June 17, Summer, Year 20

Hah, I got Muffy back for all her teasing!

It was Griffin's birthday on the 13th, and so I let her borrow my oven Then proceeded to tease her about making food for her boyfriend. It was very satisfying.

Hearing Griffin say that he liked the food was even more hilarious. At least Muffy's cooking isn't as bad as her drink mixing… I wouldn't want him to get food poisoning after all.

…Okay, yeah, that was mean. Hehe.

Claire chuckled softly, despite feeling a little embarrassed about what she'd written in her journal. She knew that she would eventually snap at Muffy, they'd fight and then make up, but until that point the teasing would continue to irk her.

"Wonder what I should bring to the Veggie fest?" she tapped her chin with her pen as she turned on the TV to check the weather forecast. "None of my pineapples have fully budded, so I can't bring them. And the stuff in the fridge is too old to qualify as food really…"

She glanced at the fridge, wrinkling her nose. She'd been needing to clean it out for several days now, but hadn't been able to snag the time. At the rate she was going, it would be her that ended up with the food poisoning…

"Foo… Vesta will probably win again anyways," and Claire chuckled ruefully. "Even Mom and Dad couldn't beat her quality veggies. Maybe I'll skip today's festival and just concentrate on around the house stuff. This place could use a good cleaning…"

There were clothes flung everywhere, most of which needed more than a minor wash, dishes stacked high in the sink and on the table, and, of course, the fridge. Not to mention both Dakota and Puppy needed baths, as did Honey.

"Yeah, why not," she nodded, a gleam entering her blue eyes. "Too much TLC for the outside, not enough TLC for the inside."

She made motions like she was rolling up her sleeves, grinned, and got to work, completely forgetting about the TV.

The dishes were first, and Claire attacked the sticky places with a grimace, wondering how she'd let things get so disgusting. The cats, seeing that she was playing with water, dove under the bed, Tux bumping against the stereo table as she went.

Claire almost jumped out of her skin as 'Ride of the Valkyrie' started playing on the stereo system, but then she laughed, changed the CD to something more modern, and went about her dishwashing.

She had to change the music twice more as she moved from dishes to clothing, lamenting the fact that, though there was a dryer—her mother had refused to hang laundry in the middle of winter—there was no washing machine.

Still the routine of washing clothing by hand was oddly soothing, and she almost missed the knock on the screen door.

Thankfully it came again, louder, and she turned from the sink to see who it was. And frowned as Damien carefully opened the door and stepped in.

"Something I can help you with?" And her tone was chill.

"Just wanted to see what all your hype was about," he replied. "This place is… something, I guess."

Claire didn't know exactly what to say, and stood there, feeling rather awkward. Soapy bubbles dripped from her hands onto the linoleum, and after a minute, Damien just claimed a chair.

"I thought you didn't like the farm," he said, giving her a narrow eyed glance. "You kept saying how amazing the city was. Why're you still here?"

"Because you were an ass," and she glared right back at him, propping her hands on her hips, "And… I've already explained this, I'm not going to do so again for the sake of your lack of memory."

The blond spun back to her washing, shoulders stiff with tension. Damien snorted again as she reached for the clothing in the sink.

"You don't even have a decent clothes washer?" he mocked. "Or a dish washer!"

"If you're here to mock me, I'll hit you with the frying pan," Claire warned. "I'm a little busy right now, in case you hadn't noticed. Either get to the point and go away, or… actually, just go away. Before you say something more stupid, and actually tempt me to brain you."

That earned her about fifteen minutes of a solemn silence. It was almost surprising.

"Claire, I want you to come back to the city with me," Damien said at last. "There's so much more for you there! Heck, we could bring you sister and that cousin of ours uh… Karen, that's right, and start a band!"

Claire tapped her foot in clear annoyance.

"My parents left me the farm," she said quietly. "I have an obligation to carry on their legacy, even if I don't really want to. And you know something… I do want to. I love this place…"

She was a little surprised to hear herself admit this to Damien, who wanted nothing more than to make her belong to him again.

"It's that pretty-boy, isn't it?" and his moss-green eyes narrowed in anger. "He's the reason you're staying here!"

There was a short pause as Claire battled embarrassment and annoyance, the back of her neck turning a faint red.

"No Damien," and her tone was gentler than she'd intended. "I'm here because Mom and Dad wanted this farm to prosper like the other ones in our family. And come hell or high water, I'm going to make sure that their dream lives on. It's…"

She stopped, feeling that all too familiar sensation of needing to cry, but being unable to. And in the silence, Damien opened his mouth, and inserted his foot.

"You're going to live in a place like this, working on a derelict farm-"

Damien didn't get any farther than that. Claire turned, putting every bit of force behind the punch that she could. And mining had built up quite a bit of strength.

He sprawled out of the chair, dark brown hair falling over his face as he stared at her in shock.

"I suggest you leave," And Claire's voice was cold as ice, suppressed fury making her blue eyes flare. "I'm not interested. Go back to the damn city."

He looked at her for a long moment, blue and green eyes locking in dueling anger. In the end, he was the one who looked away, and got to his feet, one hand holding his jaw. Damien didn't look back, just slammed the screen door hard enough to make the windows rattle.

Claire let out a long, slow sigh, sagging back against the kitchen counter and shaking out her hand with a wince. It had been a while since she'd slugged someone that hard.

"So much for an uneventful day," she sighed. "Oh well, back to work I guess…"

With the dishes drying on the rack, fridge contents emptied onto the compost pile and clothes hanging on the line, Claire turned to washing her animals. This tended to be easier, simply because with them, she could use the hose as well as the large basin that would normally be Honey's water tank.

Dakota loved the bath, mostly because it was followed by the dog getting her fur timed back to a reasonable length. Claire was willing to swear that there was enough fur when she was done to make—if not another Dakota—at least two puppies.

Puppy made the bath a challenge, lunging here and there in the tub and getting water everywhere. He needed no fur trimming, thankfully, though Claire was willing to swear that she was never going to be dry again.

And then it was time for Honey to get her first bath. Claire couldn't help being nervous. The last time she'd tried to wash a horse, Punkin had broken her foot. It had not been an enjoyable summer.

But Honey stood there, quiet as she pleased. She actually seemed to be leaning into the sudsy brush, and Claire was surprised to see that the golden horse had a few spots under all the dust where the gold was actually white. It was almost like she was a golden Appaloosa.

"I should have named you Sunshine or something," Claire grinned. "Like the farm!"

And with that she burst out singing. According her parents the song 'Walking on Sunshine,' had been what inspired them to name the farm. It was one of the many songs she could remember learning from her mother Mirei.

It had been the song most often played in the house, her dad Allen claiming it was the song that had convinced him to propose to Mirei. To which her mother had teasingly replied that he'd been so shy that it was the only way he'd managed it.

Claire, along with her siblings, had always had a hard time picturing their father as shy. When they were around he was a cheerful, outgoing man, with many passions, the greatest of which was their mother. Farming had almost always been a close second though.

And Claire was starting to understand why he had been so into it. As Jill had said, the job sort of grew on a person.

She jumped when Takakura cleared his throat, nearly spraying the older man with her hose. He chuckled as she blushed and pointed the nozzle at the ground.

"You seem to be in a good mood today. You missed the Vegetable festival though."

"Well, the house needed tending to," she admitted. "And the animals. I'm actually kinda glad that I stayed home. Besides, none of my pineapples are ready for showing!"

"Well now that's true," he nodded. "It would be easier if you had a husband around…"

Claire just rolled her eyes faintly in amusement.

"Pony's doing fine on her own," she pointed out, smiling wryly. "And she's got more to work on since she's established already."

"She's also looking for a husband," Takakura persisted. "I know that you're friends with some of the young men here… why not give them a chance?"

Claire just shook her head of wet hair, and gave a faintly helpless shrug.

"Uncle T, it's not that I don't appreciate the concern it's just that… no one here is exactly right for me. I promise, if I find the right person… well, I think more about it. Okay?"

Takakura just sighed, and nodded.

"I just want to make sure you're happy with your life," he said. "You do deserve that…"

Claire smiled warmly.

"Thanks Uncle Tak," she said softly. "For now.. I'm good. Truly. I was actually thinking about buying me a couple of chickens and ducks later this week. You think Popi might still have Nana?"

What a day! At least the house is clean though, and the sun dried my clothes pretty quick! Thankfully there was a breeze to take away the muggy heat today, otherwise they might be ick-damp still.

Uncle T's really worried. I think maybe he might've heard about Damien from Muffy. Ugh, I hope that Damien isn't going to stay nearby, even if he does have vacation. The last thing I need is someone else harassing me.

Feh. Sleep now, worry later.

…Haven't seen Skye in a while. Wonder what he's up to…