Raftina and Sienna talked to each other familiarly, leaving Haru feeling distinctly left out. They clearly knew each other pretty well and had interacted a lot. Haru wasn’t really sure what to say or do about any of this… She was really trying her best to fit in, but she knew she was going to stick out like a sore thumb. People could and would be rude to her, she was pretty sure. She wasn’t native to this town even if her family had some sort of roots here. But small towns were usually unwelcoming of new people and suspicious… She had seen plenty of movies in different languages that told her as much.

  The next few hours were quiet as Haru followed behind Raftina and Sienna until they eventually came to a well-groomed little town with a clear grid layout. “Welcome to Pelican Town proper,” Sienna said with a smile. “You’ll find plenty of people around here willing to help you. The Rose family is more than willing to help out and give you some food and offer you decent prices on what you need. Granted, it’s mostly farming supplies and some groceries… Joja has a bigger selection of goods but…” Sienna frowned. Haru wasn’t sure what was up with Joja but she might honestly need things from there. She couldn’t argue about where she got things.

  “Summer is quite the nice woman, though terrifyingly intelligent,” Raftina said.

  “Already told her that,” Sienna said.

  “I’m still not sure why she moved here of all places. She could’ve been anything she wanted to: computer programmer, cook, surgeon, rocket scientist… But she chose to inherit a small-town store from her uncle.” Raftina shook her head. Who in the world could have such a wide array of skills? Yes, this Summer woman was apparently ‘terrifyingly intelligent’ but surely nobody could be that smart… People had strengths and weaknesses. Surely nobody could do that many things… She doubted somebody could be that smart…

  “She’s always been a bit of an outlier for Pelican Town. And, well, you know there’s no controlling her.” Sienna laughed as did Raftina. That was obviously some sort of inside joke but it was one Haru was locked out of. She was already starting to hate being the outsider here… She just… It was this or be on the streets… Her father hadn’t given her much choice in the matter. Either she come to Stardew Valley or be on the streets of the city. There was no in between. Why, why did he have to be so terrible…?

  She wiped away a few tears that formed. Raftina slowed down a bit, walking beside her. “Hey if you need someone to talk to at any point, feel free to talk to me. I won’t go telling anybody what you talk to me about.”

  “Thank you; that’s very kind.” That was all Haru would say on the matter. She didn’t feel any sense of closeness to this woman, so why would she talk to her when they had just met a couple of hours ago? No, that was comfortable at all. Maybe in due time, but right now… No. She didn’t feel like talking to a random stranger. Maybe she could become friends with the woman in time, but the fact she wore a mask of some sort definitely put Haru off. People like that were often in it for some other reason… She would have to be careful around this woman.

  “Okay, here we are.” They stopped in front of a two-story building and opened the door. A woman with strange, two-toned hair in a reverse bob stood behind the counter. She waved to them. “Hey Sienna! Lady Raftina! And…who’s that with you? Did someone come to Pelican Town for some reason?”

  Haru moved behind Raftina a little bit. She really was uncertain about all of this. Sienna took the liberty to explain what was going on and Summer gave Haru a sympathetic look. “If you need anything, feel free to come here. If you ever need a meal, you can come here. I won’t charge you for it because that’d just be wrong.”

  “Um, that’s very kind of you…” She still couldn’t be sure if people would be kind or want to backstab her for some reason. She just knew small towns and tight-knit communities weren’t super welcoming. However, so far, this seemed to be the opposite… How were these people so kind? She didn’t understand. She’d never known such kindness since her mother had died… The closest she’d known was Yuuki but he was so busy with his little sister that she didn’t get to spend much time around him. Only at events. She almost wished her father had arranged her to marry him… At least he would’ve been kind and not like Sugimura.

  “Please, come on by and eat with us. We’re a bit closer than Rand’s most likely especially if you don’t have a car. Considering you’re walking… I’m guessing you don’t have one?”

  Haru shook her head. “I don’t even have a driver’s license…” That felt like giving up too much information already. Granted, some places did have fantastic public transport so it wasn’t unusual for people to not have driver’s licenses in that case. But coming to a rural town basically in the middle of nowhere? That wasn’t a smart move and would probably raise some red flags for the people of the valley. She just hoped nobody would think too deeply on it. She would have to walk everywhere which was really rough…

  “We’ll have to help get you one as well as a car. Both my girls can drive which is good for me since I don’t have to take them everywhere anymore.” Girls? So she had kids… She looked oddly youthful despite her age. She wondered how old these ‘girls’ of hers were. She really had no idea how many people lived here and such… That would definitely be a learning experience for her. But based on the fact there was really only one main street in the town said that it wasn’t very big. She’d seen a couple of apartment buildings, but they didn’t look any taller than three stories which…couldn’t fit a whole lot of people.

  “That’s incredibly kind of you… I don’t have a lot of money to buy something as expensive as car though.” She looked down. “I don’t even really have money for clothes.” That was beyond frustrating to admit. She really hated all of this. She wanted to be independent but she would have to rely on the townsfolk for a lot of things. She would have to walk everywhere which… Her feet were already killing her. At least the town wasn’t massive or anything. But the lack of public transit definitely would hurt… Not that she was used to using it or anything.

  “Well, if you’d be willing to play dress-up doll, there are two girls interested in fashion here: Oboro and Blake. They usually ask for money in exchange for their services as most people would, but they’d probably be willing to give you some clothes in exchange for being their little doll. They’re sweet girls. They mostly make cosplays for people over in Zuzu City, but I think they’d be willing to let you have a few outfits for free in exchange for your time.” Summer pulled out her phone. “Want me to call and ask?”

  Harun flushed a bit. She really hadn’t been expecting so much generosity on coming here. But she nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind.” She was in desperate need of clothes suitable for farming. There didn’t seem to be a thrift store in town which would have clothes she could purposely get dirty. All of her clothes were dainty little things that would rip if pushed too hard… She just knew they wouldn’t last too long since she needed to farm and grow things on her own now…

  Summer took out her phone and dialed a number. “Oh Oboro! Is Blake nearby? I have a question to ask you if you’d be willing.” Pause. “You’re both there? Great. Well, there’s a new girl in town and she needs clothes. Would either of you be willing to help her with that? She’s going to live on the farm on the outskirts of town.” Pause for a bit. “Okay good!” Summer hung up, then took out a notepad and jotted down a couple numbers. “Here you go. These are their numbers and addresses; they said feel free to call them whenever you’re up to it.”

  “Thank you; I truly do appreciate it…” She couldn’t help but feel grateful. These people were a lot more welcoming than she was fearing. She had seen so many pieces of media where the new person in a small town was treated with extreme suspicion and generally seen as untrustworthy. They barely even knew her name and were basically tripping over themselves to help her. She just… How could she express her gratitude? She really didn’t know how. She had never known such kindness since her mother had died. She’d been basically abandoned and alone, locked in her room with movies and nothing else… The only person that showed her kindness on occasion was Yuuki and that was it. Sugimura was cut from the same cloth as her father…

  “They both have commissions they’re working on right now, but they said they can make a priority for you. It shouldn’t take them too long to make.” Summer smiled. “Is there anything you wanted to buy?”

  “We’ll take fifteen parsnip seeds, please,” Sienna said. Summer nodded and rang it up, handing the bag to Haru, while Sienna handed Summer the money. Haru tilted her head at Sienna. “If you’re wondering why exactly fifteen… Well, once you get to sixteen, crows can and will start to eat your crops whether they’re store-bought or foraged. You’ll need the materials to make a scarecrow to keep them away from your crops. Parsnips grow pretty quickly too, so it’ll give you a little bit of profit quickly.”

  “Okay. Thank you. Where can I find the recipe for a scarecrow…?”

  “I think your grandfather had some old books in his house. He might have some farming knowledge there.”

  “I’ll take a look then.” She didn’t want her crops to be eaten. She needed every little bit of profit she could squeeze out of the land right now. It was going to be hard to gain any profit when she had such little money.

  “If you want to plant your crops, we can head over to the tower I stay in afterward. I might be able to get you some clothes then and there,” Raftina offered. How…? That didn’t make any sense. But they were mentioning supernatural elements as if they were a normal part of life here… That didn’t make any sense. She hadn’t seen anything that couldn’t be explained by science. Why would they pretend there were things outside of magic? They were a peculiar lot, but she couldn’t say anything against it because they might change their minds about their generosity… She didn’t want that.

  But ‘tower she stayed in’? Why word it in such an odd way. Something was definitely up here, but she didn’t know what.

  “I’ll get your paperwork settled and come by tomorrow to drop it back off to you, Haru. Sound good?” Sienna asked.

  “Okay. Thank you.” With that, they left the store and started back to the farm. Haru couldn’t help but notice Raftina’s wings again. She had seen a couple of Faunus but they generally only had cat ears… She wasn’t sure what to make of wings. Maybe there was a wider array of Faunus than she thought. Maybe there just weren’t very many in the circles she ran in either. She didn’t want to be rude and ask about it, though… She was terrified of having them rescind their generosity when it’s what she was going to rely on so much to help get her through until she could start making a decent amount of profit to live comfortably.

  They trek back to the farm was quiet, though it seemed like Raftina was struggling to walk at a normal pace. Granted, Haru probably walked a lot slower than the people in the valley. They were probably used to walking a lot while Haru wasn’t. Her feet were killing her especially since her shoes were entirely inappropriate to be walking long distances in. They were meant for show and not for hiking like this. Plus, she hadn’t had water in hours and felt a little bit faint. She wanted to just curl up and sleep or take a break. It’d been nonstop work since she’d gotten here…but she’d need to get used to it. She was a farmer now and had to deal with work.

  Eventually, they got back to the farm and Haru went inside the cottage. By now, Rand had returned and was cleaning up the cabin with a slightly younger redheaded man. The man waved. “So you’re the new farmer girl? Nice to meet you; I’m Tobias Hresvelg. I’m Rand’s apprentice and have been for quite a few years now.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll still be the one building all your farm necessities. Tobias here ain’t quite ready for the big time like that.” Rand chuckled. “I’ll leave the cleaning supplies here once we leave. We’ll keep taking care of the house for you.”

  “Oh, thank you.” She bowed again. She was almost reaching max capacity for how kind these people were. She felt like she was repeating herself over and over again. But she was truly grateful. They didn’t need to help her, but were bending over backwards for her. She hoped that this kindness would continue and she wouldn’t run things thin… She would need a lot of help around here.

  “It’s no problem. Though I’ll warn ya now: my family’s, like, a third of the town’s population. My pa’s a real charmer and has multiple women living with him. We own the apartment building nearer to JoJa,” Tobias said. Haru blinked, not really sure what to say to that. Well, that was a thing, apparently. So she just nodded. She would deal with that when it came time to. She wouldn’t dwell on that right now.

  She went to a small chest and opened it, finding a number of tools she’d need in order to clean up the farm and make her business thrive. An axe, a pickaxe, a hoe, and several other tools. She slotted them into her backpack and went outside. She started slashing at the grass and bushes with the scythe, clearing away as much as she could. Then she shifted to the other tools, clearing out a small little plot. She smiled a bit as she placed the parsnip seeds in the ground, pouring water over each of them.

  She heard someone walk up behind her and it was Raftina. The woman smiled at her warmly, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “If we walk, it’ll take quite a while to reach the tower. I can easily get us there if I fly.” The woman’s wings extended a bit and flapped.

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  Haru frowned. “Wouldn’t I be too heavy to carry while flying?” She was small, sure, but most people would struggle to carry a full-grown woman like that just walking, let alone flying.

  “I’m a lot stronger than I look. You’d basically be a sack of potatoes to me.” Haru frowned at that. So she’d be pretty light. How…? Then again, probably best to not question it yet. So Haru nodded and Raftina picked her up. The movement was so smooth that it pretty much took Haru off balance mentally. The woman extended her wings fully and they rose high, high into the sky at a dizzying speed. Haru had never been in a plane before, so this was the highest off the ground she had ever been. She couldn’t help but be a little bit freaked out at how quickly they ascended. But Raftina had her in a bridal carry so she couldn’t exactly cling to anything and she didn’t want to disrupt the woman’s concentration, lest they fall.

  They bypassed the plot of land the farm was on and quickly came to a shaded forest with lots of pine trees and a river flowing through it. Eventually, they came to a tall, tall tower that stuck out like a sore thumb among the trees and made its presence clearly known. Raftina stopped flying and changed her position to more upright, starting a very controlled descent until they gently touched down on the ground.

  Haru looked at her, her legs shaking something awful as they touched down. Raftina gave a sympathetic smile. “First flight’s always the hardest. I’ve been at this for a long time, so I know how to handle it. It wasn’t pretty when I was fledging though. I can’t tell you how many times I smacked into buildings or just tumbled on my head into the ground.” She laughed. That didn’t make Haru feel any better. But it was clear that the woman knew what she was doing, so Haru could only assume she had gotten a lot better. The entire flight had been fairly controlled and at a decent speed and Haru had felt no sense that the woman was losing control at all.

  Raftina tucked her wings against her back and opened the door. “Morty, we have a visitor! I’m here to get her some clothes!” She raised her voice a bit but smiled at Haru. “Don’t worry too much about it. We’ve been roomies for centuries now.”

  “Cen…?” How was that possible? People couldn’t live to be centuries! That made no sense!

  “You’ll get used to it. The Valley is a strange place; it’s a major hub for strange activity. You’ll probably experience your fair share as you explore. Let’s go up to my room.” They headed up a staircase in the back of the room, climbing higher in the circular structure until they came to a room that had clearly been very lived in. It was decorated according to the woman’s tastes quite obviously. Pink was the dominant color and pastel pink at that with accents in darker shades. Most of the walls were lined with bookcases just crammed with all sorts of books. Haru could only imagine what they all contained. Some were incredibly thick tomes bound by leather.

  “Now about some outfits…” Raftina went over to a vanity. “Here; let me get your measurements.” Thankfully, Haru was used to it for fittings and let Raftina take everything accordingly. She went over to a closet and got out a bunch of different bolts of cloth. She cut some cloth off the bolts and snapped. Within an instant, the cloth became clothing. Haru’s eyes widened. She’d never seen anything like that before!

  Raftina repeated the process several times until there were five outfits and even a pair of hard work boots. “Here; this should be enough to get you started. The material is breathable, but it’s thick and rugged so it’ll be perfect for farmwork. I made them long-sleeved so that way you won’t have to worry about sunburn or anything.” Haru frowned at that. Oh, she hadn’t considered that at all.

  “Do you have sunscreen?” she asked.

  “Give me a couple minutes to whip something up. I don’t feel like flying all the way to JoJa just to buy something. That’d be unnecessary. If you run out, just call me.” She took out a phone and had Haru do the same so she could put her number in. “Just call me.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” Haru tried slotting the clothes into her backpack, but there wasn’t enough space. “Oh… I don’t have enough space.”

  “Summer sells backpack upgrades… When you get a chance, you should visit the beach. Chrom and Ionius run the little fishing shop there. You can get a rod there that’ll let you catch fish. It might not be the most amount of money, but it’ll help supplement your income pretty well for a while. For now, though…” Raftina grabbed another bag and put the remaining clothes in. She slipped the messenger back over her shoulder. “Follow me downstairs and I’ll make you some sunscreen.”

  Haru nodded and they descended back down the circular stone stairs. There was no railing, though, so Haru felt very uneasy. She leaned against the wall. One wrong slip and she’d go tumbling down. She didn’t have insurance since her father cut her off and she definitely didn’t have money for any sort of treatment, let alone something like a broken bone. It was nasty to think about. Thankfully, they reached the lower level that they’d started on and Raftina went over to a cabinet. She started digging through, mixing all sorts of ingredients that Haru could only guess what they were. She’d probably rather not think about it.

  It was about then that a flash of light occurred and a young man with blond hair and purple eyes appeared out of nowhere. “Eh? Who’s this Raftina?” If Haru didn’t know any better, she’d say he was a stoner. He had a distant look about his gaze and his expression was relatively nonplussed. He clearly didn’t really have much care in the world. He was curious about her, but that was seemingly about as far as it went. She stepped a bit closer to Raftina, but not enough to impede her work. She just… Something about him felt very off.

  “Oh, this is Haru. Remember the old farm? Well, her grandfather owned it and now she’s moved onto it. I’m getting her some sunscreen so she won’t burn when working out in the fields.” Raftina didn’t even miss a beat, keeping her attention focused on the task at hand. She was clearly used to working and talking with people which Haru really wasn’t.

  “Really? He was a great man, but it’s been decades since those fields have been worked…” The man approached a bit and Haru stiffened, shaking a bit. She wasn’t used to people being in her personal bubble. He wasn’t in it yet, but she definitely didn’t feel comfortable letting someone into her bubble like that when it was a man. It was one thing when it was another woman, but a man? Between Sugimura and her father… She knew not all men were like that, abusive assholes who only wanted for their own personal gain, but it was hard when that was her main experience with men… So many of the guys around her age and older just wanted to take what they could get and abuse women for their own ends.

  “Back up, Morty; she clearly isn’t comfortable with you in her space,” Raftina chided.

  The man—Morty, she presumed—stepped back and raised his arms. “It’s just odd to think that someone would take interest in that land all of a sudden and without any warning.”

  “From the sound of it, her situation wasn’t good. And that’s all I’ll say on the matter. If you want to learn her story, then befriend her and hear it from her.” Raftina’s tone was strict and offered no room for argument.

  Morty sighed. “Well, I’m Mordechai but those that know me call me Morty… Most ‘round here just call me the Wizard, though.” He raised his arms again. The…Wizard? Magic wasn’t real… It didn’t seem like something that could be learned. She’d never heard of it. She knew science and there was no room for magic or gods or anything like that as far as she was aware.

  “Why does it sound like you knew my grandfather…?” Haru asked, voice tiny. The way he talked… It really sounded like he had known her grandfather. But he didn’t really look a day beyond 25 or so. He was very young. Sienna might’ve known her grandfather as a child and she’d made it abundantly clear that was what had happened. But it sounded like Morty had known her grandfather on a personal level. That didn’t make any sense to her. How could somebody so young know her grandfather so well?

  “Ah, that’s because he learned some magic from me when he was a much younger man. You should find a book of crafting recipes somewhere in his house that’ll let you craft anything as long as you have the proper components… He didn’t want to tinker around with making things, so he learned magic from me that would let him make contraptions for the farm.” Morty shrugged. “And to answer the obvious next question… I’m several centuries old. I’ve seen the world go from an agrarian society to the built-up way it is today.” He shook his head and made a disapproving noise. “It’s sad to see people forget their roots, push forward on into science, and completely push magic and mystery to the side. There are very few places like Stardew Valley where people still remember magic and the supernatural.”

  “That…sounds impossible.” Haru frowned. “I know science well and it doesn’t leave much room for gods or anything like that…”

  “Well, it’s not. Your grandfather was pretty well in tune with the various creatures and other metaphysical parts of the valley, so you may see them as well. But with you being so science-minded, I’m not sure if you will or not.” He shrugged again. “We’ll just have to wait and see.

  “But as for that crafting book… Well. Anybody can use it, so you won’t have to spend copious amounts of time learning to craft things like sprinklers and such. As long as you have the materials, put them on the book, and it’ll transform into the final product. I’m not sure where it is, but it should still be in his little cottage somewhere. He didn’t drop it off to me when he left.”

  Haru nodded a bit, completely overwhelmed with what was going on. A wizard and a winged woman… She had only ever seen cat-like Faunus before. The woman’s wings were strange to her. She had seen some Faunus on the way out of the city but most remained incredibly cat-like. She wanted to know what Raftina was but it felt beyond rude to ask about that. It was like asking somewhere where they were from just because they had a different skin color… She just… So much was going on and she was completely overwhelmed.

  “By the way, if you ever wanna learn other recipes, just come here and I can teach you. But that book should cover a lot of different things that’ll help you on the farm,” Morty said.

  “O-Okay…” Haru said. She just… What was she supposed to say and do with all of this information? She had no idea. It was terrible. All so terrible. The people here did seem pretty kind but even so… This ‘wizard’ business was just beyond her. She was trying, but she just didn’t know how to deal with all of it. She wanted to go to bed, but the sun was still up and likely would be for quite some time. It was summer, so she didn’t have any real choice but to stay up until it was dark out.

  “Okay, I’m done.” Raftina came over and handed Haru a decently sized bottle along with a slip of paper. “Here. If you run out, let me know and I can make you more. That’s my number.” Haru nodded a bit and opened her phone, inputting the number.

  “Um… Why did Sienna call you Lady Raftina, if you don’t mind my asking…?” She hoped that wasn’t getting too personal. It just felt…strange for somebody to call another person ‘lady’ in this day and age. It was one thing when it was a very formal society like the upper class where formality was the name of the game. Calling each other by appropriate titles and using proper politeness was way too important to let slip. But this was a very small, informal community… She didn’t really understand why Sienna had called her by a lady title.

  “Oh that. I’m actually not from this world; I’m from a world called Filgaia. My mother was creator of the planet and I’m what’s called a Guardian—a goddess, for a more common term. One of the other Guardians, Dan Dairam, dropped me off here a few centuries ago which is why Morty and I are roommates.” Raftina rolled her eyes hard. “We both get being old…though I’m millennia old.”

  Yeah.

  Sure.

  Why not at this point.

  A completely foreign goddess…though more bordering on literal alien.

  Haru sighed.

  “I know it seems strange when you’ve been so disconnected from the Valley and supernatural things. But I assure you, it is real. Watch.” Raftina turned around and her wings vanished, then reappeared. She did that a few times, leaving Haru staring with wide eyes. She also messed with her hair. It went into different styles, seemingly all by itself. It grew longer, shorter, went into updos, and all sorts of different stuff. That…that was definitely magic. Even Haru couldn’t deny it. That completely evaded scientific explanation.

  Raftina patted Haru’s head. “How about we get you back to the farm?”

  “O—Okay.” She wanted to be alone. She really had a lot to consider and reevaluate.

  Raftina led the way outside and they flew back to the farm. Raftina put her down and waved before soaring back into the sky.

  Haru went back into the house which was much cleaner now and didn’t have dust swirling everywhere. It was small. It looked like it was just a bedroom, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It…would have to do for now. It wasn’t like she could upgrade or anything like that. She had no materials and very little money to her name. She would just have to make do for now. She thankfully knew how to cook, but buying anything would wipe out her small stockpile of money. Her father had completely cut her off and given her five hundred gold. That was it. That was all she had.

  She put her clothes in the dresser and switched over to one of the outfits that Raftina had given her, along with the sturdy workboots. She felt a lot better now. She would be able to plant the parsnips and hopefully get on with her day. Granted, the sun was starting to get close to the horizon, so she needed to get out there and plant.

  She grabbed her backpack and headed outside. She took the hoe and tilled some of the field and planted the seeds, then watered them. That didn’t take too much time at least, so now, she had the rest of the day to do what she wanted to. It was getting close to dinner time and she hadn’t had anything since breakfast… She really needed some food, but she didn’t have any sort of ingredients. She knew some recipes, but without ingredients… Thankfully, Summer and Rand had invited her over for food… She didn’t know where Rand lived, so she’d go to Summer’s… She could explore the town more fully tomorrow. But, for now, she put the tools back in her backpack and headed into town. This would definitely be interesting…