When Vaughn arrived at the farmhouse early Friday morning, there was no answer to his knock. The door was unlocked, though, so he opened it and peered inside. No sign of Rio, but the house smelled delicious, like coffee and something baking. Stepping inside, he saw a large muffin and a note on the counter, asking him to turn off the coffee maker when he was done and reminding him that everyone was meeting at the river at ten so don't be late—if he ran short on time, some of his chores could wait until evening. He sighed in disappointment at missing her, but he grabbed the still-warm muffin and a cup of coffee and headed for the barn to start on his morning's chores.

The bonfire party had broken up shortly after he'd finished his tale last night and owned up to the wrongs that he had yet to make right. Afterwards, Rio alone had remained quiet as the group walked back to the village together, only waving and calling out a general farewell when she turned down the drive to her farm. Iroha had left the group then, too, but Vaughn had noticed her hesitating before heading up the road towards her house. In unison, they turned to watch Rio go with concerned faces. And like Iroha, he wondered if he should follow after her or let her go.

He chose to do the latter.

But he'd also counted on seeing her this morning, had even arrived a little early in the hopes of catching her before she started her day's work. It just didn't work out that way.

Cramming the last bit of muffin into his mouth, he grabbed an armload of hay and got down to business. At least there was the ride to look forward to in a few hours....

However, he'd entirely forgotten that he'd agreed—however reluctantly—to tutor Tina in the art of horsemanship. As he gruffly instructed her on the proper way to mount her sedate horse—an older roan mare borrowed from Rod—he watched with a grim scowl as Rio and Neil both swung easily into their saddles and started off, evidently engaging in a spirited race while he was stuck behind, showing the giggling, jittery redhead the ropes, so to speak.

**************

"Ha! I win!" Neil shouted, looking back over his shoulder triumphantly as Rio raced up to him on her grey mare.

Laughing, she said, "Only because Sahara let Jack win!" She pulled up her mare up alongside his black gelding, grinning into his smiling face.

"Yeah, she probably did," he admitted. "She's way faster than Jack, and you're a terrific horsewoman."

She blushed at the compliment, then leaned over to give him a kiss.

"H-hey! What was that for?" he stammered, turning red.

"Oh, I dunno—your prize, I guess? Or maybe just because I like you," she teased.

"Yeah, well, you know how I feel about that kind of stuff in public," Neil grumbled, dismounting and walking over to give her a hand down. She slipped down next to him and looked up at him, a wistful look dimming her bright blue eyes. Neil frowned, saying, "What? What's wrong?"

She sighed and turned to her mare, removing her bridle and fastening a lead rope to her halter. "Nothing. I just wish...." She stopped and led her mare a little farther from the path, tying her rope to a tree within easy reach of the lake.

Neil likewise haltered his gelding and tied him to a nearby tree. "You wish what?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"I wish you weren't so... so shy. I hate it when you push me away. It makes me feel like you're embarrassed to be with me. And that makes me unhappy."

"You know it's not that," he replied, flushing. "I'm just... it just makes me uncomfortable. It feels... weird doing private stuff where others can see us."

"So you'd rather we act like total strangers in public and save the madly passionate makeouts for private?" she asked, drily.

He opened his mouth to reply, but just then Rod and Felicity came up the path at a brisk trot. "Hey, you guys! You two were sure in a big hurry to get up here all by yourselves!" Rod called up to them with a grin.

Neil snorted and turned his back, pulling Rio along with him to the peak above the lake. "If he thought that, why was he in such a hurry to interrupt us?" Neil muttered in a low voice to Rio.

"Probably because he knew there wouldn't be anything to interrupt," she sighed, dropping down onto the grass and looking out across the valley below. She sighed again and plucked a few blades of grass, letting the breeze catch them from her fingertips and blow them away.

Neil frowned down at her. He really did love her—more than she realized, more than even he dared admit to himself. However, long years of holding everything in, of hiding any sign of weakness, made it nearly impossible for him to show his true feelings. Nearly impossible, not entirely. But deep down, some part of him knew that, with Rio, he might finally have a chance to change, with time and patience.

In the meanwhile, though, he hated when he did or said things that hurt her or dampened her spirit. She was so full of joie-de-vivre—or had been, until recent events—that he felt guilty when his inhibitions and sour attitude deprived her of any of the delight she found in life.

He sat down on the grass beside her, and after a slight hesitation, he lightly draped his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him, startled by the gesture, then she sat perfectly still, as if afraid to even breathe lest any movement on her part might cause him to draw away from her yet again. Conscious of her apprehension, he pulled her closer to him until her head was resting against his shoulder. She sighed and leaned into him then, feeling at ease for the first time in days. He rested his cheek against her hair, and slowly some of the customary tension drained from his muscles, too, as they gazed across the verdant panorama stretching out before them in comfortable silence.

**************

Vaughn rubbed his forehead in frustration. How could anyone be so... inept? It had taken him a good twenty minutes just to get her up into the saddle, and then she'd begun to panic in earnest. Thinking of Rio's easy grace both in the saddle and out, he groaned to himself. This girl was all thumbs and left feet and elbows and knees.

"Okay, just... just hold on," he sighed, reaching over to grab her horse's bridle. Thank goddess this mare was so calm, he thought as Tina squealed again. "Look, she's barely moving. Just relax. If you're tense, you'll make her nervous, too."

"B-b-but what if she runs away?" Tina stammered, her eyes wide and round with fear as she clutched the pommel of her saddle tightly. Goddess, was she serious? Why did she even want to learn to ride a horse, if she was so scared of them?

Rod hadn't had nearly as much trouble with Felicity. She'd been nervous at the height of her mount and the feeling of all that powerful muscle moving beneath her. But she trusted Rod—and that made a huge difference. Tina didn't know him well enough to trust him, and he realized that. Still, anyone with an ounce of sense could see that this quiet old mare was no more likely to bolt than that nice old lady who ran the little village store.

Too bad Tina didn't have an ounce of sense, he thought in disgust.

Tapping reserves of patience he'd never known he possessed, he said calmly, "All right. Just... just try to trust me. I promise she's not gonna run away. Look, I'll take her reins and lead her, okay? You just... just sit there and try to get used to the feeling of being in the saddle. Okay? Think you can do that? And try to relax. I've got her now, you're safe. I won't let her hurt you."

Tina nodded and gripped the pommel even more tightly, her arms and back rigid with fear. She made a visible effort to relax, to force the tension from her arms and legs and spine. It just wasn't happening.

At least now they could finally try to catch up to the others, he thought, looking up at the sun as it reached its apex. They still hadn't even made it over the bridge that led to the field where they'd had that bonfire last night.

Which led him back to thinking of Rio once again. Like so many things did....

Pushing thoughts of her aside to focus on the task at hand, he began to carefully led Tina's mare across the bridge. She was a patient creature and followed his lead, ears swiveling to catch his gentle voice over the roar of the nearby falls as he guided her along the suspension bridge across the river. On the far side, he stopped and looked back at Tina. Her face was pale, almost white. "You okay back there?" he asked, frowning.

"N-n-not really," she stammered. "I... I thought I was going to faint for a minute there."

Pushing his hat back, he just stared at her. After a moment, he said, "Tell me why you wanted to learn to ride a horse?"

"I-I... I thought it would be fun," she wailed, tears welling up in her eyes. "I mean, Rio and Neil always look like they're having such a good time when they go riding together. But it's not! It's awful! I'm scared to death!"

He sighed. "You wanna call it quits, then?"

She hesitated just for a moment, reluctant to quit, but too truly terrified to go on. Her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, she nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek as she bit her lip, ashamed of her weakness.

Vaughn softened—after all, she couldn't really help being scared. It was silly, of course, but not her fault. Some people were just scared of things for no reason. "All right. I'll help you down. Think you can lead her the rest of the way?"

"I... I'll try. What if she steps on me, though?"

"As long as you keep to her side, not directly in front of her or behind her, you'll be fine." He swung down and walked over to her, then helped her slide down—even more awkwardly than she'd mounted in the first place. She was shaking so hard she could hardly stand, though, so he stayed there for a moment, letting her cling to him for support until she calmed down.

"All right?" he asked, once she'd steadied herself. She nodded, and he handed the reins to her. "Here, just stay close, okay? If you get too scared, speak up."

She nodded again, her face still pink with lingering embarrassment, and Vaughn mounted his gelding and started up the path at a slow walk. Tina started to follow, but the mare had spotted the lush grass of the meadow ahead and was reluctant to turn away from it. "Vaughn!" she squeaked, tugging at the mare's reins and looking almost paralyzed with fright.

He sighed and turned his horse back. "Okay, don't worry about it. Just hand me the reins. You run on ahead, and we'll follow."

She looked so relieved as she handed him the reins and hurried on ahead up the trail that again he shook his head—maybe she couldn't help her fear, but he sure as hell couldn't understand it.

He led the mare up the trail to the peak, arriving shortly behind Tina. He fastened the horses' lead ropes to their halters and tied them up to graze near the lake with the others, then he hiked the short trail leading from the lake to the peak. He frowned as he looked up and saw Rio nestled up against Neil, their backs to him, just sitting quietly as they looked out across the valley below.

Tina called out to him as he approached, her good humor restored with distance from the cause of her fear. Both Rio and Neil turned to look his direction, Neil instinctively tightening his hold on Rio. The two men glared at each other, staring each other down, then Felicity called out, "Let's eat already! I'm famished!"

"Of course you are—you're always hungry!" Rio laughed, and the tension dissipated for the moment. Neil stood up with a sigh and looked down at her with a half smile as he held his hand out to her to pull her up.

They picnicked there on the mountain peak, enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon. Tina joked and laughed and clowned for the entertainment of the others, with Rod coming in a close second for goofiness. Rio and Felicity giggled at their antics, and although Neil rolled his eyes, he did so with the ghost of a smile in the corners of his mouth. And despite feeling out of sorts after his difficulties with Tina and from seeing how closely Neil stuck to Rio—practically glued to her, he quietly fumed to himself—even Vaughn couldn't help but smile now and again. Something about the fresh mountain air, the breathtaking views, the good company, and the delicious food had a beneficial effect on all of them.

As they sat around on the warm, soft grass after their meal, Vaughn glanced over at Rio and asked, "So what's this 'Critter Festival' you mentioned? Is it some kind of animal show?"

Rio grinned and said, "Nope, even better! It's a four-day-long bug-catching festival!"

"Bug-catching?" Vaughn exclaimed in disbelief, pushing his hat back as he stared at her, astonished.

"Yep. Well, bugs and frogs—if it rains enough for any frogs to show up, that is. Doesn't seem likely, though, given the weather we've had lately."

Hearing strangled groans from both Tina and Felicity, he turned to look at them. "You ladies don't like bugs, I take it?"

They looked at each other, then Tina said, "It's not the bugs so much... well, except bees—I can't stand bees! It's the... the...."

"Frogs!" Felicity wailed, and both girls shuddered in revulsion.

Rod threw his head back and laughed as he pulled her closer to him, so that she was sitting on his lap with his arms around her. "Don't worry, Lissie," he said with a grin, "I'll protect you from the scary little froggies!"

"Frogs?" Vaughn asked, looking even more astonished. "You ladies are afraid of frogs?"

"They're so slimy!" Tina exclaimed emphatically.

"And they... they squirm!" Felicity added with a shiver.

Vaughn looked over at Rio. "And you? You aren't scared of frogs, are you?" He'd never noticed it if she was, but there hadn't really been many frogs on the islands, either.

Rio laughed heartily. "No, Vaughn, frogs don't scare me at all. I love the Critter Festival! It's a lot of work, trying to get through my chores quickly enough to have time to go bug hunting, but it's worth it. For four whole days I get to act like a kid again! Running around all over the mountain, chasing and catching bugs and frogs to my heart's content, and no one—not even Klaus—tells me to 'act my age'!"

"Yeah, well, just be careful," Neil said, looking at her with an amused smile. "It'd be just like you to not pay attention to where you were going and fall right into the river or something."

"Then I guess you'll just have to stay close to me so you can pull me back out," Rio grinned at him.

He snorted. "Yeah, right. You'd probably just pull me in after you."

"Damn straight!" Rio laughed, her eyes dancing merrily.

Rod chuckled. "I bet you were a real tomboy when you were a kid, weren't you, Rio?"

She sobered up then as she looked over at him. After a moment, she said, "Actually, no, I wasn't. I was very much a girly-girl growing up. When I was little, my Daddy called me 'Mama's shadow' because I went everywhere she went, did everything she did. When I was a little older, my Daddy insisted I get into some sports or other activities, because he felt it was necessary to build a strong, healthy body. So I learned to ride horses, and I also learned archery and took dance lessons. But I was still a girly-girl clear through high school."

"What happened, then?" Felicity asked, curiously.

Rio didn't answer right away, just sat staring at a small white blossom she'd plucked from a nearby patch of clover as she tore the tiny individual flowers from the stem, one by one, scattering them in the wind. After she tossed the denuded stem aside, she looked up at the sky. "Oh, it's getting late," she exclaimed. "We should start packing up."

"Rio?" Felicity said gently. "Are you okay? What happened? What changed you?"

She sighed and stood up, brushing the grass from her legs and backside. She looked at Felicity, her blue eyes deep and dark with unspoken regrets, and said, "The day my parents died, Lissie, everything changed." Then she hoisted her pack over her shoulder and headed back down to the horses, Neil following close behind.