A/N: This is a long one! Sorry for the wait, and please see the bottom notes to an announcement. Until then, here are some replies to Guest reviews (if I haven't replied to a signed in review, I promise to be better at that. ^^;
Ur2Cool: You've been around since, like, the first chapter! And I so appreciate every one of your reviews! They really help soothe doubts and worries I have about how I write these characters and whether or not writing such a MASSIVE fic based on a farming game is worthwhile LOL.
peeep: Wow, thank you! There will be more fleshing out of all the sideline characters, at least two timestamps for every side-ship. I'll do my best to work on getting the characters equal amount of face time. It's a long road ahead, so I'm glad you're liking the parts that make it longer. XD
Katsupop: Hiya! It's nice to meet you~ Thank you so much for your lovely review! Especially the part about missing Cris, my sassy OC who disappeared! It made me so happy and I hope I can see another review from you soon. :) And I hope I remember to put some more scenes with Cris in here!
Onto the fic!
It had taken longer to get to sleep, unfortunately not for "fun" reasons. Although, Toby did stay until she had to wake up, rather than get up early enough for the Fishery, which was a nice surprise. But also not surprising at all, since he took the entire morning to hover around her and check on her nose. Her nose that was totally fine, she thought with an indignant huff and a lot of eye-rolling during his mother-henning.
Well, fine, as long no one touched it. Touching bad. She winced away from Toby even though she had been the one to try and kiss his cheek goodbye.
"Thanks for staying, even if I didn't need you to," she told him from behind her hand pinching delicately at the bridge of her nose.
"Please, let Phoebe do the leading," Toby said earnestly, eyes darting over her face one last time.
Evie huffed again and crossed her arms. "It's not like I mine by bashing my face against rocks. I have a hammer, Fisher."
"You tried to open a door that way, so who knows what you'll try next," Toby retorted dryly. Evie let out strangled laugh– somehow protesting and offended while genuinely amused. This time, Toby leaned down to press his lips to her cheek. Ridiculously, she blushed to her hairline at the innocently sweet action. Even though she'd already tried to do it herself. What was her brain doing up there?
"Don't… hook yourself or something," she mumbled, closing the front door behind them as the morning sun shined over the slope of her district.
He walked away shaking his head in amusement and she strode off to the barn to begin her chores. Hopefully Ozzie and Paolo won't be too upset that Toby had stayed late again for her sake. Finn broke through her guilt-induced pondering by patting her head from where he sat atop the crown of her head.
"You and Toby are still doing the kissing stuff," the little sprite said, almost accusingly.
Evie covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to snort out loud at his little brotherish tone. "It's complicated."
There was a long moment, bells twinkling above her head. She almost made it into the barn before Finn spoke up. "Well… I think you're really happy and the happier you are, the longer you'll stay. So, it's okay if you do the kissing stuff with Toby," he said decisively. The rancher sputtered in shocked bewilderment.
"I– It's– F-Finn!"
Finn leaned over her forehead, wings fluttering to himself aloft, and she glanced up through her bangs, eyes almost crossing, to meet his adorably serious face. She was sure her own was beet-red with embarrassment.
The fairy continued blithely, "Anyway, he makes good food. Renee would be better for kissing stuff, think of all the pancakes! But Toby's a pretty good second choice."
That had her laughing raucously, both arms wrapped around her stomach, simultaneously relieved and tickled by Finn's criterion of what made a good kissing partner. "I'll keep that in mind. But let's focus on getting the chores done for now. Phoebe's gonna be here in, like, two hours," Evie told him, still giggling as she shoved open the sliding door. The sound of Clotho and Hera's greetings had her grinning through the dim interior.
Finn cheered excitedly. "Right! We're so close to finding out the Blue Bell melody!"
It was all too easy to distract little minds from certain topics, Evie mused humorously.
"It might not work, Finn. Don't get your hopes up too high," she cautioned, filling her arms with fodder and walking towards Hera. Finn actually scoffed at her, hands flapping away her warnings (eerily reminiscent of her own mannerisms. Oh dear Goddess, was she influencing the poor thing!?).
"Of course the apple-thingy is gonna work. You're the Hero, Evie. Or almost one!"
"Apparatus, Twinkletoes."
Evie dropped the last of the fodder into Clotho's trough and hurriedly dropped to her knees to hide her red face in Clotho's soft, warm wool. It was still short and fuzzy, only a little greasy, and while Clotho 'baa'ed in confusion, she stayed in place placidly enough. As much as Evie could joke about it (to herself), and even though she had two Bells already Rung, being called a hero in Finn's candidly trusting voice was beginning to… shakeher. Maybe because it wasn't a joke anymore, because it was so fudgin' real now. She was Ringing Bells and talking to fairies and saving an entire county full of people who didn't even realize she was the one between them and losing their homes. If she failed, so would Castanet. And the fairies could disappear forever– Finn, the Harvest Mother, motherly Alana and silly Collin and poor, forgetful, curious Ben– all of them gone because for some strange improbable reason she was the hero the Harvest Goddess had been waiting for. Her hands trembled as she brushed Clotho's fluffy coat until it shined with natural oils of her wool. Evie gave her one last pat and headed over to Hera. As the brush stroked over Hera's side, Finn fluttered down to sit on the high ridge of the heifer's spine. His beady eyes narrowed on her face and his head tilted to the side.
"You got awful quiet," the sprite said with a questioning lilt. Evie dredged up a pretty decent smile, but didn't stop the motion of her hands.
"Just thinking about that black pearl we're going hunting for," she managed to reply.
Finn's nose twitched under his squinty eyes, but he nodded after a moment. "It's gonna be tough, but we'll do it together," he assured her confidently.
Evie couldn't help the real smile that spread over her face at his brave words. He probably thought it was only natural for her to be a little scared because he was a lot scared of the Watery Cave.
The rest of the time waiting for Phoebe swept by in its usual pace. Butter churned out of the machine and then there were poultry to feed and eggs to drop into the Mayo Maker. Thalia, the duckling, wasn't quite a duckling anymore, most of her yellow feathers having turned white and almost as tall as the chickens; it had Evie crossing her fingers for just one more day before the first egg. Nothing was really ready to harvest, except for the cherries, so it was just a long, tedious morning of watering, made a little faster and less tedious with her bigger, shinier watering can. She was setting all her tools back in her tool box, making sure she just had her hammer and a full thermos, when a knock came at the door. Finn whizzed through the air and thudded lightly to the top of her head.
"It's Phoebe outside! I saw her!" he exclaimed, his tiny hands gripping her hair tightly.
Evie hurried to the door. "You ready for this, little dude?"
"Y-yeah…" He gulped nervously.
Evie swung the door open, with a smile at both Finn and in welcome. Phoebe stood on the stoop, hands shoved deep in her pockets, pack resting on her shoulders, and red-rimmed glasses glinting cheerfully in the early morning sunlight. She returned Evie's smile with a pleasant one of her own.
The inventor noted, "Looks like I arrived just in time," in a pleased voice.
"A little earlier than planned, too! I'm glad I don't have to wait around getting antsy," Evie said as she stepped back and let Phoebe step in. "I just need one more second to snatch up my bag and we can head out."
"She could've been late, and I woulda been okay with that," Finn mumbled sulkily. Evie barely managed to suppress chuckles at that, her eyes fixed firmly on Phoebe's. Who was huffing in something like fondness and following her beckoning inside.
"We wouldn't want that. I have a feeling that 'antsy' for you ends in trouble," Phoebe replied in a dry voice that was probably the closest she got to teasing, if the gleam in her eye was telling at all. Evie groaned with her eyes rising to the ceiling in despair, even as her mouth twitched upwards.
"Don't you start in on me, too, Pheebs!" she said, stuffing her thermos in her bag and double-checking everything was in place.
Phoebe chuckled under her breath as she leaned her hip against the dining table. Only for it to wobble under her weight and send her stumbling quickly to the side before she caught herself. She glared at the table, then cast a judgmental, but also concerned, glance around the pitiful interior that, honestly, Evie and Finn had just… gotten used to by now. Evie blithely rolled up one of the towels that smelled the least like mildew (she still hadn't gotten used to the lack of a dryer), and threw in an extra pair of underpants, too. She was used to the looks, and honestly, she cared more about her animals than her house still. Maybe a part of her was holding back… still trying to keep it easy to walk away. Walking away from a dump would be so much less painful than walking away from a home she put her heart into… Even though, the idea of leaving Serenity behind, to go back to a shitty dorm, to strangers now that most her friends had graduated, had her grimacing. Evie quickly brushed the thought away and was back to her feet, yanking her rucksack on in the same motion. Finn zipped over to settle behind her left ear on the top of the pack.
"Okay, ready to go. So just how far are we going down?" Evie asked curiously, already throwing open her door and beckoning for Phoebe to follow again.
Phoebe re-adjusted her glasses and stepped back into the early morning, digging in one of her cargo shorts' pockets and pulling out a folded up piece of paper. Evie clicked the door shut and the two set off. Dust churned up under Evie's dragging boots, Hera lowing quietly somewhere among the trees and Clotho outright frolicking through the short grass surrounding her property. The plan was that they'd get back from the adventure with enough time to let the animals back in that night, but Evie was already gnawing on her thumbnail. Paper rustled at her side and she turned to peer over Phoebe's shoulder.
"Oh, wow, that looks more complicated than the Marauder's Map," Evie breathed out in a combination of amazement and apprehension.
Finn peeked between their bowed heads and squeaked in horror. "If a mauder is a giant maze, then you're right!"
Phoebe snorted at the reference. "Sadly, there are no Point Me spells or broomsticks to make the venture easier," she replied wryly. Evie threw her a wide, delighted grin. The jade-haired woman cleared her throat and swiftly dropped her gaze back to the map. "There are at least 50 floors, but the map doesn't extend that far. It makes it to about– hmm yes. See here? He drew to the 30th floor. Ozzie said that approximately the 25th floor, maybe the 24th or the 26th, is where he had the most luck when he sought black pearls in the past."
Evie nodded seriously, frowning slightly. "Even though it doesn't make it to the bottom, it's not very detailed. The only staircase noted is the first floor. No, wait, I see the second floor, too."
"Ozzie said he was surprised he ever managed to get this much, and it was primarily at Ramsey's insistence. He's not the most organized person," Phoebe said with a smirk. She pointed at the tenth and twentieth floors. "These tend to be clear floors, good resting places."
"Check points!" Evie joked brightly.
"As you will," Phoebe concurred with not a little amusement. She neatly folded the map and stuck it in her pocket. "We may not have wands or magical maps, but we do have a compass and my own expertise with a game plan to follow. I think we'll do just fine."
"If you don't get distracted with interesting rocks and get us lost down there for three weeks," Evie teased, poking at Phoebe's arm– a surprising sturdy and toned arm that actually hurt Evie's finger a little.
"Or if you don't fall through a hole, twist an ankle, and break a leg," Phoebe retorted, voice catching on laughter.
"Touché!" Evie said, leaning against Phoebe's side to hold herself up as she burst into laughter. "This is sounding more and more like we're the worst two people to team up and go in a cave together."
Phoebe scoffed. "I'm sure you could find someone much worse than I. Perhaps Maya, or–" She interrupted herself to snort loudly. "Or Julius."
Evie screech-cackled, hands clapping and body doubling over. "He couldn't even get in the mine cart without a fuss! Julius! In a mine! You're killin' me, Kettles!"
Phoebe chuckled under her breath and shook her head at Evie's exuberance.
"Speaking of Maya, though! I meant to swing it by you but forgot." Evie sobered slowly, still wheezing. "Could we stop by the Ocarina and buy something for lunch? I didn't have enough at home to make anything."
"Of course," Phoebe answered. "It shouldn't take long, either. At this hour, Maya's either still asleep or trying to feed the stray cats. We should be able to escape her chatter."
"She really knows how to drag you into a conversation against your will, doesn't she? I never even notice it happening until two hours later, I swear."
The stop at the Ocarina took barely ten minutes, in the end. Yolanda was already up, happily tottering about the stove that burned hot and red, and Colleen was sitting at a table sipping tea and finishing off her breakfast. Between the mother-daughter set, Evie and Phoebe both were loaded down with enough lunch to feed four people, rather than just two, but were charged the usual prices. Evie had to stop to pet Sinatra, who was lazily sunning himself on the steps leading up to the Cave, before they continued on. The gate had been left open– as Toby had promised– and they carefully made their way over damp rocks into the first cavern.
Evie stilled, eyes on the dark Bell hanging from its arch in the gloom. It looked so lonely and sad, especially when she remembered poor Ben's pitiful crying. A strange, cool chill ran down her spine, and she could feel a tickle at the back of her head, tugging at the back of her eyeballs, urging her to move just a little closer. Her hand was laid upon the Frame without her being aware of her own motion, and that tickle traveled throughout her whole body. It itched at her nose until she sneezed hard enough to rock on her feet.
"Evie?" Phoebe called worriedly. Her voice was muffled and distorted from the rushing noise in Evie's head. No, more like rippling. Like water filling her ears.
"We're trying, Ben. We're trying," she whispered. Finn shuffled closer, his hands clutching at the neck of her shirt and wet cheek pressed to her jaw.
"We'll find that pearl and that music, too. We promise!" Finn vowed as fiercely as his wavering voice could get.
"Evie, hey, are you all right?" Phoebe all but shouted, one hand on Evie's shoulder to tug her back a step.
Evie shook her head, the water seeping out of her brain, and stupidly blinked up at Phoebe with her mouth gaping slightly. She snapped her mouth shut, shook her head once more, and smirked lopsided and rueful. "Sorry, Pheebs. I just got lost in my own head. Where's this entrance to the rest of it at?"
Phoebe frowned in consternation for a long moment. Then, she slowly dropped her hand and jerked her head to the side. "Just over here. Come on."
Evie nodded and followed on her heels, glancing back with a sad little grimace at Ben's Bell.
Their footsteps echoed weirdly as they climbed down. The continuous drip-drip-plop of water to stone clashed with each step they made. It was cooler here, almost cold, compared to the humid heat of the Garmon Mines, and had Evie wishing for a coat halfway through the second floor. The very air tasted like the salty depths of the sea and rather ferric. Stalactites reached down with creepy, bumpy fingers to the ground, some connecting to the jut of stalagmites coming from the ground. Quartz burst from giant boulders, the dampness that seeped down their sharp angles and rough facets had them glittering like diamond flowers just dewed by dawn. Evie tripped and stumbled over rocks, Phoebe's steady, strong arm catching hers time and again without complaint. She kept close, shivering lightly and fingers brushing the more experienced miner's backpack to feel safer whenever they passed a weak spot in the ground, the potential dark abyss yawning just inches from their boots. Evie too easily lost track of time, just shuffling at Phoebe's heels with little to say except to exclaim in awe or shock at the pools refracting in the light of the mining lanterns flickering along the ceilings or the sudden geysers that steamed the cool, muggy air. After several slippery staircases, Phoebe cleared her throat to get Evie's attention away from the way Finn's golden glow lit up a particularly blue-hued quartz vein.
"I thought we could still get some good mining time in. Maybe around the fifth floor when we have a higher chance of getting a decent haul, rather than just junk or rock salt. We should be nearly there."
"Rock salt?" Evie parroted, licking at her dry lips. Just thinking about salt had her feeling thirsty.
Phoebe nodded and neatly led Evie down the next flight of stairs. The rancher hadn't even seen them.
"Yup. Ozzie mines it regularly, sells it off and buys a little back after someone else gets it ground into salt. It's probably the one crop that didn't slack off the past few years," Phoebe told her, deprecating and droll.
Evie snorted softly. "Salt and bread. There's always salt and bread."
"Well, salt. Most of our flour's been imported for over a decade. Looks like this is the fifth." Phoebe squinted at the sign next to the bottom of the stairs. It was encrusted with lichen and barnacles, the wood warped and weathered. Just barely, Evie could make out the words carved into it thanks to Finn's light.
"It says 5," Finn said cheerlessly. "It's gonna take us even longer if you guys mine, too."
Evie hummed thoughtfully. "I know in a horror movie it's a bad idea, but maybe we could split up. Save some time?"
Phoebe wiped her glasses on her shirt and nodded, laughing softly at the joke. "Fortunately for us, Castanet doesn't have any legends like that. I had planned to split up, too. We'll find the stairs, take opposite directions, and move our way back together. If that's amenable?"
"Yeah!" Evie stopped and squinted at Phoebe. "Maybe Ozzie isn't organized, but you sure are."
Phoebe shrugged, but ducked her head to hide how pleased she looked. "In comparison, everyone is. Let's get moving. I'd like to make it to the hot spring around lunch time."
"Got it."
Phoebe, of course, found the staircase first, and they broke off with cheerful 'good luck' wishes exchanged.
"Is splitting up a good idea?" Finn asked uneasily while they watched Phoebe round a corner out of sight. "What if we get lost or you fall down a hole again?"
Evie grunted as she swung her hammer up onto her shoulder and headed to the farthest wall on her side of the floor. "We're not gonna get lost because we're not going to go up or down any stairs without Phoebe, neither will she. And I'm– we're a lot more aware of the weak spots. I'm the one whose leg got broken, Tinkerbell," Evie pointed out wryly. "It wasn't exactly a fun experience for me, either." She stopped at a likely looking spot and swung down her hammer.
Finn's chiming had a distinctly unhappy sound to it under the hammer's blows, but when the smashing stopped he replied, "If you say so. I'll still be happy when Phoebe comes back."
Evie grinned toothily, and not just at the copper ore she'd unearthed on her first try. "Even though it means I can't chitchat with you and have to ignore you instead of cheering you up?"
Finn's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, actually looking torn.
After that, Evie fell into mining in earnest. The sounds of their hammer-blows against rocks and quartz made a hellish racket– all those natural echoes melding with every crash and crumple. But… it sounded and felt less eerie, more alive. It helped when Phoebe whistled as she worked; Evie joined in with loud humming and occasional half-sung words when she recognized the tune. Her body seemed to remember the motion of swinging the hammer, falling into the rhythm she'd so painstakingly acquired in those weeks before her mining mishap. Her boots splashed through shallow puddles, splattering mud over her calves and shins, and her arms burned pleasantly at the labor. She was almost grinning as she wiped away the first sheen of sweat on her upper lip. A strange pale rock almost crumbled right out the rock she'd been hammering once, and Phoebe had quickly identified it as rock salt when they met up at the stairs.
And so on it went, floor after floor, the work interrupted with a few moments' rest and small talk before moving on to the next floor and striking out again. Finn was pretty good at helping her weed out ore from rock, humming the Bell melodies they'd Rung to keep himself entertained. He even flitted off to chitchat with a blind, snuffling mole hiding out in a corner. Said conversation ended with him gaily flying back with a pontata root almost bigger than his whole body– a gift from his mole friend, he'd proclaimed proudly.
By the fifteenth floor, Evie's arms were shaking and sweat was staining the pits and collar of her white shirt dark and translucent. Phoebe agreed to a short rest and snack, looking less battered than Evie, but flatteringly not by as much as Evie had expected. An entire season of working on her farm, two weeks of crutch-hopping included, had really built up her endurance and strength. She still had a ways to go to be quite as strong as Phoebe– whose biceps and thighs had Evie pouting enviously– or even Renee, who could wrangle sheep and horses like a friggin' boss. The last five floors they took a little more leisurely, sticking together and keeping to only the ore-looking caches, leaving the pretty quartz areas behind. Ore was more useful to both of them than the 'fuls, and they both had more than enough between them.
When they made it to the rough-hewn stairs going down from the nineteenth floor, the humid, sulfuric smell of the hot springs wafted up the narrow tunnel and fanned their sweaty faces. Evie recoiled while coughing into her glove. The long trek and arduous work had finally caught up to her knees by the last floor, and the steps down– uneven and just as sweaty as their faces from the steam– had terror seizing her heart.
"I hate going down stairs," Evie grumbled, clutching at Phoebe's arm.
"Normally isn't it going up that people hate?" Phoebe asked sardonically.
Evie snorted. "Okay, yeah, going up sucks. But going down on shaky knees and everything's wet and you're as clumsy as I am? It's like a mini-hell. I never know if I'm gonna slip and swan-dive to my death."
"That nightmare escalated quickly."
Evie burst out laughing, then breathed a huge sigh of relief when they reached the bottom. In front of them the small hot springs steamed, water dark and still. It was simultaneously scariest and the best thing the weary Evie had ever seen.
"Let's have a long soak and we'll eat a real lunch before we keep going," Phoebe cajoled, already tugging her pack off. Evie followed suit with a groan. The sack fell with a loud clatter, but she ignored it to tear her shirt over her head.
"It's, what, five more floors?" Evie asked from behind a screen of dirty cotton and jean vest, wriggling awkwardly to get it over her shoulders. She never could get the hang of yanking a shirt off with both arms at the same time, but she always tried.
There was a rough clearing of a throat, then Phoebe answered haltingly, "Yes, this is the twentieth. We should be able to find a pearl on the twenty-fifth. There's no guarantee we'll find anything, though."
Evie tossed her shirt onto her pack with a grunt and rolled her eyes in Phoebe's direction. Which ended up totally wasted because the jade-haired woman was looking away as she peeled off her own clothes. Maybe Phoebe was respecting Evie's privacy? That was sweet, if unnecessary– Evie had been a very fond regular at the public bathhouses near her university. The Korean-style ones had been amazing and ruined any body-consciousness she might've still had, especially around other women.
"Don't be so pessimistic, Pheebs. We're totally gonna find it," Evie said firmly, clenching her fist in the air tightly.
"Yeah, you said it, Evie! Now hurry up and get in here! The water is great," Finn said, sighing happily as he floated on the surface of the spring.
The women got into the water one after another with their relieved and weary sighs echoing in the small cavern. Evie sunk down to her nose, eyes shut in bliss while she hummed tunelessly. Phoebe had her glasses tucked on top of her hair, slipping dangerously far when she tipped her head back to loll against the damp warm rocks encircling the springs.
"Do you know what time it is? I took off my watch and forgot to look," Evie asked sheepishly.
"Sometime around one. Almost two, I think?" Phoebe answered absently, throwing an arm over her eyes and sinking lower down.
Evie scrunched up her nose, mentally working out how long it would take to get done. With a shrug, she gave up and flicked drops of water from her fingertips towards Finn. He spluttered and giggled and used his tiny hands to splash back at her. She burbled just under the surface, trying to stifle the sound, promptly snorting and choking on the metallic-tasting, rotten-egg-smelling water. It almost had Phoebe swimming over in concern, but Evie waved her off, laughing wetly. Finn buzzed around her head, worried for a brief time, but soon giggling along with her.
"We should look over each other's haul while we're resting," Evie suggested once she got her breath back. Phoebe glanced over at her curiously. "Like, what if I got a lot of blue 'fuls, and you've got a lot of green? We could swap around, give each other an even amount, or fill each other up on the one color we've got most of. It'll give us better chances at getting a good haul at Mira's."
Phoebe hummed thoughtfully. "The more of one color you have, the higher percentage you find something good. We could try to keep it even. We could even swap 'fuls and ores. I know you don't have much use for 'fuls except making extra auree. I could trade you for the iron ores I have to help you with tools. I'm got more than enough iron tools and I'd rather have 'fuls. I don't get my hands on greens or blues very often and my mother loves any of those blue stones."
"Yeah! That sounds great!" Evie agreed eagerly, already half-turned and bracing herself on the rocks to jump out. Phoebe quickly grabbed her arm to hold her in place.
"How about after we've rested a bit. You've managed to half-drown yourself and try to jump out within ten minutes of getting here. Don't you ever sit still?" Phoebe asked, half-laughing and half-serious. Evie slunk back into the water, blushing to her ears.
"I can."
"When you're sleeping," Finn finished, pride in his quick wit written all over his face.
Phoebe sighed in resignation when Evie snorted into the water and promptly started choking again.
Despite the poor start, Evie did prove she could spent a quiet 30 minutes leisurely soaking in hot water. They mentioned the Firefly Festival coming up, and Luke's birthday after that, but mostly they sat silently dozing. They got re-dressed feeling refreshed and starving, their rumbling stomachs the main reason they finally got out of the spring in the first place. Lunch was scarfed down and rucksacks hefted back up after their trade-offs were finished. (Lunch also had a short lecture from Phoebe to Evie about the danger of lighting even a small fire in the mines after the latter had suggested making one. Evie might've felt like a total imbecile, but, in her defense, that wasn't a topic normally brought up in Latin lectures…) Finn dropped to the top of Evie's head as they walked towards the downward stairs.
"It shouldn't be too much longer, right? We'll be able to leave soon?" Finn asked in a hopeful voice. Evie nodded slightly in response and her mouth tilted up at Finn's cheer.
"Hey, it gets a lot darker and more dangerous after this. I think sticking together would be best," Phoebe suggested dubiously, reaching out to hold grasp Evie's elbow when she tripped down the last steps. Evie yelped and stumbled close, laughing against Phoebe's shoulder when the other woman automatically wrapped her other arm around Evie's lower back, under the bottom of rucksack.
"Probably best. I'm already pretty bad at this with the light we had upstairs. I'll be right on your heels, Pheebs," Evie promised, standing back and saluting. Phoebe's face looked still a little flushed from the humidity upstairs, but she pulled her arms away and nodded briefly.
"Right. Good. Do you need to keep mining, too?" she asked, taking off her glasses to wipe at the lenses.
Evie frowned pensively. "Yeah, maybe. I need a crap ton of ore and I didn't find near enough iron for all my tools."
"All right, let's get to it."
Phoebe was not exaggerating when she said it was going to be more dangerous. Evie could barely see more than three feet in front of her most of the time. They had to basically tiptoe through each room, pressing close to walls and rocky outcroppings to dodge weakened spots in the floor and the ominously bubbling potholes that spouted burning hot air and water even larger in number. They passed so close to one that when it burst upwards, Phoebe got an arm burnt by the steam and they had to pause long enough for Evie to press a quick bandage over it. It was almost impossible to find the staircases, rockfalls and tide shifts having covered most of the lower floors' stairs and no one had been by to clear them in months, or more likely years. When they stepped onto the stairs leading down into the twenty-fifth floor, both women froze, gazing down into the pitch black below. Finn cried out in fear and all but threw himself into her breast pocket, trembling and trilling discordantly. Evie lay her hand gently over the quivering lump on her chest and leaned forward with a dry swallow.
"Pheebs?"
Phoebe turned to her, one eyebrow lifting in question. Evie put her free hand on Phoebe's shoulder and met her eyes seriously.
"I'm going to trip. A lot."
Phoebe burst out laughing, the sound of it ricocheting off the walls and filling the dark spaces. It may not have been literal, but her easy humor lightened the oppressive gloom and had Evie grinning back. Phoebe reached up and took Evie's hand.
"It'll be better like this. No getting separated and stay right behind me, agreed?" Phoebe asked, holding up their clasped hands and squeezing for emphasis. Evie squeezed back and nodded, with none too little relief.
It wasn't like she was scared of the dark, like Finn. But it wasn't exactly a frolic through the park heading down into a dark abyss willingly. She kept right on Phoebe's heels, their arms pressed together and her shoulder bumping into Phoebe's back whenever she stepped forward too fast. Phoebe didn't stop to complain or tell Evie off. Instead, she walked steadily carefully onward. She'd turned on a headlamp the moment they reached the bottom of the stairs and now scanned the floor ahead of them in a wide arc before each step. There were more than a few terrifying moments of feeling trapped by the weakened crumbling ground. Half the time, Evie was pressed against Phoebe's back and tearing through the skin of her lip as she clutched the jade-haired woman's hand so hard they both almost lost circulation. It helped whenever Phoebe clutched back– instinctively frightened for just a moment whenever the toes of her boots set weight on a weakened spot and the rock crunched threateningly.
Evie was sure they must have circumnavigated the entire floor twice, even as slow as they were moving, because everything looked the same. She was almost more exhausted from her constant anxiety and being aware of every shift of her weight than she had been at the hot springs after mining for fifteen floors straight. Just when Evie was about ready to call it quits and suggest they move on to the next floor, the beam of Phoebe's headlamp caught and glittered on something small and dark on the ground.
"Pheebs! There!" Evie gasped, leaning forward and pointing around Phoebe's side in the direction she saw the gleam.
She immediately jerked back in the way Evie pointed. "What? What is it?"
The light caught the small dark shape that shined and the women stared, mouths hanging open from the disbelief etched across their faces.
"I was kinda expecting, like, oysters or something? A giant clam, even. Not just… it lying there…?" Evie stammered in confusion. Phoebe nodded, still incredulous and speechless. "That is a black pearl, right?"
"It appears so," Phoebe said, adjusting her glasses with the hand Evie wasn't still grasping. "We need to get closer to know for sure."
"I hope it is," Finn squeaked from Evie's breast pocket, his hands clutching the edge of it and his eyes peeking over the top.
They tiptoed closer and then knelt side by side. Phoebe picked up the small purplish-black bead and brushed her gloved fingers over the sandy surface. It was smooth and almost perfectly spherical in shape, rolling smoothly between Phoebe's deft fingers and into the hollow of her palm.
"It's beautiful. I'm not really a jewelry person, but that's a real pretty rock," Evie joked, holding out her hand for Phoebe to place the pearl.
"Pearls aren't rocks. They're an accumulation of calcium carbonate around a grain or speck of sand irritating the interior of an oyster," Phoebe corrected absently. "That's definitely a pearl. However it got here... perhaps during a high tide an oyster crashed against the rock walls and burst open. Then, the pearl was left behind during the low tide." She sounded dubious as she spoke, but Evie merely shrugged and tucked the pearl into her breast pocket where Finn eagerly clutched it close to his own chest. "That sort of pocket isn't made for safe keeping. I could put it in my rucksack instead?"
Evie grinned and shook her head at the offer, getting back to her feet and dusting off her damp, sandy knees. Phoebe followed, frowning slightly. "Trust me, Phoebe, that pearl isn't going anywhere," she vowed, opening the top of the pocket to discreetly wink down at Finn. He winked back– well, tried. He did a very exaggerated blink, really. Phoebe's eyes flickered to Evie's pocket and danced away again quickly.
"You can count on me!" Finn pronounced jovially.
It would be safer there than in any other pocket they might have between them. She patted the pocket and held out her hand to Phoebe. "Let's get the fudgeknuckle outta here. I'm ready for something hot to eat and bed," Evie said with vehemence. Phoebe stared at her, but chuckled to herself a second later.
"All right. Let's fudgeknuckle out of here."
"That's not how you use that word," Evie protested with faux-outrage.
Phoebe threw her a look. "It's not a word, Evelyn," she said in some amusement.
They clasped hands and slowly made their way back to the staircases, arguing over semantics and the "correct" usage of slang– not that Evie had used slang. It made the way up go by in a blink, and they left the Watery Cave, blinking and squinting into the early evening sun. Surprisingly, Toby and Paolo were standing at the gate, the younger of the two perched on top and swinging his legs while the elder had his arms crossed over his chest as he shook his head at whatever Paolo was saying. He perked up seeing the two of them stumble their way out wearily, encrusted with salt and mud. He raised a hand and a relieved smile broke out over his face. Paolo vaulted off the fence, ignored Toby's warning shout, and raced down to them. Evie and Phoebe braced themselves just in time for Paolo to skid to a stop and throw himself at their waists.
"You did it! You did it! You did it, didn't you?" he exclaimed in a dizzying rush, trust and expectation shining on his sweet, round face. Evie winked and Phoebe smirked.
"I don't know, Pheebs, you think we did it?"
"I can't even recall what we were trying to do. Was it a search for rare ore? Because Paolo will be immensely disappointed, if so," Phoebe played along, ruffling Paolo's cap enough to knock it askew. He frowned up at them, nose wrinkling in annoyance.
"You're teasing me," he accused, stepping back and mirroring his cousin's earlier stance. Toby reached them then and tugged the brim of Paolo's hat over his eyes.
"Give them a moment to shake off the mud, squirt," Toby admonished.
"But this is for science!"
"Well, if it's for science." Evie laughed and put her hand to her pocket. Finn popped up with a gusty sigh and Paolo jerked his head up so quickly, he winced. His eyes were on Finn, as the fairy dug out the pearl and placed it in her hand.
"We did it!" Finn trilled.
"We did it," Evie echoed as she held out the pearl to Paolo.
The preteen whooped and jumped in the air, fists punching through the air. "You did it! You guys are the best! Next time, me, too!"
Phoebe huffed and smirked. "I don't know when there'll be a next time for creating an apparatus designed solely to recreate a forgotten bell melody that I don't think will even work, but sure, Pao. We'll take you next time."
With an unrepentant grin Paolo retorted, "Don't be a spoilsport, Ms. Phoebe. We're one step closer to getting the apparatus to work!"
"It's true. We just need a duck egg now," Evie said just as excitedly at the eleven-year-old.
"And a suitably windy day," Phoebe reminded them dryly. Paolo and Toby sobered at that. Evie looked between the three of them, perplexed.
"Why is the windy day the hard part?" Evie asked, tucking the pearl back in her pocket with Finn.
Toby looked up to the town roofs and Evie followed his gaze. The anemometer– which she recognized only because of Paolo's crude red crayon drawing embarrassingly enough– sat still and unmoving above the town.
"There hasn't been much wind in Castanet in years, especially in the summer. We get a breeze or two, and whenever a storm comes in, we get gales, but a regular windy day? That's not a common occurrence," Phoebe explained rather sadly.
"But hey! We have a pearl, and we'll have a duck egg any day, and we have five sardines ready to go," Paolo said optimistically. The adults all smiled down at him and his beaming face.
"Pao's right. Until we get those last two things, how about we have dinner. My treat. You both look like you need it," Toby offered, looking them up and down with a wryly arched brow. Evie flushed pink and grinned, ducking her head and rubbing her neck. Phoebe merely sighed in grateful relief.
"That'd be great. I'd give anything for some good buckwheat pancakes, but anything not shellfish would be all right with me," Phoebe said pointedly.
"No shellfish!? I was hoping for more of that yummy bouillabaisse," Evie whined, throwing herself over Phoebe's shoulders and poking her cheek. The motion knocked Phoebe's glasses awry and had her teetering to the side before she caught herself. Evie laughed while Phoebe fumbled and blushed.
"I'm allergic, actually," Phoebe mumbled. Evie's eyes went round in understanding and sympathy.
"That's sucks," she said feelingly. "Toby makes the best seafood ever."
"He does! He makes good everything, though. Right, Toby?" Paolo asked, nudging Toby's ribs. He snapped out of whatever trance he was in, his focus having been on Phoebe oddly, and smiled down at Paolo.
"I do my best. I don't think we have any buckwheat left from last year, but I'll scrounge up something."
"To the Fishery!" Evie cried.
"To dinner!" Finn cried with her, then whizzed right out of Evie's pocket towards the docks. Paolo and Evie laughed and chased after the tiny, darting ball of light only they two could see. Toby and Phoebe walked at much more sedate pace, fond exasperation on both their faces.
"How could she have so much energy after all that," she muttered, shaking her head.
Toby smiled and shrugged. "I stopped asking questions at this point. Just sit back and watch it happen." Phoebe snorted and covered her mouth to keep any more amusement at bay.
…
Two days. It had been two days since the expedition to the Watery Cave. Thalia had finally laid an egg, the day after the search, actually, but now Evie trudged into her house weary and sweaty and hot and irritated. Because it had been yet another windless, humid day. In the corner of her eye, she could see the pearl glittering from its place on her open journal and it just made her more frustrated. She stripped and flung her clothes around without a care, shutting herself into her bathroom and showering away the day's grime. Finn just collapsed on his pillow with a loud happy cry.
At least it'd been a productive two days. She'd finally had her barn renovated, spending most of that day chatting with Luke and helping him with heavy loads and learning how to swing a hammer properly. There may have been jokes about 'making a Carpenter out of you yet, Princess'. Following that, she'd finally bought a phone and Barbara and Phoebe had helped her install it by lunch time which she'd had with the Kettles family. An awesome and filling lunch of soba noodles and some of the best green tea she'd ever had.
– "It's Castanet bred, it is. Hasn't been grown here in years, and this is some of the last of it," Barbara had explained, proudly and wistfully.
"You shouldn't have wasted it on me! I normally don't even like green tea," Evie had protested in return. The Kettles had only smiled at her and changed the subject to Phoebe's recent spring trip to Mineral Town for her birthday. –
The rest of the day had been chopping down trees in Fugue Forest with Luke in preparation for her house renovations. She'd gotten lucky so far in that the summer storms hadn't hit yet. Soon enough they would come, and she'd be stuck in her leaky shack of a house in a typhoon. It was not a fun thought and had her chopping trees down with more vigor than normal. It helped that she'd managed to get a new iron axe blade that day after lunch. Luke had whistled at her progress, promising her a drink at the Bar, but she'd turned him down for bed.
And a private, comfortable place to sulk, honestly.
No matter how much she got done, none of it was helping with the Bells. She was stuck at a stupid impasse because the wind wouldn't blow. Ben's Bell was a simple ten minute experiment away from Ringing! And once she had his help, the Lighthouse would work again, and if the Lighthouse worked, then the ship would come back, and if the ship came back, she could go to Toucan Island and find a hibiscus flower. If she got the hibiscus flower, she could give it to the Wizard with the other ingredients, and finally they'd be able to find the Witch. And then, she could ask the Witch about the Green Bell, and Dara, its sprite.
And until the wind blew, none of that could happen.
She groaned and thunked her forehead against the wet tile of the wall. With a twist of her wrist, the water cut off and she went to get dressed for bed. Cooking sounded like the worst thing imaginable, so she ran through what food she could eat on the fly, towel rubbing at her soaked hair in front of her fridge. She jerked towards the door when a knock sounded, wincing immediately afterwards at the hot pull of muscle in her neck.
"I thought you told Luke no Bar tonight?" Finn asked from the table where he was already munching on some wild blackberries she'd foraged.
"Don't eat all those tonight. You'll get a stomachache," Evie answered instead, leveling a serious gaze on him and still grimacing as she rubbed her neck. He sighed gustily and finished off the one in his hands with a pout at the rest. She stepped over to the door and opened it to see Toby's… back. He was looking away, rubbing the back of his neck and she could just barely see a frown on his face.
"Tobes?" Evie asked, frowning in confusion and draping her towel over one shoulder. Her hair dripped over her eyes and she absently thought she needed a new cut, pronto, when he turned and startled at the look of her already in pajamas.
"You're… I didn't think it was too late?" he almost stuttered, glancing towards his wrist but didn't have a watch to tell him the time awkwardly. Evie groaned and leaned against her doorway.
"Nah, I'm just beat. It's been a long day and– argh! I hate this waiting!" she burst out, dragging a hand through her hair. She scowled as water dripped down her arm and neck at the motion.
Toby chuckled, tension leaving his shoulders. "The waiting wears you out more than mining and chopping down trees." It wasn't a question, and it was just teasing enough to heat Evie's cheeks.
"Maybe. Fishing isn't half as bad as this. At least I know a fish will bite eventually. Within the same day, at least. Who knows when the wind is coming." She grumbled wordlessly and rubbed at her face, feeling distinctly put out. She peered at him curiously a moment later. "Whatcha wantin', though?" she asked, head cocking to the side.
Toby cleared his throat and glanced away. "I was hoping we could watch more Firefly. We've got around half the episodes left, don't we?"
Evie straightened up, glee lighting up her auburn eyes. "You're asking to watch it now? I got you hooked, didn't I!?" she said with a wide grin.
"You can't take all the credit. I'm sure the actors deserve a little bit," he said with a teasing little smile. Evie rolled her eyes, but stepped back and kept on grinning.
"I never should've doubted the magic of Serenity. You can't help but love her." She hurried over towards her computer, tossing her towel aside. Just behind her, she could hear him chuckling as he closed the door.
"No, I suppose it's impossible to resist her for long."
There was something about the way he said it, too soft and too warm. It had Evie blinking and peeking back at him over her shoulder as her computer slowly woke. His face looked faintly pink and she felt her own face heat in response. They were talking about a TV show spaceship. That's all.
So why does it look like he's blushing, too? whispered a traitorously little voice in her head.
"Was it J-Jaynestown?" Evie managed to ask around a dry mouth. Toby crouched down next her and frowned quizzically.
"I think I saw that one. I actually liked Jayne for an episode, so I'm positive we're on the next one."
Evie nodded dumbly when she normally would've– should've– laughed. Instead, she just moved to set everything up on the bed like usual, all while cursing internally. Of course it was the one with the marriage and kissing and unresolved UST between Inara and Mal. Okay, so most of the episodes have that UST, but this was so much more blatant. They settled side-by-side, backs to the far wall and his knee brushing her leg. He almost always sat cross-legged while she stretched out her short, stumpy legs to balance her laptop on her thighs. It also meant he leaned in close, shoulder pressed to hers just enough to feel a bit of his weight.
Evie felt the blush burn from her hairline to her toes. Silence reigned for a moment as the DVD whirred. "You… um… how many you think we can watch?" She made the mistake of glancing towards him. Toby smiled his slow, easy smile, getting her heart racing too fast.
"Maybe one or two? I can't stay tonight. I promised I'd help open in the morning."
"You've said that before. But somehow we watched half the season," Evie said with a lopsided smile and her eyes on the screen. Her mouse hovered over play, but then Toby raised a hand to flick the wet strands of hair off her neck, his thumb pressing to her pulse. She froze, letting the thumbnail repeat on the menu screen as goosebumps rose along where he'd touched.
"You're a hard one to walk away from."
Evie sucked in a breath and it caught in her throat at his admission. Her heart beat against her sternum so hard, she wondered if he could hear it as close as he was. Without thinking, completely on impulse, she leaned up to touch her lips quick and fleeting to the upturned corner of his mouth.
"Thanks," she murmured, meeting his eyes at last to share a real smile with him.
Toby gazed at her back, his expression inscrutable, but definitely a genuine smile on his mouth. "Not a problem. Though, before you play it," his hand fell over her wrist, "have you eaten yet?"
"Oh, no, I haven't." Evie blinked in shock, almost laughing at herself.
Toby huffed in amusement. "I haven't, either. I'll cook if you show me what you have."
"Really? You're a lifesaver, Fisher," Evie said fervently.
He slid off the bed. "I hope you don't mind waiting a little longer."
"For food? And watching you make it while I do nothing? No way, Tobes, cook to my heart's content," she teased. He chortled obligingly at her dorky little joke. She settled against the wall, then drooped over to clutch the pillow Finn wasn't on to her chest. She watched as he frowned and muttered over the few ingredients she actually had in her home, since much of her produce and animal products were promptly sold. Above her head a little ways, Finn snuffled and snored. Evie smiled in contentment and hugged the pillow close.
…
A body moving had Evie groaning and throwing her arm over her eyes. Instead of said body leaving her alone, a warm, callus-rough hand gripped her mostly-bare shoulder and shook her gently.
"Noooo," she whined, flapping a boneless and heavy hand towards the hand that held her. "No sun, no Evie."
A familiar chuckle had her smiling in her sleep and nuzzling into her pillow. "You want to see this, Evvy."
"Go 'way. Yer late."
"Not yet, come on. I promise, you'll like it."
She blinked blearily up at Toby's face hovering over her. Without her contacts, he was blur of silver hair and skin etched in grey from the pre-dawn light outside. When he didn't leave, merely held out his coat insistently, she groaned and yawned at once before she flopped and wriggled her way to the edge of the bed. She gratefully shrugged into his coat that he held out for her. Even in the summer, a tank top and shorts were kinda chilly before the sun was up. She shuffled next to him, leaning into the hand at the small of her back and the shoulder at her side. He led her outside, ignoring her grumbles, and stepped into her front yard. And then… stood there. Silent and smiling mysteriously.
"Wha–" she shuddered as wind plucked at her bare legs and neck, automatically wrapping his coat closer around her. "What are we doing out here? I thought you wanted me to see something."
Toby's smile widened and he tilted his chin towards the cherry trees in her yard. "Notice anything? At all?"
Evie scowled at him. "Is this a test? Cuz I'm not wearing my contacts and it's actually kinda cold out here with this win…nd… Wind!?" Evie gasped, spinning around to squint towards the trees. Even without contacts, she could still see the way their branches danced and swayed in the early morning dim. Danced and swayed in a very steady wind that had goosebumps inching up her shins. "It's WIND!" Evie screeched, throwing her arms around Toby's neck and laughing in excitement. "It's wind!"
He chuckled with her, arms around her waist. "I told you you'd like it."
"Totally worth waking up early. You're the best. Thank you! You have to call me the moment Paolo wakes up! I'll call Phoebe right after that! Cheese and crackers, how can I go to sleep after this! You're the worst!" Evie babbled excitedly, pressing a kiss to each cheek and then one to his mouth. They forgot themselves for a moment, the kiss lingering longer than she'd intended, broken only when neither could stop smiling.
"Am I the best or worst?" Toby asked playfully. Evie rolled her eyes and huffed, still grinning in exhilaration. "You're making it sound like I brought the wind."
"I know you didn't," Evie retorted, arms still around his neck and eyes shining. "But you knew how much it meant to me. Thank you."
"I'll see you later today," he said softly. She nodded in response and reluctantly pulled away, fingers clutching at coat sleeves. Her eyes widened and she quickly moved to take off his coat.
"Keep it. Give back later. The wind feels nice, and the walk will warm me up," he told her simply.
"Yeah, okay. Later," she said, wrapping the coat more tightly around her. He left with a wave and she stood in front of her door long enough to see the sunrise.
And wish Toby could've stayed long enough to see it with her.
…
"Okay, so, you're sure this won't break the egg? Cuz it'd be a tragic waste of an egg," Evie said with a dubious purse to her lips. Paolo groaned and snatched the duck egg from her.
"Just go to your spot! What if the wind dies?" he demanded shortly. Evie gasped at him in horror.
"It wouldn't, would it!?" she asked. Phoebe grabbed her elbow and dragged her away. "Hey, but do you know how much auree duckonnaise is? I have a right to be worried about my egg!"
"The pearl is much more difficult to get," Phoebe said, stopping in front of the scale under the anemometer. Evie's mouth wrenched open and then snapped closed. Duckonnaise might cost more, but she didn't want to go on another hunt for a black pearl now. Or maybe ever. "You go down by the fountain, Luke's already up by the fish pond." They looked up to see Luke's tall, lithe figure doing some sort of weird dance off with Paolo. "Right, hopefully he'll pay attention long enough. Hurry up, we're waiting on you now." Phoebe shooed her off with her hands.
Evie stuck out her tongue and jogged away.
"This is it! We're gonna hear the melody!" Finn exclaimed, buzzing and chiming around her head. Evie grinned just as eager as the little fairy.
"If it works... We're depending on the fish to swim just the way we want them to. They're not exactly intelligent," Evie said just to play devil's advocate. Worth it, she thought in amusement, as Finn flailed mid-air, limbs kicking and swinging around him wildly.
They got into position by the water fountain Paolo had showed them. A fish head was the spout into the trough-like fountain. The trough itself was a long, shallow rectangle made of white and black tile. Evie peered closer, placing her gloved hands on the lip of the fountain and cocking her head to the side as she stared at the all too familiar pattern the bi-colored tiles created. It… it looked like a… piano. Slowly, she lifted her hands over the surface of the water and let her fingers play out the only chords she'd ever learned. In her head she could faintly hear… something and her fingers moved without her thinking, a tune that had nothing to do with the simple, lesson-one chords she'd learned as a child on that too old and out-of-tune piano in the chorus room.
"-vie… Evie," Finn called out, tugging on her ear. She jerked out of her own head and blinked sluggishly at Finn. "They're shouting for you."
"Huh?" She glanced around, baffled, just barely catching Luke and Phoebe's yells of her name. "Oh! Sorry!"
She quickly threw up both her hands and waved at her friends to let them know she heard them. Luke scratched his head over his bandanna, but gave her two thumbs-up before striding out of sight. Probably to give Paolo the signal. Phoebe hesitated a moment more until Evie gestured her back to her spot. The woman stepped away, paused again, then finally walked out of sight.
"Get it together, Evie," she muttered to herself, slapping both her cheeks.
"HERE IT COMES!" Luke bellowed, racing back into sight. Evie darted forward– needlessly– when it looked like he was about to pitch himself right off the rooftop he was on, but he pinwheeled back onto his feet and merely laughed out loud at himself.
"I think I know how they felt when my broke my leg." Evie snorted with her arms crossed.
A distant clattering sound met her ears and, just faintly, Paolo's whooping and cheering gradually getting louder. He must be following the egg's progress. Evie stepped far enough back she could just barely make out the anemometer, whirling as fast as a child's pinwheel just blown. A tiny black sphere leapt into the air and– she and Finn held their breaths– one of the red cups caught it. They jumped in the air, hollering like sports' spectators. Evie yanked out her phone, hands shaking and cheeks burning at the stretch of her grin, and pressed the record button. The app was open and recording, just in time. The pearl flung out of the anemometer, right over Luke's head and fell with a plonk Evie could hear. A crazed splashing of terrified fish followed and water gushed from the fish-head spigot a second later. Evie stepped back out of the spray, breath in her throat, eyes wide, and phone trembling in her hand. One by one, the sardines flopped and flailed their way out of the spigot.
One by one, they fell upon the tiles that not only looked like piano keys, they sounded like piano keys. Each note rang clear and sweet in the air until the water and the fish settled. It sounded a lot like the Red and Yellow Bell melodies. But completely different at the same time.
"Did it work?" Paolo yelled down to them, face gleaming in excitement and apprehension.
Dumbly, Evie held up her phone and hit play.
The simple, pleasant tune played again, rippling and echoing in the splashes of water against stone, but clear as a… clear as a bell. Finn could no longer hold himself back.
"IT WORKED! WE DID IT! Paolo, you did it! You made the melody apparatus and helped Ben!" Finn shrieked with joy, flying straight to the little boy and buzzing around him. Paolo jumped up and down, shouting.
"We did it! We helped Ben! It worked, it worked!"
Evie gazed up at them, grinning and body thrumming with energy. "We really did it. It worked."
She had a feeling that even without her handy recording app, she'd be able to hum the melody perfectly for Ben at any time. It felt carved into her heart as surely and deeply as the melodies before it.
Three down.
A/N: I tend to babble so you can skip to tldr. Sorry I was late this week updating! My schedule changed from being M-T off, to Wednesday and Friday off AND I've been sick (my beta was even more sick than I am!). In even worse news; the past three-ish months have been a nightmare of paperwork and spending a lot of money to get a transfer process finished. Only for the transfer to fall through without warning just as the paperwork finished (and everything already paid for, too! it was so stressful and expensive, guys, you don't even know). My life has settled down a little, but only for a short time. I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo with an original story idea, plus I signed up for Secret Santa (STEREK, YAY) this year again.
This is not including a fic I'm writing for a friend's birthday, a series that's only 9 chapters from being finished that I haven't touched since June, and work. Ugh. Work. It's getting better, and it'll get even better in November when my replacement that I'll be training will take my place, but until then, life is shit with random bits of yay scattered throughout. And then... job hunting will happen.
tldr; Yes, this long rambling author's note of excuses is leading to: hiatus. There ARE still some chapters already written, and I plan on finishing! But I want to take a hiatus until NaNo and my Secret Santa event are over. My secret santa is due the 10th of Dec, so I'll be updating the next chapter on 12/13/17 (I'mma put in my calendar right now, promise!). To make up for the hiatus, I'll come back not only with the next chapter, but with a timestamp! A Christmas one! It can be set in the past, getting to know Evelyn's "mysterious" backstory and the return of Cris + a side of the Christmas before Evie came to Castanet with Toby's POV! Or it can be set in the future, though it'll be rife with spoilers. Xp You have until December to comment with your preference, whoever is still reading this. Pfft. Thank you so much for understanding (something I'm just going to assume because you have no choice, sorry?). 3 I really do appreciate every kudos and comment, and even every silent reader who loves this fic. It's my guilty pleasure and I really am looking forward to finishing it.
