March 15, Spring, year 20
It's almost time to go to the Pond… I'm nervous. I shouldn't be, should I? But what if he doesn't show? Mercury said it was going to start raining shortly after midnight tonight… And it's probably a stupid idea to expect a straight answer from him anyways.
Maybe I shouldn't go. This is probably a bad idea. Jack would flip!
….Argh, why has this suddenly become difficult?!
Claire's pen tapped idly, nervously on the page of the journal. On the one hand, neither of her siblings lived in the Valley so their reactions would sort of be a moot point. It was her life, after all.
But on the other hand she didn't trust this thief. What if he just wanted to get closer to her so that he could get inside information about stealing from the other residences in the Valley?
Frustrated with herself she thumped her head down on the table, closing the journal in one swift move.
"What the heck is wrong with me?" she sighed. "It should not be this hard to make up my mind!"
With no one to go to, Claire ran her hands through her hair, then shoved her chair back.
"Okay Claire, you're being a twit," she told herself sternly. "Just get Pup's ball and go! If he shows, he shows, and you get your answer. If he doesn't you can come back home and sleep!"
Her mind made up, she retrieved the ball from her cabinet and whistled for the dog. Puppy came bounding over to her with a gleeful bark, and despite her frustration, she smiled.
"You're nocturnal, I swear," she said fondly as they left the house. "Sleep all day, play all night…"
The little round dog yapped cheerfully at her, and the farmer girl proceeded up to the Goddess pond. She was a little disappointed to see that he wasn't there—after all the psyching up she did too!—but after a minute she pulled out Puppy's ball and moved off to the field behind the hot spring. Maybe she was simply too early.
The dog followed her, bouncing around in excitement as she waved the ball in the air over his head.
"You ready?" she teased him. "Huh? You ready? Okay, go get it!"
She tossed it in an underhand arc, and Puppy tore off into the field after it, much to Claire's amusement. He snuffled around, rooting in the grass until he unearthed it and raced back to the blond girl, tail wagging proudly.
She praised him, and the training continued. She didn't notice that Skye had arrived and was watching them both until Puppy trotted past her with the ball, and dropped it at the thief's feet.
Claire watched as he picked it up—with a grimace of distaste for the dog slobber that almost made her grin—and lobbed it easily over her head into the weed filled field.
"You came," he said with a faint smile. "I would wonder if you'd followed me, but you appear to have arrived before me."
She nodded, her hands suddenly damp with nerves. Skye was pleased to see her, having hoped to convince her to come see him once more so that he could perhaps get a little bit more information out of her. Not about the people in the Valley, but about the girl herself.
Something about her aroused his curiosity, and there was only one way to assuage that. But she was still so nervous. It was actually rather adorable.
"Did you give me those cookies last night?" Claire questioned abruptly as Puppy brought back the ball again.
"I have given no one cookies from my hand," he replied.
Technically it was the truth. He'd only left them on her doorstep, not handed them to her. To his surprise, she turned to him and frowned.
"That's evading the question," she said, propping her hands on her hips.
"Perhaps it is," and he chuckled. "But what kind of thief would I be if I gave straight answers to anyone who asked?"
Blue eyes flickered with annoyance, but a very slight smile crossed her face. Though she hadn't meant to, and was loathe to admit it, he'd managed to strike the right chord in her sense of humor.
However, all that meant to Claire was that she would just have to be more clever in asking questions. Her hair might have been blond, but it didn't mean that she was stupid. She just chewed on her lower lip as they traded off throwing the ball for Puppy, thinking.
This lasted up until the dog lost it in the grass. Claire sighed and shook her head.
"Not again," she complained. "Agh, I'll find it in the morning, it's too late for me to be awake."
"What do you do?" Skye asked as she went to collect the dog.
"Hmm?" She paused midstep, and then shrugged. "Oh, I farm. Like the rest of my family. We're just a bunch of dirt lovers really."
There was a story there, but before Skye could decide whether he wanted to ask her about it or not, she had the worn out animal and was heading down the path towards home and her bed.
Claire didn't mean anything by the comment. She was a farmer. So were her siblings, so her parents had been. And even though she had been forced into it, that didn't mean that she wasn't starting to love the farm.
She yawned, and checked her watch, then shook her head in disbelief.
"Two in the morning, I don't believe it," she groaned. "It's definitely past time for bed…"
He evaded the question! Man… I hope I don't have to like… pin him down before he'll give me a straightforward answer. That would be embarrassing…
Not to mention he's taller than me. He could probably toss me if he wanted.
Gah, I have to work in a couple of hours, I'm going to sleep! Stupid imagination.