After a hella long hiatus, we're back again with the longest chapter yet!

I blew the layers of dust off, and there's a lot of things about this story that frankly embarrass me. I feel I've grown so much since this idea blossomed. But I've also endeared myself to it, and I'm resolved to see this through. So I've rewritten my outline, and I have a clearer focus. This is about to become a factory approved assembly line of updates – we're finishing this! Yet the wait has been nothing short of ridiculous. Apologies again – y'all know how these things get out of hand. Thanks so much for your support!

Thanks especially to those of you who reviewed last chapter all of that time ago. Rereading your kind comments and supportive feedback helped me to haul ass and get back into this story. Thank you Accidentally The Whole Fanfic, Cotton Candy Mareep, KennieBarnes, DesertRoseSparty, and both Guests who dropped some wonderful wordage.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Candace felt her stomach rumbling. It wasn't from hunger – breakfast was only a couple hours ago. No, it was that roiling feeling. Churning. The mansion loomed overhead, the shadow it cast making it feel like night where she stood on the stone path. Her environment had changed again.

Kathy reunited with the group at the Inn at the same time Molly came back from the phone with a bombshell. They were wanted for another gig. Luna had asked who, and Molly brought out a list. She had been on the phone for twenty minutes writing down notes next to the numbers from missed calls Ann had compiled for her on a napkin. There was the mayor from Zephyr Town. Someone from the Valley. A bar over in Leaf Valley. The mayor's daughter from a town they hadn't even heard of. People all across their district had heard of Molly & The Animal Parade, and they wanted in on the trend.

"'Come play for us!' Can you believe it?! That's what they all said!" Molly gushed. She was short-circuiting with her excitement. Chase bopped her on the head to stop her spazzing and bring her back to Earth.

"And they're all paid?" Luna asked. Mary and Popuri were looking between the girls in disbelief. Popuri was giggling that they were friends with celebrities, and her big brother would never hear the end of it.

Molly confirmed it, turning the napkin around to face her. Kathy scrunched in to see, and Candace took a peek over Luna's shoulder. All she saw were zeroes. It was enough gold to pay off their instruments, their travels, their food for the next year, the tailor shop's mortgage, for heaven's sake! Their jaws had dropped, and Molly was already running back to the phone to confirm their appearance at each and every one of them.

So it was really no wonder they were still on the road, standing in front of a gorgeous estate and greeting the old woman who lived there. Due to location and her age, the girls decided to fulfill her request first out of respect and appeared for Lady Romana's New Year's party. It was still so foreign to Candace. Making an appearance. People hadn't noticed when she walked into a room a year ago, and now strangers were paying her to do so. It was utterly bizarre.

She'd never admit it to them, but she was homesick. Desperately homesick. It was good to get away, and Candace was constantly reminding herself of that. So much so that the excuse had become white noise, her worries seeping to the forefront of her mind. She missed her Gramma. She missed her bed, her vanity, her chair, her knitting needles. The quiet jingle of the bell over the door when a customer would come in to browse. A customer used to be the scariest thing in her little world.

Candace ruefully dragged her feet as they all traipsed inside out of the cold. The door echoed as it shut behind them, and a butler took their coats. Candace politely refused. The mansion was so big, it wasn't much warmer than the outside.

"Your home is lovely!" Molly said, leading the way as they followed Romana. She appropriately craned her neck to admire the tall ceilings. "It's so spacious!"

"Thank you! It gets a little lonely, so I like to have the company," the old woman smiled. All of her weight went into the cane she held in both hands as she enjoyed watching the young people look around.

"You sure know how to jazz up the place," Kathy commented, making eye contact with a statue and mimicking the serious face it made back at it.

"And the acoustics are great in here!" Molly added, raising her voice to prove it. The sound carried across the whole first floor, including her giggle of delight that followed.

"Would you and your friends like a tour?" Romana offered.

Molly clapped her hands. "Totally! I saw a balcony outside – can we stand on it? I've always wanted to run out onto a balcony and sing."

"Because you make a hobby out of disturbing the peace?" Chase asked, taking ahold of her hand as the group made their way towards the staircase. Candace knew better than to think it was just an affectionate gesture. By this point in their relationship, he was effectively putting a leash on her in a similar fashion to wrangling Tucker. Which, the dog had to remain at the Valley's Inn, as Lady Romana had a mansion of cats. A tabby curled around Candace's legs, and she stooped to pet its head.

Molly grumbled in response, but she took it in stride. She broke away and mimed standing upon a balcony a few steps higher than him, quoting Shakespeare. "Oh, Romeo! Oh, Romeo! Wherefore art thou patience go?"

"A silence, by any other name, would be just as sweet," he retorted a butchered verse in turn with a melodramatic bow.

Molly blew a raspberry and held out her hand for him again, which he took as he met her up on the stair. She batted her eyes. "You love me."

"Reluctantly," Chase's cheeks tinged pink at the casual admission, but his frown was ever present.

"Jeez, this painting is taller than I am…" Luna gaped up at a massive portrait on the wall overhead.

"Most things are, hobbit," Kathy ruffled her hair in passing. Luna hissed and made to go after her, but the butler inadvertently intervened, stepping between them to help Lady Romana up the stairs.

"Right this way! That portrait was of my great-great grandfather. He was a plantation owner back in the day. One of the first ones to settle here in Forget-Me-Not Valley," Romana explained as Sebastian draped a cozy shawl over her shoulders.

"Means he's dead," Kathy whispered to Luna, finding her an easy target for teasing today.

"I know that – I'm not an idiot!" She snapped. Candace admired her sister's use of restraint.

Their voices faded as Lady Romana went on to explain the next painting they passed, and they disappeared into a room on the second floor. Their heavy footsteps vanished, and the hall seemed to sigh in the quiet.

Nobody noticed that Candace had remained behind, playing with the cat at the entryway. She hoped they wouldn't mind. She was feeling stretched out and muddled, and she wanted to be alone for a little while. Relax. Deep breath. Take it all in. Forget-Me-Not Valley. The cat moseyed away, looking over its shoulder at her and flicking its tail. "Oh, dear…"

Candace stood upright and took a better look around on her own. There were expensive-looking vases and well-kept house plants between the effects of the room. Everything was a display, but it had that homey touch of the elderly. It was pristine but lived in. The floor creaked.

Her eyes alighted on the statement piece of the room: a grand piano. She gravitated towards it, removing her mittens. Her finger found Middle C, and she pressed. A clear note rang out. It was still in tune. Candace looked at the staircase and heard nothing in response. She slipped out of her coat and sat upon the bench.

Luna was better at playing piano, but Candace always liked it more. Their mother would praise them both, but she would always commend Candace for her 'feeling.' She said Luna observed the music, and Candace released it. It was one of the rare times Candace had the advantage in a subject.

Before she could pick a song, her fingers had already found the chords for 'Just You.' It was habit, but Candace liked Molly's music. It was simple, but it had an emotional tug. She liked finding that joyous buoyancy of her friend in the notes. She felt comforted by it. Like she could play these songs anywhere and always have her friends with her.

"Will you play that at the par—?"

The voice startled Candace right around, the song coming to an abrupt halt with a discordant bang of the last key. Standing across the room was a girl of about fourteen at most. Awkward and shy and looking apologetic.

"I didn't mean to scare you – I'm sorry! I'm quiet, so… I t-tend to surprise people now and again…" she said, gnawing on her lip with her embarrassment lighting up her face like a furnace.

"No, I… understand," Candace related. All too well, really. But her heart was still pounding with the adrenaline of the feeling of being caught red-handed. She held her chest. "I'm sorry for inviting myself to the piano. It's… lovely."

"It's my auntie's," the girl smiled. "I've been using it for lessons since I was a kid. I'm Lumina."

"Candace," she bowed her head in introduction.

Lumina tucked a lock of auburn hair behind her ear and moved to stand alongside the piano. She bit her lip again. "Um… that was a cute song. Is that one of the songs your band plays?"

Her band? That was almost funny. But Candace nodded. "Yes, um… it was Molly's first song."

"I like how happy it sounds," she said.

Candace nodded again. The conversation ended there.

Her palms felt clammy. Where were her friends? What was taking them so long? She regretted not following them after all. She was stuck with a stranger again. The tabby came back and lightly sniffed her coat that was still hanging off of the piano bench.

Lumina crept around the piano. She rocked on her heels, which Candace noticed were clad in everyday sneakers. It wasn't what she would have pictured for a girl living in such a wealthy environment. "Could you… play some more?"

Candace was surprised. She had felt like she was intruding, but she was bad at denying a request. She also didn't like feeling put on the spot, but she hardly had much of a choice. She lightly shrugged and sat back on the bench, gingerly placing her fingers over the keys. She froze when she caught Lumina out of the corner of her eye.

The girl touched the bench, meaning to sit on it next to her to get a better view. "Um… do you mind?"

"Oh, no, of course!" Candace furiously shook her head and scooted over.

The chords were fuzzy in her memory from being watched, but she managed to get through to the chorus at a snail's pace. She picked up the tempo as Lumina's head bobbed along, and both girls made eye contact and smiled at the same time. Candace forgot where she left off and stopped.

Lumina sighed. Her fingers traced the higher scale, tapping an E with her pinky. "You're really good. It must be fun being able to travel and play piano… I'll probably be stuck here forever…"

Candace swallowed. She disagreed. It was nerve-wracking. People always watching, staring, listening. Candace had made a life of peering around the corner. She didn't like all of the eyes on her. She felt like she'd mess up or embarrass herself or melt under their gazes entirely.

Lumina quickly looked up, aghast. "I mean…! I didn't mean to complain! Auntie Romana takes such good care of me, and I didn't mean to make assumptions of you or anything. I'm really sorry."

"N-no…" Candace wrung her hands, staring at the keys. They were old and worn, spots chipped away where fingers passed over the most. The keys themselves were a bit uneven and warped from the years of the wooden body settling in the instrument. "It's… scary. But I like to play. And… I like to be with my friends. Th-that's… what I like the most."

The younger girl was an observant type, much like Candace. She smiled. "So you play for them? That's really cool."

Candace felt a little braver. "Who do you play for?"

"Auntie… I love when she listens and says I'm improving," she said without hesitation. But she frowned. "It's hard to practice sometimes, but it's worth it when she likes my playing."

"We'll keep getting better," Candace said with the strongest muster she could compare to confidence. She wasn't expecting to find a kindred spirit here. She was glad she remained behind after all.

"Would you please show me? Did it go like…?" Lumina asked, leaning over to reach the proper chord. She attempted the beginning of the song, and although it was a few keys higher, she just about had it. She was good at playing by ear.

Candace smiled and gently corrected her, playing the first few bars again at the original register. Lumina watched her fingers and replaced her own movements with them, and they began to play in time, echoing the melody throughout the foyer.

There was thumping upstairs, and suddenly, the girls were all careening back down to ground level. They were all calling her name at once.

"Candace! There you are!" Kathy reached her first, coming to an abrupt stop upon seeing Lumina seated beside her.

"We were looking all over for you – you just disappeared!" Molly accused, using Kathy as her brake by running into her back.

"Who's this?" Luna asked with her nose wrinkling as she beckoned her head to the teenager.

"Oh, I see you've met my Lumina," Romana beamed, following the troupe at a more graceful, careful pace.

"She was showing me the piano…" Candace said before Lumina could pipe up with an excuse. She smiled at her. "She's very good."

"How wonderful! Why don't you play something for them, Lumina?" Romana goaded. She didn't mean to pressure her, but she was very proud of her granddaughter, and it was rare for them to have fellow musicians around.

"If Candace helps me?" Lumina asked, almost pleading. But it wasn't necessary – Candace turned back around and nodded to her, placing her hands back into position. She began 'Just You' again, and Lumina followed along to make it a little duet.

Candace felt more reaffirmed. Her motives more clear. Even though things were scary more often than not, and that would never go away, she wanted to play like Lumina. Who played to make those she loved smile. She wanted to continue on that path and get stronger.

No matter where this takes us… I promise I'll always play for you.

Luna's feet were killing her. They'd been marching in circles for what felt like hours, and her throat was dry, and she needed a nap. Her temper was souring by the second.

Zephyr Town was hot and sunny for early spring. The trees here were already green, and the wildflowers were budding along the sides of the road. But maybe that wasn't so strange. It was later in the season than she initially realized. They had been going between towns for almost three weeks already, but Luna still felt like they had only been away for a few days. Winter had melted, and spring was in the air.

She was actively tuning out her friends who were giggling and shouting and pointing at different stalls to check out. The bazaar here was certainly grand – living up to the name – and was quite the zoo. People swarmed left and right to haggle everything from cattle to produce. Candace was absorbed looking at different accessories for sale, but Luna had turned her nose up at them. They were clearly cheap and way over-priced, and she was hungry, dammit. How much longer were they going to be here?

They were between sets. The Mayor Felix had hired them for the weekend and had provided a stage space for them to play throughout the day. It was probably the swankiest place they'd had so far to play, giving Romana's villa a run for her money. They all but laid out the red carpet for them here. It was nice, but they had a lot more responsibility to their music, being more or less chained to the bazaar for two days straight.

"Guuuuys, we're on break – I wanna break!" Luna whined, voicing her concerns aloud. She couldn't remember when they were supposed to play next, but it felt like soon. When she went unheard, she yanked on Molly's shirt, forcing her back. "I said, I wanna take a break."

"Oh, okay! How about we stop for food real quick and sit?" Molly pitched to the group, unphased by Luna's grumpy tone.

"Wait – look!" Kathy stood on her tip toes, pointing over heads across the way. Luna had no idea what she was gesturing to; standing on her own tip toes wasn't nearly enough to see through the crowd. "It's the circus! I can see Leopold from here!"

Molly pounced on the announcement, much like Tucker who was enthusiastically leaping in her grasp. "Like, the circus?! Reggie's here?! I gotta see!"

"Molly – wait!" Chase shouted, dashing after her before his girlfriend could get lost to the crowd. Kathy was fast behind them.

"Can you believe them?" Luna asked, turning back to her sister at the accessory table. But the jewelry and the back of a stranger was all she saw. She whirled around and made a full circle, not seeing her sister anywhere. "Candace?! Where'd you go?!"

"Excuse me," a woman apologized, winding past Luna with her two children in tow.

Luna dodged and nearly backed into a man in a cowboy hat coming through. "'Scuse me, little lady."

"I'm not little!" She rebuffed with a huff, pursing her lips in annoyance when she went ignored. She was buffeted along by person after person until she could do nothing but follow only the most open pathways. The people cleared, and she stumbled out past some barrels into the grass.

Looking over the bazaar, she realized she escaped it, but her friends were long lost to the fray. Luna pushed the bangs over her forehead, feeling frazzled. "Well… hell. I'm not walking back into that."

Now on her own, she supposed she was at least going to get her way. Luna determined to get away from the noise and find a good place to sit. Rest up. Maybe come back for a snack. She was an adult; she could take care of herself. It was her idiot friends she was worried about leaving behind.

"Probably fawning over the circus animals… must be nice to be with their own kind," she snarked to herself, feeling quite proud that she couldn't be retorted. But maybe she felt just a tiny bit bad. Sure, they were pretty childish sometimes, but they were good people. Insults just weren't as fun when she couldn't get a reaction, anyways.

Luna hopped over a log and found herself surrounded by a cute little ring of trees just outside of the bazaar. It was most likely a picnic spot, but it was secluded enough not to be public. Only locals or people stumbling upon it like she had would know of its existence. She smiled at the serenity, passing under a bough of cherry blossoms.

"STOP!"

Luna froze, still as a statue at the command. Fright had gripped her, thinking she was about to walk into a bear trap or a spider web or a bottomless pit or—

"Don't… move!" A man's voice said, somewhere on her left. "You're… oh my God, the lighting is just perfect – can I paint you?"

Fury replaced the panic when she finally turned and saw a guy holding up his hand to her with a sketch pad and a stupid, jaunty cap on his head. She put her hands on her hips in defiance. "What?!"

The young man seemed totally unperturbed and a little desperate. A total slave to his artistic muse, which just so happened to be Luna in passing. "Please! I beg you; your beauty just struck me with inspiration! The way the sunlight hit your hair, your frame, the angle of your chin – can you step back and part that tree branch again?"

"No way! Weirdo!" She tacked the name calling on the end, unsure of how else to react to such demands and blatant flattery.

He was pleading. It was kind of pathetic. "Oh, please – an opportunity like this is once in a lifetime! You're just so, so beautiful – could you please find it in your heart? Pose for me? Just for… an hour?

He got to her, unwittingly. Luna shot back, her face a dark blush: "You have ten minutes!"

"Thank you!" He cheered. He gathered his things to prepare, continuing to shoot her thanks as he did so. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it – I swear! You're an angel!"

Resigned to her promise, she groaned and turned back around. She re-emerged into the clearing, parting the branch like she just had to the best of her memory. The artist praised her pose and immediately flung his book open to a clean page, scribbling with his pencil with feverish speed.

Luna observed him in turn, noting his baggy, comfortable, yet brightly colored ensemble. It's how she would have chosen to dress a painter, she supposed, so she gave him that. He looked the part. His hair was long and woven into a ponytail that fell in curly waves over his shoulder. Little curls of the same chestnut color covered his brow and spilled over his ears framing his face, and his dark blue eyes flitting back and forth between her and his paper were warm and innocent. He was shockingly handsome in an offbeat, hidden way, she concluded. Sort of like this little clearing in the forest.

Not wanting to stare and betray her thoughts, her eyes roved around the area. A rock with a flat surface was clearly his chair before she appeared. Paintbrushes of different kinds and sizes were littered across it with little bottles of acrylic paints. An easel in front of it was propped up in the tall grass facing a blue pond covered in lily pads. Because of the angle, she couldn't see his progress on the painting. Huh. Wouldn't that be a joke? If he totally sucked. Guess I'll have to see…

Standing as still as could be, feeling a little hot under the sunshine, enjoying the cool breeze, she felt like a nymph who had stumbled into her own Grecian tale. Was this guy creepy? Should she be afraid? Yet much like those myths, she couldn't help but feel self-assured and safe in this little cove alone with a stranger. It was more uncanny than potentially threatening. Hm. Perhaps she was more dim-witted than she thought.

"What's your name?" She asked, striking up conversation after feeling a little bored in the quiet.

His pencil was in his mouth as he rubbed his eraser on the page. He swept away the shavings and spat his pencil back into his grip, his mouth quirking up at the edges as he introduced himself. "Angelo. And you?"

"Luna," she answered shortly.

"Luna! Excellent," he said this like she had a choice in the matter of picking her own name, and she did a good job. He was odd. But that was already quite apparent.

"So, you're an artist, I take it?" She lamely guessed after another long pause.

"Hm… yes!" Angelo confirmed. He made another correction to his drawing and frowned at it when it still didn't look right. "What do you do with your time, Luna?"

"Hm…" she mimicked his hum, feeling sassy. "Telling you wouldn't be much fun, would it? I'd hate to ruin the mystery. Might make your drawing biased."

Angelo must've gotten his lines right because he smiled and then took a second before he registered her response and laughed at it. "Maybe I can guess then. Considering I've never seen you before, you must be passing through. And you are stylish and beautiful and confident… You must be someone very famous!"

"Do you… run out of that stuff? How can you say all of that with a straight face?" She asked of his ceaseless compliments. They didn't feel sincere to her. They were so easily thrown around. And if Angelo was truly genuine like she feared, well, then she might've just met someone who was possibly dumber than Luke.

"Alas! Time is up," Angelo lamented, missing her question. Luna relaxed her posture, not realizing she had gotten pretty stiff in the allotted time. She rolled her shoulder as Angelo made some finishing touches on his sketch. He stood from where he planted in the grass, brushing off his pants. "Thank you very much again. Drawing you was a delight!"

"And there you go again…" Luna muttered under breath, rolling her eyes. Louder, she said: "Sure, okay, you're welcome. See ya—"

"Wait!" Angelo swept his hair back, surprised she was leaving already. In one fluid motion, he tore the page free from the book and tossed his sketch pad onto the rock. He jumped over a fallen branch and snatched a toy flower in passing. Luna took a step back in alarm at his speed as he stopped before her. He offered the white flower. "For you. A flower to show my appreciation, lovely Luna. And the sketch is yours."

"Um… 'kay," she mechanically responded, taking both gifts from him with a wary once over. She looked down at the paper in her hand, turning it around from being upside down. Her eyes bugged. "Whoa, shit… I mean, wow. This is really great! I'm… kind of shocked. You did this really fast."

"Thank you! I'm glad you like it," Angelo smiled cheerily, looking a little bashful at last.

Luna wasn't mincing words for kicks – she was genuinely impressed. He'd only just begun to shade the sketch when time ran out, but he had the entire scene laid out on paper. And she looked way prettier in his drawing; she was certain of that. His pencil was confident in its strokes, but they were more wispy and ephemeral than bold. It was clearly a choice of the artist and not amateur uncertainty. He knew his craft.

She held the sketch close to her heart. "Really, thanks… I mean, I didn't exactly expect such a nice gift coming out here, but I really like it. I'm definitely keeping it!"

"Angelo? What the heck are you doing out here?" Another voice from behind her interrupted their encounter. A younger boy with another silly hat ducked under the tree branch, and she half-expected Angelo to stop him for a quick sketch, too. His feline green eyes landed on Luna, and he grinned. "Pigtails! Yup, you're probably her."

"Huh?" She asked, immediately taking the nickname as an insult.

He went on to explain, rubbing an itch from his nose as a bee circled his hat. He swatted at it, and Luna cowered away when it began to buzz around her instead. "A bunch of your friends are lookin' for ya. They said ya had pigtails, and I said 'yup, I saw Pigtails headin' that way,' so I said I'd go getcha. Your band's gonna play soon."

Angelo shooed the bee away from her as it drew close to the toy flower, and it flew off. He gave her a look. "So you are famous!"

"Hardly!" Luna denied. She was disillusioned with the moment, and she was back to being mad at her friends for essentially ditching her. And she never got any food. She stepped passed the new guy and looked back to Angelo. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Kinda. Good luck with your painting."

"Thank you! Pleased to meet you, too, Luna. Thank you for the inspiration!" Angelo bowed his head in thanks.

"Yeah, yeah…! Okay, so who are you?" Luna left the forest, gesturing to the guy now tripping over the log beside her.

"I'm the mail carrier 'round here. Know these parts from here to Bluebell like the back of my hand!" He said proudly, puffing out his chest a bit.

"Uh-huh… so should I call you Mail or Mr. Carrier?" She snidely asked.

"Oh, my name's Dirk, but you can call me whatever you want, Pigtails," he chuckled. Somehow, he still seemed friendly much like Angelo, and Luna found herself less annoyed. That is, until he spotted her fiddling with her bracelet. "Hey, what's that say? Luck?"

"It's says 'none of your business,'" she grouched, hiding the bracelet now with the palm of her hand. The action brought the toy flower close to her face, and she sneezed from the pollen.

"Ooo, must be from your boyfriend," Dirk teased. Before she could make a pass at whacking him, he swatted at her instead. "Hey, watch it!"

Another bee, or possibly the same bastard back again, was swirling around her head. Luna shrieked and tossed the flower. It left her alone, but not after she dashed ahead a few paces just to be sure. She smoothed her skirt and huffed indignantly.

Dirk thought it was funny. "Haha, wow, girls really hate bugs, huh?"

"Shut up – I didn't wanna get stung!" She stomped her foot.

"You sure get riled up easy. I feel sorry for bracelet guy," Dirk laughed harder at her expense.

Luna curled her fingers to demonstrate her desire to strangle him. But she nearly bent Angelo's sketch in doing so, and she straightened out the page at the corners. She grimaced, looking down at the dirt path at her feet. No one was going to let her off easy today. Zephyr Town was nothing but trouble for her.

When she looked up, Dirk was at her side, tilting his head to see the drawing. He hummed in thought. "Huh… I can kinda see why he likes you though."

She glared up at him. "This village is weird!"

Dirk watched her storm up the path on her own, and a sudden thought struck him. He checked his watch. "Hey, your set starts in ten minutes."

"Jeez, why didn't you say so?!" Luna didn't even bother to scold him further – she took off at a run. She still had to do her makeup and get in costume, and where the heck was everyone?! Candace was going to get an earful.

"Hey, Pigtails – wait up!" Dirk ran so as not to be left behind.

The band reunited just in time to get ready and get on the stage, and the majority of Luna's ire was put on hold as they geared up to perform a cover song. Still, her drum work had particular gusto throughout the afternoon, and though her friends chalked it up to her days of practice paying off, Luna poured all of her frustration for the day into her snare and bass. Frustration mostly with herself. She had a short fuse. She was the drummer. She was already used to going unnoticed. So maybe the attention she got today… wasn't so bad. Maybe it was even kind of nice.

She hated admitting that though.

"1, 2, 3, 4!" She counted at a shout, throwing herself into another sweat-inducing number. Kathy and Molly exchanged amused glances, but they shrugged. Luna never did anything halfway.

Kathy was tired of everyone walking on eggshells around her. It was now common knowledge in the group that things had been broken off with Owen, and it was nice to have that off of her shoulders and out in the open. But at the same time, it was a major pain. 'How are you doing?' became every conversation starter. Certain topics were avoided with zero subtlety. The room would go quiet when she entered. Her friends were trying to be sensitive, but they were babying her.

Not all things were bad with being babied though. For instance, she seemingly could no wrong. Which had its perks, especially when it came to her usual teasing. Instead of fighting her, her friends would just sit and take her sass. Which was amusing to say the least, but it was starting to get old. Being treated like a princess. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

What was normal now? Kathy wondered, realizing her world was upside down without Owen in it. He was the end goal. The road ahead looked so foreign now. Quite literally, too. They were in another place new for another gig. Being endlessly lost seemed to be the new norm for her.

Oak Tree Town was peaceful, but it was pretty dated in a way that reminded Kathy of Mineral Town. Very traditional. The buildings and fashions had a historical vibe, but things felt newer than the old towns on the coast. Like this was almost a tourist destination, like Zephyr. Kathy felt a little out of place, left to roam around after their first show at the Trade Depot.

She was listless. She was tired. But above all, she didn't ever want to stop. She'd keep playing bass, she'd climb every stage, she'd high five her friends after every song. She'd do it again and again and again for forever. As long as it meant she could avoid going home. Kathy missed her dad, and the bar, and her comfy bed, but she hated the idea of being surrounded by more people who would coddle her and tip toe on those damn eggshells. If everyone could swear to just forget she ever even cared about Owen, she might give it a shot, but she knew that was nothing short of impossible.

"GIRAAAAAAAAAFFE!"

Kathy didn't realize the yelling was directed at her until she made a half-turn too late and was bombarded. Wrapped tightly around her legs was a little girl of an indeterminate age between six and ten. Kathy dumbly blinked as her reaction of choice, the girl still squeezing her.

She looked around, baffled, for a parent but found none. The little girl was still beaming up at her after she let go. "You're the giraffe! I love giraffes! Yellow is my favorite color. Don't I look super cute in yellow~?"

"Uh… yeah!" Kathy obediently watched as the girl twirled around in a circle to show off her banana bright skirt. She put her hands on her thighs and leant down. "Say, hon, are your parents around?"

"Uh-huh!" she gave her a spritely nod of affirmation.

Helpful. "Well, uh… why don't you ask first before running after people and–"

"I wanna learn how to play guitar. Guitars are soooo romantic and dreamy!" She sighed, hands over her heart. She was adept at completely ignoring people. "You play guitar, so you can teach me, right?"

"Well, it's a bass, but yeah. I can play guitar. It's just a little different," Kathy attempted to explain, her patience dangling by a thread with the impulsive child.

The girl pouted in thought. "Hm… but maybe it's only dreamy when guys play guitar. It's not dainty enough for a lady."

Kathy was more clearly annoyed. "Er. Well. Okay."

"Do you wanna play with me?" She asked, holding her hands together in prayer as she sweetly tried to fenagle her way into a possible game.

"Well, I'm a little busy today," Kathy told a white lie. She didn't immediately have anything to do with the sisters shopping and Molly and Chase off somewhere on a date, but they were scheduled to perform that night, so… She would be busy in about four hours. But this kid was annoying, and she didn't need to know that.

"Aaawww," the girl whined, blowing air at her forehead at the rejection. She slumped. "Everyone's got something to do except meeeeee. I thought for sure you'd play because you've just been walking around looking all sad and lonely—"

"I am not sad," she robotically corrected, holding the girl back by her wrists as she attempted to hug tackle her again. She thought a second. "Wait, have you been followin' me?"

"Uh-huh!" She nodded enthusiastically again. This didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. "Are you busy being sad?"

It was Kathy's turn to send a sigh of air to her forehead. "I said I wasn't sad."

"Oh! Oh! I know!" The little girl jumped back from Kathy and dug into her pocket. Kathy wondered if she could make a run for it, but she had a feeling the kid might be able to out run her. The little brunette produced a cootie catcher. "Ta-da! I made it myself! It only took three tries – I kept misspelling the words, and everyone knows that the magic won't work if you don't spell it right. Here, pick a color! Wait, never mind, I'll just do yellow. Y-E-L-L-O-W. Okay. Pick a number."

Kathy had always hated these things. She remembered tearing up Luna's once when they were kids, after she kept sticking it in her face. Luna had teased her that it would tell her if she would marry Owen, and she had played the game, and it gave her a big, fat no. So maybe there was some truth in them after all. Still didn't change the fact Kathy hated them. Particularly right now.

"Look, kid…" Kathy tried to let her down easy, holding up a hand against the thing, so she wouldn't have to see it. "I don't even have anything to ask it, so it's not gonna tell ya nothin'."

"Nuh-uh! I already know the question! It's the same question for everybody. It's a special catcher of my own design~! So pick a number," she insisted, holding the paper origami square aloft past her open palm.

"I don't even know who you are—"

"My name's Melanie; pick a number."

"Melanie, I really don't wanna play your—"

"Are you too sad?"

"SIX."

Melanie was unhindered by Kathy's downright snippy tone. Kathy got the feeling she had heard it often. "1-2-3-4-5-6. Okay! It says… hm. Well, I don't know. It's probably wrong. I mean, only I can end up with Ibuki, because he's my princely true love, and we're gonna get married when I'm big, so…"

Kathy threw up her hands as the little girl muddled over the cootie catcher, recounting to test if the result was correct. "Well, 'prince' ain't exactly my type; you're safe. What's this even about?"

"It's my matchmaker! I match up everybody in the village. I'm basically a love doctor," Melanie reported. Clearly, it was a hobby of hers. She snapped her fingers as Kathy facepalmed. "Aha! That's it! Giraffe has seven letters! That's your favorite animal, so we should use that. You should've said seven."

"Well, joke's on you – my favorite animal's a horse," Kathy grumbled, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets as Melanie swiped the cootie catcher back and forth and counted under her breath.

"Otmar? Hm. I guess that's okay," she said with a little shrug. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, did you say horse?! Omigosh, I totally know just the thing! I'm a genius – come with me, Giraffe!"

"That's not my name!" Kathy protested, her arm being hugged and subsequently pulled. She wanted to shake her off, but she hardly needed to be caught fighting an eight year old. Or losing. Melanie rethought where they were going, and she suddenly changed direction to lead her the opposite way. "Where're ya tryna take me, rugrat?!"

"Come ooooon! He's this way – I think? I wonder where he'd be…?" She thought aloud, tapping her chin with her cootie catcher.

"You don't even know?" Kathy rolled her eyes so hard towards the sky it hurt.

Melanie had a skip in her step as she bounded ahead, jumping a little with a giggle of excitement. "I've got the perfect guy for you; it's a match made in heaven! He'll totally cheer you up~!"

"Kid, that is the last thing I want," Kathy said, becoming increasingly more horrified with the situation. Seriously, how do you ditch a kid? She planted her feet and backpedaled, forcing Melanie to a grinding halt. She was no match for towing Kathy's full weight, so they were at a standstill.

Melanie whined louder, doing all she could to yank the young woman to no avail. She dropped her cootie catcher and didn't notice as she used both arms for the effort of dragging her. "Noooo! You've gotta at least meet him! Look in his eyes, and you'll know! Bad giraffe!"

"Alright, listen here ya little twerp—"

Melanie became elated, gesturing to someone walking up the path out of town towards them. "Hey, Klaus! We were looking for you!"

Kathy froze to look at the newcomer. Dressed in formal attire like the vast majority of the village and carrying a box that smelled like lavender, a tall man skeptically gave Kathy a similar once over in return.

Melanie yanked her down to her level and cupped a hand to her ear, whispering: "He's my Plan B, but I'll totally let you have him."

Kathy flatly accepted the offer with heavy sarcasm. "Gee, thanks."

"Is something the matter?" The man Klaus asked, looking between the girls who were still struggling against one another.

"Do I… know you?" Kathy ventured, forgoing an introduction. She realized too late it was just the hair and height. She almost thought he was Trent, and she was back in Mineral Town after all. It took her a beat, but she apologized for her mistake. "I'm sorry – I thought you were someone else for a second."

Klaus seemed bemused, his expression changing to be gentler. "No apology necessary. I hope Melanie wasn't causing you grief?"

"Klaus! You're so mean – we were just playing!" She defended herself with a surly pout of her lips. Melanie still held fast to Kathy, worried she might sprint away if she wasn't – a viable assumption.

Klaus gave the girl an apologetic look. "A thousand pardons, Miss Melanie. I didn't mean to falsely accuse you. Forgive me?"

"Well…" Melanie dug the toe of her shoe into the dirt, acting sheepish. "Okay. Just this time. I forgive you~"

"I'll rest easy tonight," Klaus promised gratefully. Kathy couldn't help but think he was much better at handling unruly, spoiled brats than she was. He was encumbered with the box in his arms, so he was unable to offer his hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss…?"

"Kathy," she provided with a nod of understanding, eyeing the box that clinked with the sound of bottles.

"Charmed," he smiled politely. He gave another suspicious look Melanie's way. "I see you've become Melanie's newest plaything. Her dolls are usually much smaller."

She genuinely laughed at that. Kathy hadn't realized Melanie stopped pinning her down, and she was standing there of her own free will. When she looked down, the girl waggled her eyebrows and loudly cleared her throat. Kathy quickly pretended not to see it. "Klaus, was it? Do ya mind me asking what that is?"

"Oh, this? They're just perfumes I've made. I was delivering them to Giorgio," he said, hiking the box tighter in his grip.

"Kathy likes horses!" Melanie interjected, jumping between them.

"Oh?" Klaus asked, taking it in stride.

"It's… really inconsequential…" Kathy rubbed at her forehead and looked away in embarrassment.

Melanie realized her cootie catcher was gone, and she ran back to retrieve it. She brought it to Klaus to show him. "Yeah, she likes horses, and she picked yellow and, uh, nine – see? It's official – you guys are a perf—mmf!"

"Haha, I said none of that," Kathy set it straight, holding her hand over Melanie's mouth.

Klaus looked up the path and back to Kathy. "Still, I should get these to Giorgio. Would you like to accompany me?"

"I don't know…" Kathy turned him down, dodging Melanie's foot as the girl tried to stomp on her boot in reproach. She realized that going with this Klaus guy meant probably away from Melanie though. She amended her answer. "Actually, yeah. Why not?"

"YES! Let's go visit Giorgio~!" Melanie cheered with a mighty jump of victory.

"Um…" Klaus cautioned, trying to find the right words. He lingered and eyed the lamppost Melanie was swinging off of. "Maybe it would be for the best if you went home, Melanie? Your father must be wondering where you are. I can show Kathy the way."

"Oooohh, I get it!" Melanie gasped and proceeded to send him her best wink. She was unable to wink though, but they still got the message with her twitchy blink. "Take care, you crazy kids~! See you later, giraffe lady!"

"Yeah, yeah, later," Kathy waved dismissively as Melanie turned heel and zipped back towards the houses lined up along the boulevard. She turned to Klaus. "Thanks. Ya saved me there. She always that high octane?"

He chuckled and shrugged. "I hope she didn't bother you too much. She's rambunctious, but she's a kind-hearted girl."

She wanted to argue, but if she was in a better mood, she might've agreed with him. Kathy slung her hands back into her pockets and fell into step with him anyways. She still had nothing better to do. "You make perfume?"

"Yes. I dabble," Klaus answered. It wasn't a prosperous subject. Unluckily for her, he had a different topic. "Were you alright? Melanie said you were feeling down."

Startled, Kathy nearly missed a step even though her eyes were glued to the ground. "You heard that?"

"I'm afraid I heard most of it," he admitted with a laugh.

She groaned. But it wasn't like there was anything she wanted to divulge if he had heard the thick of it like he said. She watched the clouds passing overhead. "Kids, am I right?"

"Well, if you do need some cheering up, I'm sure Giorgio's place is just the ticket," Klaus said and grew quiet for the rest of their walk.

There it was again. People walking on eggshells, going out of their way for her. Did she look like she needed the charity? Was she really so pathetic? Was it written on her forehead? Kathy bemoaned her bad luck and reluctantly followed along as they came upon a large stretch of farmland. Her feet slowed, and she audibly gasped.

"It's quite the sight, isn't it?" Klaus asked, going up the path ahead of her.

For as far as she could see, fields and fields of flowers of every type imaginable filled up every last acre. The air itself was perfume. It was a wonder Giorgio was interested in having any made for him. Kathy took a deep breath of the sweet smell, a smile already spreading its way across her lips involuntarily. It was just so refreshing. Kathy wasn't a poet. Her observation was simple. "It's beautiful."

She followed Klaus up to the house at the end of the walk. He set his box upon the porch and dusted off his hands. Then, to her surprise, he left the porch and made his way towards the field on the right. Kathy looked at the door. He didn't even knock. Klaus looked back. "Were you coming?"

"Uh… don't you have to deliver that?" Kathy pointed over her shoulder at the box they left. But she left the porch and trailed after him, seemingly okay with trespassing, too.

Klaus waved off her concern. "Oh, Giorgio isn't in town. We can just leave it there. He'll find it."

Kathy almost felt tricked, but she supposed he never said anything about meeting this Giorgio guy. Besides, seeing his flower farm was more than enough. The whole area was enchanting. More magical than Melanie's cootie catcher – that's for sure.

Before she could ask where they were off to now, she caught sight of a fence and pasture at the end of the property. Her heart lifted when she saw what was beyond it.

Klaus stopped at the rail and propped up his arms. Kathy stood beside him, looking at the herd of horses in the neighbor rancher's field. Klaus clicked his tongue to get their attention, and a couple of them raised their heads. Kathy did the same, and the horses were curious enough at their beckoning to shyly saunter over one by one. The rest remained doubtful and stayed back but watched.

"I've always liked horses," Klaus said. He held his hand out when one was close enough, and it snorted at his fingers with hot breath. "They're calming and gentle. In my humble opinion, there is no more elegant creature."

A white-haired mare went straight up to Kathy and nickered at her bangs. She pushed the roving nose back from her face and stroked the soft muzzle, noting how the horses' ears twitched forward. Open and welcoming. She glanced at Klaus. "You ride?"

Klaus seemed to debate this. The horse who gave him a sniff turned away. "I rode when I was younger. These days, not so much."

"Because you'll throw out a hip?" She teased, feeling a little more like herself as she grinned. A Palomino whinnied and swished its tail, wanting attention, too. Kathy waved it over, and it butted out the mare, vying for a pet from the new girl.

Klaus watched her interact with the horses, seeing how natural it was for her. She had seemed tense to him, all wound up like knotted strings. But it was like he was meeting a different person here. The mare distracted him with a nibble to his hair, finding him available for pets. He held her warm nose, patting her neck as she reached over the fence in greeting.

Fortunately, Klaus didn't see how Kathy hid her face behind the Palomino. It was like the horse could sense it in her and was acting as her shield. It made her crumble more. Somehow, she had felt just relaxed enough with these horses and this field of flowers to let something inside of her go, and that something was coming out of her eyes. A silent release. Tears she had to get rid of. That couldn't be held in anymore.

Kathy sighed at last, wiping the last tear track away and giving the horse a sound pat of gratitude. Its eyes avoided directly looking into her own, but she took comfort in the brown she saw there. "This was nice… I've been away from horses for too long. Thank you, Klaus."

He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to.

So being a little spoiled was alright. She had to accept she needed self-care for a while. Get back on the horse, as it were. And there were people supporting her at every turn. She was grateful. For Klaus' kindness, Trent's insight, Chase's sarcasm, Candace's support, Luna's humor, Molly's song. Even for a snotty little busybody like Melanie.

For the first time in a good while, Kathy felt loved. It wasn't the love she had asked for, but it was the love she needed. And that was plenty.

"Phew, that's the last of it!"

Chase set the basket on the counter beside the one Molly had carried, and he began to unload it for the cashier. He glared at the bag of candy she had that wasn't on their list. "Put the gummy worms back – we don't need junk food."

"Aw, can't we splurge just a little?" Molly asked, determined to get them regardless of his protests. To be sure, she put them closest to the cashier, and the man rang it up next.

Chase rolled his eyes. "You're gonna load up on sugar, and you won't fit into your fox suit."

"That's a little extreme," she glowered. It was the closest expression she could get to threatening, but to Chase, it just looked funny. "Considering that outfit's a tent. If I outgrew it from eating gummy worms alone, I'd be unhealthy enough to die of a heart attack going up a set of stairs."

"I won't carry you," he dismissed her.

"I never said you would!" She indignantly quipped.

"Did you want the milk in a bag?" The grocer asked. Chase shook his head 'no,' and the man set the bottles aside.

Molly watched the groceries being entered into the old-fashioned register one by one. They were typed number by number, lengthening the receipt paper centimeter by centimeter. Her usual smile returned, and she gave Chase a nudge. "Isn't this domestic?"

"What?" He sounded annoyed and slightly baffled by her comment. It came out of left field. She always threw him off guard.

She pretended she didn't say anything and leaned her back against the counter as they waited. "I like this town. It's really quiet."

"Town's a big word for these parts," the cashier laughed in good humor, chiding her.

"Lots of walking in Leaf Valley," Chase bemoaned.

"You can say that again," the man nodded. Considering how small the village was, and that this was the only person in the building, it could be assumed he was the proprietor of the self-titled Ronald's Grocery and therefore Ronald. Molly decided to conclude so.

"It's weird to think we're this far away from home just buying groceries," Chase suddenly said, finding himself out of his element again. Their predicament felt surreal.

"I was thinking the same thing. I never thought the band could take us this far," Molly agreed. She realized she hadn't said it enough, and even though it was a public setting, she wasn't the type to let that deter any of the embarrassing remarks that popped into her head. "You're quite the trooper! I really couldn't have done any of this without you. I can't imagine what it would've been like if you didn't go to Echo for that first gig. I probably would've wired Gill to see if I could have you shipped over to us."

Chase found a smile. He couldn't say he hated the travelling altogether. It was exhausting and part of that was coming from how unexpected and chaotic their timeline was. Spring was coming to an end, and they were still going from place to place. The original plan was a couple of nights back in mid-winter and here they were spending entire seasons on the road. "Well, I wanted to see more of the world. Because of you, now I've seen plenty."

They were miles and miles away from Castanet at this point. It was like it happened before they realized it. As they hopped from town to town, hitting gig after gig in succession, they crawled further and further across the map. If they wanted to go back to Harmonica Town now, it would take them multiple days to make the road trip.

"Where are y'all from?" Ronald asked, striking up small talk again.

"Harmonica Town," Chase answered. Molly liked that he was doing the talking for once. Not only was it nice to see him more comfortable in front of strangers, Molly enjoyed the break from being the go-to extrovert expected to head all of their interactions. Frankly, it was beginning to wear her out. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he could feel her admiration. He could, in a way. He mostly felt uncomfortable and hot in the face with her staring.

Ronald whistled low. "Never been out that way myself. Quite the hike. But I'm glad y'all made the trip. Good for business, haha!"

Chase gave him a slightly confused look, but he turned at the sound of a little voice. "Um, excuse me?"

"Hey, there!" Molly was already squatting down to talk to the little boy behind them in line. He was wearing a hat that was five sizes too big, and the brim dipped over his eyes looking down and alternatively up his brow and nearly clear off of his head when he looked up. He gave it a push back to see better, holding up a notepad to Molly. "Whatcha got there, fella?"

"Uh… um… would ya sign my book, lady? F…foxes are my favorite…" he bravely requested, handing her a pen as well.

"Wow, of course! I'd love to!" Molly said, genuinely delighted. She hovered the pen over the paper. "'For my very good friend…' hm. Who is this for?"

"Tim!" The boy said, a wide grin plastered on his face as he watched her. He bounced up to see and panicked. "Oh, whoa, that's my treasure map!"

"Don't want to write over that, do we? Better keep that safe," Molly agreed. She flipped to a blank page and signed an autograph as promised. "Okay! 'For my very good friend, Tim! Much Love, Molly.' How's that?"

"Perfect! I love it! Thanks!" Tim took it back and looked it over. Molly laughed and answered a couple of questions he had. Chase just noticed the boy had a pair of makeshift, paper fox ears he had taped to his hat. He was a bona fide fan.

"See? Good for business!" Ronald laughed again, ringing up another bag of gummy worms Molly had managed to sneak into their pile of supplies. Chase barely heard him. He was flabbergasted. This was getting bigger than he, or any of the band, ever dreamed. Looks like they just accidentally went on tour.