Gamer To Farmer
Chapter 14: Fire!
A/N: I will apologize to everyone for the amount of pain that I have put my people through. This will be the last chapter where Tint's mother is present. She may show up again near the end. I just have a chapter of trouble left. Just stay with me for a bit longer. Soon this story will become much gentler, but there will still be problems and conflict. You can't have a good story without conflict.
To khdude: Yes I am Canadian, Yes Elli is my favorite HM girl, and Yes, Mage looks pretty much like Elli. The only difference is that Mage has glasses and her hair is a more blondish color. Other than that, yes they are pretty similar.
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The night sky above Mage's Farm was becoming hazy from the smoke that was billowing from it. I was desperate to run off and find out what was happening, but I was also worried about Elli. In her current weakened state who knows what could happen to her. Elli must have seen the dilemma that I was faced with. "Don't worry about me. I'll just rest here for a bit, then I'll go to your farm. Just go!"
I didn't need to be told twice. I was hurrying up the staircase at top speed. I could see flames flickering through the trees. The fire was already visible and I was still in the square. Definitely not a good omen.
I turned onto the path running behind the square. The sight was sickening. Everything was aflame, from the wood shack all the way to the chicken coop. The entire field was aflame. To top everything off, I could see the outline of a woman standing beside the fire. In her hand was a gas can.
I found myself looking over the flaming buildings with horror. I had slowed to a walk. "What do you have left here now?" Mother asked me when she saw me surveying the wreckage.
"How could you? What is it with you? Do you have some sort of problem with your children?" I asked in disbelief.
I was somewhat relieved when I saw my animals huddled in the far corner of the field, far away from the flames. It looked as if Homer and Epona had rounded up the livestock. I counted the animals. I was missing Cheese Puff, the calf that I had won from the Cow Festival. I looked around desperately, trying to locate the young cow. Nowhere to be seen, leaving inside of the burning barn as the only place left. I sprinted over to the barn door and struggled to open the flaming door.
"What is wrong with you? Are you going to risk your life for one filthy animal?" Mother demanded. Some of the other villagers were just arriving at the scene. Each of them had a look of horror that mirrored my own.
I finally tugged the door open. I stopped and stared at my Mother. "When I get done saving Cheese Puff, I'm making sure that you are arrested and sent as far away as possible." I threatened. Just as I said it, Officer Harris approached my Mother and slipped a set of handcuffs on the madwoman.
The barn was full of smoke. I could hardly see anything inside. "Cheese Puff where are you?" I yelled out and listened carefully. A faint moo replied.
I headed towards the sound, stumbling across broken beams. The heat was unbearable, causing me to sweat like mad. My vision was becoming extremely hazy. The next thing I knew, I was crawling along on my hands and knees, coughing from the smoke inhalation.
My hand stumbled across something. It had to be Cheese Puff. I scooped up the calf and covered my eyes. I made out the faint outline of the door and the fresh outdoors. I took a few steps towards the door, but stopped when I heard a creaking sound above me. I looked up and lost my breath at the sight of the falling rafter headed straight towards me.
My eyes fluttered open. I found myself lying on my back on a patch of grass. There were a lot of blurry faces gathered around above me. "He's coming to!" Someone announced excitedly.
"Surprised he's waking up after that beam nailed him in the head." Another voice stated.
"It's Tint, what do you expect? You think that he'd let one flaming stick finish him off?" Yet another voice laughed.
"That stick required four of us to lift it off of him. He was only lucky that he has that pond located nearby. We never would have put out the fire in time without it." The owner of the first voice added.
"He even managed to use his own body to shield that calf from the rafter. That's what I call a hero." I could tell that voice belonged to Elli. She was sitting beside me, holding a damp cloth against my head. I tried to sit up, but she kept me down. "Don't try to move, you'll only cause the bleeding to get worse."
"Oh that's great." I whispered sarcastically. "Been here less than two seasons and I have an injury list that rivals stunt doubles."
"At least you're still alive." This voice came from Neil. He was standing at the edge of the ashes that once was my field.
"What was saved?" I asked, once again trying to sit up and look around. Once again, Elli pushed me back.
"The news isn't good. Not a single building is left standing." This answer was supplied by Mayor Thomas. I cringed at the news. "I can't believe it myself. We all tried to save what we could, but we were too late."
"She even burnt down the doghouse." Neil stated.
"Where is she? I'm going to make her pay for what she's done!" I struggled to get to my feat and managed to succeed this time. Thomas was right. A pile of ashes is all that remained of my barn, the chicken coop, the house, the doghouse, the lumber shed, and the stable. The field was no longer a rich color, for it was now charred black and covered in the ashes of the pineapple crop that had been growing there.
"She's already on her way back to Canada. Harris ushered her out of here before any of us could get to her." Elli commented.
"I looks like she got what she wanted. I've got nothing else to live for here." I had fallen to my knees, ready to break into tears.
"That a lie and you know it!" Elli wrapped her arms around me and held tightly. "You've still got me and the animals and all of your friends. I'm sure that we can come up with something."
"That's a great idea, Elli! The residents of Mineral Town are all very good people. I'm sure that they'd be willing to do something to help." Thomas announced.
For the first time, I noticed that most of the townspeople were already gathered around. "Did they all help?" I asked.
Neil nodded his head. "Most of them got here before I did. By the time I got here, there was already a couple of dozen of them here, fighting the fires."
I got up to my feet and headed towards the crowd. I could a faint sound coming from the crowd as I neared. It sounded like applause. The applause began to grow as I got closer. Soon it was a deafening roar.
"I don't know what to say. There is no way that I can repay all of you for your help. The only thing I can do is say thank you." A small teardrop escaped from my eye and slid down my cheek.
"You can invite us to your wedding!" A voice called out from the back of the group. I felt my cheeks redden as I looked over at Elli. She had a look of innocence across her face. "What! You expected me to keep it a secret!" She called out causing me to chuckle.
It felt good to laugh. "Ok! You're all invited!" I announced to a round of cheers. "So what are we going to do about this?" I asked as I motioned towards the wreckage.
"I've got some excess lumber. I say we rebuild this place for Tint. Except, make it big enough for the entire family!" Gotz suggested.
Doug took a step forward and cleared his throat. "I've been saving up the money that you've spent at my bar. It should be enough to fund this project." The sad thing is that Doug was probably right.
"I could take your animals home with me to Forget-Me-Not Valley and take care of them there until you get everything back up to par." A voice suggested.
"Jack, you're still here?" I asked when I spotted the farmer amid the crowd.
"Of course! My wife just loves those Pink Cat flowers. I was going to collect some tomorrow before I left. I was going to get some today, but apparently someone had emptied the entire field of them." Jack admitted.
"Sorry about that…" Neil said apologetically, causing us all to laugh. He was following the same routine that I had when I came to Mineral Town. Except he didn't have the bruises from that demon tree.
"Then you can stop by in the morning and pick up my livestock. Just take good care of them." I warned, but couldn't help cracking a smile. Everything was looking up.
"It's settled then. Whoever wishes can come by tomorrow and lend a hand. It ahs been a long evening, so let us call it a day." Thomas announced. The crowd agreed and went their separate ways, leaving behind only myself, Neil, and Elli.
"What about us? Where are we going to sleep?" I asked, mostly to myself.
Elli overheard me and was quick to offer a suggestion. "Tint you can spend the night at my place. I'll just ask Stu if he wants to spend the night at the Inn if Neil's there."
We arrived at Elli's place in shortly afterwards. Stuimmediately accepted the offer once we explained what had happened. We were all gathered inside of Elli's house. Stu bolted towards the door, tugging Neil along with him. "Now behave yourselves. There are two beds there, use them both." He smiled slyly as he was pulled out the door by Stu.
"Where's the fun in that?" I shouted after him. I turned over to Elli and smiled slyly at her. She was already getting into the nearest bed. She noticed the look I was giving her and shook her head, pointing at the second bed. "That isn't very nice." I stated as I headed towards that bed.
"You take everything so seriously. I was just kidding." Elli said with a laugh. She had moved over to make room for me and was patting the bed beside her. At least the day was having a good ending.
The smell of something cooking woke me up. I glanced up towards the kitchen area and saw Elli making breakfast. "I didn't know that you could cook." I commented as I slid out of bed and began tying my boots.
"I didn't know that you snored." Elli retorted, but couldn't help laughing a bit.
"Come on! I don't snore!" I stated defensively.
"You're right, you don't snore. You use a chainsaw in your sleep."
I had walked up behind her and slid my arms around her waist. I looked over her shoulder. "What'cha making me for breakfast?" I asked.
"This is all for me. You're going to have to make your own." She replied as she piled the eggs and toast onto her plate.
"That can't all be for you!" I said in disbelief.
"It's not all for me. A pregnant woman has to feed for two." She answered as she sat down at the table.
"You still don't look pregnant." I grumbled as I cracked a few eggs into the frying pan.
"Thanks. I'm only just only over a week pregnant. I shouldn't start showing signs until the middle of next week." Elli replied as she shoved a mouthful of food into her mouth.
"You know a whole bunch about babies, right? You were the midwife of the town for quite some time. Then you should be able to figure out the due date." I commented as I waited for my food to be ready. I still wasn't used to making my own food for breakfast. I missed Chef for that. He really was an amazing cook and should've entered the Cooking Festival.
Elli got up from her seat and headed over towards a calendar on the wall. She began counting days as she whispered, "Two seasons since insemination… Let's see… That would make the due date… About the thirteenth of December." She stated with triumph as she returned to her seat.
My food was ready. I transferred it all to a plate and sat down beside Elli. "That isn't very far off. Which reminds me, when are we planning the wedding for?" I asked.
"How about the day that Mage's farm is reconstructed? It would make a very nice opening ceremony." Elli suggested.
"That works for me. I should hurry up and get to the farm before Jack comes by for the animals." I said as I finished up the last bit of breakfast.
"Sure thing. I'll be there in about an hour. I have to get Stu and Neil first." Elli gave me a kiss before I headed out the door.
The farm was in the same state as it was yesterday. Ashes everywhere. The animals had huddled together for warmth near where the house once stood. "Hey guys. Sorry that there aren't and places for you to stay indoors." I apologized to my animals.
"I'll make sure to give them a good place. My barn's pretty much empty and I don't have a single chicken of my own." Jack stated. He surprised me. I didn't even see him approach. His cow was hauling a wagon loaded with cages.
"It's so generous of you to volunteer to take care of my animals for me. Keep the profits as payment for your hospitality." I suggested as I began to help him place my chickens inside of the individual cages. We then attached Blimp to the cart and placed Cheese Puff among the cages.
"I'm sure that you'd do the same for me if it was my farm that burnt down." Jack replied. He paused for a bit before motioning over to Epona and Homer. "You keeping those two?"
I nodded my head in response. "Homer and Epona are both too young to be left with a stranger. I'm only letting you take care of Cheese Puff because she'll be better off with you than here. Plus, she doesn't know me that well yet."
"I understand." Jack reached out his hand. "Well, I best be on my way. Just come by my farm when you want the animals back."
I grasped his hand and shook it. "Have a safe journey." I encouraged as he climbed atop his wagon. Before long, he was a speck in the distance as he headed off past Mother's Hill.
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A/N: So maybe the second lap of the roller coaster wasn't as good as the first. At least Mother is gone. I don't know if I got the due date right or which direction Forget-Me-Not Valley is from Mineral Town. If anyone has any comments on this please tell me.
On another note, this will be my last update for over a week. The play that I am part of has four practices and four performances coming up within the next week. This is above and beyond school. I won't have any time to write up the next chapter. I promise that I will update the first chance possible. Till then, Tint out.