Author: MissKittys Ball O Yarn
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please leave feedback on the Catching Sunflowers in Bloom thread on the Kitten Board.
Disclaimer: We all know the drill... but I guess it must be said. I don't own anything even remotely related to Willow and Tara nor do I plan to get anything that resembles monetary gain for such creative musing. The great and powerful Joss owns all and I am not but an unimportant bug to be crushed (now that that's been said...)

Eight hours, 9 minutes and 27 seconds later Willow found herself walking alone down a stereotypical dirt road kicking a random stone with each step she took. She looked down the long dusty road. As it turned out this "quality time with her father had been a bust. Instead of getting to spend her days wandering the streets of New York, her father had actually expected her to spend time with him. She had been completely wrong about the business trip, instead she found herself in the middle of nowhere somewhere and in the foothills of Kansas which seemed nearly impossible because as far as her knowledge went, Kansas was completely flat and didn't even have foothills. Willow sighed. looking around her, she could see nothing for miles except for farmhouses peppering the landscape on the left and right side of her. Besides the farmhouses, an occasional cow would look up from it's dinner of grass, chew a couple times in her direction before returning to his previous engagement of eating more grass. Willow definitely wasn't a country girl, not that she lived in a big city or anything, but she was certain that cows were supposed to do something more than eat and stare... in kindergarten they teach the children that Cows say Moo, but Willow could see now that that had all been a complete fabrication. She'd seen at least thirty cows since she'd been here and not one of them said anything close to Moo. Other than the defective cows, there was nothing else... had been nothing else, and Willow was sure, would be nothing else for the rest of her stay there. Her father had rented a farmhouse a couple miles back the way she'd come. There wasn't even a television in the house anywhere, not that Willow watched that much television, but it sure beat standing around while her Father practices his Golf swing for hours on end. She had needed to get away for a little while, and that's the reason Willow presently stood alone, dust flying in sheets around her head , staring off into the distance and thinking on the whys and wherefores of public education. Willow walked over to the side of the road, leaned against the wooden fence that separated the road from yet another farm house and stuck her hands in her pockets.

Moments later Willow froze as she felt what appeared to be a nibble at the back of her neck. Something very large seemed to be breathing heavily through her hair and with each breath she could feel the moist nose of the thing nuzzling her. Willow, finding her feet at last, bolted from the fence just as the nuzzles turned to a very wet snort in her ear. "Oh my god! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Willow said squealing she turned around, and to her fright stood the most hideous beast imaginable. Willow prepared to run, when the demon barred its large yellow teeth at her. The monster before her was quite formidable, and willow had the sense that she stood no chance against such a creature...plus she was really scared...her legs were all wobbly...yes her best bet would be to run.

"A-are you alright?"

A blonde girl about her age came jogging up behind the beast. she had a worried expression on her face. Willow momentarily forgot her fright when the girl spoke to her. The other girls voice was like creamy peanut butter. The real spreadable kind.

Coming back to her good senses Willow realized that the girl had asked her a question. Willow thought that she should answer her, instead of just standing there puzzled by how eyes could be bluer than the deepest pools of water. Willow had once been to Oregon and had gone up to crater lake which is a volcano with tones of water in it and even that wasn't as blue as this blonde girl's eyes. Willow patted her body just to make sure she still had all her parts, before answering "Yes... I'm okay..." She suddenly felt quite silly for being frightened, for what she thought had been a horrible beast upon closer inspection had turned out to be nothing more than a really scary horse.

The girl laughed. Clearly she was amused by Willow's actions. Willow returned the smile with one of her own when she watched the blonde offer an apple to the horse.

"This is my horse, Kaneeda" The blonde said patting the horse behind its pointed ears. "And my name's Tara..."

The girl climbed up onto the fence, sitting on the edge of it, she swung her feet over. Jumping onto the grass next to Willow, she dusted her hands off onto her weathered jeans, before offering her hand to Willow. Taking the offered hand, Willow noticed Tara's hand-shake was firm, but gentle. Willow felt herself blushing, though she had no Idea why she would be doing such a thing. Willow was mesmerized for an instant by the sun shinning through Tara's hair.

"Tara!"

A man called from the doorway of the house a good half a mile away. She couldn't really get a good look at the man, but he appeared to be older. Willow saw Tara jump slightly as the man called her a second time, this time Willow caught a seed of anger in his voice. She watched Tara back away and climb back over the fence. Willow wanted l to ask the girl to stay, but it was apparent that Tara was going to leave.

"Y-you're not from h-here are you?" Tara asked jumping the rest of the way over the fence.

"Willow shook her head. "Im staying at the-"

"At the Old Nelsen's house r-right?"

"Right... how did you know?"

"Word gets around."

Willow was beyond smitten the moment Tara smiled at her...it was this completely adorable half smile, that seemed to light up her whole face. Tara started to run backward toward the sound of the angry mans voice She was still looking at Willow when she shouted "Hey... What's your name?"

"Willow..." Willow called back.

"Willow... I'll see you later okay?"

Willow only had time to nod her consent before Tara had turned around and was running full throttle toward the chipped, white two story house.

Willow stood there silently as she watched Tara disappear through the door and into that house.

She considered the fact that she too should head back, but something kept her feet from moving even an inch away from where the blonde had stood only moments ago. When her feet finally would move she found herself extremely confused as to what had just happened.

Blinking, she started the two mile walk back to the house her father had rented, The scenery was the same as before, only, this time Willow hand a slightly better attitude about the whole thing which in turn caused the grass, cows, and endless miles of nothingness to look exciting and new.