We walk towards the general store, a slight sense of trepidation in both of us, as we may have to face your parents' questioning. We walk through the front door, the shopkeeper's bell going off once again. It seems Pierre is not here though, so we proceed up the stairs.
Caroline is sitting in the living area, sipping on a cup of tea. When she hears us, she looks up and sets her cup down.
"Abby, you're back! Oh, and Farmer Ash. It's nice to see you again."
"Hi Caroline. Good to see you too... how have you been?" I say sheepishly. Is calling her Caroline too rude? Should I call her Mrs… what's her last name anyway? Is 'Mrs. Caroline' okay? No, that sounds too weird -
"I'm good thanks. Do you mind if I have a word with Abigail first?" Caroline yanks me out of my mental spiral.
"Mom, Ash heard our argument earlier in the morning. It's okay. You're right, I won't get a lip piercing." You waste no time and get to the point. Evidently you want to just rip off the band-aid.
"Oh! Umm… okay. I'm glad you feel that way honey." Caroline seems surprised but her body seems to relax a little.
"Mom, I wanted to show Ash some things in my room. If you don't mind…?" You point towards a door outside the living area, which I assume is your room.
"Um, yeah, sure. Go ahead, hun." Caroline seems a little disappointed that you want to escape the conversation already.
"Abby, you sure you don't need to talk to your mum a bit more? Maybe apologize for yelling at her earlier?" I whisper to you as you grab me by the arm and steer me towards your room.
"Don't worry. I… I'll do it later." You seem determined to keep that interaction as short as possible. "Besides, if we chat more, she might ask what we got up to. This way, you don't have to lie at all!"
Honestly, that's a bit of a weak excuse, though very convenient. Should I be a good friend, convince you otherwise, and endure a possibly awkward conversation with your mother? Nah. I convince myself you're right, and stop thinking about it any further, as I follow you as you show me into your room.
It's a cheerful looking room that is in stark contrast with what you wear and how you usually carry yourself. The wallpaper depicts a deep-sea setting with an array of colorful fish, seaweed, and corals. A video game console and an old TV set sits in one corner next to your bed. There is a small cage with a chubby guinea pig inside; next to it, a small wooden bookcase holds a modest array of books and a golden ornamental skull. Along another wall is a planchette on a small table.
You walk over to your computer desk and draw my attention to some full-sized replicas of medieval-looking weapons propped up against the it.
"Check this out! Dwarven weaponry, said to be forged for humans to use, as their size is about right for us and far too big for the dwarves. If that's true, then there must have been a period where dwarves and humans co-existed."
I examine your collection. There were four pieces. Three of them were similar in style: a broadsword, a dagger and a warhammer, each looking stockier than their normal counterparts. They were copper in color, with various gemstones inlaid around the handles, a large ruby in pride of place for each. One can imagine how the ruby would stand out and shine on the real pieces. Turning my attention to the fourth item, which just looks like a normal shortsword with a bronze hilt, I ask,
"So, what about this one? Just looks like a regular sword."
You grin, and as you pick it up, it makes a metallic scraping sound against your desk. Instantly I realize that this isn't a replica, but the real deal.
"This is my sword! I had to convince Mom and Dad that it's just for decoration before they would let me buy it. But it's fully functional and I use it to practice my swordcraft. And I'm bringing it the next time we venture down into the mines!"
Clearly, you are not discouraged by the injuries you sustained earlier today.
"How about it, Ash? Wanna have a sparring session?" You wave your sword around haphazardly. I quickly duck out of the way, determined not to become a casualty before I even enter the mines again.
"Uh, how about we save that till we learn to use our swords a bit better?"
"Hah! Just because my sword is better than your rusty hunk of junk!" You say playfully, trying to incite me.
"Okay, okay… if you really want to spar a little bit, we can do it, but swords back in scabbards. Deal?"
Your eyes widen in surprise, not expecting me to actually accept your challenge. I pull my sword out of my backpack; it is already sheathed in a weathered, leather scabbard. I flash you a grin.
"What's the matter? In real combat, you'll have to react to surprises like this all the time, you know."
"I've always wanted a sparring partner."
Your slightly open mouth morphs to match my grin enthusiastically. Pulling a fancy wooden scabbard out from behind your desk, you sheathe your sword too.
"Bring it on," you say simply. You put your sword in front of you in a hanging stance. It looks cool, but I'm not sure if it's effective. Both of us are novices, after all.
"No wild swings. I wouldn't want to break your computer or squish your guinea pig," I warn you. I haven't watched any sword fighting videos online unlike you, so I simply put my sword in front of me instead of striking a pose.
"Oh yeah, let me introduce you. This is my guinea pig, David Junior." You try to distract me by speaking. Smirking, you let loose two quick strikes, one from the left and one from the right. I manage to parry them in two dull thuds as wood meets leather.
"Nice to meet you, David Junior. So, why a guinea pig?" I ask while unleashing my own strike. I bring the sword squarely down onto yours in a test of strength. I add a smirk of my own and bare my teeth.
"Ugh!" You grunt with effort as you shift your bodyweight behind your sword, your knees almost buckling. "Well, guinea pigs are about the only thing Dad isn't allergic to. Mm!" You readjust yourself slightly under the pressure.
"We had a lot of fun in the pet store shoving animals under Dad's nose and making him sneeze."
"I see! How long have you had David for then?" I suddenly take my weight off my sword, making you lurch forward. As you do, I simply point the tip of my scabbard directly at you, and you stumble into it. "Point to me."
"Dammit!" You take a step back and resume your hanging stance. "Couple of years. I've grown quite attached to him!"
"I have to say, he's pretty cute. And real fat." I throw a bunch of quick jabs at you. Your reaction speed is great as you manage to knock each strike aside with relative ease.
"Maybe you two can go on a play date sometime."
You retaliate, swinging your sword, unleashing a flurry of attacks reminiscent to how you fought the slime. Although uncoordinated and rough, each swing carried significant speed and strength, surprising me completely. No wonder you managed to kill that slime so quickly. My back is to the wall, so I was forced to parry instead of dodge. Managing to block the first three swings, the fourth connects painfully with my arm.
"Ow! Okay! Point to you."
"Oh sorry! Are you okay?" You look at me with mild concern, "Sorry. I do tend to go a bit overboard, don't I?"
"Yeah, a little," I chuckle, "Don't worry, I'm fine, probably won't bruise. But I really feel like we don't know what we're doing."
You open your mouth to protest, but pause, then visibly deflate a little, blowing air out of puffed cheeks.
"…yeah. You're right. These online videos don't really help. We need practice! I'm sure sparring more will help. But for now, why don't we take a breather? Hey, I've got some video games if you're interested. I'd love some help beating this one!"
You choose a cooperative top-down shooter game called "Journey of the Prairie King". After playing for a while, Caroline's voice floats through the door.
"Abigail! Please come help with dinner! And tell Ash he's welcome to join us."
"Well, that's my cue," you say while standing back up, "Want to join us for dinner?"
"Ah, thanks Abby, but I better get back to the farm." I hand my controller back to you.
"Okay! Hey, when are we going on our next trip to the mines?" You pack the controllers away and turn off the TV.
"Thinking about that already, are you? Well, when are you free? Farming can be done any time."
"How about next Wednesday? Dad takes Wednesdays off, so I usually don't have much to do."
"Oh, he does?" I didn't visit Pierre this Wednesday, so I didn't know. But surely Pierre being closed one day a week won't be a large inconvenience.
"Okay, Wednesday it is! Be ready with your sword. I'll pick up some supplies from Harvey and meet you here," I say happily as I start planning things out in my head.
I consider the fact that we will have to hide this excursion from your parents again and feel slightly guilty. But we'll be far better prepared, and you have learned a good lesson today with the slime, so I'm positive you won't be as reckless next time we go. Reassured that we'll be a lot safer next time, I say goodbye to you and politely tell Caroline I need to return home, then walk into the fresh evening air after my best day in Stardew Valley yet.