Tags: Rune Factory, Felicity / Raguna, pining, dancing, Rune Factory Secret Santa 2022
Ever since Raguna helped lift the curse that had been afflicting her, Felicity has been trying to think of a way to thank him. After much deliberation and a little encouragement from Lara, she’s finally ready to give him his gift.
My secret santa gift to runefactorynonsense on Tumblr. It was so nice to see another fan of the early games. They said RagunaXFelicity was their OTP, so I wanted to do something super cute with them.
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“Hi Miss Felicity! Hi Sister Lara!”
The two young women waved as Cecilia and Nicholas raced past them and down the steps towards the beach.
“What I wouldn’t give to have their energy,” Felicity sighed. It seemed every time the pair took their regular afternoon stroll through town, the children of Kardia could be seen running to and fro, shouting the rules of their most recently imagined game to one another.
“You’re well on your way to being one hundred percent again,” Lara assured her. “I wouldn’t compare yourself to those two, though. I don’t think any of us adults can keep up with them.”
Felicity laughed. Perhaps she was setting herself up for disappointment by setting her sights too high. Much as she wanted to get back to her normal pace, she knew she had to be reasonable. Plus, even if Lara’s prognosis seemed overly generous, she was right about her recovery; Felicity was feeling better lately than she had in the past year. Their daily walks no longer left her panting for breath or stumbling home on trembling legs like a newborn foal. It felt good to even be able to laugh again without worrying that it would send her into a coughing fit.
It was hard to believe that all of this trouble had been caused by that strange stone Cecilia had given her. None of them could have guessed what havok that shiny, little pebble would wreak, and if it hadn’t been for Raguna, who knows how long it might have been before the curse had been discovered? It was only thanks to him and Edward that everything had turned out all right in the end, and for that she was immensely grateful to the both of them.
“Speaking of,” Felicity said as they turned another corner through Kardia’s quiet streets, “you know, ever since Raguna helped rid me of that stone’s curse, I’ve been trying to come up with a way to thank him. But when I think about how much he did for me, no present I could possibly give him seems to measure up.”
“Why don’t you knit him something?” Lara suggested, returning a smile and a wave from Camus as they passed by his shop. “You’ve gotten so good at it since you picked it up, and a farmer always needs something to keep them warm while working outside.”
Felicity shook her head.
“I thought about that too. I actually did make him a hat, and a scarf, a pair of mittens, some leg warmers, a tea cozy-“
“A tea cozy?”
Felicity blushed.
“Nothing seemed quite right! I was running out of ideas.”
With a gentle smile, Lara patted her arm.
“There, there. You’re overthinking it. Raguna is a simple man, the type who’ll appreciate the thought as much as the gift itself. Why, I’m sure he’d be happy even with a lumpy, misshapen mitten if it was something you’d put your heart into.”
“The mittens were perfectly shaped, thank you very much.” Felicity stuck her nose in the air in feigned offense. “It’s just that I want to give him something more meaningful than a simple accessory.”
When the pair arrived at the plaza, they took a seat on one of the wooden benches for a rest. Even though Felicity no longer needed the break to be able to make the return leg, it had become a part of their routine they both looked forward to, a chance to breathe in the peaceful atmosphere of the town. A warm breeze blew through as if on queue, rustling the bows of nearby trees and carrying with it the mellow gentility of the coming autumn.
“I mean, I’m sure I’ll give him all of the things I made eventually. If nothing else, I’m stocked up for the next year’s worth of holidays. But for this, I want it to be something really special.”
“Hm. That is a pickle.” Lara tucked a stray strand of hair back into her habit once the wind had passed. “I’m afraid I can’t think of much else to suggest.”
Felicity fiddled with the cloth flower ornament in her hair, intentionally looking at the bricks of the plaza’s floor rather than her friend. “W-Well… I did actually have one other idea. I’m just not too confident about it.”
Lara tilted her head, trying to get a better look at Felicity as she turned away.
“What do you mean? You don’t think he’ll like it?”
“Not exactly. I’m more worried about my ability to execute it. I’m afraid I’ll end up making a fool of myself.”
Lara’s brow furrowed with worry. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. What kind of gift is this exactly?” When Felicity didn’t answer right away, she asked, “Is it something to do with your health?”
“Huh?” Forgetting her reticence, Felicity’s head swiveled to meet Lara’s concerned gaze. “Not exactly. What gave you that idea?”
When Felicity had started on her road back to health, Lara had fretted over her quite a bit as she had thrown herself eagerly into the recovery plan Edward had prescribed for her. She wanted nothing more than to return to working at her father’s side as soon as possible. In the time she’d been ill, Felicity had filled an entire notebook with plans for improving Kardia and the lives of its citizens. In her exuberance, she had quickly worn herself out and several times wound up in the clinic for treatments and lectures from Lara. Despite her initial stumbles, however, Felicity had taken these lessons to heart and had rarely needed to return in the past season except for regular check-ups.
It had actually been during one such check-up that Laura had offered to start going on walks together, both to keep tabs on Felicity’s recovery and to be there in case she had another fainting spell.
Lara let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve just never known you to be so reserved about a plan of yours. Usually, once you get an idea in your head, it’s all you talk about until you’ve seen it through.”
“You’re just such a good listener that you get the brunt of my enthusiasm,” Felicity admitted with a laugh before falling quiet again, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. “And the reason I’m so fixated on this idea is actually because I’m feeling so much better.”
“My, my. You’re really talking this plan of your’s up. Now I’m even more worried, to be honest. You make it sound so intense! And the worrying over it can’t be good for your health either. You’ll make yourself sick!”
“You’re one to talk about making oneself sick with worry. You seem to worry after the whole town!”
“If only people would take their health a little more seriously, I wouldn’t have to.” Lara sighed as she rested a hand against her cheek. “If you’re so worried about my worrying, would you at least tell me what this mysterious plan of yours is? Then I’ll know whether I should worry less or more.”
Felicity’s cheeks flushed redder than a bouquet of poppies.
“I-I can’t. Not here. That is, what if Raguna happened to walk by and overhear?”
“You really are serious about keeping this a surprise, aren’t you? Well, you needn’t worry about that. As a matter of fact, Raguna stopped by the clinic this morning.”
“Oh no!” The flush on Felicity’s cheeks paled with worry. “Was he injured?”
“No, no, nothing like that. In fact, he was buying healing potions in preparation for an expedition into one of the caves. I overheard him and Edward talking about it; he said he’d be out of town the rest of the day because of it.”
Felicity hesitated. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lara. In fact, she counted her as one of the most trustworthy people in town. Still, it was hard not to worry when one’s heart was on the line.
“Well, all right…” Standing, Felicity neatened her skirt and took a step away from the bench. “It’ll be easier to show you than to try and explain it. Just, promise you won’t laugh.”
“Of course not.” Lara said with a reassuring smile. “You have my word.”