DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.
Please support the official release.
Chapter 17: A Different Farm (1/3)
It would be a lie to say I walked up to the local Nanozell Transportation Center with a clear mind.
The events of a few days ago remained brightly imprinted in my mind, and even now I couldn't help but facepalm at my slight moment of weakness: why the hell didn't I bring up the kiss to Hope? I bet she would have understood and things could have been cleared out one way or another with a simple talk. But I didn't utter a word in that regard, and I doubted I could do it now through a phone call. It just didn't feel right- fitting even. Despite my lingering reluctance, I still decided to tell her once I was back from this business trip.
Zippy was humming beside me as we approached our destination with a mixture of intrigue, eagerness and unease. The spirit had gone through a lengthy explanation to teach me about this kind of Transport Centers, and how our bond allowed for her to shift us out of a specific area and into our final destination's closest center.
To make it brief: Nanozell Transportation Centers allowed for Nanozell Spirits and individuals they were bound with to literally teleport from a location to another. While it would be wrong to assume this Transportation was necessarily tied to begin from one of those centers, the destination was purposely limited to those due to how dangerous it could be to teleport in the wrong spot, such an already occupied space.
The Center allowed for special reservable rooms to be set up and allowed a safe and most uneventful teleportation. The reason why we decided to visit the closest one to where we lived (as there were four of those in Prism) was tied to my general cluelessness on what those looked like. In a way, it reminded me of a Pokemon Center, except it was wider and all set in a single floor. After speaking with the receptionist that guarded the front counter, I got a clear grasp of what to expect on the other side. After all, there was a difference between Prism and the City-Port of Gossamer.
There was a lot that could be found about the location, specifically its agricultural roots and the presence of large patches of land owned by farmers with extended descendants with the first settlers of the area which came by just a few years after the formation of Neo-Earth. All in all, it sounded like a 'lovely trip' to the countryside. And quite close to what home looked like before I left from the few pictures I could find online.
After getting all documentation checked, Zip started the process and got us shifted into an empty room at our destination's center. The teleportation wasn't exactly that unpleasant or even easy to grasp as I just felt something light coat my body and then I blinked in a different place. Truth be told, I came close to tripping down as my feet recognized a different floor under them, just saving myself by using the nearby wall to regain balance.
Looking around, I saw very little to no change between this Transportation Center and the one we just visited. Both shared similar structural appearances, yet this one had a focus on plants and other nature-related stuff. After checking out with the receptionist of this center, I was out and wandering the streets of Gossamer.
At first I was subjected to some rustic town kind of vibe while walking through the road near the core of the city, but the more I wandered off to the outskirts and near the limits of the city, I was introduced to some Wild West vibes due to how some buildings were styled like. Before I outright left to get to my destination, which was a farm slightly off the settlement, I paused to look into a map to where I was meant to go.
"That's quite far," I hummed dryly, growing a bit upset that the place was actually distant from where I thought it was expected to be. As I said that, I heard someone shift behind Zip and I, leaning to the side to see what was the problem.
"What about it?" A voice called, the source behind the sneaky guy that was standing behind us.
I glanced behind and I was introduced to... a fairly short Narakhan. White hair, light-brown fur and peculiar eyes which had dull pink sclera and magenta irises. He was wearing an outfit one would normally find in detectives, with his long brown coat and black hat hiding away some of the features, while his yellow jacket and knee-long black pants doing little to reinforce that notion.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Zip asked with a confused tone and the man coughed.
"Oh right- I just couldn't help but hear you were having some issues with reaching a place," The stranger said while mirthfully tapping at one of his incredibly long ears. I was unable to actually discern what kind of subspecies he was part of due to the contrasting details in his overall appearance, but I ruled out he was one of the more common hybrid Primes rather than a specific subspecies of it. "Name's Maverick and I think you need some assistance, Mr. Mailman."
Did I forget to mention I was wearing a uniform that was telling of my job? Yes, I had nothing to say about that right guess and I really needed some help about the situation.
"In a way, yes. Do you have means to transport us around to our destination?" Normally I would have been a little more cautious about bringing up this kind of issue but... I needed passage and I doubted I could make it by foot alone.
Maverick sported a giddy grin and... we were soon going for the farm I was looking for with a very slow and very loud tractor. I think I could have predicted that one possibility, but was just too hopeful to believe it possible. Now I knew what was up and surrendered to a particularly lengthy trip that took roughly half-an-hour to conclude. During that lengthy journey I saw a bit more of the countryside, the farms and had a brief conversation with the 'kind farmer' that was smiling eye-to-eye at my clear upset at that 'amusing' development.
"So, what is a mailman of the human kind doing in a place like this one?" Maverick inquired, eyes still on the road. "I thought you city folks sent stuff around through drones and all of that."
"My client wanted this package delivered by person. Didn't exactly expand why."
He huffed. "Sounds like this client is a mysterious individual I'm familiar with."
...Is he? Actually, how come he sounds so calm and knowing about this matter? Unless-
"You were expecting these books."
The guy tensed up. "W-What? No, obviously not-"
"You work at Las Lindas?" I pressed on, eyes narrowing at the Narakhan and the old man gulped nervously.
"...Yeah."
"So, you were just lurking around waiting for me or something like that?" I asked more and he nodded.
"Not gonna lie, didn't expect a city folk to get this smart on us. Definitely a surprise."
"Well, I'm not much of a city folk. Not to the fullest, at least," I admitted, looking around some more. "I grew up for a couple of years in the countryside. So I know how some folks here may think of people like me."
"Oh," Maverick hummed with some interest, but didn't press on it.
We were soon at our destination and the sight I was bestowed with was nothing short of impressive. I have heard that Las Lindas had quite the expansion in recent years, but I didn't expect it to be so... large. There were close to a hundred workers going around and handling either the fields or the 'refinement area' for the creation of their recently-introduced alcoholic brand, Doña Linda. Everything blended in a peculiar combination of natural processes and artificial bolstering efforts which created a seemingly harmonious but well-paced farm.
As the tractor came to a halt beyond the farm's gates, Maverick led me through the flat road which connected the entrance to the rest of the farm and... the house owned by the family in charge of this business. The man didn't say anything, preferring to let the scene itself speak for Las Lindas' current peaceful and outgoing that silence was soon cracked when we finally got to the house as someone was waiting by the porch.
"Dad? Why are you back this soon?" A voice called and I was introduced to a fairly tall and fairly perplexed Cow Prime. The woman had light brown hair, her fur being a lighter shade of that and a pair of perplexed green eyes. She stood at a staggering two meters (at least) and looked quite towering for someone as short as her father. She was wearing a short red shirt over an intimate white short- both of which failed to cover her toned midriff. She also wore a pair of dark-blue jeans that fitted her curves just right without seeming too tight on her, and a pair of dark-brown boots.
The Narakhan chuckled nervously. "I didn't find some of the stuff I had to buy, Mora. Will do that tomorrow at the earliest hour. Also, this here is looking for-"
"Diana Linda," I replied, looking down at my papers. "My client wanted to have a few books delivered to her."
"Oh? Well, mom was just checking some papers, but I should be able to get her now," Mora remarked with a polite smile. "And welcome to Las Lindas."
I nodded. "Thank you." For the friendliness and greeting.
The brunette disappeared to look for that individual and-
"She is gorgeous, isn't she?"
I glanced at Maverick, his gaze alternating between daring me to say the truth and also daring me to say the truth.
"Yeah, she is. Why do you ask?"
"She is taken," The old Narakhan remarked. "As are all my kids."
"Good for them," I replied flatly, knowing what he was trying to pull and...
Maverick grinned like a moron at that response, knowing I wasn't exactly planning to get ragdolled around by that little stunt. And then that awkward waiting time came to an end.
"And here I am," A new feminine voice called and I was introduced to a Cow Prime slightly taller than Mora. The woman was pretty much similar to her daughter in terms of physical appearance, with the only difference I could find being her bigger horns, her smaller ears and the mature look on her face. She was wearing a sleeveless brown jacket over her frilly white shirt. Below she wore a pair of baggy black pants which culminated in a pair of dark-gray boots. Diana Linda was hitting her fifties, and yet she looked as young as in her mid thirties.
"Dear," Maverick greeted warmly, causing the older woman to giggle and their daughter to huff at the sight. "Your books are here."
"I heard that, honey, and I guess you are the young man Ambar told me about. John Bukharin, right?"
I slowly nodded, finding the woman giggling at my awkward reaction.
"I'm sorry if I came in a bit too strong, it's just that I couldn't help but be amused to find an Italian with that kind of name."
...
"What?"
"Well, we are part-Spanish so... I think what mom is trying to say is that-"
"It's like we are family!" Diana finished for her daughter, her jovial tone setting up a situation I wasn't sure I could outright like but... could see somewhat a point to. After all, it was something my own mother would do and the sympathetic look Mora was giving me was nothing short of what I would use if I had been in her very situation.
I don't know how or why, but the woman then managed to get me to have me accept keeping by for lunch. I was tempted to say that she gave off the same vibes my mom had when trying to coax me to do something but... I could tell it was slightly different. Less-doting and more 'poking fun at you' kind of approach. It felt nostalgic and that easily shredded the genuine reluctance I had in this regard.
Still, I now had to deal with lunch with strangers all because of Ambar. Goddammit Ambar.
AN
Here's a bit of a surprise. A 'happier Las Lindas' compared to the web-comic's version. But the surprises have yet to stop as there is one last 'change' I introduced about a character in particular. Nothing crazy, but things are about to get interesting by the next two chapters.