::Alrighty! I let this update go a little too long for my preference...
But anyway, I'm afraid that I might have made Rick act a little ooc, but it
makes sense from what you see of him. ("I hate that guy Kai!!" "Only
Karen knows the real me..." "Popuri's ungrateful for anything I do!
Grrr..." "I HATE KAI!!") ...Ok, so that's a bit too general, but I'm just
writing a fanfic...don't sue me! Oh yeah, copyright stuff. I don't own
Harvest Moon or it's charecters, yada yada yada, blah blah blah... Oh, and
I'm sorry, for those of you who like the dog, (I find him annoying and
useless, so my dislike of him is reflected in this.) I'm really, really,
REALLY sorry... I just couldn't help myself::
It was later that day; Rick was still outside, working hard for the chickens' safety, food, ect. It was another spring, another year to him. Once again, he had lost a year's chance for meeting someone, the chance to begin living on his own, to begin his own life, but... But once again, he was too stubborn, he had argued too much, he was too hot tempered.. It seemed as though no one could get past his argumentative nature, but it wasn't always just him. No one seemed to analyze the situation from his perspective anymore, as it had been for a few years now. Years come and go, he thought, and this year will probably be no different.
Just then, he saw that new guy, Jack walking by. Jack paused, looked over, smiled, and waved. A little confused, Rick waved back.
"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" He asked in a friendly, yet confused tone. No one said hello in any way, shape, or form to him unless it was out of manners or if they wanted to buy something.
"No, I was just passing by..." Jack answered, and looked around. A small, awkward pause. "The Mayor said you were the main force behind this farm; mind telling me what you do?" Rick was even more confused. This guy's questions and actions weren't on his subconscious grid of "Ways to React to Others".
"Uhh, I guess...why?" Jack opened the fence and walked over to him.
"Oh, just because since I'm going to be running my own farm and raising livestock, I'd like to learn how to raise chickens from an expert." Someone recognized him for something? Something positive??
"I wouldn't call myself an expert..." He said, looking down. An "expert" on chickens, no less... What a way to impress a girl. "But, I do take more care of the chickens than my mother or Popuri... I guess it wouldn't hurt." He walked into the first coop, and Jack assumed he was supposed to follow. However, the handkerchiefed youth was startled when he came in through the threshold and found himself face-to-face with a chicken. "This is Begak." Rick announced in an one-way introduction.
"O-okay, hi, Begak... Poor thing startled me..." Jack said in a shaky voice. Rick chuckled.
"Sorry, I just had to do that. Ok, so, let's start with the basics." He let Jack hold the confused chicken. "This, obviously, is a chicken. They like corn, grain, bugs, worms, little things." Begak lightly fluttered in Jacks hands, feathers flying in a few directions. "They have few expressions, and don't seem like they have that much intelligence or mental compassity for much, but despite this they actually like people and can tell them apart." Now Begak was struggling from the big blue-and-white thing, feathers spewing. Jack wrestled it to the ground, and they engaged in a battle of man and chicken.
"When you're raising chickens," Rick continued, "it's best to keep them out whenever possible, including winter. Although, if it snows or rains, they won't be happy with themselves or you. If you forget, they'll just be in a bad mood for about a day or so, but they can get sick, and if you make it a habit to leave them out, you might find yourself attacked one day." Begak was now standing on top of Jack, triumphant in battle. "As you can see, chickens are also pretty strong. If you do get one soon, you might be able to bring it to the next Chicken Festival. It's actually rather fun, pretty much chicken sumo-wrestling." Jack was silent, waiting... Begak, content with its glorious triumph, sat down on Jack's stomach, daring him for more with his eyes. Suddenly, Jack pounced and round two began. "So, you planning on getting a chicken sometime soon or what?" Rick asked, ending the lecture. Jack quickly stood ramrod straight, Begak balancing itself on his hat.
"Well, I plan on doing that sometime, maybe this Spring if I can afford it." Rick took back the happy Begak.
"Hmm, looks like Begak likes you." The chicken glared at him with rage and hatred, daring and testing him for a round three. Rick placed it down with its other chicken friends. "Anyway, thanks for listening... Chickens aren't the most exciting subject in the world..."
"Sure, thanks for teaching me." Jack responded, attention focused on taking the feathers off of his hat. He glanced outside to find out the time. The sun was far towards the west. "I should be going home if I plan on sowing the seeds today... I just have one question."
"Sure thing." Rick said with a smile, happy with the last chance of a conversation.
"Do you know how those giant boulders got onto my farm? I know they weren't there when my grandfather was in charge..." Rick's happy expression was gone, replaced with that of a confusing concept brought back up.
"Those boulders? I really don't know... Some say the spirits of your grandfather's livestock came and did it for some reason, but I think it was a glitch." Jack walked out the door, looking over his shoulder.
"Dang it, gotta figure it out... Well, thanks Rick, see you later." With that, he was out of the door. Doesn't seem all that bad, Rick thought to himself.
Jack skipped home, despite his leg and the disasterous loss to the chicken. Quickly whipping out the seeds and watering can, he sowed and watered the newly tilled soil. The crows hopped back and forth, confused with the big blue and white thing's constant string of baffling actions. Suddenly, they flew away and scattered, running from something more deadly and dangerous than a big blue and white creature, or a sumo-wrestling chicken....
The dog.
With a red glare in his eyes, the dog in all of his orange fury chased the crows off of the feild, barked at a weed that was trying its luck with him, ran into the arrogant tree in his territory a few times, and then he turned to Jack. Jack decided the seeds had gotten enough watering for that day and now would be a good time to go into his house. It was amazing that he got sleep at all with the dog outside, barking...
The next morning went better. He walked out to see the seeds were already starting to sprout a bit. There were no crows or posessed dogs. Jack watered his plants, ate breakfast, and went to the mountains to search for herbs and bamboo to sell. He continued past the hotsprings, a small mountain lake which fed the stream and waterfall below, and up a small meadow. Jack paused, looking about here. There was a bunch of monotonously colored flowers with a few specks of white, and a several large cherry and apple trees blossoming. Jack surveyed the area a few more minutes, trying to figure out why it caught his attention so. It reminded him of something...
Then, a memory slowly floated back to him like driftwood in the sea. The first time he was there, the actual first time... It was with his grandfather, and he had been there before, in that meadow. He had decided to explore the mountain a bit, and after some strenuous hiking and rock climbing, the meadow seemed like a nice place to flop and rest for a while. Not even two minutes after, he dazed off...
That was when he heard the singing. It came from his right, in front of him, paused, and then next to him. When it suddenly stopped, Jack woke up to see a girl about his age staring down next to him. There was some conversation, story telling of their lives, and then she wanted to show him something, something she loved... It was the view from the nearby peak, a wonderful sight worth the harsh running and jumping and playing from earlier in the day. She asked for him to sing with her this time, and he didn't sound that bad at all! Maybe he should start singing at school or when he goes back home! But,... Jack wondered, but... Why didn't I? Why didn't I remember to...? That was when he remembered the next bit.. He fell. That would stunt someone's song. The girl screamed, he tumbled along the rocky landscape, and then... Then he couldn't remember anymore.
Jack shook his head, having almost consciously relived that scene, and decided to turn back. Quickly putting the successful fruits of his hunt into the magical produce bin, he watered his turnip sprouts. Suddenly a foreboding sense flooded the feild, as clouds covered the sky. Across the feild, the crows had suddenly taken to flight. Jack strained his eyes to see what it was, but it was nothing other than...
The dog.
Jack thought that then would be a good time to go into town. Upon leaving the farm, he stopped to refrain running into Popuri and a young girl next to her.
"Nice to see you again, Kai!" Popuri welcomed, "Whenever you're here I really know it's summer." The young man she was referring to said nothing but grinned arrogantly in pleasure. The young one tugged gently and Popuri's skirt for her attention.
"But wait, Miss Popuri... Didn't Spring just start?" Popuri fell silent, and the purple-handkercheifed youth's expression fell into embarassment and confusion.
"Wait.. I'm supposed to be here right before Summer starts, not the beginning of Spring... You're right! Ack!" He started to waddle off in haste and frustration.
"Wait!" Popuri begged, "Couldn't you just stay here a season longer than usual?" Kai turned around, frustrated and tanned face a deep color due to embarassed blushing.
"My rivalry with that guy isn't supposed to start YET!" He whined, and then stormed off. Jack glanced at the script. The poor guy was right. Popuri sighed and walked off, as the girl finally waddled in her own direction. Jack went his own was by the general store, wandering. He didn't really know where he was going, he was focused on something to pass the time until the dog of doom had left his farm.
"Hello!" A voice stated, startling Jack out of his wandering daze. Looking, he found Rick. He smiled and waved, half out of manners, half out of their conversation from yesterday. Jack returned the greeting warmly. Perhaps Rick was going to be his first friend made there?
"So what have you been up to?" Jack asked, happy to see him again. Rick gestured to the large burlap sacks next to him.
"I'm doing some errands for Mom... Namely picking up the grain for the chickens right now. But for this moment I decided to take a small break." Seemingly to prove the point more, he sat down on the bench. "How about yourself?"
"I'm taking a break myself... There's this dog...thing...in my farm and... Well, I don't want to get in its way. And trust me, if you ever saw this dog, you'd want to keep out of its way too..." Rick silently nodded, although confused. I guess this is what you call fresh meat, he thought to himself as Jack sat down next to him, I can finally make a friend who isn't baist about my past.
"Hey," Rick started, "If you're interested in raising chickens, well, I was wondering if you could help me for right now." Jack cocked his head in curiosity. "Well, my mother's kinda sick right now, and if I didn't have so many chickens, I could help her more..." He chuckled in mid sentence, thinking of another situation. "Popuri's always complaining about how easy my life seems since all I do is 'take care of the chickens'. Ah, she has yet to figure out the meaning of 'bills' and 'mortgage'... Anyway, since you seemed interested in poultry farming yesterday, I was hoping you could take care of a few of them for a few weeks... You can keep any eggs they lay, and I'll even give you food for the time they'll be there, if you help me with this..."
"Of course!" Jack exclaimed, startling Rick, "Why wouldn't I? You're being pretty generous, shouldn't you get 70% of the money from the eggs? And you don't have to be so formal about asking me to help you, of course I will! What kind of person would I be if I didn't? You sound like you're asking the Goddess to ressurect a lost one." Rick was shocked and dumbfounded.
"You'll...? Just help me...? Like that...?" Jack made a mock-teasing grin.
"Well, duh!" Rick still didn't seem to comprehend it. "Who wouldn't?" Anyone else in this village, Rick bitterly thought.
"You're right," Rick finally replied, accepting the generosity, "I'll send the chickens over to your place and put the grain in the fodder... I'm pretty glad we had that Chickens 101 yesterday right now, aren't you?" he joked.
"More like CWF*... Your chickens sure can fight." Jack joked back. (*CWF as in Chicken Wrestling Federation.) They both departed in their own ways, when Jack suddenly stopped, and yelled to Rick. "WAIT!" Rick turned, confused. "You might wanna stay away from there for a while, that dog might still be around!" Rick shrugged and changed his path, carrying the large sack over his shoulder. Jack took the long way, along the townsquare home. He waddled and dawdled the time, trying to take as long as possible before heading home. However, when he passed the poultry farm, Rick ran right by him, screaming the dickens and chased by the orange furball of death. I thought I warned him, Jack mentally sighed, and took a hand-sized rock from along the path.
"HEADS UP!" He yelled to get Rick's attention on the flying rock. It hit the target, but not in the right spot. He had aimed for its leg but instead hit its chest. The dog yelped, falling over.
"IWANNASAYTHANKSBUTIGOTTAHIDE!!" Rick screamed as he ran inside. The dog regained its bearings and set its homing signal for a new target; the blue- white tall thing. It was now Jack's turn to run and scream the entire way home.
It was later that day; Rick was still outside, working hard for the chickens' safety, food, ect. It was another spring, another year to him. Once again, he had lost a year's chance for meeting someone, the chance to begin living on his own, to begin his own life, but... But once again, he was too stubborn, he had argued too much, he was too hot tempered.. It seemed as though no one could get past his argumentative nature, but it wasn't always just him. No one seemed to analyze the situation from his perspective anymore, as it had been for a few years now. Years come and go, he thought, and this year will probably be no different.
Just then, he saw that new guy, Jack walking by. Jack paused, looked over, smiled, and waved. A little confused, Rick waved back.
"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" He asked in a friendly, yet confused tone. No one said hello in any way, shape, or form to him unless it was out of manners or if they wanted to buy something.
"No, I was just passing by..." Jack answered, and looked around. A small, awkward pause. "The Mayor said you were the main force behind this farm; mind telling me what you do?" Rick was even more confused. This guy's questions and actions weren't on his subconscious grid of "Ways to React to Others".
"Uhh, I guess...why?" Jack opened the fence and walked over to him.
"Oh, just because since I'm going to be running my own farm and raising livestock, I'd like to learn how to raise chickens from an expert." Someone recognized him for something? Something positive??
"I wouldn't call myself an expert..." He said, looking down. An "expert" on chickens, no less... What a way to impress a girl. "But, I do take more care of the chickens than my mother or Popuri... I guess it wouldn't hurt." He walked into the first coop, and Jack assumed he was supposed to follow. However, the handkerchiefed youth was startled when he came in through the threshold and found himself face-to-face with a chicken. "This is Begak." Rick announced in an one-way introduction.
"O-okay, hi, Begak... Poor thing startled me..." Jack said in a shaky voice. Rick chuckled.
"Sorry, I just had to do that. Ok, so, let's start with the basics." He let Jack hold the confused chicken. "This, obviously, is a chicken. They like corn, grain, bugs, worms, little things." Begak lightly fluttered in Jacks hands, feathers flying in a few directions. "They have few expressions, and don't seem like they have that much intelligence or mental compassity for much, but despite this they actually like people and can tell them apart." Now Begak was struggling from the big blue-and-white thing, feathers spewing. Jack wrestled it to the ground, and they engaged in a battle of man and chicken.
"When you're raising chickens," Rick continued, "it's best to keep them out whenever possible, including winter. Although, if it snows or rains, they won't be happy with themselves or you. If you forget, they'll just be in a bad mood for about a day or so, but they can get sick, and if you make it a habit to leave them out, you might find yourself attacked one day." Begak was now standing on top of Jack, triumphant in battle. "As you can see, chickens are also pretty strong. If you do get one soon, you might be able to bring it to the next Chicken Festival. It's actually rather fun, pretty much chicken sumo-wrestling." Jack was silent, waiting... Begak, content with its glorious triumph, sat down on Jack's stomach, daring him for more with his eyes. Suddenly, Jack pounced and round two began. "So, you planning on getting a chicken sometime soon or what?" Rick asked, ending the lecture. Jack quickly stood ramrod straight, Begak balancing itself on his hat.
"Well, I plan on doing that sometime, maybe this Spring if I can afford it." Rick took back the happy Begak.
"Hmm, looks like Begak likes you." The chicken glared at him with rage and hatred, daring and testing him for a round three. Rick placed it down with its other chicken friends. "Anyway, thanks for listening... Chickens aren't the most exciting subject in the world..."
"Sure, thanks for teaching me." Jack responded, attention focused on taking the feathers off of his hat. He glanced outside to find out the time. The sun was far towards the west. "I should be going home if I plan on sowing the seeds today... I just have one question."
"Sure thing." Rick said with a smile, happy with the last chance of a conversation.
"Do you know how those giant boulders got onto my farm? I know they weren't there when my grandfather was in charge..." Rick's happy expression was gone, replaced with that of a confusing concept brought back up.
"Those boulders? I really don't know... Some say the spirits of your grandfather's livestock came and did it for some reason, but I think it was a glitch." Jack walked out the door, looking over his shoulder.
"Dang it, gotta figure it out... Well, thanks Rick, see you later." With that, he was out of the door. Doesn't seem all that bad, Rick thought to himself.
Jack skipped home, despite his leg and the disasterous loss to the chicken. Quickly whipping out the seeds and watering can, he sowed and watered the newly tilled soil. The crows hopped back and forth, confused with the big blue and white thing's constant string of baffling actions. Suddenly, they flew away and scattered, running from something more deadly and dangerous than a big blue and white creature, or a sumo-wrestling chicken....
The dog.
With a red glare in his eyes, the dog in all of his orange fury chased the crows off of the feild, barked at a weed that was trying its luck with him, ran into the arrogant tree in his territory a few times, and then he turned to Jack. Jack decided the seeds had gotten enough watering for that day and now would be a good time to go into his house. It was amazing that he got sleep at all with the dog outside, barking...
The next morning went better. He walked out to see the seeds were already starting to sprout a bit. There were no crows or posessed dogs. Jack watered his plants, ate breakfast, and went to the mountains to search for herbs and bamboo to sell. He continued past the hotsprings, a small mountain lake which fed the stream and waterfall below, and up a small meadow. Jack paused, looking about here. There was a bunch of monotonously colored flowers with a few specks of white, and a several large cherry and apple trees blossoming. Jack surveyed the area a few more minutes, trying to figure out why it caught his attention so. It reminded him of something...
Then, a memory slowly floated back to him like driftwood in the sea. The first time he was there, the actual first time... It was with his grandfather, and he had been there before, in that meadow. He had decided to explore the mountain a bit, and after some strenuous hiking and rock climbing, the meadow seemed like a nice place to flop and rest for a while. Not even two minutes after, he dazed off...
That was when he heard the singing. It came from his right, in front of him, paused, and then next to him. When it suddenly stopped, Jack woke up to see a girl about his age staring down next to him. There was some conversation, story telling of their lives, and then she wanted to show him something, something she loved... It was the view from the nearby peak, a wonderful sight worth the harsh running and jumping and playing from earlier in the day. She asked for him to sing with her this time, and he didn't sound that bad at all! Maybe he should start singing at school or when he goes back home! But,... Jack wondered, but... Why didn't I? Why didn't I remember to...? That was when he remembered the next bit.. He fell. That would stunt someone's song. The girl screamed, he tumbled along the rocky landscape, and then... Then he couldn't remember anymore.
Jack shook his head, having almost consciously relived that scene, and decided to turn back. Quickly putting the successful fruits of his hunt into the magical produce bin, he watered his turnip sprouts. Suddenly a foreboding sense flooded the feild, as clouds covered the sky. Across the feild, the crows had suddenly taken to flight. Jack strained his eyes to see what it was, but it was nothing other than...
The dog.
Jack thought that then would be a good time to go into town. Upon leaving the farm, he stopped to refrain running into Popuri and a young girl next to her.
"Nice to see you again, Kai!" Popuri welcomed, "Whenever you're here I really know it's summer." The young man she was referring to said nothing but grinned arrogantly in pleasure. The young one tugged gently and Popuri's skirt for her attention.
"But wait, Miss Popuri... Didn't Spring just start?" Popuri fell silent, and the purple-handkercheifed youth's expression fell into embarassment and confusion.
"Wait.. I'm supposed to be here right before Summer starts, not the beginning of Spring... You're right! Ack!" He started to waddle off in haste and frustration.
"Wait!" Popuri begged, "Couldn't you just stay here a season longer than usual?" Kai turned around, frustrated and tanned face a deep color due to embarassed blushing.
"My rivalry with that guy isn't supposed to start YET!" He whined, and then stormed off. Jack glanced at the script. The poor guy was right. Popuri sighed and walked off, as the girl finally waddled in her own direction. Jack went his own was by the general store, wandering. He didn't really know where he was going, he was focused on something to pass the time until the dog of doom had left his farm.
"Hello!" A voice stated, startling Jack out of his wandering daze. Looking, he found Rick. He smiled and waved, half out of manners, half out of their conversation from yesterday. Jack returned the greeting warmly. Perhaps Rick was going to be his first friend made there?
"So what have you been up to?" Jack asked, happy to see him again. Rick gestured to the large burlap sacks next to him.
"I'm doing some errands for Mom... Namely picking up the grain for the chickens right now. But for this moment I decided to take a small break." Seemingly to prove the point more, he sat down on the bench. "How about yourself?"
"I'm taking a break myself... There's this dog...thing...in my farm and... Well, I don't want to get in its way. And trust me, if you ever saw this dog, you'd want to keep out of its way too..." Rick silently nodded, although confused. I guess this is what you call fresh meat, he thought to himself as Jack sat down next to him, I can finally make a friend who isn't baist about my past.
"Hey," Rick started, "If you're interested in raising chickens, well, I was wondering if you could help me for right now." Jack cocked his head in curiosity. "Well, my mother's kinda sick right now, and if I didn't have so many chickens, I could help her more..." He chuckled in mid sentence, thinking of another situation. "Popuri's always complaining about how easy my life seems since all I do is 'take care of the chickens'. Ah, she has yet to figure out the meaning of 'bills' and 'mortgage'... Anyway, since you seemed interested in poultry farming yesterday, I was hoping you could take care of a few of them for a few weeks... You can keep any eggs they lay, and I'll even give you food for the time they'll be there, if you help me with this..."
"Of course!" Jack exclaimed, startling Rick, "Why wouldn't I? You're being pretty generous, shouldn't you get 70% of the money from the eggs? And you don't have to be so formal about asking me to help you, of course I will! What kind of person would I be if I didn't? You sound like you're asking the Goddess to ressurect a lost one." Rick was shocked and dumbfounded.
"You'll...? Just help me...? Like that...?" Jack made a mock-teasing grin.
"Well, duh!" Rick still didn't seem to comprehend it. "Who wouldn't?" Anyone else in this village, Rick bitterly thought.
"You're right," Rick finally replied, accepting the generosity, "I'll send the chickens over to your place and put the grain in the fodder... I'm pretty glad we had that Chickens 101 yesterday right now, aren't you?" he joked.
"More like CWF*... Your chickens sure can fight." Jack joked back. (*CWF as in Chicken Wrestling Federation.) They both departed in their own ways, when Jack suddenly stopped, and yelled to Rick. "WAIT!" Rick turned, confused. "You might wanna stay away from there for a while, that dog might still be around!" Rick shrugged and changed his path, carrying the large sack over his shoulder. Jack took the long way, along the townsquare home. He waddled and dawdled the time, trying to take as long as possible before heading home. However, when he passed the poultry farm, Rick ran right by him, screaming the dickens and chased by the orange furball of death. I thought I warned him, Jack mentally sighed, and took a hand-sized rock from along the path.
"HEADS UP!" He yelled to get Rick's attention on the flying rock. It hit the target, but not in the right spot. He had aimed for its leg but instead hit its chest. The dog yelped, falling over.
"IWANNASAYTHANKSBUTIGOTTAHIDE!!" Rick screamed as he ran inside. The dog regained its bearings and set its homing signal for a new target; the blue- white tall thing. It was now Jack's turn to run and scream the entire way home.