Gray didn't bother hiking too far up the mountain trail; he was sure he already knew where his friend was off sulking. He headed for the Spring Mine. Sure enough, he saw a faint light flickering in the far corner of the cave and groped through the dimly lit cavern, grumbling and swearing as he stumbled on the loose rocks and uneven floor. The young man heard a haunting, melancholy tune on a pan flute echo through the mine and Gray rolled his eyes; the guy could be so melodramatic sometimes.
Gray shuffled his feet to Cliff's hideout. It was a cozy corner of the mine that the young man had lived in for a couple of months before moving into the inn. A few oil lanterns lit the area and a deerskin was spread out on the ground. Cliff was currently sitting on it, leaned back against a stalagmite, lost in his song. Gray had to admit that his friend was actually really good; he had heard the brunette play a few instruments with great skill and he had mentioned something about training on them in his home village. He had a way of putting his soul into his music, and Gray found that the melody made his heart ache a little; it was such a lonely song. Tethered to the same rock formation was the young man's partner, a peregrine falcon that accompanied him on his travels. Cliff had introduced the apprentice to his companion nearly three months ago and he had pleaded with Gray to keep quiet about the bird; he was pretty sure that what he was doing wasn't exactly legal, at least in this area, but he had nowhere else to keep the creature.
It was a pretty comfortable place, all things considered. A long, horizontal crevice on the cavern wall served as a makeshift window and provided a supply of fresh air. The pair had come up here to hide on Saturday mornings when Ann insisted on rounding up everyone in the inn to watch another insufferable episode of Star Lily Bandit Girl. Cliff had taught Gray how to feed the bird, and one afternoon, the brunette had invited his roommate up to the mountains to hunt with the falcon. It was refreshing to see Cliff do something that he was confident at; he seemed like a completely different person when he wasn't consumed with his gloomy, guilty demeanor. Gray had watched with fascination; the traveler and bird definitely had a strong bond. The apprentice knew better than to refer to the raptor as anything other than a partner or friend to his roommate. He had received a piercing glare the last time he used the word "pet". The falcon seemed happy enough in his dwelling place, and Gray noted that he could often find the young man here when he was seeking solitude, which was fairly often.
He had been standing there for a couple of minutes; he was surprised Cliff hadn't noticed yet. The bird had been watching the apprentice keenly since he entered their area.
"Hey."
Cliff stopped playing his instrument and looked up at his friend in surprise. The brunette's companion greeted Gray with a chirp.
"Hey," Cliff echoed nonchalantly, setting his pan flute down beside him. "What brings you here?"
Gray rolled his eyes. "Is that a serious question?"
Cliff said nothing, but looked to the falcon as if the bird would answer for him.
The apprentice sighed; he knew from experience that his roommate was a very adept player of The Quiet Game. "Claire's doing well with Tucker," he stated.
Cliff remained silent as his eyes traveled to the rocky floor.
Gray sighed. "Tucker is her horse... Barley dropped him off at her place at the beginning of spring…"
"I know that." There was a hint of brusqueness in Cliff's voice. His friend smiled; now they were getting somewhere.
"Glad you remember, because you kind of gave me the go-ahead to train with her a few days ago," he reminded him with a sharp look. The two stared at each other in silence for a few minutes and Gray briefly wondered if Cliff enjoyed pissing him off with his lack of emotion. Gray realized he was the one that had to keep the conversation going; his roommate sure wasn't going to... "Well, anyway, I was showing her some vocal commands today," he nodded. "Claire's a smart girl; she actually kind of impressed me."
Cliff pulled a heavy gauntlet out of his jingling bag and pulled it on, holding out a small fish to the falcon. He fluttered onto the brunette's arm and accepted the treat. The young man didn't remove his eyes from the bird. "Oh, really? That's great..." he didn't sound like he meant it at all.
Gray was hoping that Cliff would get visibly angry; it infuriated him that his roommate was so eager to acquiesce any time there was tension between the two of them. The apprentice was sick of playing this game; Cliff was always making him feel like the bad guy. He pushed harder.
"You saw us hugging." Surely he had to reply in some way to this.
"So?" The brunette was watching the bird finish off his snack. The young man's silence in this particular instance was a little discomforting. His friend vaguely wondered if Cliff was wishing that the fish were Gray's own entrails. He stroked the falcon a few times and was met with a chirp between gulps. Cliff didn't seem visibly mad. He never did, that was part of the problem…
Perhaps he needed to see if that could be changed. "Well… aren't you going to tell Gramps?" he finally asked, tugging on the bill of his cap. "I mean, especially after our talk the other night?"
"There you go, Cain," Cliff murmured to his falcon and gave the bird one last affectionate pet as he flew back to his perch with a happy chirp, his tether jingling. The young man slid off the gauntlet and stared at the ground thoughtfully as he returned his bracer onto his arm. Gray was reminded that Cliff still had kept his left arm covered and he felt a wave of guilt rise within him once again; the apprentice had seen the bruises again last night and they still looked quite painful. Cliff didn't look up at his roommate as he laced up the arm wear. "We're not children, Gray; I don't intend on tattling on you like one." He sat back down on the deerskin.
The apprentice frowned. Something was wrong; most guys would have been itching to punch him by now. This guy had a strange way of dealing with his anger, which appeared to be not processing it at all. However, Gray knew that if Cliff wouldn't acknowledge that there was an issue, it wasn't going to resolve itself. "We both know Gramps has a way of drawing things out of people. Besides, I know you're pissed."
"N-No I'm not…" Cliff fidgeted with his bracers and looked at the ground.
Gray let out a sigh; the young man could be exasperating sometimes. The apprentice would have been a little relieved at the invitation of a fight or at least a punch to the face. "Why do you have to lie like that? Why can't you show someone how you feel for once?" Gray took a seat beside him.
The brunette furrowed his thick eyebrows and scooted away from him a bit. He was well aware that Gray had been egging him on, and Cliff could only ignore it so much before he lost his temper. The young man frowned; he and Gray were very different people. "Well, you're always too eager to show others when you're unhappy," he replied curtly. He immediately hated himself for his bold response.
The pointed comment gave the apprentice a bit of hope that his friend would open up. Gray stared at the dancing flames of the oil lamps, contemplating his behavior earlier that day. "Huh… Maybe I am… I got mad at Claire today and kind of yelled at her."
Cliff said nothing in reply but looked over at his roommate in surprise, and, Gray noticed, a hint of disgust.
Good, more emotion. Finally... Gray continued. "I misunderstood her and thought she was saying she wanted to use a harness that restrains the movement of a horse and forces them into holding their heads up high… Not good for the animal… Anyway, I got angry with her and then I got afraid she wouldn't let me help her with Tucker anymore."
Gray waited for some sort of verbal response, but he got none. The emotional feedback seemed to have vanished as well. The brunette was staring over at a rock formation.
The apprentice decided to continue. There was no reason why Cliff should be treating him this way, and he wanted the young man to know that. "But she forgave me. That's why I hugged her; I was grateful she was going to let me keep working with the horse. It wasn't romantic or anything…"
The brunette opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he promptly closed it again, staring up at the stone ceiling with what appeared to be a passive demeanor. It seemed as if Cliff was eager to look anywhere but his roommate's face. Gray studied the behavior and expressions of his friend for several minutes in silence. There was a hint of a frown on the young man's lips and his eyebrows were ever so slightly furrowed. Cliff's tell was the stiff posture and clenched jaw; Gray realized that while the brunette wasn't speaking much, he was very livid.
"Come on! You know that's the truth!" Gray frowned; he was frustrated that he felt like he had to encourage some kind of reaction and defend himself at the same time. "It didn't mean anything more than that, and we both know it."
But she may have seen it as more… Claire was so desperate to see any sort of sign Gray was remotely interested in her… Surely Gray had to be an idiot not to see this! The young man was furious, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to choke down. Cliff shrugged and looked back over at Cain. "Fine… and why would I care anyway if it did?" he didn't meet the young man's gaze.
The apprentice was ready to give his friend a swift kick in the pants. He let out an annoyed groan. "You're the one who said we aren't children anymore, but if anyone's acting like one right now, it's you."
Cliff's anger began to deflate as he turned a bright shade of red; Gray was absolutely right. He stared at the ground, ashamed. "I-It's just that…" his voice trailed off. He didn't want to finish his thought aloud; it was too immature. Cliff had shared a friendly embrace with Claire when she returned home from the hospital, but he was not about to confess aloud how much he craved holding her close like that again.
The apprentice blacksmith's pale blue eyes watched him with interest. Neither of them talked much about their emotions to one another, and today had been an odd day, to say the least.
"I'm… sorry, Gray," Cliff finally said, exhaling as his quiet rage subsided.
"Whatever… I guess I'm sorry, too." Gray realized that his interactions with Claire today didn't exactly help things. "Go over to that farm and give her a hug if that's what you want. Hell, give her a kiss!" he laughed.
Gray's smile fell as he was met with a cold stare. "She'd probably slap me across the face and never speak to me again," the brunette replied bitterly, his barrier crumbling as he stared at the ground miserably.
The apprentice rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like she hates you. I still don't know why you think you don't have a chance with her."
There were many answers for this, and the brunette was surprised Gray didn't notice the one that was the most glaringly obvious – Claire's heart was set on the apprentice. Cliff let out a silent sigh; there also was the painfully clear fact – to him, anyway – that even if the young woman had never met Gray, Cliff wouldn't even be considered as a potential partner for her. He was silent for a long time as he gathered up his things.
Gray was beginning to wonder if his friend was just deciding not to talk to him or if he was thinking of a response. He stared at the brunette, waiting for a reply of some sort.
"I'll see you later tonight…" Cliff began extinguishing the lanterns one by one, signaling the end of their time in the cave together.
"Why aren't you responding to me?" The apprentice couldn't hold back his impatience any longer.
His friend looked at him with sad eyes, the notion of being alone forever weighing more heavily upon his heart than usual. "… I said I was sorry," he muttered quietly.
"That's not what I was talking about!" Gray was tired of him dodging the issue; things were never going to get resolved between them at this rate.
"… I don't have a chance with anyone," Cliff finally murmured, slinging his fish over his shoulder, immediately regretting saying anything at all. Why was he always saying too much?
Gray scoffed. "You are so melodramatic, I swear!" He folded his arms across his chest.
Melodramatic… Claire had used that same word to describe him back in the springtime… What was it she had said? He bottled up his emotions and let them stew until they became blown out of proportion…
The apprentice met his roommate's eyes and was taken aback that the brunette looked almost on the verge of tears. Apparently the subject was a touchy one for him; Cliff didn't seem to see much value in himself. Gray couldn't claim to be much better, but it was much easier focusing on someone else's problems rather than his own.
"Hey…" Gray's voice was soft. "Look… We'll go out sometime soon and I'll prove to you that you have a chance. I'll be your wingman and get you some time alone with your cute little lady friend." It would also be a good opportunity for the apprentice to work on deflecting the farmer's advances without coming off as a jerk, Gray realized.
The brunette stiffened and nearly dropped the rack of fish. "W-Wingman?!" Even in the dim light of the cavern, his roommate could see that his friend's face turned scarlet. "I-I'm not trying to lure in anyone!"
Gray rolled his eyes and couldn't bite back the self-indulgent smile that spread across his lips. "You hang out with a priest every day and you still lie… For someone who is very insistent that they are meant to be alone, I've never seen anyone so lovesick," he snorted.
Cliff's flushed cheeks didn't make his hardened stare very convincing; his friend almost laughed aloud. The brunette said nothing as he gave Cain one last stroke and brought the final lantern with him, leading the way out of the mine.
"I'll set something up tomorrow. Don't worry about it, man." Gray jammed his hands in his pockets and gave the young man an emphatic nod.
Cliff swung around abruptly, nearly slapping his friend with a couple of fat trout. "Not tomorrow. I've already got plans with her," he tried to hide the pride in his voice and failed miserably.
Gray laughed and gave him a hearty clap on the back. "Ah, so you think you don't need my help after all, eh?"
Cliff extinguished his lantern in response and smirked as he heard his roommate stumble over the loose rocks of the cave, cursing at him the whole way out.
0o0o0o0
Looong(!) Author's Note: Harvest Moon 64 fans will recognize Cain. I feel like Cliff and Cain kind of come as a packaged deal. I wrote Cain as a peregrine falcon because: 1.) they're awesome birds; 2.) based on the concept art, I really couldn't figure out what variety he was so I picked my favorite breed; 3.) "Peregrine" is defined as having the tendency to wander, or "foreign". A traveler with a peregrine falcon just seemed like a good fit; it felt kind of poetic for Cliff's personality, you know?
I was excited to post this chapter not only for the introduction of Cain (which bumps Cliff up roughly 20 cool points), but I've been aching to publish some honest interactions between Gray and Cliff. Neither strike me as the type to really say what is on their mind, and I know you readers have been itching to know what the heck is going on inside of their heads.
That being said, I'm working on a story with the two of them called "The Roommates" (shameless plug – check out my profile!) that will explore their friendship further and show their development before Claire even arrives in Mineral Town. As of right now, I have a teaser chapter up, and I will admit, it will probably be posted a lot more slowly than this story, as lots of back story jazz will come up and I want "The Shy Newcomer" to be the story that reveals all of the major plot lines first.
Anyway, as always, I'm eager to hear what y'all think of this chapter. What did you think of the interactions? How do you feel of my portrayal of the characters thus far? I'm always open to feedback!
P.S. My husband and I both agreed the song Cliff is playing on his pan flute is "Alone in the World" from Wild Arms (PS1) if anyone's interested. Fits the bill perfectly. He proofread the chapter and was all, "Hey, you know what song I'm imagining he's playing?" And I laughed when we had the same one in mind. So that settles it, then.