City, Farm, wherever you are, I'm there. (Closed to Juneberry)

Sierra smiled.

"I'd like to learn, if you'll teach me."
She smiled at the little girl.

"Um, and I guess I can, like.. Teach her too?"
She said, pulling out a mirror from her pocket, to look at her reflection.
"And, I'll help with the animals, but not the dirty ones.."

She likes animals well enough, but she hated being dirty.
 
"Um...Seriously, all animals are dirty." Conan noted. "I don't think I've ever seen an animal that never got dirty."

"Maybe she can help keep an eye on them while they graze after you've cleaned them?"

"I guess that's fine....Ah, and the chickens aren't that dirty, right Pa? They're actually pretty clean comparatively. But...You have to be careful with them. They're clean, but their energy can cause just as much dirt to fly as a cow sitting still while you scrub it clean." Conan chuckled a bit at the memory of the first time he'd gone into the chicken coop on his own. Yes, dirt flew that day. Mostly from him toppling over.

When he returned to the topic of teaching her to cook, he scratched his cheek lightly as if slightly embarrassed, but his words held no vulgarity compared to the usual, and there was no real sense of unease in his voice. "I guess I could teach you how...We'll take over dinner duty for now then."
 
Sierra looked at the boy.

"My animals aren't dirty."
She said, wrinkling her nose.
"But I guess I can work with chickens."

"And I'll deff. help you cook. It'll be so much fun!"
She laughed and got up.

"Uh, do you guys have hot water? Like can I take a shower?"
She asked, looking at Conan.
 
"Yep. If there's one thing we have, it's good water." Conan replied. "It's better for your skin than most city water too. Less crud in it."

"Big brother told me our water is called 'soft' water, but the stuff that's bad is 'hard' water."

"It's not bad, necessarily, Sophie." Conan replied. "It's just harsh on the skin because it has a lot of stuff in it that dries it out." Smiling mildly to his little sister, Conan got up from the table. "Pa, can you take care of the dishes? I'll go check the water to get it starting to heat up. It may work well, but it takes a bit of time to heat, so..."

"Sure, Conan. Sierra, why don't you go get a change of clothes while he does that? Sophie and I will take care of the dishes." Conan listened and nodded, looking at Sierra.

"I'll come knockin' when the water's hot. It stays hot after it's been heated, so even if I turn it off, it'll be hot when you turn it back on."
 
Sierra nodded.
"Okay, I'll go on and get some clothes. Um. Thank you."
She walked upstairs, and picked out a pair of pink pj's, along with all her bathroom things.

It was alright here- quiet, and a bit boring.
But maybe she'd learn to cook, that would be great.
 
Conan went to the bathroom and started up the water, waiting for it to be heated. The bathroom was small, but it had the necessities- a mixed shower and tub, a wash bin and a toilet. It was quaint, and suited the generally small and simple house well. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the cold water begin to warm up. When it was at a good temperature for a shower, he let it go a little longer so that it would hold the heat properly when she came in. Then, he turned off the faucet, and went to the guest room again, knocking on the door. "Bathroom's first door on the other side of the hall. The water's hot now, so you can go on ahead. If you need anythin' else, as Pa or Sophie. I've gotta get back to work."

Without waiting for a response, Conan left the house and went to the chicken coop, checking to make sure the chickens had eaten. When some of them tackled him, he laughed and played with them for a while. "You're gonna get a new friend soon, I hear. Bet you'll like that." He stayed there for quite a while, until he ended up taking a nap without meaning to. As he dozed, chickens bounced on his head lightly like a game. It seemed the animals rather liked him.
 
Sierra got in the shower, enjoying the hot water.
She scrubbed herself raw, needing to be clean.
Her skin was slightly pink when she got out and she
got dressed.

Her pj's felt nice and clean against her skin, and she
went to her guest room, and sat on the bed.
It was comfortable, and cuddly.
She started to doze off.
 
Conan had gone inside and gotten to rest properly by the time the time the moon was fully in the sky. He slept soundly, as did the others in the household. When the sun rose, Conan was the first to rise with it, heading to the shower and hopping in before letting it even get hot. After his cold shower, he went to the kitchen clothed in proper working attire and got a carrot out of the fridge. His father came out, smiling.

"You slept well, I see."

"Early bird gets the worm, right Pa?" Conan smiled to his father before finishing his carrot. "I'm headed to barn. I'll get to the coop afterwards."

"Giving Sierra time to rest in case she wants to join you with the chickens?" His father smiled a bit still, but Conan looked away, not agreeing at all, yet his face giving it away that it may have been part of his reasoning.

"I was with the chickens late last night. They'll last a few hours extra this time." He left after that in a hurry, a tool belt on him with a brush, milker and shears. Once in the barn, he began his usual duties of taking care of the animals- which went mostly without a hassle, besides a few kicking him as usual from his poor choice of movement in the space.
 
Sierra woke up to birds singing.
For a moment, she didn't know what it was- birds rarely sang in the city.
She lay in bed, enjoying it for a moment before getting up.

She heated the water in the bathroom up for a bit,
like Conan had done, and took a quick shower.
Today, she put on a small bit of eyeliner and lip gloss, then put her hair in a bun.

For clothes, she put on a pair of jean shorts, a black belt,
and a pink tank top.
Along with a pair of boots, because she knew she'd be outside.

Yawning, she went downstairs and looked around.
"Hello? Where's Conan?" She asked his father, still sleepy.
 
"Ah, Sierra," His father mused. "Conan went out to the barn. He always wakes up real early, that one. Wakes up earlier than the birds I'd bet." Laughing a bit, he placed a couple plates on the table, each having some fluffed scrambled eggs and a side of chopped carrots. "He doesn't eat much either. All he ate for breakfast was a carrot, silly boy. But...He's certainly a child of habit. Same yesterday- except it was celery yesterday."

Walking back to the sink, he put his head over his shoulder. "Conan put the coop off so that he could do it with you since you'd shown interest in it. He might let you go to the barn after, but the barn animals are more frisky in the morning and they tend to wake up in dirt. He took care of the chicks late last night to make sure they'd be ready so you wouldn't be intimidated. They might still be fussy, though. He'll keep an eye out for you. The animals rather like him like we do...But they're very energetic, and he knows their signs best. For now, eat an omelette. You need energy before getting to work of any kind."

"Daddy...There are crows. Is mister scarecrow sick?" Sophie came out, yawning as she spoke.

"There there. I'm sure he's fine. We'll check on him after we eat, okay?"

--

While his father was helping the guest and newly woken sister, Conan continued to take care of the barn animals diligently. He sat on an old bucket while brushing one of the sheep to help his tired knees, having just harvested some fresh wool from it into a nearby basket. "Feels good doesn't it? You'll get sick if we don't get that wool off you, since you'll sweat more than the pigs down by Baker's farm." He was warm towards the animals, perhaps a bit more so than the people of his home. However, he groaned as it nuzzled against him, getting soap in it's eye from getting too close to the washing brush. "Idiot, I said to sit still for a reason, didn't I?" His rude words came with a laugh however, and he smiled weakly. "Seriously...What am I going to do with you...?"
 
Sierra smiled and decided to go out to the barn by herself.
She didn't eat anything.

She opened the barn door and smiled at the animals.
"Conan?" She asked quietly, looking for him.

"I came to help."

 
Of course, Sierra had chosen possibly the worst time to sneak in, as Conan had just fallen to the ground and kicked up some dirt around him, luckily not too close to the door. He coughed a bit, though it was more like a grunt, as he got up. "Calm your horses...Er...Okay, that sounded really stupid. But seriously, calm down, Hansel." He mused. The foal from the day before was a bit riveted again as he pet it's mane loosely, looking towards the entrance to see Sierra. "I told you we'd start with the coop. You don't like dirt, right? This place is more full of it than trees in a forest. And there are a lot of damn trees in a forest. The coop ain't nearly as bad."
 
Sierra smiled.
"Well, I can get a bit dirty, I mean, this whole outfit only cost five hundred together.
So it's okay."

She shrugged and looked around.
"I like animals anyway. And mom can just buy me some more clothes."

She really wanted to see the pigs.
 
"Whoever prices clothes where you come from is insane." He mused, moving into view with his hands on his hips. "This barely cost fifty bucks- well, minus the sneakers. Sneakers cost about the same for a pair that lasts, unfortunately." But otherwise, his clothes were modest and simple- worn out blue jeans that were well maintained hung on his hips well as usual, along with a simple t-shirt much like the one from yesterday. "Clothes are a necessity. They shouldn't be so expensive. They're meant to keep you from getting sick."

Shaking it off, he walked over and held out a brush while digging for his milker on his tool belt. "Right now we need to start with one of three things- feeding, brushing or milking. I'm not sure which you'd be most comfortable with, but they all need to be done. Both for our sake, and for the animals."
 
Sierra smiled.
"I'll brush."
It seemed easy enough, and cute, like a makeover or something.

She held out her hand for the brush.

 
Somehow he wasn't surprised and already had his hand on the brush. Taking it out, he held it out to her. "Make sure to keep going in one motion, preferably from the head to the back. And be gentle. It's better to take your time than to risk hurting them. Trust me, if you hurt them, they'll tell you painfully well."
 
Sierra nodded, as she grabbed the brush.
She silently and slowly began to brush the horse, whispering to it sweetly.
 
Watching her seemed to mesmerize him until the animal he was working with huffed. He was surprised, certainly, but a bit relieved as well. She'd seemed so fake the day before, but now she seemed to fit in on the farm just fine. It was almost too difficult to believe. "Looks like he likes you. Have you ever ridden?"
 
Sierra smiled at the horse, and then gave him a small hug.
She turned to Conan.
"No, I never have. I didn't want to break a nail or anything."
She flashed her fake nails.
 
And right there, his current feeling of liking her company was beginning to pale. "Why do you need fake nails when you have real ones anyway? I may never understand city folk..." He shook it off, working with a nearby foal. "It's a shame though. You seem to like the horses, so I thought you'd enjoy riding, even if I had to teach you. It'd be easier for you to get around on your own then too, if we can't take the pick up."
 
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