"What the hell did you bring home last night?" I asked Claire first thing the next morning while making breakfast. "You bought a chicken, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't!" Claire denied. She shook her arms in front of her face as if to deny that she had done anything wrong.

"Come on, why else would you and that chicken boy haul in feed for it?"

"He gave me an egg to incubate for free!" Claire pouted, her cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. It would've looked adorable to other people, but I could tell that she just wanted to get her way. "Is that not acceptable?"

"If you show me in the coop I'll believe you, but he's seriously suspicious."

"Oh Mimi, don't say that! He's an honest guy who's taking care of his mom and sister. He's got more important things to worry about than impressing the new rookie farmer."

"Mhm, like I'd believe that for a second." I didn't trust that chicken boy. He just wanted Claire to become one of his regular customers. If he gave her starting materials, we could start up the farm, but he may demand payment later that we might not be able to afford.

"Honestly Mimi, you worry about too much. You know the Horse Race is coming up on the eighteenth?" Claire wanted to change the subject, which I let her do for now. I didn't particularly feel like talking about the chicken boy, and I could tell Claire didn't want to tell me about how wrong I was for judging him the way I was currently doing.

"Yeah, I heard on the news. Eighteenth of April." I put our breakfast out on the table. "Since I'm not twenty-one, I can't bet on the horses. Don't go spending all our money on bets."
"Geez Louise, Mimi!" Claire sighed exasperatingly. "The races aren't for another week and a half."

"Sorry." It was quiet between the two of us as we finished our breakfast. The bad feeling about the chicken boy just wouldn't shake itself off of me; why would he simply go out of his way to help her? If people wanted help, normally they wanted something in return.

Claire was truly beautiful. Many men were interested in her back in the city; fortunately or unfortunately, Claire was simply too dense to figure it out. Perhaps chicken boy wanted to show that he cared for her in hopes that she would one day fall for him? The thought of that even happening made me shudder.

For now, though, I had a plan ahead of me. I gave Claire a shopping list of things I wanted from town, and I went on my merry way towards the mines.

At least, if I could even find the mines in this forest behind the farm.

The clearing path wasn't very dense compared to where I had wandered to the other day to search for various things to pick up and sell. Many people had walked along this path before. I saw the little cottage that Brandon and Gotts lived in, and saw Brandon off to the side of it, walking around as if he just needed a breath of fresh air. He must have spotted me because he was walking my way.

"Well hello there, Naomi," Brandon greeted me with his soft smile. "How are you today?" Fuck. I needed to talk to this man.

"H-Hi!" I managed to stutter out. "I'm good! Yes! Good indeed!"

"Are you heading anywhere this fine day?" I had this perfect idea. Maybe he knew where the mines were? Perhaps I could ask him and not go wandering around the forest like a lost child from some sort of urban legend.

"The mines!" I forced myself to smile, but it probably looked more like a toothy grimace. "I'm lost though. Help?"

"I can show you the way there." Brandon was offering to help me! I felt really happy that he wanted to go out of his way to help little old me figure out where to get my tools. Why did he have to be so sweet? "Is that alright?" Shit. I was daydreaming too much. I nodded my head, yes, and he smiled and beckoned for me to follow him.

The path to get to the mines was very simple. A couple of turns along the path led us up to a beautiful spring next to what appeared to be some hot springs.

"Not many people use the springs anymore due to modern bathroom technology," Brandon explained. "At least, that's what Gotts told me."

"Unfortunate," I commented. The scenery around us truly looked beautiful. It was truly a shame that the baths weren't used as often. It wasn't like I was going to use them either; I had everything I needed at home with Claire.

"The mines are in the cave ahead. Do you see it?" Brandon pointed out the cave that led ahead. It looked very dark and not a place that a passerby would want to go to, but I needed some ores. After all, without them, how was I supposed to get my tools upgraded without paying a fortune?

"Mhm!" I shook my head to let him know that I understood.

"That's good. I know how you don't like to talk much. I'm the same way." Finally! Someone who understands me and my awkwardness. "I speak to my art more."

"Oh." So he was more interested in art than people? That was sort of confusing. How does one speak to art?

"I'll leave you be with your mining then." Brandon walked away, leaving just my thoughts for company. What better time like the present to go into that cave and mine then?

I was not prepared for how dark that damn cave was when I walked in.

Sure, there was natural light, but if it wasn't for some unknown entity lighting up torches everywhere I went, I wouldn't have been able to find anything. I started to take out my hammer and start hitting away at rocks. Fortunately for me, I wouldn't collapse as easily this time, as Claire had snuck in a couple of snacks in my rucksack when she thought I wasn't looking. Claire did know how to look out for me, a bit in her own, strange way of acting like a proper lady yet a spoiled princess at the same time.

I hammered away, managing to find some copper. Copper was a basic upgrade for tools, according to Saibara. I figured that if they were upgraded with copper, they wouldn't look like they were going to fall apart any second. If I got better tools, then I could start tilling the fields and whatnot. I could seriously get the ball rolling with the farm. Sure, Claire had that chicken boy's egg that would hatch into a chicken, but it would take a long time for the chicken to be able to produce eggs. So long as Claire went to the store as I asked, I could get these tools fixed up tomorrow so I could start the fieldwork.

The mines seemed to almost be running by some invisible force. Whenever I would finish mining up copper, a torch would seemingly light up, leading me to ladders that seemed to drop into an abyss below. I kept pressing on, determined to get enough copper to repair Grandpa's tools with.

Suddenly, the ground caved beneath me.

Maybe I had triggered something earlier. Maybe I just was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, the ground wasn't strong enough to hold me, and I fell through the floor, watching the world around me turn dark. I wasn't really sure what to do until I hit the ground.

My right ankle started throbbing with pain. I couldn't move it. In fact, it was a bit too painful. I must've done something to it. Sprained? Broke? Who knows. Either way, I was stuck in between a rock and a hard place.

"Damnit, I need help," I muttered to myself. It's not like anyone would hear it anyway. The walls around me lit up, and a man was standing at the end of the hallway. At least, it looked like the end of the hallway. It was kind of hard to tell. He walked over to me; the light hid his eyes but I could see that he had silky golden hair. It looked handsome in the light of the torches.

"I'll get you to the clinic. Looks somewhat serious, and I'd rather have the Doc scope you out before you try anythin' else stupid. Can you walk?" His voice sounded familiar like he seemed mad at something but at the same time had some genuine concern. It was eerie to me. I tried getting up, but as soon as I stood on my right foot, my face contorted into a grimace. The amount of pain was indescribable. I never felt this way before about my own, poor body. It felt foreign, and I didn't like it.

"Not really," I sighed. "Help?" The man exhaled and picked me up like a princess. It felt really, really awkward. "You don't have to-"

"I'll do what I want," he retorted. "Just trust me, alright?"

"I-" I guess I didn't have much of a choice in this situation. Would I rather die here in the mines or would I let this mystery man take me back up to the surface? The choice seemed rather obvious, even if I couldn't bring myself to convey it with words. "Alright. You win. Take me to Doc."

"Thank you, Naomi," he sighed a sigh of relief. How did he know my name? Now I was genuinely concerned. I'll have to ask him about it more on the surface. At least, if my eyes would stay open. The world turned black as I lost consciousness due to the initial shock wearing off and not being able to handle what was happening around me.

I woke up at the clinic hospital bed. This seemed to become one of my favorite spots to turn up. Claire was standing over me again.

"Mimi! I'm so happy you're awake! When I saw Gray carrying you on the way back from the super-"

"What?" I asked groggily. "Gray carried me?"

"Mhm mhm! I'm so jealous. Gray refuses to talk to me and he's out here carrying you like a princess! Why can't I have that sort of fairy tale…"

"Wh-" I could feel my face turn completely red. "Why didn't he tell me that was him? I'm still mad about him treating you like the scum of the earth! He thinks he can just carry me around to safety and pretend that he apologized to you when in reality he didn't! Curse men!"

"Do...do you need a minute?" I saw Doctor Trent slowly backing out of the room. Now I felt bad. The doctor didn't do anything wrong, Gray did. Doc's been super nice to me.

"Oh. Sorry Doc, I didn't see you there. Sorry about my ramblings, you can come in! I didn't mean anything against you, I promise." It was so easy to talk to Doctor Trent. Maybe it was because Claire was always with me, or maybe it was because he helped take care of Claire when he returned from the city. Doctor Trent came in, with Elly happily humming behind him, carrying her clipboard as always.

"Twisted ankle," the Doc said, looking at his notes. "Not a big deal for the first time going into the mines. Thank goodness Gray helped you, otherwise it could have been much worse. You never know what's down there."

"Curse him," I muttered under my breath. Why did he feel the need to help me anyway? I would've been just fine on my own.

"Oh Mimi, just because Gray of all people helped you doesn't mean you have to be so agitated about it!" Claire tried cheering me up. "Sure, he was sort of mean to me, but I think he learned his lesson." I simply ignored her.

"How long do I need to stay?" I questioned the Doc. The longer I had to stay, the more money Claire and I would most likely be losing. I needed to get the farm set up, stat.

"At least a day so we can monitor how well your ankle is doing," he answered. "I know you want to get back to your farmwork, but taking care of your body is of uppermost importance. You need to make sure you're well before you continue."

"Thanks…" I trailed off. I didn't really have much else to say.

I ended up staying at the clinic for the rest of that day and the majority of the next day. It was very uneventful, but Claire came to take me home seeing that my ankle was all better.

The day after she took me home, Claire presented me with a bunch of turnip and cucumber seeds.

"I bought these, just like you asked!" She sang happily. "I also asked Gray to repair the watering can and hoe with the copper you had in your bag from the mines, and that just finished today. You ought to thank him."

"Why can't you?" I asked her. "Obviously I don't want to speak with him."

"Well…" Claire trailed off. "I feel bad for having you yell at him. I know you don't appreciate it when people don't treat me well, but I genuinely think he was having a bad day. At least attempt to apologize."

"Fine, fuck it, I'll do it! I should probably get an apology gift though…" I trailed my thoughts off. Normally, if Claire and I got into arguments, we would try and make it up to each other by getting the other something they really liked. They didn't happen as often anymore, but I still was so used to the custom used by my sister and me that I didn't really register that it might not be a good idea to do that with other people.

"Get whatever you want," Claire agreed with me. "I know he often has to use a lot of branches for his tools. We've got a ton of those on the farm still. Why not bring him one of those?"

"You sure?"

"Of course, Mimi! I talked with him yesterday about it when I was dropping off the tools."

"You're certainly a butterfly." I headed towards the door, getting ready to head out with or without her. "You coming? I'm not necessarily going to do this myself willingly."

"Oh Mimi, if there was no me to rely on, you would die out there."

The walk to the blacksmiths was a very quiet one. I had a death grip on a stick of all things, and I was sweating bullets. Claire put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me, but it did not make me feel any better about the situation.

Claire opened the door to the blacksmith. Gray and Saibara were hard at work at something, so the two of us stood by the counter while we waited for them to be done.

"Ah welcome Claire, Naomi," Saibara greeted us kindly. "Let me get your tools from the back for you."

"Thank you, Saibara," Claire said calmly. "Would it be alright if Naomi talked to Gray for a moment? She has something she'd like to say to him."

"Hmm? Sure, I'll get him." Saibara walked to the back. "Take the conversation outside, alright?" His voice rang throughout the store.

"She will!" Claire replied back. She looked over at me and smiled. "Please be kind to him, alright?" Her voice went down into a soft whisper, as to not have anyone but me hear her. I could only nod.

Gray came out from the back of the store, sweat dripping down from his forehead. It was sort of gross, but that's what happens when you do physical labor, I guess. I haven't done too much of that yet, and from what I have done, I just seem to end up back at the clinic for one reason or another.

"Yeah? Which one needs to speak to me?" Gray questioned. He appeared to be annoyed for one reason or another.

"Naomi wishes to speak with you outside. Would you be willing to hear her out?"

"Sure I guess." Gray started heading towards the door, looking at me straight in the eyes. "Are you coming?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I muttered under my breath, holding the stick behind my back. Claire only smiled politely as I left the shop.

Gray and I only stood awkwardly at each other for about a minute. We really didn't know what to say to each other. I decided that I would end the silence with my apology.

"Thank you for-"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you and your sis the other day," Gray interrupted. "Claire came up to my room at the inn and I apologized to her already."

"Oh." I certainly did not expect this to come out of Gray's mouth. "It's okay."

"I felt bad about it, so when I saw you in the mines with your ankle twisted, I wanted to help you to make up for it."

"Thank you for that," I managed to muster out. "I, er, appreciated it."

"That's good." It was quiet for a moment again. "I should probably head back-"

"Wait!" I exclaimed suddenly, startling Gray. "I uhh had a gift for you." I held out the stick I had grabbed from the farm. He took it from me and started examining it.

"This is a mighty fine branch. I really like it." Gray started flushing up a bit. "I-I mean, thanks. I tend to make stuff in my free time, and I figure this can be put to good use." Stuff? That intrigued me.

"I-I want to see!" I could tell that Gray could see my interest in whatever hobby he liked partaking in.

"I'm not too good yet, but I'll let you see when I'm done," Gray whispered in my ear. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, but I let it slide for now. I could tell somebody was passing by us, so maybe Gray didn't want others to know about his secret hobby.

"I like that!" I nodded. I wanted to berate myself for that statement. Can't I speak in anything but simple sentences to other people? I wasn't four, I was a nineteen-year-old woman who can't seem to talk to people properly. It really bothered me.

"Once I get it ready, I'll make sure you're the first one to see it. I need to get back now."

"Bye!" I said and waved. Gray entered the shop, and a few moments later, Claire exited.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Claire asked and grinned at me. "I knew by the look of things you guys managed to sort everything out."

"I guess so." I still didn't particularly like him all too much, but at least now I didn't outright despise him.

Hopefully, I would be able to talk to Brandon and Gray properly soon. Somehow I can manage to talk alright around Elly and Doctor Trent, but that's probably because I've seen them a few more times than one would probably want to in their first week of living in Mineral Town. I wish to become more comfortable with talking to others without Claire's assistance.

One day I'd get there. For now, my new little field of turnips and cucumbers would be my new friends that I could practice talking to until the time comes.