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Spring 4, Year 3

The layout for Avalon Farm's crop fields was still set up from last autumn. Beep had spent all winter growing Starfruit, stockpiling fibre, and gathering stone. (Though those last two were easy with the west part of the farm all cleared.) He had enough for two huts, but when he went back to the farm to drop off his bag and finish planting, he noticed one of them was a few feet off.

Fuck.

Beep backtracked his way all the way back to the Wizard's tower through several warps, needing to blink his eyes clear of spots as he climbed the basement stairs. On his way up, he could hear Magnus talking to someone in the library room, but didn't pay it any mind. Academia, especially about magic, went so far over his head it was in the fucking exosphere. Magnus didn't mind Beep coming and going through the tower. As long as Beep didn't make a mess, and at least tried to be quiet if he came in at night (hooves and hardwood floors weren't very quiet), Magnus let Beep use the magic book thing in the main room. Magic pillars that warped him to different parts of Pelican Town without using a totem, huts for helpful Junimos to live in, and even a fancy clock that Beep didn't understand what it did; if Beep had the resources, he could build these magical structures on the farm.

Once Beep used the magic in the book to move the Junimo hut into the correct position, and double checked it, he turned- back to the book to triple check it. . . . . . Maybe a fourth time to be sure. A fifth check reassured him it was properly aligned with the others and the rows he had planned. By the time Beep had finished, his ear flicked behind him to the sound of Magnus showing someone around the tower. When they entered the room, he saw Magnus enter with a child, who seemed to startled upon seeing Beep. As children typically do; they act first and think later. Before Beep or Magnus could react, a spell had been fired off at the peryton.

Magnus hadn't expected Beep to be there, nor his new apprentice to immediately fire off a spell. Thankfully, his apprentice was still in the earliest stages of their study, and all the spell did was summon illusory butterflies and sparkles. Beep flinched at the spell, but to Magnus's relief, the peryton didn't respond the way he had when Camilla attacked him. Instead, he postured, wings splayed open, neck fur ruffled on end, and back arched as if he were trying to appear larger (when Magnus knew he could actually do that). The butterflies and sparkles just seemed to confuse Beep more than anything. The black eyes seemed to be an adrenaline thing from what Magnus had been able to piece together, but he was concerned how much those were very NOT a normal peryton thing.

After dismissing the illusion, Magnus introduced Beep to his new apprentice. Morgan (they/them) just arrived that morning. Assigned to Magnus by the Ferngill Republic Ministry of Magic, they'd be staying in the tower while Magnus taught them magic. While Morgan was amazed at meeting a friendly monster, Magnus knew the peryton enough to read Beep's expression. Something not seen often; Loneliness. Possibly even nostalgia, as if Morgan reminded Beep of someone he knew.

After Beep left as quickly as he politely could, he forsook the fields to head to his lair. He plopped down on the sand next to the brazier in the centre, and tilted his head down into it. Tears collected in the corner of his eyes, sliding down his muzzle and into the spell.

He hoped his mates were able to explain his absence to the two children of their flock. While he lacked a single parental bone in his body, and the children originated from each mate's previous relationship, they still meant a lot to him.

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(To clarify relationship stuff since the story is a bit vague on purpose, and to avoid confusion; there's two children. Each one is only related to one of Beep's mates. Neither are related to the other mate or to each other, or related to Beep.)

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Things different from canon; (AU???)
Gramps never had an heir, or they never show/ed up.
Stardew Valley Expanded; new maps, new NPCs, new events, a LOT of new stuff.
The new “Farmer” is just a Weird Ass Deer. NPCs will respond/react accordingly.

This is my first time playing Stardew Valley Expanded. Please no spoilers if you play SVE.