Our Story of Seasons: Pete X Claire

Chapter 14: Clearing the Fields!

Pete and Claire were standing in front of their fields, overseeing the desolate state of the land.

"The field has seen better days," Pete said, folding his arms.

"When I saw the ad for the farm, it looked so gorgeous." Claire sighed, dropping her arms. Could they clear this farm and make it look better? So many rocks, branches, and weeds were scattered around. Where do we even begin?

"Yeah, the old man took care of it well." Pete stared at the sky. "When I was a kid, the farm looked beautiful. It was much colorful back then."

Claire hummed. "Now it looks so... dull."

"Woof, woof!"

"Oh...?" Pete turned to the sound and his eyes lit up. A little puppy ran to them. "Oh, it's the puppy!"

"Huh?" Claire followed his gaze. "Oh!"

"Woof!" The puppy ran in circles around him. Its tail was wagging around.

"Hey there, buddy!" Pete crouched down and patted it. "I almost forgot about you!"

"Has it always been here?" Claire asked, dropping to her knees. I want to pet it...

"Yeah, I met this puppy yesterday." He replied. "I think it might have belonged to the old man."

"He's an adorable one!" She stared at the puppy. I really want to pet it...

"I know, right?" He scratched the puppy behind its ears. "Oh, you like that, don't you?"

Claire could do nothing but watch Pete pet the puppy. She's never had pets of her own as her apartment didn't allow it. She wasn't aware this farm had a puppy until now. How... do I approach a puppy? She was afraid of scaring it away. Ugh, but I want to pet it!

"... Here."

"Huh?"

"Don't you want to pet it?"

Pete nudged the puppy towards her. The puppy looked at Claire with wide, curious eyes.

"C-Can I really...?" her lips pressed together.

"Of course." He smiled softly. "Go on."

Claire slowly reached her hand towards the puppy's face. Her hand froze for a moment, then continued towards it. The puppy approached her hand and gave it a few sniffs. It nuzzled against her fingers.

"O-Oh...!" Her eyes widened in delight. She carefully placed her hand on its brown fur between the floppy ears and began petting it. It was fluffy to touch! I'm petting a puppy!

Pete chuckled. "Not so bad, is it?"

"Yeah..." Claire smoothed her hand to its body as she got more comfortable. "It's so cute!"

There was something about Claire's face that made Pete stop and gaze at her. The bubbly curling of her lips. It was like that of an innocent child receiving a pet for their birthday. It's... rather nice.

"What is its name?" She asked.

"Oh." He rubbed his lips. "I... don't know what its name is. There's no name tag."

"I see." She nodded, pondering her mind for a bit. "Why don't you name it then?"

"Me?" He pointed at himself. "Name it?"

"The puppy is yours now, wouldn't you say?" She replied with a smile. "So you should name it!"

"Huh, well..." He scratched his cheek for a moment. What do I name the puppy...? He didn't have any pets at home. The only pet he played with was the old man's dog. Come to think of it, what was its name...? Let's call you...