melodiesoflife | Hey, Good Looking!

WHO: Lita Kino, OPEN
WHAT: Lita's still getting used to this place, and could stand to make some new CR friends. She can cook! She can clean! She can shoot fire out of her hands! She's still getting used to that last one.
WHEN: October 17th
WHERE: All over Aqures Ixen!

Grocery Store

One would think that with that many ingredients stocked into her woven wicker basket that Lita was feeding a small army. But nope! It was just Usagi and herself, and given Usagi's appetite as well as Lita's own high metabolism, they could put away quite a bit between them. Besides, it was important to keep a fully stocked kitchen just in case they got any unexpected visitors.

Bags of rice, different cuts of meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a riot of tiny spice containers were loaded into her basket, hanging on her arm as if it weighed nothing at all.

Stopping at the baker's stand, she silently weighed the pros and cons of buying a loaf of bread instead of just making it herself. She supposed it would save a lot of time, especially since she needed to dedicate a few hours to her training. Besides, that smell of a crusty fresh-baked loaf was heavenly. With a smile she exchanged a few gil and wedged the bread into her basket as well.

Spotting her was easy enough, for she was still pretty tall for a fifteen-year-old girl. She would be mulling over some produce, or maybe even staring longingly at the fresh cut roses for sale at the flower cart. Hmmmm... She preferred to grow her own, but all of her flowers were back home. A bouquet could add a nice splash of color to their house, she decided, and ordered a dozen of mixed orange and yellow sweet-smelling blooms.

* * * * *

Training Hall

With dinner simmering over the lowest heat setting on the stove at home, Lita could spend the better part of her afternoon at the training hall. She kind of wanted to grab someone by the arm and drag them into the room with her for some sparring, but she felt oddly shy about it. There still weren't very many people she knew, and though she scanned the faces she passed on the way to the training hall, she didn't recognize anyone.

Maybe that was for the best? She was still learning to use her body properly with her new jobs equipped. Lita knew for sure she could take more damage before, but something about this place made her a lot slower than usual. Her strength was still there; if anything she felt even stronger than usual, and her punches and kicks could probably wreck someone who went up against her. But Kukeiko had warned her that monks were weak against magic attacks, and with the Fire Bender paired with it, ice and water spells could easily be her downfall.

She'd have to check out the blacksmith's shop later and see if there was anything she could buy to help with that. Monks couldn't wear any sort of armor, but some sort of magic pendant wouldn't count as armor, right? Or did it?

Lita sighed, cinching her cloth belt around her waist as she took her position on the mat and moved into her stretches. There was still a lot to learn about this place, especially when it came to combat. She was determined to protect her world, though, so if that meant knuckling down and studying how to be the best fighter she could be, then she'd do it!

Limbered up, she bounced a few times on the balls of her feet, then advanced on her stationary foe: the sandbag. She jerked up her knee, slamming her shin against the sandbag with a fierce blow before pivoting and driving her elbow into it with a follow-up attack.

* * * * *

Chocobo Farm

So these were chocobos, huh? Lita leaned against the outside of the corral, arms folded under her chin as she watched the birds wander around the field, scratching at the ground and fluffing their wings.

"Gosh, they're really cute," she grinned to herself. It was kinda peaceful just watching them. So this was how people moved around, huh? Eventually she'd have to learn how to ride one of these guys, especially if she wanted to leave the city in any other fashion that didn't involve airships.

Sure would be awful if she found out she was too heavy for them to carry, though. She was tall and muscular, there was no way she'd make it as a jockey. She'd never had a pet before, either. So should she get one of her own? Just keep renting one whenever she needed a ride?

And would she ever get a chance to see a good-looking farmhand hanging around the place and working shirtless?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Good-looking farmhand, you say?

I mean - Donnel is riding his own yellow chocobo into the farm, humming a little as it slows down. "All right, you done good today, Drago! So we can see your kin for just a lil' while now. Just don't get too comfy, we gotta report back to Sir Chrom later."

"Oh, hey Donny!" Lita perked up from where she was just kicking it all casual like. Huh, he seemed to be pretty good at handling the big yellow birds. Maybe he had them on his world too. Since she already knew him, she wasn't shy at all about approaching to say hello.

After all, she could only watch chocobos for so long before starting to get bored. Guys were way more interesting, any day of the week!

"How long are you gonna be here for? Just a few minutes, or is it gonna be a while?"

"Oh! Hi there, miss Lita!" He waved to her, and began to climb off. "Well see, I figured I'd let my pal Drago hand out with his kind for a little bit. Not sure how long it'll be before he's satisfied."

He offered a small shrug. "You tryin' to catch one of these birds?"

"I wasn't really sure yet," she admitted, folding her arms casually behind her head. "It seems like it might be necessary for everyone to have one, but I've never cared for a pet before, much less a really big bird. I'd feel pretty bad if I accidentally neglected it just because I didn't know how to look after it."

Lita turned her head to look at Donnel's chocobo, Drago. "Is it hard to tame them?"

Drago was already chirping and nuzzling its over companions. Donny smiled, watching it and remembered his own animals back home. "It wasn't too bad for me! It rides a lot faster than a horse, I can tell you that. Might even be a wyvern."

He glanced back to her. "'Course, I do have a bit of an advantage. I used to work on a farm, so I get along real well with all kinds of fur and feathers."

She was about to comment on the horse. She liked horses. All girls did. True she'd never had a chance to ride one before, but if one of these birds could go even faster, why that would be ideal, right? But she sure didn't recognize the other animal he mentioned.

"Huh? What's a wyvern?" she asked, one brow jutting upward.

She supposed her ignorance could wait for another day, however. It wasn't every day a gal from the city met someone who was raised on a farm. "I guess that does sort of come with the job, doesn't it?" Lita giggled. "Do you think you could show me what to do?"

He paused, scratching his head - or tried to, given the pot. How did you describe what he saw every day back home?

"Well, uh, lesse... A wyvern is... Okay! Imagine a dragon, but it doesn't have arms and it doesn't breathe fire. That's a wyvern."

Confident, he smiled, thinking what he said was completely normal. "Anyhow, iff'n you need help with animals, you just tell me what the problem is and I'll do my best for ya!"

"What?! You ride dragons?!" If he didn't seem so earnest, she'd assume he was just making it up to impress her. He sure didn't seem like he was lying about it, though. "Sounds kind of dangerous. Sure would be useful to fly around, though..." she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Glancing at the chocobos, it was obvious to see the thought crossed her mind, but she was pretty sure those birds were too big to fly.

She turned her attention back to Donnel and managed a sheepish smile. "Actually, if you can help me catch a chocobo of my own and show my how to take care of it, that'd be really nice of you. You're not too busy?"

"Oh, I've never ridden one! Just know a gal that does." He waved a dismissive hand like it still wasn't amazing. "If she ever winds up here, I'll be sure to introduce you. Bet you'd get along real well, she's friends with all the ladies in the Shepherds."

But more importantly, his friend needed help now! He rubbed his hands together, eager to be useful. "Ain't ever too busy to help out a friend in need. You gotta be able to do two things with these critters... Ride it without fallin' off, and find buried treasure together. Do 'em both, and you got a good Chocobo!"

He was definitely telling her the truth. A liar would have bragged about riding one, and probably doing an exceptional job of it too. But was it really so strange? There were all kinds of nutzoid monsters running around on this planet, why not dragons with two legs that don't breathe fire that people can ride?

"Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks," she smiled at his offer of an introduction.

Once they started getting down to business, Lita straightened confidently. "Right! I dunno much about finding buried treasure, but that does sound fun. It's the riding part I've never tried before. How does that go?" She doubted it was like ice skating, so she probably couldn't show off or expect any natural talents to emerge.

"Well, you gotta relax the critter first. Show 'em you mean no harm, and that you trust 'em. That'll help 'em trust you." He climbed over the corral, ready to help her find the right bird. "See any out there that catch your fancy? I hear they come in all kinds of colors, but I just stick to good ol' yellow."

"Whoa, really? I wonder if there are any pink ones..." Probably not, but it sure would be cute to see a big pink feathery bird running around. Lita followed him to the corral, climbing up one of the rungs before she vaulted over the rest by swinging her legs up and over the top. She was big, but managed to land pretty gracefully. Now which one...

Planting her hands on her hips, she turned her head, scanning over her options. "Well, that one over there seems pretty gentle. That would be good for a beginner, right?"

Donny had glanced back, intending to help her over the top, but... wow. Look at her go.

It's a stare of admiration, mind you. He needed a moment before realizing she'd spoken.

"... Oh! Right, uh... sure. Sure. Just... slowly approach it, and offer your hand out. Let it get a good look and whiff."

"That's it? Huh. So it's a lot like how you deal with dogs, I guess." Lita stepped forward, slowly and carefully, doing her best to seem deferential when she was so tall. At least chocobos were taller, so she didn't tower over them quite so imposingly.

Gently she lifted her hand, palm turned up. "Hey there. I'm Lita." Apparently she didn't think it was too weird to introduce herself. The birds were supposed to be pretty smart, after all. "You think we could be friends?"

Since the bird didn't appear to disapprove of her, all seemed to be going well. Donny smiled, keeping his distance so Lita would be in control of the situation. It was important that the Chocobo focused on her, not him.

"Looks like he's taken a fancy to ya. Now just begin pettin' him real slowly, but make sure he can still see you."

Hey, Good Looking!

Chocobo Farm

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