With her feet kicked up onto her table, Evie munched on riceballs and frowned over the stone tablet that that Dr. Jones guy had given her a couple days before. At first, she'd thought there was no way she'd be able to read it. It had looked like a completely foreign language, and she read Latin and Ancient Greek! But, after a bit of squinting and using her finger as a guide, it formed into actual legible words. The language was a little… awkward, like reading old Chaucer with its inconsistent spellings and extra 'e's. Once she got the rhythm of it, though, it was easy enough to understand. It was definitely about the moonstones... and it listed three different locations! Evie choked on rice and seaweed, hacking loudly and painfully while her eyes watered.
"F-Finn!" Evie gasped, pounded her chest.
"What is it?" Finn mumbled around a bulging mouthful of his own miniature riceball.
"I know where the other moonstones are! They're on this stone thing, just like that guy said!" Evie told him excitedly, sliding the tablet next to Finn's tiny feet and pointing out one of the lines etched into granite. "See? This one is describing the stone by the lighthouse. 'At the tip of land in the direction of the sun, where sea breaks upon the stones, the old man's face gleams at night.' On the east of the island by the sea, that's where that moonstone was. It did look like there was a face carved into it, didn't it?" Evie explained almost giddily. Finn nodded just as eagerly.
"What about the other stones!? Did you figure those out?"
"Yup! See, this one? 'Where wind creates wild music among the grass upon a hill, the old man smiles and waits', I'm pretty sure that's gotta be Flute Fields. There's that hill near Renee's ranch, I bet it's there. This last one is a bit difficult, but I think it's in Garmon Mines. Let's see, uh, 'In the shadows cast beneath nature's towers of Babel, the man of the moon glows amongst petrified turrets.' I'm pretty sure it's not in the mines, but I haven't exactly seen a glowing stone along the road…" Evie chewed her lip pensively.
"Well, you know a bunch of people who live there! I bet one of them knows about it!" Finn pointed out as he buzzed around her head and over the tablet. Evie grinned at the tiny, trilling ball of light.
"You're right," Evie said decisively, "I have friends now. We have to go back to Garmon today to hunt down that darned ore. I'll ask Luke, or even Mr. Dale, if they know about it. I'm sure Mr. Dale would if Luke doesn't." She shoved the rest of her riceball in her mouth with a stern nod.
"We've almost got two Bells already, Evie! I'm sure we'll have both Alana and Collin with Mother in no time!" Finn crowed happily. As Evie struggled to swallow the too-large mouthful and shove her feet into boots simultaneously, a knock sounded at the door.
She stumbled and thumped her way across the room to swing open the door. Fresh-faced and smiling, Renee stood on her ominously creaking stoop. "Renee! I'm so glad you came!" Evie burst out grinning. She blushed scarlet and scrubbed at her mouth and cheeks to clear it of remnants of rice.
"I'm glad, too. I'm only sorry I couldn't meet up with you earlier. One of our ewes just lambed. Papa and I have been taking care of her and the new twin lambs," Renee excused herself, punctuating her statement with a yawn quickly hidden by her dress sleeve. "I heard you're a miner now?" she teased as she stepped back to let Evie out.
"A terrible one, but it's a necessity," Evie sighed gustily as she dropped to her bum to lace up her boots properly. She gave Renee a highly animated and wildly gesticulated version of the events, included the past few days of very poor findings, making Renee giggle and gasp at all the right times. "So now I've still got silver, gold, and rare ore to find before we can get that Bell out and before Mr. Ramsey can even use his forge. It's taking forever to find them."
Evie rocked onto her toes and bounced up, stretching her arms high over her head and wincing when her back popped. Renee didn't seem to hear, eyes sad and features dark with worry.
"Mr. Ramsey's been having so many difficulties with his fire, not being able to use the forge at all is going to cripple what little business he has left. Papa's been getting more and more worried every season, and I can't help but overhear him and my mother talk late at night. I love this place, it's my home, my life, but Papa and Mama have been talking about moving to Mama's family's ranch," Renee confessed sadly. Evie glanced over to Finn's pouting face.
"I'm sure things'll get better, Rey," Evie murmured, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Renee smiled softly.
"Thank you, Evie," she said gratefully. Her attention was drawn to past Evie's shoulders, her hand coming up to shade her eyes and look past Evie towards the road. "Oh, is that… I think Hamilton's on his way?"
"What?!" Evie spun around, and sure enough, Hamilton's short, rotund form was puffing up the road towards her. Finn threw himself at her head to clutch at her hair.
"Why's that meanie coming back?" Finn demanded stoutly, still sore and upset on Evie's behalf about the condition of their house.
"I hope he's not here to demand my deposit! I haven't made enough yet!" Evie shout-whispered in mild panic. Renee patted her shoulder companionably, but didn't say anything as Hamilton entered hearing range.
"Good morning, girls! What great day," he greeted jovially. They chorused their agreement. "I hope this beautiful weather holds out for tomorrow."
"Oh!" Renee gasped softly. Evie looked towards her in confusion, but Hamilton kept talking without noticing.
"Tomorrow is why I came up this way, Miss Evelyn. We have a few festivals each season, just little town gatherings, nothing big, of course," he tittered with faux-modesty. "Our first spring festival is the Flower Festival. It takes place up on the Church Grounds in town."
Finn griped, "Well, I guess he's not a huge bully. But I still don't like him."
Evie fought to keep her face blank, cheeks straining with the effort. Hamilton continued on, obviously oblivious to the petty little fairy on her head.
"We have a nice family-style picnic area set up, and everyone views the blooming sakura trees. I believe there is a vendor or two selling flowers, but mostly it's about picnicking and flowers! They're very lovely this year," Hamilton gushed happily. Evie frowned a little.
"So… it's basically sitting around looking at trees?" she asked. She yelped in surprise when a boot heel smacked her shin.
"I'll make sure she sits with me and my family, Mayor. We always have such a nice spot and it'll be nice to have a new face there this year. I really should've thought to tell her myself," Renee replied easily and cheerfully, elbow now nudging Evie.
"Uh, yeah, thanks for letting me know. It sounds very… pretty?" Evie tacked on, mouth twitching up into an awkward grin.
"Good, good. So good to see how well you've taken to this small town life, making friends and participating in daily life. Hm, yes, very encouraging," Hamilton hummed pompously, rocking on his heels and tucking his thumbs under the lapels of his much too fancy blue suit-coat.
"Well, we have some farm chores…" Evie hinted with a thumb pointing back towards the coop and barn. She was about two seconds from bursting into laughter in his face and even she knew that was rude.
Finn fluttered down to sit on her shoulder, his little arms crossing over his chest and just at the edge of her vision. "...he talks funny… not like you funny. But like he's your Mother…" Evie had to pinch herself to keep in the giggles.
"Oh, yes, of course. See you both tomorrow for the Festival. Good day, good day," Hamilton blustered contentedly. Renee and Evie watched him bounce away, but the moment he was out of earshot, Evie punched Renee in the shoulder just hard enough to hurt.
"Shin kicking? Really?" Evie demanded as Renee winced and laughed. Evie finally let out the laughter pent up in her, arms around her stomach and head tilted back. It was a long moment before either of them calmed down enough to speak again.
"Hamilton loves the festivals. You're not going to exactly look good if you act like they're stupid," Renee wheezed, stifling the last of her giggles behind her hand.
Evie's mouth twisted up into a pout, even though the humor hadn't quite left her face. "I don't think it's stupid. Just… maybe a little bit like a waste of time? I see a lot of trees these days," Evie protested, with some chagrin in her awkward smile.
"The Flower Festival is actually really nice and laidback. Yolanda gives out few mochi to everyone and the sakura trees are very pretty. You deserve a rest," Renee coaxed warmly. "It'll be a whole two weeks since you got here tomorrow, and you've been working almost nonstop the whole time. Come watch flowers with me 'n my family for the day," she added, wrapping an arm around Evie's shoulders and steering her towards the coop.
"I guess. If I can find at least one more ore I need today," Evie conceded hesitantly.
"I'm sure you will."
…
Much, much later that day, with the sun already sunk mostly below the mountains, Evie nursed a cup of hot tea while curled up among her pillows. Finn was half-dozing on the bed beside her while her laptop played Firefly on Netflix. Her eyes, however, were gazing unseeing at her wall, just soaking in the background noise and comfort of her bed. The mood broke with a gentle knocking on her door. Finn grumbled wordlessly as she clambered carefully over the bed, balancing hot tea and watching out for her laptop and slumbering fairy all at once. The knocking came again by the time she managed to get to her feet and halfway across the room.
"Sorry, I'm here! Just a minute," she called softly in deference of Finn. The door swung open to reveal Toby standing there, a strangely-boxy looking rucksack hanging from one shoulder and a small smile on his face. It was wiped away as his eyes widened in concern.
"What happened to you?" he exclaimed in shock, stepping into her space before he managed to collect himself and step back again. Evie grinned self-consciously and rubbed the back of her head.
"Couple days' worth of mining?" she tried. She glanced down at herself to take it all in again. Scrapes and band-aids all over her hands and arms and a handful of large, dark bruises over her legs– yeaaaahh, definitely not the best image of self-care… she thought with a grimace. "I'm probably a little too clumsy to be good at it. But I found a silver ore! Actually, I found a couple of 'em, but I only need the one for now. You wanna see the haul I brought in?" Evie offered, proud of herself despite the aches and pains. She not-quite-hobbled over to her old toolbox while Toby finally came in and closed the door behind him.
"You should definitely take up fishin'. It'll be healthier for you," Toby muttered as he set his sack on the dining table. The table listed dangerously, but steadied within a moment. When Evie turned, he was frowning even harder, eyebrows so close together it almost looked like a unibrow.
"I got this, don't worry. I'm a big girl, tie my own sandals and everything," she laughed, holding up a fist defiantly. Toby's frown finally broke as an eyebrow arched elegantly upwards.
"Disney quotes?" he asked, stepping up next to her. His loose, billowy clothes brushed her bare arm and leg, making her fight down an irrelevant blush.
"Megara is a highly underrated Disney lady. Her sarcasm is golden," Evie defended before waving her hand over her open toolbox. "Look't all my coppers, though! I'm like a copper magnet."
"I see. Do you just like collecting pretty rocks, or is there a specific reason…?" Toby drawled, grinning at Evie's squawk of outrage.
"Hey now! I'm being forethought-y!" Evie protested vehemently. Toby mouthed the word 'forethought-y' incredulously. Evie punched his shoulder much like she had to Renee earlier that day. "Whenever this Ms. Mira comes back and starts refining ores again, I'll have a surplus to get done. I have a lot of metals to get if I wanna upgrade my tools, after all. I even busted up a couple of these crystally-looking rocks and found these really pretty colored ore-things inside, see? This red one? Owen told me it's a Red Wonderful. Luke said his dad used to go hunting for 'em when Luke was a kid. The red ones can be refined into like, rubies or garnets, and garnets were his mom's favorites," Evie chattered happily.
"Owen and Luke were down there with you... but you still came out looking like a victim of a rockslide?" Toby mocked playfully. Evie pfft'ed and closed her toolbox.
"Owen said I'm getting better."
"This is better? You need a bubblesuit."
"Oi! Rude!"
Toby laughed his usual belly-laugh, arm around his torso as his body shook with it. Evie held onto her indignation a moment more, before following suit and laughing along.
"I was gonna spend a bit more time chillin' with Netflix. Did you come by for something?" Evie asked as their chuckles died away.
"Oh, uh, yes…" Toby rubbed the back of his neck and gestured towards his sack on the table. "I was fishing–"
"Of course." Evie grinned cheekily.
"Of course," Toby agreed with an amused huff. "I caught a fish, I mean, I thought you'd like it. It tastes pretty good grilled, but a little difficult to catch. It'd make a good lunch, maybe?" He stumbled over his words a bit, but Evie's grin was only wider and grateful.
"You brought me a fish? That's so sweet! Thanks, Tobes! I have no idea how I'm gonna grill it, but I will figure it out and it'll taste delicious, I'm sure of it. What kind of fish?"
"It's a huchen. It's found in rivers. I can show you a good spot whenever you're interested," he offered, his uneasiness sliding away.
"I can't wait for a lazy fishing day. It sounds great," Evie said wistfully as she flopped onto her bed, barely remembering to be careful of the laptop and Finn. She patted the bed invitingly. "You wanna Netflix and chill? I've got Firefly already up, but we can choose something else."
Toby sputtered a bit at the offer, cheeks pinkening strangely until she'd stopped talking and he calmed down. She tilted her head and frowned at him, wondering why he'd reacted so oddly. She ran over the words in her head and she froze, eyes going wide and cheeks going red. Oh crapcrapcrap–
"I haven't seen Firefly," Toby replied, chuckling under his breath and shrugging a shoulder. "But yeah, sounds good."
Fortunately, his confession had her swiftly recovering from her self-inflicted foot-in-mouth humiliation. "What? You've gone twenty-six years without knowing the glory and epicness that is Firefly? Have you seen any Whendonverse? Buffy? Dr. Horrible? Anything?"
"He did the Avenger movies, didn't he?" Toby asked blankly. Evie gasped in horror.
"Get on this bed right now and let me educate you on Whedon. You're breaking my heart, Fisher," Evie breathed out, the back of her hand to her forehead as she faked a swoon of dismay. Toby only laughed again and settled down next to her. His eyes trailed over his surroundings, pausing for a long moment on her nightstand. Next to her closed diary lay a single, still rather sandy sakura shell. His shoulders straightened a bit as he looked back to Evie's laptop.
"Did you hear about… the Flower Festival tomorrow?" he questioned slowly as Evie muttered under her breath and typed in the search box.
"Hm? Yeah. It sounds kinda silly, but Renee is making me go with her and her family," she answered absently. She missed seeing the slump of his shoulders.
"It's nice. They sometimes sell cosmoses. They're my favorite flower," Toby admitted, voice carefully neutral.
"Not a lot of guys admit they like flowers, or even have a favorite," Evie remarked, pleasantly surprised, just as she finally found the link she was looking for. "We don't have a lot of time, so we'll save Firefly for next time. Dr. Horrible is faster and cuter and has some great songs. Great way to wind down the day," she decided. She fell back against her pillows, snuggling into a more relaxed position. She took the time Toby used to rearrange himself more comfortably to discreetly scoop up the snoring Finn and set him on the pillow on her other side, opposite Toby.
"Next time?" Toby asked with a smirk.
"You think I'm gonna let you get away with not seeing Firefly? Ha. As if. Now shut up and pay attention. Neil Patrick Harris is gift, Tobes," Evie demanded snootily. Toby smiled and settled in more comfortably.
"Sounds good to me."
…
Evie jogged up the hill towards the Church, rolling her eyes at Finn's complaints that she was going too fast. He thumped against the back of her head as they reached the top, then climbed, wings quavering and chiming, to the crown of her head. The Grounds had been laid out with pretty picnic blankets over the smooth cobbles, little wooden trays and cushions set up at a few places. Some of the older residents of the town were already meandering around the area, chatting amiably and waving cheerfully when they saw Evie step cautiously into the square. The only one Evie's age was the familiar, sweet-faced girl from the Tailor's. With a low sigh of relief, Evie made her way over to the blue-haired girl sitting behind a small wooden stand. Laid out on top were a few bundles of different dried herbs and flowers. Paper-wrapped bouquets and ribbon-adorned flower crowns were piled prettily alongside the dried bundles.
"Wow, these are great! I've always wanted a flower crown," Evie complimented sincerely, meeting the girl's big blue eyes over the counter. The bluenette blushed and looked down, fingers fidgeting with the cuff of her cardigan.
"It's not t-too difficult t-to make them. I c-could show you how," she replied softly.
"It's… Candace, right?" Evie asked, nose scrunching as she dredged up the memory of their meeting.
"Oh, um, yes, you r-remembered," Candace stammered in surprise with wide eyes.
"Just barely. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm terrible with names," Evie confessed honestly with a wide grin. "It's kinda bad business to tell a potential customer not to buy from you, you know," she added on mischievously. Candace blushed a bright tomato red, clearly flustered while her mouth moved wordlessly. "It's okay. How about I buy some flowers and you show me how to make a crown with 'em? That's still some business."
Candace managed to stammer out, "Y-you d-don't have t-to d-do that."
"Nope! But I want to!" Evie agreed eagerly. "You're the only one here who looks interesting to talk to and I do actually wanna learn how to make a flower crown. Make me a pretty princess, Ms. Candace," Evie laughed boisterously, hands on her hips.
Candace's lips curved into a timid, pretty smile that had Evie wanting to squish her too sweet, adorable face. She had problematic reactions to cute things…
Evie glanced over the selection of fresh flowers instead, mentally congratulating her own self-control. "I'm not much of a flower person. I like looking at 'em, but I always manage to kill anything potted. Much better luck with turnips and potatoes… so far. Whaddya got?"
"Uh, um, these are p-pinkcats and p-pansies, and over here, lavender. They're all p-popular. M-my favorites are s-snowflake flowers, but we don't have any fresh, in-season ones from Marimba. But cosmos are p-pretty," Candace listed off, the stammer dropping slightly but her volume still soft and quiet.
"Cosmos?" Evie asked quickly, fingers brushing over pastel-pink petals thoughtfully.
"Mhm," Candace nodded in response. "And we have a few small branches of s-sakura b-blossoms here, too, in honor of the festival today. P-Pastor Perry and I picked them just this morning," she added shyly.
"I think sakura and cosmos would look nice, won't they?" Evie questioned earnestly, looking up into Candace's eyes. The direct eye contact had the quieter girl tongue-tied, but she nodded again. "I think Renee would like these pinkcat ones, maybe? I could make her one, too."
"Make me one what?" Renee chirped from Evie's shoulder, hands clasped behind her back. Evie shrieked and leapt away. Renee bent over double laughing as Evie clutched her chest and gasped. "You're like a big cat!"
"You're like a creepily cheerful ninja! Merlin's saggy pants, where did you come from?" Evie challenged.
"Right over there," Renee answered, still giggling, pointing to where her parents were setting up their picnic.
"Well, still, wear a bell or something! I 'bout had a heart attack. Candace was showing me flowers she used to make flower crowns. She said she'd teach me how to make them myself," Evie explained, turning back to Candace, who'd been watching them with wide, startled eyes. Her pale lips twitched into a shy smile as she ducked her head.
"I wouldn't want to intrude," she murmured.
"Nonsense, Candace. I always love talking with you," Renee replied kindly. "Why don't you sit with us for lunch? Your grandmother seems pretty busy with Irene and Yolanda. I'm sure she'd be fine with you spending time with us."
"That'd be perfect! The more the merrier!" Evie enthused gaily. "We'll help you keep an eye on the stand in case anyone wants to buy anything. Come on and sit with us, enjoy the pretty flowers everyone's been talking to me about," she cajoled winningly.
It seemed as if Candace couldn't help but be won over by both of their pleadings combined. "If… if you're sure it's all right."
"Definitely!"
"Please, come with us."
Candace stepped off her stool and shook out her tartan skirt. "I'll go ask Gra'mama now."
Of course, Shelly eagerly told her granddaughter to join her new friends. The three young women settled onto the Horns' family blanket, both Candace and Renee with their legs bent lady-like to the side and skirts smoothed over their knees, while Evie flopped down crisscross style. While Evie had chosen sakura blossom branches and cosmos, Renee had agreed she's liked the pinkcats the best with her sakura blossoms. After a bit more wheedling, and Evie putting down the money, Candace had chosen lavender flowers to wind among her sakura. Candace softly and gently corrected Evie's rude attempts at making a crown, offering a spare red ribbon to wind through (it helped a lot keeping everything together…). Renee knew the basics already, but made a point to ask Candace for tips or help whenever she could. By the time Evie tied off her crown at last, setting it lopsided onto her auburn waves with a confident laugh, they were all talking like lifelong friends.
"'Dite finally got big enough to lay an egg a couple days ago! I swear, I did a little dance with the thing," she motioned with her hands the size of the egg, bobbing around in place to recreate said 'little dance' and get both women laughing, "and then poor Aphrodite got swept along, too. She didn't seem to mind as much as a chicken should, though. You breed a strange kinda bird here, Rey. I swear she likes being cuddled each morning," Evie was saying.
"They do! I make a point to pet and cuddle them every day. It cheers up their spirits, and they need all the cheering they can get these days. All the animals seem so much more listless and sad. Any little bit of extra love goes a long way," Renee defended with a sad little sigh, a hand cupping her cheek.
"I have a silkworm, Vera, and she really enjoys being petted, too. If I don't pet her in the morning, she always looks so sad," Candace agreed.
"Vera?" Evie asked with an intrigued head tilt.
Candace's pale face bloomed pink. "Like… V-Vera W-Wang?"
"I get it! That's a perfect name for a silkworm! How funny!" Evie grinned. "A tailor with a silkworm named after Vera Wang. It's perfect."
"Vera is a very sweet, happy silkworm, too! I'm glad she's still thriving with you, Candace," Renee said assertively.
"Thank you."
"Um, Evie," Renee murmured, leaning closer. Evie popped a green mochi ball into her mouth with a contented hum. She raised her eyebrows at Renee in question. "I think Toby's been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now…"
Evie choked and swung around, eyes wide, flower crown sliding low over her brow and one ear. Sure enough, Toby was sitting with Ozzie and Paolo a few feet away and looking in their direction. She swallowed hard and waved. Paolo wildly waved both arms in the air, as if she couldn't see him, but Toby merely raised one hand and smiled.
"My Gra'mama said she saw Toby go up to Clarinet last night with a tackle box, whistling. Did he… um… I'm s-sorry, that's rude t-to ask…" Candace trailed off, fidgeting and tugging at the hem of her sweater.
"Nah, it's all right. He came by to give me a fish! I'm gonna buy a set of matches from the General store tomorrow to grill it for a tasty lunch when I'm mining again. At least, that's the plan. I've never grilled a fish before… or started up a fire from matches... Is a huchen tasty?" she asked with a slight frown. Renee and Candace's eyes both widened comically as they glanced at each other. "I hope I don't ruin it…" she muttered under her breath, unaware of their stares.
"A huchen? Are you sure?" Renee repeated in shock.
Evie blinked, finally noticing their shocked faces. "Uh, yeah? Is it a special fish or something?"
"It's… very hard to c-catch," Candace tried to explain. "It can only be caught during a storm. Late in the evening or very early in the morning."
"A storm?"
"It also sells for more than 200 auree!" Renee added, hands gesturing in large sweeping motions.
"What?!" Evie turned to gape at Toby again. He raised his eyebrow at her, obviously confused at her expression but too far away to hear what was being said.
"I'm pretty sure it's actually two hundred and fifty auree. It took me hours one night to catch it last year. Mama was so mad when I came home dripping wet at ten o'clock at night just because of a fish," Renee told her with a wry twist to her lips.
"He… must keep some frozen in his shop…" Evie protested, fingers coming up to lightly touch the petals of the cosmos in her crown.
"There was a rainstorm just the other day. I bet he caught it then," Renee declared stoutly. Evie did remember walking to and from Garmon in the rain, but mining had been so exhausting and time-consuming, she'd barely even felt it.
"They don't k-keep huchen in the Fishery for long. Yolanda loves to buy them for the Inn when they're on sale," Candace concurred.
"Oh. Wow. He's… he's a lot sweeter than he lets on," Evie said with a surprised smile, gaze still on the man in question, who was currently keeping Paolo from climbing one of the sakura trees. "I got him to watch Dr. Horrible last night and we went back and sang all the songs together after we finished it. It was fun."
"We'll get him to join us for karaoke next time, then," Renee joked, though it sounded a little stiff.
Candace glanced between them– Renee fiddling with the empty mochi and bento boxes, Evie glancing over her shoulder and smiling. The bluenette barely kept in an audible sigh of relief when Hanna and Cain returned and recaptured everyone's attention. They all sat back, watching as the lampposts lit up and the sun fell, the breeze making the now-glowing pink blossoms sway and dance in the cool night air. The lingering bite of winter was mostly gone except in the darkest parts of the night, so it wasn't uncomfortable in the evening breeze just yet. Even Evie, who'd thought the whole idea of a flower-viewing party as a "waste of time," was speechless with admiration. Stars twinkled overhead, and to Evie's gaze only, a tiny fairy fluttered and trilled bell-like among the sakura trees. For a brief moment, Evie could see the magic in a festival like this, on a night like this, surrounded by people who made her feel welcome and … happy. Happy and content in a way college hadn't been able to for months. It had been fun and challenging and she'd had plenty of friends, but…
There had to be a reason why she'd so easily followed a fairy to bumfudge nowhere on belief alone. The feeling she got watching the sakura blossoms dance in the lamp light with a real fairy glittering on a branch– that filled up a void she hadn't even noticed until Finn had come for her.
"I'm so glad I came," Evie whispered. She wondered if Renee and Candace realized she meant more than just the festival. Two hands– one soft, the other callused– gripped hers. Maybe they did understand.
She and Renee made sure to help Candace break down the flower stand and walk her home after the festival officially ended. Cain and Hanna had gone ahead, arms linked, giggling and flirting like newlyweds. Cain had taken the picnic basket with him, as well, so Renee and Evie walked past the beach with empty arms after leaving Candace at her door. A short time into the walk, Renee linked her arm with Evie's and it felt totally natural. Evie couldn't help but duck her head to hide a grin. Easy physical affection had always been her sort of thing, and unlike many of her friends back in the city, who liked their personal space, it was good to have a friend who enjoyed that kind of thing, too.
"Are you sure you want to walk me all the way home?" Renee asked tentatively.
"Yup. I'll enjoy having all this fresh night air after a week being stuck down in those mines," Evie assured her easily. The weight of the Yellow Bell in her pack was the "real" purpose of her extra walking, but the fresh air and company didn't make it unbearable. "We should definitely have another karaoke night soon. This time, we'll make sure to invite Candace."
"I don't think she'd enjoy singing in front of people like that," Renee objected thoughtfully.
"Well, no, but I'm sure she'd be happy to be invited and spend time with us. We won't tease her about doing it herself, though," Evie said with a decisive nod.
"That's a good idea. Candace… she's always been so very shy and modest. She never seems to think people enjoy being with her. She lives so far away I tend to… forget about her," Renee confessed shamefully.
"We'll remember her together. She deserves to have fun just like we do," Evie declared simply. Renee huffed a quiet laugh in agreement.
The rest of the walk became mostly silent appreciation of such a nice night, interspersed with various stories of Renee's past. Stories of being a child, a teenager, her friends– those still in Castanet and those who'd gone– and the antics they'd gotten into. Evie was almost disappointed to finally reach Horn Ranch and say good night. However, say good night she did. She walked slowly away, hands shoved in her pockets until she was out of sight of the front door, then she took off running up the hill. Without Renee to keep her attention, she was free to roam the grassy knoll, searching for the telltale glow of the moonstone. With a soft gasp, she found it lying innocuously in the grass, as if someone had dropped it and forgotten it just seconds before. Finn blinked blearily as Evie jostled him in her pocket when she swung the pack off her back.
"Whassit?" Finn slurred.
"I found it," Evie said simply, pulling the Bell free.
"Wha?!" Finn shouted. He tumbled out of her breast pocket, caught himself, and flew up to her shoulder. "Oh! I see it, too!"
"Easy enough, I guess," Evie shrugged nonchalantly, biting back a grin. She could at least attempt to be modest.
"That means only one more! You're so smart, Evie! The best hero in the world!" Finn exclaimed as he zoomed to the stone and back repeatedly.
Evie laughed joyfully. Who needed false modesty with a fairy friend like Finn? "I think you're a bit biased. The Roman Empire would argue Hercules deserves that title."
She stood upon the stone, laugh ending in a gasp as that familiar sensation of magic buzzed through to her bones. Too soon, the pulsing ended and she stepped off. Dizziness rushed over her, knees wobbling slightly, but she shook it off and put the Bell back in her rucksack.
"Let's go home, little man," Evie murmured, holding out her hands for the sprite to land. She brought him close to nuzzle him sleepily and happily.
"Yeah," Finn yawned, nuzzling back contentedly. She kept him in her hands for the walk back rather than set him back in her pocket, even after he curled into a little ball and began to snore.
A/N: EDIT: 2/11/18
