The next morning, bright and early, Vicky sat up in bed and stretched, letting out a soft little yawn. She had some work to do around the farm, new crops to plant, Strawberry seeds to store, potentially a trip out to the mines to plan... She pushed herself out of bed, drawing a quiet grumble from the small dragon at the end of it who apparently decided to sleep in today, despite sleeping most of the day yesterday. She shrugged, and headed over toward the kitchen.
It was once she got into the kitchen that she realized it was raining, and her spirits sank. "Well, shit. I can't plant today." If she tried to put seeds in the ground while it was raining, they'd get washed up, and then either cook in the sun tomorrow or get eaten by birds. Speaking of birds... She glanced off toward the back storage room. She'd read about scarecrows and how they could sometimes save your crops from birds, and she'd bought the few supplies she'd need to make one. A strong board for the back, a straight stick for the arms, a pair of overalls, a sturdy old cloth hat, and some 'weatherproof' stuffing to fill the head with, along with cloth and an old shirt to put the whole thing together.
Her plans for the day shot thanks to the rain, she decided she'd go take care of the scarecrow instead. She'd been meaning to do it for a while anyway, and just hadn't on account of not actually having much time. She could go clear more of the forest, she figured she'd probably gotten about a quarter of the land reclaimed, but she really didn't relish the idea of trying to do heavy work in the rain.
She had herself a quick breakfast, just some eggs and toast. Around the time food was done her little companion made an appearance, sleepily dragging herself out of the bedroom on all fours, wings and tail drooping to the ground. "Did you sleep too long? You look a little bedraggled."
The little dragon didn't respond other than hopping up onto the table and stealing a piece of toast- Vicky had made extra just for this reason- and sleepily nibbling on it while sprawled out. Vicky smirked and reached out with her free hand, tousling the little hair pouf on top of the dragon's head. That got another response, another soft grumble, but she seemed too sleepy to really do much about it. Vicky shrugged, quickly finished her meal, and then headed off to gather up scarecrow supplies after she cleaned off the table.
Scellia still hadn't really moved, but she was looking a little more awake when Vicky put all her scarecrow items out on the table. The little dragon pushed herself to her feet and began sniffing at each item in turn, though eventually she lost interest and plopped down on the floor to pad off to the door. Vicky mentally made a note that she'd have to install a doggy door or something for her little friend, though she wondered if Scellia would actually need one... She gave a shrug and set to work.
Putting together a scarecrow was a relatively simple affair, nailing the stick to the board so that it wouldn't shift, dressing it, and filling the whole thing with stuffing were really the only difficult parts. It was around when she was stuffing the head that her little scaled friend reappeared, having wandered off to the bedroom- Vicky thought maybe she was going to nap again- only to return, two little amethysts held between her tiny teeth. Vicky raised an eyebrow curiously as the dragon jumped up onto the table and plopped the two gems down next to her hand, watching the dragon for some kind of reaction.
Scellia looked at the gems, to the scarecrow, to Vicky, and then back to the gems a few times, but when the farmer still didn't move she let out a soft little huff through her nose and picked up one of the gems in a paw. She placed it right on the scarecrow's head... where the eyes would be.
"You want me to put Amethysts as the eyes?" Vicky was surprised the little dragon would give up two gems like that, she'd been keeping them in the hoard under her bed.
Scellia nodded, holding the one gem in place with a paw, before placing the other one right where the other eye would have to be. Vicky smirked, shrugged, and then picked up a needle and thread. "Alright. I can sew them in. Hold them still?"
When the little dragon nodded, Vicky set to work, letting Scellia hold the gems in place while Vicky sewed around them. It was actually easier with her help since Scellia's little paws were more nimble than Vicky's larger fingers would have been. It only took a few minutes to get the gems secured in place, and Vicky sewed a little nose into the figure, along with a mouth with a crooked smile. She thought it looked more 'personal' than a normal smile, and her scarecrow would certainly stand out with gems for eyes- she'd just been planning on sticking buttons in place instead.
She glanced down to Scellia with a little smile. "Wanted to add your own touch to it?" When the dragon responded with a vigorous nod, Vicky couldn't help but laugh softly and gave her a little pet along her spine, to which the dragon responded with a quiet purr and an arch of her back. "Well, let's go stick this thing in the ground, and then I guess we can go into town. Can't do much work out here today." Scellia nodded again, and Vicky headed to grab an old coat she'd picked up out of the thrift section of Pierre's store.
Riding a bike in the rain probably wasn't her greatest idea, she could feel that she was getting wet even with her coat and hat, but at least it wouldn't take as long as walking even if she did end up more wet at the end. She'd intended to maybe go see Abigail, say hello, maybe grab some food, but right around the time she made it to the edge of town, Scellia curled up around her neck to keep out of the rain, she remembered an odd fact her dad used to tell her when she was little. "Fish always bite more in rain."
She couldn't for the life of her figure out why she'd thought of that until she remembered the old fisherman, Willy, who'd wanted a word. A soft 'oh' later, she turned her bike south to head toward the beach. A few people were out and about in town, she noticed Lewis and Emily and Gus, though other shapes were lost to the mist of the weather. She eventually did have to abandon her bike at the edge of the beach, trying to ride while the sand was like this would probably just end up with her stuck in mush, and it wasn't that far to walk besides.
Vicky noticed a light on in Elliot's shack and wondered how he was faring in this weather, but the little wisp of smoke from his chimney signaled that he was probably fine. She continued on her way to the pier and Willy's shop, though to her confusion it appeared closed... until she spotted out of the corner of her eye that he was here, just not where she'd expected him to be. He was standing on the edge of the dock, poncho around his shoulders, and sure enough he was fishing. She smirked slightly and glanced toward her little dragon friend as she walked toward him. "Fancy some fish for dinner?" That got a very enthusiastic nod from the dragon, though she didn't seem excited enough to venture out from under Vicky's collar.
She stepped up beside Willy as he reeled in his line, and the old fisherman hardly batted an eye when he glanced to his side to see her. "Ahoy there, lass. Fancied a bit of fishin' while we had some rain goin', were you lookin' to buy somethin' from the shop?"
"Actually, no. You offered to teach me to fish the other day? I thought I might catch you fishing out in the rain, figured I'd stop by."
He grinned at that, an old pipe clenched between his teeth. She figured it probably wasn't doing much more than catching rain at this point, but some habits die hard. "You actually stopped by at a great time, lass. You see this old rod, here?" He held it up as he attached the line to the pole itself, wrapping the hook around the rod. "This is my old pole. I just got back from a month-long fishing trip a day or so before you arrived, caught me a lot of good fish. Finally saved enough to buy me a new rod."
Vicky raised an eyebrow as he continued his story, but remained quiet to let him talk.
He looked down at it for a moment, letting his fingers run over the handle before he finally handed it to Vicky. "Here. I want you to have it. It's important to me that the art o' fishin' stays alive."
Vicky gave him a soft 'thank you' as she took it from him, running her own hands over the handle... it definitely looked like it had seen a lot of use, but was sturdy and well-maintained.
"And hey, maybe you'll buy somethin' from the shop once in a while." He let out a soft chuckle and clapped his hand to Vicky's shoulder. "Come, lass. You'll need a bit of instructin' if you'll want to be fishing up a good haul."
He turned to the sea and held out a hand, gesturing across the open expanse before him. "There's good water here in the valley. All kinds o' fish, every shape and size you can think of. We've got river fish, though you won't want to be fishin' for those in the river inside of town. Head outside town a ways; near Leah's hut is a good spot. We've got mountain fish, though the best spot is around near the Adventurer's Guild. Joja's got it all closed off for the moment, though, Marlon's the only one who can get back an' forth."
"Joja closed the Guild?"
"No, no. They damn near collapsed the mines, a big rockslide blocked the whole thing off. They just cleared it out, but they said they need a few more days for 'safety inspectin', I think they're just tryin' ta make sure that nobody else can get in until they haul off what they want from the place. But my favorite spot..." He gestured out in front of himself again, sweeping his hand in a wide arc. "Is this 'un. You'll catch all sorts of fish from the sea, lass. Big ones, little ones, squids and starfish, sometimes you'll even manage to hook a cucumber or two. And remember that which fish come around changes with the season, too, so you'll always want to keep an eye out."
It was a lot to take in, especially with everything else she had to remember, but Willy had a way of talking that seemed to make everything easy to remember. She didn't think she'd have a very hard time remembering his instructions at all, especially once he showed her how to cast. The first few times he helped her with his hands on hers, but eventually, she got the hang of it without him leaning over her shoulder. She even managed to catch a few fish! By the time the rain began to die off, she figured it was around noon, and Willy gave her a little plastic baggie to carry her catch, a halibut and a few sardines.
"Why doncha go pay a little visit to Elliot on your way back into town? I always worry about him when it storms, and he could probably use the company. That lad's a strange one, but he's a nice enough sort."
Vicky smirked slightly. She was coming to realize there were a lot of available people her age in this town, and a lot of the older folk seemed to be trying to push some of them together... probably figured if they settled down they'd stick around in the town. "Alright, Willy. I'll go make sure he's okay. Thank you for the pole and the instructions!"
"Anytime, lass. Stop by if you need some bait, or if you want to sell your catch, aye?" He gave a final wave, then stepped inside his shop and turned the sign back to 'open'.
Vicky shook her head, but she figured going to see Elliot wouldn't be that bad a way to spend the afternoon, and he did seem like a pretty nice guy.
She ventured back to her bike, first, and then walked it over toward Elliot's shack to let it lean against the wall. She then made her way to the door and gave it a few gentle knocks.
She was greeted at the door by her writer acquaintance, who smiled but seemed a little confused to see her. "Well hello, Miss Vicky. What a surprise to see you out here on a day like this. What brings you to my humble abode?"
Vicky held up her bag of fish. "I just went to see Willy. He gave me his old pole and some fishing lessons, and then suggested I should come check on you and see how you were doing. Said he always worried about you when a storm rolled through."
Elliot began to smile slightly as she spoke, but toward the end, he was practically beaming. "What a kind old fellow, that Willy. I will have to thank him." He glanced toward her fish, and gently cradled his chin in his hand for a moment. "You know, I was just about to cook a late lunch. Would you like to share one of your fish? I just found this lovely new recipe online that I thought I could try, and, well, you show up at my door not a few minutes later with a fish!"
Vicky pursed her lips and shrugged, then held out her bag of fish. "Sure! I was just going to cook them anyway."
"Marvelous!" Elliot stepped to the side and gestured for Vicky to enter, and she stepped in out of the rain.
She took a moment to shake herself out near the door and try to get most of the water off near where it wouldn't matter as much, though she'd still be feeling pretty soggy for a while. Scellia took the opportunity to leap off and shake herself dry before skittering away underneath a table, leaving Vicky and Elliot pretty much alone. He headed into his little kitchen area, giving Vicky a chance to have a look around his home.
It was a pretty cozy little place, a writing desk off in the corner, a large piano that she'd head the other day, and then his bed. There weren't really 'rooms', per say, and the whole thing was really just one big 'room' with things seemingly sectioned off. He noticed her looking as he set up a cutting board and other implements on a small counter space he had near a stove, and smiled slightly. "Yes, I know it's all rather cozy and homey, but it's simple. Doesn't distract me from my writing." Vicky glanced toward his desk, and sure enough, there seemed to be newer material on it.
"How's the writing going? Didn't seem too hot last time." She turned back toward him and finally hung up her jacket now that it had stopped dripping. Hopefully, it would dry out at least a little before she had to leave.
Elliot chuckled quietly as he began to prepare the fish- judging by the way he handled it he seemed like he'd done this quite a few times... probably came with living this close to the sea. He even had a fishing rod of his own hung up on the wall by his door. "Well I wouldn't call it 'hot'", he glanced over toward Vicky before he continued, "But it's going. Better than stalled, at least.", he admitted with a smile.
"Progress is progress. Kept me going on the first few days on the farm."
"How is that, by the way? Is it 'hot'?" He smirked as he glanced up toward her, but turned back to his fish-cleaning duties soon enough.
"It's going pretty well actually. I built a scarecrow this morning. I was going to plant but it was raining, so I thought I'd wait a day or maybe do it when I go back to the farm this afternoon. We've still got a couple months in Spring so I'm not too too worried about it." She took a seat at his little table, only one out of two, and she picked the one that seemed like it'd be used less often. It had fewer scrapes in the wood by its feet, anyway.
"You sound like a lifetime farmer already, Vicky!" He admitted with a quiet laugh. "I will admit I came out here for what I imagine are similar reasons to you. The simpler, quieter life. And I could focus more on my writing, though it hasn't particularly panned out yet." He set a pan on the stove and lit a burner, setting fish down in a moment later to start to cook.
He pulled some vegetables out of a little icebox under the counter and began to prepare those as well, and Vicky remained quiet for a moment to watch him work. "You could be a chef, you know. You've got some serious skills in the kitchen over there."
Elliot laughed again and shook his head, his long hair falling around his shoulders before he swept it up and behind him again. "Oh just what you pick up when you live alone and don't have anyone to cook for you. If you don't learn to cook when you're on your own then you spend a lot more money on food, I find."
Vicky winced slightly. She still hadn't really learned that particular lesson, though once she'd moved out here she found she was cooking a lot more often. "Yeah I suppose you're right. I know I've cooked more in the last few weeks."
"I imagine it must be hard. There isn't really much in the way of food delivery if you don't count Gus, and if you don't want to shop at JojaMart most of the easier food items are limited." He glanced up toward her as he spoke, then went back to his cooking. It looked like he was cooking the vegetables with the fish, some kind of warm salad maybe?
"Yeah. I haven't gone to Joja at all, though I might need to soon, there're a few things I need that Pierre doesn't sell."
"The poor man. He tries so hard, but he's just out-priced. I try to shop there as much as I can, but I just can't really spare the extra money..." Elliot let out a little sigh as he spooned food out of the pan onto two plates and then cut the fire. He gestured for Vicky to come grab a plate, which she did gladly as she was just now realizing she was actually pretty hungry. "It's hard to make a living without any books to your name when you can really only do odd jobs around town.", he continued as he made his way to the table.
"Well, progress is progress, isn't it?" Vicky sat back down and got a good look at her food, a decent looking sort of mixed fish and vegetable warm salad. She dug in after a moment's wait to be polite.
Elliot poured himself a glass from what looked like a wine bottle that'd been resting the table, with a little nod in Vicky's direction. "I'd offer you a glass, but I believe that I heard you don't drink?"
Vicky glanced up from her plate with a grin. "Word travels fast around here, doesn't it?"
"Yes, I believe that Gus mentioned it at some point in the night. Lamenting the lost possible sales or something." He shrugged with a smirk. "I don't believe he really means any harm, it's just his way of gossip."
"I don't really mind, it just means there's less awkward refusal of gifts if you don't have to keep giving back wine or declining beer or something." Vicky shrugged, shoving another bite of food in her mouth. Scellia popped her head over the table after jumping into Vicky's lap, her head darting out to snag a piece of fish every moment or two, though Elliot didn't seem to notice. He likely couldn't see her at all.
Elliot's cooking really was great, and Vicky was sad when she snagged the last bit of fish out from under Scellia's nose. The little dragon had probably eaten half of it... apparently she really liked fish. She sat back in her chair with a little sigh, resting her hands in her lap, pleasantly warm and well fed. "I guess I should be heading back soon... The rain stopped and I suppose I can get more seeds in the ground before nightfall."
Elliot nodded, gesturing with his glass. "Don't worry about the plate, I can take care of it." He stood as she got up to leave, offering her a little bow. "It was lovely to see you again, the company was pleasant. I don't suppose I will see you again for another few days?"
Vicky gave a little shrug with a smile. "You might, you might not. Who knows? I appreciate the food, it was really good."
He nodded and raised his glass as she made her way to the door, Scellia taking up position around her shoulders again, though she was quite rumbly. Probably pleased with her meal of fish. "A pleasure, my friend. Don't be a stranger!"
Vicky nodded and gave a wave, then ducked out of the door to head back home.