Some of you might hate me for this chapter, hahahah. Sorry it's a little bit shorter than usual again, but I really wanted to leave it at a bit of a cliff hanger. The next one will be longer, and I will attempt to plan the chapters so they aren't so short again.

Thank you all so much for your reviews. I really appreciate the compliments, and the critiques. :) This is my first attempt at writing a story, to be honest, and it's really nice to know that it is being received well.

Hope you enjoy!

It was a beautiful, sunny day when Annie realized it was finally summer. She had never liked the heat of summer in the city, but the warm air of the country wasn't thick like the polluted air of the city, and she could still breathe properly while feeling the delightful warmth of sunlight on her back as she worked.

The weather in Oak Tree Town really was lovely - besides the storm a week after Annie's late-spring arrival, it had been mostly warm and sunny. She sighed happily as she watered her crops, breathing deeply and feeling peaceful.

The calm feeling was interrupted periodically by the feeling of butterflies and a bit of anxiety every time she remembered that she had a date with Raeger that evening. She felt excitement course through her veins as she wondered what it was going to be like to finally kiss him, and she grinned. A low moo caught her attention, and she noticed Hanako was watching her idly as she chewed fodder. Maybe she found it odd that her owner was smiling to herself alone in her field.

"I'm so excited," the farmer told her cow loudly. "Don't look at me with those judge-y little eyes." Hanako let out another low moo in response, and Annie laughed out loud, walking over to rub the large animal on her broad head.

"I still don't know what I'm going to wear," she confided to the bovine, who regarded the girl passively. "He wants me to wear a dress. I don't even have a dress. I guess you don't really know my struggle, eh?"

Annie scratched the cow behind the ear affectionately before going inside her house. She only had one dress, and it probably wasn't what Raeger was expecting. Opening her closet, she found the old green dress she owned, and cringed at it. It was a hand-me-down, and she knew she couldn't wear it on a date. Maybe she could borrow someone else's, though.

Putting away the dingy outfit, she reached for the phone and dialed Agate's number.

"What's this one's name?" Agate asked excitedly, gesturing to Annie's chickens.

"Her name's Husk, and the other is Chip," Annie answered, proud to be showing off her livestock to an animal expert.

Her friend beamed, gently examining the poultry. She nodded approvingly. "They're growing up nice and healthy! You've got some great animals."

Annie thanked her friend before they left, but not before scooping Rusty up as he swatted at a loose feather sticking out of Chip's wing. She let the feisty feline down as they left the coop, then turned to her friend.

"So there's a reason I called you," she began. "I have a date with Raeger."

"Finally! That's great! Need some advice?" Agate winked.

She laughed. "No, no, but I was wondering if you have a dress I could borrow."

Agate cocked her head to the side slightly. "A dress? Isn't that a bit much for a first date?"

Annie explained that Raeger had specifically requested that she wear a dress. Agate clasped her hands together, her eyes looking starry.

"Oh, that's so romantic!" She murmured. "I wish Kamil would do something like that. I've got a date with him tonight, too, actually."

"Where's he taking you?" "To the city, I think. He wants to take me out for dinner, but Raeger's restaurant is closed late so I assume it isn't in town."

"Plus, it would be kinda weird if you guys were there for my date." She laughed. "What are you gonna wear?"

"I'm not sure, I was just going to go check Silk Country's wares to see if they have anything. In fact, you could do that, too. I don't really have any dresses either - being a ranger really doesn't call for fancy stuff like that."

Annie laughed, knowing the feeling. "That's a great idea, mind if I come with you?"

Agate nodded her approval, and they walked to town. Annie tried - and failed - to avoid glancing at the restaurant as they passed, wondering if Raeger was as excited as she was.

As they reached the trading depot, Annie noticed a lot of the customers had dogs with them. She watched as a man demonstrated his bulldog's tricks as the bulky animal rolled, stood and barked on command.

"That's pretty neat," Annie observed, pointing to the dog. "Wonder what everyone's doing with their dogs."

"Next season is the Pet Promenade, so usually in the summer a bunch of people will come show off their pets early. It helps their performance if everyone already knows their pet," Agate explained. "But hey, looks like Silk Country brought some clothing today."

Annie glanced over to the red wagon and was happy to see a table of linens and silks that were sewn into various styles of shirts, gowns, skirts, and yes, dresses. As they approached them, Agate's attention was immediately drawn to a red dress. She held it up to Annie.

"Whaddya think?" "I thought you weren't wearing a dress," Annie replied, although she had to admit it was beautiful.

"Not for me, for you."

The dress looked like it would go almost to her knee, and was made of a silky bold red material. It had a single thick strap that curved down under the chest and tightened at the waist, and the bottom rippled beautifully.

Annie tried to imagine herself wearing the dress, and bit her lip. "Is it too much?"

Agate shook her head. "No way, this would be perfect."

She ended up taking Agate's advice, and she bought the dress - although it was a bit pricey - and they found a pretty green shirt for Agate to wear on her date as well.

They spent an hour or so browsing the rest of the wares that were for sale that day. Annie had her dress carefully folded up in a bag, and as she carried it around she couldn't help but wonder what Raeger was going to think of it.

As they were about to leave, Annie heard a desperate shout from the center of the trading depot, and whipped around to see that a Rottweiler had pulled free from her owner and was running across the plaza, leash trailing behind.

"Sasha!" The owner, a young woman, hollered after the large black and tan dog. "Sasha, come back!"

The canine was bolting toward the exit of the plaza, not too far from where they were standing. Reacting on impulse, Annie dropped her bag and rushed forward to grab the leash. Realizing she would miss it, she instead stomped on it, pulling the dog to an abrupt stop. She reached for the collar before the leash could be pulled free from under her foot, but the Rottweiler saw her reaching and twisted her head around, burying her teeth into Annie's right forearm. The dog tugged, hard, and Annie felt her flesh tear.

Annie let out a strangled cry, squeezing her eyes shut as pain ripped through her entire arm up to her shoulder. She stumbled forward to prevent the dog from pulling back again, and opened her eyes to see that Agate was crouched behind the dog, grabbing both her hind feet and lifting them in the air. The dog immediately let go, and Annie gasped in pain, holding her arm to her chest and clenching her teeth tight.

Agate had two of the Rottweiler's legs, one front and one back, and was holding them off the ground, with her elbow pushing the dog's head to the ground as the dog was forced to lay on her side. The owner had run over, and was frantically telling Agate to let go of her baby.

Annie felt sweat bead on her face as she struggled to keep from vomiting. Her arm throbbed with every quick heartbeat, and she could feel her arm bleeding although she was compressing it against her chest. She watched as Agate finally backed away from the Rottweiler carefully, the owner taking her place with the dog, who was now behaving happily once more. Annie heard the owner apologize profusely, clutching her dog to her chest and insisting she was really a nice dog.

The wounded girl nodded mutely in response, her eyes squeezed shut as she willed her arm to stop hurting and bleeding. Eventually, Annie allowed her friend to help her up, her bagged dress slung over her arm. As they walked to the clinic, she struggled to stay conscious, darkness bordering her vision.

Dr. Marian's eyes sharpened as he took in Annie's state, and he coaxed her to lay down in the same bed she had spent the night in when she had sprained her wrist. He immediately pressed a thick pad of gauze into her wound while Agate explained what had happened.

"Is the dog's owner around?" He asked.

Agate shrugged. "I think so. She was just at the trade depot."

"Could you go get her and ask her to wait in the guild? We need to make sure her dog has its vaccines."

Agate nodded and gave Annie a worried look before going out to find the owner. Marian turned to Annie.

"This bite wound is quite deep. I think it will definitely need stitches," he told Annie after the bleeding had slowed, and he had examined the wound. "Are you allergic to any anesthetics or antibiotics?"

"Uh, I don't know about anesthetics," she murmured, a bit nervous for the procedure.

Marian nodded, then began preparing suture materials and a syringe of anesthetic. He then took her vitals before beginning the needle stung a bit as it went in, although Annie was surprised she felt it, as her wound was still throbbing. She looked away, feeling a bit queasy.

"The dog bit quite deep, so I'm going to do some dissolving sutures under the skin as well as permanent ones on top. You'll have to come back in a week or so to get those removed."

Annie nodded as Marian touched her arm, which she could not feel. After it numbed, he flushed her wound and placed a sheet over her arm, the bite visible through an opening. She looked away again as she saw him snip a length of suture and clip it into a tweezer-like tool. She was aware of a vague pulling sensation as he stitched her arm, but was relieved that it was completely painless. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, feeling exhausted now that the adrenaline had worn off.

She opened her eyes some time later, feeling someone shake her awake. She blinked drowsily, recognizing Marian. She hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep.

"Here, sweetheart, this is your antibiotic for today," he handed her a small pill and glass of water for her to take it with. "You'll need to take one twice a day until they're gone, okay?"

Annie nodded, and gulped water down with the pill.

"The dog that bit you is thankfully up to date on its vaccines, so there shouldn't be any worries. Just make sure you keep the area around the stitches clean, but don't use soap on them. Take it easy with your arm as well, and it should heal just fine."

Annie smiled lazily. "Thanks."

He smiled back and patted her shoulder. "You really have bad luck with your arm, dear. Try to be more careful - I don't want to have to amputate any of your limbs."

She laughed. "I'll try to be more careful."

"You may rest here as long as you like, Annie."

She thanked the doctor again, then shut her eyes. Wondering briefly where Agate had gone, she slipped into an exhausted sleep.

She still felt groggy when she woke in the dark some time later. Straining to focus her eyes, she heard soft breathing and realized Agate was sleeping curled up in the chair next to her bed. Suddenly Annie gasped, then shook Agate awake, surprised to feel pain in her arm again.

"Agate. Agate, wake up! What time is it?"

The ranger mumbled groggily, then held her watch under the moonlight shining in through the window.

"5:00am," she said, yawning.

Annie felt her stomach twist. She had missed her date with Raeger.