Gale, or Wizard, as he's known to most of the inhabitants of Harmonica Town, is not a man of high social standing. He very rarely ventures outside of his house, having everything essential to survival contained within, and he has few visitors—or rather, he had absolutely none, until the new rancher had moved in. She had first come to him for help in turning the witch of Fugue Forest, better known to him as his former-partner-turned-rival Vivi, back into a human, and was a regular visitor since. Not that he's complaining—she's always willing to bring him new ingredients for spells, or help him do his research, or just listen, when he needs someone to talk to (which isn't very often, but it's really the thought that counts). She even once found his missing crystal ball for him.

Things are much more peaceful around Harmonica Town these days, since she moved into the rundown farm now known as Melody Farm. The bells had been rung, the Harvest King had been summoned, and prosperity has returned to the land. The people are no longer worried about how they're going to keep the town and their businesses flourishing. The world is healthier than ever, and it's all because of her.

Her name is Jill. She moved to Harmonica Town because she felt the Harvest Goddess needed her help. She has a nice farm, filled with chickens and ducks and cows and sheep and even an ostrich, if he remembers correctly. And silk worms. He can't forget the silk worms. He remembers her bringing each new worm to him when she bought them because she thought they were so cute. They creeped him out, but he didn't say anything; it might have upset her. She works hard, brings him gifts, and never fails to do things for others, even if there's not even a 'thank you' in it for her.

In essence, she's the perfect girl for...well, for anyone, really. But he can't help but feel a little awkward every time she brings him a gift, or gets just a bit too close, or laughs just a little too loudly at something mildly funny that he says. It makes him feel uncomfortable, knowing how she feels about him, and he doesn't know what to do. So, instead, he merely busies himself with his telescope rather than worry about it.

Stargazing is one of his favorite hobbies, as made evident by the giant telescope in his possession. When magic was a part of your everyday life, you had to look elsewhere for sources of mysticism and wonder. Watching the stars and mapping them, immersing himself completely in the wonders of a world outside their own, more than provides that for him.

He's so immersed, in fact, that he doesn't realize he's not alone until the other man standing behind him clears his throat.

Gale jumps a good two feet in the air and turns around, resisting the urge to clutch his chest as though he just suffered a heart attack, and is particularly glad he did so when he sees who, exactly, is standing there.

"My Lord. I...I'm sorry, I was so concentrated on what I was working on, I didn't..." The celestial being holds up a finger and smiles, silencing Gale.

The man is beyond distinguishable; it would be impossible to mistake him for anyone else, no matter how blind. Besides his figure looked to be carved from the very rock of the mountain he resides upon (although of a paler tone, lighter than himself but darker than most of the other men in town) and the violent orange hair, untameable and streaked with red and yellow and peach tones, wrapped into a completely pointless braid and flying around him as though in a violent wind despite the completely still air within Gale's house, there is no mistaking his air of confidence, his stoic certainty, his sense of absolute control.

He is a god, after all.

"People very rarely notice when I approach them, there's no need to apologize." he points out. "I see you've been busy. It's been a while since I've seen you. How have you been keeping?" he asks, one hand behind his back and the other gesturing mildly dramatically as he talks, taking a step forwards.

"...well, I suppose." Gale replies, gathering up his various charts and books, trying to make the room seem less cluttered. "Things haven't really been the same since my master died, but I've managed to make things comfortable for myself...the people in town don't seem to mind me..." he mutters shyly, stuffing the items roughly into a nearby chest, hoping he isn't ruining them in the process.

"Ah, yes, I heard about that. I'm...sorry. Your master was a great man. One of the greatest wizards of the modern era, I'd say." the Harvest King says. Gale nods his head in thanks.

"If...it's not too rude of me to ask, my Lord, why are you here?" he asks. The Harvest King is a busy man, if he can be called a man, and he has no time for social visits.

"Things have been...well, hectic, lately." he replies. "I wanted to see how you were faring in all of this chaos. The last time I saw you, you were still a clumsy apprentice." he reminds him. He looks around the room idly, and notices a basket sitting on the table in the middle of the room. Before Gale can even really see him move, he's standing in front of it, regarding the shimmering, purple toadstools in it with interest. "You still like Fugue mushrooms, I see." he says with a little nod. Gale responds with his own. "I thought they were difficult to find around here. How did you get so many?" he asks. Gale's dark cheeks take on a slight blush.

"...gifts." he replies. "The new rancher brings them every day. She can navigate the forest like she's been doing it all her life, and she never fails to find them." he explains. The Harvest King picks up one of the toadstools, twirls it around, then sets it back in the basket. Even he would have to be crazy to take a bite of one of those; Fugue mushrooms are one of the most poisonous toadstools to be found, but it's no great secret that they make fantastic spell and potion ingredients.

"You too?" he asks. Gale looks up at him with an inquisitive expression, or, as inquisitive as he can bring himself to look.

"What do you mean?" he asks in response. The Harvest King looks up at him.

"She brings me apples every day." the god replies. "She grows them on her farm, apparently." He pulls an apple seemingly from nowhere, sparkling and nearly glowing with healthy sheen. Once again, Gale doesn't even see his guest move, but suddenly the Harvest King is standing right behind him. He takes a bite of the apple, then holds it out to Gale, offering a bite.

"...no thanks." he says, shaking his head.

"I insist. They're really quite delicious." he says. Gale looks at the apple, and reaches up to take it, but the Harvest King swiftly moves the apple out of his reach. When Gale looks at him, the god smiles, and holds the apple out for him again. This time, he leans his head forwards, and takes a bite as the King holds the apple for him. He's right, of course; the apple is one of the most delicious things he's ever tasted. Of course, to a god, it must just taste ordinarily good, but he's no god, and he lets out little pleased noises as he chews. The King smiles; as always, the way to Wizard's heart is through his taste buds.

"Jill grew these?" he asks as he swallows, and suddenly the apple is gone again. He knows he should be used to it by now, but the way the Harvest King can essentially bend reality to his will is still unnerving. He nods.

"She's doing well." he says, brushing wild, fiery hair from his eyes. "However, she's...overly optimistic." The apple appears again, and he takes another bite. His eyes travel to the basket of Fugue mushrooms sitting on the table. "I hear she's found a blue feather." The comment sounds offhand and unimportant, but there's always meaning to what the Harvest King says. He has no patience for meaningless chatter.

"Oh? Those are rare. Did she order one in from the city?" he asks, backing up until he hits the bookshelf. He doesn't want to look intimidated—why would he be intimidated by someone he's known for so long?—but it's hard to not be intimidated by the King. The celestial being shakes his head.

"She found it. On the Garmon Mountain plateau." he corrects. "She was quite lucky, really. Blue birds don't fly by here often, and it's even rarer for them to drop any of their feathers in a place human beings would logically be able to reach. Most of the feathers sold in stores in the city are synthetic, or plucked from birds raised in captivity." Wizard nods in understanding; he appreciates the rarity of blue bird feathers, because they are potent potion ingredients, although not as potent as Fugue mushrooms. "That is...partially why I came to see you today." the god admits. "I need you to look into her heart and see what she is planning to do with it."

"But, my Lord, I'm just an ordinary human who knows how to do things beyond the normal human grasp. Surely you can see into her heart better than I can." Gale points out. The Harvest King smiles at him, and he wilts under the sincere grin.

"I may have control of these lands, but not being human myself, I don't know the people living within them as well as I should." he explains. "You are a master of the magic arts, but you are also human. Despite your aversion to social behavior, you know people better than I ever could. You are the most skilled between us at looking into people's hearts. I could never use your crystal ball with the same skill as you do." Gale turns red at the compliment, and clears his throat, walking past the King and down the stairs to the table in the middle of the room, which has his crystal ball sitting on it. Unsurprisingly, the Harvest King is behind him as soon as he stops, without even a hint of movement. Trying not to be unnerved by the all powerful celestial being standing behind him, he peers into the swirling gases behind the crystal, his eyes going smoky and unfocused. Although to anyone else, they would have simply seen endlessly swirling gas, he saw colors and shapes forming into scenes and images.

"I can see her..." he says, the smoke forming into an image of the rancher tending to one of her cows. "She's...excited. She's planning on proposing tonight...and she's going to propose to..." Gale's eyes snap open and he stumbles back in surprise, tipping the table with his crystal ball on it over. The King simultaneously grabs his arm and catches the crystal ball before it falls, pulling the wizard back to his feet and handing the ball to him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, with genuine concern. Gale nods and straightens himself as the King removes his steadying hand from his back. "What did you see?" Gale puts a hand to his forehead and shakes his head, closing his eyes. "Gale, what did you see?" he repeats.

"...me." the shaken wizard replies. "She's going to propose to me...I can see her in my house, and she's handing me the blue feather, and after that...nothing." he explains. The Harvest King puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I would presume that means you haven't decided on an answer for her yet." he says. Gale nods in confirmation, turning red as the King's hand moves from his shoulder to his back. "Is it honestly that difficult of a question? Surely you must at least know enough to decide whether you would consider marrying her..." he points out. Gale swallows past a lump in his throat.

"I'm...not sure, my Lord." he replies. "She is kind, caring, hard working, and selfless beyond comprehension. She would make any man happy. But...I'm not entirely sure I am that man." he explains. The red tint to his face darkens when the King's hand moves to the small of his back.

"You know that I and Cefia will bless any union between two loving people, and we will be more than happy to do so if you choose to marry Jill, or anyone else for that matter..." he says, leading Gale around the fallen table and into the more open part of the room with the hand on his lower back. "...but please, think this over carefully." His hand moves to Gale's hip, and he turns the dark skinned human around. He looks at him with surprise, trying to interpret the expression on his face, but finds it impossible.

While he stands there looking like a deer caught in headlights, the King leans in and plants the lightest, sweetest, quickest kiss possible on his lips, and then suddenly, he's gone.

For a minute, Gale merely stands there, with one hand to his mouth in surprise, before closing his eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. He turns and looks at his front door with tired eyes.

"Goodbye, Ignis."

The next day, she's at his door, exactly as he expected. She stands there with a sweet smile on her face, every so often pushing her glasses up a little farther on her nose as they slip. She tosses her rucksack to the side of the door as he stands aside to let her in, and he doesn't blame her; it looks so heavy, he has no idea how she can possibly carry it with her all of the time. His stomach curdles slightly as he realizes that the blue feather must be in there somewhere, and he almost wants to make it simply...disappear. But knowing that he's already planning on breaking her heart, he decides that would be taking things too far.

"So, uh...Wizard?" He looks over at her when he hears her call him by the only name she knows him by. Only a select few know his true name.

"What is it, Jill?" he asks, trying to make it seem like he doesn't already know what's coming.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asks, looking at the basket of Fugue mushrooms on his table. He clears his throat uncomfortably.

"...twice." he replies. "It was...a while ago." He watches her smile slowly fade, then return as she straightens the basket. "Why do you ask?" She hums for a moment, then walks over to her rucksack and starts digging through it.

"Well, I found something, and I wanted to give it to you." she replies. "But I wasn't sure you would like it." She pulls something from her rucksack and stands up, being sure to keep it hidden behind her at all times, even as she turns towards him. He licks his lips nervously.

She presents it to him without any hesitation at all, merely pulling it out and holding it out to him. He looks down at the feather, and a sad look crosses his face.

"Jill..." He sighs before continuing, curling her fingers back over the feather. "I'm afraid I can't accept that." he says. Her smile fades into a look of saddened shock. "The second time I fell in love...I never fell out of it. I'm sorry."

The next thing he knows, she's gone, only the rustle of fabric, the door slamming, and hiccupping sobs to signal her departure. He looks at the door, half wanting to go after her and say he changed his mind, half knowing he couldn't. Especially not when he feels a commanding presence behind him, and strong arms wrap around his shoulders. The Harvest King is tall enough that he can rest his chin on the top of Gale's head, and he does so.

"When was the first time you fell in love?" he asks, as Gale tries to ignore the long, fiery hair tickling his cheeks.

"I was sixteen. Vivi was fifteen. We...had an argument. She's hated me ever since." he replies.

"And the second time?" the King asks, as though he doesn't already know, playing idly with Gale's braid.

"When my master first brought me to meet you." he replies. He reaches up and runs his hand through wild hair. "You've been gone for...a very long time." he points out. The King nods, which feels odd, as he still has his head resting on Gale's.

"Tell me, Gale, have you ever seen the stars from the summit of Garmon Mountain?" he asks. Gale shakes his head, and he smiles against his hair. "Meet me at the entrance to the Garmon Mine tonight."

And with that, he's gone again.

There's always been this strange back and forth between them, a tug-of-war of hearts. He knows it's unusual, unconventional, wrong, even—the Harvest King is a god, and he is nothing but a lowly mortal.

But for now, he'll just focus on the stars lighting the sky, and not the conventions of the world he lives in.