Chapter 10: The Morning After

If Asher had held any hopes that he wouldn't wake up sore, his aching body was all to quick to remind him of the previous night's mistakes. He groaned audibly as he sat up upon his head, clutching his head with one hand and his ribs with the other. The night had taken it's toll on him – And now he was going to pay for it.

Gus had insisted on copping him for the drink – A small gesture to make up for his brazen gesture of help in dealing with Pam. He'd apologized up and down until the farmer had all but demanded the man stop and, only a little after finishing his drink, Asher had headed for home. He'd had to insist to the others he could make the trip even despite his newly acquired injuries, but even as he walked he couldn't shake the feeling that some had followed him anyway.

Their kindness wasn't needed – They could've stepped in at any time.

The room bustled with activity even as he moved to rise – And the sudden movements all around him made him freeze mid-step. Asher's eyes widened as he looked about the tiny cottage, for no matter where he looked he saw... Them. "Holy shit..." Jumino! They were all over the place – At once the words of Rasmodius suddenly made much more sense; he could see them now for what they were.

Strangely, the creatures seemed not to notice him, even as he made to rise. Wary, he took a few cautious steps, but the tiny creatures moved unstintingly around him, as though they held no fear for the wayward giant stomping among them. In fact, whenever his foot grew too near one they simply walked through him – Passing through his body as though he weren't there at all! Asher marveled with curious fascination, standing and watching until one in particular caught his eye. A single Jumino – Emerald in color – Had climbed aboard his nightstand and stood watching him from the table. The farmer looked back, raising an eyebrow, before leaning in close.

"Hi there." He tried; the creature blinked twice in quick succession.

It made no other move to communicate. "Are you..." He tried to think of what to ask, but his mind was a blank. Did he ask for a name, or a purpose? Was he meant to ask them what they expected of him? Asher frowned deeply – This was all too much! After the night he'd had the farmer wished only to take things slow, but his home seemed a hive of activity – It was overwhelming! The only solace came from the realization that, even as the Jumino scurried about – Tending to the cleaning and tidying of the cottage around him – They were utterly silent. Even after cleaning his clothes for the day ahead he somehow heard nothing; almost like he'd awoken from some crazy dream.

"What do I do?" He asked the staring sprite atop his table. Still his whole body felt wracked with pain; could he even DO anything like this? In answer, the Jumino hopped down from the table and quickly scurried to the door. The mere sight of the tiny creature brought a smile to his face; it was adorable to watch them move! With their round frames, the Jumino could barely manage a run – Rather they waddled from side to side whenever they moved, yet this seemed not to slow them in the slightest.

The green one vanished as it touched the door, leading the farmer to believe it had ventured outside without him. As quickly as he dared he dressed and grabbed for the watering can – Which already had been filled by their tiny hands. 'I should probably grab more but... This should do for now.' He gave the other tools a single look – Like the rest of the cabin, these too had been cleaned to perfection over the course of the night – And finally headed outside.

At once he breathed a sigh of relief; the rain had done nothing to damage his crops. Indeed they looked almost ready to pluck! The very tops of the small, yellowed vegetables already rose to greet him and as he approached he knew – Somehow, even despite his inexperience – That tomorrow was the day. He set to watering his charges, all the while keeping an eye out for the Jumino from before, but everywhere he looked he saw other colors of the tiny creatures hard at work. It almost felt as though they had formed teams of some sort, for a small group of blue Juminos had taken to fishing trash out of the pond near the cottage, while a group of red ones focused their attention on splitting logs for easier transport. To one side he even spied a great many gray Jumino circled around a large boulder cropping out of the ground – They bore no tools, but as they hopped and danced about the rock it slowly began to crack and break away. Asher bit back a curse as it was eventually reduced to stones no bigger than his fist.

'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' Movement from below ensnared his attention; Asher glanced down to see the green Jumino once more; it was perched on the tip of his watering can and watching him with interest. He stared at it curiously, "You again. Ready to tell me what I need to do?"

It's stare told him nothing, yet he received no other answer alongside it. With a sigh, Asher returned to the deck and took a seat on the stairs. His body was in no shape to pull rocks or chop wood – What was he supposed to do? He sat, glumly watching the Jumino work, and every so often his attention shifted down to the green one that seemed all but fixated on his person. The farmer considered how different it seemed from the rest. "You need a name." He decided as his eyes trailed about the landscape around him. He came to notice the scarecrow, diligently watching for further attacks from above and at once returned to the Jumino. "I think I'll call you Hank."

If the creature cared, it gave no sign. It watched him for several minutes more, but when it became apparent that Asher was not going to move, it eventually hopped from it's perch and went to rejoin the rest. The farmer felt slighted, frowning deeply at the sudden dismissal. "Well... Alright then – See you later, I guess?" Whatever Rasmodius had given him clearly lacked the desired effect! Sure, he could see the creatures now, but without anyway to talk to them how much good did that do him, really? He considered returning to the tower and asking the man more about it, but footsteps from the roadside quickly drew him away from any such ideas.

Asher looked up in time to see Penny walking down the trail towards him, though she seemed almost to freeze in place the moment he spotted her. She flushed, looking downcast with embarrassment and hesitated to take even one more step. She barely moved, seeming almost to reconsider her decision, before at last daring to approach. With a meek wave, she called out a greeting. "Good... Good morning Asher..." The words felt forced; she hadn't come here for pleasantries alone. "How are..." Her eyes locked with his own and the shame returned to her in full.

Penny looked away just as quickly, holding back a cringe – Did he truly look so bad? Until now the farmer hadn't considered any lasting damage, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how obvious that should have been. Pam had hit him hard – And repeatedly. Her assault had broken his glasses at the least but he hadn't thought much beyond that. Without a mirror handy, he had no way to find out for sure – Not unless someone told him anyway. "I'm so... I'm sorry..."

The tension was unbearable, and Asher found he had no idea what to say. His offer to help the girl had been genuine, and even if he had overstepped his bounds last night, he hadn't expected her to come with an apology. In his mind, it was already in the past – A done deal – But clearly Penny hadn't seen it that way at all.

He wondered what Pam thought of it.

The girl refused to look at him; it somehow made him feel all the worse. He tried to think, but the words simply didn't come – Instead, he laughed, and the sound roused her from her embarrassment. "Some night, right? Remind me never to pick a fight with your ma for real." The words were stupid and childish – He regretted them the moment they left his lips.

But for their flaws, they at least got Penny to speak. She took another step forward, making fists with her hands, "Don't... I mean... It's not funny Asher – You could've been... I mean..." It was clear such confrontations were beyond her; it made him wonder how she was at home. If Pam pushed her to such extremes often, it was little wonder she was having such a hard time now – Her confidence was simply gone.

'But then, she was fine the other day...' Surely there was something to that?

"I didn't think she'd... I thought mother knew better then to hit anyone again... I'm so sorry Asher." She sniffled, fighting back the tears as she watched him. "I had to come and make sure you weren't..." But he was, and it was clear now that it showed. Penny was at a loss; what could he say to appease her.

The farmer looked away; he glanced out at the farm and watched the Jumino work it in his stead. Somehow, the heated discussion bothered them not in the least – Yet Penny seemed not to notice the gradual clearing of mess happening around her. "Hell of a thing, isn't it?" It was time to change the subject, and the girl looked just as surprised as he was. Asher pointed out towards the farm; she turned to look as well. "Feels like it'll take years to a make a dent in all of this but... Well, you can't quit doing something just because it's hard."

"Asher, what are you..."

At last, he latched onto something – Some way to bring it together. "Some things you can't control Penny. I didn't know about the state of the farm when I moved out here, and you didn't know how things would go when you needed help, but we just have to roll with whatever life throws at us. That's just how it is." He offered her a smile, and it seemed almost to reassure her. "You don't have to apologize – I mean, shit happens. Your mom got home safely, right?" He quickly realized he hadn't yet asked such a thing, but her slow nod helped to solidify his point all the more. "Then that's what matters."

"But you got hurt!" Penny caught herself as she yelled, but too slowly to stop the words echoing across the debris-laden farm. She flushed anew before moving to stand closer to him and try again. "I mean... You got hurt because..." Again, the tears look on the verge of coming, and it was all she could do to wipe them away. "She shouldn't have hit you – You shouldn't have gotten hurt because... Because of me. Because of us."

Asher frowned, unsure of what next to say. It was easy to claim he'd suffered through worse – He actually had – But doing so would only sound like a brag, and do nothing to appease the girl's guilt. Instead, he gave the spot beside him a gentle pat, offering to let her sit. Penny looked reluctant, but shuffled forward after another moment of consideration. She stared at him with worried, emerald-eyes and for a moment the farmer all but lost what little concentration he still had. "I can't tell you how to feel." He told her simply, frowning all the more at his own words. "You're going to feel bad about what happened no matter how much I tell you not to – That makes you pretty decent. Means you've got good morals." Where the hell was he going with this? "Probably got those from your ma, right?"

The question shocked her; Penny touched her chest and looked down with some uncertainty. "I... I guess..?"

"Then she can't be all bad. Listen; I don't know what she's going through to make her lash out like that – But it's not fair to try and shoulder that burden by yourself. I saw this kind of thing a lot back in the city; people dragged down by friends or family going through... Hell, I don't know. But when people act out like that someone else usually had to pay for it." He tried not to think about his own mistakes – And the people he'd left behind. A flashed of her face raced through his mind; Asher's sour mood showed plainly on his face, and he aimed down at the dirt. "But... There isn't any reason to deal with that shit by yourself, you know?"

Penny said nothing; she thought carefully about his words as she wiped at her eyes. The farmer gave her a sidelong glance, nodding his head ever so slightly. "There was probably a million ways I could've dealt with Pam last night, and I chose the wrong one. I do that sometimes. But it got her to leave, and that helped you out." At last the smile broke through – One that he could only hope would be contagious. "You can feel bad if you want but... I'd call that a win."

The look of surprise upon her was genuine; whatever she had expected to come from the visit, this was clearly not it. "How... How can you be so calm about this?" Her voice was shaky, as though she could scarcely believe any of this herself. "You should be... Mad! Furious! I... I don't know what... I don't know HOW you aren't fuming right now..." Again, her eyes lingered on his face, and he found himself reddening at the stare. "It looked so painful..."

"It'll heal."

But Penny only shook her head. She opened her mouth to argue further, but something made her stop. She looked again, turning her head ever so slightly and examining his features as though for the first time. A part of him wanted to look away, but Asher found he lacked the will to do even that. "... You're sure? Really sure that... That you're not mad? That..." He was already nodding, but she wanted to finish even despite that. "I'm grateful. Truly. I... I was so sure I'd made a mess of things by asking you and... I mean; I've barely slept I was so worried and..." Her words gradually quieted as they devolved into murmurs. Asher strained to hear, and she jumped at the suddenly attention.

Cheeks reddened by the embarrassment, Penny quickly hopped to her feet – And nearly pitched off the stairs in the process. "I-" The near fall had jostled her hair, sending bangs tumbling down in front of her face. She straightened, quickly moving to fix her hair as she spoke. "Thank you... Really; for everything. I'll find some way to make it up to you – I will!" She added, before he could dare to interrupt. Her gaze turned steely, and the farmer realize she would not be talked out it. Reluctantly he nodded, and at last her smile came back – He'd missed that smile.

Somehow, seeing her happy like that almost made it all worthwhile.

Author's Note: A bit of a short one this time, but hopefully it still made you happy to read it! Obviously there had to be some kind of resolution after a night like that, but we still have yet to see Pam's reaction to it all. I really hope I got Penny's nervousness and shyness down a bit better this time; I'm aiming to try and make her just as loveable as she is in the game! :D