It was a beautiful Monday morning. Birds were singing, the sun was shining, and every god-forsaken forest creature seemed to be out and about in the crisp spring morning air.

And then there was Molly.

Rubbing sleep from her eyes as she turned in her bed, she yanked the covers up over her head, shielding her from Finn, who was desperately trying to drag her up and onto her feet. But she was having none of that!

"Get up, get up, get. Up!" Tugging on the blanket with all his might, the tiny sprite still could not get Molly to budge, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying! But Molly stubbornly tucked herself even farther into her covers, and swatted at him when he floated too close.

"Go 'way," she whined, scowling with her eyes closed. "I'm still tired."

"Dawn's already passed us by!" Finn protested, floating down to sit on the bed beside her face. "A good farmer rises with the sun!"

"Yeah?" She cracked one eye open to glare at him. "And a good little sprite shushes when he's shushed." She turned away from him then, pulling the blankets with her.

"Molly, you get up right now!" Finn cried, waving his arms in the air. "If you don't water your crops soon, they'll dry out, and then how will you make any money!?" There was a long pause where Molly didn't make a move or a sound, before she let out a long groan, and started to sit up.

'Damn it, he's right again,' she thought, pressing her hands to her tired eyes. "He's always right it seems.'

"Okay, okay," she said, yawning loudly as she stood. "I'm up, I'm up. Lemme just get my work clothes on and then we'll go water the crops." Finn jumped up as Molly stumbled around, looking for her canvas work clothes.

"Yay! Yay! We're finally up!" She groaned again, listening to his cheerful chirping, and wondered if she'd ever get used to having that annoying little firefly around.

Probably not.

It was the first official day of her career as a farmer, and it was already off to a rocky start. It took forever for her to remember where she'd tossed her boots last night, and then when she finally found them and pulled her gloves on, she'd been greeted by a slew of weeds that had popped up in the nutrient poor soil overnight. It took a long while to get the weed situation sorted out, and by the time Molly actually got around to watering her plants, it was long-past noon, and she was physically exhausted.

"I didn't realize…how out of shape I was," she panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Who knew just weeding and watering was such hard work?"

"Yeah, I'm bushed!" Finn squeaked, and Molly glanced at him skeptically.

"You're bushed?" she asked, a small smile turning the corners of her mouth up. "What have you been doing all day? Sitting on my shoulder, that's what!"

"I've been directing you," he corrected, crossing him arms. "It's a very important job!"

"Oh, right, how could I have forgotten?" Chuckling in spite of her weariness, Molly went to sit down on the top of the shipping box by the corner of her field, and admired her hard day's work. Even though she was sore, dirty, sweaty and tired, she still felt kind of good with what she'd accomplished today. It felt good to actually be physically earning your wage. Smiling in spite of herself, she glanced at Finn, who had a similarly content look on his face. "So, wanna go in and get something to drink? I'm parched."

"You know, I have been feeling rather thirsty lately." The voice that replied wasn't Finn's, and it nearly gave Molly a heart attack when Chase spoke up from behind her. Jumping to her feet and spinning around, nearly tripping herself, she stared wide-eyed at him for a long moment, her brain trying to process who it was that had snuck up on her. Once she'd finally realized who it was, the hair on the back of her neck laid back down, and her heart rate slowed. But only slightly. "Depends on what you're offering, really. I've been craving a certain tall glass of water, recently."

"Chase," Molly said, half gasp, half laugh. She smiled out of surprise, but it was more of a knee-jerk reaction than an honest smile. "God, you're quiet!"

"I didn't mean to be," he said, his hands in his pockets. He wasn't wearing his apron at the moment, just slacks and a white shirt, but it was slung over one of his arms, dangling by his side. "You must just be distracted."

"Ha, yeah, I suppose I was."

"But jokes aside," he continued, "who were you just talking to?" Molly's lips pursed as she realized he must've heard her talking to Finn. But of course, he couldn't see the sprite, so to Chase, it must've just looked like she was talking to herself. 'Oh, great,' she internally whined, wanting to kick herself. 'Be more careful with that! Don't let the villagers see you talking to Finn, dummy!'

"Oh, er….myself," she lied, sounding rather jolted. Chase just raised an eyebrow at her, to which she felt prompted to continue. "It's, uh, force of habit. Used to do it all the time as a kid. Yup. That's it." She smiled, hoping he'd at least let it drop. He seemed satisfied enough with that answer, but didn't say anything after that. In fact, neither of them said anything after that, and a long, awkward silence passed between them. It was during this silence that Molly slowly realized what a mess she must have looked like, and a slow blush crept onto her nose and cheeks. "Oh, um, sorry I'm such a mess," she apologized, longing to flee from this awkward encounter. "Just got done with the plants, you know…haha…"

"I figured. You look beat." Molly wasn't the type to expect over the top compliments, and she'd weathered her fair share of nasty insults before, but even a bear would have taken offense to that particular phrase. After all, no one liked being told they looked as bad as they felt. Molly pouted slightly, and Chase just shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, you are a city girl, aren't you?" he asked. "I always forget that that's an insult to your type. It's actually kind of a compliment around these parts, you know."

"Oh really?" It was her turn to give him a strange look. He nodded, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face. Molly noticed that he wasn't wearing his barrettes today, and his hair looked a bit shaggier than it had last night. 'He must only wear those barrettes to keep his hair out of the way when he's cooking,' she thought, realization dawning on her. And here she thought he was just interested in proper hair accessorization.

"It means you've been working hard," he said, his eyes flickering from her dirt-smudged face over her shoulder, towards the hill her house sat on. "Ah, so there's the new homestead, huh?" Twisting her head to follow his gaze, she shrugged.

"Yeah. I guess I can't be picky, when I'm getting it for like, one sixth of it's usual price, but…I dunno. Wish it would have been nicer." She tipped her head to the side slightly, taking in the underwhelming sight of her new property. "I left my family's old run down house in the city, I guess I'd just hoped I wouldn't be put in another one." Chase glanced sideways at her, taking in that comment a bit more deeply than Molly intended. That would be one he'd have to ask about later. But not now.

"I'm sure you'll be able to spruce it up in no time," he assured her, nudging her side with his elbow slightly. "But none of us here are really interested in 'fancy' things. Well, no one by Mr. Priss and his little Lovebird, that is." He snickered to himself slightly, and Molly didn't have to think too hard to guess who 'Mr. Priss' was.

"The Mayor's son?" she asked, drawing her mouth into a thin-lipped frown. "Yeah, I can see him being interested in fancy-pants stuff."

"Oh, so you've met our resident tight-wad, huh?"

"Unfortunately," Molly replied, rubbing her neck. "…It didn't go well." Chase laughed at this, and right as his nose wrinkled up, Molly noticed he had a smattering of freckles across his face.

"Yup, that's Gill for ya!" Straightening up and pushing his hair back again, he settled down, and smiled broadly at Molly. It made her feel…weird, to be smiled at like that. It almost seemed predatory, like a Cheshire grin as a cat stalked a mouse. She fidgeted slightly. "Ah, well, as much as I love bad-talking ol' Gilly, that's not actually what I snuck up on you for."

"Oh? There was a reason for the sneaking?" she asked, "I thought it was just for the joy of watching me go into cardiac arrest." He shot her a wry look, but shook his head.

"Oh, I'm sure that's quite a sight. But no; I actually wanted to swing by and see if you wanted to head up to the Inn with me and grab a late lunch?" The sun was still hanging stubbornly in the afternoon sky; it was probably not much past three PM.

All things considered, Chase was probably one of the friendliest people she'd met so far, and one of the only 'friends', if you could really call talking twice being friends, she had in the town. But…the thought of having to endure his endless teasing, coupled with the fact that she smelled like dirt and sweat, didn't really make Molly want to do anything, let alone go out to lunch with anyone. And right as she opened her mouth to voice these thoughts, Chase interrupted her.

"We can rag on Gill all you want while we're out," he offered, which caused Molly to pause, and rethink what she was about to say.

"…Can you give me 15 minutes to shower and change?" she asked.

"Sure, if you could actually make good on that 'something to drink' offer from before; it's hotter out here than I initially expected."

"No, no, no, the big one is Owen. The smaller, more spazzy one is Luke."

"And the mousy one is…?"

"That's Bo. He's actually a sweet kid, but he's perpetually living in Luke's oversized shadow, so it's hard to see him sometimes."

"And Luke's dad is the Blacksmith-"

"No, his dad's the Carpenter. The Blacksmith is Owen's uncle, and Chloe's dad."

"Uggg!" Leaning back in her chair and draping her arm over her eyes, she let out a groan. Molly and Chase were sitting out on the Ocarina Inn outdoor veranda, and Chase was pointing out villagers to her as they ate. "I'm never going to get any of this!"

"It's not a test," Chase laughed, leaning back himself. "Besides, you'll get better at recognizing people the longer you're here for. You already know me, and that's already more than half of the really important people you need to know." He flashed her a cocky smile when she glared at him sarcastically.

"And the other half?" she asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"My mentor, Yolanda. Best cook on the Mainland, I'd say. Everyone else…meh." The two of them shared a laugh this time, and Molly sat back up, leaning her elbows on the table.

"I wonder if I'll even make it long enough to learn everyone's names," she said wistfully, staring at the half-empty glass of water in front of her. Chase sat a little straighter when she said this, Kathy's words from last night ringing in his ears again.

"…Why would you say that?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. She sighed, before fiddling with the bendy straw sticking out of the glass.

"Well, I might drop dead before I can even pay the property taxes back," she said, half-joking. Though, there was a small twinge of truth to that. If every day was going to be as hard as today, or harder…well, she may as well dig a hole and carve a headstone now! But Chase visibly relaxed when she said that, running his hand through his coppery blonde hair.

"Oh. Phew. Thought you meant you were thinking of leaving already," he said honestly, and Molly shook her head, taking a sip of her drink.

"No. There's no way I can go back. I have to save up money for my family. Can't go back without money."

"Or without saving the Harvest Goddess first!" Finn piped up, though she paid him no mind. It wasn't like she was about to look at him or answer him when Chase was sitting across from her. He already thought she was a spacey airhead. Didn't need to go and make him think she was certifiable.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that," he said, leaning forward. "You mentioned your family and your old home before; what's the story on that, if you don't mind me asking?"

Molly paused mid-sip as she thought over what to say to that. She wasn't exactly shy about her family's poverty; it was what it was, there was no changing that. But, she felt slightly reticent to tell someone who was practically a stranger the whole story. She mentally scrambled to come up with the abridged version.

"We've always been riding the line between 'kind of poor' and 'very poor'," she said, setting the glass back down. "There's four of us kids, and Dad recently got sick. I'm the oldest, so it's my job to go out and find a way to make more money, so Dad can get the medicine he needs." She let out a sigh, glancing at Chase. His face was emotionless, but he looked like he was really listening, as opposed to just glazing over. "So, I can't fail. I have to stick it out here, no matter how hard it gets. I'm not going anywhere." She felt sort of good saying those words, like it was a positive affirmation. Molly felt a small smile creep up on her, and Chase mirrored it back to her.

"That's good," he said, happier about that then he was letting on. "We've not had a very good track record with farmers in this town in the past, you know."

"I've heard a little bit about that," Molly replied, "your turn to tell me what's up."

"Ah, not much to tell, really," Chase said, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't about to tell Molly that every other person who'd come to Castanet looking for work had left within six months, due to the poor soil, the barren waters, the insufficient fires. So he decided to sugar coat it a little. He was a chef, after all. "Weak-willed people coming out here, thinking it'll be easy work. Looking to make a quick buck. A farm is lucrative, but it takes a lot of hard work, and I guess none of the others were prepared to put in as much work as was necessary." There, that sounded good enough. For now.

"Well, I'm definitely ready to put in the work," Molly said, clenching her fists and smiling determinedly. "Things have never been easy on me, I can take a little hard work!" Chase grinned at this.

"That'a'girl," he said cheekily, but before their conversation could go on, a very shrill sort screech could be heard. Both of them peered out over the edge of the veranda, down to First Street below. From where she was sitting, Molly could only barely see who it was that had made the somewhat bird-like noise, and even then, the person's back was turned to her.

"Was it that pink-haired girl that just screamed?" Molly asked, and when she turned to look at Chase, he was wearing an annoyed little frown. He sat back in his chair, blowing the bangs out of his eyes.

"Luna," Chase said, supplying the girl's name. "Shelly's granddaughter. You've met Shelly, right?"

"Yeah, but I thought Shelly's granddaughter's name was Candace. She was there at the shop when I bought gloves, and she definitely didn't have pink hair."

"No, you're right, Candace is Shelly's older granddaughter. If only Luna was more like her big sister." Molly turned back to peer over the edge again, and saw that Luna was twirling in place, and while she couldn't make out what the girl was saying, she was speaking about a mile a minute.

"She seems lively," Molly commented, and Chase only snorted in amusement.

"She just likes the attention. No wonder she and Gill are getting married. Together, they're completely impossible to ignore." Molly nearly did a double take at this; THIS was the 'lovebird' Chase had mentioned Gill having before? And they were getting married!? Standing, Molly leaned farther over the veranda, and only then did she see why Luna had been squealing and twirling; Gill was standing there, in front of Sonata Tailoring, and seemed to be presenting her with a gift of some sort.

"Ug, who would want to marry Gill?" she asked, squinting to get a better view.

"Took the words right outta my mouth," Chase started to say, but found himself cut off as Molly unwittingly began to find herself tipping over the railing. She let out a gasp as she realized she'd leaned too far over the rail, and the next few moments seemed to go in slow motion. She threw her hands out in front of her, unable to catch herself, she let out a surprised yelp, and she thought, this is it, this is how it's all going to end. But Chase was already on his feet, and before she could go completely over, he managed to grab her hand, and yank her back onto the ledge, back to her feet. The momentum of being pulled so hard backwards caused her to spin slightly, and she found herself chest-to-chest with Chase, who was still holding onto her wrist. It seemed to take a lifetime, but it all happened in nearly a blink of an eye.

"A bit unsteady on your feet, huh?" Chase finally said, a good-natured smirk on his lips. Molly took a few seconds to catch her breath, before even attempting to reply. "Be careful, or you'll get swept right off of them!"

"Ha ha, good thing I had you here," she said, stepping away and brushing her clothes out, more out of habit than an honest effort to dust them off. Running a hand through her short brown hair to smooth it back out, she grinned at Chase, her adrenaline making her feel like she'd just escaped a shark attack! She couldn't keep a laugh from bubbling out of her throat; she'd always been a nervous-laugher. Whenever she was in a sticky situation, or narrowly escaped danger, she giggled.

"Yeah, I was just thinkin' the same, kid," Chase replied, nudging her slightly, to which she shoved him back playfully. "Juuust thinkin' the same thing."

"Eeeeek!" Gill was wearing a perfectly polished smile as he presented Luna with her gift, though on the inside, he felt like grinding his teeth at her shrill shriek. He was nothing but a gentleman, though, and kept that side of himself securely hidden away; after all, this was his fiancé. Nice men didn't make faces at their fiancés, no matter how annoying they were. And boy, was this one annoying.

"Gilly, you're too much!" Luna squealed, snatching the package from his hands and holding it to her chest.

"It's just a little something I picked up in the city the last time I visited," he said, forcibly making the hair on the back of his neck lie flat. "…I thought of you when I saw it." Luna quickly ripped the packaging away, to reveal a tan and red silk scarf. She immediately wrapped it around her shoulders, twirling like a child, and Gill had to seriously suppress the urge to roll his eyes. This may be the woman he was going to marry, but man, did she act like a kid sometimes. But then again, who didn't in this floundering little town?

"Gill, it's gorgeous!" she sang, stopping on her heel and reaching out to take Gill's hands in hers. "What did I ever do to land such a perfect future husband?" Now, Gill wasn't exactly the saccharine type, and he certainly didn't like to be gushed over like this, but he did take a little pride in the fact that he'd picked something out that Luna actually liked. Being the granddaughter of a master seamstress meant she had incredibly…particular taste in clothes. He'd been worried she would reject it, or god forbid, call it tacky. He was relieved that she did neither of those things.

"Well, I wouldn't say-" Before Gill could continue his falsely humble sentence, a shriek of a different sort cut through the air of Harmonica town, and both he and Luna snapped their heads up, to see where it was coming from.

"Whoa!" Molly had gasped, as she teetered over the railing on the Ocarina Inn's veranda. Luna gasped as the ditsy farm girl nearly toppled over the edge, and Gill felt a shiver run down his spine, as he was sure he was about to see the new kid get splattered all over the cobblestones. But seemingly out of nowhere, Molly was yanked back up, only to be spun around and caught by Chase, whom Gill hadn't seen standing there before that moment. Several of the other villagers in town who'd witnessed the near-death experience started clapping at Chase's 'heroic' rescue, even Luna joined in. But Gill was still standing rigid, though now, for a different reason, one he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Oh, that was close!" Luna said, turning back to her fiancé. "She almost fell! Good thing Chase was up there, huh, Gilly?" She smiled brightly up at him, but he didn't return it, didn't even look down to meet her gaze. "Uh, Gill? What's wrong? Hellooo?"

"She's proving to be more troublesome than I initially thought," Gill said, scowling up at the pair on the veranda. "She's going to get herself killed out here; what is she even doing here?"

"Gill, what are you talking about?" Finally snapped back to reality, Gill looked down at a very confused Luna, and tried to reassemble his features into a softer expression. He sort of succeeded.

"Nothing," he sighed, but it wasn't convincing the little pink-haired spit-fire.

"No, tell me!" she whined, scowling at him. "C'mon, come in and you can tell me over tea and cookies."

"Oh….alright," he finally conceded, letting himself be dragged by the sleeve by Luna. There was one good thing about being engaged to Luna, he thought; no matter what side Gill took on an issue, she almost always took his side as well. She may have been annoying, but an annoying ally was better than no ally.