A Chaotic Experience
Chapter 21: Cold Hot Springs
Work continued on the hot springs as the cold front began to settle onto Flower Bud. It was the 14th that day.
"Oh my God, it's freezing…" Ewan shivered in his PJs. He decided to wear his Spring outfit under his regular Winter outfit just so that he could keep warm. He felt a little stiff and unnaturally fat, even though he never knew what a lot of weight was like, but it was worth it.
"Ewan, how are you lasting through all this cold?" Joe asked Ewan as he shivered a bit. A large gust of wind caused all four of them to stay still for a moment before getting back to work.
"Layers are the key to keeping warm." answered the farmer as he swung his axe up and down to chop up the stump.
"Great…" moaned Joe as he turned to the side and stiffly began to saw some wood.
"Anyone have any idea why it gets so cold now?" Kurt wondered as he began to make the outside of the hot springs.
"Oh, the middle of Winter is always the coldest bit of the season." answered Woody. He was doing the same thing as Kurt.
"Do you know how long it's going to take to finish this?" asked the frigid carpenter. Joe was definitely eager to get inside and get his hands on a hot drink.
"I'm sure you'll be using these hot springs a lot, huh Joe?" asked Ewan. He laughed a little and Joe laughed too, but it was a laugh mixed with shivering.
"Want to go to the Bar after we do this?" Joe asked Ewan.
"Yeah, but it won't be open for another 3 hours after we've finished. So we can go to the Bakery or something afterwards." Ewan answered, "Popuri's probably there…" he began to think of her.
"I wonder what Raffi's up to…" suddenly, Joe felt warmer from talking about his girlfriend. Ewan laughed and they all went back to work.
"Okay, everyone, let's finish up an hour earlier today." declared Woody, also unable to bear the freezing weather. He knew that the next day everyone would wear more padded and warmer clothing.
"Cool, let's go Joe." Ewan stood up, putting his tools away after they finished. Joe decided to stop at the Clinic to get Raffi off of her work, but she was too busy, so they went to the Bakery anyway.
"Popuri's too busy, too." answered Ewan after he left the Flower Shop, "Odd, that's probably the first time she's been too busy to hang out."
"Well let's get Kai and Karen. I'm sure they're not too busy." Joe decided. Ewan shrugged his arms a little and they went off to the Vineyard after having a cake or two. Ewan brought his tea with him in a paper cup.
"Hi, Kai. We're a little bored, do you think you and Karen could hang out with us?" wondered the farmer as he sipped his tea.
"I can, but Karen's working late today." Kai replied a little sadly. And with that, they all went off to chat at the Rancho Farm.
However, at the farm, one of Ewan's cows accidentally was outside of the barn and trying to graze on the dead grass.
"Oh, shoot…" Ewan muttered and then began to rummage through his rucksack. Being unable to find what he was looking for, he went into his house and tried to find it all around his house, unsuccessfully.
"What were you looking for?" asked Joe as Kai watched Janice roaming around the snowy pasture.
"My bell." answered Ewan as he searched his rucksack for it once more, "I use it to bring the animals in from the outside, but I can't seem to find it for some reason."
(A/N: This will actually be a very important thing later on in the fic, so try and remember that Ewan's lost his bell. Even if it's hard for you lot to remember things…)
"So now what?" the vineyard worker wondered, still watching Janice wander around. Joe also joined in watching Janice.
"Well now I have to push Janice in on my own." he ran out to the field to Janice, but Janice began to run away from Ewan.
"You wouldn't think that a cow would be able to run that fast…" mumbled Joe as he and Kai watched this interesting show.
"I finally caught her!" cheered Ewan as he tried pushing Janice into the barn, but she barely budged, "Could I get a little help here, guys!?" he yelled.
"Okay, sorry!" the two of them answered back, running over. Their combined weight was enough to push her about two feet farther. It took quite a while for Janice to get back into the barn.
"Right… now that that's finished, let's go into my house." Ewan took a deep breath and said this. The other two agreed and they went inside and to Ewan's kitchen.
"Now that we've wrangled that BEAST…" Kai turned to the barn and implied Janice to being a beast, "Why don't we talk about you and Popuri?"
"Oooh!" Joe made an excited expression as Ewan rolled his eyes a little oddly. He still had to laugh at Joe's remark to the situation.
"We are just friends. I don't know how many times I have to clarify this to you lot." answered the farmer as he sipped his cup of warm apple cider. Joe and Kai looked at each other doubtfully and then looked back at Ewan.
"That's obviously a lie." replied Kai as he shook his head slowly. Ewan began to nervously tie and fix his bandana, which didn't help much.
"Now, come on," began Joe, "We all wear bandanas here. We're the secret league of bandanas; we tell each other our secrets." Ewan turned to Kai, who nodded to this comment. Ewan looked down and then back up, but towards Joe now.
"Well…" he began, but got cut off by Joe and Kai at the same time.
"Aha!" they yelled, scaring Ewan from his seat. He decided to move to his bed to sit down and Kai and Joe snickered a little bit.
"That just seems to prove our point." Kai crossed his arms and nodded his head. Ewan laughed a little and began to play with his necklace, as he did a lot.
"Get out." stated Ewan, going into serious mode now.
"But…" Joe began to beg a little.
"No, get out." he declared, "I'm tired and going to bed early and I need a bath." Ewan began to laugh and shake his head.
"Fine, we're going." Kai uncrossed his arms and lifted them into the air. He left first while Joe took a while to get outside, embracing the warm air inside Ewan's home.
"Just get out." Ewan tapped Joe on the back and he fell head-first into the snow, "… well good-bye!" and he slammed the door. Ewan couldn't help but laugh after this false anger and then got ready for his bath.
Maria was sitting outside of her library with the door open in case anyone wanted a book. It was a slow day, and on slow days she liked to sit outside of her library and read a book out in the air, regardless of the cold wintery weather.
"Oh…" Harris walked close by and noticed Maria over by her library. He started to turn red a little bit, "Maria…" he sighed a little.
"Oh, hi Harris." he decided to walk up to Maria and this is how she greeted him.
"Hi, Maria…" he sighed a little bit. Maria dipped her head a little to the side in slight confusion and then fixed it back in place.
"Something wrong?" wondered Maria, noticing Harris's sigh. He almost turned red again, but only shed a little blush of pink on his cheeks.
"Oh, it's just cold, that's all. Shouldn't you be inside in this cold weather?" Harris suggested.
"Um… I don't know…" Maria pushed her glasses in place and began to stutter, "I mean… I've already been sick… I suppose I don't want to get sick again." Harris remembered this ordeal over her overprotective parents and shuddered a little.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want you to get sick either." mumbled the mailman, "Come on, let's go inside." Harris held his hand out for Maria to help her up. She closed her book and took his hand. Once on her feet, Harris led the way in, Maria blushing a little from having held Harris's hand.
"Is there a book you're looking for…?" she asked, sitting down at her counter as Harris browsed a few bookshelves.
"I don't think so, no…" Harris answered, still looking, "Thanks though." he turned to her. Maria smiled politely and nodded.
"Okay, well now that we've had some chatting, I have to go." decided Harris as he stood up, having previously sat down near Maria's counter where they were talking.
"It was nice talking to you." Maria waved as Harris got up, moved his stool, and headed out the door.
"Nice talking to you, too…" answered the mailman as he smiled.
"Oh, and Harris…?" Maria's voice piped up. Harris turned to her curiously, to see her blushing. This made his cheeks flourish a slight pink color, "Come over here anytime… I'd love to talk to you more."
"Al…Alright." mumbled Harris nervously. He giggled a little bit and then left the room in a slight daze. Maria let out a large breath to remove the red color from her cheeks and then went back to writing what she was writing.
"I'm glad I gained some confidence today…" Harris muttered under his breath as he passed the library and the bakery. He inhaled a deep breath of the cold, wintery air and continued on his way.
A day passed and it was now the 15th. This day was actually even colder than yesterday, but Ewan couldn't tell from being inside.
"Brr…" he shivered as he woke up. Rosie was asleep and curled up in her bed, keeping warm. Ewan felt very envious of her. He finished his breakfast and loaded the last of his clothing before going outside.
"At least it's not snowing." Ewan muttered as he went into the greenhouse to quickly water his plants. He left and headed over to the barn to take care of his animals. He still had Janice and Ermintrude as cows, but got a new sheep. The sheep's name was Barr, whose stable was next to Fluffy's.
"Let's check on the chickens now…" he left the barn and went into the chicken coop. He still had Feathers and Tweet, but now had another chicken, whose name was Clucky.
"There, there." mumbled Ewan as he consoled his chickens, who ran to their feed bins. Ewan chuckled and braced himself to go outside. Once out, he noticed the snow falling from the sky.
"At least it's light snow…" Ewan stared at the sky for a while to watch the snow start falling even quicker right when he said that. He let out a depressed puff of breath and decided to go to the flower shop before he had to get to work on the Hot Springs.
"Hi, Lillia. Hi, Popuri." greeted Ewan as he rushed into the store and let out a shiver.
"Aw, are you okay?" Popuri walked over to Ewan and gave him a warming hug. Ewan laughed lightly and hugged her back.
"You're so warm…" he embraced this warm feeling until Popuri let go and smiled at Ewan.
"Better?" she wondered, Ewan nodding. Popuri laughed softly and led Ewan to her room. Ewan turned and gave Lillia a light wave.
"Remind me to go back out at 10 if I forget." Ewan told Lillia, who said that she would do so. Ewan grinned and gave her a thumbs up, prompting Lillia to start giggling. Ewan shut the door behind him.
"How was work yesterday?" Popuri wondered as she watered the plants that she kept in her room. Most of them were flowers containing some bright hue.
"My God, freezing." answered Ewan. He then let out a little laugh.
"Have you gotten any memories back of what kind of weather you had in your hometown?" asked the florist as she brushed her hair with her right hand. Ewan wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
"No, not yet." he replied, "But regardless of the frigid weather, I'm still loving Winter." Ewan nodded his head and smiled, "Loads of things have happened." Suddenly, Popuri remembered something.
"Oh, Ewan!" she suddenly brought up. Ewan wondered what this was about, "Did you hear about Alex?"
"No, I didn't. What?" Ewan was suddenly interested and curious about what had happened to Alex.
"Well she and Rick got into a fight at the beach." Popuri began, "Maria explained the whole thing to me. Alex was being distant from Rick because she thought Rick was hitting on Karen and then Rick accused Alex of hitting on Kai."
"Wow, that's confusing." muttered Ewan with a little laugh, "Girl gossip, or whatever this is, is so… odd. Anyway, carry on." he nodded his head.
"That's really it. Basically, Alex and Rick obviously love each other and are being all moody at each other about it and won't talk to each other." ended Popuri with a knowledgeable nod at the end of her sentence.
"After meeting Alex about 15 days ago, it's not much of a surprise she's like that." Ewan nodded his head this time. Popuri lightly hit his arm.
"Don't be horrid." she warned him.
"Hey, I'm just doing 'gossiping' with you." Ewan chuckled and lifted his hands into the air for a shrug. He then looked at a clock in her room, "Oh, it's almost ten. I've gotta go." he got up from his seat.
"Okay. Come back and visit soon." Popuri laughed and waved.
"Well hang on; I need a good-bye hug to keep myself warm." Ewan opened his arms and let a cute smile pass through his lips. Popuri laughed, but then rushed into his arms and they embraced. They were actually in a hug for quite a long time and didn't even realize.
"Oh, sorry." after finally realizing, Ewan let go and scratched the back of his head nervously. Popuri blushed lightly and giggled into her palm.
"Thanks for having me." Ewan turned to Lillia and waved. She waved and thanked Ewan for coming. Ewan braced himself and then slowly made his way outside. It was windier than it was before
"So cold." Ewan sighed and let out a breath of air, which he could see so clearly, "Wow." he gasped a little and rushed to the forestry. Woody, who was also shivering, greeted him at the bridge before the forest.
"Let's hurry and get today's work done so that we can all get inside." declared Woody. Ewan agreed and they rushed to the lone summit. Joe and Kurt were working away, shivering and letting out audible displays of how cold they were.
"E—Ewan, hit a w—wedge here…" shivered Joe as he pointed to a spot. Ewan nodded and began to hit a spot with a hammer.
"Done…" breathed the farmer as he puffed into his hands and moved them together to keep them warm.
"Can you hit a wedge here, too…?" Kurt turned to Ewan and asked him to do this.
"Yeah." Ewan quickly answered and swung his hammer. He shivered more violently than when he hammered the first time. Kurt thanked him and then Woody told him to chop up some lumber. As he did so, he let out a sneeze.
"Bless you." Woody told him, but Ewan sneezed another few seconds.
"Bless you." Kurt said it this time, but Ewan sneezed again, and again, and again. Joe turned to the other carpenters and then to Ewan.
"Are you alright over there?" asked Joe as Ewan shifted from swinging his axe to using it as a saw on the stump.
"Yeah, I'm fine." replied a congested Ewan. Upon hearing his voice, Ewan let out a cough and then replied again, "I mean, I'm fine." he repeated. Suddenly, after his cough, he started coughing more and more.
"Alright, alright, you're not fine." Kurt decided. Woody walked over to feel the temperature on Ewan's forehead, but he was already passed out on the log.
"Whoa!" heaved Joe as he and his brother ran over to Ewan, picking him up, "Get him to the Clinic!" and they rushed off.
"Oof… ugh…" moaned Ewan as he began to wake up and sat up.
"He's awake!" Ewan heard Joe's voice call out to someone. He had his eyes closed, but was still awake and sitting up.
"That was rather quick…" muttered Kurt's voice. Trent opened Ewan's eyes for him and he let out a little moan.
"Morning, doc." Ewan sighed, "How long was I out?" he asked.
"Haha, only 30 minutes." chortled Woody. Raffi walked in now and looked at Ewan.
"Yeah, you have a cold." she diagnosed a little bit randomly, "So I recommend that you go home and get some rest." Raffi nodded.
"Oh, and the Potion Master sent this…" Trent went through his coat pockets and found a potion in a bottle, "Drink that after you get a good eight hours of sleep." explained the doctor.
"Thanks." sniffled Ewan as he slowly got off the hospital bed. He put the medicine in his rucksack and slowly made his way home. Raffi walked with him to make sure that he got home safely.
"Now get some rest!" and with that, Raffi was off. Ewan sighed a little and set the medicine next to his book filled with his memories and quickly nodded off to sleep. He encountered some odd dream/memory recovery event as he rested.
A Winter Sickness
"Grandpa, I don't like being sick. I can't play with my friends."
"Well I'm sorry, but if you weren't out playing with Joe and Kurt in the snow, you wouldn't have this cold now."
"And why does medicine have to taste so bad?"
"I don't know, you'll have to ask the Potion Master." the old man chuckled, "Now get some sleep."
"Yes, Grandpa…" the boy sighed and went into his spare room and nodded off to sleep. However, a visitor entered his room after he had been sleeping for a while. Friend or foe? This was…
and after taking his medicine, the boy finally felt better and went back to playing with his friends.
…Then…
…Then?
Ewan groaned and stirred as he began to wake up.
"Uhn…" he mumbled. A figure went inside Ewan's house and was waiting for him to wake up. Once noticing Ewan's awakening, the person walked over to Ewan as he opened his eyes.
"Oh, are you awake?" this was Popuri who let herself into Ewan's home after finding out about him being sick, "You mustn't overwork. Your body is your most valuable asset." Popuri gave her words of wisdom.
"What's that you have with you…?" Ewan noticed Popuri pulling something out of her inventory.
"I blended medicinal herbs in with this. Drink it and you will rest well." Popuri told Ewan this and he sat up a little so that he could drink what Popuri made him. She handed Ewan the drink, which he quickly drank.
"Thank you." sighed Ewan as he leaned his head back down on his pillow and decided to open his eyes to see Popuri blushing slightly.
"Take care… good night." and with that, Popuri walked off out of Ewan's home. Ewan closed his eyes and took one final, deep breath before he was drifting off back into his sleep.