@treebyriver aww thank you for the comments! Seeing parts you liked specifically is really nice and refreshing! And thanks for the links, I'll be sure to remember them in future Harvey moments! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!!!
wow？！ just finished chapter16，waiting for the moment when Kim buys bouquets from Pierre, goes upstairs, then gives them to Abby *imagining look on Pierre's face*
Wow, just wow! Not even a word to explain what happened recently... Keep on the feel train! PS: Off-topic a bit, Shatashi. Have you seen that cute Abigail GIF recently?
I wasn't planning that little breakdown, but apparently Kim had been bottling it up lately And the gif of her getting a present? I diiiid! @madamdarkness right?
Yes! And I recently started a new game portraying as Leah's doppelganger, namely in-game "Leia". Expect more of the quirky screenshots soon!
From what I've read this looks like quite a good story! I'll be sure to read all of it when I have more time Also, I think you should edit the first post to include all the chapters you've written so far. That way people don't have to look through the entire thread to read all of the story
May I Post a little bit more off-topic again, @Satashi26? (Sorry for all the misspelled name) A bit artwork from @madamdarkness! Well played, CA... I don't even think if Leah's Ex is also a girl?!? (Yep, I portray as her "Twin", still have all the vanilla dialogues)
@Pudassassin Kel is male or female, depending on your farmer's sex that's why I didn't feel bad making him a guy in my story. He acts a lot like the guys I knew in high school and college so it fit. Though I know not all guys are like that!
Good Choice right there! Maybe, I may try out my own writing, explaining Leia's true origin someday...
@MagicallyClueless Sam: Kim! It's your birthday! Kim:It is! aww a present! Sam: I thought you could use it since you are in that wacky love triangle. It'll help you get by on those lonely nights! Kim: *opens present* ... a skillet? Sam: *double finger point* I'm here for you, Kim! Enjoy! *walks off* Kim:..... *looks to the side, blushing* Abigail: Hi kim! Kim: *screams* Iwasn'tgoingtodoanythingwithitIswear!!!! Abigail:........ Kim:...... That's a good idea! I don't think they'll all fit in one post, though. Is there a way to link specific posts? Then I could just do that so they could skip around.
Actually they probably will fit in one post. But you can just put a link to each post if you want There's a number in the bottom right corner of every post, you just have to click that and it gives you a link to that post! As an example, here's a link to Chapter 9
So far, I just got to this chapter today. Been reading them back-to-back like chapters are meant to be read. Very entertaining and humorous! As for references in the story, I see at least two. Has anyone guessed it yet?
Now, before the new chapter is up. Here is something for you, @Satashi26! Sadly, I can barely make Kim's Hair done right, Through. Credit to : @Niorichi, @EvilPoptart81 and other artists for their artwork of Kim (and also my sample of the skin)
oh well, Here is the skin Edit : Re-Uploaded, @Satashi26, I just fix a problem with the skin. Please download it again.
I woke up a little earlier than normal, lured into the realm of the living by a scent that always seemed to get me going. The rich, fragrant smell of my usual coffee was invading my senses and I slowly sat up in bed to rub my eyes. I was a little confused at first, but then remembered I had a guest over. Penny must have gotten up already… despite the sun not even really breaking the mountain ridges yet. As I got out of bed, I gave a long stretch backwards and then reached down to touch my toes. Penny chose that moment to peek her head into my room and smile a good morning at me. Stardust XVII By: Satashi "I wasn't too early, I see?" She asked teasingly. "No, right on time." I hopped a few times on my toes to get my blood pumping. "Don't mind me, morning ritual." Penny was still smiling, leaning against the doorframe now. "I hope that includes a nice breakfast before you get to work?" I almost faltered. "Did you cook for me?" A confirming nod came and I felt a little overwhelmed. "First you clean my entire house and then you cook? Wow, you should come over more often!" "I feel intrusive, are you sure you don't mind?" She looked down at herself, still in my pajamas. "I even had to borrow some clothes after mine had that cleaner spilled on it…" "Penny, girl, I haven't folded my laundry once since I moved here. You can wear anything you want." She looked pleased at that and told me to come get some food once I got ready for the day. When I was alone again I rooted through my now clean and awesome smelling clothes to grab some jean shorts and my baggy Pusheen tank top. The jean shorts came one easily with minimal hopping and tugging, making me happy. Tight shorts were always a pain to put on, but I had lost a bit of weight since I moved here. After latching my bra and spinning it around, I put my arms through and adjusted. Covering it with a shirt, I pulled my hair through and brushed it quickly. Once my ponytail was in place, I socked my feet and headed out into the main area of my house. Penny was just plating a full breakfast for two and made me sit down and wait on her instead of helping. Before long I had the plate put in front of me along with a glass of water, a mug of coffee, cream and sugar set to be used, and knife and fork at the ready. Two medium sized heart shaped pancakes were in front of me, paired with some eggs, sausage, and bacon. On a separate side plate I had two thick cuts of homemade French toast as well. "Wow…" "You need your energy if you are going to work a farm, right?" I didn't have the heart to tell her I was going to primarily work in the afternoon because I needed to run errands first, so I just nodded. "And breakfast is the most important meal of the day." I looked over at her as she got her own plate and suddenly realized not a single pan was still on the stove. She had not only done all of this, but cleaned up as she went and… somehow dried them all and put up in the moments I was admiring the food. Maybe she had some type of magic as well? After completely demolishing my breakfast, and telling her a dozen times how yummy it was, I was finally ready to start my day. My friend insisted on me going out already while she 'finished up my house' before going home as well. I didn't really want to have her do anything more for me, as I already felt bad enough as it was, but she did insist that she couldn't very well go home at six in the morning without invoking Pam's hung over wrath. Reluctantly I agreed and took to my farm. First on my list was inspecting my tools. Just as I expected, I saw tiny little cracks through all of them. At first I wanted to see if I could mend the wood myself through magic, but decided against it. I needed better tools anyway, and I had money from the market earlier. Looks like I would need to hit up Robin again. This time, though, I was more informed and knowledgeable. I needed something better suited for my needs, and that meant a visit to Leah. She was the only left handed person I knew, so she probably knew all sorts of tricks to getting things more balanced towards my preference. She would have to wait, though. The girl normally slept in till at least past nine or ten, and considering how wasted she was the night before... My second option was seeding during the morning and going in the afternoon. With that, I grabbed the supplies from yesterday, a drawing of my plans, and set to it. Looks like my morning was going to be on the fields after all. As I worked, I put my mana into the soil to give each seed the chance to take root and prepare to grow. Normally I would start to feel the strain after a few hours, but today I was unusually full. The heavy meal from last night and the one this morning seemed to really perk me up, and I managed to get my entire planting done and enhanced a little before ten. Still plenty of time before lunch. As I wiped the sweat from my brow, I looked up at the sun with a mixture of both love and hate. When the light was directly on my skin, I could almost feel my internal battery recharging itself. It was the same with water lately, and now food. It seemed that things that generally made plants grow now influenced me as well. On the opposite side of things, I preferred soda over water and the sun was still hated as it was too hot for my liking. Now with the day's work out of the way, I put my tools up and whistled for my horse. Okami came to my call at once and I hopped up and onto him almost before he came to a stop. "Leah's house, buddy." I asked of him. We took off at once, galloping across the fields and over towards my neighbors. Marnie's farm was passed and the little cottage by the river came into view. The lights were off, but I went up to the door anyway to knock. After a second attempt, I leaned over to peek into a window, seeing nothing on the inside moving. "Guess she's not home yet…" I spoke aloud. I left a little message on the chalk board next to her door, which was now decorated in flowers and sunshine. "Guess I'll just walk around a bit and head back home…" I gave Okami a few pets and let him roam around on his own. I always did enjoy the Cindersnap forest. It was lush and green in summer, and I was really looking forward to seeing it once all the trees change colors in the Fall. As I walked through the trees, I enjoyed the cooler area and the small splotches of light that did manage to make it through the canopy. I made my way inwards to find that tree stump I met Penny on a while back in hopes of a nice little relaxing moment. When I was finally recalling the scenery, I heard voices coming a little farther up ahead. Curiously, I moved towards them and saw Rasmodius and Caroline talking in the clearing. I was about to call out to them, but the woman's words made me stop instantly and move behind a tree to hide. "I know you think it's a good idea, Rasmodius, but I just… don't want Abigail over here that much. Pierre still has lingering doubts!" "I fail to see the problem, Caroline." The Wizard motioned helplessly. "It's been nineteen years since then, and I have never once gone back on my promise. You know as well as I do that we made the right choice. I am not a father figure; she would and did grow up to be a wonderful woman with you two. I would have messed up, and she deserves better. You deserved better." "I know, and I'm sorry to ask this… it's just… Lately with her magic… her dying her hair purple-" "I had nothing to do with that choice," Rasmodius interrupted Caroline. "That's just her choice. No different than the blue, pink, or orange hair she had before." "I know that, but she keeps it purple now, and it's secretly driving Pierre mad. I think he still…suspects Abigail isn't his daughter." "Well she isn't his daughter," Rasmodius sighed. "She's mine." I pressed my back up against the tree and covered my mouth with a hand, eyes wide. 'Oh crap!' I mentally screamed, unsure what to think. 'No, no I misunderstood!' "Rasmodius," Caroline picked back up. "I know how you feel, but please do this for me?" "How I feel? How I feel, Caroline? How about meeting someone I truly cared for, only to have her choose someone else. Then finding out she has your child growing inside of her, and giving everything up so she can be happy? Watching your daughter live her life with no understanding or clue of her true origins. Then… Then, Caroline, teaching her to use her magic to make her realize her dreams, all while never once breaking a promise or even letting an inkling of the truth come out, then be asked to do even more?" Caroline stayed silent, but I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. Pierre wasn't Abigail's father, and as far as I could tell, only three people knew this now. I peeked carefully around the tree and saw the two embracing each other and talking so softly I could no longer hear. I felt like I needed to get away and clear my head. Nothing good would come out of them knowing I knew. Worst case scenario I would be pressured into promising not to tell and I don't think I could live with myself knowing that. As I stepped back, I felt my boot heel sink into some mud and slide out from under me. I fell backwards quickly but collected myself almost as soon as the feeling of falling hit me. 'Catch me!' I screamed silently. My landing was soft, cushioned by the massive amounts of grass and flowers that sprung up to make me stop before I hit the ground. 'Thank you.' I gave the grass a pat and turned, jogging at first to be careful and then full blown sprinting once I was far enough away. Just as soon as I broke the tree line I whistled for Okami. I saw him around Leah's cottage and bent over to catch my breath, hands on my knees. "So what if you tell her? What then?" I spun around and saw the Wizard himself standing before me, eyes glaring down and pretty serious. "I.. have no idea what you mean?" Smooth, Kim. Really smooth. "I'll offer you once chance." He held up a finger. "What do you want for your silence?" I shook my head at him but he kept going. "I have a special fruit that will almost double your magic capacity. I can transmute iron into gold, and gold into iridium. This can make you wealthy beyond your dreams." "You… You can't buy me!" I was suddenly angry. My morals weren't so low as to be bought. Penny had instilled that courage into me just the other night. I was better than that, and backing down from it would not only just insult myself, but the trust my friends had put into me as well. "Abigail was lucky not to have someone like you as her father. She deserves the truth." "And what would the truth do for her, girl!?" He held up his hand and Okami stopped walking towards me, suddenly rearing back on his hind legs and neighing loudly. "What shred of good will it do!? It will only cause conflict in her family, make her distrust her parents, make her close herself off to others, make her question her abilities, and stop her from learning how to use them! Is that what you want for her!?" "Absolutely not!" I shouted back at him, letting my own magic come forth. Grass grew thick around me and over to Okami, who was now feeling at peace from it. "But asking me to lie to her? To deceive her? I will not do that. I will not lie to someone I care about!" "Do you intend to fight me, girl?" He asked sternly. I nodded at him, clenching my fist and mentally preparing myself for the pain that I was about to experience. I couldn't hurt him, and we both knew it. Heck, I couldn't hurt him even if he didn't have powers. But That wasn't going to stop me from- "Forget." He popped my forehead before I could move. Falling to my knees, I blinked a few times slowly. "I…." "Kim!" Rasmodius smiled down at me. "Look at you, practicing your magic. Good, good, the valley is looking great thanks to you." "I… Yeah?" He helped me stand and I looked over behind me, where the grass was flourishing and my horse was grazing. "I… got better… didn't I?" "Yes, you have." He patted me on the back. "But don't press yourself, okay? Maybe you should head on home." "I'll… just go home?" I took a few stumbling steps to my horse. "Why… was I out here?" "Weren't you practicing?" I looked at the ground again, trying desperately to grab onto a weird feeling that was avoiding me. "Kim, you're pressing yourself again." He held up a stern finger. "I warned you. Go home and rest. Don't work anymore today. Understand?" "Yeah…" I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that was hovering around me. "I'll just do that… Come on, Okami." I mounted him and began walking towards Leah's house. "I was… Going to ask Leah to help with my tools… That's right…" I was being rather silly today. Approaching the house, I looked over to it. The lights were off, but I went up to the door anyway to knock. After a second attempt, I leaned over to peek into a window, seeing nothing on the inside moving. "Guess she's not home yet…" I spoke aloud. I went to leave her a message on her new chalkboard, but stopped when I saw I already had one on it. "De Ja Vu…" I left another little message on it, and made a cute note about remembering to erase the older ones. With that, I hopped back on Okami and rode into town. I seemed to want to head towards Pierre's shop and walked in the door after letting Okami roam around. "Afternoon!" I called out as I came in. "Ah, Kim!" Pierre smiled at me. "Back again so soon? What can I do for you?" "Not much really." I looked over his stock, even though I knew it by heart. "I was just around in town and thought I'd swing by. Is Abigail and Leah still here?" "Upstairs." He pointed behind himself. "You know the way." "Yup yup!" I moved around the counter and to the door leading back. After taking the stairs two at a time I knocked a small rhythm on Abigail's door. "It's me!" I called out, peeking my head in. I saw Abigail sitting on the floor playing her Super Nintendo while Leah was still in bed, face down. "How's it going girls?" "I've been up for a while," Abigail replied, eyes focused on the screen. "Leah over there is still hung over." "Leemeelone…" Leah muttered into the pillow, trying to pull it closer around her ears. "She's been like that all morning. And afternoon." Leah groaned again. "Artists wake up when their trade calls…" Sitting next to Abigail, I picked up the spare controller and hit the start button so I could join in on her run-and-gun experience. "She sleeps in really late anyway, so it's no wonder she's even worse when hung over." I heard the girl groan out behind me and roll over to face the other direction. "Did you manage to get any sleep?" Abigail's eyes were a little bloodshot, even from this distance. "A few hours. We talked way into the night. I don't think we actually slept until about three in the morning." I whistled at that, then immediately regretted it when Leah groaned out in pain again."What did you talk about?" "Stuff." She dodged my question. I hummed and dodged a bullet that I had planned on taking for her. Abigail's little character spun around in a death animation and she eyed me sideways. "Yeah, that stuff." "I hope you're closer than I am at a solution, because it still keeps me up some nights." Abigail paused the game and sighed. "I have one solution as of right now." "What is that?" I looked at her. "Pick me." Her words made Leah groan again and lamely try to swat at her friend blindly. "I know, I know." She leaned back against the bed and reluctantly accepted Leah rolling back over and draping an arm around the girl in her best attempt to give her a hug. "I just want to say she's mine." She's mine. I felt a sudden pain in my head, so much so that I gasped out and held a hand to my forehead. "Ow…" "You okay there?" Abigail leaned over to me. "Kim?" "Huh? Yeah, I just…" My voice was shaking, and I felt a rage deep inside of me that I couldn't explain. "I dunno, I'm…" A cough came out and I realized that my hands were clentched. Now Leah was up as well, looking over at me with a concerned gaze. "I..." "Hey, it's okay," Leah moved to put a hand on me shoulder. "If you need to say something, just say it. We're here." Abigail nodded along with her and suddenly I felt like I wanted to scream. My head was pounding with each heartbeat and I was so… so mad. "I feel like there's something I need to say, but I can't remember it." They each seemed to doubt that. "No, really! Something important. Something very important!" "Hey, hey, shhhh…" Leah held a hand to her temple and I settled myself as best I could. "Okay, think for a moment. What do you need to say?" "I don't know!" I snapped at once. Leah winced at the tone and I did too. All at once I felt something overwhelming come over me and then touched my cheeks to find tears coming down them. "Wh…what?" "Okay," Abigail spoke up. "Kim, you need to take a breath. Look at me." I did so and she softened her expression. "It's okay, but we're worried now. Can we help?" The more I tried to think, the more my mind hazed over. I felt like I needed to say something, to get something out, but nothing came. It was infuriating enough on its own, but whatever was eluding me was pissing me off to the point where I just wanted to howl in frustration. "I don't know," I finally sighed out. "I'm sorry, I'm acting weird and moody." "Moon cycle?" Leah asked curiously. I shook my head. "No, just finished. I'm…" I heaved out yet another sigh. "I'm sorry. Again." Abigail gave me a hug and it honestly upset me more than comforted me at the moment. I stayed through it and then got one from Leah, which felt encouraging. "Abigail, I think it was something to do with you." Even though I didn't know what, saying the words eased the stress tremendously. "Oh great," The girl laughed at that. At that moment a soft knock came on the door and Caroline poked her head in "Abigail, you left your stuff downstairs." She held up a plastic shopping bag. "Oh hello Kim, how are you today?" I opened my mouth to say something, but it hung in my throat. Liar! "Thanks mom." Abigail got the bag and came back over to us. Caroline left the room and the purple haired girl took out a bottle of red hair dye. "Red?" Leah looked impressed. "Not quite your brownish red, but thought red might be nice. I'm still debating it. For once Mom was happy that I was going to change again." "Hides the evidence," I muttered. "Hides what?" Abigail looked over at me curiously. "Huh?" I blinked. "Oh, um… Sorry, I don't know what that was." Leah reached out and pulled me towards her, so I leaned against the bed between her legs. She started stroking my ponytail and I immediately felt a little better. Abigail looked a little jealous, but kept it to herself. "Anyway," The girl went on, looking at the dye. "My hair has been acting really weird lately. I thought I'd try and fix it." "Weird how?" Leah pondered. Abigail leaned back against the bed as well. "Honestly? It's really weird. Normally I dye my hair every month or so, but lately it's been growing this color." Leah looked at her friend skeptically. "Abby, your hair doesn't grow purple. It's brown." "Brown!?" I asked triumphantly. Abigail rolled her eyes. "Thanks Leah, I was teasing her about not knowing my real hair color." The artist looked a little sheepish, but shrugged it off. "For real, it's growing purple." "Really?" I asked, looking at her. For some reason I really wanted to confirm this. "Prove it." "Prove it? How?" Abigail looked at me. "I need to know." Leah looked at me and then to Abigail. "How can she prove something like that?" "I don't know! Just please?" I met Abigail's eyes. "I just really need to know." The purple haired girl looked at me for a long time before her face slowly started to turn red. "Ugh, am I really going to do this?" She stood and then put her feet on either side of me. "Leah, look away." "Don't have to tell me twice." She turned her head and closed her eyes. I blinked. "What are you going to-" I saw her begin to undo her belt buckle. "Uhm, Abby? Are you-" She looked away with a very dark blush and pulled the tip of her pants down a little for me. "I see! I SEE!" I covered my face with both hands. "Oh my Yoba, really? I mean really!?" "You asked." Abigail kept her gaze averted as she redid her buckle. "Was it purple?" Leah asked me. I nodded frantically, not daring to look at anyone ever again. "Purple hair! Whoa girl, you're committed!" "It grows that way!" Abigail retorted, plopping down next to Leah on the bed now. "I haven't dyed my hair in… six months now? And definitely not there." "Pssst, Abby." Leah whispered to her. "Look at her ears." "They're so red!" Abigail realized. "That's so funny!" I hugged my knees and buried my face as deep into them as I could. "Topic change." "Anyway, you seem better now." Leah stood up and stretched. "My headache is fading and I think I'll head on out. I need to start working sooner or later." "Oh, that reminds me." I stood with her help. "Can you possibly design some tool handles that are better suited for a leftie?" Abigail looked at me curiously. "Isn't that basically the same but held from the other side?" Leah put a hand on her hip. "Totally not. It's like saying you can bat left handed if you just turn the other direction. But I can see what I can do. Shouldn't be hard. I'm assuming you want blueprints for Robin?" "Please." "I can't promise anything, but I can at least draw something and put notes on it." Abigail stood along with us. "I'm going to head out too, I'd like to go visit Rasmodius." I felt like I should say something, but my headache suddenly spiked. Holding one hand to my forehead, I gave a soft groan. They both noticed and before I could really help it, I got a group hug. "I'll be okay, really." I returned the hug on both of them. "Mmn… I could get used to this, though." It felt really comforting to have two people hug on you, and I made sure to enjoy it to the fullest before they pulled back. "I bet," Leah agreed, leaning over to kiss my forehead. She looked over at Abigail and smiled at her. "Go ahead, you look like you wanted to." Abigail gave a light pout, but still leaned over to kiss my other temple. "Looks like you'll get better at twice the rate like this," Leah teased me. "I don't mind that at all. Come on then, Autobots roll out." My comment made Abigail snicker and Leah roll her eyes. Together we all three left the house, with only slight protesting from Caroline when she learned where we were heading. Luckily Abigail was in no mood to argue, so we got out of there before it could progress into anything more than just disapproval. I whistled to Okami and asked him to head on home ahead of myself. Although my friends were insisting on me riding him instead of walking, I drew the line there. I had a little headache, and Leah was hung over. Walking would be just fine for all three of us. Once we arrived at Leah's cottage we split up with Abigail so she could continue over to the Wizard's Tower and get some magical training. Leah paused at the door to read her messages and shook her head with a light chuckle. "You dork, you don't have to leave me two separate messages." She grabbed the eraser nearby and cleared it. "Give me time to get home first." "You didn't erase my other one from yesterday." I teased her back. "Yesterday? Did you seriously come home the long way when you knew I was going to be staying with Abby?" I wanted to question when Leah started calling Abigail by the short version of her name, but the question was more curious at the moment. "No, I went straight home. Penny was staying over to avoid Pam, and then she made me breakfast this morning…" I was starting to really become confused now. "And… And this morning I was doing my crops before…" The pain was coming back again. "Before?" Leah was turning on the lights to her cottage now and looking for drawing materials. "Before… I… practiced my magic… I think?" "Are you sure you're not hung over too?" Leah looked at me playfully but then came over when she saw that I was really concerned. "Kim? Seriously girl, what's going on here? Want some headache medicine?" "Yes, please." I sat down at her table and put my face in my hands. "When did I write that message? I really don't have any clue about it now that I think on it…" I was feeling mad again, like something was going on that was eating away at me but couldn't be seen. "Hey, Kim?" Leah leaned over and rested her forehead against mine when I looked up. "You're making me worry… Can you not tell me what is causing this?" "I don't know," I answered honestly. She kept her eyes on mine for the longest time before giving a soft sigh. "I promise Leah, I just feel weird…" "I know, I believe you." She pulled back slowly and gave me some pills along with a cup of water. "For now, just try and let it be. It'll come to you." She sat by me and tried to smile. "Okay, let's draw you some leftie tools." After about two hours of designing and me holding different things to show how I swung my tools, I had rough designs and notes to give Robin for my new handles. Although Leah offered to make them for free, we both knew that she was more artistic than practical. She did insist on going with me to Robin's shop, though, and I didn't really have the heart to deny her that. On the way, I lead her over to where Rasmodius had found me earlier and looked at my handiwork. The area was a lush green, grass thick and flowers blooming uncontrollably is a small area. "Wow, what happened here?" Leah asked, eyes wide. She followed the trail of grass that lead out from the small circle "I don't recall this patch being here. Maybe the rain made it grow all funny?" "It was me," I stated pretty proudly. "I was practicing apparently." I nodded to myself. "Apparently?" Leah chuckled at me. "Did you forget you were practicing?" "I…" Pausing, I suddenly realized that I don't even remember doing it. I just saw the grass where Rasmodius found me and thought that… "Wait, why was I found?" I asked aloud, as if the thought had just occurred to me. Looking over at Leah, I realized that my day was getting a lot worse than it had started out as. "Leah, why was I found here?" "I… don't know?" She came back to me and rubbed my shoulder when the pain in my head came back hard enough to make me close one eye. "Kim, did something happen to you?" "I… I think so." I tried to fight the pain and the sudden ringing in my left ear. "I was here… I… I wasn't practicing…" The pain was getting more intense and my left ear started to go deaf. "I was.. arguing…" "Kim! HEY!" Leah shook me and the ringing faded. "Your nose!" She was quickly scrambling through her backpack and pulled out a handkerchief. Before I could gather myself, she shoved it on my face. Looking down, I realized that I had blood trickling all down my chest and soaking into my bra. "Crap…" I held the cloth closer to my nose and tried to make sure it didn't get on my tank top before finally resorting to taking it off and giving it to Leah. We were more than alone out here and she had seen me in much more provocative things anyway. Right now, though, my nose was bleeding more than even when Molly bum rushed my face with a volleyball. "I feel dizzy." "Sit." Leah ordered of me. I obeyed at once and rested in the lush grass I had made earlier. "This is getting out of hand, I think we need to go to Harvey." Shaking my head, I tried to plug my nose as best as possible. "No, I think this is something else. This is wrong. Why was I here, and why can't I remember it? I don't practice like this. Why did I not think about that!?" "Kim, calm down." Leah started stroking my back. "Leah, something happened. I don't know what it was, but this is really weird… I'd like to get Abigail, I feel like it has to do with her." My friend looked like she wanted to do anything rather than to help me with what appeared to be causing me pain and a nosebleed. After she took a deep breath, she nodded and helped me to my feet. "Is it still bleeding?" I moved the cloth and let her watch. I was sure my entire nose and mouth area was smeared in blood by now, but after getting an approving look at least I knew I was okay. She lead me to the river first so I could wash up and redress myself. After that, we headed over to the nearby tower and knocked. When we received no answer we tried again and again. "Figures." I muttered. "Now what…?" "Where do they train at?" "Around here, or in the forest… but the forest wouldn't be good if they're trying to do fire things, so…" I paused. "My farm? There is an open area there and I did offer it to her before." "Let's go then." Leah took my hand and lead me along the way. I was amazed at her hands sometimes. Even though she wasn't a fighter or a farmer, she had rough hands. She was strong and dexterous, not to mention soft and delicate at the same time… When she wasn't tackling people of course. Much better than me. "What are you thinking about?" "Just glad to have you with me. Not sure why." "Someone has to protect your scrawny butt." She was joking, but it was very true. I wasn't a fighter in the slightest. This fact kept coming back to me as we made our way to my house. The best I could do would be to grow some…. "Leah." I stopped walking and pulled on her hand to make her pause as well. "I can't get it out of my head. I can't fight. I would only be able to grow some plants." "So? It's okay, nobody cares about that. I can't really fight either." "No, I mean I would grow plants. Flowers, grass, that kind of thing! It's all I can do!" Turning, I pointed to the area where we were just at. "Over there. That patch of grass. Why would I do that? It makes no sense. Unless…" Leah caught on, eyes widening. "Unless you were fighting…." "…And something happened to my head." "…That made you forget." Leah started pulling on my hand. "And you're worried about Abigail, who protects you." "Because she's always the one who helps, she might have been hurt too and she doesn't know it yet!" We began running now, almost at my farm. "But how long ago could it have happened?" Leah asked around her hard breathing. "She was with me all night!" "I don't know…" When we made it to my property line I saw not only Abigail and Rasmodius, but also a small herd of my Junimo friends. "That can't be good…" We stopped running and the magical creatures all swarmed around me, hopping around and making concerned noises. "Abigail, come here please." I asked at once. Abigail looked at me oddly, but did as requested. "Hey Kim, what's up? You look really tired now." "Are you okay?" I had to watch my step getting to her so I wouldn't crush my friends. "Do you have any bruises anywhere? Cuts, scrapes, anything?" The girl raised an eyebrow at me. "Noooo?" Her gaze turned to Leah. "Are you keeping an eye on her?" "I'm fine!" I insisted. "Well, not fine, but I'm worried." Rasmodius' voice came over to us. "Is something going on?" "Kim has been acting weird today." Abigail revealed. "I think she got bonked on the head one too many times. Forget. I looked down at my feet, seeing the Junimo all trying to hug me. A few were making their normal cute sounds, but this time they sounded concerned, even panicked. As they moved around me, I felt a strange sense of encouragement. My body started to feel warm and I realized it was as if I was recharging my internal mana battery. The Junimo were sharing their magic with me and it was helping my headache so much. Then it hit me. As Rasmodius tried to wave the notion of my needing help off, I remembered everything. The rage came back, now defined. "How… How dare you!?" I stepped forward, my little friends moving with me. Rasmodius looked at me oddly. "Messing with my memories…" I was seething now, a feeling I most certainly was not used to. "You messed with my memories!" "Kim?" Leah put her hand on my shoulder again. "What's going on?" Rasmodius tried talking before me. "It seems Kim has some kind of amnesia-" "Don't even." I growled. "The Junimo are all here. They helped me remember. You're outnumbered." Abigail stood next to me and tried to calm me down. "Kim, maybe you can explain?" "I think he needs to explain." I pointed at the wizard. "And don't try to back out of this. You are literally surrounded right now. I can see them. Now, tell them what you did to me and why." "What he…did?" Abigail looked from me to him a few times. "What?" Leah took out the blood stained handkerchief from her pocket and looked at it before turning to Rasmodius. "Her headaches, and a massive nose bleed… She was in a lot of pain earlier…" The man looked at us before sighing. "Guess it would happen sooner or later… But later and under different circumstances would have been better." He looked over at Abigail. "Abigail. There's something you should know." The process didn't take long at all. A few short sentences and the bomb was dropped. My friend was speechless, standing there with wide eyes. She was deathly quiet, almost dazed. After a few moments she looked over at me and then scowled. "And Kim found out, so you tried to hide it? By… By altering her memories and putting her in pain?" "It was the best option. If she wasn't so…foolish… then there would have been no pain." Abigail opened her mouth, hesitated, and closed it. A few steps were taken, then she turned and walked back. Finally she took a breath to speak again but the words just wouldn't come out. Then, she just turned and walked away. "I hope you're pleased with yourself," Rasmodius stated as he walked away from us. "You caused this, girl. I hope you're prepared to deal with the results." "I hope you are too." I walked on, pulling Leah with me until I was next to Abigail. We walked in silence a while until we made it to my house. Abigail hesitated there, but I put a hand on my back to encourage her to go inside. After a while of silence, the girl sat on my couch and leaned forward , putting her face into her hands. "What do you even say?" She asked aloud. "I don't know," Leah responded. "How do you feel?" "Betrayed? Angry?" Abigail shook her head. "I mean… I get it. Rasmodius isn't exactly a father figure or anything, and I'd much rather grow up where I did than in that tower. But if I knew, would it have mattered? If I could have found out I had mana way earlier in life, would I be a really popular adventurer now? What did I miss out on? How would I be right now? If I had just known, then…" She leaned back into the couch and crossed her arms. "No harm would have come out of me knowing. I would still have lived at home. I would call Pierre my dad, I…. Hell, does he even know? Probably not. So that means Mom cheated on him?" I looked down at my thumbs and leaned over on the couch. "From what I gathered, it was right before Caroline and Pierre really got together, so maybe it was a fling before it was official." "So a love triangle." Abigail groaned. "Great. Just great." Leah and I shared a look. "Is that going to be us? Is this where we're headed?" She motioned to all three of us. "In nineteen years we'll have an adopted daughter and tell her we're not really sure which one is her mother because we could never solve the problem of who's dating whom?" Leah shook her head. "It won't be like that, we're a little different." "How so? Just because we can't get pregnant like this… It's the same thing?" I looked up at that. "I don't think so." Abigail turned to me and I saw the pain and confusion clear on her face. "We're open about this. We talk about it. We're trying to do something about it. I'm not ever going to lie to you. Abigail, I really like you. A lot. And I like Leah too, also a lot. I don't prefer one over the other, and I know this is causing problems. But I really want you to know… I am being honest with you." Abigail rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just…" She sniffed and shook her head. "I am not going to cry." She took a few breaths to calm herself and made true on her promise. "I just can't help but feel like I'm doing the same thing…" Leah raised her hands. "Hey, we're really not. Honesty is the key thing to this, I think. As long as we don't hide things, it can work." "Have you done this before?" Abigail asked desperately. Leah looked unsure at first, but then sighed. "Honesty." She met our gazes in turn. "A poly relationship? No. But Kel liked others… seeing me. Doing things. I put that aside because at the moment I loved him and nothing else mattered. Although it was a different situation, I think I can truly love Kim, and can accept that from you as well because unlike back then, you can really love her too. If we have these feelings, then it can work." "Kim?" Abigail looked at me now. "I was lied to for nineteen years about something my family couldn't even solve. What do you think about us right now, and how are we any different?" Being put on the spot was putting it lightly. "Well… I think what they did was wrong. It doesn't matter if Rasmodius is your biological father, because Pierre raised you. He is your dad. Lying isn't ever worth it, and this started because I refused to lie to you. As for us…" I had to say something, and I was really scared of what it was. "I'd… like to try it. I mean… we kind of already are?" I tried to offer her a smile. Abigail looked down again for a long moment before standing and starting to pace. Finally she took a breath and sighed out. "Okay. Thank you for being honest with me… Glad to know some people can." Turning, she put her hands on the windowsill and looked outside. "If my best friends and potential girlfriend can be so honest with me, why couldn't my mother?" She rested her forehead against the glass and closed her eyes. "Whoa boy… I really don't want to go home right now." "Want to stay here?" I offered at once. "Thanks but I think I'll pass." Abigail gave me a sad smile. "Right now I'm a little emotionally distraught and I don't think I can handle you right now Kim." I must have looked hurt because she went on to make sure I understood. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend the night with you, it's just… I have enough emotions right now than to have to worry about if I should try and touch or kiss you." I blushed lightly, but nodded. I decided to keep any reply to myself, as to not embarrass or upset her any. "You can stay with me?" Leah offered next. "It won't be weird, we don't have to talk about anything like last night. We can just hang out as friends until you are ready to go home again." "Thanks." Abigail smiled at her. "Maybe a day or two?" "Or three." Leah agreed. "Well then…" Abigail sighed once more and went back to looking out the window. Her phone rang and after looking at it, put it on silent. "I don't know how long it will be until I can even speak to her…" Thank you @Tsukuru for the amazing picture of Kim! *hugs a lot* You're amazing!
Yes... Yes. You tell her. You already know my thoughts on the chapter One of the best so far, in my eyes. Keep it up!
