Author's Note: It's been a while; hopefully I didn't keep y'all for too long. I've been away from home for the past week or so. Enjoy the latest chapter!

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Claire was walking through the gate of the Poultry Farm when she saw the siblings who ran the establishment chasing down a rooster. The young man nearly tripped over his own feet tearing after the chicken, and his sister strategically came from another angle, ignoring her long skirts dragging in the dusty dirt.

"You're being too hard on him and you're scaring him!" Popuri insisted, taking a defensive stance with her feet shoulder width apart as the two came at her. Claire was surprised at the undignified posture of the young woman in such pretty clothes.

Her brother let out a loud groan as he picked up his pace, breaking into a jog. The rooster crowed as it hurried along, eluding his grasp. "Morty, you idiot! Come back here!" Rick screamed at the bird.

They were coming closer and closer to Popuri, and the young woman didn't back down. She crouched down a bit, like a catcher in a baseball game. The rooster suddenly hopped into Popuri's arms, which surprised both of them. Claire bit back a laugh at the ridiculous sight and slowly entered the gates of the property.

"You scared him," Popuri scolded her brother, stroking the chicken and putting him back into his coop before shutting the door. She saw the farmer entering the property and gave her a welcoming smile.

Claire couldn't tell if he was more irritated that his sister was the one who managed to catch the bird, or the fact that Morty had escaped him in the first place. "That stupid rooster never does what I tell him," Rick sighed.

"Maybe… I'm just really good at handling cocks," Popuri said a little too loudly and giggled, sticking out her tongue, seeing how her brother would react out of the corner of her eye. Claire held her breath as she attempted to keep from laughing at the immature joke.

Rick's face turned a deep shade of purple. "If you ever want to be allowed to leave the house, you won't speak that way again! I expect you to behave like a lady!"

"Hi, Claire," Popuri winked at the farmer, pleased to see that she had amused someone.

Rick whirled around. "Oh! Hi, Claire. Sorry you had to see and hear all that," he laughed nervously and shot his sister a poisonous look. Not only was she making raunchy jokes, but she hadn't warned them that they had a guest.

"Is now a bad time?" Claire felt a little uncomfortable despite her urge to laugh at what she had seen and heard.

"Rick's just moody because we've had a busy day," Popuri laughed, picking up a bucket of chicken feed to take inside.

The blonde farmer didn't visit them too often – it was more likely that they spoke over their shared fence. His face lit up. "Did you perhaps come to… buy some hens?" Rick asked hopefully.

She could feel her heart pounding in anticipation. She was ready to take on a new project. "Yeah, I would like to buy my first chicken today!" Claire couldn't mask her excitement.

"Great! Let's go out to the main coop and I'll teach you some basics! Popuri, could you let Mom know that I'll be with Claire out here?"

"Sure!" Popuri turned toward their guest. "You know, Karen asked me to use that joke on him," she added with a whisper. "She wanted me to report to her how he reacted, and she said she'd buy me lunch if I did."

Claire snickered. It sounded like a Karen scheme, alright.

"I'm so glad you've taken an interest in chickens, Claire! Chickens are so sweet and cute and cuddly. I think people who like chickens are just good people," the young woman gave her a wink and headed to the house.

Rick rolled his eyes. "She just doesn't get it."

"Huh?"

"Despite what my sister things, chickens are anything but glamorous," he led the way to the main coop. He frowned as he remembered Claire commenting on how cute the chickens were when she watched them from her own farm. "You need to understand that, too. Let me help you take off those rose-tinted glasses." Rick closed the door behind them. Claire's nostrils and ears were once again assaulted with all that was chicken. "These are our egg laying hens!" he spoke loudly over the clucks and cackles from the birds. "I was just about to let them outside for the day." Rick opened the side door to the coop and the hens rushed outside to the pen, shoving past one another.

Claire noticed one of the hens was bullying the rest around, shoving the others away so that she could leave the door first. She was about to comment on this when he spoke up.

"There are some things you need to know before you consider buying a hen, okay?" He picked up a couple of birds to stop them from bottlenecking at the door. Rick shooed the rest of them outside and led the way out of the main door, a chicken tucked under each arm.

"Alright…?" Claire looked at him curiously as she followed him outside.

Rick walked to a smaller pen and set both of the chickens inside. "I gave Pete the same song and dance years ago when he wanted to start keeping chickens. A lot of people think that raising egg laying hens is simple because they come to roost at night and they forage for their own food. While that is true, there's a lot more to them than that. How much do you know?"

She understood that Rick was just trying to make sure she was prepared, but part of her still took this as a challenge. "I read a book on them at the library," she answered proudly. "Read it cover to cover."

Rick bit back a smirk. "Oh, you mean that little pamphlet our resident botanist wrote? How about I give you a few extra tips?" The young man looked down at the pair of hens. One was already beginning to push the other one around a bit. "Chickens have a pecking order – literally. They are not very friendly birds, and they will have a go at one who is lower on the totem pole then them. That being said, they are very social creatures, and they don't do well by themselves."

Claire gave him a wry smile; she was clever enough to read between the lines. "Ah, so you want me to buy two, then…"

The young man immediately became a little defensive. He folded his arms across his chest. "Please don't think that I am tricking you. They really do better when there are more of them around," Rick quickly returned. "Anyway… you'll notice that sometimes they might look like they're bullying each other, but that's normal. However…" his voice lowered as he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "if they peck enough to draw blood, separate that hen from the rest and let me know."

"They'll hurt each other that badly?" Claire was startled. Nothing about this had been mentioned in the book she had read.

The poultry farmer gave her a solemn nod. "We try to keep them out of our flocks, but about fifteen-percent of chickens are cannibalistic."

The blonde let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. She didn't know if she could handle seeing her hens harm each other, but she remembered that they were not pets.

He caught the look on her face; Claire wasn't the best at hiding her emotions. "I didn't mean to scare you," Rick gave her an apologetic look. "I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into. If I sell you a hen that starts behaving that way, bring her back to me and I can clip her beak."

The farmer cringed in response. It seemed there was quite a bit she didn't know about raising hens. Rick was right; raising chickens was not glamorous. She recalled Karen talking about Rick castrating roosters instead of hanging out with her. It seemed the young man got stuck with a lot of the "dirty work" while his sister was blissfully unaware of what happened on their farm. Either that or she was completely unfazed by it.

"I promise it's not as bad as it sounds. I use a heated blade to cause the bird as little harm as possible, and I only do it if it's absolutely necessary."

It seemed like a lot of work for one person to manage. Claire played with her fingers shyly. "It… it must be a lot to handle all by yourself," she ventured, a little curious to see how he would respond.

"It is, but my mother is ill, so I don't want to burden her with any of it." Rick gave her a friendly smile as he picked up the two hens and returned them to the group.

He hadn't mentioned his sister doing any of this. "So… does Popuri handle any of this kind of stuff?"

She was met with a snort in response. "She thinks chickens are cuddly. I think that says it all, really." The young man brushed the dust off of his apron and focused his attention on the group of hens as he rolled his eyes. "I clip beaks, incubate eggs, castrate roosters, clean out the coops, collect the eggs, slaughter and pluck the poultry for selling…" Rick counted off the chores with his fingers, a proud look spreading across his face.

The farmer frowned as she looked back at the house. It didn't seem like the work was distributed very evenly. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop him. "Why doesn't Popuri help you more around the farm? It seems like you've got your hands full."

His smile fell as he balled up his fists. Was Claire implying he should delegate more work to his sister? Where would she get an idea like that? A wave of indignation flowed through him; he furrowed his brows as a series of lines appeared on his forehead. "Karen put you up to this?" His voice was quiet, but that was what made it all the more terrifying to the blonde.

Claire swiftly shook her head, regretting her words. "No… I-I… I just wanted to make sure you're doing alright…" Her eyes moved to the dusty ground, her face flushing with embarrassment.

Rick's facial expressions relaxed as he listened to his companion's hesitant voice. "I'm doing okay," he answered warmly. "Sorry about that. It's just…" the young man ran his fingers through his disheveled locks. "I want to be someone my family can rely on." He didn't get a verbal reply – Claire simply gave a single nod in response, her face still pink. "Come on, Claire. I'll help you pick out a few sweet hens and we can bring them back to your farm. Today is an exciting day – you'll find that keeping chickens is really rewarding."

Her blue eyes moved back to him timidly. All aggression had moved from his expression. She let out a small sigh of relief. "Alright."

"That's the spirit. So how many do you want?"

Claire could almost see gold pieces reflecting in those eyes of his. She let out a giggle. "Let's start with two." She didn't want to start out with more than she could handle, after all.

He gave a nod of approval. "Sounds good."

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Claire had to keep her new chickens indoors that day, as she had not built a pen for them just yet. Rick had left her a complimentary bag of chicken feed and agreed that it was fine for her to work on the pen while the hens got used to their new environment. She decided to head to the mountains to identify some trees that would make a good material for her new enclosure when she saw Cliff feeding something to Cain, who was perched on his gloved arm. He was speaking affectionately to his partner when he looked up and saw the farmer.

The young woman's heart pounded with a light, giddy feeling as she looked at him. It had felt like ages since she had seen him, and she was overcome with the emotions she had felt last time they hung out together. He had called her his best friend and they had shared a warm embrace. She gave the two a friendly wave. "Hi, Cliff," a kind grin spread across her face as she approached the pair.

His cheeks flushed slightly in response. The young woman's eyes were wide and bright and her beautiful smile looked so genuine. Surely she wasn't that happy to see him…

"Uh, I haven't talked to you in a while," a shy smile crossed his lips as he struggled to keep his voice nonchalant. In truth, it had only been a few days, but it felt like an eternity to him. He knew she had a lot on her mind, but he was starting to become paranoid that he had said or done something to make her keep her distance.

"Yeah, it's been a long time," she commented. Time had been passing so slowly for the young woman; the Midsummer's dance felt like ages ago. The young woman was staring at his companion curiously. "What…? What is Cain wearing?" Her friend didn't notice the amused grin on her face. The falcon was perched on his partner's arm and was sporting a small leather cap that covered his face and had a hole for his beak. A couple of small leather straps held the headwear in place and a hide tassel adorned the top of the piece.

The bird ruffled his feathers, relaxing his stance a bit and the young man gave the falcon an affectionate glance. "Ah, this is his hood. I put this on him to calm him down so he doesn't get sensory overload. That way I get to keep the squirrels before he eats the whole thing." Cliff's eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the kill that was lying on the ground behind him, nervously stepping in front of it to obstruct her view. While he knew Claire didn't mind Cain's company, she probably wasn't too keen on seeing dead animals. Surely he had grossed her out and scared her a bit. "Uh… I… I was hoping for a rabbit today," Cliff added offhandedly. He inwardly yelled at himself for talking about hunting and killing more animals. He bit the inside of his cheek as punishment. Why would Claire have any interest in such a barbaric activity? At least that was the word he had been scolded with in the past. Even a tearful Ann asked if it was necessary, getting particularly upset when he brought a few rabbits to sell to her father at the beginning of spring. He didn't see what the difference was between what he brought and the plucked chickens Rick delivered to the inn regularly. Since that day of Ann's outburst, the hunter had made sure he skinned the animals first, and he delivered them when he knew the waitress wouldn't be around. Cliff anxiously looked over at his friend while he removed Cain's headgear. The falcon needed to leave, or else Claire surely would. The focus needed to be diverted from the fact that he was taking the lives of cute, fluffy creatures. The bird blinked a few times in the sunlight, the pupils of his deep brown eyes shrinking to adjust to the light, and gave the blonde a friendly chirp. Both Cain and Claire reacted differently than what he was expecting.

"Hi there, Cain," she smiled, her voice smooth and creamy. Cliff felt his heart throb; he longed for her to say his name that way, and he almost felt a little jealous. "Such a sweet, beautiful bird. Are you helping Cliff?" she asked, tilting her head. The bird stared at her stoically in response as if mildly offended by the implication that he was anything but the leader of the operation and Cliff's face turned pink. "I see how it is," Claire teased, giving the falcon a wink. She stepped a little closer and her voice was gentle. "You're blessed to have such a good friend, you know," she continued. The young woman held her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together, leaving ever so slightly toward Cain. She was surprised once more at how beautiful and mellow the creature was when he was resting; she had never felt so comfortable around a bird before. "Treat him well, okay?"

The young man felt a chill down his spine and a frown spread across his face. "I-I do treat him well," Cliff replied a little defensively. How could she be unaware of that? "I see him like a brother…"

Claire's eyes moved to the ground as her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "I was talking to Cain about you…" She wasn't sure why he was acting so guarded around her.

"Oh…!" the young man let out a shy chuckle and turned burgundy. He fumbled to come up with a reply as he kicked at the ground bashfully.

She looked past her friend's protective stance. She felt bad that he seemed so nervous. "I don't mind that you were gathering resources here, Cliff. I never do; you know that."

Gathering resources – that's what it was, really, and he was thankful she saw it that way. "Even if you have to look at it?" he asked hesitantly, looking back at the dead squirrel behind him.

Claire shrugged. "I just had a discussion about chicken cannibalism to Rick today, and I still walked home with two new hens. I can't afford to be squeamish in my line of work, either," she replied with a friendly giggle.

He had never really thought about it that way. "Huh… Well, I'm glad I didn't make you upset," he replied gratefully. The young man struggled to think of something more to say to properly thank Claire for her practicality when the bird gave him a sharp chirp and impatient stare as he stretched his wings. "Ah, he's all business today. Alright, alright, boy, calm down." Cliff grinned as he pushed his arm skyward and the falcon eagerly took off. The large bird's powerful wings beat against the clear blue sky and Claire could hear the dissonant tinkling of the bells tied to his anklets as he rose higher into the air.

She observed Cain slowly adjusting his wings so he could glide smoothly through the air. Her eyes wandered to her friend. He was intently watching his animal companion, eager to see if he had spotted anything yet, but there was a soft kindness and affection in those deep blue eyes. He was a mature adult, but at the same time, she saw that kid in him again, slightly giddy at seeing the bird up in the sky. The man and falcon were fascinating to watch, and she felt privileged just to be part of the experience.

"Beautiful," she murmured, her gaze returning to the heavens and the solitary falcon. She wasn't sure if she was referring to Cliff or Cain, or perhaps the relationship they shared. She decided on the last choice with a smile.

"He was Papa's," his eyes locked onto the bird. "We've been together for a long time…"

Claire thought of the last real conversation the two had. "Is Cain your freedom?" she asked softly as the bird circled a tree before gaining altitude.

She was surprised to see the carefree light behind his eyes fade. "For a while, I used to think a life with just the two of us was all I needed. I was naïve. Either that, or I've grown soft," he gave her a sad smile.

Her heart felt a sharp pang of loneliness at his words. "If growing soft means that you realize how miserable it is to be completely alone, then I suppose I've grown soft as well," Claire murmured, her gaze directed on the sky.

Her friend moved his attention back to her, admiring the way the sun's rays and summer breeze played with her golden tresses. She had a way about taking in the scenery that made him wonder just how different the city was from here. Her breaths were deep and savoring, her blue eyes drinking in the greenery surrounding them. Seeing her like that filled him with a strange emotion he had forgotten existed. He felt it when he was a child, sitting with Ray on a lazy afternoon, ignoring his bobbing lure because a frog had caught his eye… Grumbling as his sister hornswoggled him into doing the family laundry yet again, but secretly not minding too much, as his mother would tell him childhood stories while she started a campfire for cooking the midday meal… Sending off a young Cain and feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and belonging when they caught their first rabbit as a team. And now, these talks with Claire reaffirmed how similar the two of them were despite their differences. All of these things gave him hope for the future. For someone who had lived for years not knowing where he'd sleep that evening, the concept of a steady future was one that took some getting used to.

He was startled from his reverie as he felt a light touch on his forearm. Claire had intertwined her arm with his as she was wont to do when in deep thought or attempting to console him. He stole a glance at her face and noticed a slight pain in her eyes despite the fact that she was enjoying the atmosphere; perhaps she was trying to soothe herself this time.

He had stayed downstairs the other night with Ann in the kitchen, trying his best to ignore Karen's livid yelling from the shared room above them. Ann had ruffled Cliff's hair, promising that his roommate would not be killed and tried her best to distract her friend with one of her cooking experiments, enlisting him in chopping duty for the stir fry she was making. It only halfway worked. While he didn't mind someone telling Gray exactly what they thought of the way he handled things, he couldn't help but recall the anguish he saw on Claire's face earlier that day.

He had been waiting for and somewhat expecting the farmer to initiate conversation on the topic of Gray, giving her time and space to bring it up. She said nothing about it and he had to admit to himself that he wasn't surprised; it wasn't as if she had openly talked with him about her feelings for Gray in the past. Cliff yearned to comfort her, but for some reason Claire's crush was simply a topic the two of them never discussed. The young man frowned. He wondered if she didn't feel comfortable enough around him.

He stole a glance at her face and the young woman's eyes were shiny as they remained glued to the sky. "Do… do you mind if I stay here for a while?" There was a tremor in her voice and he knew exactly what she was thinking about. He was curious if he had somehow telepathically brought up the subject of his roommate to her mind.

"Not at all," he replied gently, taking note that she was forcing a weak smile on her lips. The corners of her mouth twitched in protest as she blinked her misty eyes.

She gave his arm a hug, burying her face into his upper arm. The young woman scolded herself for getting emotional in front of her friend; Karen had already offered her a shoulder to cry on and she was being weak. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, watching his avian companion circle above out of the corner of his eye. "Don't be." He swallowed the lump in his throat as he struggled to find the right words. He felt dampness against his arm and knew that she was trying her best to hide the fact that she was silently crying. "You're a strong woman…" Cliff's mouth suddenly felt very dry and he discovered that he wanted nothing more than to hold her close and comfort her. He was a little embarrassed that part of him wanted to cry right along with his friend. "Hearts don't heal overnight, after all…" Cliff's voice faded; perhaps he had assumed too much and she wasn't thinking about Gray at all.

Claire let out a sheepish chuckle, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I… I suppose you're right." Her friend was surprised when she hugged his arm once more, moving in a little closer. "Thank you."

He loosened himself from her hold and she looked up at him curiously. "Um… h-here." The young man placed his trembling arm around her waist and gave her a shy hug. He knew that he was just comforting her, but he couldn't slow down his throbbing heart. He inwardly scolded himself. Now wasn't the time to get excited…

His face burned as she let out a comfortable sigh and put her arm around him in response. "Thanks…"

The pair didn't say anything for a few minutes, but they savored each other's company instead, their minds going completely blank. Sometimes it was nice to just focus on the present moment and the closeness of someone she cared about, the farmer realized.

Claire gave him a light squeeze and was reminded how slim he was. "Hey… when you're done with Cain, let's go to my farm. I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with. I'll give you a bunch if you promise you'll save them for feeding yourself." She reasoned she could look for the trees later; being able to spend some more time with Cliff felt very important to her today.

He knew she was trying to be kind, but his stomach dropped at her suggestion. "Oh, that's not necessary…" Cliff's cheeks burned with mortification; he wasn't aware that others had noticed he wasn't eating much. It just reminded him how unsuccessful he was and how surprisingly unreliable the quarry was out in the mountains. The young man bit his lip; an attitude like that would not help at all.

"I'm offering because I want you to have them," Claire replied, resting her head on his shoulder. She took in his scent a let out a happy sigh. Cliff always smelled like the outdoors and it soothed her. "Friends help each other."

He shook his head. "Well, I want to be able to help you more," he admitted, staring at the sky. Cain was still searching for prey. Cliff would typically be helping his partner by rustling the brush to scare out something, but his female friend took priority at the moment. Besides, he wasn't about to break off a hug from the woman he cared so much about; he wanted to relish in every moment of it, even it was just a friendly embrace to comfort her.

"But you are helping just by being here," she murmured. Her heart was still broken, but feeling the closeness of a friend had a healing quality to it. She knew that they never talked much on the subject, but his desire to be there for her did not go unnoticed. "You're a good friend, Cliff."

Her words were simple, but he heard the warmth behind them. Her voice was soothing and sweet, as if she was trying to console him as well. His heart pounded at her tone and he felt the heat come to his face as he stared up at the sky so she couldn't catch his expression. He silently scolded himself; he was getting too excited over her kind words and being this close to her. "Thank you. You are a good friend, too, you know," he replied, unable to push back the silly smile that spread across his entire face.

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Author's Note: Yes, I named Rick's rooster as homage to one of my favorite shows, Rick and Morty. Also, I don't know why, but I have crazy fun writing Cain. I feel like his stoic expressions and mannerisms make him come across as the straight man in a comedy duo with Cliff sometimes, haha. I'd love to hear what you think of this latest bit; feel free to leave me a review!