::o_O ... *Slowly edges into view, slightly afraid of any traps that
could have been placed during the needless absence* ... Phew! Ok! I'm
sorry this took so long and.. *looks at the last updated date* -HOLY CRUD
I've let this go too far! *Bows furiously, hitting the keyboard*
I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'm ow-!! It took a review of someone's
polite impatience to make me get my ass back in gear and start writing
about fluffy, innocent chickens again.. *Rubs her forehead* Anyway, again
I'm sorry.. Things have been going haywire and downhill for the past few
months.. But anyway, since I'm starting to regain myself, I'm going to try
on this story once more. *Looks at the publishing date* May, 2002.. It's
almost been a year.. I was planning to have finished this by now, but..
Oh maan, I'd better start typing!::
Jack was cautious on his leave from the safety of the church, but with the absence of demonic dogs in sight, he eventually gained confidence and speed. While walking home, Jack decided to check the billboard for upcoming events. The most recent post read:
"Hearest thou allest within the premesis!" (Jack shuddered at the horrid Elizabethan text.) "Ye olde Springe Festivale shall be held Springe 14th! Ask ye olde girls oute, or you may not get the chance!" Spring Festival, Jack contemplated. Sounds like there's going to be some dancing involved.. Time to show off my olde dancing skills! Merrily did our olde protagoniste skip onward home.
*Note: Tis now a few days later.*
"Rick! Riiiick! A spider! Rick! Getitgetit EEWWW!!" Popuri screetched at the top of her lungs from downstairs in the living room. Rick stirred in his bed, glancing at the egg-shaped clock on the wall that read "5:32". The sun peaked its head through the window, signifying the day had just begun.
"Will she never grow up..?" He moaned to himself, slinking out of his comfortable bed and doning his well-worn wear. Stumbling down the stair case, he was met with Popuri's angry glare; her eyes wide and wet with fear, her face red from terror. "Where is it?" The orange-haired young man yawned.
"IT'STHERE IT'STHERE IT'STHERE!!" She rapidly screamed, pointing to a small black spot on the other side of the room. "EEIIYAAGH!! Kill it!" Rick lazilly wandered towards the cupboard and took out a clear cup and withdrew a piece of paper from the pile on the table. Slowly now, to avoid scaring it, Rick placed the cup over the spider and suddenly trapped it. Ignoring his younger sister's screeches and instructions to just kill it, Rick rather slipped the paper underneath the cup and then lifted both. Rushing to avoid any further dialogue from Popuri, Rick quickly ran to the door, opened it, and let the spider out.
"There you go." The man with glasses wistfully thought. "Free a way I'll never be.."
"Oi! Rick-sama!" Rick glanced up, his attention caught by the sudden call to him. Near the entrance to the farm was the youth who was being so friendly to him; Jack. "Your mother feeling any better? I haven't seen a sign of you for days now!" Rick sighed.
"She is as of yesterday, thankfully. I'll be able to join the living soon." The long-haired man stood upright and stretched. "How have the chickens been?" Jack plastered on once more his happy smile.
"They're doing well.." His grin suddenly transformed into a dark glare. "Except for her. That one." Rick curiously cocked his head to one side.
"Which one?"
"That one." Jack continued, glaring at nothing in particular; just the memory of the chicken. "Her. The evil one." Rick scanned his memory to see which one it could have been that Jack of all people could take a disliking to.
"Oh, you mean Begak? What's wrong with her..? You two seemed to get along so well.."
"Eighteen to five. Her favor." Rick angled his head in the other direction, still confused. "I can't believe she's won eighteen times and I only five." Unable to make sense of the newbie farmer, the carrot-top decided to change the subject.
"So.. Anyway.." He yawned. It was still not quite six yet.. "How's the farm going? You've been here for little over a week now.." Jack suddenly popped into his normal optimistic expression like a balloon poked with a needle.
"Ah! I've already harvested a crop of turnips, so I'm going to move on to cuccumbers. I've also started to clean the whole yard!"
"Sounds like hard work."
"Yeah, but I can't imagine what life must be like to face those killer chickens of yours every morning..." Seeing his blue-eyed friend still a little hazy on what it was he was talking about, Jack moved on. "Hey, I heard the Spring Festival's coming up. What's it about anyway?" Rick's eyes, though almost always clear with concentration and ferocity, suddenly dulled and clouded over.
"Ah yes.. The Spring Festival.." Remembering that Jack had just asked him a question, Rick focused on the answer rather than his memories. "Well, it's a traditional festival where we honor the Goddess' return and the sudden gush of life back in the world again.. It's also a time when the younger couples can ask one another out to the Annual Spring Dance.. It's a lot of fun, I guess.." The capped boy squinted and looked into his friend's misty eyes.
"Something wrong, Rick?" The addressed one jumped at the show of concern.
"Wh-what? Pardon me?" Jack persisted with the question.
"What's wrong? You alright? You just suddenly seem sad about something.." Rick couldn't get his widened eyes to close to a normal amount, so he cleverly looked away and cleared his throat.
"I-It's nothing. I just... I've just never been able to get a date myself, that's all." The handkercheif-ed one recalled his conversation with the pastor. 'Never really got along well with the other villagers..' In a desperate attempt to turn the tables, Rick flipped the question back onto Jack. "Have you been able to find a date yourself?" Innocently, Jack scratched the back of his head as though he had been caught playing a prank.
"Ah.. no, not really.." His faced turned red and a grin once again drilled its way between his cheeks. "I mean, the girls here are really cute and all, but I didn't.. you know, want to ask them out or anything.." Rick smiled in return, but mostly at the young man's innocence. Finally he wouldn't be the only one.. finally not alone.. "Hey!" An idea hatched into the young one's head and the sudden action startled the long-haired man. "Rick, I have an idea!"
"Uh.." An idea for the Spring Festival..? What was he talking about? "What would that be?" Jack could barely keep his eyes open, he was grinning so much.
"Well, you know about how the two of us can't find a date.. Perhaps we can 'make' one?"
" 'M-make'..??" This didn't sound good, Rick thought. His inner sirens and alarms were blaring. By now the blue-capped boy was struggling to hold back the laughter.
"Yeah! I know I certainly don't want to show up for my first festival date- less; I'm still making my first impression on the town! And you're probably sick of everyone asking you about who you're asking out or why you can't get a date.." Slowly what little color Rick had started to drain from his complexion.. Jack suddeny froze in his tracks and looked at his thoroughly anxious friend. "Well, I mean, are you interested in this idea?" Rick had to be cautious with his answer.
"W-well, it depends on what your idea really is.." Jack's translation: "Yes!"
"Alrighty then!" Jack beamed. "If anyone asks you who your date is this year, you can now say 'It's a girl that Jack set me up with from another town', ok?" His grin, if it was even possible, grew. "Oh, this is going to be pretty frickin' hilarious!" Immediately, as though chased by a certain dog, Jack sprinted off towards his home, never even hearing Rick's question as to what this brilliant plan was.
Once home, Jack furiously whipped out all of the scraps of fabric he could and splayed them across the floor. Soon after, he snatched out a few spindles of thread and a needle from his bedside drawer and placed them next to the fabric. This accomplished, our protagonist looked across the cloths, contemplating what they would soon form. Once decided, he reached for his scissors when he found out- he didn't have a pair! Curse the Law of Convenience!* (Law of Convenience- Whenever you really want/want to do something, the one item you really need will be nowhere to be found.)
Jack soon thought of the next best thing. Leaping out of his house and into the chicken pen, the handkercheifed one grabbed a fowl and sprinted back inside. By now Jack could tell which chicken was the one he had in his hands right now; he could before he even left the house. Somehow, he had learned how to sense its aura due to how much he had fought with it. Of course, I'm assuming we all know which chicken it is by now.
"BEGAAAK!!" The chicken of the respectful name cried out. Jack furiously struggled to keep the sumo-chicken within his hands.
"Wait-wait-wait!" He pled to the stronger of the two. "Hear me out! I'm trying to do this as a favor for your master! Remember, Rick?" At the sound of his name, Begak suddenly stopped, listening. "I want to do something for him, and I need you to help me. I want you to cut this cloth; you want to do this?" After kicking at air a few futile times, Begak finally relaxed and agreed.. somehow. Now equipped with the Amazing Cutting Chicken, Jack set forth with his plans.
He knew this would be embarassing for him. Especially if anyone figured it out.. But at the same time, Jack always remained focused that he wasn't doing this for himself. All too well was the image of his friend's face suddenly becoming so clouded with depression an memories engraved into Jack's mind. Obviously, the farmer knew more than he let on. Either way, he had to do this.. As hard and humiliating as it could be for him, he had to do this kindess for Rick..
A few days passed by. Dawn would light up the darkened corners of the earth, warm them in the Spring light, and fade into night. While one young man cured his mother, he continued to ignore his feelings since no one else seemed to care about them. They would, however, occasionally interfere with his life and cause him to try to surpress them further. At the same time, another young boy was hurrying back and forth between his duties; poultry farming, harvesting cuccumbers and turnips, and at night working on a personal project. And soon the Fourteenth reared its head to the inhabitants of Mineral town..
Rick waited patiently at the crossroads between Yodel Ranch and the town square. This was the place Jack had so forcably instructed for him to wait.. From the instructions Jack had given him, Rick assumed this was some blind date. The only real clue he got as to the person was 'don't be surprised if you end up following during the dance.' Squinting at the flowering bushes and daffodils through his glasses, blazingly bright in the morning light. Rick still couldn't recall what had made him agree to going on a blind date that Jack of all people was setting up..
"Um.. Excuse me.." A light and delicate voice shyly asked. Rick turned to face the source of the voice. "Rick?" It was a young girl, a little younger than Rick himself. She had a small brown ponytail and her cheeks were almost as deep crimson as a rose. Her eyes were a blue-green, which shined off brightly in the sun's morning glow. Her dress was a motely gathering of colors, made of many fine and common fabrics. Well made and fashionably decorative, it showed off the girl's figure in an attractively modest way. The carrot-top, remembering this was his cue to answer, stuttered and fidgeted with his sleeves.
"Uh, yeah.. Y-You're- um, you're the girl Jack set me up with, right?" Suddenly the girl burst out into giggling, and Rick remained quiet as his face blushed. He knew it; he just humiliated himself once more, another memory he will carry to his grave, mocking him..
"Rick!" She laughed, "It's me!" The long-haired one looked on deeply, trying in all efforts to recall the lovely young girl.. "Jack!" Suddenly, Rick felt light-headed.. Colors suddenly flashed bright and dulled and the world faded into darkness as the last thing he could see was the sky...
-----------------------------------
The next chapter is soon to come! I'm so sorry it took so long..! I give my readers permission to hit me with a wooden penguin if I don't post the next chapter within the next two months!!
Jack was cautious on his leave from the safety of the church, but with the absence of demonic dogs in sight, he eventually gained confidence and speed. While walking home, Jack decided to check the billboard for upcoming events. The most recent post read:
"Hearest thou allest within the premesis!" (Jack shuddered at the horrid Elizabethan text.) "Ye olde Springe Festivale shall be held Springe 14th! Ask ye olde girls oute, or you may not get the chance!" Spring Festival, Jack contemplated. Sounds like there's going to be some dancing involved.. Time to show off my olde dancing skills! Merrily did our olde protagoniste skip onward home.
*Note: Tis now a few days later.*
"Rick! Riiiick! A spider! Rick! Getitgetit EEWWW!!" Popuri screetched at the top of her lungs from downstairs in the living room. Rick stirred in his bed, glancing at the egg-shaped clock on the wall that read "5:32". The sun peaked its head through the window, signifying the day had just begun.
"Will she never grow up..?" He moaned to himself, slinking out of his comfortable bed and doning his well-worn wear. Stumbling down the stair case, he was met with Popuri's angry glare; her eyes wide and wet with fear, her face red from terror. "Where is it?" The orange-haired young man yawned.
"IT'STHERE IT'STHERE IT'STHERE!!" She rapidly screamed, pointing to a small black spot on the other side of the room. "EEIIYAAGH!! Kill it!" Rick lazilly wandered towards the cupboard and took out a clear cup and withdrew a piece of paper from the pile on the table. Slowly now, to avoid scaring it, Rick placed the cup over the spider and suddenly trapped it. Ignoring his younger sister's screeches and instructions to just kill it, Rick rather slipped the paper underneath the cup and then lifted both. Rushing to avoid any further dialogue from Popuri, Rick quickly ran to the door, opened it, and let the spider out.
"There you go." The man with glasses wistfully thought. "Free a way I'll never be.."
"Oi! Rick-sama!" Rick glanced up, his attention caught by the sudden call to him. Near the entrance to the farm was the youth who was being so friendly to him; Jack. "Your mother feeling any better? I haven't seen a sign of you for days now!" Rick sighed.
"She is as of yesterday, thankfully. I'll be able to join the living soon." The long-haired man stood upright and stretched. "How have the chickens been?" Jack plastered on once more his happy smile.
"They're doing well.." His grin suddenly transformed into a dark glare. "Except for her. That one." Rick curiously cocked his head to one side.
"Which one?"
"That one." Jack continued, glaring at nothing in particular; just the memory of the chicken. "Her. The evil one." Rick scanned his memory to see which one it could have been that Jack of all people could take a disliking to.
"Oh, you mean Begak? What's wrong with her..? You two seemed to get along so well.."
"Eighteen to five. Her favor." Rick angled his head in the other direction, still confused. "I can't believe she's won eighteen times and I only five." Unable to make sense of the newbie farmer, the carrot-top decided to change the subject.
"So.. Anyway.." He yawned. It was still not quite six yet.. "How's the farm going? You've been here for little over a week now.." Jack suddenly popped into his normal optimistic expression like a balloon poked with a needle.
"Ah! I've already harvested a crop of turnips, so I'm going to move on to cuccumbers. I've also started to clean the whole yard!"
"Sounds like hard work."
"Yeah, but I can't imagine what life must be like to face those killer chickens of yours every morning..." Seeing his blue-eyed friend still a little hazy on what it was he was talking about, Jack moved on. "Hey, I heard the Spring Festival's coming up. What's it about anyway?" Rick's eyes, though almost always clear with concentration and ferocity, suddenly dulled and clouded over.
"Ah yes.. The Spring Festival.." Remembering that Jack had just asked him a question, Rick focused on the answer rather than his memories. "Well, it's a traditional festival where we honor the Goddess' return and the sudden gush of life back in the world again.. It's also a time when the younger couples can ask one another out to the Annual Spring Dance.. It's a lot of fun, I guess.." The capped boy squinted and looked into his friend's misty eyes.
"Something wrong, Rick?" The addressed one jumped at the show of concern.
"Wh-what? Pardon me?" Jack persisted with the question.
"What's wrong? You alright? You just suddenly seem sad about something.." Rick couldn't get his widened eyes to close to a normal amount, so he cleverly looked away and cleared his throat.
"I-It's nothing. I just... I've just never been able to get a date myself, that's all." The handkercheif-ed one recalled his conversation with the pastor. 'Never really got along well with the other villagers..' In a desperate attempt to turn the tables, Rick flipped the question back onto Jack. "Have you been able to find a date yourself?" Innocently, Jack scratched the back of his head as though he had been caught playing a prank.
"Ah.. no, not really.." His faced turned red and a grin once again drilled its way between his cheeks. "I mean, the girls here are really cute and all, but I didn't.. you know, want to ask them out or anything.." Rick smiled in return, but mostly at the young man's innocence. Finally he wouldn't be the only one.. finally not alone.. "Hey!" An idea hatched into the young one's head and the sudden action startled the long-haired man. "Rick, I have an idea!"
"Uh.." An idea for the Spring Festival..? What was he talking about? "What would that be?" Jack could barely keep his eyes open, he was grinning so much.
"Well, you know about how the two of us can't find a date.. Perhaps we can 'make' one?"
" 'M-make'..??" This didn't sound good, Rick thought. His inner sirens and alarms were blaring. By now the blue-capped boy was struggling to hold back the laughter.
"Yeah! I know I certainly don't want to show up for my first festival date- less; I'm still making my first impression on the town! And you're probably sick of everyone asking you about who you're asking out or why you can't get a date.." Slowly what little color Rick had started to drain from his complexion.. Jack suddeny froze in his tracks and looked at his thoroughly anxious friend. "Well, I mean, are you interested in this idea?" Rick had to be cautious with his answer.
"W-well, it depends on what your idea really is.." Jack's translation: "Yes!"
"Alrighty then!" Jack beamed. "If anyone asks you who your date is this year, you can now say 'It's a girl that Jack set me up with from another town', ok?" His grin, if it was even possible, grew. "Oh, this is going to be pretty frickin' hilarious!" Immediately, as though chased by a certain dog, Jack sprinted off towards his home, never even hearing Rick's question as to what this brilliant plan was.
Once home, Jack furiously whipped out all of the scraps of fabric he could and splayed them across the floor. Soon after, he snatched out a few spindles of thread and a needle from his bedside drawer and placed them next to the fabric. This accomplished, our protagonist looked across the cloths, contemplating what they would soon form. Once decided, he reached for his scissors when he found out- he didn't have a pair! Curse the Law of Convenience!* (Law of Convenience- Whenever you really want/want to do something, the one item you really need will be nowhere to be found.)
Jack soon thought of the next best thing. Leaping out of his house and into the chicken pen, the handkercheifed one grabbed a fowl and sprinted back inside. By now Jack could tell which chicken was the one he had in his hands right now; he could before he even left the house. Somehow, he had learned how to sense its aura due to how much he had fought with it. Of course, I'm assuming we all know which chicken it is by now.
"BEGAAAK!!" The chicken of the respectful name cried out. Jack furiously struggled to keep the sumo-chicken within his hands.
"Wait-wait-wait!" He pled to the stronger of the two. "Hear me out! I'm trying to do this as a favor for your master! Remember, Rick?" At the sound of his name, Begak suddenly stopped, listening. "I want to do something for him, and I need you to help me. I want you to cut this cloth; you want to do this?" After kicking at air a few futile times, Begak finally relaxed and agreed.. somehow. Now equipped with the Amazing Cutting Chicken, Jack set forth with his plans.
He knew this would be embarassing for him. Especially if anyone figured it out.. But at the same time, Jack always remained focused that he wasn't doing this for himself. All too well was the image of his friend's face suddenly becoming so clouded with depression an memories engraved into Jack's mind. Obviously, the farmer knew more than he let on. Either way, he had to do this.. As hard and humiliating as it could be for him, he had to do this kindess for Rick..
A few days passed by. Dawn would light up the darkened corners of the earth, warm them in the Spring light, and fade into night. While one young man cured his mother, he continued to ignore his feelings since no one else seemed to care about them. They would, however, occasionally interfere with his life and cause him to try to surpress them further. At the same time, another young boy was hurrying back and forth between his duties; poultry farming, harvesting cuccumbers and turnips, and at night working on a personal project. And soon the Fourteenth reared its head to the inhabitants of Mineral town..
Rick waited patiently at the crossroads between Yodel Ranch and the town square. This was the place Jack had so forcably instructed for him to wait.. From the instructions Jack had given him, Rick assumed this was some blind date. The only real clue he got as to the person was 'don't be surprised if you end up following during the dance.' Squinting at the flowering bushes and daffodils through his glasses, blazingly bright in the morning light. Rick still couldn't recall what had made him agree to going on a blind date that Jack of all people was setting up..
"Um.. Excuse me.." A light and delicate voice shyly asked. Rick turned to face the source of the voice. "Rick?" It was a young girl, a little younger than Rick himself. She had a small brown ponytail and her cheeks were almost as deep crimson as a rose. Her eyes were a blue-green, which shined off brightly in the sun's morning glow. Her dress was a motely gathering of colors, made of many fine and common fabrics. Well made and fashionably decorative, it showed off the girl's figure in an attractively modest way. The carrot-top, remembering this was his cue to answer, stuttered and fidgeted with his sleeves.
"Uh, yeah.. Y-You're- um, you're the girl Jack set me up with, right?" Suddenly the girl burst out into giggling, and Rick remained quiet as his face blushed. He knew it; he just humiliated himself once more, another memory he will carry to his grave, mocking him..
"Rick!" She laughed, "It's me!" The long-haired one looked on deeply, trying in all efforts to recall the lovely young girl.. "Jack!" Suddenly, Rick felt light-headed.. Colors suddenly flashed bright and dulled and the world faded into darkness as the last thing he could see was the sky...
-----------------------------------
The next chapter is soon to come! I'm so sorry it took so long..! I give my readers permission to hit me with a wooden penguin if I don't post the next chapter within the next two months!!