"Mom, for the last time, I'm not Jesse, I don't need two whole days to recoup." Marissa giggled, tightening her ponytail before picking up the bucket of water to refill the goat's supply. It was 7:00 in the morning and she was as bright and chipper as if she woke up at 9:00. 

         "You took a cat-nap, that's hardly enough sleep after getting home by 4:00 O'clock this morning." Lilian fretted, having one dirty muck boot on while the other foot only had a sock with tractor designs on the green background.

     Marissa observed her mother's arms, one bent to rest on her hips while the other leaned on the cane. She held the usual strict expression that meant she wasn't going to budge on the matter. The woman was just wanting to let her daughter rest, even if it meant dragging a full bucket of water to the goats and chickens (while hobbling on a cane, no less). It amused the younger woman, who smiled at her mother's attempt to convince her she was too tired after nearly a month of being in the city.

         "And I'll take another around noon." She shrugged, slipping both her boots on with the heavy bucket in hand. "I missed the work. Having nothing to do in the morning was horrible. You should have seen Jesse's expression when she walked into the living room to find me working out."

     Lilian only rolled her eyes, knowing she wasn't going to be able to do the morning chores. Marissa wasn't particularly stubborn, but when her abilities were challenged, she'd show whoever challenged her who was right. The aging woman leaned more on her cane as she lost her stubborn stance and the morning exhaustion suddenly crept into her eyes. Something glittered from the kitchen lights, and she raised a brow at Marissa's choice in accessories for barn work.

         "You're going to wear your new bracelet to the barn?" She noted, watching as her daughter blinked, then looked to the wrist supporting the heavy load.

         "Oh- I didn't even realize I still had it on."

         "I'll take it off, so you don't have to put the bucket down-" Lilian suggested, but Marissa refused, slipping out the door after a brief 'it's fine'.

     Emptying the dirty bucket into the goat's water, hearing their thankful bleating, a thought crossed the woman's mind.

         "You're not as heavy as I thought you'd be." She spoke to no one and nothing, holding the wrist the bracelet adorned. "I think you'd be fine out here. I mean- you survived a terrorist attack, so you're probably hardened enough to survive an explosion. A goat's teeth would be nothing."

     The female bleated at the woman, as if baiting her to test out her theory

         "Sorry Penelope," she opened the gate, watching the Nubian hop onto the milk stand, "but it's not food."

     Once the goat was milked, and both fed, Marissa moved on to feeding the chickens, checking their water and deciding it was full enough. There were only a few eggs, but it was to be expected since a fox had managed to slip passed the horrid rooster's defenses at some point. Marissa only wished it had eaten the rooster too. She couldn't blame the canine, since she herself didn't think the bird was any good, inside or out.

         "He's probably rotten." Marissa spoke out loud. "Or too tough to even chew."

     She kicked said rooster when it attempted to attack her.

         "You're just fortunate I haven't gotten out the twelve-gauge!" She threatened it as the bird stalked off into a corner, deciding one of the hens looked rather interesting.

     Her father was sipping on his coffee that looked like it could melt the very cup it was poured in. How he was able to not burn his tongue or spill the lava-worthy liquid while he was reading yesterday's newspaper, was beyond simple thought. He looked up from the dining room table as his youngest entered the house, smiling tiredly.

         "Ever the early riser, are we?"

         "One month in the city isn't going to change me, dad." The woman chuckled, slipping her boots off and looking at the clock. It was only 7:30. "That rooster of yours attacked me again. If this continues, I'll shoot the stupid thing."

         "He's just temperamental. Hates mornings. Like your sister."

         "Oh, so that's why you keep him around?"

     Shane spit back into his coffee mug, glaring at his daughter's smug look before pointing a finger in warning. Apparently, that wasn't what he meant and 'she knew that'. Marissa couldn't help but see the amused twinkle in her father's eyes, and they both were laughing as she made herself some toast. The woman was all too glad to be in her usual routine. 

         "Marissa-" her mother called from upstairs, probably from the bathroom, "could you get me a towel from the laundry?"

         "Why not have dad do it?" She called back up the short stairwell, biting into her toast ravenously. "I'm sure he'd like to help."

     Said man snickered from the table, at this point only pretending to read the newspaper. 

         "I'd rather not have to take another shower." Her mother deadpanned, causing both individuals to choke on their respective fuels. "Now please, get me a clean towel!"

     The door shut, and Marissa chuckled at her dad's cherry red cheeks and coffee stain shirt as she passed the stairwell to enter the laundry room behind it. She dug through the dryer until she found a body towel, grabbing a small washcloth just to tick her mother off. Tiptoeing up the stairs, Marissa knocked on the bathroom door politely.

         "Thank you, hun." She reached a hand out of the crack in the doorway, quickly snagging the washcloth her daughter offered. There was a moment of silence before the offending item was thrown out of the bathroom through the same crack. "Marissa Faireborn-"

         "Yeah-yeah," the immature 21-year-old snorted, "your towel is right here." 

     Lilian snagged it once it was close enough, thanking her coldly.

          "Something spooked the animals last night." Shane called.

     Marissa was in the kitchen again, cooking a pan of eggs and sausage on the island stove. From there she had a clear view of the dining room table, set up by the large breakfast nook window. She heard her mother in the living room folding what was left of the laundry, listening to some station on the radio. There wasn't enough space in the laundry room for folding laundry, but their coffee table was wide enough (the living room being passed the laundry room). 

         "You think it might be that fox?" His wife questioned, somehow able to hear him over the radio.

         "No, the goats would have challenged it." Mr. Faireborn admitted. "Those two were scared stiff, huddled in the barn. They didn't want to go outside for bread scraps, even."

         "That's odd." Marissa frowned, turning her breakfast over with a spatula. She stepped to the fridge to find the chocolate milk, pouring some in a small pot to heat it. "Barney doesn't scare easily. Penelope runs from her own shadow though."

         "I was going to walk around the property." Her father informed. "Look for anything big roaming around."

         "Bigger than a fox, anyway." Lilian attempted to trek up the stairs with a basket in one arm and her cane in the other, Shane immediately getting up, taking both her and the basket from the incline. 

         "You're insane." He huffed at her.

         "I would have made it."

         "To God's pearly gates? Yeah, probably." The man took the basket himself, being followed by his wife up the stairs, who winked at her daughter before disappearing.

     Marissa giggled at her parent's antics. They had always been like that: stubborn to a fault. It had always been an amusing sight, especially when one or the other looked to their little audience with a grin to show that they were only having a bit of harmless fun. Their youngest couldn't remember a time when they fought in front of their children. Whatever was troubling them, they'd wait for nightfall, when everyone was asleep, or they'd go on long walks or drives.

         "They've always been like that." She hummed softly, pouring the chocolate milk into a mug and slipping her breakfast onto a plate. "Considerate. My siblings and I always enjoyed watching them poke fun at each other, tease each other and push each other's buttons."

     Sitting at the table, the woman stared out of the curved window, watching the green grass of one of the fields sway. Normally they'd have cows waiting in the field. Waiting for what? No one really knew, but Lucas always described them like they were constantly waiting for something. Jesse would joke that they were waiting for aliens to abduct them. Alas, the cows were all sold off or butchered, waiting to be eaten in one of the big freezers in the barn. 

         Marissa wondered if she should make a roast for dinner. 

     Noon came, and like the woman had promised, she took a catnap after five hours of trying to figure out what exactly was going on with her father's beat up farm truck. The man didn't want to part with it because it was nearly impossible to find a manual that was in working order anymore. Especially not one that he knew was reliable. Over the years it needed a couple parts replaced, but the most stubborn piece was the fuel gauge. It would remain at about 'half full' for a while before tanking to 'empty'. The only way to fix it was to fill the gas tank to 'full' again, usually without knowing exactly how much gas was left. 

     Marissa had just about taken the whole dash of the truck apart when her mother called her inside. She made a snippy retort that she was already inside (being in the barn) but her dad soon came to relieve her of duty, taking over the project himself so she could take a well-earned nap. Marissa was far from cooperative about it, hiding under the truck with the tools he'd need just to give him a hard time. Shane ultimately won when he jumped in the truck and started it, rolling slowly backwards. Marissa got the idea and quickly rolled out from under it, her hair being missed by a mere inch. Shane took the tools from her before she left to shower.

     Sleep didn't come easy for the brunette. She wasn't used to taking naps, but it eased her mother's worries about her being too tired after her city excursion. Instead of doing as instructed, Marissa took the time to read, stretch and admire her new bracelet. She was originally moving to take it off so she could sleep, not wanting to hit herself in the face with the hard piece of metal when she shifted (Marissa moved quite often in her sleep), but instead, she ran a finger across the warm metal, the original directive forgotten. 

     The gorgeous piece always seemed to sparkle when she touched it, strands of white flickering, but Marissa guessed it was the light from the window above her bed. She could see her dresser and nightstand in the reflection of the wide bracelet, moving herself so that she could view the whole room through it. Smiling softly, Marissa laid back down on the bed.

         "Welcome to my room." She chuckled at herself, petting the bracelet with her arm held high, allowing her to stare at it. "It's actually the attic, but it fits me and everything I need."

     Setting her arm back down, her eyes scanned the ceiling, mapping out the glow-in-the-dark stars she was always too lazy to take down. 

         "Dad said he was going to walk around a little later." The woman sighed. "I'll probably go with him. Two is better than one. It's likely a bear, maybe a lone wolf. I don't think Barney is dumb enough to challenge a bear."

     A thoughtful silence, earning a worried sigh from Marissa as she stroked the warm metal of the bracelet.

         "I hope Jesse is okay. She liked collecting things, but now she's going to have to start over. Not only that, but I know she had some precious things. Heirlooms, pictures, some of that stuff. Maybe that was in her file cabinet. The cab driver said it lived." Lifting her hand up again, she could have sworn the shattered glass-like cracks moved, but the minute she blinked, it looked no different than before. 

         "She'll be okay." Her eyes drooped as she reassured herself. "Jesse has always been resilient and independent. Lucas is the one to worry about. He's accident prone."

     She planned on saying more, but the human female fell asleep, her fingers still lightly caressing the warm metal of the bracelet.