Summer already. The sun shone over Pelican Town and birds chirped loudly as the farmers walked down the path heading to the town. They both had soft dirt smudges on their faces that they ignored, chatting quietly to each other and occasionally laughing. They had spent the morning tending crops (Saturn) and building a fence around their brand-new coop (Blue) and ended up heading to town around the same time.

"You know, you could help water the crops once in a while," Saturn said, a slightly teasing lilt in her voice. Blue shoved her lightly and rolled her eyes, adjusting her straw hat. She had won the annual egg hunt and proudly wore her prize. Kids didn't stand a chance.

"Then who would mine and build fences?" Blue replied sharply. Saturn chuckled quietly.

"As if it's a hard job," she muttered, casting a glare out of the corner of her eye at her ebony-haired boss – sort of boss - and Blue let out a loud, surprised laugh, causing a bird to shriek and flap off as fast as it could.

"I could die!" Blue exclaimed. "All you do is tip a can over a few plants!
"Untrue!" Saturn retorted back. "I also dig a lot and build some fences around them, plus take care of the farm since you run away every day. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the one to take care of this chicken!" Blue couldn't really argue that, so she just turned her head and hmmphed. They cut into laughter, unable to actually be serious about it.

It was a common conversation between the two of them, but it was all teasing. Both knew that the other's preferred jobs were important, whether it be for questing, money, or just growth overall. They both contributed to the farm and they knew it, but it was also an easy target to play fight over.

They reached the fork in the road in town and waved as they split. How quickly they had become close friends, Blue thought. And what unlikely roles they had ended up playing when they moved here! Saturn had a rough-edged past, always getting into fights and more than once getting in trouble, but she had much better relations with the townsfolk than she did. She worked hard on the farm, too; it had become her home, her livelihood, and she had adapted well to it. Blue had never seen her quite so happy and calm. But Blue herself? For someone who had been such a good kid, getting into a good university and getting a good (shit) job, she had adapted… slower. She still was, if she was quite honest. She avoided the farm for most of the day and she wasn't quite sure if she could name everyone in town, let alone had friends. She preferred to be fighting and slashing monsters in the caves, collecting ore, completing quests.

Times had changed. They had changed. And she wasn't quite sure where. During Joja, for her, probably. It sucked the life out of her. But Saturn? When did she stop?

Suddenly, she was standing in front of Marnie's. She had taken the long route, to talk to Saturn, and maybe also to delay… but imagine telling Saturn "hey, sorry, I missed them again"? The look on her face would possibly kill Blue, so she pushed the door open to Marnie's and plastered a smile on her face.

"Blue, hi!" Marnie said with a bit of surprise, and Blue nodded her head to her. The house smelled faintly of hay and microwave pizza, a strange mix that was unique to the household. Blue let her gaze wander for a second, around the homey walls and pictures on the walls, feeling a faint sense of envy. Someday, her heart murmured, and she directed her attention back to the brunette.

"Hi, Marnie," she said, walking to the counter. Marnie flipped a paper over and slid it to the side where Blue couldn't see and smiled politely at her. Blue followed it with her gaze but figured it would be weird to ask, so she directed her gaze back to Marnie. "I'd like to, um, buy a chicken?" It became a question as she suddenly wondered if the correct wording was "adopt" or "purchase," but the shop owner didn't look strange as she said it. Instead, a grin stretched over her face and she nodded enthusiastically.

"It'll be 800g. Do you have any hay yet?" Blue hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, slowly. Saturn probably should have been the one to come, she realized, but the purple-haired farmer had said something about a birthday that frankly, Blue didn't care about. She wasn't close enough with the villagers, anyway.

"I don't think we do, so could I get… 20 stacks to start?" Again, she cringed at her own words, but Marnie didn't look fazed. She simply nodded, looking happy, and wrote some numbers on a piece of paper.

"Alrighty, that's 1800g!" Blue practically gagged but dug her wallet out of her rucksack and counted out the right amount. They had made enough that she could justify carrying some larger bills around, especially since she had planned on this purchase anyway. Saturn had warned her about the cost of hay, but she had dumbly waved her off, spouting nonsense about the cheapness of hay. Of course Saturn knew best, this time. Just this once.

Marnie counted the bills and nodded, satisfied. "Follow me!"

The chicken farmer led the way to the outside coop and clucked at the chickens with her tongue, Blue following awkwardly. There were a lot of chickens, to be sure, and she hoped Marnie wouldn't ask which one she wanted. She genuinely wouldn't know what to look for, and she wondered again why she had volunteered for this job. Instead, Marnie glanced around before picking up a young chicken, old enough to lay eggs but seemingly just barely, and holding it out for Blue to examine. Its white feathers shone and it seemed to have a nice temperament, and since those where the only two things she knew to look for (or assumed to know), she nodded happily.

"Do you have a name?" Marnie asked brightly. Yikes.

"Um. One second, I think Saturn maybe had one…" Marnie grinned at the name and hummed in agreement.

"Yes, she probably would!" Blue battled the urge to sneer a bit; of course Saturn had made friends here already, what with her little crush on Shane and all… she turned around to hide her expression and pulled out a small flip phone. They had bought them together, just in case they needed to get a hold of each other around town. This definitely constituted a need for the cell phone.

Saturn picked up after two rings, so her happy ringtone was probably set to high. "Hey, B. What's up?"

"We didn't discuss a name for the chicken," Blue said quietly. There was silence for a moment before Saturn replied.

"You're right. I totally forgot. Um…" There was a rustling sound in the background and Blue could practically see Saturn rummaging through a trash bin.

"Saturn, are you serious right now? That's gross!" Blue cupped her hand around her mouth as she said it with a glance of Marnie, but the woman didn't seem to be listening as she talked to the chickens. Blue turned away again.

"I've found some gems, okay? But names. Uh… how about…" There was a pause, a rustle, and a small gasp. "Oh! Trash bread!" Another pause and Blue burst into laughter. Saturn started too, and Marnie glanced up in surprise.

"Okay, yeah, that's it. Bye!" Blue vaguely heard a 'no!' as she snapped the phone shut and turned to Marnie, smiling innocently.

"We're going to call it Trashbread," she said sweetly, and Marnie looked puzzled.

"Are you sure?" she said after a moment, and Blue nodded. Marnie looked almost pained but gave Blue a tiny smile.

"Alright. Trashbread it is. I'll drop it off with the hay in about half an hour." Blue agreed and they parted ways, Blue still giggling a bit and Marnie still confused. She would tell Jas and Shane about it later, for sure, and Saturn would go see the chicken later and complain when she saw the ledger. Blue was proud of herself, too.

And of course, Saturn was the one who mostly took care of the chicken she didn't mean to name.