All I Have Is Now

Haru hung on for dear life to Yang. She could see the motorcycle’s speedometer could get up to nearly 200 miles an hour, but they were only going about 45. She had gone 45 in cars before. It felt much,muchdifferent on a motorcycle though. The wind whipped around them and Haru shuddered. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she fell off. She was trying to make sure that she didn’t make Yang too uncomfortable by hanging on too tight, but it was hard to reach a happy medium with her anxiety. It was one thing when it was a shorter ride between the farm and the store; it was another when it was this longer ride through town and down into the Cindersap Forest. It felt a lot longer than it probably was, but still… By time she got off, her legs wobbled and felt like jelly due to the anxiety. Yang rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry… We probably should’ve taken the car instead. I’m used to Bumblebee, but I forgot not everyone has ridden a motorcycle in their life.” She sighed. “Bit late for that now, though. You’ll just have to deal.” “I-I know…and i-it’s fine…” Haru was trying to downplay how utterly anxious she was, but she was pretty sure it was written all over her body language. The wind whipping around and messing up her coiffed hair was crazy. She knew 45 wasn’t even that fast, but it felt alotworse than it was. “I’ll go slower. There’s really not any speed limit in town since there are so few people here. No police to enforce anything.” Haru nodded a bit. “O-Okay…” Her voice shook just as badly as her body did. She hated that she was so transparent right now, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. She wasn’t a fan of the motorcycle byanymeans, but slower would definitely be better… And Yang hadn’t even given her a helmet or anything either. This wassodangerous. She really just wanted to calm down a bit before doing anything. Yang seemed to have other plans, though. She motioned for Haru to follow. Haru could smell the distinct scent of animals. It wasn’t one she was ever used to smelling, but she was pretty sure that’s what it was. She could see cows in the pasture outside along with some pigs and chickens. There was a barn they could enter and exit of their own free will. She leaned against the fence for a few minutes, watching the animals go around and graze on grass, the chickens pecking at the ground. It was odd to be so close to farm animals when she’d been told they were dirty and uncouth. They didn’t look that dirty or anything… The smell was definitely something she wasn’t used to, but it wasn’t bad by any means either… “C’mon, Haru.” Yang motioned toward the house and Haru nodded, following her inside. A woman with cat ears stood behind the counter and waved to them. “Welcome to Willowpaw Ranch. Are you the one that Sienna told us about?” The woman smiled at them. Her tone was incredibly warm and welcoming. Honestly, it was strange to see such a small town be so welcoming…but she wouldn’t complain either. It was nice to have people that were so friendly toward her. It was so vastly different from the upper class who were all about betrayal and backstabbing… She hoped there wouldn’t be politics similar to that here in the valley. Her grandfather had always spoken so fondly of it and she hoped that his stories would continue to be true. Haru nodded politely. “Um, yes, I’m Haru Okumura. I now own the old farm.” “Honestly, you’re not that far of a walk away; you’ll just have to make a path through your farm in order to get here. We’re directly south of you.” The woman continued to smile. “I’m Kali Belladonna. It’s nice to meet you, Haru.” “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Belladonna.” She offered a polite, shy smile. She wasn’t expecting someone to be this warm and welcoming toward her. It was one thing when it was just the mayor and the shopkeeper, but it seemed like most people here in the valley were going to be kind. Asuna was definitely a little strange and distant, but she seemed to have a good heart as well. Even if it seemed like Yang and the others weren’t fond of her for some reason… It really didn’t make sense they would welcome Haru but shun Asuna… People just didn’t make sense sometimes. “If you ever need animals for your farm, you can come here. We also sell hay and all sorts of other things. Blake does a lot of fashion stuff too. I can see you have some nice, sturdy work clothes.” Kali continued to smile. “And just Kali is fine. You don’t have to call me Mrs. Belladonna. I’m not going to be upset at you for being informal with me. We don’t reallydoformality here in the valley.” “Oh, okay…” That felt kind of wrong to her. She was used to having to be formal each and everyday with every person. Even servants weren’t able to be informal. Everything in Okumura manor had been strict and formal. The only person she’d ever been informal with was Yuuki… He was a quiet boy and sweet and gentle, unlike a lot of the catty, backstabbing girls that had been around her in the upper class. Part of her was glad to have this chance to strike out on her own, but by the same token, she was moving to somewhere she had no connections with and pretty much zero money. She was glad to be out of the abuse but…building up herself from nothing was going to be incredibly difficult. “Do you have any need of animals right now?” “I don’t have a coop or anything of the like.” She looked down. “Well, you can always have Rand build you what you need. His prices are reasonable; you just also have to provide him the building materials as well. Those can generally be foraged in the valley.” “Okay. Thank you.” Haru looked down, brushing off her pants though there wasn’t any dirt on them. She couldn’t shake the awkward feeling and like she didn’t belong. They were being very kind to her, but she just…didn’t belong here. These people all knew each other and she didn’t know any of them. Granted, that’s what today was for: getting the lay of the land and seeing who people were. It was then that a girl that looked to be around Haru’s age came downstairs and blinked. “Oh, hello. Who are you?” “I’m Haru… I think Summer gave me your number? Are you Blake?” The girl nodded, her ears twitching. “Yeah, I’m Blake. So you are the one Summer talked to me about. It looks like you do have some clothes which is good.” “R—Lady Raftina made some for me yesterday since I only had one outfit…” It was strange to be addressing someone as ‘lady’; it was such an antiquated title. But it seemed like at least Summer’s family respected Raftina enough toinsistthat she be called Lady Raftina. It was still odd that Raftina herself hadn’t stressed it… Why would other people stress it and not her? So little made sense to her. She would learn in time, but for right now, the valley was a place of mystery with far too many questions as opposed to answers. She really wished she could do more, but she was limited by the fact that she had to go everywhere on foot and had such limited supplies. Blake nodded. “I’m not surprised. Well, at least you have some clothes.” “Also, dear, if you ever need to eat, we’re more than willing to have you over.” Kali’s smile never seemed to cease. In some regards, it was almost a little creepy… Haru nodded. “Rand and Summer have already said they’ll host me for meals as well.” “I think we’d be the closest. You don’t have a car or anything, do you?” Kali asked. Haru shook her head. “You’re limited to on foot then. If you can make a path through your farm, we’re probably closer than Rand or Summer. But by the same token, it’s your choice who you go to.” “Thank you. I appreciate it.” That was definitely more than she was expecting from the people of the valley… She was glad that they were all so kind and understanding. “I only have a little bit of money, so it means a lot.” Her father really had been an awful person once her mother had died… He turned inward to work and started to ignore her…then control her. She had learned long ago to just give up fighting. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore aside from what she could do for him on a business level. It really did suck, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it…especially now that she’d been kicked out and disinherited. She wasn’t sure how she’d survive, but the people in the valley were trying to help her as much as they could. She was beyond grateful. “Well, if you ever want or need specific clothes, just ask me or Oboro, okay?” Blake asked. Haru nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you as well.” She offered a polite dip of her head. Blake waved her hand. “Like Mom said, there’s no real need for such formality in the valley.” “Okay…” It was so weird to be told that she didn’t need to be formal. She was just trying to be polite. She really did want to be polite, but it seemed like this was going to make her stand out as well… It was going to be hard to find a balance between the formality she knew and had experienced most of her life and the informality of the valley. She hoped people would be patient with her; this was a brand new culture to her and she needed time to adapt. It was only her second day here. “Well, we better get a move on,” Yang said. “C’mon, Haru.” Haru nodded and followed Yang out to where she’d parked Bumblebee. “You can always spend time around here if you want to; we’re just introducin’ ya to people today.” “Okay.” “We should probably go back into town. This was a bit outlying and out of the way, so I wanted to get us here first.” Haru nodded and got on Bumblebee behind Yang. Thankfully, she did go slower this time, though even 35 on the bike felt faster than she was used to. They pulled up to a house not too far from the ranch. They stopped outside and Yang knocked on the door. A woman with white hair and blue eyes opened it, holding a young boy with the same blue eyes but brown hair. “Oh, hello, Yang. What’s going on?” the woman asked. “Hey, Cami. Would you mind if we came in for a few minutes? I have someone to introduce to all of you.” “Oh, sure.” The woman moved aside, allowing Yang and Haru in. “Who is this?” “This is Haru. She moved to the valley yesterday. She owns the old farm,” Yang explained. “Oh, that’s wonderful! It’ll be nice to see that farmland cleaned up and used! I’ve heard Sienna and some of the older folks talk about how the old man that used to live there was.” “Yang, this is Cami, or Kamuy. She moved to the valley a couple of years ago right before she got pregnant,” Yang explained. “It’s nice to meet you, Cami.” Haru offered a small bow. Cami smiled. “There’s no need for all of that here.” Her toddler fussed a bit and she put him down, then gently pushed him on the back. He toddled off, leaving the three of them alone. “I moved here with my husband, my brother, and his best friend a few years ago. We were looking for something different, a better place to raise our future family. We didn’t want to be in the suburbs or big city. What brings you to the valley?” “Um… That’s a bit personal. But my grandfather was the one that owned the old farm.” That was all Haru was willing to answer. She didn’t trust these people yet, so she really didn’t want to tell them that her father had kicked her out. She was placid, but he still saw her as too rebellious at times… He’d finally caught her sneaking out of the house because the guards had changed their rounds from their previous routes… She had learned all the routes but they had changed them that night. All she wanted was some time out of her room, but that was apparently too much to ask. She really just wanted some freedom, but no…that was too much. Cami nodded and smiled. “That’s fine. Well, it’ll be nice to see that old farm put to use regardless. Also, the little boy is mine and Ryoma’s first; his name is Shiro. He needed to go play because I knew he’d get fussy with all the adult talk.” “I’m guessing Ryoma is your husband?” Haru asked. Cami nodded. “Just give me a minute and I’ll go get him.” She left the foyer at a jog and came back a few minutes later with an absolute brick wall of a man. “Haru, this is Ryoma. Ryoma, this is Haru. She’s new to the valley.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He smiled. He had his shirt off with only some jeans on and she could see that he had somemajorabs. She flushed a little, not having expected it. “I-It’s nice to meet you too.” She offered a bow, trying to cover her fluster. She hoped that Cami and Ryoma wouldn’t take offense to it. It wasn’t like she was around such buff men. She wasn’t used to seeinganybodywith their shirt off, even a man. Everyone in Okumura manor had to wear clothes 24/7 unless one was showering. She wasn’t looking to steal Ryoma from Cami or anything; it really was just a bit flustering to see a man with such a toned form appear out of nowhere. She didn’t want to steal a married woman’s husband! That would just be cruel and unusual. He smiled at her. “I sometimes help out Rand and Tobias with their carpentry work, though I mostly spend my time out in the garden and tending our vegetables and fruits. If you need help with seasonal stuff, I can offer it to you. I may even have some seeds for you if I find any.” She blinked. “Really?” She wasn’t expecting handouts of any kind from anybody. She really was just trying to scrape by on her own. But the people here were giving her things without her even prompting them. “What sorts of seasonal things…?” “I can help you with knowing what seeds are in season and such. Just be sure to put some scarecrows up or else the crowswilleat your seeds. I had to learn that the hard way.” He sighed, but then smiled again. “I’ll see if I can rummage up a seed pack for you for the rest of spring, and maybe into summer. In summer, I’ll see if I can get you anything for fall. Not much can grow in the winter time, but there are forageable seeds that you can grow. It’s a little random what will pop up, though. But it can be a nice way to make some money during the winter. Just keep in mind that you can only have fifteen crops until the crows appear.” Haru nodded. “The mayor told me that.” It was just an observation. She was glad that there was some sort of notification of when crop destruction would start. She still had yet to find that book that Raftina had mentioned that her grandfather had had… She hadn’t had any time to really sort through the house yet. She would probably do that this evening. She desperately needed some scarecrows and other farm appliances. Anything that could help her with tending the farm would beextremelywelcome. She was so limited in what she could do with tools… There were apparently smiths that could upgrade her tools, but she hadn’t met them yet.. “She’s a pretty knowledgeable woman, Sienna.” Ryoma shook his head. “Sad the mess she had to inherit. We had no idea what Lewis was doing until after his death.” Haru nodded a bit. That was what Sienna had said too, though she wasn’t sure if it was wise to bring it up or not. The people here in the valley were kind, or it at least seemed so. She really hoped that she’d come to trust them and them her in due time. She really didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb here. She still couldn’t believe that pretty much everybody was offering her some sort of help. Oboro and Blake would offer her clothes for free, as long as she was their little doll, Ryoma would offer her some seeds… Summer and Rand were offering her meals. It was honestly kind of overwhelming how kind everyone was being. She forgot some people could be altruistic and actually care about those around them. Her mother had shown her that level of kindness, but ever since her death, she’d been bereft of that warmth… Now she had it back again, via the people in the valley. “Thank you for your kindness,” she said again, offering a slight bow. She really needed all the help she could get right now. She was trying to make her mark and get on her feet, but it would be impossible by herself. She truly was going to need to rely on the people off the valley to help get her started… She had only five hundred gold to her name, so she was going to need to squeeze out every coin she had. Hopefully she’d be able to start making consistent money before too long. “It’s really no trouble, Haru.” Ryoma smiled. “Summer sells the seeds and I can help you ensure you plant them in the right season. Remember, each season is two months of twenty-eight days. Don’t plant things too long before the end of the season or else the crops will die and you’ll be out money.” Haru nodded. She really didn’t want to be out money. Shecould notafford to lose money at this phase in her life. It would be life or death if she didn’t have enough money. The people here were kind, but she couldn’t mooch off of them forever. “Wanna hop over and meet someone else?” Yang asked with a grin. “Thanks for your help, Ryoma.” Ryoma just continued to smile. “It’s no trouble, Yang. Well, we’ll let you get on your way then.” Haru nodded. “All right.” She followed Yang back out to her bike and climbed on behind her. Might as well continue…