Evie blinked awake in the middle of the night. Next to her, Candace still slept on soundly, her pretty blue braids lying over the pillow. The tinkling sound that had woken her sounded again. A sound like a tiny, glass bell. Smiling sleepily, she turned to see Finn perched on the dining table. Carefully, the rancher slipped out from under the covers and made her way over. Her smile fell into a concerned frown upon seeing the lost and vulnerable expression on his tiny face. The chair slid over the floorboards. She flopped onto it and leaned in close.

"Hey, Finn, what's wrong? Are you sad you missed the party? Because I promise I had no idea and I brought you back lots of cake," Evie hurriedly reassured him. She held out her hand and he easily nuzzled in close.

"That's not it. It's… I'm not… I'm not a very good fairy. I'm so small and silly…"

"Oh, Finn, I thought we talked about that? About how brave you are, and how special," Evie murmured.

"We did! But… I don't have a special Bell like Collin or Alana! I wanna be a big fairy like them! How can I be a good leader, like Alana?" Finn sniffled desperately.

"Hmm… maybe not being so hard on yourself, for one," Evie teased poking his pudgy little cheek. He let out a shocked giggle and slapped her finger away. "But maybe taking a bit of initiative? Most good leaders are the head of the pack because they try to always be ready to be there, to take action in a crisis… I guess?" Evie offered with an awkward little grimace. Finn blinked a little before breaking into a wide, relieved smile.

"Yeah! That makes sense! I can do that!" the little fairy agreed eagerly. Evie slumped a little in her own bout of relief. She scooped him up and brought him up close to her cheek to nuzzle gently.

"Good. I'm glad to help. Let's go to sleep now, okay?"

"Okey dokey!"

She shuffled over to the bed and, just as carefully as before, climbed back in. Candace's brows scrunched up a bit, but smoothed out a moment later, never quite waking up. Finn snuggled under Evie's chin when she stopped squirming around and got comfortable. The contented silence dragged on, and sleep was weighing down her limbs and eyelids, when Finn snuffled quietly.

"Hey Evie?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanna… be at the next party," Finn yawned. Her lips stretched into a sleepy grin.

"'Course, li'l buddy."

Luke whistled cheerfully where he was sitting under one of her cherry trees. He held a small piece of wood in one hand and a gleaming, sharp knife in the other. Curl by curl he shaved away at the block. Candace sat nearby, knitting at a long blue… scarf? With a satisfied groan, Evie slumped down next to them, stretching out her casted leg.

"I can't wait to get this thing off."

"You really can't. You're very impatient," Candace reprimanded mildly. She froze, eyes wide and horrified. Luke and Evie gaped over at her, then burst into guffaws.

"Oh wow, Candace told you," Luke wheezed out.

"I've never heard her be so mean," Evie teased. Candace's pale face burned red.

"I didn't- I shouldn't have-"

"No, no, that was great. Do that more," Evie interrupted, patting her friend's shoulder. "You tell 'em what's what, even if 'them' is me. Especially if it's me."

"Yeah, I'm with Evie. That was the best," Luke agreed heartily.

Candace merely pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Well, now that I've recovered from that scolding," Evie nudged Candace, "what's the plan for today?"

"I would like to go to Harmonica to get more yarn from Gra'mama. After the party, I completely forgot to get it," Candace replied shyly.

"I'm always up for that. Paolo and Toby reminded me again last night that I still haven't come by for a meal. Maybe I'll go surprise 'em at lunch," Evie mused. She was already smiling at the idea.

"I have to go back up to the shop. Pops wants me to work on our new order," Luke said with an affected diffidence ruined by the trembling at the corners of his mouth.

"An order?" Evie and Candace parroted in confusion. Luke grinned and rubbed his nose.

"I guess y'all haven't heard. We got ourselves a new arrival. Came in late last night and Jake, Ocarina's manager, yanno? He called up Pops and told 'im he wanted to fix up some of the furniture in the room. Level out some warped boards, replace a door, just a few things. Pops went straight to the Spring to thank the Goddess, a'course," Luke told them trying once more to play it 'cool' with an overly nonchalant shrug.

"That's awesome! " Evie exclaimed.

"I know, right?!" Luke exploded eagerly. He rounded on Evie and Candace with eyes shining. Candace blushed at the direct eye-contact, quickly looking down at her lap, though she was nodding and smiling along. "First big order we've had in months. It's not, like, big, but it's big enough. Plus, with you staying, Evie, you'll need to fix this all up soon. I haven't seen my Pops in this good a mood since… since my Ma," Luke added with a wistful twist to his smile.

"Do you know who this new person is?" Evie asked after punching his shoulder fondly. Punches and noogies were more their thing than hand squeezes and hugs.

"Uhhh, I think my Pops said he's a fancy professor or something. He didn't tell me everything Jake told 'im," Luke admitted with a pout. He got up then and dusted off his backside. "I need to get going, though, afore Pops comes after me with a hammer. Need a hand?"

"Uh, huh? Oh, nah, I got it," Evie muttered, shaking her head and hefting herself up on a crutch. As Evie continued to wonder if maybe it was… that guy, that Doctor Jones or whoever, Luke had turned to Candace and was helping her gently to her feet, one hand cupping her elbow and the other on the middle of her upper back to keep her steady. Her face was cherry-red when Luke bent down again to grab her small bag of sewing supplies and handed it to her.

"I'll see y'all later, maybe in town!" Luke farewelled, waving exuberantly. The women waved him away until he- and his loudly thudding footsteps- faded in the distance.

"I wanna meet this new guy," Evie decided out loud. From up in the cherry tree came the tinkle of a bell and Finn buzzed down to her shoulder, yawning sleepily and covered in pink cherry blossom petals.

"I'm going to stay on the farm while you go to town," Finn told her with another yawn. "I'll meet you up at the Spring after lunchtime." Evie smiled and nodded at the fairy. He nuzzled her cheek, then flew back up into the tree to continue his nap. Evie turned to Candace and frowned in concern when she noticed her friend still staring in the distance and pink-cheeked.

"You okay, Candy? Do you need some water before we head out? You look flushed."

"Oh, no! I'm f-fine! L-let's g-go," Candace stuttered terribly. Evie cocked her head to the side as Candace fidgeted with her bag and kept her head low enough that her bangs covered her face.

"All right, if you're sure," Evie conceded with a shrug. "I gotta tell you about this guy I met a while ago, anyway. I think he's the new guy." It took a bit of… fudging to explain the story without magic or Bells involved (mostly blaming her walk down to the lighthouse on curiosity and restlessness), but she told Candace of Dr. Jones and the stone tablet that he'd given her. Candace frowned slightly in confusion.

"But why would he give you something so valuable?" she finally asked.

"I have no idea. He kept saying something about fey blood, though," Evie accidentally blurted. Luckily, no accusing stares were sent her way, just another bewildered glance.

"Fey blood? Like fairies?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess? When I tried to get him to explain, he just walked off all Mr. Mysterious and said something along the lines of 'when there's less moonlight, fey-girl'," Evie mimicked, her voice deepening and drawling in what she could remember of the man's accent; long vowels and missing final consonants, smooth and classy like Rhett Butler.

"And you think he's back?"

"There's only one way to find out," Evie said with a shrug. "You go ahead to Sonata. I'll see you later, 'kay?"

Candace gifted her with one more concerned look, but nodded. "Okay."

They parted at Sonata's door. Evie watched it close behind her friend, biting down on her lip in thought. She knew where this new guy was, but how could she talk him? If she managed to get his room number from Mr. Taverns, but he wasn't the weird dude from that night, what would she do? She needed an ironclad excuse-

Evie broke off her own musings when she noticed the twangings of a guitar. She'd never heard anyone play guitar in town before, and that definitely wasn't the sound of a radio. It was an actual instrument echoing in the outside air. Curiously, Evie made her way up the hill towards Ocarina Inn, where the music increased in volume. Suspicions were already forming in her head, but surely that'd just be… too easy. She passed the Clinic and saw a tall figure, wearing tan and brown, with a large brown hat on their head and their foot propped up on the low wall to balance the large, acoustic guitar on their thigh. That hat did look really familiar…surely not…

She didn't know if she felt more relieved or incredulous when she got close enough to see a familiar face under the familiar hat. He lowered his guitar and tipped up his hat as Evie approached, a gleaming, handsome smile curving up his mouth.

"Hey there, fey-girl," he drawled lowly.

"Dr… Jones?" Evie asked hesitantly. His smile grew even more obviously pleased.

"That's right. I'm glad t'hear you remember. But you can call me Calvin, or, as my friends do, Cal."

"I'm Evelyn."

"Evelyn Tallesin." His crystal blue eyes glinted with humor.

"Uh, yeah. I, uh, still have that thing, the stone thing, tablet. Stone tablet."

"Is that right?" Calvin's smile become something more like a smirk, teasing and mischievous. He carefully swung the guitar around by its strap to lay along his back, then turned his full attention on her, leaning forward with his arms crossed and braced upon his knee. "Was it useful t'you?"

"Yes, I found them all. The moonstones. But why… why'd you give it to me? And why do you call me that?" Evie demanded, standing up straighter as she got her metaphorical feet back under her. There was something so disarming about this man, it was hard to keep from floundering like a nonsensical idiot in front of him.

"Call you what now?"

"Fey girl," Evie all but snapped. She tried to cross her arms over her chest defensively, but almost tipped herself forward forgetting all about her crutch.

"Ah. Well, you've heard about Merlin?"

"What, the TV show?" Evie blurted, blinking in confusion. Calvin chuckled softly.

"Not quite what I meant. There was a poet named Taliesin, whose name has been mixed up in many different legends, Arthurian legends. Some even confused him with Merlin himself. A powerful and wise man, but also a famous wizard."

"If this is leading up to a Harry Potter moment, you missed my eleventh birthday by a lot, professor," Evie replied dryly.

Calvin threw back his head to genuinely laugh. It was a nice, infectious sort of laugh that caused crinkles at the corner of his eyes and dimples to crease in the hollows of his cheeks. Evie couldn't help but relax at a laugh like that, her own lips twitching up.

"No, no, nothin' like that, Evelyn. I enjoyed the irony of a pretty young woman glowin' in magical moonlight with a name connected t' an old sorcerer, that's all I'm sayin'," Calvin finally explained as his laughter ebbed away. Evie blushed bright red at the compliment.

"There's nothing magical about me, doc. It was just moonlight and coincidence," Evie muttered, ducking her head and rubbing the back of her neck.

"I don't much believe in coincidences," Calvin said simply. His eyes darted down to her leg and his eyebrows arched. "You sure you should be walking about? That looks like a serious injury."

"It's just a broken leg. From a while ago," Evie brushed off impatiently. "I've got a small horde of babysitters who call themselves my friends to bother me about it."

"I wouldn't take that sort of thing for granted, fey-girl."

Evie huffed, shoulders slumping and smile wry as she met Calvin's frank gaze. "Yeah, I know. I don't. So… um, what are you doing back? Did you want that stone back? It's at my house, but I can bring it by tomorrow. If you're still in town…?"

Calvin stood up straight and glanced over the small town with an enigmatic smile. "I will be. I plan on stayin' here a while. Garmon Mountain has some very interestin' history, this whole town does. There's a very intriguin' legend that was born in this sleepy little corner and I'm hopin' t'research it for a bit."

Evie's fingers tightened around the handle of the crutch before she managed to drum up a bland smile. "That sounds good. I've got plenty of time to return that stone to you. I've got to go now, but I'll be seeing you."

"That you will. G'day t'you, Evelyn."

"Y-yeah, uh, good day to you, too," Evie agreed awkwardly. He stepped back a ways to let her pass. It took all her willpower not to look back, or hobble away too quickly. She didn't realize until she saw the Fishery that she never did get him to answer why he'd given her the stone tablet to begin with. She frowned in annoyance, mostly at herself.

The Fishery wasn't too far from there, even if it took more stairs than she had wanted to deal with. The door opened with a cheerful jingle from the bell atop the door and Ozzie's weathered, tanned face looked over at her with a large smile creasing his cheeks. Evie limped around the trays of ice and fish as Ozzie moved around the counter.

"Good morning, Evie. Or is it afternoon yet? I always lose track of time when I'm stuck in here too long," Ozzie laughed jovially.

"It's not quite noon yet. I was wondering, actually, if the invitation for lunch is still open? Paolo reminds me of it almost every time I see him, so I thought, since I'm in town, but it's last minute, so I understand if-" Evie babbled awkwardly, face red and hand rubbing at her neck.

Ozzie grinned widely. "It's always open. Don't you worry, Evie, you ain't imposing here. Paolo will be excited to see you. Come on back and take a seat. Toby will probably be makin' lunch in a bit."

"Toby cooks?" Evie repeated in surprise as Ozzie opened a door to the private living area.

"Toby's the best cook in the house. Me? I would be condemnin' my poor kid to grilled fish and rice for every meal if Toby hadn't been here to help," Ozzie joked. Evie giggled and settled with a comfortable sigh onto the couch.

"He's never said. Seems he's a little mysterious after all," Evie quipped.

"Everyone's got their secrets. Ain't that so, Miss Rancher Girl?" Ozzie bantered with a mischievous wink. Evie's heart leapt to her throat as she gaped at him. "I'll be at the front if you need me, but I'm sure my nephew will keep you entertained better'n I can once he's here." There was another wink that had Evie's blood rushing to her cheeks and incoherent sputters escaping her. He merely chortled to himself and left the room.

Evie was left to her own devices for a single minute. Too long. Her leg was doing too well to hold her back, so she hefted herself back up and went snooping. The first room— other than the main living room and kitchen— that she found was obviously Ozzie's, so she quickly backed out. Paolo's was next to his, and she lingered just long enough to feel a little guilty. But the posters of constellations, the pirate ships in bottles, and the books about the sea- from the "Odyssey" to a book about rubber ducks to Moby Dick- had her captivated for long moments. There was an empty room with a large, wooden ship's helm hanging on the wall. And then, Toby's.

The walls were a cool, ocean blue and foamy white curtains waved in the breeze from the cracked-open windows. There were a few pictures on the wall that looked like bought copies of something she'd see in a museum- of pristine beaches and sail boats on churning ocean waves. Though there was one picture done in a shaky, childish hand of a blue-clad figure fishing on a beach that looked very familiar. Evie pulled her eyes away to see a fish-decorated bedspread. And a fish-shaped pillow. It looked old and faded and Evie had to fight the urge to pick it up and coo at it like a pet, it was that cute. Speaking of pets, she bent down low to get a closer look at a small fish tank on his bedside table. It was filled with a handful of small, colorful fish all flitting out and about tall multi-colored plastic seaweed and fake sunken diver suits lying on top of clean blue, green, and pink aquarium rocks. The fish followed her fingertip ghosting over the cool surface of glass, making her giggle.

"Pretty sure my uncle left you on the couch," drawled a voice from behind her.

Evie screamed and spun around. Her crutch knocked on the nightstand and it wobbled. She shrieked again, a short, bitten off cry of dismay, as she flailed towards the fishtank, which really wasn't wobbling that much, but with her balance already shot and all her weight on one foot… well it wasn't looking good. Especially when she pitched headfirst towards the tank. An arm wrapped around her waist so quickly, she was jerked back just seconds from her nose hitting the glass.

"Holy Goddess, Evvy, I didn't mean to kill you!" Toby exclaimed, one arm around her waist and the other hand steadying the tank. "Or the poor fish."

"I-I'm s-s-sorry! I th-thought I'd hear the door!" Evie gasped, heart jackhammering.

"Really?" Toby retorted with a raised eyebrow. "You couldn't have waited for a free tour guide instead?"

Evie huffed and glanced away. "You've been all over my house. I didn't think you'd mind if I returned the favor," she mumbled almost sulkily.

"Fortunately, I don't mind," Toby agreed amiably, his tone filled with amusement. "I also doubt you'd be rude enough to go poking through drawers. I keep anything I want hidden actually hidden, since there's a curious eleven year old in my house."

"Are you comparing me to an eleven year old? "

"If the nose fits," Toby replied blithely. Evie squawked in outrage. Toby laughed outright, one arm curling around his stomach as he leaned back, shoulders shaking. Evie blushed as she felt his arm tighten momentarily around her waist.

She hadn't even noticed it was still there, or even how close they were standing. She couldn't help but notice now that she was reminded. Couldn't help but notice she could feel his laughter vibrating through his ribs, or how warm he felt, or how he smelled so strongly of ocean air and brine. It had never been a particularly pleasant smell… until now. When his chuckles finally died away, he seemed to notice Evie's lack of participation. Her eyes darted around as her face brightened, and he tensed at her side. There was an odd twitch to his hand before he slowly moved away, clearing his throat.

"You… steady?" he muttered, a little hoarser than usual.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry I snooped without asking you first. Or Paolo."

Toby snorted. "You snooped in Paolo's room?"

"Just a peek. I was trying to find yours and just had to get a closer look at the pirate ships," Evie confessed, staring down at her toes.

"They are pretty cool. I helped him make 'em," Toby conceded with a small smirk. Evie's tense shoulders slumped in relief at the return to their usual interactions. "C'mon, let's go tattle on you to Paolo."

"What!? No!" Evie protested, clattering after him as he walked towards the still open door.

"Oh, yes. Your punishment will be Paolo's enthusiastic step-by-step description of how he- we - made them."

"You drive a hard bargain, but I know you're really a softie. The cuddly fish on your bed has given you away," Evie teased, poking at his arm. She grinned at the pink blush on his cheeks.

"My mother gave me that when I was a boy. Paolo gave me almost everything else in there covered in fish. He gives me a fish-themed gift for every holiday," Toby muttered. Evie 'aww'ed.

"That's just adorable. So the bed, and the- the picture on the wall! The one of… was that you on the beach?" Evie gushed. Toby nodded, the blush getting brighter. "So adorable. You're such a good big cousin."

"I feel more like a big brother. I've lived here almost his whole life," Toby admitted with a humble little shrug.

"I thought you were born here?" Evie questioned with a slight head tilt.

"I was, but my parents left when I was still in grade school. When the lighthouse stopped working and the fishing got too hard," Toby explained while they walked into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for her and headed over to the fridge.

"But you came back? Without them?" Evie haltingly asked, worried that maybe it was for the worst of reasons.

"They're alive and well," Toby assured her with a kind smile in her direction. She exhaled loudly and relieved. "They just refused to come back and I… I refused to stay away. When I was about 14 or 15, I was just starting high school. I hated it. I hated the city, I hated the bustle and the how little people seemed to care about each other. Here, no one's a stranger. It can be… overwhelming sometimes, knowing that almost everyone knows your business, but we're all family. They're all good, honest people. When we got the call…" Toby broke off and stared down at the bowl in his hands.

"Toby?" Evie murmured in concern, moving to get up. He raised a hand to stop her.

"Sorry, it's still a little painful. My aunt died, and my uncle was all alone with a baby and a store and… I fought with my parents then. I told them I was dropping out and coming back to help. They could give me their blessing, or I could go without it, but I was coming back. So here I am."

"At fourteen?" Evie blurted incredulously. Toby's mouth twisted up in something mocking and self-conscious.

"I don't even have a GED."

"I don't care about that part," Evie snapped with a dark frown. Toby started and looked over at her, eyes widening enough she could see the beautiful leaf-green of his irises. "You decided something self-less and important as a teenager. You stood up to your parents and chose a huge responsibility, something that shaped the rest of your life at fourteen years old. That's… amazing," Evie added with a much softer impressed tone.

Toby gazed at her, lips slightly parted before they slowly curved up into a shy smile— boyish and modest. Evie returned it helplessly.

"I'm just a fisherman."

"And I'm just a farmer," Evie replied stoutly. "It doesn't make either of us, or our decisions, any less important. False modesty isn't sexy."

Toby barked out a surprised laugh. "Are you callin' me sexy, Evvy?"

"Ah, n-no, I m-mean, I-I d-didn't, n-not th-that y-you're n-not- I mean, I d-didn't n-notice," Evie babbled and stammered painfully. She tumbled into pouting silence as Toby released his shoulder-shaking belly laugh.

"What's so funny? Evie? Evie, you're here! Why's your face so red?" Paolo chattered all in one breath even while flinging himself around Evie's neck.

"Hey, hey, Pao! There were so many questions in there, I can't answer them all," Evie joshed cheerfully as she squeezed Paolo just as exuberantly. For an eleven-year-old boy, he was freely, innocently affectionate and it was refreshingly adorable. Now that she knew what she did, she had to wonder just how much was Toby's influence.

"It was only two," Paolo objected.

"Really? You talked so fast it sounded like twenty," Evie hedged with a bright grin.

"Yeah, right. Are you finally here for lunch?"

"Yup! Is Toby actually a good cook?" she whispered loudly. Toby scoffed from the stove where he was setting up a pot.

"He's the best cook! He's better than my Da. While he's cooking, you wanna come see my ships?"

"Your ships?" Evie questioned innocently. She gamely ignored Toby's chuckles.

"Yeah! I got loads of 'em and I named 'em after a bunch of famous pirate ships! I'm gonna be a captain one day. I wanna be a pirate, but only, like, a Robin Hood kinda pirate. Toby's a total wet blanket and says it's still against the law," Paolo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and rolling his dark eyes. Evie grunted slightly as she got to her feet.

"Show me the ships and we'll talk about your future grand piracy ideas where the killjoy won't hear you," Evie prompted with a conspiratorial grin.

"Awesome! Let's go, c'mon, let's go!"

Evie laughed, but paused at the doorway. "Hey, Tobes?"

"Hm? Lunch will be ready in about thirty minutes. Is that all right?" he replied absently.

"Oh, yeah, that's… awesome," Evie muttered under her breath, thinking about the thirty minutes of ship talk with a hyperactive eleven-year-old. "But that's not what I was gonna ask. Have you ever made, uh, baked fish? No, that's not right, herb fish! That's it."

He turned to look at her, brows coming together slightly and a large knife in his hand. Evie blinked at it in amazement. "Herb fish? I've made it many times. Why?"

"I have a bit of a promise to keep and it involves a plate of herb fish." Her eyes were still glued to the giant knife while she spoke. She had to actively force her gaze away.

"You'll need an oven. I've only seen a blender and a pot at your place."

"Right, it's next on the list. Maybe even tonight when I go by the Spring. Could you help me make it?" Evie asked with a small wince. "I've never… skinned or deboned a fish."

"Scaled."

"What?"

"It's scaling a fish," Toby corrected amusedly. "Scale, gut, and fillet are the usual terms."

"G-gut?" Evie gulped, her face paling. Toby bit his bottom lip. "I've never… gutted a fish. I was just gonna stick the huchen on a stick and grill it," Toby outright flinched, expression horrified. "But Hanna took it from me and did it herself while I was with Renee."

Toby slumped against the counter. "Thank the Goddess for nosey rancher's wives," he muttered under his breath.

"I don't eat meat, really, unless it's super well done," Evie confessed shakily.

Toby looked back over at her and gave her a lopsided smirk. "I'll help you figure it out. I've been doing it since I could wrap my hands around a knife. It's in the…" he paused and pressed his lips together before blurting out in a tight, shaking voice. "It's in the blood."

"Oh, laugh it up, Chuckles," Evie snarled with narrowed eyes. She turned away, nose in the air, as Toby pressed his knuckles to his mouth to keep back the laugh.

"Evie! Why are you taking so long? Are you dead?" Paolo whined impatiently. Evie grumbled under her breath about 'sassafrassin' Fishers think they're so funny.'

"Careful, I said careful, Carpenter!" Evie exclaimed, pressing her hand against smooth, cool steel.

"I'm being careful! Calm down, Princess," Luke puffed, his voice muffled.

"You're carrying a whole lot of weight and can't see over it, okay? Stop trying to race to my front door. There's a step here, watch it!"

"I got it, I got it!"

"He's gonna drop it, Evie!" Finn exclaimed, whizzing in agitated circles around Luke.

"I could help you," Candace offered again, her own hands hovering in the air on the other side of him.

"No, I got it! Candy, you lift yarn for a living. I literally haul around trees. I'm good. Back off, gimpy," Luke retorted, exasperation clear in his voice.

"If you drop a darn tree, you can pick it back up. You drop my brand spanking new oven, and I'll spank you," Evie warned.

"Oooh, kinky," Luke joked, instantly laughing.

"Don't laugh! " Finn, Candace, and Evie all said at once.

"I'm not gonna drop it!"

"Howdy!" exclaimed a boy's voice. Candace and Evie shrieked, Finn toppled towards the ground, and Luke yelled in shock. Then, in warning.

"Help me!"

Candace, Evie, and another pair of hands all grabbed the oven at once as that boy's voice cackled.

"Taylor, that was not safe," admonished a smoothly feminine, but raspy and deep voice. A little like Amy Winehouse. And now Evie knew why that boy's voice sounded so familiar.

"Aw, Nissa, it sure was funny, though," Taylor replied petulantly.

"Here, the counter's not that far," Evie suggested, backing away. When Luke's grip on the oven was secure again, he trudged across the room himself, leaving two young women in the doorway with Evie.

"Here?"

"Yeah, right there, Luke. Thanks," Evie agreed. She watched, grimacing and tense, until Luke set it safely and gently down.

"I'm so sorry about Taylor. Taylor, come apologize this instant," the new woman ordered briskly.

Taylor shuffled up, pouting, though his eyes still glinted with wicked glee. "Sorry."

"I'm not surprised. I've met him before in similar circumstances," Evie said with both eyebrows high. Taylor's wicked gleam became a wide, unrepentant smirk.

"There wasn't an oven last time," Taylor quipped carelessly.

"No, I suppose not. Just me in an awkward situation and cleaning up your mess," Evie agreed, hands on her hips.

"Ah, I'm just a kid. You can't hold it against me," Taylor grinned, rocking back on his heels. Evie forked her fingers, pointed them at her own eyes, then jabbed them in his direction.

"I'm watching you, kid." Her mouth twitched as she said it though. There was something so infectious and impish about his face. The few times she'd babysat, the naughty kids were always the worst to control, but also had the most fun stories afterwards.

"I'll be watching him, too," the new woman added. Evie glanced over to take in her appearance: gorgeous immediately sprang to mind. Long, silky, brown hair, a perfect round face with pointed chin, slightly too wide mouth with pink, perfectly shaped lips, slanted ruby eyes with long black lashes that gave them an almost cat-like shape, fair, flawless skin, and to top it all off, a cute beauty mark just below the corner of one eye. "I'm Anissa Marimba, Taylor's older sister."

"You're not a movie star?" Evie blurted in shock. Her face flamed red as Anissa laughed throatily. She held out a hand in offering. Evie hesitated a moment, but gripped it a moment later- callused and rough, nails short and well-taken care of, and an confident hold. This Anissa was very much a down-to-earth kind of girl, whatever her movie star looks were, and Evie was already loosening up.

"That's a very sweet compliment. Thank you," Anissa said as her hand fell away. "You must be Evelyn Tallesin. My mother told me about you on the phone. A couple of times."

Evie shrugged, awkwardly modest. "The new kid on the block gets a lot of attention. Welcome back."

"Thank you. I'm sure you heard I left to find some seeds to revitalize the soil here in Castanet. I was surprised to hear that not only did a new rancher come, they seemed to be thriving on this little plot of tired land. When Taylor," here she shot a rueful look at Taylor, who grinned widely, "showed up where I was, I knew it was time to come back. I found some seeds I thought could help, but it turns out I got back a little late after all."

"What do you mean?" Luke interrupted, leaning on the wall next to the door.

"I got back and my mother and father said that some of their crops that hadn't sprouted in weeks suddenly grew a whole two day's worth over night. I checked the soil myself, and it was richer, darker, and healthier, more so than I'd seen in years," Anissa explained, her tone incredulous.

"Dad says it's the Goddess. The Bell rung yesterday and today everything's better. Crazy, huh?" Taylor said with a laugh. But his bright eyes were on Evie, sharp and clever. Evie quickly looked away.

"My Pops says the same thing about the fire," Luke replied with a shrug.

"The fire?" Anissa repeated, one perfectly thin and arched brow rising.

"Up in Garmon the Bell in the mines rang, everyone heard it. Then, all the fires, the forge fires, Yolanda's, they all burst up like whoosh," Luke told her, hands bursting open in emphasis.

"The hot spring is hot again," Candace added quietly.

"Oh yeah!"

"I missed a lot, it seems," Anissa mused with a small smile.

"I hear there's three more bells. Maybe we'll all get lucky and hear another one," Evie said with a forced nonchalant shrug, knowing that being too quiet now would look suspicious.

"Maybe we will," Taylor agreed with a sly curve to his smile and his eyes still on Evie. Evie kept her gaze on Anissa.

"My brother and I came for a reason, however. I just wanted to meet you and used him as an excuse," Anissa admitted with a laugh. "Go on, Taylor."

"My mom and dad decided I should learn what responsibility is, since I think I'm old enough to go running off on my own," Taylor sighed with an eyeroll. Anissa cleared her throat warningly. "I'm starting up my own business! A delivery business. You call my own personal number and I can deliver you some seeds, any time, any day, except for holidays. My number's on the town registry now."

"That sounds very productive," Candace commented kindly.

"They just wanna keep me too busy to make trouble," Taylor muttered.

"I wonder why," Luke drawled. Taylor stuck out his tongue, to which Luke did the same. Evie leaned around Candace to slap the back of his head.

"He's a kid, Lu. What's your excuse?" she hissed.

"He started it, Princess!"

"Oh, are you two… dating?" Anissa asked with wide eyes.

"What? EW!"

"With him, no way! Wait, what does that mean? 'Ew'? I'm a flippin' catch, Luke Carpenter!"

"You're like a gross, bullying, little sister!"

"I'm older than you! "

Anissa met Candace's eyes, fingers pressed to her mouth to hide her giggles as Candace sighed helplessly between them.

"Ha, we all know who you really want to catch you," Luke taunted. Evie flushed red and glared at him.

"Don't you-" Evie growled.

"I hear he's really good at catching things," the bluenette with a death wish continued.

"I've got a stick. I will beat you with it!" Evie shrieked, holding up the crutch.

Luke cackled madly and darted away into the house. "Gotta catch me first, Limpy."

"Oh, he's gonna get it," Evie grumbled, already hot on his heels.

Anissa, Taylor, and Candace flinched at the loud crash and yelps that followed moments later.

"There isn't much room in there for him to run," Candace told them.

"I think we'll go ahead and go home. If you think you can handle them?" Anissa teased with ruby eyes glittering in mirth.

"For some reason, they listen to me. Toby says I'm a p-p-pighead w-whisperer." Candace blushed brightly at the insult.

Anissa laughed outright and stepped back onto the tiny stoop.

"I could stay and help?" Taylor offered eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"You mean create more chaos, and no. It's time to get home and eat dinner with Mother and Father. It's part of the deal."

"I know, I know. Eat every meal with them, at the table," Taylor complained with a long-suffering groan.

"We'll see you around. Maybe at the Animal Festival if we can't do sooner," Anissa suggested to Candace.

"Of course," she agreed. Her eyes widened dramatically at another, louder, crash and the piercing, war-whooping shout that followed it. "Excuse me." Candace closed the door as Anissa and Taylor walked away, laughing loudly.


A/N: Next Update: 04/05/2017 Anissa and Taylor finally came back! YAY! Do you like her so far?! The cute Tovie stuff gets even more and more blatant from here on out AND the second BIG SHIP of the fic is starting. Do y'all see it yet? Lol See you in two weeks~ (hint, hint: it includes a certain woodcutter, and something pink and... tongue-tied, shall we say?)