In between the sllllooooowwwww writing of my Dragon Age fic I got a 3DS and OH DEAR GOODNESS I love A New Beginning. I have been binge playing it, I won't lie. I also absolutely love Neil (and will ignore what it says about me that I always go for the prickly types in games), and so here we are with this. Hope you all enjoy!

I have no idea how long it will be, or where it will end, I just thought it would be fun to work on while I worked on other things. So maybe it will surprise us all! ^.^

"You want me to just give her a cow? Cows are expensive, Dunhill, and who is to say that she even knows how to care for one. You yourself said that she has never worked on a farm before, and I'm not going to trust one of my stock to an incompetent girl who feels the need to play farm for a while."

The white bearded man stared at him for a few seconds before sighing dramatically and pushing away from the table where he had been sitting to make his way over to the much younger man. "Just do it, Neil. I'll pay you for it later. That girl is our best chance of saving this town, and I won't see it ruined because you don't feel like being friendly."

He simply scowled in response but knowing what he knew of Dunhill, he didn't feel like getting into an hour long argument that he would more than likely lose, so instead he gave a curt nod. "Fine. Fine. I'll take her one tomorrow, but don't expect me to be free with the handouts after this."

Dunhill merely sighed again and left. Neil stared at the door a moment before turning to fall onto his bed, his face automatically burrowing into the pillow it landed on. He had been out of town for nearly two weeks trying to find new stock, and all he had wanted for the past three days of travel had been to come home and have an evening to himself, alone.

Too bad for him that Dunhill had been waiting at his door like he was some sort of mind reader that cared entirely too much about his schedule.

Now he not only had to wake up early, but he was going to have to go and pick out one of his brand new heifers and take her to live on a farm with a woman that may or may not know how to take care of her.

It made his jaw clench.

He supposed he would have to take her a milker and brush also, not to mention a pitchfork to muck out the barn that he knew had nothing in it thanks to a bored day of exploring when he was younger and it had stood empty.

He huffed a breathe into the warm cocoon around his face and turned to his side, not bothering to change out of his travel clothes before pulling the corner of the comforter up and over himself.

Tomorrow.

He would deal with it all tomorrow.

He supposed it made sense that the sun would be shinning the next morning as he entered the farm land. The weather usually had an uncanny ability to completely contradict his mood, or make it worse as the case may be, and he doubted it would consider doing anything different today. So the sun was shining, and he was sure birds were chirping somewhere as he deposited the cow he had been leading into the fenced area around the barn and went to knock on the farmhouse door.

He had lifted his hand and balled it into a fist when the door flew open, and a solid mass collided with his front. It staggered him, and he automatically settled his hands on the force in front of him to stop its forward motion. Giving a shove back to remove it from his space he realized, belatedly, that the mass was a woman.

He dropped his hands immediately, awkwardly shoving them into the pockets of his coat as he took another step back.

The woman was doing her own once over, her dark eyes wide with shock as she automatically reached out and began skimming her hands over his arms and chest.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there. Are you alright?"

The words came out in a tumble, and he forced himself to not slap her roaming hands away, instead moving back yet again.

"I'm fine," he muttered as he studied her.

She was pretty enough, though he had never much cared for the pixie faced type, and nearly matched him in height which was a drastic difference from Hana and Emma, both of whom were lucky to reach his shoulders. She had pale blue hair separated into two haphazard braids that fell over her shoulders and just past her chest, and she was dressed in what he could only assume were overalls that were nearly two sizes too big for her. She also had large black colored eyes that were currently staring at him.

Noting the curiosity that gleamed in them, he realized that she had asked him something, and he had completely missed it.

"What?" He bit the word out, annoyed with himself for being distracted. The small smile on her lips widened into a grin, and she raised a brow. "I asked who you were."

"I'm Neil, the local animal trader. Dunhill sent me over."

"Ah, nice to meet you then, Neil. I'm Alys." She held out a hand to him, and he stared at it a moment before reluctantly pulling his own out of his pocket and returning her shake. He got the impression of strong fingers and work roughened palms before pulling away and shoving his hand back into his pocket. He was absurdly pleased that she didn't seem to have the lily soft skin he was expecting, and the idea that it did please him made him scowl.

"I brought you a cow."

"A cow?" She stared at him blankly for a moment before another smile blossomed bright and eager. "I get my own cow? Really? Oh!" She rushed passed him, her head whipping around until she spotted the grazing creature, and made a beeline for it.

By the time he caught up she had her face pressed nearly nosed to nose with it, her hands cupping either side of its chewing mouth.

"Oh, aren't you perfect! I've always wanted a cow." She nuzzled against it, oblivious to the fact that it didn't seem to care about her one way or the other, then turned to look back at him. "What's her name?"

He rolled a shrug and leaned back against the fence, a foot rising to rest on the bottom rung. "I just got her so she doesn't have one yet."

She turned her attention back to the cow for a moment, her gaze thoughtful, before looking towards him again. "I think she looks like a Bess. Does that sound alright?"

"It's fine." He didn't care what she named it, so long as she took care of it. With that thought he slung the bag off his back, and began unpacking the contents. "I brought you everything you need to take care of her, though you will need to start growing fodder for her. Hana sells the seeds for it. I have some for sale at my store that you can use until yours starts to come in." He laid the tools he had brought against the wall of the barn, and when she came over to poke at them he carefully explained what each thing was for.

When he finished with his lesson she was practically beaming at him, her hands clasped together in a front of her as if she was holding herself back from something. "This is all wonderful, Neil."

He simply shrugged again and put the bag back on his back. "Dunhill wanted you to have the cow as a welcoming present, and I wasn't about to leave her with someone who had no clue what to do with her."

He turned and made his way out through the gate, mildly annoyed when she followed behind him. "I have to get to work."

"Yes, of course, I was just wondering…" She trailed off and he stopped walking long enough to look back at her, impatience simmering through him when she merely stared at him, her smile faltering and her face turning confused.

"What?"

"Sorry… I was just wondering if you were friendly enough to ask questions of if I have them. About Bess I mean."

"You can ask me whatever you want. I have a stall open in the town plaza every Monday through Thursday so long as it's sunny. If you have questions ask me there."

"You just don't seem to like me very much."

He huffed out a breath and turned to resume walking, his eyes rolling as he processed her statement. "Don't be stupid, I don't even know you." Even though he didn't like that he had to play nice because Dunhill told him to, and had to give her one of his new cows for free. She couldn't be more annoying than any of the other villagers or customers that he knew.

"Exactly!" He could hear her hurrying after him, and decided that perhaps she could be more annoying. Most of them knew to leave him alone after they got what they were after.

"But we could get to know each other, and you might not like me, so don't want to help me with animal issues, or you could like me and then-"

She broke off her speech when he whirled around to face her again, his hands coming up in front of him. "Just. Stop. Talking." He growled the words at her and while she gapped at him, and wasn't it a plus that he received perverse pleasure at her obvious annoyance with his rudeness, he took the opportunity to leave.