in front of her…" I tried to fight off the blush. "And then there's Abigail, who is also super cute and strong… would she get upset if I did this?" I turned again. "Does Abigail even like girls? Am I over thinking this?"

I turned and paced the other way yet again, now having a conga line of Junimo following me. "I'm over thinking this… Leah just wants to paint someone, and I happened to be there and support her. So it's totally ok. It's just fine." I nodded to myself several times. "It's fine… I just… oh my, what am I going to wear!? I can't go over there in these!" I looked down and undid my overalls to see white panties with cow faces over them with the word "Moo!" written randomly. "I'll have to buy something…" I blushed harder. "I don't know how to buy lingerie! Who wears lingerie!?" I face palmed and sat down in front of my laptop. "Calm down, Kim, calm down… you're just over reacting because you've been single for several years…It's fine… just… take a peek."

Turning on my Laptop, I opened up a browser and typed in a popular lingerie address. Images came up on my screen and instantly I pictured myself in them laying on a bed in front of Leah. Quickly, I closed the laptop and leaned back in the chair, literally feeling the heat on my face. "I'm doomed…"