Frogs in the Rain (Stardew Valley // Sebastian)

A Little Frog

Clouds. They swirled overhead like mashed potatoes, coating the sky like grey buttercream, and rolling into the valley like a mother checking in on her young daughter during playtime. If Nix focused on the entangling mist, she could've sworn she saw Daisy Weekly swaying amongst the heavens, her wavy hair entwined in a braided crown and adorned with flowers made from golden sun drops. And, if Nix cocked her head to the left, she could even see the woman grin.

It was nearing the end of spring. Nix could tell by how her cauliflower plants wilted at the edges, their leaves withering like elderly ivy. However, as she sat under her peach tree with Navi, her loyal pup who just wagged her wail as she dozed off to sleep, Nix could only think about the little honeybees that frolicked from flower to flower, buzzing about and pollinating every rooted vessel they could find that had not been drenched by rain the day before. Her chores were done for the day, every ripe morsel plucked from their stems and every sweet animal fed. It was only noon. She wondered how she'd spend the rest of her day.

Beside her, lying in the damp grass with his eyes closed, Sam breathed deeply as he hummed a light, little tune. "Another good day, huh?"

"A great one," Nix replied, a smile crossing her face. Nothing particularly interesting had happened that morning, but she just had a gut feeling she'd sleep soundly that night.

He turned his head towards her, his spiked hair catching little blades of grass. "It's too bad Abby and Emily couldn't come today."

"On the bright side, Abby's making money," Nix said in agreement. "Pierre's been a lot busier since JojaMart shut down."

After they returned home from Nix's attempted abduction, word got out about Morris Munson. Upon hearing the news, there was hardly a single person in town who dared to shop at JojaMart. And, after only a month, the place shut down, reducing the lot to an empty shell that was somehow much more welcoming than a convenience store. Not that the nightmare was completely over yet, however. They still had the trial to get through. That headache would dig its heels into her schedule during the fall.

Nix thought for a moment prior to adding on an extra sentence. "And I think Emily is working on a project right now."

Sam grunted, but there wasn't an ounce of heat behind the sound. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I start my first shift at the museum tomorrow. Gunther wants me there at 10 AM sharp. I'm kinda excited."

"It's five days a week, right?" She asked.

He nodded as best as he could with his head squished against the ground. "Monday through Friday, eight hours a day. Dad's gonna start working there too, so I don't have to pick up the bills anymore. Maybe I can finally go to college?"

Nix liked that idea. "What would you major in?"

"Music theory," he laughed. "I'm finally gonna get serious about that dream. Soon, you're gonna see our band on billboards."

"And I'll come to every show I can," she promised with a grin.

"And I'll drag you to the ones you don't," he threatened, laughing again. Then, he let go of the breath he was unwittingly holding, thinking for a moment. "Didn't you get a business degree?"

"An associate in operations management, yeah," she explained, motioning to the vast pastures they lay aloft. "It came in handy."

"It sure did!" Emily beamed from the tree behind them, holding a white bundle of fabric in her hands. Her blue hair was a mess, hanging in her eyes, but not at all covering her excited expression.

Sam jumped, clutching his chest and staring at her. "Will you ever stop scaring the shit out of me?"

"Probably not," Emily admitted with a shrug. Then, she walked over and shimmied one of the fabric pieces from her pile. It was Nix's Flower Dance dress from the year before, Sam and Nix realized. "This is yours. I added a little extra this year. Nothing too fancy, but I think the gold will match your eyes."