"She was so adorable when we were little!" Philip sobbed into his tankard, and the boys all looked at each other with a mixture of sympathy and amusement. After having thoroughly scolded the boys for not inviting him to their little rendezvous, he had dragged them all back to his place for drinks, where he had proceeded to get drunk in about half an hour and began crying while he recounted how close he and Lillian had been when they were younger. Hiro, in a naïve attempt to cheer the poor man up, said, "Aren't you two close now?" Philip sniffled and stared at his cup. "Well…yes but we used to be so much closer!" He stared at the ceiling and began to talk again. "I remember that she used to come up to me and kick me when I said something she deemed stupid… or when she made fun of me that time I fell out of a tree trying to get an apple for her…I remember how she used to push me into the water and laugh while I splashed around in pain because I had a cramp, or how she used to tease me when I was chubby…" While he reminisced like an old man, Cam snickered to Ash, "Sounds like our Lilly wasn't always as nice as she is now." Philip, spacing out in his own world, smiled dreamily at the ceiling. "She was really sweet though, despite all the mean things she did to me. She always baked me cake and helped me up when I fell down, and I remember one time in second grade I was being bullied by this older kid and my little sister stood up for me and called him an ugly idiot and punched him in the nose…Oh she was so cute back then!" While the boys all laughed, they each thought individually of how cute Lillian was now.

When Lillian woke up, she smiled as she saw the girls all strewn about in the bed she'd set up on the floor. The four of them had all slept together after they'd finished their fun with Lillian, and now Lillian observed that they didn't seem so different after all. Nori's long black hair tangled gently with Laney's blond hair, but the expression on the two girls was the same; happiness. Lillian smiled again, then pulled at her own hair which had been curled last night and she went into the kitchen to make breakfast for her friends. When she came back out half an hour later, she found them all fixing themselves up for the morning. Lillian giggled when she saw Nori looking unrefined for the first time ever, and she grinned broadly as Laney helped Reina pin up her braids. As she set down the coffee she'd been artfully brewing for the past ten minutes, she gave her friends a grin. "Are you ready to learn then?"

As Lillian waved good-bye to her friends, she decided to head over to Jessica's farm to visit with Ash, since she hadn't seen him in awhile. However, when she got there she was surprised to see him slumped over on a crate, his head hanging in his hands. Immediately assuming the worst, she leapt over the fence and ran at him. "ASH!" she yelled, and he winced but looked up and gave her a weak smile. "Hey, Lilly," he said as cheerfully as he could, waving feebly at her. She bent down and looked at his pale face. "Ash, what's wrong?" she said worriedly, but to her surprise she heard Cam chuckle from behind her. As she watched, Cam knelt down beside her and gave his friend a knowing look. Ash groaned, and set his head down again while Cam explained, "We went drinking last night with the boys…and Ash has never been one to hold his liquor well." Lillian giggled lightly, but blushed when Ash clutched at her hand and looked up at her pleadingly. "Lilly," the poor boy cried, "Your brother is a beast! How does he down it all?" Her eyes widened and she looked at Cam. "You went drinking with PHILIP? He's the worst drinking partner every because he gets drunk so easily but it doesn't stop him from continuing to drink! Not to mention that the more he drinks, the more convincing he gets at making others drink past their limits…" Fussing over Ash, she said to Cam, "Stay with him for a bit, will you?" As she ran off, Ash looked up at Cam, who smirked back down at him. "Why don't you have a hangover?" Ash wailed, and Cam smirked even wider. "Because I, unlike you, cannot be easily convinced. Not to mention that I've always had more tolerance than you," Cam teased his friend, sitting down next on the crate next to him. Before Ash could respond, Lillian marched back up to them, a bottle of tonic in her hand. "Drink up!" she ordered. Ash sniffed at the bottle and made a face. "Uh, no thanks," Ash refused, pushing the bottle away with a grimace. Lillian looked pleadingly up at Cam, and in that instant the two seemed to read each other's minds. Not giving Ash a chance to react, Cam pushed his friend to the ground. While Ash bucked, Cam held down his wrists and looked up at Lillian, nodding. Without giving a second thought, she sat down on top of Ash, sitting on him as she tried to hold his legs down. At this, Ash blushed and stopped bucking, but Cam frowned. While he reminded himself that she was just doing this for Ash's sake, Lillian leaned down and said with an apologetic face, "Sorry, Ash!"

When Lillian finished her chores the next morning, she heard a voice from the door way that caused her to look up. "What, no good morning song today?" Ash teased, looking as chipper as ever. Lillian blushed furiously, but wiped her hands on her smock and walked over to him, looking him up and down. "Someone seems better," she teased, poking Ash's stomach, and he twitched and deflected her hand. "Of course I'm better, yesterday was just off for me, that's all," he said, blushing as he remembered her sitting on him. Lillian leaned back against one of the feeders for her livestock and laughed. "So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" flipping her hair casually over her shoulder, she grinned at her friend. Ash walked over to her and grinning back, placed his hands on the feeder as well, leaning forward so that he had her trapped between him and the feeder's rail. "Oh, I just wanted to see you," he said softly, leaning down so that they were face to face, and Lillian blushed before pushing him off and walking out the door. With a smile, she paused in the doorway, then said, "Race you to the tunnel!" A sparkle in her eye, she took off, leaving Ash to chase after her.

He didn't catch her so much as run into her. Flying past her, he grabbed her waist with his arm and took her down, causing her to laugh even when they nearly hit heads. "I…win!" she managed to gasp out, and Ash in response stuck his tongue out. As the two lay panting on the ground, she sat up and punched him lightly, then looked over at the still dark entry of the tunnel. "It's still kind of scary, despite the fact I've already been halfway through it," she mused, looked at the entrance. Ash, on his stomach, propped himself up to first look at her, then look at the tunnel. "You worry too much," he said, poking her in the side and laughing when she spastically jumped away. With a smile, he leapt up and was about to say something when Cheryl interrupted them. "ASH! I want to play!" Lillian smirked at him, and waved good-bye as she headed for the mountain top, leaving Ash to look after her longingly while his sister tugged on his hand.

Breathing in the wonderful scents that always seemed to float around the Harvest Goddess's spring, Lillian leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. Lost in the relaxing atmosphere, she began to hum gently but was surprised when a deep hum harmonized with her own. Her eyes open in a flash, she found herself looking up at Mikhail, who was standing by the water's edge. The tall man smiled at her, and continued to look at the water. Standing up, Lillian brushed off her skirt and joined him, also looking into the spring. After a moment of silence, she said, "It's beautiful here." Mikhail nodded, and opened his arms wide as if he was receiving the bounty of nature. "The sounds…do you hear it?" Lillian smiled and closed her eyes again, tilting her head ever so slightly. "I hear the voices of nature, if that's what you mean," she murmured quietly, and Mikhail looked down at her in surprise, wondering how she had managed to capture his thoughts so perfectly. Lillian heard a rustle, and when she opened her eyes she was surprised to see him bowing to her. He straightened up and held out a hand, looking at her intently. "May I have this dance?" he asked, his eyes begging her while his manner remained distant. Giving him a gentle smile, she curtsied and took his hand. As he marveled at how soft her hand was despite her constant work, he pulled her into dance position and looked down at her, just noticing the hue of her violet eyes. Something in her voice was melodic as she looked up at him and said, "Of course." The two began to waltz around the small area, not really saying anything but enjoying each other's presence just the same. When the waltz ended, Mikhail did not let go of her waist or her hand. Lillian looked up, confused but blushing. He smiled back down at her charmingly, then slowly let go of her waist and knelt down, kissing the hand he still held. "It was a pleasure to dance with someone who has so much skill," he said in his soft melodic voice. "I do hope we can meet again sometime; I find your presence to be very inspiring." Lillian blushed all the more as he rose and bowed again before walking off and leaving her in the spring as the sun set in the distance.