Thank you to everyone who is reading and following this story; you guys are awesome! Enjoy!

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The town had finally calmed down after the Cooking Festival; Karen had achieved superstar status for a couple of days. Once the festival was over, Cliff was eager to select a day for Claire to meet for lunch, and once a date was set, the young woman found that she was looking forward to it as well. The farmer finished her chores extra early the day of so that she could play with Koro and spend some time out by the Goddess Spring for a quick yet heartfelt prayer. The young woman made an offering of wildflowers and asked the goddess to bless her with a positive new beginning. She wasn't met with a vision, but a warm feeling glowed in her heart; she had a feeling today was going to be a good one.

She went home to freshen up before her outing, trying to keep in mind not to primp too much. Claire had some casual male friends back in the city, and she didn't know why she felt a little anxious about having lunch with Cliff. Perhaps it was because a lot of the time she spent with the young man was in silence. What had started out with a visit to thank the priest for the gift basket of apples swiftly turned into regular meetings with Carter, and she found that it eased her anxiety quite a bit. When she finished speaking to the priest in the confessional, Cliff was often sitting quietly in the front pew and would look up at her with those wide deep blue eyes. Claire wondered if her friend was aware that he had perfected the sad puppy-eyed look; she found herself unable to not sit beside him when they made eye contact. The young woman would join him in prayer for an hour or so, and on several occasions, she would loosely intertwine her arm with his. It seemed that a sympathetic touch did wonders for the young man. She noticed on days when she did this, Cliff would give her a small smile and they would talk for some time.

They often spoke about some of Carter's sermons, but on days when he was in higher spirits, Cliff would ask Claire about her farm and its progress; he seemed very interested in both the crops and her plans for livestock in the future. He had once asked how Tucker was doing and she excitedly explained how helpful Gray had been in showing her how to care for the horse; she was too caught up in her gushing about the apprentice to notice that her companion had gone tight-lipped and returned his stare to the carpet.

Claire ran a brush through her hair thoughtfully. Cliff was plenty polite and thoughtful, but he was very quiet sometimes. She couldn't help but notice that he never talked much about himself, but the young woman figured it was best not to pressure him; getting Cliff to talk to her about anything and catching a glimpse of that shy smile felt like enough of a reward most days.

Talking to Cliff in the church was one thing; he was comfortable there. This would be their first public outing with just the two of them; Karen wouldn't be there to act as a catalyst for conversation. The grocer's daughter had taken her to the bar the other day and when Claire had mentioned her upcoming plans with the young man, Karen had been very encouraging. The young woman had given the farmer a warm smile and said that it would be good for the both of them. Claire decided that it was okay for her to be a little excited about having lunch with a new friend, but getting nervous about it was just silly…

Claire studied her reflection in the mirror as she applied her peach lip gloss and froze in horror as she realized what she was doing; she had already applied a touch of cosmetic rouge to her cheeks. Her face lit up with a natural blush and she hastily wiped off the makeup and returned the cap on her lip gloss. What was she doing? Claire silently scolded herself as she cleaned off her face. She saved her makeup for special occasions, namely, when she went to the inn to give Gray his piece of copper. The young woman didn't have the money to purchase new cosmetics, and she shouldn't be using them so liberally, especially when there was no reason to get dolled up in the first place.

She thought about all of the times she had been in the same room as Cliff, and she worried about all of the silences between them. Would he find her boring if she didn't know what to say, and then report his findings to Gray? Claire tried to shake this thought unsuccessfully for some time. The two had seemed rather chummy at the Cooking Festival, and Gray had encouraged this whole outing… Maybe the apprentice was having his roommate scout for him to see what she was like…

Yeah, right. Claire laughed out loud at the absurdity and put on her boots.

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"Thanks for meeting me here," Cliff was already waiting at a table.

"Thank you for lunch," Claire smiled, not without some nervousness, and took the seat across from him.

"Hi, Claire! What can I get you today?" Ann's braid swished back and forth as she made her way to the table.

Claire looked at the menu hesitantly. She knew Cliff must not have much money himself, as he was unemployed.

"Order whatever you like," Cliff gave her a small smile.

The young woman felt herself relax a bit. She stared at the handwritten specials of the day. Doug's Inn definitely sold a much homier array of foods than she was used to in the city, and if the pancakes she had here earlier in the season were any indication, she could safely order anything she wanted on the menu and be pleased with the result. "Omelette rice sounds very good," she finally decided.

Cliff had hardly scanned the menu. "Make that two." He nodded, handing the menus back to his friend.

"Well, that was fast," Ann giggled, accepting the menus. She tucked her pencil behind her ear; there had been no need for her to take notes. "I'll bring you guys a couple of cold barley teas, on the house."

The pair thanked Ann in unison, and that made the waitress laugh harder as she walked away. Cliff turned pink and looked at the floor.

"Hey, great minds think alike," Claire winked.

A smile returned to the young man's face. He looked like he wanted to say something. "After we finish eating, I want to take you somewhere," he said a little too quickly.

"Alright." The farmer wasn't sure what the rush was all about, but she found that his eager words had made her feel a little excited.

Ann returned with the tea. "So what are the plans for today?" She took a seat at their table and propped her elbows on the table, cupping her cheeks in her hands. Ann's eyes moved between the pair curiously, and she noticed that her male friend's eyes were lit up.

"Ann!" Doug craned his head from the kitchen, "What on earth are you doing? I need you in here!"

"Coming, Dad!" Ann rolled her eyes and stood up with a sigh; surely she was going to get a scolding for not behaving like a lady. She reluctantly returned to the kitchen. "See you guys in a few minutes."

The young man watched the waitress walk away and Claire noticed he was wringing his hands. "I-I was thinking we could go to the m-mountain today… th-that is, if you have enough t-time this afternoon," Cliff stumbled over his words. He quickly took a sip of tea and stared at the beverage as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Sure. I already finished all of my chores for the day." She felt bad that he seemed nervous, but hadn't her own stomach been tied up in knots half an hour ago? Claire didn't want their outing to be riddled with anxiety for either of them; today was supposed to be fun. "I finished them early so we didn't have to rush anything."

A wave of relief swept over the young man's face and he removed his gaze from his glass of tea. "Thank you. Not having a job, you kind of lose your sense of time," he gave her a sad smile as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Claire played with the beads of condensation that were forming on the outside of her drinking glass. It was a warm day for spring and she noted that her friend had stopped wearing his leather bracers due to the higher temperatures. "No luck finding work in town?" She frowned.

The young man was silent for a moment. His gaze returned back to the barley tea and his brows were furrowed in worry. "No… and I… really don't want to have to leave."

"But I thought you just got here!" Claire's stomach sank. She suddenly wished that she hadn't agreed for him to pay for their meal and she quickly lost her appetite. The young woman was aware that they didn't know each other for long, but he was already one of her closest friends in town. The thought of him not living here anymore made her feel like crying.

Cliff didn't say anything for a while; he shifted his glass on the table's surface and stared at the water trail it left behind, poking it with a finger. "Yeah, but I've moved around a lot," he laughed bitterly.

He almost sounded defeated, like he had given up already… She had seen him depressed before, but the young woman had never seen her friend like this. Claire could quickly feel a distance appearing between them; she was losing him. "Don't give up hope! I'll help you find something!" She almost yelled. She surprised both of them.

"It's alright," he replied, and his expression softened. He wiped the dampness on the table off with his napkin and folded it again neatly, but his eyes remained glued to the glass. "I've got a bit of savings I'm sitting on right now... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with my worries," he gave her an apologetic smile.

But he had to pay for board, and surely he had other expenses…

Ann brought out two identical plates. She had drawn matching hearts on the omelettes in ketchup. Cliff returned his gaze to the floor and reddened. Ann giggled.

Claire looked down at her plate. "Thanks, Ann. You're quite an artist with the ketchup. The heart's really cute," she smiled, and her face felt a little warm. The extra attention to detail was one of her favorite things about the eatery, and she had to admit to herself that the hand-drawn ketchup made her feel quite special.

"Thank you, Ann," Cliff's worry lines went away as he noticed his tablemate wasn't offended by Ann's handiwork.

The waitress walked back to the kitchen, rather pleased with herself.

The smell of the food made the farmer's appetite return immediately. "Don't let her get to you," Claire took a bite of her omelette and she realized just how hungry she was. She noticed that the young man's face was still quite flushed, and she realized it was probably because of the shape Ann chose to draw with the ketchup. Claire tried her best to hide the heat in her own face; she wondered for a brief moment if Ann had thought that the two were on a date. "She's just teasing you because she likes you."

"I know… She just always does stuff like that… Ivy would always play tricks on me like that, too, just to see how I would react."

Claire had met everyone in town, but the name didn't sound familiar to her at all. "Ivy?"

Cliff finished chewing. "Yeah, I had a younger sister named Ivy." He looked back at his plate emotionlessly.

Claire noted the past tense and quickly changed the subject. The young man looked as if he was quickly choking down an overwhelming sense of grief; she couldn't stand to see him like this. She wanted him to focus on the fun activities that they were going to do today. "So, what are we going to do up in the mountains?" She took a sip of tea and savored it; the toasty flavor was perfect.

To her surprise, a smile crept across his lips. "I wanted to show you something that I thought would help you." The pain faded from his eyes as he looked up at her, and his expression had changed to an eager one.

She was relieved that he had cheered up so easily. "Alright… Do you care to tell me what it is?" Claire grinned at him teasingly. She wasn't sure why he was being so secretive…

The young man let out a small chuckle, and Claire's heart swelled. She had spent enough time with him in the church to be familiar enough with his behavior; he had finished reflecting. "Did you bring your rucksack?" He asked.

Claire shrugged and found that she was giggling. "I thought we were just going to lunch. I just brought myself."

Cliff finished his omelette. "Well, you're going to need it. We'll stop by your place on the way back to get it," he said with authority.

"Yes, Sir!" Claire teased, popping the rest of her food in her mouth. It was interesting to see the young man take charge for once; today would definitely prove to be something out of the ordinary. She found that she was more excited than ever for the next phase of their outing.

Cliff gave her a genuine smile. "I'll be right back!" He walked up to the counter, thanked Doug and paid him, then ran upstairs.

Ann came back to the table to clear up the plates. She grinned mischievously at Claire. "He gets embarrassed way too easily, but it's kinda cute, though, huh?"

Claire wasn't expecting her own face to redden. "Cliff just needs to have a little more faith in himself."

Ann smiled knowingly at the farmer. "And I'm just trying to help get him there. Just trying to push him out of his comfort zone a little; just a little harmless fun…" The redhead paused and gave her a serious glance. Claire was caught off guard; the waitress had never been anything other than playful with her. "You know, when he does talk, it's often about you... Be a good friend to him, okay? He's been through a lot, I can tell that much."

Anyone could. Claire looked at the stairs, longing to go up them and see what it was Cliff was so excited about. She didn't have to wait long. He hurried down the stairs with a simple yet beautiful handmade satchel strapped across his back.

"Let's go!" He hardly waited for her to get up from her seat and led the way with a friendly chuckle.

"O-okay!" Claire had to jog to keep up with him.

They quickly made their way to Claire's house.

The young woman was staring at the satchel that was strapped to her friend's back. It looked, like most of the things he owned, very rustic and worn. "So, what's in the bag?"

"Not much… yet."

Claire hesitated at her front door. After all, he was a man and she was a woman. She wasn't sure what the protocol was for this kind of situation. It seemed natural when she visited Gray it the inn, as there was always someone else present, but this felt different. Claire looked up and saw Koro running straight toward the two friends.

The young woman's stomach jumped and she made a quick prayer to the gods that her puppy would behave himself. "Sorry, Koro's not always the friendliest with strangers-!"

Cliff crouched down and greeted the dog in a dialect Claire wasn't familiar with. Fascinated, Claire fell silent and watched the young man patiently hold his hand out to the sniffing Koro. For a moment, Claire feared she would be bandaging up a dog bite wound, remembering the dog's encounter with Mayor Thomas. Koro sniffed Cliff curiously then licked his hand. The young man laughed and scratched the puppy's chin.

"Nah, your dog is very sweet. Can we bring him?"

"Of course," Claire breathed a sigh of relief and used this as an opportunity to dash inside her house alone while he patted her dog.

She suddenly realized she had no idea what they were going to actually do once they were up in the mountains, but she figured this was some sort of surprise. "Should I bring any tools in my bag?" She craned her head out the door.

Cliff was rubbing the top of Koro's head. Claire nearly laughed out loud at the expression on her pet's face; he was in heaven. "Empty it. You'll need all the space you can get."

He was so different than the gloomy young man in the church; his excitement was contagious. Claire didn't waste another moment; she overturned her rucksack onto her table and came back outside.

"Alright, I'm ready." She looped her thumbs through her rucksack straps and eagerly rocked back and forth on her heels and the balls of her feet.

The young man laughed, "Then let's go, already!"

Koro barked and led the way. It wasn't long until they arrived at the Goddess Spring.

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Author's Note: I've actually been eager to post this section for a while, haha. I'd be happy to hear what you think of the story so far!

A little sidebar on the dog's name: I've named my dog Koro since my SNES days because that's the name that SNES Ellen originally has for the dog when she brings it to your farm. I kind of like to think of that as the default name for the dog. Plus, he just looks like a Koro, whatever that means.