Archive of Our Own ^beta

Penny was never an adventurous girl. She loved to read stories of fairy tails and grand epics, but she never saw herself exploring further than what the valley had to offer. Although dull, her drab life in Pelican Town was comfortable, and she couldn't really imagine a life outside of it.

It was a lovely day of spring, and dandelions and daffodils were growing everywhere for anyone to forage. She had a good mind to pick some to make a salad, but she felt like enjoying some good air under the shade to relax a bit. It was a relaxing day, and there was no need to rush, after all.

While she was resting under the shade, she saw a vibrant shade of purple run across the town square, seemingly hurrying for nothing. It looked a lot like Abigail, but she didn't know why she would be hurrying in such a fine day. The sun was really getting hot in this time of day too, so she had a good mind to come invite her under the tree. They weren't strangers after all, so it would be nice to chat and catch up a bit if she'd come over.

Penny waved her hand slowly towards Abigail, hoping to get her attention. She was right beside Gus' Saloon, and it wasn't difficult trying to catch her attention. Abigail perked up when she turned to see Penny, not too far away, and started jogging towards her direction. She could see beads of sweat falling from the other girl's face, and gestured for her to sit on the soft grass.

Abigail came, but she didn't sit next to her. She knelt down, panting for air as a soft breeze of wind went through her hair and cooled her sweat. After a minute, she stood back up and looked at Penny, grinning so widely anyone could think that she had just won the Egg Hunt early. She politely smiled back, although in utter befuddlement of why she would be running and sweating for no apparent reason in this time of day.

"What's the matter, Abigail?" Penny asked, "You seem in such a hurry toady!" Abigail didn't seem to understand her confusion. But the again, maybe she was in a sort of adventure in her head that Penny didn't really get.

But Abigail just smiled wider at her question. "Do you really not know?" She asked like Penny had just missed the most important event in the world. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you!"

Nothing that she just said clarified her questions. It added much more, really.

Abigail was pumped and ready for everything that she was going to face in the mines. You see, a few days earlier, Joja had just finished removing the landslide near the mountain lake, which just so happened to block the entrance to the abandoned mines. She had heard that there were all sorts of occurrences and monsters from the New Farmer ™ in the mines, and she wanted to check it out for herself.

She had everything she thinks she'll need need ready. There's going to be dangerous monsters? She borrowed a sword from the New Farmer™. Some parts of the mines will be very dark? She's got a lantern from her mom and a few matches. Feeling lonely in the cold, desolate mines? Boom! She even got Penny with her!

There is absolutely nothing that she hasn't prepared for. She did almost forget her bag that she packed all the necessities with, but she remembered and even got some field snacks and ginger ale in case she and Penny would ever be hungry or thirsty. She did forget to tell her adventure buddy about where they're going, but they'll get there soon enough.

But anyways, she has been waiting for this moment for a few days now. She doesn't really have a plan, but adventures aren't much fun with them! And she's sure Penny will love exploring the mines with her. Who doesn't love adventures, after all? And she's seen her read tons of fantasy books, so this is going to be so fun for the both of them.

They went up the mountain and crossed the lanky little planks bridging towards the entrance of the mines. She entered first without hesitation, and Penny followed carefully behind. The mines were more like a cave inside, but there was an elevator and a ladder leading below the earth. Although Penny seemed more partial towards the elevator, Abigail convinced her that the ladder was "totally so much cooler" and "it'll be so much more fun".

Penny seemed hesitant, but she gave a soft grin before going down the ladder.

Maybe Penny should've just stayed relaxing under the tree.

The mines weren't that bad, really, and Abigail was great company to be around....but the negatives outweigh the positives. The mines were musty in the first floors, and things started to progressively get more dangerous each level they went down. There was the elevator every five floors, though. But Penny didn't have the heart to tell Abigail she'd rather be home taking care of her mother than be here for another hour. She looked so thrilled every time they went down another floor!

Abigail was thrilled about everything, really. She did look like she belonged in a YA fantasy novel, with her purple hair and sparky attitude and such. They didn't encounter a lot of monsters, and the handful that they did meet were easy enough to avoid. Although it would've been easier if she didn't have to convince her adventure partner to not approach any of the monsters. She was thankful when Abigail grew a distastes of the slimes.

It wasn't that hard to look for the ladder to the next floor. Maybe they were just lucky, but most of the ladders could be found out in the open or just buried under a large rock, which Abigail was strong enough to move over. The first time they couldn't the ladder, Penny had half-jokingly mused that they should just go back to the town. But Abigail just laughed her off and started turning stones until she found one that had a ladder underneath.

(How did she think of that? Why is there a ladder underneath stone? How did she lift those rocks so easily? Does she work out?)

Penny didn't have much to say. She felt a bit like a burden, weighing her friend down by being so discouraged in these mines. She tried not to frown or be disgusted by the monsters and environments, and tried to look on the brighter side of things. She tried to think positively, she really did.

It was very dark when they went down the 30th ladder. These mines looked almost pitch black, only illuminated by the stray torches scattered around the ground and dim lanterns on the rocky walls. Penny was right behind her, carefully following just behind her steps as to not get lost. She had given bunches of insight to the minerals they found in the early floors, and had a good collection in a sling bag she safely kept.

But they had to be more wary in these parts of the mines, she thinks. She isn't afraid of the dark, but there might be some monsters that could attack them when they're careless. It would also be hard to find their way down in the dark, and they'd probably need to be more careful going down the ladders.

As they roamed through the dark, she heard something moved towards them with a medium amount of speed. Penny didn't seem to realize anything, though, and Abigail herself barely heard it until it was close enough to see. She immediately beared her borrowed sword and slashed at the dark creature. It had glowing eyes, and was hard to the steel of her weapon. She slashed it a few times, trying her best to hit whatever weak spots it could have, until it finally fell into pieces.

She sighed in relief, before looking down at pieces of what was once a stone golem. She didn't know how to feel about eliminating it, and scowled at herself before turning to Penny. Her partner was in a quite a shock, although seemingly trying to calm herself down a little. The attack was a little surprise, although it hit her psyche more than anything. But before she could ask Penny if she was alright, the other girl's expression immediately widened before screaming a "Watch out!".

But it was too little too late, and Abigail felt something hit her back before she fell onto the rough floor. Her sword fell to the ground with her, and she heard it drop before she black out.

When she woke up, it was already a cool evening, with the spring breeze gently swaying the pink tree shading her from the moonlight. It was comfortable, she was laying on some soft moss and the sound of the rustling leaves of the mountain were calming. If she was religious, she'd believe that Yoba had taken her to his paradise.

But eventually, she forced herself to sit up, and she slouched her back on the tree trunk. Her head hurt a little, but she was out of the mines mostly unscathed except for the parts where there were clearly bandages on her. She also wondered where Penny might've been. There was no way Abigail could get out of the mines unconscious, after all.

She then realized that Penny had probably bandaged her up too, and got her out of the mines somehow. She laid Abigail to rest under the tree and went somewhere while waiting for her to wake up. She felt a strange sense of warmth on her cheeks when she thought of that. It was shame, really. She was the one that brought them to the mines, yet Penny was the one that brought them out safely.

As soon as Abigail had thought of her, Penny suddenly came with a basket filled with dandelions and daffodils, and was carrying both her sling bag and Abigail's bag filled with all sorts of stuff. She smiled gently as she set all of it down near the tree, and set her eyes on Abigail.

Immediately, she felt flustered because Penny had did all this for her. There was a small sense of embarrassment, but there was a warmth in her heart and something in her stomach that she just couldn't put into words. The other girl was now very gently checking her bandages, but this moment felt almost.... romantic?

She was probably reading too much into this.

To think about it, when she was getting ready to sleep, Penny didn't regret it at all. It was fun, even though she did watch Abigail get knocked out by a sort of unknown creature. She had brought her out of the mines and tenderly cared for Abigail's wounds, when she realized that she wouldn't really mind going out like this another time. (As long as she doesn't see Abby get knocked out again, really!)

But she really doesn't mind spending time with her. Maybe next time, she'll even ask her out herself!