Claire woke up the next morning with a burst of energy. She got dressed and played with Koro for a bit. She found that she was laughing again. The farmer walked to her table and fished through the bags that Karen had left the night before. Everything in the package was premade and shelf stable, and Claire was grateful because she didn't have a kitchen to cook anything in. She ripped a chunk off of the bread and added some honey that she had harvested the day before. It was so delicious and she was so thankful that she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Licking her fingers, Claire grabbed her watering can and headed outside.

The field was lined with sprouts, but soon they would be crops. Claire took comfort in this fact as she watered. Koro ran about in the grass, barking at the squirrels. This place would be her home now, she realized for the first time, and it actually made her excited. Claire smiled; after last night, she felt more comfortable about life in Mineral Town.

And it was all thanks to Karen. If Karen hadn't dragged Claire out to see the town, the farmer had no idea how long she'd have kept herself cooped up. She wanted to thank Karen somehow, but she wasn't sure how to go about doing it. Claire thought about taking Karen to the bar sometime and paying, but she quickly changed her mind. There was no way she could afford that, especially with how much Karen drank. What if she bought a nice bottle of wine at the Aja Winery for her? That could also prove to be quite costly at her current financial level. There had to be something she could do or get for Karen that wouldn't cost Claire anything, and maybe alcohol wasn't the best idea. Maybe simply spending time with her and bonding a bit with her would be good enough for right now.

What about spending some time with her at the Harvest Goddess Spring? Karen had mentioned how important the place was to her. It wouldn't cost Claire anything. It was rumored that the Harvest Goddess was fond of flowers; they could go to the spring and make an offering. The more Claire thought of the idea, the more excited she became. She still felt a little nervous inviting Karen, though. While Claire saw Karen as her closest friend, she still felt a sense of intimidation around her.

And why shouldn't she? Claire wondered miserably. After all, Karen was confident, carefree, and she never hesitated to say exactly what was on her mind. Claire quickly shook these thoughts out of her head. She was already having problems with jealousy as it was, although the target of her envy was quite different than the brunette.

Mary seemed to be the polar opposite of Karen. She was quiet, reserved, and polite, yet she was on Gray's good side. Claire suddenly wished that she knew how to write well. She wished that she could recommend books for Gray. The farmer shook her head. She could write decently, but it was a chore for her. And while she did enjoy reading from time to time, there was no point in competing with Mary in that field. Claire would just have to find something else that she and the apprentice had in common.

Claire felt glum as she finished watering her crops. It frustrated her how drastically her mood had changed from the time she woke up. Maybe she shouldn't think about Gray for a while. That would be hard to do since she was heading to the mines next. Claire had been giving him copper she found in the caves. She figured that she would give him the copper that evening after she was all finished with her chores.

Claire hurried to the mines and went straight to work. She found three pieces of copper and a bit of silver. Thinking about giving Gray his present made her giddy. Her joy was quickly disrupted. Now that she had been introduced to Cliff, it would be rude to give Gray a present in front of him when she went to the inn this evening. Perhaps she should get something for Cliff as well?

Claire bit her lip. She had no idea what the young man liked. She didn't have the money to buy him something, so she would have to find something to give to him. The farmer doubted that Cliff had much interest in ores. But if she gave Cliff presents, would Gray start to notice and think that Claire was interested in his roommate? She wasn't really intending on wooing two men… The young woman sighed. She heard the flapping of wings again and what almost sounded like talons scraping on rock. There must be really large bats in this cave… She quickly decided a simple hello for Cliff would suffice and she threw more ores into her basket, hurrying out of the cave. It definitely wasn't because she was scared, though… really. She made her way back to the farm, setting aside a piece of copper for Gray.

0o0o0o0

Claire knocked anxiously on the inn room's door. The blacksmith opened the door, as usual.

"Hello, Claire."

"H-hello." Even though the young woman had been visiting on a regular basis, she still got terribly nervous. She stepped inside. It was a simple room. Three beds lined the wall, and a table sat at the side of the room. She spotted Cliff sitting at the table, and he looked up from his book; it looked like a field guide of some sort.

"Hi, Claire."

"Hi, Cliff."

"Cliff was just telling me about your outing," Gray smiled. "I'm glad that you and Karen showed him around yesterday. I've been trying to get him to learn more about the town for a while now. Even sweet, perky Ann tried to show him before at Carter's request, but he refused. He's such an unfeeling jerk," the apprentice teased.

Color rushed into the young man's cheeks. "I wasn't trying to be rude to her!" He was flustered. "She was just being so pushy about it! I-I apologized t-to her!" Cliff paused. "I was kind of nervous about going into town, but I'm glad we went anyway."

Claire almost mentioned her own hesitations about going into town, but decided to hold her tongue. "I learned a lot about the town yesterday." She wasn't quite sure what to say.

The young woman began to reach for the copper in her rucksack, but felt a rush of guilt. Maybe giving gifts to Gray in front of Cliff was a bad idea after all. Cliff broke the silence.

"Claire, remember when we talked about eating at the inn t-together? Would you w-want to… eat lunch with me sometime after the cooking festival?" The young man stammered, looking at the floor.

Claire's hands immediately began to sweat. She was glad that he seemed a little more comfortable around her, but why did Cliff have to say these kinds of things to her in front of Gray?

"I'm sorry, but I'm kinda broke right now," Claire responded numbly. It wasn't a complete lie…

"Cliff's a gentleman. He wouldn't ask a lady out to lunch and then expect her to pay for it." Gray beamed, folding his arms.

The brunette's face turned a lovely shade of burgundy. "But i-it's not a d-date."

"No one said it was," Gray said simply, nodding to himself. He turned toward the farmer. "Well, what do you say?"

Well, Gray himself agreed it wasn't a date…

But Claire felt cornered, regardless. Carter was probably putting Cliff up to this. And why was Gray encouraging the whole thing? How she wished Gray were the one asking her to lunch, even if it wasn't a date! Claire bit her lip. She knew she wasn't being fair. She knew that Cliff was probably nervous about asking her to lunch the same way she was worried about asking Karen to the Goddess Spring.

"Okay," Claire responded timidly. "What time do you want to meet?"

"How about a few days after the cooking festival? I've been told the inn will be packed with customers the day after, so we can wait until it calms down here." The farmer noticed Cliff wasn't stammering now that he got his answer.

"That sounds fine. I'll see you then."

"Alright. Goodnight Claire."

"Goodnight, Cliff, Gray."

The young woman left the inn, breathing in the cool night air. She was overcome with relief of how harmless the outing sounded when she thought about it logically. In fact, she felt so mellow and at ease that she had forgotten all about the ore she was debating about giving to Gray.

She was in such a good mood that she walked to the grocery store and asked Karen if she would like to meet her at the Goddess Spring the next day to offer wildflowers. The grocer's daughter was so pleased that she gave Claire a squeeze. The farmer took that as a yes.

0o0o0o0

Claire was brushing her hair when she heard a knock at the door.

"Good morning!" Karen was perky today and had a bag slung over her shoulder. "Let's go to the spring!"

"Alright," Claire smiled and grabbed her own bag.

"I go up here a lot of mornings," Karen said, leading the way up the trail. "The Goddess Spring is my main stop."

The pair began picking wildflowers and bundling them into bouquets.

"You know, Carter's told me that the Harvest Goddess loves wildflowers," Karen said very matter-of-factly. "You better make your prayer a good one," she laughed.

Claire knew exactly what she was going to pray for. The two friends dropped their flowers into the water and prayed silently for several minutes.

Harvest Goddess, please forgive me for bathing in your spring. I had no idea, and I meant no disrespect. The farmer closed her eyes, and the vague vision of a lovely figure appeared in her mind.

Of course you are forgiven, my child. Go forth, and use your farm to bring happiness to the people of this village.

Claire jumped. She had never received such a direct response from a prayer.

"Did you see her?" Karen asked quietly.

The farmer stared at the ripples in the water of the unearthly spring. It was crystal blue, and the waterfall was a constant din that she had blocked out a long time ago. This was definitely hallowed ground. "Kind of," Claire whispered.

"I didn't get a vision this time, but it happens once in a blue moon. This spring is a very special place," the brunette stared at the flowers floating on the water. "What did you pray for, anyway?"

Claire blushed. "I realized I had been bathing in her spring; I was asking for forgiveness."

Karen laughed heartily and slapped her friend on the back. "Did she show you her wrath? I've been told she can be kind of moody for a goddess."

Claire felt uncomfortable that Karen was speaking so candidly in a sacred place. "She was very understanding."

"Well, that's a relief." Karen hoisted her bag over her shoulder, pulled out a towel, and tossed it at Claire's face. "Hot spring time!"

"Really? During the day? Don't you think people will pass through here?" Claire reddened, pulling the towel off of her head.

Karen had already removed her vest and shirt as she walked toward the spring. "Come on, no one cares. There are usually only girls up here anyway."

The farmer let out a sigh of relief and followed Karen behind the privacy fence and hesitantly began unbuttoning her flannel shirt. She thought of her school in the city, and she typically got changed in the restroom while the rest of the girls had no problem getting changed right in front of each other. She couldn't understand how it didn't bother some people to be naked in front of others. Weren't they afraid of someone judging them?

Claire frowned; she had always been self-conscious about her body, especially since she hit puberty. Now that she was an adult, she was aware that sometimes men's eyes followed her as she walked past them in the office and it made her a little nervous. She hated being dragged to the bar by her girlfriends in the city; the looks her group got there were far worse, and she felt awkward that she was the only one in the party who wasn't actively seeking these glances.

Karen had already stripped down and scrubbed herself. Claire stared down at the ground as she stumbled out of her boots; she was so nervous about undressing in front of her friend that she had made the process as clumsy as possible.

The brunette finished washing and dumped a bucket of water over her head. "Slowpoke," she scoffed, balancing her towel on her head and climbing into the water. She looked up and noticed the uncomfortable look on her friend's face. "Come on, we're both grown women; I don't care. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." She stood up in the water, and Claire wished her friend had a bit more modesty. "It's only weird if you make it weird, so stop it," she laughed, splashing the farmer.

Claire quickly got undressed, washed herself as swiftly as she could, and held her towel in front of her as she stood at the edge of the spring.

She didn't want anyone to see her, not even Karen.

"Are you coming in or not? Come on!" Karen rolled her eyes.

Claire looked around her nervously before setting her own towel on the edge of the spring. She sunk down into the water until it reached her chin. Karen smirked at her.

"You're from out west, huh?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"W-well, yeah…" It had been a daylong ferry ride due west to get back to the city, and she was reminded daily how far away she was from what she had grown accustomed to. She still wasn't completely used to the concept of an open air bath; she folded her arms across her chest for modesty.

"Oh, no! You have breasts, Claire!" Karen roared with laughter as Claire reddened. "Seriously, though… relax. No one's going to come up here."

Just as she said those words, a Claire could see a couple more girls were walking up the path together through the cracks in the privacy fence.

"Good morning, Karen, Claire!" Ann walked right up to them; she must have heard Karen's laughter. "Hot springs, eh? I'm jealous. I'd join you, but the inn will be opening soon," the redhead pouted. "It must be nice having a flexible schedule, huh, Claire?"

Ann was looking their way, but she wasn't threatening at all. Claire relaxed a tiny bit. "Yeah… Yeah, it is really nice," the farmer caught herself smiling.

"Well, I've come to say a prayer for Mom; I'll catch you two later," the waitress winked at them.

"Popuri!" Karen called out and waved to the other young woman.

Claire buried her face in her hands and a new wave of embarrassment washed over her; she wished Karen would just sit down already.

"'Morning, Karen. Hi, Claire!" Popuri seemed cheerful. "Got room for one more?"

"Sure, come on in! I brought an extra towel. It was an emergency towel in case I dropped mine in, but I guess I can make an exception."

"I've got nothing better to do this morning," Popuri commented, washing up and taking a seat next to Karen, and Claire quickly noted that the only one in who seemed to be self-conscious was herself. The farmer calmed down a little and stopped crunching herself into a ball, but her eyes didn't look up from the steaming water.

"Rick's still not letting you do much?" Karen frowned.

"No!" Popuri folded her arms and pouted. "I don't know why he thinks I can't do anything at all to help!"

"Rick won't let you help out?" Claire asked quietly, "But I thought your mother was ill…"

"Exactly!" Popuri splashed the water angrily. "He's taking it all upon himself, and he acts like he's the one in charge."

"Well, your father did put him in charge," Karen reminded her gently. "I'll have a word with him."

"Oh, will you?" Popuri face lit up. "Thank you, thank you! He never listens to a word I say, but I know he'll listen to anything you say."

"Alright, alright," Karen's face reddened. "I'll talk to him later today."

"My brother's a big dummy," Popuri smiled at Claire.

"Popuri, you know he means well," Karen sighed. "He's been assigned man of the house, and he takes his responsibilities very seriously."

"Too seriously."

"I know, I know. I told you I'd talk to him," Karen rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm starting to get pruny; I'm out," Popuri hopped out and dried off. She flashed a smile at the brunette. "Thanks again, Karen. See you guys later!"

"No prob."

Claire watched the chicken farmer walk away. She noticed that all of her aches and pains had melted away from the hot water. She rested her eyes.

"We should probably be getting out, too," Karen sighed, pulling herself out of the water.

Claire was starting to feel sleepy. Her friend reached her hand out to her and she accepted it.

"Let's go to the bar," Karen suggested as they were drying off.

"You want a drink this early?" Claire giggled.

"I'm getting us a couple of ice cold milks," Karen laced up her boots. "It's the only thing that will do after a hot bath."

"Alright." That sounded lovely to Claire.

They got dressed and headed back to town. They took a seat at the bar.

"You know we don't start serving liquor until evening," Ann laughed, wiping off the counter.

"Two milks!" Karen ordered. "Ice cold!"

"Oh, that does sound nice," Ann went to the back and produced two glass jugs and gave one to each young woman.

Claire was amazed to see her friend chug the entire milk in one go. Karen drank in what Claire thought of as a country style; she put one had on her hip and threw her head back. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand when she finished draining the bottle. "Ah, that was refreshing. I'll have another."

"All righty," Ann went back to the fridge.

Claire was taking a drink of her milk when she noticed a familiar brunette walking down the stairs with a satchel strapped across his back.

"Good morning, Cliff," Claire set down her jug.

"Good morning."

Karen swung her feet. "Well, you've missed the fun wagon this morning. Claire and I just got back from the hot springs. Too bad you slept in; we would've invited you, too. You could've sat right between both of us lovely ladies!"

Cliff said nothing, but turned a bright shade of red. He turned to leave.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat breakfast before you leave?" Karen teased. "It's the most important meal of the day. Come on, have a milk with us."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry… I've got work to do… I'm out to Mother's Hill."

"He rarely eats the food here," Ann rolled her eyes.

"Okay, see you later," Karen waved goodbye to their friend.

"Bye, Cliff," Claire smiled.

"G-goodbye," he blushed deeper as he whirled around and left the inn.

Karen looked a little too pleased with herself.

Ann had returned with Karen's milk. "You tease him too much, Karen. That's my job," she smirked.

Claire didn't see why either of the young women needed to give him such a hard time, but she held her tongue.

"He's started talking a lot more," Ann commented to no one in particular.

"Ah, that's good… We'll crack him out of that shell… Well, I think it's time to head back to the store," Karen finished off her second milk and slammed a fistful of coins on the counter. "Thanks for hanging out with me today, Claire."

"Yeah, I had a good time, too," Claire set her empty jug on the bar and Ann took it away.

"I'll see you again real soon!" Karen winked and left the bar.

0o0o0o0

Author's Note: Cold milk after a hot bath really is the best. I don't know what it is about it. I like to take baths that are so hot I feel faint; I usually don't realize I'm doing it until I'm already dizzy. That's when the milk is the best!