"Huh… I still half-expect to see it every time I come here," Karen chuckled as they walked through the gate of the poultry farm.

"See what?" Claire asked.

"They used to have this huge statue erected here. It's been gone for years," she snickered. "Anyway…"

"Welcome to Chicken Lil's!" A very pretty young woman hurried over to them, picking up her skirts as she ran over the dirt path. She was the very essence of what Claire defined as feminine; long, flowing curly hair, beautiful clothing, and a childlike face. "Hey, Karen! Who do you have with you today?" She gazed at the newcomers, and her eyes fell on the young man. "Oh, wait! I know! You're that guy I see up at the spring sometimes. I'm Popuri! And you are…?"

Cliff could hardly stammer his own name; Popuri was inspecting him as if he were an animal at auction. She slowly circled him, her eyes moving up and down him shamelessly. The young man turned bright red and stared at the ground, embarrassed.

"What is that? Deer hide?" She muttered more to herself than anyone else as she stared at his clothing.

"Y-yeah…"

"Ah, this looks soft," her fingers flew to the fur collar on his tunic. "Is this real?" He looked so different than most of the other men in town; furs were reserved for fancy women in the city, not shabbily dressed mountain men. A thinly veiled smirk spread across the young woman's face.

"Uh, y-yes… I, uh…" He couldn't make it any more obvious that he was extremely uncomfortable.

Karen bit back a laugh. "Poppy, don't tease the kid; he's shy."

Popuri ignored her friend. "It feels really nice. What is it?" She stared at him, coaxing him to speak.

"Fox…" His voice kept getting softer.

"HEY!" A sharp voice made all four of them jump. A young man their age with wire-framed glasses and strawberry blonde hair tore across the farm to them.

Karen rolled her eyes. "Rick, don't get your apron in a twist. These are just some new folks in town."

The anxiety on Rick's face faded only slightly. "Who's this guy?" He asked suspiciously, but his misgivings faded when he saw the look on Cliff's face. "Give him some space, Sis!"

Popuri went to stroking her cotton candy locks instead.

"New tenant at Doug's," Karen explained. "This is Cliff; he's harmless. And this is Claire, the new farmer; also harmless," she ruffled the bespectacled man's hair, and Claire noticed that Karen's fingers lingered for a moment on his pale locks.

"Pleased to meet you," Claire nodded politely.

The young man adjusted his glasses and held out a hand to shake. "Farmer, huh? So you must be the one who purchased the property to the south." He looked very interested. "It will definitely be a big job, resurrecting that farm. But you know what? Hard work builds character! I'm sure you'll do a great job, and I hope we can help each other out in the future!"

"Yeah… me, too..." Rick shifted into a different mode since his initial introduction to the group; Claire relaxed a bit.

The chicken farmer's eyes moved to his sister; she was still staring down the strange young man. Rick gave her a dirty look. "Leave him alone, Sis. Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable? You need to behave yourself; we're not little kids anymore." He sighed and shook his head. "I apologize…"

"It's okay…" The young man smiled politely at Rick, but he looked as if he wished he were invisible.

"Anyway, we specialize in chickens here. We sell to local farms and businesses. Eggs, feed, chickens, meat… Anything related to chickens, we can cover."

Popuri sulked and had moved to inspecting Claire. The farmer could see why Cliff had turned so red; those large eyes boring into her made the famer very self-conscious.

"What did I just say?!" Rick's voice was stern.

Popuri's garnet eyes met Claire's blue ones. "You're really pretty," she breathed.

The farmer's face felt very hot; it was such an innocent, blunt compliment. "Th-thanks… I think you are, too."

Rick continued. "So, if you are looking to buy a chicken in the future, keep us in mind. I'd be happy to show you around the farm and we can check out the-"

"What do you think, Rick? She's pretty, huh?"

The young man's cheeks turned pink. "Go into the house if you can't say anything else!"

"All you want to do is talk about work!" She pouted.

"And all you want to do is talk about nonsense!" Her brother retorted. "Besides, Karen told me last night that she was going to show the new farmer around town. I plan on speaking to a potential customer about what we have to offer, thank you very much! So where were we?"

"You were both going to show us around," Karen didn't miss a beat. Popuri's face lit up and she winked at her female friend.

Rick didn't waste a moment. "Alright. Here is the main henhouse," he threw open the door.

Claire's ears and nose were assaulted with a one-two punch; she knew right away she didn't want to stay in here for long. Rows of hens in varying sizes and colors lined the walls; there had to be at least one hundred. While fascinating, the combination of smells and noises almost gave her an immediate headache.

"These are our egg laying hens!" Rick yelled over the clucking and squawking. "If you ever want to buy a chicken for your own farm, just see my mom and we'll set you up with a good hen!"

The farmer stared at the birds curiously. Many were attempting to peck each other. "They're not very friendly, huh?" She turned toward Karen, who laughed.

"What?! I can't hear you!" Rick called over the noisy birds.

"Never mind her; she's too quiet for this coop!" Karen projected her voice.

They hurried back outside, and Claire realized she felt pretty excited after looking at the birds. Despite her initial repulsion at the crowded chicken coop, the idea of owning a few hens sounded quite attractive to her. After all, she had her own space for them already.

"It was a bit like the village square in the afternoon in there, am I right?" Karen gave the young man a friendly nudge.

A guilty smile spread across Rick's lips. "You know you shouldn't say things like that…"

"Oh, you know I'm only telling the truth," she giggled, bumping his shoulder again.

"Anyway… I'd show you the inside of the shop, but Mom's not feeling well today. Maybe some other time. The next coop over houses our capons, males we raise for meat. We sell to local towns and Doug's place. Tastiest chicken around; hope you've had the chance to try some."

"We love chickens, but we're not above eating them," Popuri grinned, "Especially the ones who decide to peck at us!"

"D-Do you sell them whole?"

They all turned in surprise; Cliff hardly seemed the type to have any interest in a poultry farm.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked, adjusting his glasses. "We don't really do any butchering here, if that's what you're asking."

"Ah… I was just wondering if you sold offal at a discounted rate," Cliff's asked shyly.

"Nah, we only sell good stuff here, nothing awful!" Popuri teased, giving the young man a giggle.

"You mean you actually want the gizzard and heart and other organs?" Karen cringed.

"Hey, some people actually like that kind of stuff. I told you to give it a try, Karen," Rick frowned at her. "But Cliff, you could probably ask Doug for leftovers; he's a big believer in not wasting anything."

"Thanks, I'll ask." Cliff gave him a friendly smile and nod.

Popuri pulled the female farmer off to the side. "Hey, Claire. Did you know that me and Karen grew up together?"

Claire shook her head, and she felt a rush of jealousy. She never had a steady friend growing up herself.

"Oh, yeah. Me, Poppy, Rick, and Ann used to think we ran this town when we were little," Karen giggled as they walked down the dirt path.

Cliff waited until the women were out of earshot. "What about day-old chicks?"

The chicken farmer laughed. "You planning on raising them in your room at the inn? We only sell fully-grown hens, and I won't sell a live chicken to someone who doesn't have the proper space to raise one."

The brunette's eyes darted toward the trio of girls and moved back to Rick. "I didn't say anything about them needing to be alive. It helps, but it isn't necessary."

Rick's eyes flashed with understanding. "For feed, huh? I thought Doug didn't allow pets."

The traveler frowned. "I prefer to think of him as a partner, and I don't keep him at the inn."

Rick's eyes widened; a potential threat had been made known to his mother's precious farm. "Well, please be careful where you let… him roam, okay?" His voice was friendly, but his expression was not.

"I know better than to bring him into town," the brunette sighed. "I promise you have nothing to worry about; we've been together for years."

The chicken farmer caught the flash of loneliness on the gloomy man's face. "Hey, I'm sorry if I came off as aggressive. It's just… This farm is my life. I have to prove to my family that I can support them, you know what I mean?"

"Y-yeah…" Cliff's voice was gruff as he stared at the ground. "Take good care of your family; they're the only one you've got."

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Yes, I like to think that Mineral Town's residents EAT the livestock they raise. Yes, this also includes beef and mutton! I always felt like it was a shallow lie that the people in town only ate fish…

I hope I did the siblings justice; I like to think that Rick is very protective of his family, but he can still be a fun guy. I tried to write Popuri as a bit childish because she's never really been given the opportunity to be anything but. However, she is not as naïve as she lets on.

Please read and review and let me know what you think of the story so far!