[littl3chocobo]

like an arrow through the brain the words impaled him and this time he could not help the smile that bled out on his face. he felt like dancing and it showed in his fingers, quickly he balled them uy into his palms to keep them from moving, "thankyou, thankyou mister, i will work as hard as i can for as long as you will keep me!"

[Honey]

Even he couldn't keep the smile that surfaces, cracking his streak of trying to appear tough, but given the easy smiles from the boy he figured he might not care six ways until Sunday what kind of man he was. "Now, now, you don't have to get 'all excited there. If you do your share of 't work then I should be thankin' you, and I am with letting you stay here. There is some sort of guest room, or bedroom or something like that up tha' stairs. Yew can stay in there if you'd like." Slowly he came to rest his chair flat against the floor again, and rising from the rough wooden seat he took the bowls to wash

[littl3chocobo]

he jerked his head to let the man know he understood before tempering his grin to a sheepish smile, where the first had been sincere this one was just to keep him in the part of youthful shyness. "all the same thankyou. stars are pretty but a roof is prettier, though. may i finish my supper first? waste-not want-not"

[Honey]

It wad clear the boy was holding back his desire to eat his food quickly, and he made a brief mental note to make more of the soup the next night, or to maybe even get something more filling than cabbage when the weekly merchant came by again. Still, the boy finished quickly enough, and with both of the bowls in the old wash basin made with little more than rust, he gestured for the boy to follow him up the creaky stairs. "You mightn't have some luck trying to fluff the pillow, I can't say it still has all of its fluff after all 'er these years." The man paused at the head of the stairs, opening a tiny cupboard to fetch an old patched blanket and a pillow so flat it could hardly be seen. he handed them both to the boy before opening the old and battered door to the spare room. "I believe tha' window still opens if it's too hot, but I know it is tough to keep closed- With how 'ot it is I doubt that'll be much of a problem though. My room is down 'ere, the end of the 'all, if you need 'nythin'. otherwise I reckon you should be ready to work early on the 'morrow."

[littl3chocobo]

his host's accent grew rougher and he took it to mean the other was uncomfortable, whether with what he had or that he was offering was anyone's guess but the shyness could work to his favor since it meant he would most likely be left alone. he took the offered bedding and entered the mostly empty room. it was bare but for an iron-post bed and dresser that looked like it belonged to someone's great-great-aunt. turning he found the man already to be leaving and the door half closed behind him. offering a soft 'goodnight' he went to unroll the mattress and put down his blankets. he needed a little time for the farmer to go to sleep before he offered a real show of gratitude

[Honey]

He was not normal in the sense of the other farmers, often arising before the sun arose before they went to work, but with his field not being as large as theirs he was left with less work, and with a capable assistant as the boy from yesterday even less work for he alone to take care of. Still, he awoke early that morning, the sun only barely showing itself through the thick panes of glass from his window, and in mere moments he was awake and ready to start the day. Venturing down the dark and dusty hall he offered a loud rap of his knuckles against the guest's room and the call of the sun rising and their needing to get working

[littl3chocobo]

he woke with a jerk at the strange sound. the light outside the window, when he looked, was still gray in predawn throes and he was tired and sick from last night's rain but as it came again he dragged himself from the bed and quickly made it before double-timing it out into the hallway where the farmer was waiting. he hoped his exhaustion did not show too badly

[Honey]

he figured the boy to not be much of a morning person with the way he looked when he joined him in the hallway, and decided against saying much of anything to the boy until they were most of the way down the stairs to the kitchen. "You'd do well to wake up a bit and mayhap head outside and find a couple eggs from the chickens. They tend to nest near t' side of the house if you'd like to check there, otherwise we can live without eggs this mornin'. Grits and pork is usually enough. Does that sound like an alright breakfast to you?"

[littl3chocobo]

it did. in fact the thought perked him right up and he did his best to try and will away the tiredness. lightly he nodded then spoke up when he realized the other could not see him. "sounds fine, i will see what your birds have been up to then." giving himself a secret smile he moved to go for the screen-door he had spied the night before to the side of the kitchen. finding it well oiled he slipped through and took a deep breath. most of the tang of water was gone but he could still feel a light thrum from the damp ground. he put on a face of surprise and yelled back over his shoulder, "hay, mister brady.... you might wanna' come look at this"

[Honey]

He'd barely pulled the grain from where he kept it when he already heard the boy, and setting it against the old counter he moseyed to the door. "What is it, I thought I asked yew to go find the chickins." Swinging open the door he first saw the boy, his face mixed into something between happiness and shock, and looking up to the fields he could see the exposed dirty having taken on a wet, rich color. "Well ain't that odder than a mouse hatin' my grain. There weren't a cloud in the sky before we headed off to bed."

[littl3chocobo]

"rain is strange stuff i guess but i wouldn't knock it." he turned his head so the other could not see his grin and to give the sense that he was looking it over for the first time. "not much though but any rain is good rain i s'pose, you think it will help?"

[Honey]

"Aye, I do. With weather like we've 'ad, any rain will do the crops well, at least enough to tide them over for an'ther day." He rested a hand on his hip as he lifted a hand over his brow, looking to the fields. "The work today will be tougher, the weeds like the rain just as much as 'er crops and the soil will be damp. Best 'ta get movin'. Go fetch those eggs and than we can go 'ter work." Reaching out he offered the boy a quick ruffle of his hair before heading back into the house

[littl3chocobo]

he flinched at the touch but the farmer did not seem to notice and he was left to go get the eggs, he ended up getting five though there were two broken ones as well. he couldn't be sure what ate them but assured if he stuck around he would find out what. the farmer seemed pleased with how many he had found and he did his best to try and not be proud on the hens' behalf

[Honey]

With their hearty breakfast settling into their stomachs and the sun rising higher into the morning sky, the farmer was feeling eager to take care of the crops early, but in stead of sending the boy out right away he sent him out with his tool while he searched through the cluttered shed for his hoe or second rake. There was no sense having the boy wear down his hands if he'd only been there a few days

[littl3chocobo]

the hoe mitigated some of the effort needed to help tend the fields and so the work, though harder than yesterday, seemed no more so than before. he kept going until the farmer found him again for lunch and only paused at the door to take off his muddy shoes and lean his hoe against the farmer's. when they were inside he found a chair and the man went straight for the larder where he pulled out something lumpy in a cloth which he took over to the breadbox. his eyes widened when a beautiful golden chunk of brick was carefully uncovered and two thin slices were sliced free and set on the counter. he was enraptured when the cheese was followed by two thick slices of bread from the loaf in the breadbox before being plated. he made sure not to touch it though until the farmer had put away the cheese and bread and came back with two glasses of water for them to drink with their lunch. "forgive me for bein' nosy but how did you manage to come across cheese around here?"

[Honey]

"The farm down the road opposite where you came has a load 'er cows. They have trouble with their papers and writin' and all that so I help 'em out. In exchange they give me cheese some'er the time." He ripped apart some of his bread with a piece of the cheese, and popping it into his mouth chewed thoughtfully. "I don't get down there too often, but when I make it a few time a' month they are generous. Ne'er anything less than a genuine thanks."