Sunshine and Shadow Acres [A Stardew Valley Fanfiction]

Chapter 16: Helpers

I startled awake to the sound of an axe hitting a tree. I looked at the clock in a panic to see it was well past noon. I rubbed my eyes in confusion as I forced myself out of bed and over to the front door. I opened the door and my eyes immediately landed on Abigail who was in the garden pulling weeds. I smiled at her, and my eyes traveled to the source of the sound. There Sam was, chopping away at trees I'd marked to be taken down. It seemed like he'd already gotten a decent chunk done for the day and I wondered how long the pair of them had been here.

"Good morning," came a voice from beside me causing me to jump. I looked over to Sebastian who I hadn't realized was there. "I'm sorry," he frowned. "I wasn't trying to scare you," he assured, and I nodded. He sat on the very edge of my porch with Oreo curled up in his lap and fast asleep.

"Sorry," I gulped as I tried to calm my racing heart. 'You're safe. You're in Pelican Town. You're not in the city.'

"Samson woke us up at the crack of dawn to be over here," Sebastian groaned as he looked out at him and Abigail. "I think he's trying to kill me." I couldn't help the giggles that erupted from me, finally pushing out a chunk of the fear and negativity swirling in my chest.

"Yes, Sebastian. Everything Sammy does is to spite you," I let out between giggles.

"It is! Finally, someone who sees it!" Sebastian claimed with a gleam in his eyes. I shook my head with a roll of my eyes. Sebastian and I settled into a period of silence as I looked out and observed the two wonderful people that'd helped me get my farm as far as it is to this day. I would be nowhere close to what I'd achieved without them.

"Oh, Maru gave me something for you," Sebastian remembered as he grabbed his bag and rummaged around. He produced a blue piece of paper that I realized were blueprints, and he pulled out a small sprinkler. "She said it should be easy to set up," he handed them over to me. I nodded and stared in wonder at the page.

"She works fast," I acknowledged, and he simply hummed in response. "Maybe while those two are working you could help me make some of these, if you'd be willing," I suggested. Sebastian turned to me, initially surprised, but then nodded. I set up a small folding table in front of the porch and hauled over the ore I'd managed to smelt overnight. Sebastian was studying the schematics as I brought over the materials and by the time I'd had them all at the table, he'd already managed to craft several.

"You work fast," I grinned as I plopped down across from him. Sebastian just shrugged as he continued to mold and create the materials into what he required. "You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, Seb," I said simply before falling into a working silence across from him.