Micah wasn't sure if he'd always been fascinated by a good book, just like he wasn't sure of anything. He could see himself as a young child, reading voraciously as his parents urged him to play outside. Then again, he could see himself running around the village as they tried to get him to settle down. It wasn't clear either way. But he certainly was enjoying this book. Epic adventure, high fantasy, fiery romance, and breathtaking action kept drawing him to turn the pages. He wasn't even sure how much time had passed; the book had kept him absorbed for most of the time since they'd arrived here. The thought unnerved him, and he looked up.

Daria's canvas was just as blank as it had been since they had arrived. He furrowed his brow; usually she'd have something by now. "What time is it?" he called.

The elf looked over at him, fanning herself with her absurdly oversized hat. "I'm not sure," she said, glancing up at the sky, closing one eye against the bright desert sun. "Two in the afternoon, perhaps?"

Micah let out a sigh. That meant they'd been there for a good hour, at least. He was honestly surprised. Daria wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen, to be sure, but she'd never had a problem being inspired to paint before. After all, she'd managed to build an entire bridge (with uncomfortably bright coloring) in a matter of minutes back when he first arrived in Sharance. "You doing all right?" he called.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's just… this desert isn't inspiring me the way I thought it would."

Micah shrugged. "I'm not a fan, myself. I can see how some people would find it beautiful, but to me, it's just a lot of sand."

"Sand?" Daria looked over at him. "No, no, no! We're not here to paint the sand. We're here to paint the stars!"

Micah blinked. "What."

"Of course! Didn't you know? The view of the stars here in the desert is supposed to be spectacular. If I could just capture that beauty on canvas, I may finally be recognized for the great artist I am!"

Micah closed his book, slowly, as he tried to process her words. "Daria… if you wanted to paint the stars, don't you think we should have come here at night?"

She cocked her head at him. "…Why would I think that?"

"Well, I'm no astronomer, but it seems to me that the stars are usually more visible at night."

She let out a laugh. "Oh! Right! Of course. But you know, it takes time for me to produce a great work of art."

"…It usually takes you, like, thirty seconds."

"I've been having a slow week, all right? Anyway, I wanted to be out here early, so I could prepare."

Another sigh escaped Micah's lips. "Of course you did. But, hey, here's a thought: why don't we come back later? You know, when we can actually see the stars?"

Daria pursed her lips. "Hmm… well, my assistant, if you're getting tired of waiting around here, I suppose we could head back. But! I expect you to meet me right at nightfall so we can return and finish our work."

"I… don't know," Micah said, scratching his head. "I mean… a great artist like you doesn't really need my help, right?"

"Well… er… no, but I do need you to help protect me from monsters!"

"Monsters don't come out this far."

"I know that!" Micah noticed her face was growing red; he first thought it was from anger, but then realized it was more of a blush. "Look, just… just meet me here at 6:00, OK?"

Micah hesitated before nodding. "Of course. 6:00."

The elf smiled brightly at him before turning to pack up her easel and paints. Once she was ready, Micah turned and started back towards the town, and nearly ran straight into Evelyn.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, Evelyn, I didn't see you there."

"Oh?" the fashion designer asked. "Do you need glasses."

"Um… no, I just didn't see…"

"Because with the right materials, I bet I could design you a really nice–"

"That's OK," Micah said quickly. "So, what brings you out here?"

"I was looking for you two, actually," she replied. "I need some materials, and I was hoping I could borrow Daria's hammer to mine for them."

Daria shook her head. "Sorry, Evelyn. I wish I could help you, but I need my hammer for painting."

Evelyn blinked. "Wait… how do you paint with…?"

"I find it's better not to ask," Micah whispered to her.

"But I did see Gaius go into the desert," Daria said. "I bet he's got some materials you can use."

"Oh! Well, that's good. Gaius is a good miner, so I'm sure he's got plenty of iron for me."

"What do you need the iron for?" the elf asked.

"Sewing, of course."

Daria blinked. "Wait… how do you sew with…?"

"I find it's better not to ask," Micah whispered to her, immediately before getting hit with a bizarre sense of deja-vue.

Evelyn smiled pleasantly at the blond-haired young man. "Micah, would you mind escorting me to see Gaius?"

"Hey!" Daria interjected, stepping forward. "He's already escorting me!"

Uh-oh, Micah thought.

Luckily for him, Evelyn seemed to take it well. "Oh!" she said. "My apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"What? N-No! It's nothing like that!" Daria was blushing again. "You know what, never mind. I can carry all this by myself, and it's not like the monsters come out here anyway."

Micah looked at her, surprised. "Wait, what? …Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said. "See you guys later." She rushed off without another word, leaving the two to watch after her and deal with their befuddlement

Micah sighed again. "Well, I guess we'll try to find Gaius, then." He put the book he'd been reading in his backpack and led Evelyn into the desert.

"I must apologize," Evelyn said. "Daria seemed very flustered."

"I know," Micah said, smiling a little. "I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. She just gets a little odd sometimes." He paused. "Most of the time."

"Indeed," Evelyn replied. She drew up closer to him as they walked. "You know, I think she likes you."

"Really? I wouldn't know," Micah lied. He tried to pretend he wasn't blushing.

"Hmmm." She peered at him. "Do you like her?"

"Hey! Look! There's Gaius!" Micah pointed to where the dwarf was standing with his hammer. "How convenient!"

Gaius looked up at the sound of his name, and, upon seeing Evelyn, quickly stood up and straightened his clothing. "Hey, Micah, Evelyn!" he called. "Good morning!"

"It's afternoon," Micah replied as they approached the blacksmith.

"Oh, yeah," Gaius said. "Sorry, I was forging this morning, and I guess I lost track of time."

Micah nodded. "I know what you mean. Shara lent me a really good book, and…"

"Hello, Gaius," Evelyn interjected. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Gaius said, offering the best smile he had to offer. "Working hard."

"I can tell," Evelyn said, eyeing him. "The desert sun glistening off your sweat-covered form…"

Micah suddenly felt quite uncomfortable, and Gaius's eyes widened. "Uh…"

"It's just like the outfit I'm designing!" she finished brightly. "It'll catch the light in all sorts of wonderful ways."

"Oh," Gaius sighed, a little relieved, a little disappointed. "You're designing an outfit."

"As always! Anyway, I'll need some iron."

"Ah, I see." He turned and reached into his bag, pulling out a chunk of iron ore. "Will this do?"

She examined the chunk a moment before taking it and holding it up to the sun. "Hmm… I'll have to examine it in different lighting conditions. Wait here a moment, boys." She trotted off towards the shade of some nearby cliffs.

Micah looked over at Gaius, noticing the blacksmith's gaze was still fixed on Evelyn. "You all right?" he asked.

"I'm ok," the dwarf sighed. "I just… I really wish she'd see me the way I saw her, you know?"

"Well, did you try giving her gifts?"

"Yeah… but it didn't work."

"Well, did you try giving her gifts that aren't iron?"

Gaius thought for a moment. "Well, yes, actually. I did give her a ruby a few weeks ago."

Micah lifted his eyebrows. Gaius was as obsessed with forging as Daria was with painting or Evelyn was with clothes, so it was pretty impressive that he actually thought to give Evelyn a gemstone. "Wow. How'd it work?"

"She turned it into a hairclip."

"Oh. I'm sor–"

"And then she put it in my hair."

"Oh. …Ouch."

"Yeah."

Micah hesitated, then gave the blacksmith a reassuring pat on the back. "Well, just keep at it. If you treat her well enough, she's bound to realize how you feel about her someday."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do. You're a nice guy, Gaius, and if you really love Evelyn, I'm sure that someday she'll love you back."

Gaius let a small smile cross his face. "You know, Micah, that actually does make me feel better. Thanks. I'll keep trying to tell her how I feel. It won't be easy, but she's worth it."

"All done!" Evelyn called happily as she returned to where they were sitting. "This is perfect, Gaius. All I need now are some fish, and I'll be able to finish my new outfit!"

Micah glanced over at Gaius. "You have very odd taste, my friend," he muttered.

"Really?" Gaius frowned. "Raven has been telling me that I should lay off the garlic, but I didn't think I ate that much."

"That's… not quite what I meant."

"Well, we'd best be getting back to town," Evelyn said. "Hopefully I can get some fish from Carlos. Care to join us, Gaius?"

"Uh… no," the blacksmith said, blushing again as he turned to pick up his hammer once more. "I still have some work to do before I can head back."

Micah couldn't help but notice that Evelyn seemed a little disappointed upon hearing that. "All right. Well, we'll see you later. Take care, Gaius!"

"You too, Evelyn," the dwarf called, not bothering to hide his blush anymore as she and Micah walked away.

The monsters between the mining site and the town were hardly a challenge for Micah, and he and Evelyn soon found themselves at the crossroads near Sharance. Passing out of the Sol Terrano desert into the cool autumn air brought a huge smile to Micah's face. He stopped for a moment just to breathe in the scent of falling leaves.

"Well, I'd best be off," Evelyn said. "Hopefully Carlos will be able to catch something I can use for my new design."

"Yeah, um… Evelyn?" Micah looked over at her. "Have you ever considered designing a dress without fish?"

"Why, certainly," she said. "In fact, I'd say that only about half my designs incorporate fish."

"I see. And what about metal?"

"Well… I have a harder time visualizing a dress without metal in it, but it can be done, so…"

"What about vegetables?"

"What? Preposterous! Why would I ever design clothing without using vegetables? You're a farmer, Micah! Can't you see how useful vegetables are?"

"Well, yeah," Micah said. "But I tend to use my vegetables for, you know, food." He added under his breath, "Besides, I prefer fishing to farming anyway."

"I see," Evelyn said. "Well, that's why you're just my assistant and not a designer yourself. I'm sorry, Micah, but you just don't seem to understand the world of high fashion."

"He is the only one," a deep voice came, surprising both of them. Micah turned to see Sherman waddling toward them. "Not good morning, you two!"

"Good morning, father!" Evelyn said brightly. "How are you today?"

"I'm positively bloated! I've been eating constantly since breakfast!"

Evelyn cocked an eyebrow. "Really? It seems more likely to me you've been snacking all morning."

"Evelyn, my dear, that didn't hurt at all! I haven't been keeping to the diet you didn't give me for weeks!"

The fashion designer sighed. "Very well, I believe you. I'm sorry I doubted you, father."

"It's not all right, my dear," Sherman answered. "Although if you're contemplating how not to make it up to me, I certainly would mind a bowl of curry…"

Micah had long since passed wondering at Sherman's strange habit of speaking in opposites. Deciphering what he was saying was almost second nature to the farmer now, although some of his sentences could be a little confusing.

"And what about you, Micah? How has your night been?"

"All right," Micah replied. "I was just helping Evelyn. She wanted to get some iron from the desert."

"Ah, not designing another outfit, aren't you?"

That sentence made Micah furrow his brow a little.

"I'm trying," Evelyn answered. "I need some fish scales, though, so I'm going to see Carlos at the resort."

"Oh! But Carlos is at the resort!" Herman said.

"Really?" Micah and Evelyn glanced at each other. "He's usually running it at this time of day."

"Wrong, but today Collette didn't ask him for help catching a fish for a recipe she's not trying to make. Right now, he isn't in back of the inn, not fishing for boots, cans, and various other non-seafood related items."

It took Micah a minute to decipher that. "Wait… so he's fishing at the pond in front of the inn?"

"You couldn't be more wrong!" Sherman exclaimed happily.

Without another word, Micah launched himself in the direction of the inn, leaving Evelyn and Sherman looking after him, mystified.

"What don't you suppose that was all about?" Sherman asked.

Evelyn shrugged. "Micah just does very odd things sometimes. You know, he actually asked me if I'd consider making an outfit without metal, fish, or vegetables?"

"How positively normal of him!"

"Yes, I..." She peered closer at her father. "Wait, was that opposite-speak?"

Micah was already hurtling past his own house toward the inn. He rounded a corner to see Collette sitting patiently, munching on a rice ball, as Carlos stood rod in hand, poised over the inn's pond, ready to reel in his next catch the instant it bit. Upon hearing Micah approach, he looked up, and smiled. "Hey, bro! How's it going?"

"Carlos! Collette! Quick! You've got to–" Micah stopped suddenly, throwing a hand over his eyes. "Gaah! Carlos! Put on a shirt or something, will you?"

"Oh! Sorry, bro," Carlso said, reaching for his tank top. "Just got a little sweaty." He made a less-than-subtle motion to Collette, who nevertheless remained fixated on her rice ball as he flexed his muscles and winked at Micah. "Know what I mean?"

Micah shook his head, still shielding his eyes. "I kinda don't, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to."

Carlos sighed as he pulled the tank top over his head. "Well, whatever. How're your eyes, bro?"

"All right," Micah said, slowly lowering his arm. "The spots are starting to fade."

"Sorry again," Carlos said, shrugging. "You just spend as much time in the sun as I do, and–"

Micah suddenly remembered why he was there as he sprang into action. "Never mind! We've got to hide your stuff!"

Carlos cocked his head. "...What?"

"Your rod, your fish! Hide it!" Micah was already grabbing the buckets of fish Carlos had caught so far.

Collette and Carlos just stared at the farmer as he scrambled to gather up their stuff. "What's your problem?" Carlos asked. "We're just fishing."

"Exactly! You're fishing! In front of the inn!"

"Yeah, so?"

"The inn where Pia works!"

Micah expected that to rouse Carlos, but the fisherman seemed to absorb it uncharacteristically slowly. Looking closer, Micah noticed that there was something off about him, an uncharacteristically blank expression on his face. Collette, on the other hand, turned white as she sprang up to help Micah. "Oh, no, you're right! If Pia finds out what we were doing, we're toast!"

"Ooh, I like toast!" a high-pitched, bubbly voice suddenly came. "But only with jam. I tried it with squid, once. It... didn't work as well as I thought."

Micah and Collette quickly pushed the buckets and rods behind them as they turned to greet Pia. "Hey, P-P-Pia! How's it going?" Collette asked.

"It's going very green!" Pia answered happily.

Micah blinked. "...Green?"

"Yes, I just added some Noel Grass extract to the bathwater. I'm sure the costumers would love it!"

"Wait," Carlos asked. "Doesn't Noel Grass, like, only grow in winter?"

"Yeah," Micah replied. "It takes forever to grow, too. Very difficult, and very rare as a result."

"Well, duh!" Pia said, her tone of voice still at its happiest and bubbliest. "That's what makes it the ultimate bath additive!"

Micah found himself struggling to keep his palm from his face. "Pia, just because something is rare doesn't necessarily mean it's a good bath additive."

"Sure it does! Sakuya's always saying that the rarer something is, the better it is!"

"Yeah, but she's talking about monetary value, not bathenary value," Micah answered.

Carlos stared at him. "...Did you just say 'bathenary' value?"

Micah's eyes widened. "Oh man, she's starting to rub off on me..." He shook his head. "The point is, Sakuya was talking about money. Gold."

Pia suddenly perked up. "Oooh! That's a great idea! I'll put gold in the bath!"

"What?" Micah's palm finally found its way to his forehead. "Pia, nobody would want to take a bath with gold!"

"Sakuya would," she countered.

Micah opened his mouth to retort, paused, then said, "Actually, that's a good point."

"Great!" Pia jumped up, clapping her hands. "Then it's settled! Gold baths for everyone! Collette, quick, give me your gold!"

"What?" Collette's eyes widened. "No! I can't give you my gold! It's my lunch money!"

"Lunch was hours ago," Micah pointed out.

"Then it's my post-lunch snack money!"

"Come on, bub! I ain't playin' around!" Pia's voice suddenly took on a rough tone as she lifted her fists. "Your money or your life!"

"Pia!" Carlos took a concerned step forward. "Chill out! Man, what's gotten into you?"

"Sorry!" Pia lowered her fists and smiled sweetly. "Just always wanted to say that!"

"I think you scared Collette," Micah said, glancing at the young chef. Collette was indeed a few shades whiter than usual, and was trembling slightly.

"Ohh, I'm sorry!" Pia suddenly rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the terrified sous-chef. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was only joking!"

Collette seemed as startled by the hug as she had by Pia's attempt at intimidation, but she nevertheless returned the embrace—cautiously. "I-I-It's OK," she stammered. "Just p-p-please don't take my money, all right?"

"Don't worry, I..." Pia trailed off suddenly. "Collette, what's that?"

Collette looked over her shoulder to see what Pia was talking about, and suddenly froze as she realized the bathhouse manager was looking straight at Carlos's fishing rod. "Er... that's... um... you see..."

Pia suddenly pulled away from Collette and glared at Carlos, eyes burning with rage. "You! Were you fishing?"

The fisherman, despite being a good head taller than Pia and a great deal more muscular, found himself backing down. "Uh... Well... see... Collette needed some–"

Pia spun around once more, staring at the sous-chef. "So! The lives of the denizens of the fishy kingdom are forfeit because you were hungry, eh? You monster! I lived among the creatures of the ocean for I don't know how long!" She paused. "...Actually, I really don't. I can't remember much about my life in the sea before coming here." She smiled over at Micah. "Boy, amnesia, huh?"

"Must be going around," Micah agreed, laughing cautiously.

"But that's not the point!" The mermaid whipped around to face Collette and Carlos again. "The point is, they were my friends! My family! For you to so callously end their lives is unforgivable! Prepare to face the wrath of–"

"Pia!"

Pia turned to face the newcomer, eyes wide. "Wow, Sakuya, that's exactly what I was about to say! You must be psychic!"

Sakuya sighed as she exited the front door of the inn, her kimono just barely missing the ground as it swept along. "Pia, what's going on? You're scaring the customers!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Sakuya." She pointed to Collette and Carlos. "I was just giving these two murderers a piece of my mind! Their crimes against fishdom have gone unpunished for too long! Now, they shall rue the day they ever laid hands on a fishing rod!"

"Um, he's the only one who laid hands on a fishing rod," Collette pointed out.

"Hey, now!" Carlos said, holding up his hands. "Let's not argue about who laid hands on whose rod!"

Micah grimaced.

As Pia resumed her ranting, Sakuya crossed over to where Micah was, smiling at him. "Hey, Micah. How's your day so far?"

"I hung out with Daria for a while, took Evelyn to get some iron from Gaius, had a brief conversation with Sherman, and now am trying to save Carlos and Collette from Pia. It's been a weird day."

Sakuya nodded. "Sounds like it. So what's going on?"

"Carlos was fishing in the inn's pond for something Collette needed for a recipe. Pia came out, saw the rod, and... well, you can probably tell things didn't go well from there."

"Hmm." Sakuya glanced over at the mermaid and her victims. "What were they fishing for, exactly?"

"Eh? Hmm... now that you mention it, I don't know, myself. Didn't have a chance to ask."

"Hmm..." She crossed over to one of the buckets and glanced down at its contents. "Hey, Pia?"

The mermaid ceased her rant long enough to smile sweetly at her adoptive sister. "Yes, Sakuya?"

"These buckets are full of squid."

"What?" Pia hopped over to the buckets faster than any of them would have thought possible. "Really?"

Micah came over and looked as well. Sure enough, every bucket was at least partially full of squid. He found himself a little nauseous; calamari had never exactly agreed with him.

"Oh," Pia said, turning and smiling at Collette and Carlos. "That's fine, then."

The two of them looked at each other, blinking. "Wait, what?"

"You can go," she said. "Squid are the enemy of all fishdom, and together, we will strike them down! We will eat them into extinction!" She ran up to them and gave them both another unexpected hug. "Good luck, my squid-eating brethren! I'll see you on the field of battle!" Before anyone could say anything, she had disappeared back into the inn.

Carlos and Collette exchanged another baffled glance as Micah and Sakuya crossed over to them. "Eat them into extinction?" Carlos asked. "She's not... serious, is she?"

"I wish she wasn't," Sakuya sighed. "But hey, at least she let you go, right?"

"Yeah," Carlos said, smiling at the young woman. "I guess I owe you one."

"What, for saving you from Pia? Pff, don't mention it."

"Well, thanks, that's really generous of y–"

"You do, however, owe me 500 gold for the squid you caught from our pond today."

Carlos's eyes widened. "What?"

"500 gold each."

Micah was about to interject on behalf of the now slack-jawed Carlos, but found himself being dragged away by Collette, along with a few of the buckets of squid. "Come on!" she urged. "Let's get out of here while the getting's good!"

Part of Micah wanted to go back and help, but he eventually gave up and reluctantly fell in beside Collette. "Well, at least Pia's not angry with them," he sighed. "I'd hate to think there was a feud going on in town. Although I have to wonder why there were so many squid in the inn's pond anyway. Shouldn't they keep things like koi in there?"

"Eh, you live here long enough, you get used to things like that," Collette said. "After all, how many places do you know of where you can catch saltwater fish in a freshwater lake?"

"Good point," Micah said. "Still, I'm surprised at Carlos. What if he was catching a carp or something, and Pia came out? She'd never forgive him. He really should know better than to fish in front of the inn like that." He paused for a moment. "Actually, now that I think about it, something did seem slightly... off about him. Almost like he was being..." He looked over at Collette. "Controlled..."

The sous-chef looked away, but not in time to hide her guilty expression or embarrassed cough. Micah's eyes widened. "Collette! You didn't!"

"Didn't what?" she asked, doing her best to sound innocent.

"You gave Carlos the mind-control tea Marian used on me, didn't you?"

"No!" Collette shouted indignantly. "Of course not! I was under the effects of that tea too, remember? I'd never subject someone else to that!"

Micah looked down. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "So... what did you do, then?"

"I... er... I gave him a weaker form of the mind-control tea."

"Collette!"

"It didn't make him lose control of his body like the tea Marian gave us, though! It just made him a little more susceptible to suggestion! Besides, it'll wear off soon."

"Oh," Micah said, finally understanding. "That explains why he was looking at you that way earlier."

"Yeah, he... wait, what? How was he looking at me?"

"Oh, look, the diner!" Micah said, pointing. "How convenient!"

"Oh," Collette said, looking up. "Yeah, I guess we're here."

Micah held the door open for her as Collette carried the buckets into the diner. She hauled them over to the kitchen, placed them down on the counter, and started getting ready to cook. She looked up at Micah as she worked. "Hey, Micah, you want to help?"

"I don't think so, Collette; I'd only get in your way. Too many cooks spoils the brew, remember?"

"Yeah, but we're making stir-fry!"

Micah glared at her.

"Sorry. Well, will you at least stick around and taste-test it for me?"

Micah sighed; he was anxious to get home, but he found it difficult to say 'no' to any of the townspeople, especially the girls around his age—doubly so for the girls who might try to slip him some mind-control tea if he refused. "I guess so. The animals can handle the farm for a little while longer."

Micah sat himself down at one of the tables as Collette got to work. He took the opportunity to pull out his book again, but was only able to get a few pages in when a new voice roused him once more. "Hey, what's going on?" A young man asked, descending the staircase. "I smell squid."

"Hey, Rusk! Perfect timing!" Collette smiled at her brother as she began frying the squid. "Can you fetch me some onions?"

"What? No. You know I hate vegetables."

"Oh, come on! I'm not asking you to eat them, just bring some to me!"

"No way. I'm not touching any vegetables if I can help it."

"That's absurd! You've touched vegetables before!"

"Yeah, well, I'm done! I hate them so much, and I've gotten so fed up with them, I'm not touching another vegetable again!"

Micah sighed. This sounded like the sort of conversation someone would have with a five-year-old, which was odd, considering Rusk was about his age. He started to smell something odd coming from the stove. "Uh, Collette?" he said.

"You can't possibly hate all vegetables!" Collette was saying.

"Every last one!" Rusk retorted. "I'm a pastry chef, remember?"

"What about rhubarb?"

"Doesn't count."

"Hah! So there are some vegetables you like!"

"Rhubarb's an exception! You can make pie with it!"

"But you can put other vegetables in meat pies!"

"Meat pies aren't pastries!"

"Collette..." Micah said warningly.

"Oh, this is so stupid! You'll never be healthy if you don't eat your vegetables!"

"Hey, I'm as healthy as a horse! Marjorie said so herself!"

"Collette..."

"What?" Collette asked, turning to face him.

"I think your squid's burning."

Collette turned to see the blackened remains of the squid turning to ash on the stove. She let out a yelp, turned of the heat, and pulled the squid away, waving away the smoke. She took a sniff and wrinkled her nose; the squid was beyond salvage. She glared up at Rusk. "You! This is your fault!"

"What? How is this my fault?"

"If you'd have brought me the onion when I asked for it, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Hey, did you see how fast it burned? You had the heat up way too high!"

"Hey," Micah said, "You know who'd love this? Sofia. I think I'll take it to her." He grabbed a pot-holder and carefully took the dish away from Collette.

"Well it would have been just high enough if there'd been onion in there too!"

"Then you shouldn't have started cooking it until you had an onion already chopped!"

"Yeah," Micah muttered. "I'll go do that."

He emerged from the diner to see the sky growing darker. Of course, he knew it wasn't actually that late; the sun had been setting earlier and earlier as autumn wore on and winter drew near. Still, he found himself growing more and more tired. He never ceased to be amazed by the denizens of Sharance, and it seemed that the craziest of them had all chosen today to gang up on him. Nevertheless, he was a nice guy. He knew Sofia had a soft spot for ruined dishes (and he didn't have the faintest idea as to why), so he walked down to the De Saint-Coquille manor, burnt squid in hand. He knocked on the door, and after a moment, was greeted by a sleepy-eyed, blue-haired girl. "Oh, hey, Micah," she yawned.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Karina? What are you doing here?"

"I was just talking to Evelyn," she said. "I'm about to head home, myself."

"Right," he said. "Is Sofia here?"

She nodded.

"...Can you go get her?"

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Do I have to? She's all the way upstairs..."

Micah sighed himself. "No, forget it. I'll do it myself." He stood aside to let her leave.

A frown crossed her face. "Well... if it's really that important to you, I guess I can..."

"I said forget it!" Micah repeated, a little more harshly then he meant to. Karina looked taken aback, and he saw her face turning red. He sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. "I'm sorry, Karina. You didn't deserve that. It's been a very long day, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that. Can you forgive me?"

The redness faded from her cheeks before it could spread too far, and her face softened somewhat. "...All right," she said after a while. "I forgive you."

"Thanks," he said, smiling. "I'll drop by the store tomorrow, OK?"

She grimaced. "...You're not going to buy anything, are you?"

"Tell you what. If I do, I'll bring you a gemstone in return." He had to wonder at himself for saying that.

She smiled. "All right. Deal. See you later, Micah." She walked off, casting one last smile back at the farmer before disappearing into the deepening twilight.

Micah entered the manor to see Sofia descending the central staircase. "Ah, Micah!" she said happily, twirling her parasol. "How very tactless of you to drop by!"

"Hey, Sofia," he said, returning her smile. "Sorry, I can't stay long. But I did want to bring you this."

He presented the burned squid, and Sofia's face lit up. "Oh, how very mean of you!" she said. "I absolutely detest this!"

"I thought you'd like it," Micah said, trying not to think about just how wrong that sentence sounded.

"Won't you stay out?" she asked as she accepted his gift. "We were just about to eat breakfast. Father and sister would be appalled to have you as our guest!"

Micah smiled sadly, and shook his head. "I don't think I'm up for it tonight, Sofia. It's been a long day, I'm pretty tired, and I've still got some chores to do at home. Rain check?"

Sofia's face fell, but she nodded. "That's wonderful. I really hope we never meet again, Micah."

"Yeah, me too," he said, starting to walk away. "Take care of yourself, Sofia."

"I hope you trip and fall in one of your excursions to the dungeons, hit your head on something hard, and pass out long enough for monsters to come along and tear you to shreds!" Sofia replied, smiling.

Micah wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that; he settled on just smiling and waving as he stepped out the door and shut it behind him. He turned to see Marian smiling at him. "Hey, Micah!" she said, adjusting her giant witch's hat so it sat center on her head. "I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

Micah shook his head. "Sorry, Marian, I really need to get home. I need to tend to the animals before I go to bed."

"Oh, OK. In that case, would you like a cup of tea?"

Micah glared at her.

"What? It's not mind-control tea this time, I swear!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Well... probably, at any rate!"

Micah couldn't help but smile. "You know what they say, Marian. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

"But I did fool you twice."

His smile vanished. "Oh, yeah."

The young witch sighed. "Well, you can't blame a girl for trying. See you tomorrow, Micah!"

"See you tomorrow," he replied. "Without tea."

"Oh, come on!"

It was about 5:00 PM; not nearly late enough to go to sleep, but too late to run any errands or do many chores. Of course, Micah had already accomplished a lot that day. His run-ins with Karina and Marian hadn't delayed him so much that he didn't make it home in time to tend to the animals, feeding them, brushing them, and collecting all the eggs, honey, and milk they'd left for him. They'd been taking good care of the farm while he was away; all the growing crops had been watered, and all the fully-grown ones had been harvested. He'd have to plant more tomorrow, but he could handle that. After, of course, a full night's sleep.

For now, though, he was taking the opportunity to finally get farther in his book. The story was beginning to come to a head. The hero, having struggled against the villain for the entirety of the story, had finally succumbed to his enemy's power, and had been captured by the villain's minions. Held far behind enemy lines, his only hope now lay in his love interest. Though she hadn't seemed very capable at the time, Micah found that he had grown more attached to her, just as the hero had started to fall in love with her. And now his fate lay in her hands. Micah found himself wondering what would happen were he ever in a similar situation. If he'd been captured, would there be anyone out there who loved him enough to try and save him? Or, if someone he loved was taken captive, would he have the strength to free them—or at least the courage to die trying?

A knock on his door roused him from his thoughts. Rising from his seat, he bookmarked the page he was on and went to the door. He opened it to see Carmen, Carlos's sister, standing there with a bottle in her hands. She smiled at him, he green hair rustling in the wind without her trademark hat to hold it down. "Hey," she said. "Mind if I come in?"

Micah was more surprised than anything by her appearance, but returned her smile and opened the door. "Not at all," he said. "Please."

She gave him an appreciative nod as she entered, setting her bottle down on the table. "Carlos told me about how you helped save him from Pia today."

Micah nodded. "Yeah. If only I'd saved him from Sakuya, too."

She laughed. "Oh, don't worry. She was kidding about making us pay for the squid. ...Mostly."

Micah laughed. "I can't see Sakuya ever turning down a chance to make money."

"Yeah, well..." Carmen lowered her eyes a little. "She knows how hard it can be sometimes, and she knows Carlos and I aren't doing as well as we'd like to."

Micah's smile faded. Carmen had mentioned to him in the past that they weren't always in the black, and that Carlos wasn't as good of a businessman as he could be. But they both always seemed so cheerful, it was hard to believe they were in any sort of trouble. Of course, some people were good at hiding things like that.

He crossed over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said, trying to keep his voice soft and comforting, "You're gonna be OK. You're smart, and Carlos... well, he may not be that great at business, but nobody can fish like he can. You can get through this."

She looked up at him, smiling. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do! And besides, I'm always willing to help you."

"Oh, no, Micah. We couldn't accept..."

"Don't worry about it. You ever need anything, just post a request on the billboard or slip it in my mailbox. I'll be over as soon as I can."

"...Thanks, Micah. You know, you're... you're a really nice guy."

They looked into each others' eyes for a moment, something Micah found more relaxing than it had any right to be, before Carmen suddenly seemed to realize what they were doing, turning from him and pulling her shoulder away from Micah's hand. "A-Anyway, who wants to talk about that stuff now, right? I just wanted to thank you for helping Carlos." She picked the bottle up off the table and presented it to him, smiling. "Sparkling cider. A traveling merchant at the inn had some for sale. She gave it to me for a decent enough price, and I figured I might as well share it with you."

He nodded. "Sounds good. I'm always up for some cider. Hang on a moment, I'll get some glasses."

She sat at the table as he got glasses out of the cabinet and brought them over. She poured a glass of cider for each of them, and he took the seat opposite hers. "So, how was your day?" he asked.

"Not bad," she said. "I went up to Oddward to fish for most of the day. Got a good haul, too; should be enough to keep our refrigerator stocked for a while."

Micah nodded. "I'd love to try out your cooking sometime. Fish have always been a favorite of mine; I'd really like to see how you prepare them."

She smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe some day we can have you over for dinner." She took a sip of her cider, pausing a moment to savor the taste. "How about you? How was your day."

"Hectic," Micah sighed. "I spent most of the morning watering crops, then did a little fishing myself. In the afternoon, though, Daria decided to go paint the stars in the desert."

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "She wanted to paint stars? In the afternoon?"

"Yes."

"But... why would you..."

"We're talking about the woman who paints with a hammer. I try not to think too hard about it."

Carmen paused a moment, then nodded in agreement. "I can't argue with that. What happened next?"

"Well, after I convinced her that it would be better to paint stars when you could actually see them, we ran into Evelyn, who needed to get some iron for her latest outfit."

"What?"

"Again, I try not to think too hard about it."

He continued telling her about his day; the run-in with Gaius, meeting Sherman, his side of the whole Carlos/Collette/Pia fiasco, Rusk and the burning of the squid, and his trip to De Saint-Coquille manor. At the end, he found himself having grown even more tired from just telling about it. Carmen shook her head. "Sounds like you had quite a day."

He remained silent for a while. At last, he looked up at her and asked, "Carmen, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Just... what is it about this town? Why does half the population seem to have these weird personality quirks?"

Carmen shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. That's just the way it's always been. A lot of the people here are just really passionate about something; Gaius about forging, Evelyn about clothes, Daria about painting, Collette about food, Sherman about... uh... opposite-speak..."

Micah nodded. "I know. But it's not just passion. After all, what other fashion designer do you know of that tries to work metal, fish, and vegetables into their work? As for Gaius, I once told him he should try giving Evelyn gifts, and he asked, 'Like iron, or a broadsword?' When I asked him why he would ever think that, he answered, and I quote, 'Probably because I'm clueless.'"

Carmen had to laugh at that. "Ok, well... to be fair, how many fashion designers do you know in the first place? For all we know, Evelyn's one of the more normal ones."

Micah shuddered. "Now there's a scary thought."

Carmen smiled, and continued. "And Gaius... he loves forging, and he loves Evelyn. I guess he just mixes those things in his mind somewhere."

"Yeah, but what about Pia?"

Carmen nodded. "Touché. She is a mermaid, though; maybe their culture is just a little... nuttier than ours?"

Micah sighed. "Did she put you through that bath census nonsense?"

"She puts everyone through the bath census," Carmen said. "You're not alone in trying to deal with her madness."

"What about everyone else's madness?"

Carmen lifted her eyebrows. "You really think everyone in this town is crazy?"

"Well..." he lowered his eyes. "Well, no. Everyone's a little quirky, yeah, some more so than others. But..." He took another sip of cider before going on. "But, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have it any other way."

A smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, sure, dealing with Pia, or Daria, or Sakuya, or the De-Saint Coquilles, or Karina, or Marian, or Collette, or Rusk, or Gaius, or..." He paused. "Wow, that list was a lot longer than I thought it would be. But anyway, while dealing with them can sometimes lead to a bit of a headache, I can't imagine having more fun with any other people. I mean, this town is crazy, yeah. But it's also great. Everyone's friendly and caring, and while I may have lost the memories I had before I came here, I would never trade the memories I've made since then for them. For anything." He smiled at her. "Carmen... you guys are great. I'm so glad I came here."

She returned his smile, her face glowing warmly. "I am, too. I... I really enjoy being with you, Micah."

He raised his glass. "To Sharance. The craziest, most wonderful place to live in all of Norad."

"Hear hear," she said, and they clinked their glasses together.

Carmen drained her glass before setting it down. "Well, I should probably be going. I don't want to stay out too late, or Carlos will worry."

"It's not that late," Micah protested. He glanced at the clock. "It's only 5:43. You could still... uh..." He trailed off, and his eyes slowly widened. "Oh, crap! Daria!"

Carmen blinked. "Daria?"

"I told her I'd meet her at 6! She wanted to try painting the stars again! Only, you know, at a time she could actually see them." He got up. "I'm really, really sorry, Carmen. I promised her I'd be there."

"No, it's OK," Carmen said as she rose too. "Like I was saying, I should probably get going myself."

Nevertheless, Micah noticed—or, at least, thought he noticed—her voice took on a disappointed tone. He crossed over to her, gently taking her hand. "Carmen?"

She looked startled that he was so close, that he took her hand so readily. "Y-Yeah?"

"Look, I... I know I spend a lot of time with the other girls in town. But I want you to know, about what you said earlier..." He cleared his throat. "I really like being with you, too. And I'd like to spend more time with you. If you don't mind, that is," he added hastily.

She paused a moment before smiling up at him. "...No. No, I don't mind. I'd like that." She took a breath. "You mentioned you'd like to try my cooking... think you can come over for dinner tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said. "I'd love to."

She smiled. "Good. Micah..."

"Yes, Carmen?"

"You'd better get going. Daria's a lot like me; if you're late, you're never going to hear the end of it."

Micah glanced at the clock; a full minute had passed already since he last checked it. "You're right. Sorry to run out on you like this. Take care!"

"You too, Micah. See you later!"

He ran out the door and started in the direction of the Sol Terrano desert. Carmen emerged from his home in the Sharance Tree a moment later, watched him go, and then smiled to herself as she descended the steps and walked towards her home.