Spirit Whisper

A revelation disrupts his very being. The Harvest Goddess (well, actually Flora) gives him a new direction.

author's notes

This one's short, but it was also a very spur-of-the-moment fic based on a cutscene lol! tfw you read something online, decide to find the dialogue in the rom itself, then get so amused by it that you write a oneshot about it.

also yes carter has the meow meow meter turned up to 11. i will not take criticism thanks

"Carter..." The goddess' voice was calm, gazing down at the mortal before her. "You prayed for me last night, to give you an answer to a burning question... yet you forgot to ask what it was you wanted to know."

He scratched the dirt with his boot, furrowing his brow and trying to assemble the words in his mind. "My family has spent generations in this dig site, looking for... something, anything, that ties us back to royal blood -- my father, my father's father, and myself have all hoped, dreamed of finding that, well, I suppose 'missing link' between us and the ancients."

She giggled. "I'll have to take a look, you know." She said, shimmering as she disappeared. He sighed, taking a deep breath in anticipation.

Please let this be the revelation I need.... He thought to himself as she re-appeared before him.

"Are you ready?"

"That was fast..."

"I think you'll like what I have to say." She smiled. "Now, your family, you aren't descended from royals. You are, naturally, a commoner."

His face fell. "You thought I would like hearing that?"

"It was best to break that news first! It doesn't mean there isn't anything of value here!" She shook her head, shimmering. "I am needed elsewhere, but always remember -- you may come to me for advice!"

And like that, she was gone. Carter quietly gave Flora a look, walking out of the cave and going to the tent. He sat down, forehead resting on his bent knees as his hands traced the turquoise beads that adorned his neck.

They're family heirlooms. He mumbled to himself. We're descended from royals. Dad and Grandfather wouldn't have spent their whole lives searching if it weren't at least a little true.

Before he knew it, the sun had set. Flora sat across from him, quietly eating her meal. He looked down, the plate not even steaming anymore as he picked it up.

"Are you going to keep working at the dig site, professor?" She asked quietly, setting her empty plate down. He nodded, taking a tentative bite.

"Of course. I might need a few days away from it to clear my head, but I won't let anything knock me down for too long." He chuckled.

"What even happened? One minute, you were fine, the next... you gave me a look and slumped out of the cave."

"The Harvest Goddess came to me." He took another bite, "I had tossed a flower into her pond to ask if there really is any royal blood in me, and... well... today, she finally answered my question."

"No?"

"Not a drop." He chuckled, "But that's not going to stop me. We've spent too long here already, you know? My father spent his life here, my grandfather spent his life here... Sure, I became the third a bit later in life, but I fully intend to figure out the secrets of this cave system."

"Hey, you've still got another sixty years. You'll be fine." Flora laughed. "Maybe we'll discover a different royal family."

"You know, you may not be that far off. We've found plenty of things here -- earrings, brooches, even entire dresses. We haven't entered the tunnels ourselves, but... heck, maybe I'll talk one of those farmers up the hill into accompanying me; having an associate would be beneficial."

"And what about me?" Flora gave him a look.

"You take the other one, naturally." He shrugged, "Wouldn't you agree it'd be more efficient if we both had one as an assistant while in the tunnels? You know as much about the ruins as I do; you can explain the basics and if we find anything important, we'll regroup on the ground floor."

"That makes sense." She laughed. "What do you plan on doing, then?"

"I may head to Mineral Town tomorrow morning; I could see if there's any insight the library there could give me. Maybe I'll stay at the Inn there, spend a couple days staring at books..."

"And leave me to dig on my own?"

"If you want. You're welcome to enjoy a vacation too, Flora." He laughed. "You're always working when I'm doing business elsewhere."

She shrugged. "We'll see. What if I dig something important up while you're gone?"

"Then save it for when I return!" He shook his head. "Here, in the meantime, see if you can find anything in the Valley while I'm gone -- it couldn't hurt."

"True. We'll meet up again in a few days?"

"Sounds good to me!" He said, yawning as he stretched. "In the meantime, though, I think I may just tuck in early tonight. Gives me a chance to clear my head and plan out the next chapter of this project with a clear mind and some.... Actual determination." He chuckled.

"Whatever you wanna do, professor." She gave him a kind smile. "I'll see you in the morning, then?"

"I suppose so." He nodded with a smile.


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