-March 4th,

2017-

On a quiet coast tucked between two tall cliffs, there lay a sleepy little town. Within this town, right on the edge of a riverbank and surrounded by trees, was a house with a pink roof. And within that house stood a girl.

She stood there, still as a statue, staring at her front door. Her mind was racing as she considered whether or not to open it.

Eventually, she took in a slow, shaky breath.

She walked forward a few steps, and prepared herself. Her hand hesitated for a few moments on the doorknob. Distantly, she could hear the chatter of the town square, far louder than it usually was.

"... Whatever, I'm gonna do it," she said. Her expression filled with grim determination. "It's now or never."

She twisted the knob, and opened the door.

-January 28th,

2012-

The train rumbled loudly, rattling along the tracks. Red-cushioned booths were lined up and down its wooden interior. The smell of cedar and coal hung heavy in the air. Within one of this train's booths, seated quietly, was a girl.

She had long, flowing hair, the color of honey or molten gold. She wore a big, cream turtleneck sweater, and long gray jeans. She looked quite average at first glance, but if one were to ask someone who knew her well, they'd say she looked just a tad sickly, a bit too pale and a bit too thin, the heavy bags under her eyes noticeably thicker than they usually were. Her eyes were a grim ocean blue, deep and rich, yet stormy and downcast. She looked uncomfortable in her own skin, playing at the edges of her sleeves. Her curtain of hair fell around the sides of her face, obscuring it from view.

Perhaps that's why she didn't notice the figure approaching her until they were tapping at her shoulder.

She startled upright at the contact, eyes a bit wide.

Standing next to her was a cat, blue-furred with a sharp white stripe up the middle of his face. He blinked at her with big, red eyes, his white-tipped paw hovering with uncertainty at her shoulder.

"Oh! Excuse me, I have a quick question for you," he said. "It's now 12:34 P.M. on January 28th, 2012, right?"

"... What?" The girl asked, retreating into the neck of her sweater as her face scrunched up, expression somewhere between confused, worried, and annoyed.

"This watch of mine, it gets thrown off really easily sometimes," the cat smiled mysteriously.

"... Right," the girl nodded, a bit hesitant. "Well, yeah, that time's correct…"

"That's right, then? Sweet," the cat smiled wider. "... I'm just going to plop down in the seat across from you. If you don't mind, of course."

"Um—?" The girl started, but the cat didn't wait for an answer, instead simply making himself comfortable. His long tail swept gently across his lap.

She was starting to feel quite discomforted now.

"By the way, you… Ah, hold it! May I ask your name?" He asked, deceptively polite despite his intrusion on her space.

"Erm…" She hesitated, before reluctantly deciding that it would probably be fine to share that much. "... Natallia."

"Erm-Natallia?" The cat repeated with a little quirk of the lips, expression so genuine it put her at ease for a moment.

"No, no," she laughed, only a bit nervously. "It's just Natallia. N-A-T-A-L-L-I-A."

"With two Ls?" The cat asked, tilting his head.

"Yep," she confirmed.

"Ah, then it's Natallia, is it?" He repeated again. "Nice name!"

The girl blinked, then smiled widely, expression delighted and almost self-satisfied. She laughed again. "Cool, eh?" She remarked, with only a hint of sarcasm to counterbalance her smugness.

If the cat noticed, he didn't comment, instead just tilting his head to the other side and remarking, "Yeah, you seem like a pretty cool guy to me!"

She seemed to puff up with pride, laying a hand to her chest and declaring, "I know, right?"

The cat chuckled softly from behind a paw.

"So, Natallia," he drawled, leaning back in his seat. "Where are you heading to today?"

She grinned, taking in a breath, before pausing.

"Hey, hold on!" She pouted. "You've gotta give me your name too, now!"

"Oh!" The cat blinked. "Pardon me, I completely forgot!"

She gave him a halfhearted glare. For a split second, it seemed like she was about to say something, but then— she stopped, swallowing heavily. Instead of replying, she just cocked her head a bit, prompting the cat to continue on.

"I'm Rover!"

"I see," Natallia nodded, the slightest bit subdued. She ran her fingers over the edges of her worn sleeves. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise!" Rover chirped. "So, this town you're headed to… What's it called?"

Natallia paused for a long moment, remembering the situation she was in; this was a near-stranger, after all. But, though she was a tad reluctant to share, she eventually decided there was little point in lying.

"Lavryn."

"Lavryn, huh? How wonderful!" Rover grinned. "So, do you go to Lavryn often?"

Natallia blinked, and again, opened her mouth as though she were about to say something, before closing it once more.

"... I've never been there."

"Oh, today is your first time? Sounds like tons of fun!" Rover said, clapping his hands together. "Can I ask, why're you headed there?"

Another pause. She sent a reluctant glance to the overhead luggage department, then answered. "... I'm moving."

"Oh, really? I see, I see!" He said. "But, wait… You said this is your first time there, right? Does that mean you haven't even seen your house yet?"

"I'm—... Sure it'll be fine," she shrugged, shoulders tense despite her noncommittal tone.

"How interesting! Figure you'll tumble onto one once you get there, huh? Well, you're in luck! There's been a housing boom in Lavryn recently, and homes are popping up everywhere," Rover explained with enthusiasm, gesturing broadly. "I have a feeling it's going to become quite the popular spot!"

"Oh—" She stumbled, a bit taken aback at the lack of further questioning. "Well… That's good, I guess," she eventually said, nodding resolutely.

"So, if you're looking for a place, I guess you must have some money with you?" The cat queried, tilting his head curiously.

Natallia stopped.

"... Hey, you're not trying to mug me, are you?" She asked seriously.

"Wh— WHAT?! No!" Rover yelped, waving his arms frantically. "No, no, absolutely not! I would never!"

"Hmm…" She squinted at him discerningly for a long moment, unconvinced.

Seeing this, he wilted a bit, ears drooping. "D-Did I really come across that way?" He asked, voice small. "Oh no… I promise, that wasn't my intention at all…"

She hummed. Deciding that Rover seemed to be displaying genuine distress, she nodded to herself. "Well good, cuz otherwise I'd be very upset with you," she huffed exaggeratedly, crossing her arms. He seemed to brighten ever-so-slightly at her theatrics, ears flicking upwards a bit. She tried not to feel guilty— it wasn't her fault he was asking her such weird, suspicious questions, after all— instead smirking slightly. "Besides, I really wouldn't be a good target anyway."

"Huh? You wouldn't? Wait, so that means you don't have much money with you?" He asked, a concerned frown gracing his features.

She froze, startled by the shift in topic. "... Uh… No, not really," she mumbled, looking at the ground.

"What, seriously?" His frown deepened. "Are you sure you're gonna be alright?"

She clenched her fists a bit. "I'll be fine."

"Hrm… Well, I'm sure everything will work out!" He said, expression slipping back into an easy smile.

Natallia blinked. Her face twisted up in confusion, unsure what to think of how quickly Rover bounced back from that. Despite her own insistence she'd be alright, she was a bit caught off guard by his confidence. Still…

"...Right," she eventually said. She bowed her head a bit, staring hard at her lap. Her fists clenched and unclenched. "... I hope it's nice there."

"Ah, right, you haven't seen it, have you? Here, check it out!" Rover grinned, passing her a map and tapping at a particular spot. "This is it, right?"

She squinted, looking a bit closer. "Man, I'm terrible with maps," she muttered under her breath. Then, a bit louder, she replied, "yeah, looks to be."

"Wonderful! And here— keep the map. You might need it." The cat said cheerfully. "Well, I hope you find an awesome place and have a ton of fun in Lavryn town!"

Despite herself, she broke out in a small smile. "Thanks, pal."

"Of course, thanks for chatting with me! It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a train ride this much!" Rover grinned. Then, he got a thoughtful look on his face. "Come to think of it, I've been riding the rails again an awful lot lately… I think it's been around a decade or so since I've traveled this much."

Natallia blinked. Then, she narrowed her eyes a bit. "Hey, where is it you're headed to, anyway?"

Rover smiled, opening his mouth as though he were about to speak, when the train's speakers crackled loudly, causing the pair to flinch. An overhead announcement played, thick and staticky. At its sound, Natallia's face suddenly paled.

"Ah, shoot, that's my stop!" She exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and snatching her stuff off of the overhead luggage compartment— her stuff being a single, salmon-pink luggage case. "Sorry, dude, gotta go!"

"Oh, alrighty then! I hope we get a chance to chat again sometime!" Rover replied, the same enigmatic grin still on his face.

Natallia barely looked at him, struggling to extend the luggage case's handle and get its wheels rolling. She nodded sharply over her shoulder, booking it off of the train and calling out a last, "See ya!"

The cat waved. "Bye-bye!"

With that, she scrambled out of the train, taking a moment to catch her breath as it pulled out of the station. Then, she straightened up a bit, and began walking. The sound of rattling plastic followed at her heels.

It took her a bit to find the nearest bus stop, but she eventually managed— she'd planned far enough ahead to have a decent idea of how exactly to get to Lavryn town, at least.

As she stood by the bus stop, though, her eye was caught by a nearby establishment. She stared at it from across the way, longingly.

She didn't have much money to begin with. She knew that, but…

She couldn't help it; she already knew the wait would be around an hour or so, and her willpower wasn't that great. And it's not like there was anything to stop her anymore, anyway.

She rushed out of the barbershop an hour later, hair cut down to her shoulders and a beaming smile on her face, just in time to clamber aboard the bus.

The bus pulled to a stop in front of her, and she climbed on, taking a window seat and carefully positioning her luggage next to herself. Luckily, there weren't many people on the bus; in fact, it was only herself and the driver.

"Welcome aboard," he called, in an accent she could only identify as sailorish. "Settin' sail for Lavryn?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Aye, I see. So tell me lass, why are ye settin' sail fer 'ol Lavryn?"

She hummed a bit. Quiet fell upon them for a brief moment— she almost wanted to make a wry comment about how many curious people she'd met today, but she held her tongue. Instead, she gave a genuine answer. "I'm moving."

"Well, movin', are ye…" The bus driver echoed. "Yar, I gots to ask… Why would a minnow like yerself pick Lavryn?" He asked.

Natallia paused for a moment, thinking.

"I mean, it's got its charms, but it's way out in the middle o' nowhere! So what exactly was it about ol' Lavryn that made ye choose it?"

Her eyes slipped shut, and a fond smile crossed her face. "The beach," she said. "The beach is one of the nicest out there, from what I've heard."

"Yar, yar, I get ye… 'Tis a fine beach out there indeed," the driver nodded. "Calm waters. Quiet. Ye couldn't ask for a better stretch o' sea."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Natallia watched as the scenery passed through the window, not able to stop herself from running her fingers through her newly-chopped hair. A faint joy lingered on her face.

"Yar, have a look. Lavryn, ho! End o' the line!"

"Ah," she murmured, rising to her feet and taking her bag in hand once again. She gave the driver a small smile. "Thank you."

He nodded, and with that, she stopped at the doorway of the bus.

She took a deep breath.

"Well," she murmured, "it's now or never."

She stepped out into the light.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, everyone! It's definitely been a while, hasn't it?

To anyone who's read the original: Welcome back! It's great to see you all again. Thank you so much! You all supported me so much back in the day, when I was first starting to write, and it meant the world to me. And it still does! So, this one's for you! I know it's definitely been a while, but I really hope that you'll have a good time with the rewrite of the fic! I understand that with my track record of starting fics and then almost immediately abandoning them, you might be a bit concerned about this one. But, I'd like to reassure everyone I have 14 chapters of this fully prewritten already; they just need a tiny bit of cursory proofreading before they're ready to be published! There are also other chapters which are partially written. I'm going to ATTEMPT to stick to a bi-weekly upload schedule and post two new chapters per month, we'll see how it goes. Frankly, I can't really promise that I'll stick to it or that this fic won't end up like the others, because every time I HAVE promised that I've ended up breaking that promise, which I sincerely apologize for. But, I can reassure you I've actually taken steps to counteract my usual tendency to leave fics sitting without any updates for years this time around, so yeah! Again, thank you all so much for your patience, and for enjoying my writing. I'll do my best to not let you down!

Fans of the original work might've noticed Natallia isn't quite acting like she usually would this chapter; I'd like to reassure you this is just a product of the prologue taking place a long time before the events of the main story, and her not being fully settled into town and whatnot. She'll be acting more like her usual self in no time! I really cringe at my old writing a lot, but I've also done my best to take in the positives, and understand what people liked about it. So this isn't just going to be an edgy rewrite of the original, hopefully. I'm gonna be doing my best to make sure it's still lighthearted and funny, while also being serious at times. I wanna strike a good balance with that. So, lemme know what you think!

Also, longtime Animal Crossing Fans may have noticed most of Rover's dialogue was pulled directly from the various games he features in, as was Kapp'n's. I wanted this prologue to establish the important details of Natallia's move into Lavryn the same way the games would, so I pulled the most interesting parts from each intro. So, of course, FULL CREDIT to the various entries of the Animal Crossing series for those lines! This was a lot of establishing stuff, mostly, but hopefully it was still interesting and all that.

Now, to anyone who hasn't read the original or any of my work before: hello, and welcome! I appreciate you checking out my fic, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it! There may be some in-jokes and whatnot throughout this fic, since it's a rework and all, but I'm also going to do my best to make it accessible to new viewers, so you won't be lost. Hopefully it's a good time for you! Please, lemme know what you think, and have fun! :)

Finally, a massive shoutout to everyone who's supported the original work in general! Particularly, thank you to my dear friend (you know who you are!) for continuing to remember and appreciate my work, even when I sincerely hated it. And thank you to those who continued thinking about and caring about my stuff, despite how old it is and how long it's been. It means the world to me that people cared about and remembered the original fic. Again, this one's for you! Cheers. :)