Having left so early, Lillian found herself in Konohana just as everything was beginning to open. Parking Storm at the same tree as before, Lillian patted the dark grey pony and set off towards Nori's. At the first knock Nori answered, and when she saw it was Lillian a smile spread over her face. "Please, come inside," bowed Nori, and Lillian nodded and kicked her shoes off politely to enter the Japanese home. As they sat down to tea, Nori took a delicate sip then set down her cup gently. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lillian. What brings you to Konohana?" Lillian, much less delicate, drank half her cup and set it down as well, grinning at her friend. "Well, I wanted to visit you, since we've only chatted a few times in the past few weeks, and I also came to buy seeds. Also…can you take a look at this?" After rustling around in her sack for a bit, Lillian produced a blue dress and matching bandanna that would have been very cute had it not been for a few misplaced stiches. While Nori's eyes widened with surprise, Lillian sat back with an embarrassed smile. "I recently got a few sheep on my farm and they produce more than enough wool so I tried my hand at sewing. This is my first attempt, and I was doing pretty decently until I forgot which way I was going and well…what do you think?" Looking up at her friend, Nori smiled widely. "It's beautifully crafted, Lillian. I can fix the few mishaps you've made and it will be ready for you by the time you leave Konohana tonight. Now, about those seeds…"
Lillian had left the dress with her friend Nori while she went around the town. She was just waving good-bye when she bumped into someone who fell back with a gasp. Turning to them, she started waving her hands and apologizing when she realized that it was Hiro and he was smiling up at her, blushing. "Hey, Hiro," relaxing, Lillian offered him a hand and helped him to his feet. Smiling back, Hiro stuttered out a hello. "So, um, why are you over in Konohana? I haven't seen you since last time, when you and Doctor Ayame were drinking…" Hiro winced at the memory but still kept his smile. For such a sweet looking girl, Lillian could hold her liquor and had actually managed to not only match Ayame but out-drink her. Of course, this had led to the two falling asleep over the table snoring and drooling, while Hiro had quietly cleaned up around them and put them to bed. He'd fallen asleep on the couch, since he'd put Lillian in his own bed but when he'd woken up she wasn't there. In her place was a freshly cooked meal with a thank you note on it. Lillian laughed, knowing that the expression on Hiro's face was probably from the memory of that night and how a drunk Ayame had forced him into singing karaoke while she danced on the kitchen table with a half empty bottle in hand. "Sorry about all that last time," Lillian teased, causing Hiro to blush again. "But Ayame can really put them back! I don't think I've ever had as much as I did last time," admitted Lillian, to which Hiro laughed. Clearing his throat, he pointed to the tea shop down the road. "Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."
While the two sat outside in the sun enjoying the tea Hiro had ordered, Lillian gazed at the town and smiled at how serene and elegant everything seemed. Hiro interrupted her thoughts. "So Lillian, have you heard news from Philip yet?" All of Lillian's Konohana friends knew about her brother coming, and they were just as excited to see him as she was. Pouting, Lillian set down her tea cup. "That brother of mine! First he sends me off by myself with a poorly drawn map, then he doesn't even bother to send me a single letter! When I see him, I'm gonna…" While Lillian grumbled into her tea, Hiro laughed before noticing someone unfamiliar standing on the path. His hair, although appearing to be light brown at first, was actually tinted heavily with red, and his piercing blue eyes were staring straight at Lillian. "Lilly?" The boy's deep voice cause her attention, and in an instant she whipped around to face him. There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other, then Lillian gave a wild screech that caused Hiro to fall over. Still screaming, Lillian jumped over the rail of the balcony and landed on the boy. Jumping to his feet, Hiro thought he was going to have to stop a fight when he saw that the boy was laughing and hugging her tightly while she laughed as well, pretending to fend him off. "Idiot! I thought you weren't ever coming!" Lillian said, smacking the boy on the head. Laughing, the boy just pushed her away and looked her up and down. "Farming's done a turn for the worse on you, hasn't it? You're even uglier than when I last saw you off!" Rolling her eyes, Lillian stood back and crossed her arms saucily. "Well, at least I was never as ugly as you were to begin with." The boy howled with laughter then grabbed her close for another hug and ruffled her hair. The two seemed to have forgotten Hiro was there, and when he finally called, "Lillian?" from the balcony the two looked up and grinned at him, suddenly looking very similar.
"So you're Philip!" The boy nodded while Lillian sat next to him, leaning against him. Hiro smiled and put his hand out , saying, "I'm Hiro. I'm and apprentice to the doctor over at the clinic and I'm Lillian's friend." Philip grabbed Hiro's hand enthusiastically and pumped it up and down. "So you're the one who's been taking care of my Lilly, huh?" he said, and Hiro blushed at this while Lillian smacked him. "Philip, shut up. We're friends, but I don't live in this town." Hearing this, Philip dropped Hiro's hand and turned to look at Lillian incredulously. "Lilly…" he said, but that was as far as he got. Lillian jumped to her feet and looked down haughtily at her brother. "Philip, I'm eighteen years old now and can take care of myself perfectly fine. I've been doing so for weeks now without you, since you NEVER ANSWERED YOUR LETTERS, and on top of it I'm glad to be working with animals. I refuse to move just because you say so." Philip's rough character changed into one of a doting older brother, as he grabbed his sister's hand and looked up at her with huge puppy eyes that made even Hiro feel bad. "But Lilly, I've missed you!" He whined, trying to pull her back down. She wasn't having any of it. Pulling her hand free, she stuck her tongue out. "None of that! You know just as well as I do that you're tricks won't work on me. Besides that it's getting late and I have to stop by Nori's and get home in time to put the animals up. Come visit me when you're done setting up here!" Leaving both Hiro and Philip dumbstruck, Lillian leapt over the balcony again and landed neatly on her feet. She turned back one more time and waved. "Bye Hiro! I'll come visit again soon! And Philip, don't you forget to visit!" As the two watched her leave, Hiro chuckled nervously, "Has she always been like that?" To his surprise, Philip turned to him with a rueful grin. "You bet she has. She's always been like that."
That night, Lillian was surprised to see Rutger waiting for her as she brought her pony up to the house. "Rutger! Hi! What can I do for you?" she asked pleasantly, used to getting requests from people. Once the townspeople realized that she did the most traveling on the mountain, they began putting up notes with items from the mountains that they needed and paying her when she completed their requests. Sometimes, if the need was urgent enough, the person would come to her house themselves. Cam had already been by several times asking if she had any small fish he could give to the stray cats he often found wandering around town. While she put her pony up, Rutger cleared his throat. "Lillian, my dear, tomorrow is the twentieth of spring, and we hold the cooking contest then. Now, you haven't had any free time to participate the in the earlier ones, but I do hope that tomorrow you can at least come out to the festival, if not bring a dish with you to enter. What do you say, my girl?" eagerly, Rutger awaited her answer. With a bright smile, Lillian turned around. "Well, now that I've gotten all settled in, I don't see why not! Is there a specific theme for the last one of the season?" Nodding happily, Rutger gave her all the details then bid her goodbye as he walked off back home. "Cooking, huh? Sounds interesting enough!" Lillian exclaimed to her cow, and she sauntered into her house.
