Chapter Text
Spring brings the return of clear skies and mildly warm sunny days. Flowers bloom to celebrate the passing of cold winter air and jackets are set to retire on their hooks and hangers. For Ari, Spring had brought a brand new start as a farmer in Mistria; a quaint town far from the bustling Capital. Farmer was a title that was new for them, but if you saw an advertisement for a plot of land that was free in exchange for supporting the town’s economy after an earthquake…you'd take it too, right?
By now it had been two weeks since Ari’s arrival at the beginning of Spring and they were beginning to settle in nicely; the new faces around town had become familiar and the modest farm plot amongst the vast and messy land was growing nicely with thriving little sprouts that danced in the breeze.
On this particularly sunny day, Ari had decided to finally tackle the pile of laundry that had been dauntingly building in the corner of their home and as they fashioned a makeshift washing line out of two sticks and some string, one of the townsfolk strolled down the pathway into the farm.
“Hey, Ari! Whatcha’ up to?” Ryis, the handsome and hardworking young carpenter raised a hand in greeting as he approached.
The farmer’s head whipped around, having not heard his footsteps on the dirt path. “Ryis! Good to see yo-” The string they were tugging taut to wrap around the second pole slipped from their palms and the entire contraption fell to the ground. “Dammit-!”
The young man chuckled. “What is it you're doing?” He asked, picking one of the fallen poles back up.
“I'm making a washing line…” Ari nodded towards the wooden wash basin nearby that was full of soaked clothes. “Finally ran out of clothes after putting it off for so long.”
Ryis let out a nervous chuckle. “Right, so that's why you're dressed so…” His warm orange eyes traced down the farmer's form which only donned a white undershirt and short, light blue cotton shorts.
“Hm?” The oblivious farmer looked over to him, not quite hearing what he said. The man shook his head, a gloved hand raising to scratch the back of his neck.
“You know…these sticks won't be strong enough to hold your washing! Wet laundry is pretty heavy.” He held the flimsy pole in his hand which weighed barely anything in his palm.
Ari groaned, putting their head in their hands. “I knew it…I'm this close to just giving up entirely!” They held up their hand, index finger and thumb just about to touch. Ryis couldn't help but laugh, going over and patting their back.
“You could've asked at Uncle’s place! We can easily fashion you something stronger and we even have some wire which you can use instead of…” He bent down to pick up the forgotten piece of string in the grass. “This.”
The farmer bit their lip, lowering their hands and fidgeting them. “I didn't want you to think of me as some dumb city kid…”
The young man frowned as he took a closer look at their form again, noticing that the front of their clothes were soaked and their fingers were wrinkled from scrubbing the clothes clean. His lips turned up into a smile again.
“Why would I think that?”
“I've never done laundry before! In the Capital there are people you can pay to do it for you…there's witches that can have your clothes dried just like that!” They snapped their wet fingers. “And they always smelled so floral and fresh afterwards…”
Ari continued, looking a little sheepish. “I may have asked Juniper if she did a laundry service since she owns the bathhouse and wields magic…”
Ryis spluttered a laugh, trying to conceal it so as to not embarrass the farmer. “And…what did she say?”
They turned their head away, cheeks flushing. “She said she's not some old laundry maid. She looked really offended and sent me out…ever since then she's been giving me a pointed look whenever we cross paths…”
The young man couldn't help it anymore. He laughed, his voice warm and melancholic. “I can't believe you asked her that! I think you ought to buy her a drink on Friday to make up for it!”
Ari couldn't help but admire the way the man looked whilst laughing but of course the embarrassment took priority. “Don't laugh at me! This is all new, okay?”
“Didn't I tell you that I'm from the Capital too?” Ryis’ laughter died down but his smile was still wide. “And that…I didn't know how to do laundry when I arrived either?”
The farmer’s shoulders loosened as they looked up at him, surprised. “You're a city boy? Which part are you from?”
“The east side! My family runs a bakery there called ‘Rolls and Dough’! Have you ever been before?” He grinned hopefully.
The farmer shook their head. “I'm from the South side, only ever been east a handful of times to handle odd jobs.”
“A-Ah, right…” Admittedly the young man looked disappointed but he still smiled brightly. “You know…if it makes you feel any better, I asked March to teach me how to do laundry when I first got here!”
Ari grinned, reaching down to pet the grey cat that had plodded from the cottage to rub up against their legs. The feline closed its eyes and purred appreciatively as the farmer spoke. “Yikes, and what did he say to that?”
“He, erh…smirked and called me a helpless city slicker!” Ryis chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Although he did help me…apparently he and Olric do the job together. Lemme tell you, Olric is incredible with a washboard! The big guy could scrub a stain outta anything!”
A light laugh left the farmer's lips who seemed much brighter and relieved. “Good to know his huge arms have a range of use! I should've had him scrub my clothes for me.” They rolled their shoulders, arms clearly aching.
The young man beside them patted their back again, grinning. “You'll get used to it! How about I head back up home and cut you some proper washing line poles? Free of charge~” He winked with a grin.
“I can pay! Seriously, you don't need to do anything for free…”
He chuckled in response, reaching down to give the cat a quick tickle under the chin before starting back up the dirt trail. “It'll only take me two minutes! Trust me…I'm just happy to help out!”
Before the farmer could open their mouth to argue he was leaving in a light jog, boots kicking up a light air of dust along the path. As he went he raised a hand of farewell and disappeared towards the east trail.
Ari sighed gently, bending down to pick up Pumpkin who rolled in their arms and purred before climbing onto their shoulders to lounge.
“Thank you, Ryis…~”