The Sweet Musk of Dirt and Produce [END] (1,398 views)

[Blue]

Those words brought a blush to Azelf's cheeks. Although at first, he feared that moment when he had finished his backstory, Star would act totally suspicious about it. Well, he was only a random shoyru suddenly helping out a farmer at work. He knows to himself that he had a dark past, but that isn't who he is anymore and wants to be good. That secret too had been going on his mind for a while, but seeing how nice Star was to him made him feel trusting and positive for once.

"T-thanks for your... concern. I really appreciate it." Azelf was glad he met someone like Star, who had given him that nostalgic feeling. He giggled nervously at her last comment about his mother. "Yeah, you two are amaze me..." He blushed again. "I-I wanna grow up... just like you too... and grow beautiful crops like these... and make mom proud."

After taking another bite from the fruit, he gasped and suddenly became worried with something. "Aw! I-I just remembered...! I-I have to leave before sunset..." He informed, with a sad look on his face. "But it's not sunset yet. That means I can still stay longer." He added in a somewhat gleeful tone and had a small smile on his face.

[Maddie]

Star gave a dismissive hand wave. "Don't sweat it, sport! I usually finish up work around sunset, and with your help, I'll be finishing twice as fast! We still have time to spare! So for now just kick back and enjoy the delicious fruit of my labor. Literally! Haha!" She laughed at her own joke as she gnawed on the remains of her shishkafruit, its messy juice staining her already dirty work overalls.

"You know, I was just thinking that-" She swallowed the food in her mouth and wiped her mouth somewhat clean, "-since your shared something about yourself, I should share something too! Besides, you're probably dying to know more about me. I know I would! I'm probably one of the most interesting people I know!" She laughed again in her deep, guffawing manner.

[Blue]

Azelf was surprised to see how Star was still in high spirits, after giving the sudden drama to the atmosphere. He seemed really giddy just being next to her for some reason. His face was as red as the shishkafruit he was eating. There was nothing that could ruin his newfound perfect day.

"Y-yeah... I was going to ask you about that." Azelf grinned, and for the first time he wasn't feeling scared anymore. "I do wanna know." He fidgeted his hands. "How did you find your love for farming?"

[Maddie]

"An excellent question!" Star beamed. "Believe it or not, I was once a huge slob! I used to waste my days slacking off, spending my family's money on clothes, and playing video games for eight hours straight. I was a bully to my older brother, too, who has been working as a fisherman for as long as I can remember. He isn't much older than me, though, and it said a lot about how lazy I was. If he could spend his days working to support the family, I should have been doing it too!"

Star paused and gave a reassuring smile that this narrative was going somewhere. "So eventually, my oldest brother, who is more like our dad in a way, but anyway-! He sought a way to get me off my good-for-nothing butt. He noticed how often I would incorporate plants and flowers in my outfits, which I was and still am all about, and suggested I try my hand at farming. I thought it was a stupid idea at first, of course, but after I bought my first pack of seeds, I quickly discovered my hidden talent. I was great at taking care of plants!" Her voice was full of excitement, as if she was experiencing her first farming accomplishment again.

"And let's just say... I blossomed from there, ha ha! Working with crops really opened my eyes. I gained a whole new perspective on life! I respected my brother more, I began to appreciate his hard work, and I learned the value of time. Plus, I actually went outside! Ha ha ha!" Star wiped her nose, still laughing. "It actually remained a hobby at first, though. It wasn't until later that I started getting serious about farming and sold my crops for profit. So here I am now!" She extended her arms into the air and flourished them.

[Blue]

"Ohh...!" Azelf said in awe. "T-that's really nice! I-I couldn't imagine--Yeah... if only Maraqua has a place for farming... nah, probably that... that's too much ocean... and less sun... ha ha!" He laughed nervously. "H-hey, my big brother too... he's a fisherman... wait, no... not really, it's his hobby. I wonder if he and your brother bumped into each other someday or something. That would be cool."

Azelf paused for a moment, with a realization in mind. "Hmm... my brother. There's something... about you two that seem... alike to me, besides being a kacheek as all... I dunno..." He shrugged. He had that opinion going on his head the whole time he got to know Star better. Perhaps because of his brother and Star's similar-like optimism which has come to his attention. "But, he's an adventurer." The shoyru informed with a grin. "You know, he often used to tell me to be brave... I'm usually a scaredy cat." Azelf chuckled in embarrassment. "I remember the time I used to visit here only when he comes with me... that wasn't always easy--he can't fly. I had to carry him with me most of the time. But now I got to learn that there's nothing to be afraid of, thanks to him. He's taught me a lot since we met. Well, we may not be blood-related but we still care for one another. He's really great too."

[Maddie]

Star smiled. "That's nice. And yeah, it's funny that you mention bravery, because I actually have to tell my older brother to toughen up all the time. In fact, you kind of remind me of him! Just a little. You seem more social than him judging by the way you approached me first. But anyway, I can understand the connection you're making between me and your metaphorical brother." Finishing the last of her fruit, Star rubbed her gloves clean and rose to her feet. "Getting late. I think you'd agree it's time to get back to work, huh?"

[Blue]

"Oh yeah! S-sure! That would be g-great!" Azelf leaped, but then withdrew himself and felt a little conscious. "I-I mean... yeah, let's do that." He blushed again, while finishing eating his fruit. "W-what else needs to be done?" He held on to his cloak. He's been wearing that all day, still he didn't mind but it had been covered with sweat.

"Y-you're not bothered by my cloak b-by the way... are you?"

[Maddie]

"Bothered by it? If anything, I'm impressed by your wearing it. Toughing it out in this heat for this long? That's pretty hardcore, and I respect that." She pounded her fist against her chest as a sign of admiration. "But are you sure you don't want to take it off? I don't want this next job make you collapse from heat stroke."

[Blue]

The blue shoyru had a somewhat goofy smile on his face, flattered. But then immediately shook his head. "Uh... Well..." Azelf pondered for a long moment. Removing his cloak might be a little critical, due to his identity being exposed. He stared at his reflection from the lake. His cloak had been very soggy because of his sweat, it was high time that he needed to take it off. He's never been in the farm this long before unlike his previous visits. This was his first ever longest visit. He'd still love to work with the cloak on, but he realizes that it's not healthy to keep it on for that long and under such weather conditions.

"B-but you're right... M-maybe that isn't such a bad idea... j-just this once... I guess." He may be putting a risk to himself, but hey, he wanted to get the job done anyway. Azelf finally takes off the cloak and felt the cool breeze in his skin. He held onto his cloak, with a disgusted look. "Ehh! How did I let it go this far?" He looked at Star, feeling completely ashamed. "S-sorry... uhm... w-where... can I put this? After this is... in a safe place, w-we can start working again."

[Maddie]

Star appeared surprised by Azelf's new uncloaked appearance, probably because he looked much smaller without it. She could now see that his eyes were a stunning purple, just like her oldest brother's. Something about it made her smile, but she was caught off guard when he asked for a safe place to store the sweat soaked cloak. "Well, I would offer to hang in on a coat rack or something, but I don't actually have a home down here," she answered somewhat guiltily. "My home is in Neopia Central. All I own down here are these acres and acres of nutrient rich soil. Sorry, bud. Why don't you just fold it up on the ground and I'll keep an eye on it?"

[Blue]

Azelf tilted his head, probably noticing Star's surprised expression. "T-that's okay..." He looked at his cloak one more time and folded it up. "Sure, t-that can be... that can be fine." He nervously handed Star his cloak. "Uh... Great! We can start now... So... what's the next job... uhm... going to be?" He was getting excited and light on his feet. It may not seem obvious, 'cause of his somewhat expressionless gesture, but he was.

[Maddie]

"The next job may be a little difficult, so we're going to work together this time instead of split up," Star began. She jammed her hand into the pocket of her overalls and began to dig for something. From it she produced a square packet of orange seeds and handed them to Azelf to look at. "We'll be planting fresh tangellas! This one is a personal favorite of mine. One of us needs to till the soil and bury the seeds, while the other needs to water them. You know, in order to kick start their growth. Since you're so good at watering, I thought you could do that!" She took the seed packet back and ripped it open. "Fill up the watering can and meet me back at the lot four rows over. Okay?"

[Blue]

In his eyes, Azelf was very excited, dazing at the packet of tangella seeds. It's his first time after several years planting again. "O-oh! Sure!" He looked for the watering can, which was on the ground close to him and picked it up. "L-lot... four rows... g-got it!" Azelf flew nervously away to the direction of the lake.

When the shoyru made it to the lake, he saw his reflection again. He felt a little conscious and groaned. "I... look... different without my cloak." He glances at Star, who appear to begin tilling the soil from far away in the fields. His cloak was on the ground, close to where Star was standing. This brought a little smile on his face. I sure hope I can keep up... He thought. His fear of making mistakes began to haunt him. I-I can do this, right?

After filling the watering can with water, Azelf flew back to the fields. "Uhm, I-I'm back." He tried to form a smile but he was very anxious.

[Maddie]

"Great!" Star smiled. "Man, you sure do work fast with those fancy wings of yours. Makes me want a pair for myself," she joked as she continued to rake the soil, trying to match Azelf's speed. "You can just start watering the ones I already planted. And don't worry about dumping water on me. That actually sounds really nice right about now!" She snorted loudly and began to laugh, which was interrupted by a cough or two. As Azelf position himself to water the newly planted seeds, Star was chuckling, "I still got that tangy shishkafruit taste stuck in my mouth, ha ha ha!" quietly to herself.

[Blue]

All the worries went out of Azelf's head, seeing Star really cheerful. He couldn't help but smile. One of his fears was accidentally dumping water all over the biscuit Kacheek, but hearing all that, he let out a sigh of relief. "O-okay, I'll start watering..." He looked around on the soil. "...from here." He began to flap his wings, floating in the air and sprinkled the soil with water just like before.

While doing his work, the young Shoyru noticed the weather has cooled down a bit. After finishing up watering a few rows of soil, he suddenly flew back to Star. "Uh... I-I have a question... W-what... uhm... what time... i-is it?"