I Don't Carrot All For This Quest

[worstintheworld]

WHO: Natalia L.K. Lanvaldear, OPEN
WHAT: The Old Man at the Chocobo Farm needs help harvesting greens before the first snowfall. Natalia accepts this quest so that she, too, may one day be a Santa Claus. She'll wrangle anyone she can get her hands on to helping the Old Man, since letting chocobos starve is deplorable. This might be enough to sway her into pursuing a chocobo of her own for easier transport. There may also be monsters in the fields. Bring out your prompts!
WHEN: Early to mid November
WHERE: Chocobo Farm and Nearby


It wasn't as if Natalia were ill-prepared for the hard days of labor ahead of her. She knew how hard her own people worked to provide the capital of Baticul with good food, surely this could be no different. She was also healthy and accustomed to traveling outdoors since joining the little group that was working so hard to save the world of Auldrant.

But that didn't mean the work wasn't hard. She toiled diligently, dirt rubbed into the knees of her leggings, her leather gloves dirty and smeared as she pulled up the plants and laid them in the large wicker basket that she carried from row to row. Everything had to be pulled up and preserved before the first snows of winter came down, so there was no time to waste.

Her muscles ached terribly, particularly her shoulders and back. She had to resist the urge to wipe the sweat from her brow lest she smear her face with more dirt and grime. While it was cold outside, the constant movement and physical labor kept her plenty warm. When she returned home, she was often filthy, sweaty, and very tired. Her stomach growled, but she refused to enter any dining establishments when she was in such a dreadful state. Only after she was bathed and dressed in suitable attire did she make her way to the cafe. There were some nights where she simply didn't eat, too tired to even think of food.

And yet, all the while, Natalia never made one word of complaint. This was a job that needed to be done, and she would do it. It was as simple as that. Until she finished, she wasn't going to give it any less than all of her best. Besides, the sooner she finished, the sooner she could equip the Santa Claus job and return to Trano Golsaucia to resume her efforts of fortifying the city.

Comments

[A rare occasion at the Chocobo Farm]

[shinrasfinest]

Sometimes, albeit not so often, within the line of his work when Sephiroth couldn't scramble a shuttle ride nor find anyone who would mind to teleport him, for an urgent dispatch back to Esdham for new orders, there was only one last resort.

"Qw-arrrrk!"

The sound of an over-excited chocobo echoed loudly around the stables as her hero came to the front of her gate. She was brilliant and yellow, rearing up as high as she could suddenly -from where she'd been apparently snoozing on the floor- and flapping her short wings with joy. Sephiroth had first caught her within his first three months of being brought to Crystallis, but the occasions which he had actually come to see the -still nameless- chocobo were few and far between. This did not seem to dampen her ardor for her hero, though!

"Whoa...easy-" Sephiroth hooked his fingers along the inside latch and steadily opened the door, extending his leather-clad hand forwards to nuzzle at the beak of the bird. She coo'ed lowly and settled as if he had such great control over her; in truth this particular chocobo would do anything to prove herself to him.

[worstintheworld]

Natalia lifted her head at the sudden commotion coming from outside of the preservation room where the greens were being prepared for storage for the winter season. Having just finished unloading her basket, she decided there was no harm in indulging her curiosity for a moment before returning to the fields.

Had she any inkling that the striking silver-haired man petting the bird was the same man she'd harshly scolded her first day of awakening on Crystallis, her reaction would have been very different indeed. Instead, finding the scene grandly touching, she slipped the basket onto her elbow and brushed her sleeve across her brow to ride herself of any lingering beads of perspiration.

"My, it certainly is fond of you," she giggled, stopping a respectable distance away from the pair. "I take it this one belongs to you?"

[shinrasfinest]

Slowly, carefully, Sephiroth both stepped into the pen and ran his hand along the side of the chocobo's head towards the back of it's neck, softly stroking the softer feathers underneath as the large dark eyes closed some at the petting, her enjoyment of the affection communicated by some faint clicking sound.

Having seen the impression of a girl, peripherally, approaching before he stepped into the pen Sephiroth wasn't as surprised as he might otherwise have been at hearing a comment from behind him. He paused in his attentions towards the large bird and for the time being flung the straps in his other hand over his opposite shoulder. A simple riding arrangement, indicative enough of his reason for being here.

"Yes." He nodded briefly over his shoulder at Natalia, giving her the once-over with his near-glowing gaze as he did everyone he's not seen before. Not so much a size up as a general read of the body language. He'd seen some people picking greens out in the fields earlier, this girl seemed to fit the bill.

"Though I imagine I'll never know the ins-and-outs of it-" Sephiroth takes the straps down from his shoulder again and begins carefully trying to slip them around the chocobo's head. She seems less than cooperative, somewhat goofily trying to usher that sweet spot along the side of her jaw back towards her Hero's fingers. A couple of attempts later and the arrangement is knocked from Sephiroth's fingers with a cheery-wark.

"-come on. We don't have the time for this-"

He stepped away, then crouching to retrieve the strapping from the floor, shaking it to remove the stray bits of hay that had gotten caught. Yet the large yellow bird was quick to sidle up besides Sephiroth and nudged his one side; it took a great shifting of the soldier's balance not to be knocked completely over, yet with a harsh grunt he did get back to his feet with a bit more space away from the chocobo.

A glimpse to Natalia, only, before he stepped in again. At least, it seemed, the bird had decided to stay still for the time being.

[worstintheworld]

An astute observer might note the subtleties that identified Natalia as highborn. The way she held herself, the luster of her smooth, ivory skin even beneath the smudges of dirt, the imperious lift of her chin... She was no farmhand to be certain, though she might pass for one to the untrained eye.

She certainly had a strong suspicion that this man had some sort of formal military or guard training, but his weapons and gear played a strong role in that discernment more than anything else.

Another person might have giggled at his troubles. Natalia, however, took no such delights. She stepped forward quickly, bent wrist against her hip. "Here now, that's no way to behave!" she chided the chocobo. "If you want more affection from your master, you must treat him with dignity and respect. Conduct yourself with pride, and obey as you ought. Understand?"

She'd heard the chocobos were more intelligent than mere beasts of burden. How far that intelligence stretched, she couldn't say, as she'd not interacted with them all that much.

The princess held up her hand, palm first, fixing the chocobo with a stern look. "Be good, and steady yourself."

Sephiroth hadn't asked for her help, and it was entirely possible she was butting in where she wasn't wanted. But she did have a knack for leadership with men, perhaps the same extended to animals.

[shinrasfinest]

Upon his first observation of Natalia, Sephiroth hadn't been looking for subtle details that might make sense or not. Though he'd swear by his intuition when it came to getting somewhat accurate reads on others, he had been wrong before. Besides, he'd seen dirt and just put two-and-two together. She did have a basket as well which backed up his assumption.

But her reaction to his chocobo goofing off immediately drew all of that back into question. Sephiroth paused abruptly at the mannerisms she showed no restraint in conducting herself with around the large bird, as if his chocobo were some servant or something rather than the long-time companion that it would have been for Sephiroth just like others if only he'd put the time in. As it was, both eyebrows shot up as he took much longer of a look about Natalia, one question at the front of his mind; who gave her the right-?

The chocobo cooed lowly beneath the discipline given, though. Slowly lowering her head to lower than Natalia's waist and becoming more interested in staring at the hay on the floor of the stable. It almost seemed quite sad as Sephiroth took the opportunity to step back in between them and slipped the straps on smoothly around the chocobo's head; he didn't meet Natalia's eye contact, either, as he was waiting for that spike of irritation to cool off first.

"I'll take it from here." He went back to stroking the back of her head again and eventually the bird pulled it's posture back up straight again, Sephiroth had at least succeeded in restoring some of the confidence that Natalia had sternly smashed down.

"I don't know who you are but-" Gently he started to lead his chocobo out of the pen, slipping a handful of greens to her from an inside pocket as he did so. She seemed to brighten again, ruffling her large tail feathers, yet there was still a drop in the chemistry between both Hero and bird.

"-don't do that again."

[worstintheworld]

As the chocobo lowered its head in deference, Natalia's stern expression softened, and she started to reach out to pat it. As long as it understood, there was no need to--

She stepped back in surprise as Sephiroth intervened, a little surprised, but willing to allow him to handle the rest. It wasn't until he admonished her that she was truly startled. What...? But she'd calmed the chocobo, hadn't she? She didn't understand. Now who was the abashed one of the trio?

"But I...!" Natalia moved aside, distressed, to let them pass. Was she wrong to try and help? It seemed so, as his voice was rigid and cold. She drew a curled hand to her mouth, deeply concerned. "I see...I was misinformed on how to handle animals. I'm sorry."

[shinrasfinest]

In short, Sephiroth did not have the time to concern himself with the fact that he probably had come across a little harsher than he'd intended to, but at the same time there was something in the way she had spoken to the bird that had rubbed him up completely the wrong way. It could be as a result that it was partly down to his own short-comings, of that he knew; he didn't visit the stables as often as perhaps he should. It could be argued that he had hardly claimed his chocobo at all, still without a name as she was.

She'd only been vying for his attention, and he hadn't been all that mad with it himself, yet the way that Natalia had dealt with it had certainly chilled the atmosphere, like a cold snap. Not that he wasn't a stickler for discipline himself, but it wasn't like a young trooper -or a servant- that were made by such strict rules. Animals, in particular this specific chocobo, he'd found to be better responsive to softer encouragement.

Sephiroth nodded silently back over his shoulder at Natalia, a wordless farewell but an indication perhaps that the soldiers strong sense of manners didn't allow for him to simply march off no matter how much she seemed to have irritated him. He took the next few strides away at a swifter pace though and was atop his chocobo before reaching the open doors at the end of the barn; vanished off into the fields.