A sigh escaped Claire's lips as she dug with her hoe at the soil, bending over to remove the weeds in the dirt. The morning air was cool and she looked out at her fields with a slight swell of pride. The old tomato plants had been cleared and the ground was ready for more crops. She had already planted a few rows of carrots and sweet potatoes, along with a few other things. The farmer didn't want to overdo it like she had the season before, but these home renovations made her nervous and cost her a little more than she was comfortable with.

She listened to the hammering inside of her house. This was a necessity and couldn't be put off any longer. It wasn't only the money she was investing that had such an impact on her – the fact that she was trying to improve her living space gave her a sense of stability. This was her home now and she needed to take care of it.

She heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind her and she stood up, startled, whirling around.

"Sorry!" Cliff muttered as he tore through her fields. He didn't meet her gaze, but she could see that his face was pale and fear was etched into his expression. A small bundle was in his arms, and it took her a moment to process what she was seeing. She realized with horror that he was not wearing a shirt with red sleeves; he was covered in blood. The young man leapt over a row of freshly sprouted sweet potato plants and kicked up a bit of loose dirt behind him.

"Cliff!" She set down her tool and hurried after him, her heart pounding in concern.

He said nothing in response and quickly outran her, carefully cradling the bundle under one arm and effortlessly hoisting himself over her fence to the poultry farm next door.

"Rick!" Cliff's voice was laced with desperation as he hurried to the chicken coops, tugging on the door. A flock of hens rushed out at him, but he didn't seem fazed by this. Claire was pulling herself over the wooden fence when she heard the poultry farmer's sigh of exasperation.

"Popuri, how many times have I-? … Cliff?! What in the Goddess's name are you-?" He pulled the door to the coop closed and looked at the young man in horror when he saw all of the blood.

Cliff carefully pulled back a corner of the fabric he was holding, nearly thrusting the contents in Rick's face. "Pl-please! He's hurt badly! I-I've never dealt with injuries like this before! Have any of your hens been attacked by eagles?" She had never seen him look so afraid, and her throat began to constrict in panic. Cain was moving, but he had a cut across his chest and several disheveled feathers.

Claire clapped her hands over her opened mouth, stifling a gasp as her eyes widened in horror. Cain was not the only one who had been hurt. Her gaze was stuck on the shredded and punctured skin on Cliff's arms. The wounds looked fresh and they were bleeding heavily. The only places on his arms that seemed to be spared of the deep cuts were where he wore his bracers, which were only sporting a few minor tears.

Rick seemed to be concentrating on the same thing. "You need to see the doctor about those injuries! An eagle did that to you? You're lucky you didn't lose an eye…"

Popuri was stretching her arms over her head as she headed outside from the farmhouse and her eyes locked onto them as she picked up her skirts and jogged over to them, her face immediately going pale with worry.

The hunter shook his head in frustration and thrust the bundle under Rick's nose. Claire realized that he had fashioned his hide tunic into a rustic kind of cradle to hold the bird in. "Could Trent help him? I'm not concerned with myself right now." Claire put a gentle hand on his back and could feel that he was trembling. She couldn't tell if it was due to fear, pain, or blood loss and he didn't seem to acknowledge her presence. Judging from the horror in his eyes, he was experiencing tunnel vision. Part of her longed to speak with him alone and get the whole story, but with the urgency of the situation, she realized this wish was selfish.

Rick was still focused on the bloodied arms and opened his mouth to speak, but Cliff cut him off. "I need help for Cain. Please, he is my focus; he's likely to bleed out unless I hurry. Can you help him?"

Rick bit his lip; when their birds had been injured as badly as the bundled up peregrine was, he put them down. He had a feeling this answer was not what Cliff wanted to hear, and it wasn't as if the falcon was livestock. "Uh… I've never taken my chickens to Trent before… Hardy over in the Valley has some experience with birds. One of Pete's ducks had been injured pretty badly in a storm and he mended the bird's wing."

Cliff clung to this small bit of hope. "O-okay… Hardy in Forget-Me-Not…" He whirled around and looked toward the southern path through the mountains, his decision made. "Thank you…"

"Cliff, wait!" Popuri interjected, grabbing him by the shoulder. She wasn't fazed by the fact that her hand had become damp and sticky with his blood. "I'll go next door and get you a horse. Can you ride?"

A slight wave of relief washed over his features. Claire felt her throat tighten at his suddenly misty eyes before he quickly blinked them away. "Yes. Thank you!"

Popuri hopped the next fence and the group followed her. May was pouring water into a trough for the cows when she looked up and saw them.

"May, honey. We need to talk to your Grandpa. It's very urgent."

Cliff hardly remained still as Popuri carefully took Cain from him so that Claire could bandage his arms. The barn was a flurry of activity as Barley interrupted Gray's horseshoe work to ask him to help select and prepare a couple of horses to head to Forget Me Not Valley. The young man immediately went pale and hurried over to Cliff, stopping at the sight of the group of people around him; Gray didn't want to get in the way. Rick and Popuri were busy getting out the first aid kit and binding Cain tightly to slow the bleeding and prevent further injury. Claire was murmuring something to Cliff and was unraveling a roll of bandages herself to take care of him. Gray turned his focus on the horses, eager to be able to help in his own way.

Claire tried to maintain a comforting tone to her voice. "Alright, Cliff, if you just hold out your-"

Unsurprisingly, his focus was on the bird; it was taking all of his willpower not to get up and attempt to wrap Cain himself despite the siblings' tender care. Claire had a feeling that Cliff wouldn't sit patiently enough for her to clean the wounds, so she opted for simply covering them up instead. If he was headed to the doctor, they would be able to help his injuries as well.

A weak chirp sounded from Cliff's bundled up tunic and Claire watched the young man's heart break as Popuri murmured some soothing words to the falcon, continuing her work. He bit his lip as his posture stiffened, craning his neck to check on Cain.

Another soft cry from the bird had Cliff feebly reaching for the falcon out of panic.

"He's alright. We're almost finished, Cliff." Rick's soothing voice had an air of experience that made Claire relax.

Unfortunately, Cliff still seemed agitated. She set down the gauze and cupped his cheeks in her hands. "Hey… Rick said it's going to be okay. We're going to help you so you can get him to the doctor as soon as possible, alright?" She could see his eyes begin to flicker a bit and patted his cheeks before going back to work. "It won't be long," she reassured him, swiftly wrapping his arms.

He gave a slight nod, muttering some sort of thanks under his breath that she wasn't able to understand. There was a haunted look in his eyes that filled her with dread. He was in fear of losing his oldest friend, his only connection to his hometown… Telling him that everything was going to be alright felt like a cheap lie – she was kicking herself for not knowing more about bird health. If he was scared, it must be bad. His deep blue eyes looked to her pleadingly, begging for comfort. She had no words as she set down the roll of gauze.

The young woman nuzzled her forehead against his, their sweaty bangs twisting together. "Cliff…" She gently leaned in and pressed her lips softly against his brow. He tasted like perspiration, but she didn't mind. She ran a thumb along his grubby cheek and he said nothing, but he covered her hand with his and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down.

His eyebrows slowly unfurrowed as he gulped, opening eyes that were void of emotion. Claire frowned. She hadn't seen him resort to this tactic in a long time and it concerned her. She watched Popuri carefully putting Cain and the bundled up clothing in a basket for protection and realized that Cliff was likely turning off his emotions so he could travel safely. She returned her free hand to his other cheek and gave him another kiss on the forehead.

"Claire…" His voice was hardly audible.

She wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Seeing him shut off was painful. A lump formed in her throat and she chased it away with one last kiss under his bangs, hoping her actions would speak enough for her.

"Th-thank you," he murmured quietly.

The clopping of hooves drew everyone's attention. Gray was muttering to a mare as his hands deftly moved at the fastened saddle straps a final time, checking for tightness; he had already finished.

"Be good and calm for my friend, okay? He's scared right now and I need you to help him." He draped an affectionate arm around the horse's neck and he rested his cheek against hers, his baseball cap popping up and threatening to fall off of his head. He turned toward Cliff. "Here you go, man. She's the fastest one on the ranch. Climb on up and Poppy will give you Cain."

Gray stepped out of the way as Popuri came over with the precious bundle. Claire found herself wishing she could be more capable like her other friends; she wasn't able to do much other than clumsily wrap some bandages on Cliff's arms. She was disappointed in her lack of knowledge; she'd need to borrow a first aid book from the library so that she could be more useful if something like this happened again in the future. Cliff snapped her back to reality as he gave her hand a weak squeeze. He hoisted himself up onto the horse with relative ease despite his injured arms and gave his friends a grateful smile.

Popuri calmly handed him the basket with a soothing smile that reminded Claire very much of Lillia. "It'll be alright; you'll see."

At her words, his upturned lips began to twitch as his wide eyes moved across the four of them, his shield threatening to break.

"Hardy will be able to help. It's going to be okay. He's the one who helped me way back when." Gray's voice was gentle as he patted Cliff's knee. Claire could see him swallow a lump in his throat and blink his misty eyes with a weak nod.

Claire longed to add some sentiment of her own, but she could quickly see that their forced cheerfulness was chipping away at his stability. Still, she felt the need to say something.

"Be careful out there." The words slipped from her mouth.

Their eyes locked for a moment and the fear in his faded a bit as he gave her a slight nod. Claire placed a hand over her heart, grateful that her words seemed to have a positive impact on him.

Cliff turned toward Gray. "A-are you going to be the one following me?" he asked hopefully.

A sad smile spread across Gray's lips as he shook his head. "I'll make sure Rick or Popuri is close behind you. Hardy's place is past the bridge on the right side of the path. Now, go." He gave the mare's haunches a pat and Cliff gave everyone one last quick glance and a nod before they took off in a canter, quickly breaking into a gallop as they hit Mystic Acres.

Claire frowned at Gray as Rick turned toward the remaining horse that Barley was holding by the reins. "I thought you loved to ride…"

He tugged the brim of his hat over his eyes. "I did." He quickly turned toward the horse, where Rick and Popuri were standing anxiously. "He's gonna be a wreck when he gets into town. Can one of you guys follow him just to make sure he gets to Hardy's alright?"

I have to be by his side right now…

"I can go!" Claire interjected, nervously bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Popuri had already set to work and was putting away the first aid kit calmly; Claire could see that she was already well on her way to becoming the woman she wanted to be for Kai.

I want to be that for Cliff…

"Do you know how to ride?" Rick asked, holding the reins in his hand.

Claire's heart dropped. "W-well, no… Not really…"

She was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder, and she became even more startled when she saw that it was Gray. "Thomas takes his carriage to pick up the shipments in the Valley every day. Let's go tell him what's going on and he can probably bring you along and leave sooner."

"Don't you want to come along, too? Isn't Cliff your best friend?"

He gave her a warm smile as they waved Rick off. "It's not a large carriage, and I think you'd be better help to him now than I can be. If things don't go well… well, I suck at consoling people." He searched the work table for a pencil and wrote on the back of a scrap of paper. "This is the number to the inn. Call us when you get there and find out what's going on, okay?"

She nodded, clutching the paper in her hands.

Hang in there, Cliff…

"I can't imagine Cliff coming back into town before the day is over, but Claire said she'd call the inn and keep us updated," Gray explained.

Claire nodded at Gotz, attempting to keep a stoic face. She was grateful that Gray was speaking up for her, as she lost her voice the moment she came back onto her property and the carpenter was wearing a worried expression, mentioning he had seen a horse pass by not too long before with a heavily bandaged Cliff.

"Are you going to stay the night in the Valley, too? I can watch Koro. Just leave me the house key and I'll continue my work in the morning."

"Are you sure you d-don't mind?" Claire hated the way her voice was quavering. Gotz nodded his head with a quick "I'm sure" and she felt a small bit of relief. "I've also got some chickens in the coop out there and in the stable I have Tucker…" Her voice died down as she remembered who she was standing beside. She averted her gaze and turned pale, wondering if she had hurt Gray's feelings. She didn't want to think about that awkward situation right now…

To her relief, the young man said nothing on the subject. "If that bird survives, Cliff will probably be in the Valley for a couple of days; I can't imagine him leaving his side. We should stop by the inn to grab a few things for him before you leave with Thomas."

Claire nodded, throwing some spare clothing into her own bag along with some snacks from her refrigerator. "Please help yourself to anything in here, Gotz. I'm not sure if I'll be back later today or not." She felt a wave of panic rise up in her and she combated it with a serious expression.

His heavy hand rested on her shoulder. "You'll let us know. Call the inn when you get more information. Gray will keep me informed."

The young man nodded, but he seemed a bit fidgety. "We'd better get back to the inn; the sooner we get to Thomas, the sooner you both can leave."

They bid Gotz goodbye and Claire had to jog to keep up with Gray's quick walking pace. She couldn't find it in her heart to tell him to slow down or even be annoyed that she felt she was being dragged along. He was a little taller than Cliff, but she had a feeling that her struggle to catch up was a result of his mental state rather than his long legs. Gray just had a different way of showing he cared, she realized with a slight smile. She was glad Cliff had a roommate that was also a good friend.

"I'm glad Thomas is willing to leave so early," Claire forced a strained smile on her face as she followed him back into the inn.

She became aware of the young man's stiff and slightly unbalanced gait as he hurried up the stairs. Gray threw the door open to his room and immediately went to the far side, rummaging through Cliff's bags. He tossed an empty one on the bed.

"If that bird survives, Cliff will probably be in the Valley for a couple of days. Let's get him some stuff." A pair of pants and a few other garments were thrown on the bed and Claire swiftly folded them and stuffed them into the satchel.

She couldn't help but notice he made an impatient sigh as she neatly folded the clothes he was tossing her. He obviously thought she wasn't moving fast enough. "Are you sure you don't want to follow us in some way?"

Gray turned a bright shade of pink and shook his head, tugging the bill of his cap over his face. "No, it's fine… Sorry."

She wasn't sure what he was really apologizing for. "We're all nervous; you don't have to be sorry for anything…" Claire's eyes were drawn to the tanuki figurine sitting on Cliff's night stand. Beside it sat smooth grayish-blue stone with a length of leather string beside it. Gray's eyes followed hers and he unsubtly set his hand down in front of it, obstructing it from her view. Her stomach gave a small jolt in surprise and she averted her eyes, focusing instead on the bag in front of her. "Do you think Cain will make it?" She didn't realize she was asking it aloud until the words had already left her lips.

"Honestly?" A tunic landed on the bed. "I have no idea. I know Cliff's going to be a wreck either way, though." A couple of cotton sleeveless shirts and other garments were handed to Claire and she added them to the bag, along with some long, white strips of cotton Gray added himself, turning a bit pink as he did so. "I mean, I hope not…" His voice trailed off.

She nodded as a lump formed in her throat and she focused on the items on the bed. The packing of Cliff's belongings was a welcome distraction. All she could picture were his worried eyes and it made her feel a bit ill. "I can't think of anything else to bring," Claire admitted, looking around the room anxiously.

A bag of personal grooming items was added to the bed. She looked up from it to see Gray rifling through a stash of dried food, along with some dried herbs and adding them to the pile of things to bring along. "I'm sure the doctor's going to give him some medicine for his own wounds, but some natural remedies he has here shouldn't hurt." Claire was surprised to observe the way that he could tell the items apart by smell; his time with Mary must have taught him quite a bit about herbs.

Lastly, Gray carefully pulled the nightstand from the wall and handed her a small leather pouch with a drawstring from behind it. It fit in her palm and she heard the jingle of coins as he gave it to her. "His wallet."

The weight in her hand felt heavy. "Ah, do you think he would trust me with all of his money?"

She was startled by the gentle hand on her shoulder and the sincere smile playing at his lips despite rolling his eyes. "Claire, he trusts you with a lot more than a silly sack of coins."

He trusts me… I need to comfort him…

The emotions hit her in one big punch. Her knees buckled and she sank down on Cliff's bed, holding the small pouch between her hands. She had the image of her dear friend bloodied and trembling with that haunted look in his eyes… The man she loved was suffering. She would give anything to be able to take that away. A couple of fat tears tumbled out of her eyes as she blinked. She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and Gray respectfully moved his gaze from her.

"I don't envy you, Claire, but you're exactly who he needs right now."

She gave a nod, wiping the dampness from her eyes. This was no time for crying; she needed to remain strong…

Author's Note: Peregrine falcons are noted as being wandering types, and I thought it meshed well with Cliff's personality. As far as the emergency with Cain, I attempted to foreshadow this a bit, but maybe I was being too cryptic, haha. I hope y'all are excited to read what happens next! I appreciate your support, and I would love to hear what you think or what your theories are! Until next time!