A Month in the Life of Jaune

[arcward]

Dying in Bed

This is the worst.

[Jaune’s voice cracks as he complains to the empty room. Three days he had been laid up with the flu. Fever, aches, a runny nose, a cough like he’d never had. His optimism that it will end soon is wearing thin at this point – if anything, it’s getting worse, since that cough hadn’t been there yesterday. At least, he thinks it was yesterday. The days kind of blend together when you sleep all day. He coughs miserably then grabs a tissue and blows his nose before tossing it weakly in the general direction of the trash can with the rest, not caring if it goes in or not.

It’s the first time he’s been sick and his mom hasn’t been there to take care of him, too, which really isn’t helping. She always made sure he had plenty of soup and tea. And while he could go out into the kitchen and raid the place for some, he’s really comfy and it’s just so much work right now. His moogle was… trying, he supposed, but it was clear he had no idea how to care for a sick human. He had considered calling his housemates, but Chrom and Donny always seemed so busy and Pyrrha… well, things were still weird between the two of them. Besides it wasn’t like he is actually dying, despite how it feels. He’ll get through this. It’s already been three days. It’ll pass soon, right?

He coughs again and has to sit up and bend over due to the force of it before flopping back down with a moan and curling back up.He sees Pumpkin Pete fly off, muttering something about getting someone because moogle medicine didn't seem to be working.]

------

Back Amongst the Living

[It’s been a week (he thinks) since he’s been out and about – the flu really did a number on him. But now that he’s all better, he’s going to enjoy some fresh air, something he never knew he missed, and grab some groceries for the house while he’s out. He takes his time going there, though, enjoying the weather and the people around him. He’s not really looking at anything in particular, oblivious to his surroundings as he strolls down the street.]

----------

Never a Dull Moment

[Jaune’s really didn't know how he got himself in these situations. He was minding his own business, taking a walk in the park, and the next he was being chased by a chocobo. He didn't even know what he did wrong. He had given it a pat on the beak as he passed by it, and it squawked and tried to bite him. So he booked it. And it gave chase.

To anyone else, it was probably a comedic sight, the teen running frantically and crying apologies for the unknown grievance. Jaune,though, was in trouble. The chocobo was much faster than him, and any second it would catch up to him. He looked around frantically for some sort of haven. A box, a pipe, anything would do. He nearly cried in relief when he saw an easily climbable tree. He scrambled up to safety, just barely avoiding getting his ankles nibbled and continued to cry at the beast.]

I'm sorry, okay! Now go away! Please?

Comments

Flu

[pole_position]

[It's true that things have been mightily awkward between them ever since the encounter with her Shadow, but Pyrrha has never been the sort of person to abandon a friend in need. There's part of her that's afraid, of course, but what kind of teammate would she be if she can't set aside her own feelings long enough to take care of her leader? And besides all of that, in the end, regardless of how Jaune feels - or doesn't - about her, she cares too much to watch him suffer.

And that's why today she shows up at his door, knocking softly with one hand as the other balances a tray with a hot bowl of soup and a cup of honey lemon tea on it.]

Jaune? Are you awake?

[arcward]

[Jaune's awake but only half there when Pyrrha knocks on his door. It takes him a moment to register her presence, but once he does he groggily lifts his head to look over his shoulder at her, eyes slightly unfocused. He stares for moment, trying to make sense of the situation. Did they make plans? He really couldn't remember.]

Pyrrha? What are you doing in here?

[pole_position]

I made you some soup.

[She smiles back at him - to her credit, only slightly awkwardly - as she sets the tray down on his nightstand.]

And tea.

[arcward]

Oh. Um. Thanks.

[He sits up fully, a very slight frown on his face. It's not that he's not happy to see her - really, she's a godsend right now - it's just a little... unexpected. And while she's acting like everything is okay between them, he still can't help but feel bad when he sees her smiling like that since he knows that he's really the one that's causing her to act that way.]

You didn't have to do that, you know.

[But boy is he grateful she did.]

Never a dull moment, indeed

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kweh!

Qwak!?

A penguin quack interrupts the chocobo, and a small red-frilled penguin has trotted up behind the chocobo to see what the fuss is about. The chocobo turns its head, but doesn't move away from Jaune.

Kwee-eeh!

Qwa qwak qwak? Are they...talking?

Kweh! The chocobo makes one more nip of its beak in the air, aiming for Jayne's heels.

"Hey, kid." A man with a long ponytail is leaning on another nearby tree, and gestures with his cigarette. "You might wanna make a break for it while Pen-Pen has it distracted."

Kaji shrugs. "Or, you know, not. Maybe you just felt like climbing a tree?" The look on his face is far too amused.

Re: Never a dull moment, indeed

[arcward]

[Despite having been here for a couple of months, Jaune was still shocked to discover new beings. He pauses in his yelling to watch the encounter and doesn't even notice the man accompanying the penguin until he speaks up, too busy trying to keep his feet out of harm's way. When the man does finally speak up, Jaune yelps and almost falls off his branch, startled by the unexpected voice.]

Oh, yeah, I just thought it would be nice to come up here and do you not see the giant bird attacking me?!

[The last part is shouted. Maybe not the nicest way to greet the kind stranger that's trying to save him, but his priorities are elsewhere at the moment, like not getting maimed by the giant bird attacking him. He eyes the chocobo, whose attention seemed to be back on his ankles despite the penguin's (Really? A penguin?) best attempts to capture its attention.]

Tell it to try something else!

Re: Never a dull moment, indeed

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji's eyebrows raise in amusement, he has a hard time holding back a chuckle. "It's funny that you think I have any kind of control over what Pen-Pen does..."

Qwak! Damn right.

Wait, does the penguin understand them?

Kaji pushes off of the tree and is strolling over far too slowly and casually. Meanwhile the chocobo has started circling the bottom of the tree to try to get more momentum. With a fluff of its wings that can't fly, it still tries to stretch its long neck up and snap at Jaune again.

Instead reaching up to try to calm the chocobo, though, Kaji hesitates and watches the bird. "...What have you got in your pocket?" It's after something, which might not be Jaune, himself.

Never a Dull Moment

[needsteaplz]

[Saori had just wrapped up getting some produce and meat orders for the Saloon when she heard Jaune's screaming. While her moogle, Brigid, couldn't help but laugh, the red head gave her a look before she took off after two. She finally caught up to see the angry Chocobo jumping up at its victim. Carefully she approached the giant bird with some Gyashl greens in one hand. Thankfully it was enough to divert the Chocobo's attention.]

K-Kweh?

Hey now, I got something nice and tasty for you but you need to leave him alone, okay?

[The Chocobo looked back at Jaune, then the greens before giving the Hero one last glare. That ought to teach him not to pet his beak. Satisfied that it made its point, the Chocobo took the greens in his beak and walked back.

Saori let out a sigh and looked up into the tree with a reassuring smile.]

It's okay to come down now.

[arcward]

[It was hungry? It was chasing him because it was hungry? But he didn't have any food on him, and he had been assured they didn't eat humans. Weird.

But hey, it was gone now, and that's really all that mattered. Now just to get out of the tree. He just take it slow and maybe this time he wouldn't fall on his face. It probably took him longer than it should have, but he made it down without making a bigger fool of himself.]

Thanks. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up.

[He brushes his hand on his pants to dislodge any dirt that might have clung to it before holding it out, smiling brightly at her.]

I'm Jaune.

[needsteaplz]

Chocobos are like any other animal really. Some don't want strangers getting too close to them and but thankfully they can be bribed with food.

[Saori patiently waits for him to get down, never once giving him a judgmental look. She gives the young man a smile once he's on solid ground.]

I'm Saori and it's nice to meet you, Jaune. Are you hurt anywhere?

Chocobo

[neverfirstclass]

[Cloud has no clue who this bird belongs to or how it got loose, but that hardly matters. As he sees it chasing someone up a tree he's already running after it. He slows as he gets closer, trying to keep it from picking up on his approach, and its distraction with Jaunne is fortunately working in his favor.

When he's close enough he lunges onto its back and wraps his arms around its neck. This isn't the first wild bird he's had to deal with and he's quick to get his body out of the way of the legs and wings. Soon enough he's on its back and holding on as it tries to buck him off.]

Hey! Are you okay up there?

Re: Chocobo

[arcward]

[Jaune hadn't even noticed Cloud until he was on top of the bird - the way he just up and mounted the thing was damn impressive, even if the chocobo was still fighting him.

When he does finally spot him, it only takes him a second to recognize the stranger - this would be the second rescue by him. Jaune really had to stop getting in these situations. But hey, at least he wasn't hanging by a spear this time.]

Cloud! I've never been so glad to see you in my life.

[Not that he'd seen him many times.]

Re: Chocobo

[neverfirstclass]

Oh...uh...hey! [With the Santa Job no longer in use as his primary his memory for names was diminished just a bit. He remembered the blonde Hero but it had been a while and the name slipped his mind.]

Sorry! Gimme a sec! Shhh! Shhh!

[He tries not to be too rough with the bird but he uses his body weight to keep balanced and try to direct it away from the tree. Hopefully the chocobo will tire itself out or lose interest in Janue soon.]

Back Amongst the Living

[not_most_days]

[The little hooded moogle carefully stalks her quarry, following through streets and back alleys and across rooftops. She mingles among the crowd in the markets, keeping a wary eye out for any interference.

However as she scans the crowd she neglects to check behind her just as Jaunne rounds the corner, the moogle making a sudden calf high obstruction in his own path.]

[arcward]

Hey, watch out, Kupo!

[Pumpkin Pete's warning comes just a second too late, and Jaune trips over the neglected moogle, toppling to the ground and skinning his wrist. He groans, inspecting the scrape - it was pretty minor, thank goodness. The last thing he needed was to break a limb as soon as he was back up and about. Speaking of, what had he even tripped on?]

You need to watch where you're going! Not everyone is big like you, you know.

Hey, I didn't ask to be tall!

[He looks around and - oh. No wonder Pumpkin Pete was angry. He had tripped over a moogle. Now, he might be new here, but he was fairly certain that that behavior was generally frowned upon. He stands up and brushes himself off, mindful of his cut, before crouching next to the moogle.]

I am so sorry; I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?

[not_most_days]

[For all of Pumpkin Pete's shouting, Bonnie herself has been dumped facefirst onto the ground. She pushes herself back up with her stubby little paws and rubs some dirt from her nose.]

Owwwww, kupo~ I'm okay but...AH!

[She flutters up into the air at full speed, looking around with a little frantic flailing.]

Ahhhh! He's gotten away, kupo!

[She zooms back down to where she left Jaune's face.]

Did you see a man wearing a blue bandana and pulling a cart, kupo?

Never a Dull Moment

[unyieldingspirit]

[…what is this. She knows some birds have a temper, but she's never really seen one chase someone up a tree before… She squints at the chocobo, and then at Jaune.]

What did you do? [it's largely just surprise in her voice, at least.]

Re: Never a Dull Moment

[arcward]

[Jaune glances away from the threat for a moment to spot K'pandolu. A familiar face, at least.]

Nothing! I didn't do anything! I walked by, pet the thing, and it attacked me!

[And then he wound up in the tree. He isn't even sitting on a limb of the tree, but rather is stuck standing on a stub of a broken branch too tiny for him to sit on and clinging to the trunk of the tree for his dear life.]

[unyieldingspirit]

That's odd… Some birds don't like people, but…

[…she'd have thought there'd be supervision, if one of them were out and about. She shakes her head, and gives Jaune a concerned look.]

In any case- I'll see if I can distract him. Hopefully that'll give you some time. [either to get out, or find a better position. She moves towards the bird, eyes intent, one hand out.]

back among the living

[water_meebo]

[ Mikleo was thinking the same thing and was out running errands for his friends. He bought groceries and things he could utilize in the kitchen along with food that could be cooked or baked by Lailah. Between the two of them, Mikleo handled salads and things that were of the cold or room temperature while Lailah handled the warmer things.

He was still learning to cook food in general. Now that they had one extra mouth to feed, Mikleo was even more happy to be home with the two Seraphim and Sorey. He was in his thoughts too so he didn't notice Jaune, before knocking right into the young man. ]

[arcward]

[Jaune stumbles backwards a bit when he and Mikleo collide; luckily neither of them were running, or it could have ended a lot worse (he would know). Jaune really has to work on his meeting people skills.]

Sorry, guess I wasn't paying attention. You okay?

[water_meebo]

[ Mikleo somehow manages to balance his groceries as he stumbles forward as Jaune falls back. He was glad they weren't running. The impact would have been a bit more than just a little horrendous. ]

I'm sorry too. I wasn't looking where I was going.

[ He pats himself a little bit. ]

Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?

never a dull moment

[dammit_flynn]

[ On the tree, there was a certain young man who was busting his sides laughing at Jaune. He heard the cries of the Chocobo not too far from him when he perched on the tree to relax, but the running that followed literally made his day as he laughed a hysterically with his back against the tree branch across from Jaune.

Sorry dude, you might want to tell him to put a sock in it, or else he'd never really stop. ]

[arcward]

[Jaune doesn't notice Yuri at first, still a little too preoccupied with the crazed chocobo, but then he hears the laughing and, well, there's only one explanation for what could have brought on that hysteria.]

Don't tell me it chased you up here too? Man, these things are more vicious than the grimm are. [The chocobo squawks angrily.] I mean friendly! You're very friend- please go away.

[He turns back to Yuri.]

Oh man, what are we going to do?

[dammit_flynn]

[ Yuri couldn't help it. The poor guy looked lost and confused about the whole ordeal and here Yuri was perched on a tree laughing his ass off. ]

Haha, I'm afraid not. I was already here when it started chasing you. What on earth did you do to piss it off?

[ He looked at the Chocobo. ]

You mean... what are you going to do? I'm pretty sure it's ticked at you or ya need a hand?