March 8, Spring, year 36

After dropping by the Goddess's Spring and giving her some birthday offerings, we're heading into Mineral Town for this years Sowing festival. I wonder who's going to be dropping in from Flowerbud this year…?

"Laurie, Mimi, are you up yet?" Claire knocked on the door of her daughter's room, trying to conceal her impatience. "If you two don't hurry, you're going to miss out on coming with us!"

In one arm she hefted her youngest daughter, Meredith, who was still not properly awake at such an early hour of the morning, and with the other she reached out and whacked the door to the boy's room as well.

"That goes for you too," she called through the door to Alan and James. "Up and at em kids!"

Skye's laughter floated down the hall.

"I don't know about Alan and Mirei," he called genially from their room, "but James and Lauren were up half an hour ago, and should be out doing the early morning chores."

Claire blinked, taken aback.

"And you couldn't tell me this before I started on the morning crusade?" she replied wryly.

"More fun this way!"

"Oh you…"

The clear exasperation made Skye laugh again, knowing full well that his wife wasn't that annoyed. He bounded out of the bedroom, full of good cheer and greeted his wife and youngest daughter—who was making tiny complaining noises in her half-aware state—with a cheerful kiss. He loved the fact that no matter how many years passed it earned him a blush and sweet smile.

"Oh go on," she flapped a hand at him warmly. "Make the breakfast you. And take Meri so that I can get Alan and Mirei up, would you?"

"Gladly!" Skye always loved holding his children, even the ones that were grumpy in the morning.

Claire spared a few moments to watch him fondly, even as Meri turned towards her in a mute plea for her mother. It wasn't that the youngest didn't love Skye—Claire knew that given the choice the girl would follow them both on any given day—it was just that early mornings were Mommy-Baby time.

Resolutely, she pushed open the door to the girls room, and sure enough, Mirei was only just sitting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Claire smiled fondly, warmly.

"Time to get up sweetie," she said cheerfully. "We're gonna go see the Goddess, then head to see your cousins!"

"Okay Momma," the nine-year-old girl yawned. "Reg'lar clothes?"

"Yup," Claire nodded. "Just the Sowing Festival today, so no need for anything fancy."

Clad in her favorite pair of yellow paw-print pajamas, Mirei slid out of bed and headed for her dresser to get ready. One child down, one to go, and Alan would be the hard one…

To her surprise, the boy's room was utterly empty.

"Skye?"

"He's sitting at the table," her husband called back, amusement lacing his voice. "Well, sleeping at the table would be more accurate, but at least he's dressed, right?"

Claire rolled her bright blue eyes, and chuckled.

"Alright. I'm going to go help James and Laurie, won't be long!"

The experienced farmer headed out into the brisk spring morning, already whistling a cheerful tune. Alan wasn't awake, but he was at least dressed, and loading him onto a horse always worked better when properly clothed.

Lauren, or Laurie as she was commonly called, was already hard at work milking the cows; she raised a hand in greeting as her mother rounded the side of the house. Takakura was doing the same to the four goats, and it was plain that several animals had already been tended to by her industrious family.

"Jamie's getting the eggs," she called. "And we've already brushed the sheep!"

"Wonderful," Claire praised warmly. "I'll go take care of the horses then, and we'll all meet up for breakfast before we leave."

Honey, having recognized her mistress's voice, let out a whicker of greeting as the blonde approached the enlarged horse pens and barn. Laughing, she fed the golden mare a treat before collecting the brushes, blankets and saddles that would be needed for the ride over to Mineral Town.

Blaze wuffed into her hair as she began to clean the mud from his legs.

"Look at you," Claire scolded mildly. "Not even two weeks into the season and you're already rolling in every mud puddle you can find. You're definitely Cinnamon's colt!"

The horse wuffed again, making the farmer giggle. If Honey was the model of perfect behavior, her first colt was anything but. Two other mares, also results of mating between Cinnamon and Honey, pushed at the fence. Silk and Satin—both a darker gold than their mother—were vain little things, who always loved getting groomed. So, naturally, they also rolled in the mud and the dust, just to get extra time under the brush.

The odd horse out was Skye's, a surprisingly pure black gelding. It had simply been waiting for them one day at the entrance to the farm, and Skye had nearly fallen over in his shock.

The horse was named Yami—Skye had explained that it meant 'darkness'—and he only barely tolerated Claire. She treated him with respect, but always left his saddling to Skye. She didn't feel like courting a bite.

"Morning Mom!" Jamie called as he passed by Yami's pen. "I think Cass is hoarding eggs again, so I left her a couple. She tried to bite me!"

Claire chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her son's bright silver hair.

"That's what happens when you disturb a nesting hen kiddo," she teased. "And it is spring, a few chicks wouldn't go amiss at this time of the year."

James, commonly referred to as Jamie, ducked out from under her hand, grinning slightly.

"Anyone else?"

"Not that I could see, tho Mitsu keeps figuring out how to unlatch the door and letting everyone out at night," and the aggravation was not all feigned. "Dunno how he does it Mom…"

"Well, Mitsu's a clever duck," Claire smiled. "We'll just have to figure out a way to lock the shed door again. I'll talk to Uncle Tak about it when we get home, mkay?"

"Okay!"

The kitchen window opened, and Skye poked his head out, waving a wooden spoon at everyone in general.

"Better come eat," he called, "before the little ones and I decide to eat it all!"

"Da-ad," the twins groaned.

Claire just laughed and mimed a swipe at him with the brush. Satisfied that they all would be in shortly, Skye withdrew head and spoon back into the house. The scent of fresh pancakes drifted out the open window, a welcome enticement, and Claire gratefully tossed her brushes into the bucket.

"Go help your sister with the milk, and don't forget to bring one back to the house!"

"Yes Mom," Jamie grinned.

Claire chuckled fondly as he went to help his twin with the heavy cans of fresh milk, patted Yami absently on the shoulder—he snorted at her—and headed into the horse barn to put away her tools.

Breakfast was always a mildly entertaining affair, especially on festival days, where everyone was trying to talk at once. Jamie and Laurie were hoping fervently to see their Uncle Jack because they got to see him so rarely, Mirei and the more awake Alan were excited about getting to play with their Mineral Town cousins, Skye and Claire were trying to discuss the best alternative to sending Takakura out on his own with the shipments, and Meredith was.. well, trying to eat. She was probably the
quietest one at the table, though certainly not the cleanest.

"How do you manage to get syrup in your hair?" Claire wondered as she used a damp towel to wipe of the baby of the family's hands and face. "No, on second thought, I don't want to know… Honey, do you have the presents for the Goddess?"

"When don't I?" Skye called back, assisting Alan, who's house job was dishes for the week. "They're sitting next to the door in your wicker basket."

Without being prompted, the older set of twins headed outside to start saddling the horses, while Mirei wiped down the table. Meredith sat through having her hair re-brushed and re-styled into its customary pigtails, swinging her tiny legs so that her feet bounced off the underside of the chair.

"Don't do that," her mother said absently, one hair tie in her mouth. "We need the chair seat in one piece kitten."

"No, Alan, don't just swipe with the dishrag," Skye scolded mildly. "Scrub hard, or the syrup won't come off and we'll have to do this again."

The young boy dutifully obeyed his father, but it was clear his mind was on other things, like the few insects he could already see making their way in the spring morning. His father sighed, smiling faintly.

"Easily distracted," he chuckled, taking dish and rag from his youngest son. "You get a bye this time, but don't tell your mother."

"Thanks Papa!" the green eyed boy grinned. "I'm gonna go grab my bug net!"

"You do not have time to hunt bugs before we leave," Claire called sternly as she finished with Meredith's hair.

"Aww Momma, not for now!" the child replied with a roll of his eyes. "For Auntie Jill's!"

"…Just don't go wandering onto the mountain alone like you did last time," she sighed. "I don't want to spend two hours looking for you like last time!"

"Okay!"

Alan darted to his room to gather his bug-catching supplies. Mirei wrinkled her nose.

"Momma, he's gonna bring back weird things again," she complained. "He always does…"

"Well, he's not bringing them into the house," Claire reached out to pat Mirei's head. "Don't worry Mimi, there won't be bugs in your bed again."

That incident had resulted in Alan getting his bug net taken away for a month, which was absolute torture for the bug-crazy boy. Mirei thought for a minute, then gave her mother a sunny smile. Claire chuckled as Skye stepped out of the kitchen.

"Come on now, we'd better hurry or we really will be late!"

There hadn't been time for more than a few words to the Harvest Goddess, wishing her a happy birthday, before they'd headed towards Mineral town. Meredith was riding in front of her mother on Honey, Silk held Lauren, Blaze held James and Alan—who still wasn't as practiced as his twin on a horse—and Mirei was riding Satin. Skye was the only rider Yami tolerated and actually treated with decorum, no matter how Skye attempted to reason with the horse.

It had led to several amusing late-night discussions, and Claire enjoyed teasing her husband about his quirky horse whenever she got the chance.

They met up with Jill, Gray and their kids on Jill's farm, the River's Edge, which was where they left the horses. In the general chaos and cacophony of the family, Jill and Claire hugged, Gray and Skye traded friendly hand-clasps, and the kids tumbled all over each other.

"What a herd!" Jill laughed.

"You're telling me?" Claire feigned surprise. "I have more than you do! Just wait till you have your twins, then you'll see."

Which wouldn't bee too far into the future, considering the size of Jill's stomach. The brunette stuck out her tongue, and thumped his sister companionably on the arm, making the blonde grin smugly.

Getting everyone organized to go to the Square was an adventure in and of itself. First, Mirei and Jackie had to be convinced that they could play with their dolls after the festival, then Alan had to be called back from chasing insects around the cows in Jill's field. Then, Caleb and Meri had to be fished out of the watering pond, where they'd run to escape a bumble bee.

Which naturally led to a change of clothes, and much groaning laughter. Eventually, though, they made it off the farm, just in time to see Doctor Trent and Elli go up in the large blue and orange hot air balloon.

Karen looked from the frazzled Jill to the annoyed looking Claire and back.

"Not going so well I take it," the green-eyed woman tried not to grin.

Both farmers gave her sour looks and Jill sat on a nearby bench with a tired groan. The children, released from their parents scrutiny scurried away into the crowd, meeting other cousins and friends alike. None of them were interested in hearing the adults chat.

"So, what happened?"

"Oh… Caleb found a flower for Meri," Jill started.

"Only the flower had a bee in it, who was not happy about being disturbed," Claire picked up.

"Running from the bee, they both fell into the fishpond," Skye finished, chuckling. "Which is why they have wet hair and we were all so late."

Meredith and Caleb were the only two who hadn't run off the minute their parents had given the okay, each clinging to the leg of their respective mother. Samantha, Karen's youngest, was being carried by Rick, who was playing peek-a-boo with her.

Upon hearing the story, Karen had to laugh.

"You know, only your kids would try to take swimming lessons by provoking a bee," she grinned.

Skye saw Cliff waving at him, and quietly excused himself. Gray hovered around at the three women chatted, keeping an eye on Jill, who took it in stride. She was used to her husband's protectiveness, and quite liked it at times. It wasn't like he was doing any damage… And having him there meant she could make him get them all drinks.

Claire let out a tired sigh as Meredith crawled into her lap.

"Love you Mommy!" the silver-banged child piped up in the conversation lull.

"Aww, I love you too kitten," Claire smiled. "Why don't you Caleb and Sammy go find Larissa?"

"Okay!"

The child immediately bounded away, taking her two cousins with her. There was a general sigh of relief and the last of the tension left the air.

"Man, we certainly got the kids who are a handful," Karen cracked. "Sam got into the flour shipment this morning. It's everywhere on the floor of the store now, and there wasn't enough time to clean it up before coming here."

"Hah," Jill snorted. "Jackie thought that she'd wake the whole house up this morning by playing some loud foreign music. Allison threw an absolute fit, since the CD belonged to her and I tossed it in the trash."

"My morning was comparatively quiet," Claire grinned. "Jamie and Laurie were up before I was, Alan was actually dressed and at the dining table-"

"Awake?" Karen interrupted

"…no, but almost," Claire chuckled. "Mirei was the only one still abed, and she's easy enough to oust."

"Jeez, you did get the easy morning," Jill complained jokingly. "Can I have your life?"

"Not for all the money in the world," the blonde grinned. "Besides, it's spring, they all want to be up and active. Even Alan!"

"Though you know it's only because he wants to chase bugs," Karen said knowingly. "I think that one's going to be some sort of traveler like Kai, looking for new insects all the time."

"If he's happy, who am I to complain?" Claire half shrugged. "I'm still trying to keep him at farm chores, but that's such a hassle…"

Jill's next words were interrupted by Zack's call of "Balloon!" As quickly as the crowd was able, people cleared the Rose Square so that the red and yellow hot air balloon could land where it willed. The only ones left in the Square were Zack, Cliff, and Gray, arguably the three strongest men in Mineral Town.

Jack and Eve waved to Claire, Karen, and Jill from the basket. Once it was properly tied down, they were instantly swarmed by their nieces and nephews—excluding Meredith, Caleb and Samantha who didn't recognize them—all trying to talk at once.

Jack, laughing, held up his hands to try and stem the flow of words. Eve just worked her way free, heading over to the rest of the female contingency. She was practically glowing, and it didn't take too long for them to ferret out that she was—after several years of attempting after her third pregnancy had resulted in a miscarriage—with child.

Well, if that didn't set of the female population of the farming community, nothing would. Claire especially had been worried for Karen's older sister, since the miscarriage had thrown the normally cheery woman into a long period of depression. With this indication that everything was fine after all, the blonde settled in to hear the gossip of Flowerbud and Mineral Town.

Phew, what a long day… It seems to get more chaotic every time we have to go to Mineral Town.

But Eve being pregnant again after so long is absolutely wonderful! It's almost hard to believe. Jack told me that he asked the Harvest Goddess in his village for the help, and doesn't even seem to mind that now he has to give said Goddess all his strawberry crop for the first month of Spring.

Ah… all's well that ends well. Now if I can get Skye to stop hinting at a sixth child, life will be much improved.