After their less than ideal interaction with Abigail, Pip opted to stay hidden on the farm. They spent the next few days clearing the land, which consisted of tossing rocks into the nearby forest, stopping to snack, pulling some weeds, stopping to chase after a butterfly, kicking at a larger rock when they tripped over it, cursing at the rock when they stubbed their toe, and getting tangled up in some bushes only to roll away in the dirt, defeated. This farming thing was just not what Pip had expected.
It wasn’t long before Pip had another unexpected visitor. This time from a homely looking woman with curly brown locks that would have made her very pretty if it weren’t so… messy. Her overall appearance seemed messy, and it made her look older. Yet something seemed to suggest she wasn’t as old as she appeared.
Pip certainly wasn’t one to judge, but they had to force a smile as the woman approached in case she read any of these thoughts on Pip’s face. The woman, however, seemed not to notice.
“Hi there,” she said as she approached. “Uh, Mayor Lewis mentioned someone new had moved in.” She turned and pointed south of the farm, towards the forest. “I live on the ranch just down there,” she said. She turned back and held a hand out. “My name’s Marnie.”
Pip took the woman’s hand and offered one, short shake. “Pip,” they said simply.
“Nice to meet you, Pip,” she said, offering a warm smile. “I hope you’re settling in well?”
Pip hesitated, looking around the farm. “I’m not much of a farmer,” they admitted. “But, yeah, you know, I’m settled.”
“Well,” Marnie started. “If you need any help with anything, you know where I am. I sell a few supplies in the shop and have some animals for sale if you’re interested in getting some critters here. Every farm needs some animals.”
Admittedly, Pip was not much of a fan of animals. They were big and intimidating, to say the least.
“Or, you know,” Marnie started, hesitant, reading the look of fear on Pip’s face. “You don’t need any animals.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “What do you plan on doing here, anyway?”
Pip shrugged and continued to look around the farm. “Well, us fairies are known for our love of alcohol,” they said. “I was thinking of trying out some of my own recipes.”
“My nephew, Shane, will just love you,” Marnie said with a grin. “He’s a bit of an alcohol fanatic, too.” Her smile disappeared for a moment and she grew quiet. Pip watched as a flash of pain seemed to cross Marnie’s face before she smiled again. “The saloon in town keeps pretty busy at night. I’m sure Gus would love to have something from you on tap.”
Pip shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Well, if you need some strong arms around here,” Marnie continued. “Come get Shane or I. We’ll be happy to help you out.”
“I got it,” Pip said, more defensively than they meant it to be. They didn’t want to look like a total failure to these people. “Thanks,” they added quickly. “I’ll let you know if I do.”
Pip watched as Marnie made her way back home, waving goodbye quickly over her shoulder before she disappeared into the woods. Pip sighed and sat on the large rock that was still stuck in the ground. Maybe they could work around the rock. It wasn’t too inconveniently placed, anyway. Besides, they only needed enough space cleared for some crops. Pip certainly didn’t plan on clearing all of the land. There was no need for barns for animals, that was for sure.
Pip got back to their feet and looked around at their progress. Most of the space around the cabin had been cleared. Pip cocked their head to the side as they tried to envision the farm. They could build a shed right beside the old green house (and get that fixed up, too) and plant crops in the space in front of the shed and green house. That would make everything easily accessible and would save Pip from trecking across the farm every day. Then, they wouldn’t have to clear anything else. It wasn’t worth the frustration, anyway. It was already going to be a lot to keep up with, between the crops, the aging, the brewing - what had they gotten themselves into?
Pip looked up into the sky. It was still early in the day. They weren’t particularly eager to get back to work, but with nothing else to do, Pip eventually began weeding and pulling rocks up once more. By the end of the week, they guessed, they would have enough land clear to begin planting crops for the spring season.
It wasn’t long, however, before another curious visitor made their way to the farm, much to Pip’s dismay. Why did humans always feel a need to intrude on others? If Pip wanted to make friends with the locals, than they’d be in town doing just that.
Pip couldn’t be too upset at the little girl, though, as she made her way carefully to the stranger. She smiled and watched Pip for a moment. Pip ignored the girl as they pulled up some more weeds and tossed them to the side into a wheelbarrow.
“Are you really a fairy?” the girl finally asked. Her eyes were wide and bright as she looked at Pip.
Pip sat back on their heels and finally acknowledged the girl. Was it not obvious enough by the purple skin and wings? Pip sighed and bit their tongue. “Yes. I’m a fairy.”
“Aunt Marnie said you were!” she said excitedly. “Shane said fairies don’t exist anymore, but I knew he was wrong!”
Pip stood and brushed off their pants. “Well, we do exist,” the said, forcing a small smile to the girl.
“I knew it,” she said, a little softer this time. “Can you do magic and stuff?”
Pip shrugged. “A little bit, yeah. I’ve never been very good at it, though.”
“Did you know a wizard lives here?” she said, the enthusiasm still pouring out of her. “I bet he could teach you some stuff.”
“I know the wizard,” Pip said with a slight tone of annoyance. The girl did not pick up on this.
“He has purple hair, just like me! And you are purple, too!”
“What a coincident,” Pip said flatly.
“I bet that means I’m like, a witch or a fairy or something, too.”
“Does Marnie know you’re here?” Pip asked, an eyebrow raised.
This seemed to catch the girl off guard. “Uh, um, no,” she stuttered. “Not really.”
“You’re probably not supposed to be talking to strangers, right?”
The excitement was completely gone from her face now. The girl seemed uneasy. “No, I’m not,” she said softly. “But, no one here is a stranger. I know everyone that lives here.”
“You don’t know me,” Pip pointed out.
The girl smiled. “What’s your name?” she asked, happy to have seemingly found a loop hole. Pip couldn’t be a stranger if they got to know each other.
Pip sighed. “My name is Pip.”
“My name is Jas,” she said happily. “Now we’re not strangers!”
“Look,” Pip said. “I have a lot of work to do here, and you should probably get home before your aunt gets worried.”
Jas’s smile disappeared for a moment. “Okay,” she said. The smile returned. “Can I come back and visit tomorrow?”
Pip sighed and returned to pulling weeds out of the ground. “I don’t know. Maybe. Only if it’s okay with your aunt Marnie.” Maybe, if Pip was lucky, Marnie would say no to the little girl.
Jas didn’t seem to think so, however. She jumped up and down excitedly before taking off across the farm. “Bye, Pip!” she called over her shoulder.
