Spring 4. Crescent Town.

The sun broke the horizon and its light spilled over the mountain peaks, painting the fields in a gentle, warming glow. Shade Lumina took in the fresh air of the early morning and whistled for one of his sister's hounds. He wasn't overly fond of her business of breeding farm pets but he had to admit, Skye was good at what she did. The large husky came barrelling through the talk grasses of the field. It took its place at Shade's side and followed him at his heel as he made his way towards the large, wooden barn, pressing its green doors wide open. Inside the large structure was a collection of animals; half the barn was dedicated to Skye's work horses, which she bred and trained, the rest was home to Shade's precious herds of dairy cattle and alpacas. There was a single sheep, black as coal and about as loyal as a house pet. Cinder, was what Shade had named it long ago when he took it in as a lamb. He never viewed it as a part of his trade, but more as a soft, baa-ing reminder of his childhood and his fond memories of his parents. His brown eyes fell onto each animal as he went to the back of the barn, checking each stall to ensure all the livestock was generally well. As he made his way around the last of the stalls he suddenly tripped over a bucket of shoeing nails and tumbled to the dirt. Cursing under his breath, he looked up to see his twin sister, a quiet grin on her face as she sat amused at her brother's spill.

"You had best look where you're going Shade, this is a farm, not a playground. You could get hurt." Her attention was back to the chestnut mare that stood before her, and continued shoeing the horse. In the steeds stall just behind them, there was a litter of collie pups playing in the fresh hay as their mother relaxed and nursed a few of the small creatures. Picking himself up off the barn floor, Shade brushed the dust from his work clothing.

"Well maybe if you didn't leave buckets of nails lying in the walkways I wouldn't have to be so careful." He paused, observing the scene before him. Already, each of the stalls of his sister's herd had been mucked and the steeds had been fed and watered. He knew he hadn't slept in, the sun had just hardly risen. "Skye... how long have you been up?" He scratched his head in concern. His sister often struggled with insomnia and took the sleepless hours as time to tend to her precious horses and pup or kitten litters. He had to admit, he respected her talent with the animals, and more so her work drive, but worried about her health.

She continued on with her work, speaking in a hushed tone as she knew her brother was beginning to worry. "Only since 4. Nothing to worry about. I had to get these gals shoed for their training today. They need to learn to function with or without shoes. And I wanted to check on Luna's litter, they can be handful for the poor girl." Shade simply shook his head; same old Skye.

"Well," he said, motioning for the husky at his side to prepare for work. "I best get to grazing the cattle. I'll see you for breakfast later. Although I think we're out of eggs." Both twins assumed a rather concerned look. No eggs. That could only mean on thing.

"Not it!"

"Not it! Awe.. Shade do I have to? I have so much work to do." She shuttered at the thought of having to head to the Peck farm to purchase eggs. Not because it was the Peck farm, and not because she had too much work to do, but because collecting eggs meant facing the chickens. And neither were fond of chickens. Not one bit. To be truthful, neither of them liked eggs very much. But their mother always made them eat them on week days, saying the protein was good for growing children. And as a bit of a memoire to their travelling parents, they continued to get their protein from eggs each and every week day.

"Rules are rules dear sister and you lost. Now finish up and off you go. I'm hungry. And say hello to Vivienne for me, would you?" Shade grinned as he skipped away, shouting for the husky to start off the herd movement. And away they went, cows mooing, alpacas bleating, and Cinder lolling lazily behind.

---

It was eight am when Skye left the Lumina ranch to head south on the road to reach the nearby Peck Ranch. She took Dagger along on the trip, a pure black shepherd; her personal pet as she called him. For he wasn't involved in any breeding and was her go to companion for herding and training the other hounds. She walked slowly up the road, an empty basket in her hand, cursing her mother for making her do this. Skye knew very well that if mother was there she'd be strolling along at a brisk pace beside her talking about the great nutritional value of eggs, and trying to convince her to raise a flock of hens herself. But Skye just couldn't stand the birds. They were evil, angry creatures, which meant alot coming from a woman who cherished animals above all else. She recalled her childhood and the evil hen that would chase her and her brother around whenever they went to gather eggs. It's razor sharp beak pecking and clucking angrily as it tried to shoo them away from her flock's precious horde of yolky treasure. No siree, she would not be raising a flock of her own any time soon. Cattle and horses were just fine to her.

As she rounded the bend in the wooded path that opened up to the walkway to the Peck Ranch, she took in a deep breath and tried to ignore the growing sound of clucking in the distance. Hopefully Vivienne would have eggs in her house for sale and not have to go gather them from the chickens. As she approached the front door, Skye paused and collected herself; she was never very good at talking to people, let alone asking for things. And even though she was coming to purchase eggs, she still felt like she was a hassle more than anything. She shook her head from the thought and lifted her hand to knock on the deep red door, admiring the color as she did so.

+ Spring 4 - Crescent Town - 6:00 A.M. (Dasia and Emily)

---

A low rumble echoes throughout Dasia’s ears. The woman groans while placing a pillow over her head. Living by a waterfall seemed like a great idea, that is, before one of her windows broke. Sighing, she rolls out of bed and slips her beige boots on. Charts filled with plants line the walls, barely illuminated by dawn’s light. She shuffles to the door, making floorboards creak beneath her heavy sluggish steps. Down the hall there is a wooden door with a colorful drawing tapped to it. Dasia curls her fingers around the handle and pushes it open, baffled at her daughter’s ability to stay asleep despite the loud noise.

She shakes her head before chuckling, “Emmy, it’s time to get up.” Her short frame is bent over the girl, lightly shaking her shoulders.

Honey brown eyes can be seen between somewhat closed eyelids. The girl grumbles before pulling the sheets closer to her body. Dasia puffs her cheeks out before pulling the covers up.

“Momma,” she wines before getting off the bed.

“Get dressed, we’re heading out in fifteen minutes,” low heeled boots thud against the floor as the woman leaves her daughter’s room and heads downstairs.

She finds her work case and looks inside, ensuring all supplies are present. A high pitched yawn catches her attention from the stairs, barely loud enough to be heard. Blue, that’s the first thing Dasia sees when she glances up at her daughter. Emily is wearing her favorite dress today, along with her favorite shoes and stockings… everything is blue as one might guess.

“Mr. Kara will make you chocolate pancakes, you don’t want to be late for breakfast and miss out on them, right?”
Her lips twitch down at the mention of chocolate while the six year-old’s face lights up!

“Okay, okay, I’m ready momma! Look, I even have Bonnie with me,” she exclaims while picking up her rabbit shaped, cross body, purse.

The duo exits their small mountaintop home, and Dasia extends her hand down, “Hey! You always hold my hand when we walk down the road. It’s steep!”
Emily pouts, “I’m not four!”

“And neither is Mr. Rivers, but I've seen him slide down a path while I was collecting herbs,” her voice rings as they reach the bottom.

The girl giggles for a moment before looking around, and then marches forward, free of her mother’s grip.

“Land Ho!”

Emily lifts her hand and points toward the Inn.

“Land Ho is used when you spot land from the sea,” Dasia quirks an eyebrow up.

“…Building Ho?”

Laughing, the girl breaks off into a sprint, “It’s your fault if you don’t make it in time for an omelet momma!”

Catching up to her daughter, she says, “I can eat anything for breakfast, unlike a certain child I know.”

Dasia reaches for the handle and holds the inn door open, ushering Emily inside.

“Come on, let’s order our food, we’re on time,” brown eyes watch the clock, knowing full well that breakfast doesn't end for another five hours; hopefully, the girl doesn't learn the inn’s operating hours any time soon.

---

Around eight o’clock, the two departed from the inn, waving goodbye to the workers. They’re heading toward the mountains, to look for flora. The morning remains calm until the girl spots Skye and dagger in the distance. Once again, the little girl attempts to run off, but Dasia is prepared this time and grips her blue jacket.

“Hey, you can visit the Luminas' after class today, but I need to go pick some herbs,” her voice is flat; she’s said this too many times to sound surprised or sympathetic.

Emily slouches and follows her mother, sending wistful glances to the other woman, but they’re never noticed. Ten minutes pass by before the two reach the mountain base. Opening her case, Dasia pulls out two pairs of gloves. They’re rough and stained with green and pink streaks. She bends over, and straps a small pair onto the little girl’s hands before slipping on her own. Holding hands, the duo walk up the mountain adjacent to the one they live on. At first, plant life is sparse, but as they venture further up, trees and flowers come into view, looking as picturesque as a Monet painting.

White flowers catch the woman’s attention, and she approaches one of the smaller plants to her left (most of them are around two feet tall). Plopping herself onto the ground, she pulls a small shovel out of her bag and begins to dig the plant up.

“What’s this called?” She quizzes the little girl.

Emily’s eyes narrow, and she presses her lips together in a thin line while observing the plant, a smile spreads across her face with realization, “Anise! Well, or as you call it… Perpunella annesum,” she mumbles the last part.

“Pimpinella anisum,” the woman corrects her.

A smile spreads across Dasia’s face before she raises a finger, “It helps with congestion, and it is exactly what I was looking for!”

Early morning sunlight streamed in through the windows, partly blocked by the curtains. As the fiery ball rose into the sky, the sliver of light moved from the floor onto the bed, and right into the face of it's still-sleeping inhabitant. Scrunching up his face, Wilhelm puled the covers up over his head, in an attempt to force the morning away. And it worked, and in his warm bundle, he could feel himself drifting away again.

And then the door opened with a loud bang.
"Uncle Wilhelm! Come on, wake up! It's past opening time!" Peter called, shaking the covers in concern.
Wilhelm groaned, reluctantly sitting up, bleary eyed. He yawned.
"Shush, Peter, I'm trying to sleep" he whined, stretching. "I have two deliveries to make today, I want to rest while I-"
"But Wilhelm! You're already late for the first one!" Peter cut him off.

Wilhelm's eyes widened and he jumped out of bed like a bolt.
"What did you say?"
"You were supposed to deliver Jaylin's new axe fifteen minutes ago!" Peter informed him.

Like a whirlwind, the young man was rushing about the room, getting himself dressed and washing his face. Grabbing a piece of toast and running out into the store area, he hurriedly started wrapping the parcel.
"Mmfphb, Petermf, Wath the shopbf, Imm be back soonfm!"he called over his shoulder, his mouth full of food.

As his uncle raced out of the store, Peter gave a small sigh.
"... But you forgot your bike..." he murmured to himself, climbing up onto a stool by the register and waiting for Wilhelm to return.

---

Jaylin brought his tea and biscuits out onto the work bench, sitting down and sipping his drink. He liked sitting outside to eat breakfast every day, watching the trees sway in the morning breeze helped calm him. Taking out his toolbox, he began sanding a chair leg that he had started on the previous day. Once the legs were done, he could assemble it and paint it. It was a relatively simple work, crafted out of maple wood. He planned on painting it a nice red pattern into the seat and leaving the rest unpainted. Then he could varnish it and put it up for sale.

As he was working, he reached for another biscuit, only to feel something furry on his plate. Looking over, he saw a pair of squirrels were already making short work of his breakfast. Rather than being upset, Jaylin gave a rare smile.
"Hey now, if you eat too many of those, you'll get fat. Then you won't be able to climb." he teased them, petting them gently.

The squirrels didn't mind him, however, when the approaching footsteps became audible, and turned and fled for the trees.
"Oi! Jaylin! Delivery!" came a haggard voice.
Turning, the blonde saw a rather haggard looking Wilhelm, wobbling back and forth under the strain of the package.

"Ah, you're early. That's unlike you." he said, helping the other man sit down. Wilhelm looked up at him in weary shock.
"E-Early?!"
"Yes, I thought I asked you to deliver this four hours past noon. You're eight hours early." he explained. Wilhelm looked like he might faint.
"E-E-Early... I could have been sleeping by now... Jaylin! This is your fault! You and your stupid cryptic instructions! You have to take responsibility!"
"Eh?! What did I do?"

Sunlight came in through the half blind covered windows, and gently on to the blonde woman's face. Selena sat up in her bed and yawned.
Crash
Sighing, Selena pulled on her usual green dress and brown knee boots as she walked out of the room and down the stairs.
She grabbed her green bonnet and walked into the kitchen of the bar that Selena owned.

A small girl sat, humming a tune, amongst some broken glass and some strange orange and green liquid.
"Trying to master magic again, Mimi?" Selena asked with a grin as she grabbed a mop.
"Yup" Mimi replied giggling as she wiped the liquid off the floor.

Selena started cleaning off Mimi's hair, still smiling.
"What is this stuff anyway?" she inquired, looking at lock of her sisters hair.
"It's some stuff I found in the fridge!" she replied, bouncing up and down happily.
"Okay..." Selena replied, doubting her sisters judgement. "Well, we need some more bread and curry powder it seems. Anything else?"
"Chocolate!" Mimi shouted, running up the stairs to get her hat.

---

They then set off around seven for the grocers, talking happily as they walked along the path.
When they reached the grocery shop, they stopped.
"Okay, what do we need?" Selena asked Mimi, who was bouncing up and down.
"Curry powder, bread, green tea and cake!" she replied.
"Mhh-hhm! We also need to refill on beer and juice for the bar. Lets go!" Selena replied

The duo pushed past the wooden doors into the shop.
"Alright, I'm going to go get the groceries, why don't you go talk to Peter?"
"Ok!" Mimi replied, skipping off to go talk to the other kid.
Selena started going through the list of things to get, humming a song while she did so.

"Uggh.." Tepas groaned waking up. He regrets stay up late for the only cause of grooming his cow. Though it had to be done and his cow was waiting for it. He regrets not sleeping early has he looked out side his window and saw the sun up all ready. 'I feel ashamed..' He thought in his head has he got up. He fished around for his clothes and then went to the bathroom to clean up. Once he was done, he put on his work clothes and twirled."Mooooooo!" He said laughing. Sometimes he thinks that he needs more friends. But he shrugs has he turned towards the door, forgetting breakfast. "Cows first." He nodded has he headed toward the barn to meet his lovely cows Maribell and Angelica.

___________________________________________________________________________

Tepas smiled has his cow Maribell snorted with glee has she saw her master."Hey girl? How are you?" He said to Maribell. Maribell just grunted and nodded towards Angelica. Angelica was laying down with her head slight turned."Hey girl... How are you?" He walked towards Angelica. "Moooo...." Said Angelica in a sad tone."Ahhh your sick..." Tepas headed towards the cabinet next to the fodder dispenser. He took out 'Animal Medicine' and headed right towards Angelica. "Here girl." He made her drink it and rubbed her head." Now rest okay?" Angelica laid down her head in response. Finally Tepas finished setting out their food and grooming Maribell who chimed in response to the rub."Okay. Now for breakfast." He walked out of the barn and headed back towards his home.

Cherche had been up before the sun was. It was like that every day. The blonde woman would be up before the sun rose, her hair pulled up into its signature side ponytail thing, and clothes that were appropriate for work yet still slightly girly on. Out of habit, she would peek into Luca’s room before she went to ready the inn for guests, just to make sure he was okay. It was a tick she picked up shortly after their grandma died, back when Luca still got sick a lot. She’d been a nervous wreck back then, back when nightmares about waking up only to find Luca dead were a common thing. Every morning when she does the same exact thing, she just tells herself that it’s because breaking routine is hard. She’s not actually still worried about Luca like that. So, with a content smile on her face, Cherche quietly closes the door and heads towards the lobby to get things ready.

Its an hour and a half later when she decides its time to wake Luca and Josh up, or rather wake Luca up and get him to wake Josh up. Dealing with the red headed “adventurer” was just not something she could do this early in the morning. When she poked her head back into his room, Luca was hugging his pillow like there was no tomorrow. “Luca, get up. You need to wake up Josh. I’ve got to be out front in case of customers.”

“You just don’t want to deal with him,” Luca said as he rolled over just in time to see his sister leave and shut the door behind her. His eyes and his voice clearly showed signs that he was still tired, but then again, didn’t he always have the “half asleep and stuck in a daydream” appearance to him? Cherche wasn’t listening to his complaints that weren’t really complaints though. So after a few more moments of soaking up the warm sunlight that was coming through his windows, Luca got up, and, before even stopping to put clothes that weren’t pajamas on, woke up Josh in the most effect way possible.

By throwing himself directly on top of the older male.

Luca landed so that the two mimicked the shape of a plus sign, with Luca laying across Josh’s back. “Its time to get up Josh,” Luca said in his usual distant, almost half asleep sounding voice. The older of the two let out a sigh before unceremoniously maneuvering out from Luca.

“For having an innocent face like yours, you sure can be a jerk sometimes.”

“It’s not my fault this is the only way.” Josh let out a sigh. He couldn’t be mad at Luca, not with a face and expression as innocent and docile as his. He had no clue how anyone could be mad at Luca. Like, did they take a second to even look at the kid? He was downright adorable. Of course, Josh meant that in an entirely platonic way, because Cherche would kill him on the spot if he tried anything with Luca. That was the only situation where he could see her being even more angry than when he hit on her.

“Just get off of my bed and go get ready. Facing the wrath of your sister in the morning is the last thing I want to do.”

Luca did just that. After returning to his room and getting changed, he walked out to the lobby, the usual morning meeting place for the three of them. Of course, their daily meeting didn’t change much from day to day, but for some reason that sat fine with all of them. So they went about their morning routines, Luca cooking breakfast for whoever paid (and Josh, who never paid), Cherche managing the front desk, and Josh supposedly cleaning. That was how the three worked.

At some point in the morning, Josh found himself lounging about the kitchen with Luca, Cherche having chased him out of the main lobby after what seemed to be a normal discussion turned into a “let’s see who can be more insulting” match. Josh didn’t dislike Cherche. He actually liked her quite a bit. They were close. Two years of living with someone would do that to a person. Their personalities just had a tendency to clash, which often led to arguments, insults, and teasing.

He hadn’t really been paying attention, but his ears instantly perked up when it happened. A cough. Just one, and Luca did his best to hide it. Involuntarily, his eyes went wide. Josh had only ever been around for one of Luca’s really bad episodes, which was about a year ago. Luca looked at him, trying to subdue the worry in his usually far off eyes. “Don’t tell Cherche. I’ll be fine.” Josh nodded. How many times had he argued with her about not treating Luca like a kid anymore. How many times had she ran away, teary eyed because there was no way he could understand what she’d gone through. But he wasn’t going to back down now. If Luca didn’t want Cherche to know, he wouldn’t tell. After all, it was only a cough.

Luca, on the other hand, was entirely relieved that Josh wasn’t going to tell Cherche. She had a tendency to worry too much and he didn’t want her to add worrying about him to the list of ever growing things she already had to worry about. It had been a year since his last episode too. This had to be just a normal person sickness. For some reason though, he could still feel the beginnings of doubt build in his stomach.

They both let the subject drop after that.

It was a little bit after eight when Josh announced that he’d done enough cleaning for the morning and that he was going out to find something interesting to do. Cherche yelled at him for being a slacker while Luca waved goodbye absentmindedly, almost dropping the plate of pancakes he was holding. The kid was a walking disaster. Oh well. Time to see what Crescent Town had to offer for the day. If nothing else, he could always come back and annoy his two favorite siblings later.

Wilhelm staggered back down the road to his store, dazed and sporting a bruised cheek. He touched it gingerly, flinching. Hah, he shouldn't have roughed around with Jaylin. That guy never understood jokes, and combined with his insane strength, it made for an unpleasant combination. Despite this, Wilhelm considered Jaylin one of his best friends, and went to visit him often.

He barely noticed the two people in his shop as he lurched behind the desk, sagging into his stool. Peter looked up at him with wide and worried eyes.
"U-Uncle Wilhelm? Wh-What happened?" he asked, shocked. Wilhelm gave a strained laugh.
"I fooled around with that idiot carpenter and it backfired. Peter, could you go and buy some medicine from Dasia or Serhan? I really don't want this so swell up and eat my face." he asked him, handing him his wallet. Peter nodded, running out the door.

---

Dashing down to the clinic, Peter knocked loudly on the door.
"Hello? Serhan? Mr. Serhan? Are you awake?" he called, but there was no reply. So he went to the window, standing on a crate and getting on his tippy toes to look inside. He tapped on the window and called again.
"Mr. Serhan? Wilhelm needs medicine again! Mr. Serhan!"

"Food..." Tepas's stomach growled has he looked at the empty bin full of no food. He then turned to his closet and no rations there." All I got is milk and butter.." He sighed has he turned and starred at his bed."Well I got to go out and buy food.. Might has well eat at the inn." He then took his bag from the chair and then went out to the barn." Maribell will like the walk." He then went in side and took the rope from the wall. Maribell got up cheerfully, sensing that she was going to go out of the barn. Angelica was asleep now due to the medicine but Tepas was glad that it was working. He tired the rope gently around Maribell's neck and got on top." Let's go girl." They bucked out of the barn and towards the gate. He exited the gate and closed it."Let's go to the inn." He started his way towards the inn to get some food. And Maribell knew this was a day to get a snack. She grunted cheerfully has she ran faster. "Woah girl! We will get your treat. calm down!" He said smiling and patting her head. Maribell only responded in a cheerful tone.

Spring 4 - Crescent Town - (Serhan)

---

Papers are neatly stacked on a desk, separated and organized in color-coded bins. Serhan spins around in his chair whistling, glad to have finished medical reports. Wilhelm needed new medications during his last visit. Above him, he can hear his pet weasel’s paws thump against a plastic tunnel. The creature jumps down and lies in front of him on the desk, opening an eye, it looks up expectantly. He scratches Azel’s furry white neck before taking a sip of hot tea. The critter’s nose begins to wiggle.

“This isn’t your tea,” he tilts his head to the side and grins.

Azel squeaks at him before climbing his owner’s arm.

Serhan laughs and switches his tea to the other hand, “Will you watch the desk for me until Yue comes in?”

The weasel chirps while jerking its head toward the hall. A light blue lab coat hangs on a rack beside the door. Serhan grabs the garment and slips it on with a goofy grin, making Azel jump down. He feels like a mad scientist when it’s on. Once he steps out of the small room he strolls down the hall. Blue walls pass by him as he treks through the residential area into the clinic. Medical posters are hung around the lounge, to inform people of common ailments. He unlocks the main entrance while looking over the area. Magazines are scattered across a coffee table. His eyes twitch, and he proceeds to stack them, not allowing a single point to stick out.

A relieved sigh rolls past his lips before he looks up. His breathing halts. A poster is crooked, oh no, he can’t live with this. Five agonizing minutes pass by before the image is at the correct angle. After straightening five more posters, he ventures toward the “sick rooms.” For the most part, things are tidy and well kept. He attempts to take the wrinkles out of a few bed sheets before rearranging blocks on a children’s activity center. Grimacing, he decides to ask Yue to disinfect it later. Observing the last room, a sly smile spreads across his face, and he walks back to the lobby. Yue isn’t scheduled to come in for another hour! This is the perfect opportunity to see to his junk collection.
He balls his hands into fists out of anticipation and giddily rushes to his bedroom. In contrast to the rest of his living quarters, this room has gray walls. Pictures of family and old friends are hung on the walls. A dark brown cedar chest lies at the foot of his bed. Excitedly opening it, he looks inside. His collection is organized by color, and neatly separated by thin planks of wood. Now is his chance to start his project and…

Loud chattering noises draw him away from that train of thought. Azel is standing in the doorway on two legs, his head is pointing toward the clinic, informing Serhan of a person’s arrival. The doctor looks up surprised, he didn’t hear anyone. Why is the person outside? Didn’t he unlock the door? Getting up, he dusts off his coat and runs out to the lobby. Finally, he detects the voice of a young boy calling for him coming from the right. Of course, that’s the side he’s deaf on (yes, the doctor doesn’t wear a hearing aid. He finds them too bulky), it’s a good thing he has a warning system… that goes by the name Azel. He looks down at his weasel and pats the animal’s head before opening the door.

“Peter? The door is open boy! Did you not try the door knob? Come in, come in,” he takes a step back, and waits for the boy to step inside. Is Wilhelm sick again?

Tepas settle down the gallop of his cow and slowly rubbed her head." Good girl." He strode in front of the inn's door. He then dismounted from the his cow and took her to the stables. He tied her real tight and even lift her bell on her collar just in case someone tried to still her." Remember what to do girl." Maribell replied back with a soft grunt has he left her to her self. He then walked towards the front of the door of the inn but stopped him self. He now was entering a room that was full of people...

Yue sat sipping her favorite green tea in her cottage's kitchen. "I should probably start leaving soon." She muttered to herself
Her shift didn't start for another hour, but it was a long walk to the clinic and she needed to pick up some herbs from the mountain.
Sighing, Yue got up from her seat. She grabbed her basket for carrying herbs and put her tea cup by the sink, she could wash it later.

---

Humming softly, Yue walked along the dirt road towards the mountain.
"Let's see, I need chamomile and black cohosh." Yue said, since no one was there to tease her about her habit of saying her thoughts.
Yue spaced out talking to herself about the properties of the herbs she was collecting and didn't notice she was at the mountain until she walked face first into a tall tree.
"Ouch" She groaned, placing a hand to where the tree had hit.

She picked her basket up and started looking for the medical herbs.
First she found black cohosh, their tall stems rising up towards the sun, and their flowers not yet in bloom.
Strapping on her gloves, she dug up some of the tall plants and cut off the roots.
Neatly placing the roots in her basket, she began searching for chamomile.
Yue was about to give up when she came upon a small meadow with Daisy, Lilacs, Huckleberries.. and Chamomile!
Smiling, Yue walked over to the flowering herbs and started pick them. "Done!" Yue happily cheered to herself.

---

After finding the herbs she was looking for, Yue began running down the path through town to the clinic, not wanting to be late.
She waved a quick hello to Selena and Mimi, who smiled in reply.
Pushing through the wooden doors into the clinic, she placed the herbs on the counter and took off her dirty gloves.
Throwing them out, she took the dirt covered roots and herbs and began washing them thoroughly.
Yue then realized that she hadn't seen Serhan this morning, so she began looking for the junk-collecting-docter.
As she stepped into the children's section and promptly tripped on the rug, falling onto the floor with a bang.

Spring 4. Crescent Town

Long before the sunlight drifted through the window, smoke rose from the forge on the mountain. The sound of bellows being stoked and steel striking steel could be heard coming from within. The lone blacksmith was hard at work forging tools and other metalworks he had been commissioned to create. Jaylin Kent the Carpenter needed a host of nails, the Lumina Horse Rancher twins needed six packs of horseshoes, and Cherche Kara the Innkeeper needed two new pots.

And so Alvin worked tirelessly so fulfill his orders, first came the pots. There were fewer of those and they were easier to make. First he'd take an iron disk and throw it in the oven, after it was heated he'd remove it with the tongs and hold over a metal platform that had a deep indent and start hammering the heated disk to shape. Alvin repeated this process until the disk was formed a dome shape to serve as the bottom, after that he'd bolt it to a another piece of metal that looked like a very large cookie cutter. He would then assemble the handle and work on attaching it to the rest of the creation. He'd repeat the process again and have two identical iron pots before midday.

After that was done he took a cloth to his brow and a jug to his dry lips. Before he'd work on the horseshoes he would eat lunch, however upon inspection his pantry was empty, much to the smith's disappointment. He sighed, rubbing his brow as he thought aloud. "Perhaps I could deliver the pots and get a meal? Surely she'd not deny a starving artisan who comes bearing gifts." And with that his course was set, he collected the two pots and began his descent down the mountain, his destination: The inn.

It was a leisurely walk to the inn for sure. Alvin admired the trees and loved the breeze on his skin, he listened intently for the chirping of the birds and chatter of the squirrels. He passed Jaylin's workshop and the bar, he wished he had the nails for Jaylin but he needed food before he could do anymore work. He passed the library and thought briefly about going in for few minutes, he enjoyed the books he found about birds. He shook his head as his stomach growled at him, "No best feed myself first then I can do some reading." Thought the blacksmith.

Finally he walked up the steps and to the inn's double doors, the scent of cooking food drifting to his nose from within. Alvin gripped the right doorknob, absently admiring the craftsmanship as he did every time. He pushed it open and walked purposefully into the lobby. "Hello! It's me Alvin, I've got the pots you asked for!"

Peter looked up at Serhan blankly, remembering that he could have just walked in. His cheeks turned pink and he looked down ashamedly, nodding.
"R-Right. I'm sorry. But, uh, W-Wilhelm's got a bruise on his face. He said he was rough housing with Jaylin. He sent me to get meds, cause he doesn't want it to swell up and leave a mark. Have you got anything to give him for that?" Peter explained, stepping inside the clinic.

A loud and sudden crash came from the back room, and Peter peered around Serhan in concern. Had something or someone fallen? He saw Yue lying facedown on the ground, clearly having tripped and fallen.
"Uh, m-miss Yue? A-Are you okay?" he called out, his voice shaking.

---

Looking at his reflection in the now empty cup, Wilhelm frowned, rubbing his sore cheek. Man, it was starting to turn purple! And he didn't even look that good in purple! Sighing, he picked up one of his magazines, lazily flipping through it as he sat at the desk. He enjoyed reading them, they gave him a little news on what was happening in the city. He liked Crescent town, but it was just so isolated from everywhere, it sometimes seemed like it was a world all it's own. Reading up on style helped remind him of the world he had left behind, for the sake of his life.

Yue sat up, groaning. Looking with confusion at the one who had spoke. "Oh, Peter. I'm fine, just tripped over the carpet." Yue said, slightly dazed.
Getting onto her feet she turned her attention to Peter. "How are you? Did Wilhelm get in another fight?" Yue asked, walking to the room Serhan was in.
She grabbed her basket full of slightly wet of herbs and began sorting them into the right cabinets. After that was done, she reached down into her pocket to pull out a white slip of paper.
The letter Selena had given her the day before. The note read:

Hey Yue!
I need some Elderberry for Mimi. She has a little cold, and we have a really busy day today. Do you think you could nab some of it?
Thanks! Love Selena

Yue grabbed her small basket and sighed. Well, at least she didn't have to deal with Serhans junk.

---

"Come on Mimi, lets check these items out!" Selena called to her little sister, who was currently skipping around the shop.
Hearing this, Mimi smiled and skipped happily over to her sister. "Ok, lets go!" The small pink haired girl replied.
The duo walked over to the counter and checked out there groceries.
They walked across the road towards the bar, chatting along the way. "So, what are we going to do for Wilhelm's birth day? Mimi asked, bouncing with excitement.
"I was going to make him some of our special curry." Selena replied.
"Yay! Maybe it will make him feel better. He looked pretty bad back there!" Mimi half shouted.

---

Selena and Mimi had finished making Wilhelm's birth day curry and were setting up lunch when they heard a knock at the bar's door.
Selena wiped her hands on a towel and opened the door to see Yue standing in the door frame, looking tired and holding a basket full of elder berries.
"Oh, Yue! You look tired! Did you have to climb the entire mountain to find the berries?" Selena replied, holding in a laugh.
"Yes." The black haired woman replied, sending Selena a glare. "Well come in! We were just getting ready to have lunch, so why don't you join us?" Selena said happily, ignoring the death glare from Yue.

Spring 4. Lumina Ranch. 10:00 am

Skye had returned from the Peck Ranch around 9:00 with a basket of fresh farm eggs and a ghostly look on her face. When her brother asked what had happened, all she said was "I forgot about their rooster." and handed him the basket of eggs and strolled through the field to return to her chores. Shade chuckled at first at the look on his sister's face but then shuttered, thinking about how nasty a rooster could be in spring.

He took a moment to carry the basket into the eggs where they would keep, and returned to his herd of cattle. Ushering them about the vast field to prime grazing areas where the grass had regrown to a full length after their previous feeds. Once the cattle had settled he made his way over to Moomoo, the oldest cow on the ranch, who was pregnant with what Shade decided would be her last calf. She had born many strong, healthy cows and was the mother of the ranch's only bull; Mocha. He continually checked over his shoulder to keep an eye on the small collection of alpacas and his single black sheep, Cinder. The wooly mammals were usually quite calm in the mornings and required less attention whereas the cows were rambunctious and feisty in the cooler hours. He pressed his hand firmly, but with great care, about the pregnant cow's abdomen, checking the status of the calf.

"Well old girl, any day now I say, what do you think?" The star cow mooed in bliss and licked Shade's face, leaving him with a disgusted look as he wiped the cud-smelling saliva from his skin. "I'll take that as an agreement. Well, I should probably get you into isolation soon." He paused, his hand caressing the animal's great head, before nodding and making his way into the barn to set up a private enclosure to provide extra comfort and solitude for the mother-to-be.

---

Skye was glad to be back with her horses. She currently had 7 animals in the stables; 2 of her own, one of was her go-to work horse, a great clydesdale stallion, and the other was her helper, a white appaloosa mare who had a knack for learning quickly and a strong will to teach the others. Between her 7 horses and Shade's 10 cows, 5 alpaca and old Cinder, the barn was reaching its capacity with only 8 stalls left, one of which would be filled by the new calf when it came of age and another taken up by the collie and her pups. Though she often became stressed about the idea of having to upgrade their stables, she wouldn't have it any other way; Skye loved nothing more than to be surrounded by animals.

Noticing that it was already 10:00am, she decided it best that she get the herd out to graze for the day. Calling Dagger to assist in the herding of the younger steeds, she effortlessly guided the animals into the bright air outside. The ranch was filled with lively whinnies returned by moos as the horses scattered about, some running to their favorite grazing locations, others running off to enjoy the company of the stocky cattle. The white appaloosa mare was the only one who didn't run off, but instead stood by Skye's side, sniffing the halter in her hand. Winter loved nothing more than leaving the confines of the ranch's fencing and venturing out into the thick woods of the valley with her rider.

"I think today is the perfect day for a walk in the woods, don't you? I'm not very hungry after that little run in with the Peck rooster... You know what, lets take that young colt of ours out. He could use a good trail ride." Skye retrieved a second halter and a long shank to lead the chestnut on their venture. After mounting Winter, without any need for a saddle on such a casual event, she rode over to the young stallion and collected it from it's mother with a gentle tug on the lead. It wasn't long before the trio were out the gate and down the road, heading along the coast to head north on the path towards the Harvest Goddess Pond. Dagger accompanied them, as usual, and was blissfully dashing in and out of view in the thick forest. As Skye made her way through the woods, she saw the great Tree of Seasons rise up over the woods.

All her life she had wondered about how a tree could grow to be so large, and how its leaves always displayed all four seasons, including a section of it that was barren and deathly looking as if to manipulate winter. As they made their way around the beautiful pond and ancient tree, Skye remembered there was a birthday in the town today. "Wilhelm's a good man. He should have a gift from the Lumina Ranch. Hmm, I wonder..." The family did not yet have a dog, and the collie litter was ready to be weaned and rehomed. Of course she would never assume a person was ready or willing to take on a puppy; she would have to think of an alternate gift. Perhaps the woodsman Jaylin had something for sale. His craftsmanship was well known throughout town and she had no doubt that a piece of his work would be desired by anyone.

"Well friends, off to Jaylin's then." Cutting through the woods, they made their way to the small log cabin in the woods where Jaylin resided.

stands in the mine, wailing away at a stone with his hammer. He hoped he would fine iron soon because he wanted the day off bad, for it was his dogs birthday today, so he struck faster and harder smashing rocks at breakneck speed. Thought he was happy his dog lived another year , for it was 77 in dog years and was bound to die soon.Still he couldn't help but feel melancholy, Yes he had good pay, a good house, and was healthier than an ox, but he was lonely. He had no friends, no family, and worst of all no love. he wanted that the most. Love, someone to grow old with, he envied anyone who had such a person in his life. He then looked down and chuckled. he had found more than iron, laying there was silver, iron, and a purple gem. he looked at and smiled "maybe this will give me love" he thought to himself as he stuck in in his pocket and left. he then began walking home. he got off earlier than usual this day so he decided to detour through the town.

Estelle rolled out of her bed, hitting the floor with a whack. "Ow" her muffled voice said against the floor. Another all nighter writing on her deadline, but she had submitted it and it was on its way to publishing. She blindly reached out to her bedside table to take her thick glasses, placing them on her face, taking in her surroundings.

The place reeked of frustration and days without coming out of her attic. She drew back the curtains she had closed whenever she was writing, and squinted as the light filled the room, and looked out to the lush green town. She sighed, she was going to have to close these curtains soon to finish on the grand finale for her series, which required to be 2 times thicker than all her other novels, and required two new people for the end to start off the next series, which would also be another week or ten stuffed in her attic.

Of course, she had to head out today to stack up on a months supply of food, and inspiration for her novels. She figured for the last novel the two would be in a beach setting, and planned to get a better perspective from sunset rather than midday. Estelle was moved to this quiet town to focus on her work, even though she still struggled with meeting the deadlines she deemed always out to get her, but every time she published a work she got two days to recover before she went up to the attic, enough to prepare and get proper inspiration. She stumbled into the bathroom and showered for a good while before getting out, her hair still messy and disorganized as ever. She pulled into her usual clothes, and didn't notice she put in mismatching socks before stumbling downstairs to the lobby of the inn.

She never really got the know the residents well because of her days in the attic, and she didn't even know if her novels were sold here. She hoped not, she didn't really want to be pulled in as the source of such steamy BL fantasies, though she loved to write them. The town was definitely quieter than her small apartment in the city, and she liked that, but the one thing she did not like was the abundance of farm animals and animals in general. Animals had never gotten along with her and she had never gotten along with animals. They all pushed her into things or over things, and this had forced her into a downright fear of any form of living thing that wasn't human. "Morning" she sleepily mumbled to Cherche and Luca, the only two she had really talked with on her days off.

Guy sighed as he unlocked his house. His face brightens when a small black four legged creature slowly jogged to him, it's tail like a fin on a small fish in a cool pond. Guy picked up his pride and joy and spun around before placing it down again. "you're probably starving aren't you boy?" guy asked as he pulled out some cooked lamb, sliced it in half and gave half to the canine. He then pulled out a book from his book shelf, his favorite book, the greatest book he had ever read, he had read it 48 times (he counted) and was practically in love with it. He had heard rumors that the author lived in the town, and feeling bored and curious he grabbed a coat, and a cold water to wake him up and headed out again.

"That...that would be ok with you guys, right?"

"...Why is it...not...?"

Mitchel Stowe slowly opened his eyes to the light flooding from the window and the morning breeze coming through the slightly ajar opening in it.

Another dream like that...I really need to get that out of my head.

He brushed his hair out of his eye as he leaned up in his bed, looking out the window to the Library. He thought that white always suited a library, that it could represent not only the pages of the books within but also the white of the canvas of one's mind before it's painted by a book. Looking to his right, he picked up the book that he was reading before he went to bed.

The Great Gatsby...read that a bit too many times.

He pushed his covers back and stretched out, sending a satisfying shiver down his spine. Mitchel hopped out of bed and got in the shower.

~

After the long, arduous task of drying his hair, Mitchel went through his normal morning routine to get ready for the day to start. Once he was dressed, he made sure he had everything.

Let's see...book...bookmark...library key...PFP...that should be it.

He started out of his bedroom door and walked down the hall to his kitchen.

Oh, right...food.

Mitchel rummaged through the cupboard to find something simple for breakfast. Oatmeal wouldn't do. Besides taking too long to make, it had a tendency to get stuck in his teeth sometimes and for greeting library patrons, that just wouldn't do. Toast would be a bit messy and he didn't want to show up with jelly on his face or anything. He grabbed a decent-size granola bar and headed through the living room and out the door.

It was quite a beautiful day. The sun was shining, but it wasn't so hot as to be uncomfortable. Mitchel walked slowly;he didn't have to be at the library for about 15 minutes and it was just across the street. He observed the building itself. The large, shining white paint was recent so there weren't many imperfections. He took pride in that. Some of the old buildings in this town had chipped paint or other things like that. Mitchel didn't consider himself a perfectionist by any means, but there was nothing wrong with having a little pride in that, he figured.

He finished his granola bar and got to the front. He pulled out the key and twirled it around for a second before putting it in the keyhole and turning it. Mitchel opened the door
and entered his world of paper and bindings.

Spring 4. Crescent Town.
Two days until Clarience's birthday.

Clarience stayed up all night in her shop painting her latest piece of work, but as she finished, she ended up falling asleep on top of the canvas until the bright morning. Her face stuck to the drying paint.
As the sun peaked through the window of the shop, Clarience jerked as light began to fill the room. "Ugh," She groaned and sat up, paint was smeared along the side of her face, though the painting bellow her managed to just barely get ruined.

She ran her hands through her pigtails as she stood up to flip the closed sign to open. A groggy girl she was, though successful in her work, she could barely pay attention to the things going on around her.

As she began to shuffle back to her counter where the newest painting sat, she tripped over various unopened paint cans along the floor. "Oof!" With a soft thud, Clarience laid upon the ground, too lazy and too unaware to get up. Instead, the girl managed to fall asleep upon the floor.

Rest was always on her mind, in her wake she thought of sleep, in her sleep she dreamt of rest. She was creative with her pieces of work, yet that always used up most of her thinking. 'An artist needs their rest' she always says.

---

When attempting to stay awake, she would occasionally slap her face or splash cold water onto her rosy cheeks. This would only happen when the shop is open, which is constantly.