October 18, Fall, year 20

The races were awesome! And Pony won again! My little sister is getting really good at this!

Also, ran into Skye and got to talk.

Claire had woken early so that she could take the kitten's to Ramona's mansion, along with the formula that they drank, and the towels they slept in. (Fresh ones, naturally) Lumina had taken everything with an amused look, and had wished her good luck at the races.

The blonde hadn't the heart to mention that she wasn't going to be doing any betting this season. She was far too broke to try, and really… she mostly wanted to be there to tease Gray about her little sister.

And give Karen her birthday present, and maybe, just maybe, she would find Skye.

Honey made the trip quick, as always, and once more Claire was grateful for the mare. It was even nicer that—one rare days—she could take Honey out for a long ride and gather some of the wild plants that grew in the wooded areas around the Valley.

Jill was already awake and raring to go when they arrived. Claire smiled at her little sister and put Honey in Cinnamon's usual pasture before they started off at a leisurely walk. This time Claire wasn't late, so there was no point in trying to rush.

They gossiped, Jill hugging Claire tightly when it was revealed that Serri was no longer one of the farm cats, and in general acted like sisters. They were squabbling slightly as they entered the Square, a fact that Karen and Ann thought highly amusing.

"What's wrong with it?" Jill demanded. "Come on sis, it's not like when Mom and Dad were kids!"

"It's just not how it's done," Claire sniffed, propping her hands on her hips. "It's the guys part, not the girls, to do the asking!"

"What are you two arguing about?" Karen asked, amused.

"Nothing!" they responded in unison.

Ann and Karen exchanged looks as the siblings both crossed their arms in a sulking fashion.

"Riiiiight…" Ann said, grinning wryly. "Well, Jill, you're in the first race again, so you might want to hurry up."

"Ack!" the brunette scurried away, leaving Claire with her friends.

"So, what were you talking about?" Karen draped an arm around the Blonde's shoulders. "You can tell us…"

Claire gave her cousin an askance look, and shook her head in amusement.

"Jill's problem," she said firmly. "Not mine to tell."

"Awww…" the other two chorused as they moved towards the fences. "No fair!"

The blonde chuckled, and unearthed a package from her backpack, handing it to Karen.

"By the way, happy late birthday cousin. Any luck with Rick?"

The sweetness in Claire's tone indicated that she was teasing, and Karen gave her a mildly annoyed look, though she took the present with anticipation.

"I don't know what you mean," the green-eyed girl sniffed. "Are you going to be betting today?"

"No, probably not… Harvest Sprites make me broke," and Claire laughed. "But watching is good enough for today. Oh, hey Ann? Is that guy still hanging around the Inn?"

Ann took a few second to think about who Claire meant—he tone of her voice was too… casual. It was suspicious—then snapped her fingers.

"You mean the guy with the green eyes? Yeah, he's still here. Still keeps weird hours too. Dad's started wondering about him, says he comes in at seven-or-so looking like he's been grubbing in the dirt. It's weird…"

Claire blinked, briefly nonplused. Skye, grubbing in the dirt? Maybe he had been her three day plant helper.

"Huh…" she shrugged. "Weird people happen Ann."

Anything else the girls were about to say—or ask—was cut off as a piercing whistle got the crowds attention. Immediately they abandoned their conversation and hurried the rest of the way to the fence.

Skye had never been one for gambling on races. It was less of a sure thing than straight-forward stealing, and took even less in the way of skill. He intended to skip it as he had that spring, wanting to catch up more on sleep. Taking care of Claire's plants was hard in the dark of night, even with those Sprites doing the more difficult work of watering and actually harvesting.

But they didn't do any weeding, and that was what Skye had taken to doing. In the beginning he'd winced away from it, not wanting to dirty himself, but then had come to the realization—or rather, had been forced to the realization by Claire's Witch Princess—that, if he wanted to earn her trust back, he would have to show his sincerity in the most tangible form.

Hard. Work.

Winny had taken great pleasure in telling him this as well, he'd noticed. Almost malicious pleasure. He had no idea how close Claire and the Witch Princess were, so he didn't understand that the hostility was because of the pain caused.

So he'd dug in and started weeding, often getting himself muddy to the elbows as he hunted for stubborn small weeds. And had found—like many of his ancestors had—that getting involved with the earth was… fun.

Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as he blocked out the fact that soon enough his people would try to call their Prince back. He'd known from the start of his journey—so many year ago that he had forgotten his true age—that it was only temporary, and they were humoring a young ones request.

He certainly hadn't intended to give up his thievery… In fact he had one last caper planned.

But none of this was making the revelry from the Square any quieter. Sleep was eluding him, thanks in part to the level of noise, but also to his own brain, which refused to let him rest quietly.

Annoyed with himself, he tossed off his blanket, changed, and decided to see what it was all about. Briefly he wondered if Claire came to exhibitions such as this… and if she did, would she talk with him?

There was only one way to find out.

"That was excellent!" Claire crowed as Jill joined them after winning her race. "You are, by far the best racer in the family."

"Only because Jack's not here," Jill laughed. "We all know who'd win that race."

There was a burst of laughter as Gray wandered over to join them. The apprentice blacksmith seemed nervous, to Claire's eyes, but happy for Jill. When the four of them went off to place their bets for the next race, the blonde let of a happy sigh.

The sun was shining the races were fun… what could go wrong? All that she really needed now was the chance to talk to, and apologize to, Skye. That would complete the day.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Skye chose that moment to wander into the Square. The thief glanced around, taking note of the girls at the betting booth, the spectators, and then, finally, Claire. Her blonde hair was hard to miss, even in a crowd of this size.

But did she want to see him? That was the question the thief was asking himself when she turned and look straight at him. First her eyes widened, and he winced, thinking that she was still upset, but she waved, yelled something to her friends, and headed in his direction with a tentative smile of her own.

It was almost instinct that had them both reaching out to clasp hands in the way that close couples did.

"It's… been a while," Skye said, unable to keep from smiling. "How are you?"

Claire considered the question, tilting her head slightly.

"I've… been better," she admitted. "But I think I'm alright. Can we talk?"

"I thought we already were."

She punched him playfully with her free hand, not realizing that her own smile was just as bright. Skye winced teasingly, then reached out and ruffled her hair. She squeaked and released his hand, using both of hers to straighten the blonde mass.

Across the square, they were the objects of the small group's attention, Ann and Karen laughing at their antics. Even Gray couldn't keep from smiling as Claire jumped away from Skye, an expression of mock-horror on her face.

"What say you?" Jill asked her friends quietly. "You think it's okay?"

"I think Claire needs rescuing," Ann snickered.

"Claire's a big girl Jill," Karen reminded her cousin, smirking slightly. "She doesn't need people interfering in her love-life."

"Oh that changes something?" And Jill's voice was dry. "Recall what she's done with our love-lives."

There was a pause. Ann flushed a little bit, thinking about Cliff. Karen just smiled. Jill reached out carefully, and met Gray's hand with her own.

"I think that he's more into her than either of them realize," her boyfriend said quietly. "Let's just watch the races."

The pair settled on a bench, close enough to see the races, but not close enough to the crowd to be actively overheard. Claire fidgeted, looking down at her hands as she tried to figure out how to start.

"Skye, I want to… apologize," Claire said after a minute. "I'm sorry I over-reacted and hit you…"

Skye chuckled and reached out to lightly tap her chin. Startled, she raised her head and looked at him.

"It was well deserved," he replied. "I was not thinking. Had I been there was a much more selective spell I could have used, that would have struck only your friend."

"Still!" the blonde insisted. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. Really, I'm sorry."

He looked into stubborn blue eyes and knew there was only one way to get out of this.

"Alright, apology accepted. You're forgiven."

Relived, Claire leaned back against the bench, and let out a long sigh.

"Did something happen?" he asked finally. "You do seem a bit… down."

"Oh well," Claire looked away, smile fading. "My cat Serri… she… died last month. And so now I have a pair of orphaned kittens to take care of, so I'm pretty much bankrupt from paying the Harvest Sprites to do my watering and weeding for me."

Carefully, Skye draped an arm around Claire's shoulders and pulled her close. He'd seen how close she was to her animals in only a few meetings, especially after she'd begged him to help her that one time. So he wasn't really surprised when her head dropped onto his shoulder.

She took comfort from him, though the tears had been long dried up.

"Why are you paying the sprites?"

"Because if I don't, they won't work. They accept flour, and the medals from their own casino, but I'm bad at gambling games. The only thing I can win reasonably well is the memory game. Everything else beats me hand down."

Which she actually found annoying, she'd once been pretty good at cards.

"And I have to take care of baby kittens, plus the farm, so there's just not enough hours in the day for me to deal with plants too. So having them do my watering and harvesting for me, while insanely expensive, is well worth it. I'll make it up in mining once the kittens are old enough to eat solids."

"What about weeding?"

Claire paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

"Well, that's the oddest thing," she admitted. "The harvesting sprites are actually supposed to do the weeding, but they tell me that when they come to the plants in the morning, it's already done. And," Claire looked up at him, "according to Ann's dad, you've been coming in with muddy hands."

There was a long pause as Skye mentally sweated.

"Are you… upset with me?" he asked carefully.

To his surprise and relief, Claire burst out laughing. She reached up and patted his other shoulder—almost a hug but the contact was too fleeting—as she tried to reign in the giggles.

"No!" she grinned. "No I'm not. Surprised would be more accurate, I think. I've honestly never pictured you doing farming. It doesn't suit your image."

He huffed in mock annoyance, causing her to burst into giggles again. This was nice, Skye admitted. Back on good terms, watching races together. He could see himself doing this in the years to come…

Maybe it would be safe to ask.

"Claire…?"

"Hmm?" She tilted her head back curiously.

"Would you like to spend the Moon Viewing festival with me?"

It had come out in a rush that took Claire a few minutes to decipher, and when she did a blush crossed her cheeks.

"Y-yeah," she smiled. "Yeah, sure."

I can't believe he asked me to be with him during the Moon Viewing Festival! We're going to be up at the Goddess Pond like always, but it ought to be fun anyways. I'll have to take extra care with the Moon Dumplings this year. I don't want to serve Skye burnt food…

Of course, once we parted ways, the girls teased me mercilessly. Bah! I'll get them back, I know who they're dating!

Hehehehehe…