The Chestnut family has lived on their little plot of land for three generations. Grandpa Hudson and his wife, Sherri Chestnut. Then there were their children, which numbered no less than 42. The oldest of which was Alice Chestnut. Alice was the one who inherited the farm when Hudson and Sherri had passed away, being the oldest. She worked the farm with her siblings as they moved away one by one, each seeking new opportunities.
But always, Alice remained. Which leads us to the current generation of Chestnuts. A quaint family of 47, the oldest brother Fern Chestnut, the youngest sister Destiny, and then, off at the corner of the family's massive property, tending to the cattle was the middle child…
"Oy! Cole!" A familiar voice called out, the pattering sounds of footsteps running through grass rousing a boy from sleep. The long and fluffy white ears atop his head flicked, his cotton tail twitching in response as he sat up from his napping spot. Cole looked over with a yawn, blocking the sun out of his eyes with his hands.
"Eh? What's up Dill?" Cole Chestnut responded from his spot on the ground, looking over towards the boy that had called to him to wake him up from his little bed of green and soft grass. Cole had tan skin, with the only imperfection being a scar over the bridge of his nose that extended just under each of his eyes. He had hair as white as snow, and eyes that were as blue as ice. His hair was short and messy, but it wasn't dirty or greasy by any means. He had a simple set of a white shirt and denim on, the typical attire for helping around the farm.
"Get your stuff ready! We were gonna head into town weren't we? Don'tcha wanna see the new train that old stationmaster was talkin' about?" Dill called, standing just outside the fence that marked the Chestnut property line. Dill was a small boy, around 12 years of age, the same as Cole. Unlike Cole's own rabbit features and tan skin, Dill had dark skin and a pair of black cat ears atop his head, with a long black calico tail swaying behind him. His eyes were a shocking yellow, and as opposed to Cole's own clothes, he was wearing a little blue collared shirt with brown shorts, and tall brown socks with a small pair of matching shoes on. The local schoolhouses uniform, seeing as Dill went to school during the day.
"Shoot, yer right!" Cole cried in response, quickly standing up. "But…. Well shucks Dill. Ma' asked me to keep an eye on the cattle over here." Cole admitted with a sigh, looking over the small group of cattle he had been tasked with. It was a very very small group, simply 3 cows and 2 calves, but he was trying to take his job seriously.
"Oh come on Cole, your mom isn't gonna notice you going into town for an hour or two!" Dill egged on, putting his hands on the wooden fence and leaning over. "Your place is so massive no one will see you're missing! We been talkin' about this for a week anyway!" He continued to add, his tail swaying behind him. He hopped back off the fence, pointing down the road. "Maybe we could stop by the candy shop while we're at it! My mom gave me a whole quarter for the fair!" He excitedly added, pulling out a small silver coin to show to Cole.
Cole started to bite his lip apprehensively, thinking on the idea his parents might not realize he was ever gone. They did have a massive property, 15,000 acres with a massive amount of the river belonging to them. With a smile creeping over his face, he grabbed his shoes and popped them on. With all that ground to cover and him on the outskirts, there was no way anyone would notice he was missing.
"I'm sure we can get there 'nd back 'fore ma notices!" Cole grinned as he said it, running to the fence and starting to climb to try and get to Dill's side. He huffed a bit and lurched over the fence, landing clumsily on his butt and quickly standing. "Quick, let's get steppin'!" Cole said with a grin, flicking his nose with his thumb and getting ready to run. Dill got up right beside him, before giving him a little push and running ahead of him.
"Race you!" Dill called back as he ran off down the little foot trail, Cole huffing as he got up. "No fair!" He shouted after his friend, starting to run after Dill, doing large bounds compared to Dill's own rapid steps. The two boys ran down the path, side by side with each other. Laughing out cheerfully they continued to try to disrupt each other in the race with gentle shoves here or there, or trying to cut each other off.
"Ain't nobody ever heard of a cat outrunnin' a rabbit!" Cole teased as they ran along, the grass blowing and swaying as they raced through the patches of grass, looking over at Dill with a grin on his face, laughing some as he tried to run even harder. However, his jovial laughing was cut off by Dill overtaking him once more.
"Of course they have! How else would cats eat rabbits?!" Dill teased back, looking forward as the two boys rapidly approached a drop off in their path, which led to a dirt road beneath. Just following that road north would take them to Dive City. With a crouch in preparation, Dill leaped off the little dropoff onto the road, his shadow stretching along the ground from the sun high behind them. It was soon joined by Cole's own shadow, the two boys hitting the dusty road at relatively the same time.
"Hah! That's how I know yer dumb! Cats eat mice!" Cole called up to Dill, sprinting up to get back in line with the other boy, grinning confidently at his statement. Dill however only looked back with confusion, before laughing out loud again. He ran up and gave a small punch to Cole's shoulder, before jumping up over Cole's attempt to trip him on the way they were running.
"Nah Cole! You must be two kinds of dumb to think that cats only eat mice! Do rabbits only eat carrots?" Dill laughed out at the bunny eared boy, the two boys racing down the dirt road to town. As they ran, they passed the fences of various properties, mostly Cattle runs with a few farms scattered here and there.
The two boys ran without a care through the dusty trail, the sun shining down on them with the blue sky above them, clouds dotting the skyline above them. A beautiful day, even with the heat bearing down on them from the spring weather, all tied together with the decorated city in the distance ahead of them.
It took the boys a while to get to the town, and by the time they were walking towards the closest buildings to the main road, they were panting and trudging along. However, they felt their energy return when the smell of popcorn and the fair filled their noses. Looking around they saw the ribbons decorating the buildings, the tassels and banners hung all around. The town was buzzing, with people walking around between the buildings and talking. There were little stalls set up on street corners and all through the town square, people selling their wares and offering plays at Fair games. The scent of kettle corn and other snacks filling the air.
Cole stood up straight from his previous slouch with a big smile on his face, helping Dill catch his breath with a pat on the back and pulling him up straight as well. "C'mon Dill! They're playin' horseshoes, we can win that!" His excited voice called out, the boy pointing to one of the more empty sections with a few adults tossing horseshoes at a stake in the ground.
"Aw shucks Cole, shouldn't we get over to the station to see that new Vandell train before all them adults get there and take all the spots?" Dill questioned from behind, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back some as he waited for Cole's response. Cole snapped and put a hand under his chin, humming in thought.
"Welllll…. I guess if we're gonna get a good view we should get there first, all them folks'r taller 'n us." Cole conceded, before grinning almost ear to ear. "But that don't mean we can't get some snacks first! Mr. Bearson's candy shop should be open right about now!" Cole said with a little hop in his step, looking over at Dill while they ducked around a few of the adults moving around. Dill gave him a smile back, moving towards the other boy and pointing towards the main square of the town."Yeah, let's go get some licorice! We should get some peppermints for later too." Dill responded while the two started to swerve through the crowd together, dodging the adults moving around and various horses people rode around.
"Sure are a lotta folks around." Cole commented as they made their way down the wooden path next to the lines of buildings. There were many more people than usual in the town, with Dill shrugging as he turned to look at Cole. "Well, people have been coming in the trains a bunch for the fair, most of 'em are here to see the new train. With how people have been talking about it, it sounds like it'll be the end of trains getting attacked by the monsters or bandits out on the roads." Dill said, recalling what he heard about the train that was getting everyone so excited.
"Shucks, ain't that somethin'. I don't think it'll be all that, bandit's 'r crafty folk." Cole said back while turning the corner, passing by the swinging doors of the barber shop. With the two boys passing by the sheriffs office, Cole jutted his thumb towards the wooden board outside the office with papers nailed to it. "I mean, lookit all them bounties that've been there 'fer a hundred years." He said, exaggerating the time as one would expect of a child, but still trying to make his point.
"I just think it'll be neat." Dill replied with a shrug, as they passed by a grocery store, stopping a moment to let a large man in overalls pass by them with a pair of wooden boxes of supplies. The man walked by and the boys continued walking, though Cole glanced back at the boxes, squinting a bit. He started leaning a bit off the wooden deck, hanging off a post and looking as close as he could at the boxes the man was carrying.
"What're you looking at Cole?" Dill asked abruptly, causing Cole to jump up in surprise, Dill laughing at the bunny boys flinch. "Warn me 'fore you just go off like that ya dang cat!" Cole practically hollered, his face turning red from his embarrassment at getting teased for jumping while Dill just kept laughing. "I was lookin' to see if my folks brand was on them boxes." He said with a cross of his arms, huffing in annoyance as one of his ears flicked around.
"What are you doing that for?" Dill asked when he had calmed down, wiping under his eye with his thumb to clear a tear away from how hard the boy was laughing. Cole however gave the laughing boy a punch on the shoulder, an annoyed huff coming from his mouth.
"Well, my folks provide a bunch of food n' stuff right? So I just wanted to see how many folks get helped by what my folks make." Cole explained with his ears flicking around, the boys walk continuing. However, Dill did not respond, as with a turn of the two boys, they found themselves in front of the little branch off of the grocery store, that being Mr. Bearsons candy shop.
Mr. Bearsons was a small side shack attached to the grocery store by a small archway, connecting the little side room to the larger store. There were wooden barrels lining the walls with various types of candies in small containers, and a bowl of peppermints next to the cashier's counter. The two boys wandered into the empty store, Cole waving to the incredibly large man behind the counter.
"Howdy Mr. Bearson!" Cole called as he hopped into the little side shop, starting to walk towards the main counter with a pep in his step. Dill followed close behind, much more subdued as he simply gave a small wave. "Hi Mr. Bearson." Dill said with a more polite intonation.
The large shopkeep walked out from behind the counter, looking down at the two boys. "Dill! You brought one of the Chestnuts, aye?" Mr. Bearson cheerfully greeted the smaller catboy, knowing one of his regular customers. Mr. Bearson was a large man with ginger orange hair, and opposed to what one would expect of his last name, he had a set of cougar ears and an orange cougars tail coming out from just under his shirt. He was incredibly muscular, and wearing a plain white shirt with a tear down the middle, a few light brown stains on it from the dust and dirt that flowed through the town when it got windy. His arms and chest were incredibly hairy, akin to a rug with how thick it was in some areas. He wore some cheaper looking pants, and had a full beard on his face.
"Yeah! Me and Cole are gonna see the new train! We wanted to come here to get some snacks first." He replied excitedly, fishing out a quarter from his pocket and holding it up proudly. Cole stood behind him, crossing his arms slowly. Bearson chuckled jovially, seeing how excited the boy was about such a small amount. "Well, what can I get you boys?" He said, smiling at them, before snapping his fingers. "I got just the thing you two. Something just got imported here on that last coach." Bearson began explaining, walking back behind the counter. "Ya'll ready to be the first ones to try this?" He poised dramatically, before pulling out a box from underneath his counter, placing it down on the wooden table. With a quick flick of a small latch, he opened it up to several small bags inside, pulling one out and placing it in front of the box for the two boys to look at. "Now this here is something brand new for us out here. Red Licorice." He said, opening the box and revealing the colored chewy candy.
Cole and Dill's eyes practically lit up at the delectable looking candy, the shiny red color of the sweet making it attract them like bees to a rose. "Thanks Mr. Bearson! How much do we owe you?" Cole asked excitedly, looking up at the large man as the two boys looked at the bag of candy on the tall desk.
Mr. Bearson laughed some, before pulling out a nickel and a dime. "Here, it's just a dime, so you can have these back. Make sure you don't spend everything you get in one place now." The large man advised, giving them the bag of licorice the side of one of their faces, with the two boys quickly looking inside and taking a piece to try it.
"That's real good Mr. Bearson! Tastes like fruit n' licorice!" Sage complimented with a smile, swallowing afterwords. The larger man laughed and gave the boy a rub on the head. "I'm glad you boys like it, now if you wanna get a good spot to see the train you best get over there now 'fore the viewing area clogs up. And don't let your mother catch you talkin' with your mouth full now." Bearson recommended and warned playfully, gesturing to the door.
With that, the boys quickly scampered out, moving down the boardwalk to the station, occasionally snacking on the licorice they were given while they walked towards the train station to wait and see the new train. As Dill had assumed there were already quite a few people sitting around, most like them with normal townsfolk simply wanting to see a new sight all together. But there were a few more fanciful folk around, with parasols and sitting in carriages while they awaited the trains arrival.
With the two boys ducking between people to get to a small clearing on the boardwalk, the boys decided to sit down on the edge of the boardwalk outside Mr. Dennis's furniture store, putting the licorice bag between themselves. And with their snack and view spot, they waited under the shade of the building for the train's arrival.