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Rain poured down on the valley for what seemed to be the sixth day in a row. It could have been that one of the other farmers in your small commune was using rain totems continually, but it saved you all the energy of having to water your crops in the mornings, so you couldn't even complain that much. That day you offered to go fishing down on the beach and no one objected, so off through town you ran. If you were being honest, you didn't care that much about fishing - while one of your fellow farmers could do a mean fish fry on days when you wound up with a surplus, they were also the one that was the best at fishing. If you hadn't just spent four days making progress in the mines, you'd rather be there, but there's only so much mining a person can do day after day.
As you navigate town, you manage to snag a few artifacts and lost books peeking out of the dirt. Leaves float through the air amidst the raindrops, the crisp fall air swirling around you. When you reach the beach, you take a moment to look around and pick up a handful of shells that you'll be able to sell later on. Another one of your fellow farmers placed chests all over town so that in the event of someone's backpack getting a little too full, it was possible to offload some items to be retrieved later. You stash the shells in the chest before crossing over the small wooden bridge to the tide pools. As you pick up a few more corals, you wave to the Old Mariner standing in a secluded but dry corner of the bushes. He doesn't wave back, but gives you an analytical once over, the same as he always does.
By 8:30am, you make your way down the dock, inventory empty and training rod in hand and ready for some fishing. You spot a section of bubbles and do your best, winding up with a hefty pile of sardines and anchovy while also gathering plenty of green algae, which isn't worth much, but can be handy for days like these where you wind up using a lot of energy and don't want to have to carry around piles of food.
Every so often, you made sure to stop back over to the beach chest, offloading some of your various valuables found in treasure chests that came up with the fish. By 1pm, you decide to tuck into a covered spot by the bushes, texting your fellow farmers to see how they're doing with their days and take a quick break. Everyone seemed to be making progress with their own goals for the day, and one fellow farmer jokingly asked if you were finally tapping out from the amount of fishing you were doing. After a cheeky reply that no, you were doing just fine, just pausing to grab a snack before getting back to it, you looked up and saw the silhouette of someone else leisurely making their way through the rain and down one of the docks. It didn't appear to be Elliott, who you hadn't seen emerge yet today and could hear the occasional tinkering of piano coming from his cottage, and it didn't seem to be Willy either, who was presumably fishing further out on the water since you noticed his boat was missing. You smiled to yourself as you realized it must be the only other person willing to venture out onto the beach in the rain - Sebastian.
You made sure to slow yourself and not literally run up behind him, although your excitement definitely quickened your steps. "Hey, Sebastian!" you called as you were still about halfway down the dock. He was in the middle of sitting down on the edge of the wooden platform, and turned back to look over his shoulder at you. The two of you had been... rather friendly as of recently. While your other farming companions ran off after their own romantic interests, you found yourself drawn to the same places that Sebastian typically found himself in. Whether or not that was because Sebastian was usually in those places.... you might not necessarily admit it, but it was always a pleasant surprise.
"Hey Farmer, what are you doing out here in the rain?" He pulled out his pack of cigarettes as you sat down on the dock next to him. He took one, then held out the pack to you, offering you one. You put a hand up as you shook your head and smiled a "no thank you," and he simply shrugged and covered the end of the cigarette as he lit it.
"Oh, you know, just doing some casual fishing. Figured it was about time I pulled my weight on fishing duty and there might be a /certain someone/ I know who is rather fond of sashimi and would definitely not complain if the amount of sashimi increased." You gave his shoulder a friendly nudge as he grinned down at the water.
"Man, whoever that is must be preeeeetty lucky. Although... And no judgement, really, are you actually catching the best sashimi quality fish with the training pole?" He smirked.
"Hey, the training pole is doing just fine!" You exclaimed, playfully shoving him. "And besides, it's just helping me get better, I'll hit up Willy for a new one tomorrow after I've sold what I scrounge up today."
Sebastian took a moment to take a drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke away from me. Some days the scent bothered you more than others, but today there was something about it that just felt right at home. "What are the other farmers up to today?"
"Two of them went to the mines, they wanted to team up and have one person fight off the monsters so the other can focus on the mining. The other one I think went into Cindersap, she said something about hats and the wizard but I wasn't really paying attention. How about Sam and Abigail, they getting up to anything fun today?"
He sighed. "I messaged Abigail earlier to see if she wanted to play any games but she said that she was busy helping out her dad today, although when I swung by the store on the way down here, Pierre said she'd left just after breakfast so idk what that's all about. Then yesterday Sam said he wanted to try and work on some songs for the band today, so he's got everything turned off and his headphones on so he's in a real 'emergencies only' mood." He took a poetic pause by dragging on his cigarette. "But I mean, you know me, the rain's where I like to be."
"Yeah, me too," you said almost too enthusiastically for such a moody and melancholy statement, causing you to immediately backpedal. "Just in that it's quiet, but in the comforting sort of loudness of the raindrops that muffle everything else, and there's less people to stop you so you can get places faster and... all that..." You trailed off as your eyes met Sebastian's, watching his gaze soften as you blabber. A nervous laugh bubbles up from the butterflies in your stomach. "What are you staring at?"
He glances out over the water, trying to hide his smile. "I just thought it was funny how fast you tried to backpedal. Almost like you don't wanna admit that you like being out in the rain because you know I'll be out in the rain..." Just then, a huge flash of lightning cut across the sky, followed almost instantly by a deep roll of thunder that shook the dock. The watery deluge increased in its intensity, pelting your faces. Sebastian smudged out the end of his cigarette on the end of the soaked dock near a smattering of other dark, ashy marks, then got to his feet. He reached down to offer you a hand up. "I think the weather's getting a touch too dramatic for even me, but would you want to hang out for a bit? I recently got a new party game that, while fun with Sam and Abigail, I think it would be hilarious to see how you do at it as well."
You take his hand and he helps you up. For a terrifying moment, it seemed like you were maybe going to overbalance right off the other side of the dock and into the churning water, but Sebastian grabbed your shoulders, steadying you. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Is it okay if I swing by the farm first? I just wanna drop some stuff off."
"Sure thing, I can give you a hand if you'd like. Least I can do, considering I'll absolutely destroy you at the game."
"Psh, yeah right, you have no idea my gamer prowess. Who do you think's setting all those high scores at the Saloon?"
Sebastian let out a real, genuine, hearty chuckle. "Considering the names on the top scores are Seb, Abi, and Sam, it's definitely not you, but game on."