melodiesoflife | Home on the Range

Entry tags:

Home on the Range

Who: Zelda, Cloud and probably some NPCS
What: Job hunting and learning how to be a Chocobo Farmer
When: October 5
Warnings: None

Cloud chewed on his lip as he looked at the postings on the board. He was making do with the money he was getting fighting monsters, and thanks to being a "Hero of Light", he didn't have to worry about housing. But that was just enough gil to get by. It wasn't like he was able to go out and splurge money on things he wanted, just what he needed.

And the "Hero" part was what was causing him trouble. Back home, he had left Nibelheim to be a hero. He joined the military because how else were you supposed to become a SOLDIER First Class like the Great Sephiroth? There really weren't many other options to make your name big back on Gaia, especially for a backwater boy like him. Here though, he was already considered a hero even if he didn't feel like it yet. Everything was wide open to him and he felt almost paralyzed by that freedom.

"Just pick something, kupo!" Cloud glared at Mako. The two were starting to get used to each other, but things were still a bit prickly. Mako kept expecting him to run out and make a name for himself, but Cloud still felt a bit burned from how it didn't work out for him back home. And as a mage he was coming to learn he needed to depend on a team to win. It was a harsh lesson, but he no longer felt as weak for depending on others.

Still, being able to stand on his own wouldn't be terrible. "Maybe the police force...It's kinda like the army, but it would be a little different." He could at least have a leg up on trying to get in, based on his experience.

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Zelda was going to check the board but her mind got distracted by the head of golden pointy hair in the way. She lightly put her finger over her lips, signaling for her little moogle to be quiet. She quietly tip toed over to his left with a happy grin spread across her lips.

"Hey! What are you looking at?" When she finally spoke she was standing next to him with a happy smile.

Kupola was flying with his little hands over his mouth as he tried not to speak.

Cloud was so deep in his thoughts that he jumped just a bit when Zelda snuck up behind him. "Ah! Oh...Zelda, right? I was just trying to figure out a job to do when we're not off fighting. This one maybe." He put his finger on the board without looking, failing to point out the police job he was actually looking at.

There was a little paf as Mako facepalmed. "Smooth, Kupo."

Zelda's eyes followed where his finger landed. Chocobo Farmer She read the words carefully before looking back at Cloud.

She had also been thinking about getting a job but she wasn't sure what she would be good at. After a moment she grabbed Clouds arm and began to pull him towards the farm. "Why don't we try it out!"

Zelda had always loved taking care of her loftwing and the sporadic birds reminded her of them.

Edited 2014-10-08 12:34 (UTC)

Cloud's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Really? You don't seem the type." Zelda as a cop? She seemed too nice. Too gentle. He couldn't imagine her chasing down a perp at all all. But his attempts to talk her out of it were cut off as she started to drag him away.

It wasn't until they were leaving the city and nearing the familiar fields of the farm that he realized something was off. "Wait...where are we going?"

"To were you pointed of course." She didn't let him get a word in as she continued to pull him towards the Chocobo stables. "I have cared for birds in the past, I'm hoping that it this is similar."

As they approach the farm Zelda's eyes are drawn to the large golden birds grazing nearby and her lips stretched into a happy smile.

To where he was...damnit, he shifted his foot when he turned to talk to her before didn't he? He pointed at the wrong column entirely.

"Look, Zelda...this isn't what I meant. I've never taken care of chocobos before..." He trailed off as he watched the grin on Zelda's face. He wasn't sure he'd be up for this, but he felt like he'd be a terrible person if he tried to shut her down. "They can be really smelly, just so you know." He mumbled finally, turning his protest into a quieter warning.

"I know. I used to take care of animals at home, some of which were rather large birds." She tugged lightly at his arm. "Lets go. I think you will enjoy it."

Zelda listened to the beginning of his protest but at this point she didn't care. She was going to drag him with her wither he liked it or not. She pulled him until he began to follow her on his own and then slowly let go of his arm. As they approached closer to the ranch some of the nearby birds happily kwehed at them.

Cloud's fighting didn't last long and he was soon trudging along beside her. He'd do his best, but he didn't have any experience raising these birds. Maybe she'd get the job and he wouldn't and could just walk away. That would make everyone happy, right?

It didn't take long for them to find a stable hand who could point them in the direction of the ranch's owner. The man had a sour look on his face and the moogle keeping him company didn't seem much better. Cloud got a sinking feeling in his stomach when he made eye contact with the man.

"So, y'all here about the help wanted notice?" It seemed someone ran ahead to let him know they were coming.

"Yes!" Zelda smiled happily as she claps her hands together. She was excited to start working and more excited to be able to work with someone else that she knew. It hasn't been very long but she treasures those she has met in the city as friends.

She kept eye contact with the man as she spoke. "I've experience with birds but I was hoping the two of us could to a trail period for the day."

The old man watched them with a critical gaze, slowly chewing on something before spitting into the grass, "Don't look like much to me. Specially the boy there. You sure you'll be able to do all the heavy lifting?"

Cloud sputtered, caught between wanting to back out of this and the blow his pride just took. He couldn't just walk away after a question like that. The old man smirked as he got the response he was looking for and stood up slowly with a grunt, "I'll take you over to the barn, see what you can do."

The barn is about 10 times smellier than the stables back in the city, but the building is alive with activity. A few stablehands mill around, caring for the birds and the air is filled with trills and warks.

Zelda didn't flinch under his gaze and stood with her usual confidence. She was strong than she looked but she also knew there were things that she just couldn't lift. Part of her hoped that her paladin skill would be enough to lift more than normal.

She followed the man after giving Cloud an encouraging smile, she didn't want him to give up before he tried it.

Zelda's eyes lit up as they walked to the barn. The birds would chirped and squawked and then the stable hands would be by there sides. Some even seemed to know what the large birds were saying.

She didn't know where to start but that wasn't going to stop her. She turned towards the old man with a smile. "Is there anything specific you would like us to do or just get to work?" There was always things to do in a barn, muck out stables, groom, feed and care for the animals but everything usual ran on a schedule and Zelda didn't want to impose.

The old man grinned again, eying a pile of chocobo droppings and then Cloud once more. Before he could be given such a harsh task though, another stablehand emerged from around a corner to do the job themselves. He lucked out there. The man grumbled and turned back to them.

"There's some gyshal greens in the shed out back. Why don't you feed some of the birds and we'll see how they like you. Trust is the most important thing when it comes to raising chocobos. They're smart birds. Don't go thinking they don't know what's going on around them."

"That sounds perfect." Her fingers laced together in joy before she moved towards the shed. "Come on!" Zelda didn't forget to look back at her friend before heading to get the greens.

Talking to animals was a gift on Skyloft and it showed when a child first gets their loftwing. She hoped that she could still do that now.

Cloud nodded and tagged along, helping Zelda to fetch the greens and bring them back.

The birds seemed a bit standoffish as Cloud tried to feed them. Some shied away and others snapped at him. Eventually he found a more even tempered one, and once the other birds saw him feeding that one they too became a bit more docile.

On the other hand, the birds that Zelda approached seemed eager to gently take the feed from her hands. A couple even leaned in to nuzzle at her. Clearly chocobos had the same sense for people as loftwings did.

Zelda giggled as the bird nuzzled under her arm, begging her for attention. She loved the birds and enjoyed feeding them.

She noticed Clouds trouble and walked over with a happy smile. "Try not to be so nervous. They can tell how your feeling." She walked up next to the chocobo he was feeding and placed a gentle hand on it's side.

Zelda gestured for him to take a step closer and after a moment she placed a arm behind Cloud pushing him a step towards the large bird. "You have to trust them and then they will trust you." The chocobo watched Cloud curiously, waiting for the blonde. She hoped that Cloud would feel comfortable enough to reach out towards the bird, since his greens were quickly gone from his palm.

Cloud nodded and turned back to the birds. It wasn't that he was nervous, it was that he didn't want to be here. As Zelda wandered over to help him he mulled over why exactly he was thinking that.

Was it because of his experience? Did he really want to be a soldier that badly? He was good at it. He had a talent for fighting. But did that really make him a hero here?

He was pushed out of his thoughts as Zelda pressed him forward. Looking over his shoulder he nodded and then held out the greens to the bird. This time he held them in his open palm rather than holding a fierce grip on the bundle.

The bird ate at them eagerly and then lightly pecked Clouds hand hoping that there was more, even after it was clearly gone. Zelda giggled as the chocobo rubbed his beck over Clouds palm.

"See he likes you."

She was happy to see Cloud trying and she could see his shoulders relax as she pushed him froward.

He was a little surprised how easy it was. He wouldn't call himself a natural, but maybe this wouldn't be so bad. It was the idea of being a farmer that had been bothering him. Prospects were never that open back in Nibelheim, and he kept thinking he'd have to do some big city job to be happy.

He looked back and smiled at Zelda before moving on to feed the next bird.

She walked over to another bird and began to lightly scratch under its neck. It gave her a happy khew and fluttered its wings in the air happily. Her eyes looked back over at Cloud. "Your doing well. I think they are amazing birds."

Cloud nodded, "We used to depend on them a lot more for things back home, but we've been using cars and trucks a lot more. I guess this world hasn't developed that way. You said you had birds like these in your world too right?"

"Yes. They are called loftwings. Except, they fly. We use them to get to the different islands." Her tone was gentle as she thought back to her life on Skyloft. Everything had changed the day the storm had come. "When we are young we impress them and then they imprint on us. We take care of them. A loftwing is for life."

Zelda looked back at Cloud with a smile. "I think birds are better than cars and trucks."

"Ah. I've never seen a chocobo fly. There's stories that if they're raised right they take on different colors and can swim or run up mountains or even fly. I've never seen one like that though."

He looked around the stable, "I never really thought about it honestly. My friend Zack thinks my hair makes me look like one though." He chuckled, "Having your own companion for life sounds interesting, but I think I have my hands full with Mako."

Her laughter echoed like a bell after Clouds story. "I think you would fit in nicely with the chocobo's."

She smiled, looking over towards Cloud. "The chocobo I found here was purple. I thought it was luck since that is the color of my loftwing back home."

Zelda continued to shower the chocobo she was caring for with attention as she spoke. She missed her home but even with that ever constant feeling of longing, she loved to talk about it.

Cloud paused as she mentioned the color. Purple? Was there such thing as a purple breed? He thought maybe he saw one in a race once, but it didn't seem otherwise special. He frowns and visibly chews the thought over. "I don't ever remember hearing about purple ones. Can it do anything special?"

Out of greens, he then turned to see what else the stablehands needed them to help with.

"Not that I've notice but I'm not really sure what special could mean." Her smile turn into a contemplative expression as she continues to pet the towering golden bird.

Zelda looks over at Cloud curiously. "What are you doing?"

He glanced back at Yuna over his shoulder while lifting a crate that had just been left out in the middle of the floor, "That's all the feed. I guess if we're going to be working here we need to find more stuff to do." He smiled. He'd give this an honest shot. If he was no good, that was fine as long as he tried.

She smiled and followed suit. "Do you know everything that needs to be done in a stable?"

Cloud smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Not really, but we can figure it out together, right?"

Zelda lightly tapped her chin as she thought. "They need a clean living area as well as daily exercise, grooming and feeding."

Though most of those things were on a schedule and she didn't want to do something they weren't suppose to.

Cloud nodded and gestured for her to follow as they went to talk to the other stablehands and check the assignment board. "Let's see what they know. I don't want to go back to that old man if we don't have to." The work would be rough, he just didn't want to risk getting tricked into doing more than their share.

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Home on the Range

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We can end this whenever if you want :3

I'm good with whatever

OKAY

We can stop it here