melodiesoflife | Once I make up my mind

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Once I make up my mind

Who: Ichigo Kurosaki, Open
What: Useless teenagers need to do something with their lives
When: March 20
Where: Chocobo Farm, Aqures Ixen, House C-04

Chocobo Farm - early morning

Being up early wasn't an unusual thing for Ichigo and he'd usually stick around the house until some of the others were awake. That morning though he woke up particularly early, made an effort not to wake any of his housemates and left the house in his 'civilian' clothes. He wasn't sneaking out like some normal idiot teenager but he needed to get some air for a while. He wasn't feeling like going through the morning trolling routine so early.

The Chocobo Farm wasn't exactly a brief walk but it was enough to help him clear his head for a bit. He leaned against the railing, glancing at the pen where the birds usually milled about and there were only a few of them out. Maybe some of them were still sleeping.

He hadn't meant to wake up at the crack of dawn. Something he hadn't thought about properly for a while had startled him awake and that was enough to destroy any hope of going back to sleep for a little while longer. It was stupid. Of all the things that dream had to bring up it was something he had been afraid to face back home and he knew it would be the same problem here. He didn't need a reminder. The mind was sure stupid sometimes.

Aqures Ixen - morning

Even though they had food in the pantry at the house Ichigo was missing a few things from the recipe he wanted to try. It wasn't the first time he tried cooking something from home but he had a particular craving for it today and if his housemates didn't want it then that was their problem. It was a little selfish of him to think of it like that but it was something he needed.

So on his way back he stopped at the market to pick up a few things and looked over at what the vendors had to offer. He didn't pay too much attention to some of the calls that were offering items for a 'good price'. As if he'd fall for any of that. He had his mental list of the things he needed and that was all he was searching for. Though from the look of it he would have to make some substitutes.

House C-04 - just after lunchtime

Moshishi stood quietly on the chair at the kitchen table, watching his charge. Ichigo had been sitting with his arms crossed for the last few minutes, looking at the blank piece of paper in front of him. He wondered why the teenager was such in deep thought, especially since he had sought the moogle out earlier for some input on a few topics. Maybe he needed confirmation of something, Moshishi wasn't too sure. The covered pots with the stew and rice had been simmering for a while so why was he being so quiet?

"...The paper isn't going to bite you, kupo." The moogle wasn't the greatest at humor but it was better than the awkward silence.

Ichigo blinked and sideglanced at the furry companion. Right, he was still there. "Sorry, got lost for a bit."

"If you can't write it you can tell me what you want to say. I don't mind, kupo." Moshishi offered.

"No, I got it. Just sorting something out but I probably won't get this done until later anyway so don't worry about it today." Ichigo took a glance at the food cooking on the stove, figuring it still needed another fifteen minutes or so. It probably wouldn't taste the same as Yuzu's cooking but he thought he did a decent job improvising with what he could get.

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Zelda smiled softly at him.

"I can understand that."

She was also silently glad that his hair remained safe. A lot of the chocobo's were in the farmhouse since it was time for their breakfast.

"Didn't a few of you move in together?"

Zelda wasn't a busy body persay but watching people move in a small neighborhood like there's was rather obvious and Rukia, while she hadn't seen the girl recently, was someone Zelda considered a friend.

"A while ago, yeah."

It was sometimes like being back at home... if he was living with his crazy dad and Keigo under the same roof. And then some. Yet they weren't really bad people per say so it could have been worse.

"Gets a little hectic sometimes but probably expected with that many people in a house."

Zelda laughed softly. “I suppose so. I’ve only ever lived in a small home with one other person; first my father and then in the two person houses here. I haven’t moved very much.”

She only moved when Link left.

“If you aren’t busy why don’t you help me feed the Chocobo?” He seemed lost in his thoughts and if he wished to remain that way they Zelda wouldn’t argue however she wanted to offer a distraction to him as well. Living in this world, even with friends, wasn’t an easy task and Ichigo was one of those she considered young.

Wait, what? He kind of stared at Zelda for a moment, his gaze shifting momentarily to the few Chocobo that were lingering outside. The only other Chocobo he'd actually been near was Yuki and that bird was a bratty thing. Almost tried to peck his fingers away too! How was he supposed to know the flowers were the wrong thing to feed her?

"... Do they eat those greens thing?"

He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea though.

"Yes. While they eat I usually lay out straw around their stables." She smiled at him brightly.

"I can teach you how to feed them safely." So that his hair, nor any other part of him, might get nibbled off.

He shrugged after a moment. What would be the harm in it?

"Sure, okay."

It wasn't like he had anything urgent to do at that moment, not that early. He wasn't going to try to train until later in the day after making lunch and it probably beat getting lost in thoughts he knew he shouldn't let bother him.

Zelda's smile widened and she beckoned him to follow her with a quick nod of her head. With her arms full of straw she lead him towards the stables. The doors been propped open from Zelda's first trip and so it's easy to slip inside. Once inside he'll find at least a dozen chocobo's milling about. Zelda simply smiled placing her arm load next to the door, she'd spread it for the large birds later.

She reached over towards their food and handed a bucket to Ichigo, filled with the leafy greens.

"To start, make sure they only see what you plan to feed them. Hold your palm flat and don't move your head around too much or scratch your face." She didn't want them eating his hair and it'd be bad if he made it smell like greens.

Ichigo followed her into the stables, his eyes glancing around at the interior for a little bit. He'd never actually been in a stable before, especially one for giant birds so he wasn't too sure what to expect. When he was handed the bucket he recognized the greens Rukia had given him to feed Yuki but when he glanced up he was startled to find that some of the Chocobo were looking at them. They must have knew it was breakfast time.

"...Got it."

Taking heed to the much needed advice, he took a handful of the greens and kept his hand open as he approached some of the birds.

The birds kwehed loudly as Ichigo approached, their heads being thrown up and into the air before they reach for the greens in his hands. They were all stuck in their respective sections which made feeding them a lot easier. As the birds beak pecked at Ichigo's hand he'll feel the soft scratching of the dull beak against his palm.

Zelda moved to the bird next to Ichigo's, this one a dark purple who ate happily from Zelda's palm.

"Not to bad. Is it?"

"So far so good."

At least they weren't trying to peck his hands into oblivion. Maybe it was just Yuki that was really temperamental. When that handful was safely eaten he grabbed some more of the greens from the bucket.

"You take care of all of these guys every morning?"

"Not just me but yes, I'm usually here."

She smiled brightly moving to the next stall to feel the chocobo that waits, eyes eager for food.

"There are a lot of openings here and I've been working here for a long time."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye for a moment then offered greens to another patient Chocobo. They weren't too bad when they were fed.

"Not trying to be funny but does anyone actually take care of their own birds?"

Zelda laughed softly at his remark. “Some do, we can’t really keep them easily in our homes so they stay here. I know many of the heroes of light visit but day to day things are usually taken care of by those who work here. Even I can’t be here all the time.”

She was pretty sure that the heroes would get a lot of complaints of the chocobo’s were free to wander the town and so keeping them here was just as beneficial to the heroes as it was to the city.

“Most of these are owned by someone in town or rented. It isn’t very uncommon for those who live here either. The heroes are just respected those rules and boundaries.” The short answer was ‘no’ but Zelda thought he might want the reasoning as well.

"No, I didn't mean..."

He didn't want to imagine those giant birds trying to live in a house. It would be chaos despite how docile some of them acted. There just wouldn't be enough room, what if one refused to go through a doorway or got mad and...

"I would have thought that if they went through the trouble of catching one or renting them from time to time that they'd want to make sure these guys don't forget them. Can't be any fun being stuck here all day."

Even if he was still a little uncertain about some of the Chocobo--one in particular, really--he'd think they'd enjoy a little more than occasional visits from actual people. But then again no one knew what those things were really thinking.

"That's true, that's why a lot of the chocobo are let loose to run free in the farm. They return here when they need to rest, if they're injured or hurt. They are very smart birds."

She smiled fondly at the one she was feeding. Her hand lightly petting its neck when it finished the greens from her palm. She giggled softly as it nibbled affectionately at her hair before releasing her and allowing her to head to the next bird.

"Once they're fed we let them out of their stables." She looked over at Ichigo with a smile. "You don't have to stay for that if you don't want to." She knew he didn't have a great history with the large birds.

He sideeyed the bird that nibbled at Zelda's hair until he determined that it was fact harmless. Ichigo silently went to feed the next Chocobo as he wondered if he should leave or not. So far the birds hadn't been threatening, acting pretty much as gentle as everyone described them as but they were behind the gate of their stables.

It would be ridiculous to be afraid of them and he wasn't. A little wary if they got angry yet none of them seemed aggravated in the least as they patiently waited for their food.

"Well I'm here anyway, might as well finish the job I started."

Zelda looked over at him with a smile. She finished feeding the last bird, her hand affectionately patting its side. Her eyes were on Ichigo making sure that he understood what it was they were to do. “We only let out a few at a time. We’ll make sure they’re comfortably outside of the stables and then allow a few more to follow. This gives them space and time and doesn’t clutter up the way.” Since there was a somewhat narrow path leading from the stables, it was clearly met for a chocobo to be lead one at a time.

The young goddess stepped up to the first stable and released the latch. The large bird kwehed before dashing from his room and out into the bright sun, the birds aren’t meant to stay cooped up forever. “If you can release the next one on that side?” She pointed over towards the set of stables lining the wall opposite her.

“Once he’s clear I’ll release another and we can alternate.” It’s a little quicker with a second person lending her a hand.

By letting them out he thought they were going to actually lead the birds individually outside. Like horses, maybe. Then he saw how that could be awkward when she opened one of the stables and the bird took off to get outside. He definitely didn't want to be in the path of one of those birds. Or a stampede of them. It was a good thing that these birds weren't temperamental like Yuki.

"Er... Right."

He approached the second stable, sparing the anxious Chocobo a brief glance before he released the latch and kept to the side when it ran out with just as much enthusiasm as the first.

"They seem pretty excited to get outside. Must not be that great for them if it's storming and they gotta stay cooped up."

Zelda nodded her head, “yes, sometimes they are let out anyway, depending on the amount of rain. We’ll leave the door to the stables open and their pens open. The Chocobo are good about returning on their own. They know where they’ll get feed.”

She unhooked the next one and the bird happily ran for freedom. She smiled waiting for Ichigo to do the same before releasing another latch and then another. It was an easy process with two people and Zelda didn’t appear to rush even as some of the birds grew impatient. At one particularly temperamental bird, Zelda waited until it had calmed and then released it. She preferred to train the birds to take their turn; it wouldn’t do any good if they were overly temperamental. Then again, Zelda had a way with birds.

She looked back at Ichigo and smiled. “I know you haven’t had the best luck with Chocobo’s but you should see about riding one while you’re here. Now that you’ve feed some they are probably more receptive to you as a rider.”

Zelda released a large purple bird from its pen, who upon seeing Zelda kwehed happily and nuzzled against Zelda before running outside.

"...Maybe another day."

He knew he had to figure it out one day soon. Ichigo had put it off for too long and while he had no active plans to travel by Chocobo in the near future he was likely the only Hero left who hadn't at least tried to. There really was no excuse.

"I might sometime soon but I rather make sure they're okay with me first. I'll feed them in the mornings for a while and see what happens then."

Besides, it seemed rude to feed a Chocobo once and expect it to be okay with someone sitting on its back. At least that was how one with no riding experience thought.

Zelda nodded her head with a warm smile. “That is very wise of you.”

She released the last hatch and watched as the Chocobo ran out towards the vast plans. With that done she begins to pick up a few things that the large birds have knocked lose.

“I have to clean their stables and I don’t think you’ll want to help with that but feel free to continue wandering around. There is more feed in the far closest if you want to go out to the ranch and feed the chocobo’s though they are far less subdued out there.” She flashed him a knowing smile before returning to her work.

Ichigo gave her a bit of a flat look at the smile but let it go. She wasn't openly making fun of his bad experience--however minor--with the birds but a bit of progress was made. Maybe next time he'd try to feed some of them outside when they weren't encased in the safety of the stalls. ...Maybe.

"You don't mind if I come by and feed these guys in the mornings, do you?"

“Of course not.”

Her lips remained set in a smile, she was maybe teasing a little and she was happy to see that Ichigo wasn’t upset with her for it. She found it endearing though she didn’t want to say that either. She knew most boys would rather appear manly over adorable.

“I’ll be happy to have the help.”

Zelda was here every morning usually arriving before the sun.

"I'll try to be here around the same time."

And if he wasn't and the birds were already out... well, he'd deal with that when he came to it. The distraction had been a bit welcome though.

"Thanks for the pointers on the birds. I'll make sure to remember them."

"I'll look forward to it."

She smiled before setting to work. Zelda knew a lot about birds and now specifically chocobo's. She'd been working at the farm for over a year now, ever since she first woke up and found her chocobo.

As Ichigo leaves she'll pause her work and wave, watching him disappear out the large stable doors.

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Once I make up my mind

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