Mrs. Cacturon

[Mrs. Cacturon]

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you around. What brings you to this village?

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you around. You're carrying a really heavy bag. Why, do you need something to keep you rooted because it's so windy?

...I'm joking. But you'd better lighten your bag. Unless you have family to feed, carrying so much is counterproductive.

[Little Lecter]

Yay, Mom's home! Mom, did you buy the juice? My agave-flavored juice!

Err? Mom, did you fall and hurt yourself? Why're your clothes so dirty?

Yes, I'm home. Mm, Lecter, I have something to tell you.

...I'm sorry, Lecter, but I don't have any agave-flavored juice today.

Err? Why not? I thought you went to the Rock Ridge Market today.

Gramps said you'd bring agave-flavored juice. I've been waiting all day. Wah!

[

(Boy, it's loud here. Is something going on?)

Because Lecter... Stop crying. Smart Cactus children don't cry so easily!

(I'd better not get involved. I'm tired of taking care of other people's mess.)

Excuse me, is something wrong?

We're just dealing with a little family problem here. Who are you? I can tell you're not from around here.

I'm an adventurer. I was wondering if you needed help.

An adventurer? All the way here in Rock Ridge?

...Well, then could you hear me out? I'd like to ask you a favor.

Wah! My agave-flavored juice! Wah!

I was on my way back from the Rock Ridge Market today when I got attacked by some coyotes.

I fought tooth and nail to protect my groceries. I managed to save most of my stuff except the agave drink mix that my son loves.

Agave drink mix?

It's agave-flavored drink powder.

It's easy to use and tastes similar to real agave juice. Young Cacti love this drink.

It's too sweet for me, though. Well, that's not important.

Strange adventurer, would you be so kind as to find the agave drink mix I lost in the wasteland?

While you're at it, maybe you could cull coyotes, too. Hunt 30 of them for me.

The agave drink mix comes in a set of 7 packs. I lost the whole set, and I doubt you could find the whole set intact. I'll be happy if you could find just 5 packs.

I'm sorry. I'd love to help, but I've got enough on my plate.

I understand. Everyone has enough on their plate lately.

Sure, I can do that. You want me to find 5 Agave Juice Mixes and hunt 30 Coyotes, right?

Yes. Thank you.

I doubt you could find all 7 packs. At least a couple of them must be torn and spilled by now.

Just bring 5 Agave Juice Mixes. That'll be enough to make my son happy.

They could be buried in the ground, picked up by someone, or found by coyotes.

Look around while you hut, will you? Thank you.

Strange Adventurer. I've asked you to hunt 30 Coyotes. How are you doing with it?

Thank you for doing this for me. And finding 5 juice mixes. Things would've been a lot more difficult if it weren't for you. Thank you.

You've found more agave juice mixes than I thought. Thank you, Strange Adventurer.

I don't want to impose on your kindness, but could you hunt 30 Coyotes?

Thank you for hunting coyotes for me. By the way, haven't you seen some juice mix packages around them?

There have to be some juice mixes still left in there. I'll appreciate if you can just find 5.

Is this agave-flavored juice? Did you find this agave-flavored juice for me? Yippee! Lecter wants to drink it now!

Lecter, you should thank the adventurer first.

I think he's too busy stirring the juice to hear you. It's okay. I didn't do this to get thanked. He really must love it.

Yes, I love it! A lot! Heh heh! Thank you!

Sigh...

He's happy. Why are you sighing?

Watching him so happy to drink that fake juice reminds me of the real agave juice I used to drink when I was young.

It wasn't factory-made powder. Real agave juice took so much time and effort to make that we only drank it on special occasions.

On those days, my whole family would gather around and make agave juice together. We'd also grill steaks wrapped in agave leaves, and sometimes relatives from far away would also visit us to play music and dance together all night.

I had so much fun as a child, but my child never got to experience any of that. Nowadays, everyone's just too busy to gather or stay up all night, singing and dancing.

But we Cacti want to preserve our traditions as best we can, to teach them to our children.

Ah, I've talked too much. I'm sorry I took up your time, Adventurer.

Thank you. Please take this. It's not much, but I hope you'll like it.

And if you're not busy, could you come back and hunt some more coyotes? There've been more coyotes lately than before. They're part of nature, just like we are, but they're threatening our safety.

I may not be able to give my son real agave juice, but I at least want to be able to go buy things he wants.

I'll appreciate if you can help me every day, starting from today.

I'll really appreciate if you can help for a little longer. You inspire me to try harder to make a better life for my son.

You need to stop what you're doing and look at it sometimes, or you'll miss important details.

As always, I'm grateful for your help, but you need to come back in the morning. Thanks.

Strange Adventurer, thank you for coming back.

You came to hunt coyotes for me, right?

You're not as busy as usual, huh?

I'm not too busy myself either, thanks to you.

Having something to do is a blessing.

We wake up in the morning, work to repay nature's gifts, and go to bed at night.

But of course, you need time to rest, like now. Working all day and not resting makes one's life dull.

As always, please hunt 30 Coyotes for me.

Every night, they show up in groups, yipping as if to say we'd never be able to get rid of all of them.

But I believe one small change a day can eventually make a huge difference.

And you're making it possible. Thank you.

I asked you to hunt 30 Coyotes. How many did you hunt?

If you're tired, get some rest first. I don't want to burden you with my request.

You came back from hunting. I'm not burdening you with this, am I?

Please keep hunting coyotes as often as you can. They'll be just as troublesome to you as they are to us if you plan to visit this place frequently.

This is the best I can do. I hope you'll like it. I'd like to thank you for your help on behalf of my family.