April 21st, Spring, year 20

I have everything, but Muffy caught a cold! Griffin won't let her come and I agree that she should stay in bed and get rest, but this means that neither Pony nor I will be made up pretty like we were for the Goddess Festival.

Then again, the Flower Festival isn't half as important as the Goddess fest was, so I guess it's not that big of a deal. It's mostly just dancing again. Should be fun!

And I think, if I run into Skye again, that I will ignore him for the day. Roses or not, I'm still miffed over that…whatever the hell it was he did to me!

Claire was walking by herself that night, everyone else who had been able to—Lumina and Celia. Nami had caught Muffy's cold and Flora didn't want to go—had left at midday, when Claire was still hard at work.

It was a little annoying to be left by herself on the mountain paths, but she decided that it really wasn't worth the effort of trying to get annoyed when she needed every bit of her attention focused on the path so that she didn't trip over something.

Or someone..

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the silver-haired thief since he'd been to the Blue Bar, her own work leaving her barely coherent enough to play with Puppy so late at night. Nor had she received any word from Damien, not that she would admit to wanting any. Their parting had been something of a disaster at any rate.

Said thief was actually shadowing her as she walked towards the Blue River farm, mostly to ensure that she would actually be in the area for this festival. If he was being truthful with himself, he really wanted to dance with her again, despite the warnings from her little sister.

Jill opened the door to her sister, pulling her in and talking to her quietly. Claire's soft giggle echoed back across the seemingly empty farm, and the door closed quietly.

Skye, assured, actually went back to the Inn for some sleep. He remembered how much she liked dancing, and figured he would need all the energy he could get if he wanted to keep up with her.

Jill, as Claire had known all her life, was disgustingly cheerful in the morning. On the other hand Claire herself was a bear until she got a cup of hot, sugary tea into her system. As a rule, Jill had long since learned to have said tea waiting for Claire before the blond woke.

Festival days were no exception, and Claire felt rather sourly grateful that her sibling knew her so well.

A bit more cheery thanks to the tea, Claire passed over the late birthday present—a book on the different types of fruit trees—and the refurbished violet dress. The sleeves had been converted to a slightly puffy off-shoulder type, and Claire had added a woven cord at the waist for decoration, as well as a pale blue ribbon from trim around the hem of the skirt.

Over-all, the blond was very pleased with herself. It looked much better than it had when her sister had first brought it out.

Her own dress was deceptively girly. While Claire was not the world's biggest fan of pink—that had always been Popuri, hands down—she had to admit that the particular shade of that sundress made her feel as pretty as Muffy looked on a regular basis.

Neither girl was interested in putting too much effort into their appearance, so Claire helped Jill with her farm work, watering and weeding while Jill herself took care of the three chickens, two cows, sole sheep and the horse.

The dog—who was Puppy's sibling, another rotund puppy that Jill had named Biscuit—had pounced on Claire almost from the moment both girls had started working. Claire just rolled her eyes and ignored the puppy until it decided that she was boring, and wandered off to find a stick to chew on.

"How's life?" Jill asked, as the headed in to take clean up. "You're quieter than usual today."

"Nothing's changed," Claire sighed. "No new sprites, no hints from either Winny or the Harvest King… I swear, it just seems impossible some days. Not to mention there's been thievery in the Valley, though no one's figured out who yet."

Which was a slight lie, but Claire couldn't bring herself to talk about Skye. Jill scowled.

"Who would steal stuff from you guys out there?" she demanded, passing Claire the shampoo. "And no offense meant sis, but it's not like there's a ton of stuff to steal."

"Actually, there is," Claire corrected her absently. "Ramona's mansion is full of expensive money-related items, and the Blue Bar had some rare wine and the cash box stolen last week. It was awful!"

And annoying. Claire's own face turned down in a frown as she recalled how Skye had frozen her in place. Though she hadn't thought about it at the time, that spell could have other uses, ones that were less pleasant, more frightening. It almost sent chills up her spine, though there was just something about Skye that told her he wouldn't ever use it for something so… wrong.

"There's also the seeds and money in Vesta's shop, and even the junk from Uncle Carter's would sell good if someone took them to a decent appraiser," she added. "And the paintings in the Inner Inn. It's almost like the Valley is a treasure trove if you know how to look. But everyone knows everyone so there's no way that any of us could get away with it. We'd screw up."

"Not to mention everyone in the Valley is perpetually honest," Jill shook her head, a wry smile on her lips. "Even Rock, for all he's a self-centered idiot."

"He's telling his own version of the truth," Claire snorted in amusement. "To him, it's the truth that he's the Harvest God's gift to all the women in the Valley. Oh, did I tell you that Lumina finally smacked him upside the head?"

"Nooo!"

Claire laughed, and gossiped, her good mood restored by Jill's subtle shift in conversation. Jill, pleased that her sister had taken the switch, kept her from going back by dropping interesting Mineral Town gossip of her own.

With the bathing finished as they chattered, Claire helped Jill pull her hair up in her usual ponytail, then gave her sister the dried pink-cat-mint wreath. Jill blinked, and Claire grinned.

"It might only be the flower festival, but you're still the Goddess sis, until the next vote. Besides, I'm wearing enough pink."

Claire's wreath was fresher, but more crude as she'd made it last minute. Simple white Toyflowers intertwined with golden Moondrop flowers, though to Jill's eye the wreath looked ready to fall apart.

"Here, let me see that real quick," she took the wreath from her sister's hands. "Get dressed, it's almost time to go!"

It had always mystified Jill how her sister could be such a good sewer, yet bad at something as simple as weaving a flower wreath. They both required a lot of dexterity…

Then she shook her head, careful not to dislodge the wreath or her hair, and began tightening the stems together, neatening the wreath as Clair pulled on her dress. Then she passed it back and pulled on her own, grinning at Claire.

"Thanks again for fixing this up. I know Manna probably didn't mean to give me one of her old dresses, she just wasn't paying attention."

"Right," Claire gave her sister a cynical look. "If you say so. If you order some fabric and give me your measurements I'll make you another one for later. One that might impress Gray."

She winked, and Jill reached out to smack her, but Claire danced out of the way, laughing as her sister blushed.

"You're impossible," Jill grumbled.

"So, is he your escort again?" blue eyes twinkled with amusement as Jill glowered.

It was fun to tease her, and Claire would have continued if not for the timely ringing of the grandfather clock. Both girls jumped, and hurried out of the house, late. Gray, Popuri and Rick—which was a bit of a surprise to Claire—were waiting.

"You didn't say Rick would be coming!" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"He's escorting Popi, why wouldn't he?"

Claire rolled her eyes. She liked Rick okay, but he'd had something of a puppy-crush on her since they were kids. No matter how much she tried to discourage it, Rick seemed unable to choose whom he liked more, Karen or herself.

"Oh just put up with it, it's not going to kill you," and the unexpected vehemence from Jill made Claire blink in surprise. "Now come on, we're late!"

That, at least, was true, and the whole group rushed to get to the square. The layout was similar to the Goddess Festival, with the table off in one corner that had snacks and drinks, and the majority of the area cleared for dancing. However there were several major differences.

The entire square was strung with garlands of flowers, everything from the local island ones to imported flowers that people grew in their homes and greenhouses. To Claire's delight there were even several sets of de-thorned roses around, spreading a heady scent that made her want to twirl.

And best of all, she didn't see any sign of Skye. She did, however, see a face that made her start slightly.

"Sis, across the square, talking to Mary."

Obediently Jill glanced over, then did a double take. Claire winced.

"What's he doing here?" and there was enough venom in her voice to make Popuri, Rick, and Gray all look at her in surprise.

"Who?" Popuri asked, following Jill's gaze.

"Damien," Claire said softly.

She hadn't thought much about Damien since the last time they'd spoken. It had been the night her parents boat had been found, and she'd ended up slapping him across the face, hard. For all she'd cared about him, his insensitivity had infuriated her.

Popuri blinked a couple of times, and Rick gave her a concerned look. Claire sighed and shook her head lightly.

"I'll be alright as long as I don't have to deal wit him," she said, straightening her shoulders. "Though sis, if I look ready to punch, please get me out of the situation, yeah?"

"Don't I always?" Jill huffed, not really angry. "Come on, the music hasn't started yet! We can get something to munch on."

As she spoke, there was a crackling squawk of speakers that made everyone in the square wince. Claire snickered.

"You have timing down to a 'T' sis," she teased. "Start without me, I'm going to go bury my face in some roses first!"

And before Rick or Jill could say anything, Claire separated from the group, and made her way to the far corner of the Square. She moved carefully, ensuring that many people were between her and Damien so that he couldn't spot her. That was the last thing she needed.

A bench, surrounded by the very roses she'd been looking for, was near the food table, and she sat down carefully, making sure that the one she was trying to avoid wasn't looking her way.

To her eyes, he seemed… to be doing well. He was still chatting with Mary, making the shy librarian smile a couple of times with what he was saying. Claire found herself sighing a little wistfully at his dark hair, which was bound back from his face. She'd loved playing with it on days when she'd gone into the city to be with him. It had always been so soft….

She leaned back abruptly, and shook her head hard enough to dislodge her flower wreath. It didn't go far and she slid off the bench to retrieve it, thanking whatever fates existed—since the Harvest Goddess from her town was gone—that no one was behind the table to step on it.

A paler larger hand reached it first, and Claire looked up into the sea-green eyes of Skye. He smiled at her, and though her initial reaction was a blush, she could feel her annoyance with him start to bubble up again.

"Are you hiding back here?" he inquired mildly. "I thought you would be out there with your friends today."

"Yeah, well…" she hesitated as Skye stood, still holding her wreath. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

He moved over to the bench, joining her arbitrarily. She sat at the far corner from Skye, a way to emphasize that she was still not entirely happy with him, but this only served to amuse the silver-haired thief more.

He played with the wreath for a long minute while Claire watched the dancing. Then she sighed softly.

"See the guy talking with Mary? I used to date him."

She didn't see Skye's expression, she was too busy looking at the roses.

"He told me that I should get the tattoo across my back. A couple days later though, my parents died, and he tried to get me to party. I told him I was leaving and he tried to stop me, so I slapped him. Hadn't heard from him since."

Claire sighed again, and lightly touched the petals of the roses. Seeing him again, here… it depressed her. This was one of her favorite festivals after all!

She'd told Damien as much too, which was probably why he was here. That thought made her lean back slightly, with a grimace of distaste. To her surprise—she had actually forgotten that Skye was there, lost as she was in her own unhappy thoughts—her head landed against Skye's shoulder as he leaned around her to carefully pluck one of the roses.

He smiled down at her, and a large blush crossed her cheeks at how close they were. It actually felt… kinda nice. That only made her blush harder as he pulled away.

"The flowers in the wreath suit you somewhat," he said smoothly, Lightly twirling the flower in his fingers. "But I think that the next time, you should make one of the roses."

Claire blinked, blush fading into a look of thoughtfulness. In one quick move Skye tucked the rose—a soft white, with hints of yellow at the edges—behind her right ear. Startled, she reached up and lightly touched it as he moved back, pleased with his handiwork.

"Yes. Roses suit you better."

Slowly a smile spread across Claire's face, and Skye nodded slightly to himself. This was an improvement on the gloomy look she'd had, or the wistful one when staring over at Damien.

"Come," and this time he was the one offering his hand. "Dance with me?"

Claire considered, looking out across the crowds. Damien had moved on from Mary and seemed to be chatting it up with Ann, who was laughing. Hurt and anger plucked at her heart for a moment, before she shoved it away fiercely.

"Not now," she said quietly. "I don't feel like it."

And she leaned back against the bench, hands folding idly in her lap. Skye debated pushing the blond farmer, but a sharp glance from her sister—who had moved in while they were talking, though Jill was still dancing with Gray—made him lean back in feigned nonchalance.

Claire felt almost grateful that Skye remained with her instead of going out to seek a more active girl. The silence stretched between them until Skye at last looked over to her, tilting his head so that some silver hair fell in front of his face.

"What about this festival?"

Claire blinked, then had to chuckle slightly as she realized what he wanted to know.

"Well, the last one was to celebrate the glory of the Harvest Goddess and the Harvest King," and privately she shook her head in resigned amusement, "but this one is more of an earthy celebration, for just the goddess. I think they used to be the same festival, but someone split them up a long time back and it's been like this ever since."

As she talked to Skye, Damien faded to the back of her mind. Slowly, her mood began to improve, and as the songs slid on into the other, her feet began to tap idly. Skye noticed, and had to work to keep from smiling. Claire's head came up, and she glanced briefly around the Square, meeting Jill's gaze and giving her a slight wink.

"My sister's giving me the evil eye for moping," and she chuckled. "So if you're still up for it, I think I'll accept your dance invitation now."

Skye's own smile was slow, but warm, and he slid to his feet, taking her hand and leading her out to the floor.

Across the Square, Jill and Gray were taking a well-deserved break, with Jill keeping an eye on her sister.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell which one's older," Gray said rather abruptly, glancing at her. "Some days you act like you're older and looking out for her."

"Well," And Jill leaned back, stretching her arms slightly. "Claire keeps more inside. She might seem quick to change moods, but that's really only surface water. Or maybe…"

Gray's lips twitched in amusement as his girlfriend tried to think up the right metaphor for her sister's emotional state before tossing her hands up lightly in frustration.

"Anyways, she might act okay, but she keeps a lot of stuff hidden deep inside herself. I just hope," and here Jill sighed watching her sister and Skye dance, "that Damien doesn't notice, or ruin things."

"Who is he?"

Jill blinked, and looked at Gray, almost contemplatively.

"Claire said she'd met him here in town a couple of times when she couldn't make it to the city," she replied. "I thought the people around her knew him by gossip."

Gray gave Jill a dryly patient look, and the brunette laughed.

"You're right, I forgot you don't listen to gossip," and her purple eyes glinted warmly. "From what she's told me, he lives and works in the city, but after our folks died she didn't say anything about him. So I'm just worried that she might get hurt again, then deny it. She's good at that, you know?"

And Gray nodded, thinking about the time the four of them—he, Jill, Jack, and Claire—had played in his grandfather's shop and Claire had knocked a pail down on her head. Instead of crying, she'd gone silent for a while, then acted as though nothing had happened. It wasn't until later that they learned she'd gotten quite the goose egg, as well as a large bruise on her arm from hitting the anvil when she'd staggered.

"…She'll be alright," he said after a minute, leaning back. "Claire is pretty tough."

Jill just smiled wryly, and shook her head lightly. And watched.

Claire was actually having a good time. As had been proved in the last dancing festival, Skye had more than enough smooth moves on the dance floor, and was even teaching her some she didn't know as they danced. They partnered up with Jill and Gray for the four-square dance, and Skye even joined in the line dancing, though he found himself watching her carefully to make sure that this 'Damien' didn't meet with her.

He wasn't watching closely enough though, because on the next turn he saw that Claire, her back to him, had frozen completely.

She had come face to face with one of the last people she wanted to see.

Damien smiled fondly at her, green eyes glittering with energy.

"Claire, you look lovely today!" he was still moving in the dances steps and after a few seconds she did too. "I hadn't heard from you in so long that I thought you might have fallen ill. It's good to see that you're healthy."

She heard under the words the question of 'Why didn't you call me?' and flushed a little with anger.

"Well, I needed a bit of time to myself and my family," and there was acid in her tone. "And you didn't seem interested in helping."

Karen on her left traded places with the girl, giving Claire a worried look out of the corner of her eye. The blond shook her head just slightly at her cousin and though this didn't stop her from worrying it did keep her from interfering.

"This place is too noisy to talk, is there perhaps another place?" Damien's face was utterly polite, and Claire found herself nodding.

"Karen, tell Jill I went to get some air over at the Goddess pond, okay? I'll be back in a bit."

"Well, don't miss the end," Karen frowned a little. "Pony would probably make you eat that rose if you tried."

Claire's mirth burbled over for a second in a very feminine giggle, that made Karen smile wryly in response.

As Damien and Claire exited the dance, the farm-girl caught Skye's attention and made a quick gesture that he interpreted as an 'I'll be right back.' He didn't like it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Other than follow. He was about to when Gray came over and touched his arm.

"Jill says stay," he said when the thief looked at him with irritation. "Claire can handle it."

There was nothing for it then, but to wait. How very annoying.