"On your marks, get set... GO!" Dunhill shouted from the podium in the festival grounds. Shrieking with glee, the three young children of the village bolted out of the grounds, followed closely by Rio, Rod, and Tina. The rest of the younger adults followed at a brisk walk, while the older adults trailed at a more sedate pace.

Vaughn had finished up his morning chores without catching sight of Rio, but he'd spotted her immediately when he arrived at the festival grounds for the start of this so-called 'Critter Festival'. She was standing front and center of the crowd of villagers and tourists, and even from behind he could sense her excitement. That didn't really surprise him—what did surprise him was that Neil was nowhere near her. Instead, the golden-haired young man was hanging around at the back of the crowd with goofy Rod and suave Allen. They seemed like such an unlikely trio that Vaughn just stared for a moment before recollecting himself and looking away. He moved over to one side of the crowd, near enough to see Rio and to hear the announcement, but still separate from the group.

He was glad afterwards that he had kept to the side, when he saw the way those kids tore out of there like they had jet-packs strapped to their backs. Toni was shouting that this year he was "gonna win for sure" while a pretty little blonde girl screeched after him that no, he was not. Niko stumbled along after them, scanning the ground for grasshoppers and beetles as they all headed towards the river.

Rio had started off after them immediately, but paused when Iroha had called out to her. They spoke for a moment, then both laughed as Rio shook her head vigorously before turning to dart off westwards towards the mountain path at the back of the village plaza, choosing to go in the opposite direction of the children. Rod had raced off before her, but with her long legs and athletic build, she quickly overtook him, leaving him to chase after her with laughing protests, and Tina followed close behind.

Sauntering slowly out the gate, Vaughn watched Neil as he trudged after Rio. His body language betrayed his complete lack of interest, but he seemed determined to follow her anyway. Whether his intent was to spend time with her, keep her out of trouble, or keep him away—or possibly all three—Vaughn couldn't tell. He hesitated at the entrance to the grounds, then turned to the east and followed the road out of town towards the river. He passed Iroha, Felicity, and Allen all chatting a short ways down the road, near Iroha's house and smithy. Felicity called out a cheerful greeting, Iroha and Allen following suit as they turned to look after him. He tipped his hat at them, then continued on his way.

He looked around as he strolled out of town on the dirt road, passing over the small stone bridge that crossed the river and turning to follow the river's course. He could see the three children darting around, trying to catch insects as they headed up the trail towards the mountain. The light breeze carried their laughter and shouts down to him, and he smiled to himself. Selecting a shady tree near the river, he sat on the grass and prepared himself to wait for Rio to come back down the mountain.

The children disappeared from sight, and the only sound was the droning of the cicadas and the rushing of the nearby river. It was a hot day, and to his annoyance, Vaughn realized that once again he'd left his water bottle behind at the farm. Looking around and seeing no one in sight, he removed his hat, pulled his vest and shirt off, and removed his gloves. Then he ambled down to the edge of the river and scooped up water in his hands to drink. The water was barely even cool, bordering on tepid there in the shallows where he knelt.

After a few drinks, he felt a little better, and still kneeling at the water's edge as he wiped the drips from his chin with his arm, he looked around a little more closely at the scenery around him. The stream was shallow along either bank, but deeper along the center. The water was so clear, he could see several species of fish as they swam by, and freshwater crayfish creeping along the rocky bottom. Rocks and makeshift wooden bridges here and there provided a means of crossing to the far side. On either side of the meadow, massive boulders and sloping hills rose to create a sort of dale through which both the stream and the dirt road passed. A dense forest of mixed evergreens and broadleaf trees surrounded the meadows and covered the hills and mountains, and a few large oaks still dotted the grassy meadows.

"Guess Rio picked herself a right pretty place to settle down," he said aloud, looking up at the wide expanse of azure sky above.

"We like it," a voice said, so near behind him that he sprang up, startled, and tripping on a stone, fell backwards towards the stream.

Iroha darted forward and grasped his forearm, to his dismay, certain that he'd just pull her in after him. But to his surprise, she was strong—very strong—and easily pulled him back up the slight embankment to the grassy field.

"Sorry," she said apologetically as she released him, though there was the ghost of a smile dimpling the corner of her mouth and reflected in her nearly black eyes.

"You, uh, caught me by surprise," he said, slightly flushed as he turned to pick up his hat and shirt. "Didn't hear you coming over the sound of the river, I guess."

He turned and caught her staring intently at him. "Where'd those scars come from?" she asked.

Hastily tugging his vest on to cover his side, he shrugged. "Don't reckon it's any of your concern," he growled as he pulled his hat on and low over his eyes. He stalked back over to his chosen tree and dropped his shirt and gloves down. Then he sat and leaned back against the broad trunk, closing his eyes and hoping she'd leave him in peace.

However, she followed and sat nearby, sharing his shade. "No, it isn't," she agreed amicably, and he tipped his hat up to peer at her suspiciously. She was just sitting on a rock, though, looking serene and waiting for him to make a move, as if they were playing a game of chess.

Snorting, he dropped his hat back down and proceeded to ignore her. She remained seated, though, clearly in no hurry to leave. After several minutes, he again looked over at her. "Don't you have some butterflies to chase or somethin'?" he asked her in exasperation.

"Not really," she said in the same quiet voice. "I dislike insects."

"Scared?" he asked, curiously.

"No, just... not to my taste. Rio gave me a pet cricket shortly after I moved here, for good luck. I kept him, more for the sake of her friendship than because I really care for it. But other than that, I keep my distance."

He grunted as he again dropped the hat down over his brow. After a few more minutes, he said, without looking at her this time, "Barbed wire." She gasped, startled, and he elaborated. "I got my first job working with livestock when I was real young, just fourteen. I didn't have any experience back then, just an interest in animals. Got caught by a bull and knocked off my feet into a fence." Waving away her distressed exclamation of sympathy, he said, "Don't worry about it. It could've been worse. At least he'd been polled. If he still had had his horns, I'd likely have been killed. And he was just doin' what bulls do—can't blame him for that."

"I... I suppose not," she said, a little dubiously, watching him thoughtfully. "Fourteen... that seems awfully young for that kind of work."

"You do what you gotta do," he replied tersely, "whether you like it or not."

Nodding in agreement, Iroha glanced up the mountain path just as a peal of laughter—Rio's laughter—reached them, wind-borne. She resumed watching Vaughn as he sat up, tipping his hat back as he looked for her eagerly. Soon they both saw her, darting and dashing and leaping agilely as she chased this or that insect. Neil trudged along behind her, carrying a large jar tucked into his arm, his hands thrust into his coat pockets. She evidently caught some hapless creature, because she gave an excited little hop while he pulled out the jar and removed the lid carefully before holding it out to her. She clapped her hands over it, then he replaced the lid and again tucked it into his arm. She peered at the jar for a second, then something else caught her eye and she was off.

Iroha smiled at her lively antics, and Vaughn chuckled, a deep, low chuckle. "Well, she hasn't changed much since she came here," he said to himself, forgetting for a moment that he wasn't alone.

Still watching her friend haphazardly make her way down the hill towards them, Iroha mused, "Oh, but she has, Vaughn. She's changed quite a bit."

Startled, he glanced over at her. "How so? She seems the same to me, more or less anyway."

Smoothing an imaginary wrinkle from her pants, Iroha looked down at him with a grave look in her eyes. "I arrived here in Echo Village only a short while after Rio. My first impression of her was of someone who was happy, friendly, carefree, and full of life."

Vaughn nodded, saying, "Yep, that sounds about right."

Raising a hand to silence him, she continued. "But before long, I realized it was a façade. She was miserable, Vaughn. So very unhappy. But she hid it away—hid all her troubles away—from everyone in the village. I think Hana might have suspected, but no one else had any idea. Even I had no idea... until I came across her one day in the forest, crying her eyes out."

"Rio? Crying? What happened?" Vaughn said, his brow furrowed.

Iroha stared down into his eyes, the intensity of her gaze making him shift uncomfortably. At last, she said, "You happened, Vaughn. She didn't tell me right then—it was some time before we were close enough that she confided such matters to me. But it was you. She was so badly hurt—it was like a painful, bleeding wound in her spirit. She'd left all she loved to escape the pain that you caused her, and she felt so alone and hopeless here among strangers, kindly though they were." She looked up at Rio as she reached the edge of the meadow, chasing a darting dragonfly and laughing with joy. She sighed, and went on, Vaughn watching her as if mesmerized. "Although she has told me many things, I know there's more she hasn't yet revealed, and I won't pry. She knows that she can tell me anything anytime."

She looked back down at Vaughn, and he was startled by the sheer ferocity in her eyes, like a tigress preparing for a fight. "But this much I do know: Rio was happy. She had finally recovered from all she suffered because of you and had begun to take joy in life again. And she and Neil are good for one another. Each has something the other needs. They help each other—heal each other."

Iroha stood up and glanced at her friend darting around the meadow and back at Vaughn again. "She was happy," she repeated, "until you arrived. You said a few minutes ago that you do what you have to do, whether you like it or not. If you love her even half as much as you claim you do... if you have even an ounce of concern for her happiness and well-being... you'll pack up and leave. Today. Your presence has thrown her into confusion. It's upsetting her, disrupting her life, and affecting her relationship with Neil. So do the right thing, Vaughn, and go. Now, before you hurt her yet again."

With that, she turned and headed back towards the village, waving to Rio as she left, while Vaughn stared after her, lost in thought as a faint smile curved into the corners of his mouth.