melodiesoflife | [backdated] Touch What?

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[backdated] Touch What?

Who: Reno, Yuffie, and Johnny
What: Pursuing a hamster of the friendly variety
Where: Aqures Tosf
When: October 9 - 11

Reno had heard rumors about a monster so awful, so terrifying, it might have been the most feared creature on Crystallis. Another rumor said that there were friendly ones, or at least one, somewhere on the island of Aqures Tosf.

And the creature that inspired such awed whispers... was a hamster.

Reno couldn't believe it. It sounded absolutely ridiculous. All he had to do was touch a hamster, and he could receive a blessing? It probably wasn't even true. But what the hell -- he could do with a short vacation after that time looping bullshit. If he fought a few monsters in an old ruin, it wasn't the worst way to spend the time. It wasn't drinking, but considering the last few times he got shitfaced he ended up sleeping with strangers and falling into bad habits again, it would have to do.

He sent out a few recruitment messages via Mognet and the Quest Board, but it was understated. He wanted something small. After all, they were looking for a hamster -- they didn't want to scare it away. He needed just enough eyes to find it. And since people were so scared of them, Reno didn't really expect much of a response anyway.

So he was more than a little surprised to see who did show up to the meeting point. Maybe he should have signed his name. Because they seemed pretty surprised to see him, too.

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"...No, yeah, I was there." He was at ground zero when things went down. It was hard to forget.

There was no way Johnny's moogle was coming along; the two were almost never seen together. Mogrius didn't approve of his charge's attitude and personality much at all, but still did what we was asked of. Which was very little.

"Good, cuz there's no way in hell Mogrius would come along."

"Whaddaya mean, you were there?" Reno stopped and glanced between Yuffie and Johnny. He'd heard that that place had been destroyed decades earlier. How could they have possibly been there at that time?

"You can't 've seen it like that, it's been destroyed for, like, twenty years or somethin'. That's why there's monsters in it."

Yuffie squints and then makes a funny face that suggested that Reno was about to hear a small fraction of a story that might not make sense. It was probably a good thing that Johnny was also here for this one.

"You see, a lot of people died so that we could just through time by Kalki bitch of Crystallis." She really hates Kalki. "So that we could be there when it exploded and set of some chain reaction that did something to the fiery crystal that made it crystally. Anyway, we then turned to crystal ourselves because we couldn't mess up the timeline and then we were in stasis for 27 years or so and then we woke up a few months ago."

Long story shortened.

"A few months ago, we got sent back in time to Aqures Tosf. To before it was ruins. Where we found out why it was ruins."

Even talking about it was elevating Johnny's blood pressure. But that had mostly to do with the time travel and its after effects, which he believes was the time loops.

"Kalki decided that we needed to see what happened, instead of just tryin' not to be an asshole for a change, and talk to us about it. Because nothin' solves problems like time travel." A lot of sarcasm drips from that last sentence.

Reno was trying to wrap his head around this. "So Kalki -- she's with that Empire that attacked this place a couple months ago, right? She sent you all back in time... to there. To see something. And it got destroyed, and then everyone was crystallized?"

Was that it? What was the point of that? Reno scratched his head, hard, trying to figure out what Yuffie had meant. "But whaddaya mean a bunch a' people died so you could jump through time? I mean, I can't imagine everyone jumpin' in line to sacrifice themselves, an' you already said Kalki started things..."

He didn't see the connection. Sure, people would die during a battle of that magnitude; and surely people would die when an entire city like Aqures Tosf was destroyed. He hadn't heard of time travel magic before, but hey, he'd already been punted to two different parallel universes now, he'd let that slide. But were they saying that that magic was fueled by mass death?

Reno didn't like the sound of that one bit.

Just hearing the name Kalki made Yuffie's skin crawl. It was one of many things the young princess didn't talk about and neither Johnny nor Reno was around to even know about it; at least not that she remembers. She barely knew Johnny existed until recently.

As they continued their conversation Yuffie's fingers began to curl into tight fists. She didn't even realize that she was doing it until her nails began to bite into her palm.

"She used the souls of those who died during the war here to power the fire crystal. The crystals are connected to life here, like the life stream from home. She used that power to send us all back in time." Yuffie didn't know about the time loop but it wouldn't be hard to make the connection. Kalki was smart and knew how to use the crystals. In a way Yuffie helped her learn about the crystals.

"It's why she started a war here, because we had to be in the past. Having the heroes in the past caused the fire crystal to call us in the first place." That part didn't really make sense. "So we caused the city to be destroyed."

"That's pretty much it." Johnny wasn't going to pretend he understood all of it. "Just in case you were wonderin' how fucked up this entire situation was, there's some more evidence for ya."

This sure wasn't going to start their trip off in a good mood, but Reno and all the others who've come to Crystallis since deserved to know all of this.

"We barely know a damn thing about crystals here, 'n what they can do. But Kalki knew a ton."

"Shit, yo." Reno shook his head, only pausing for a moment. It was a lot to take in. All the more reason he should keep working at that lab. These were secrets they needed to know.

"Hopefully these magic wisdom hamsters aren't a waste of time, then," he grumbled, shifting his backpack on his shoulder. "We can use all the help we can get."

He stopped at the row of storefronts and glanced over his shoulder at his companions. "Shopping first, or food?"

"FOOD!"

Food was generally Yuffie's first vote but she wouldn't argue with whatever the other two wanted to do. Well, she'd argue if it was something really dumb. She wanted to get going and check out these fuzzy little hamsters for herself.

"I think it's Reno's treat this time." She smiled over towards Johnny. "Don't you think so?"

Johnny gives Yuna a grin, then gives Reno a hearty pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I think yer right. I mean, he might just be marchin' us to certain death, so I think he could cover our last meal."

Yuffie, he expected that from. Johnny... well, Reno supposed he'd sort of earned it with all the teasing. He still shot the other man a flat look.

"You guys suck, y'know that?"

-------------------

It was strange, being the "responsible" one and trying to stick to a schedule, but Reno managed it. Somehow. Miraculously. Not that he'd never done it before, but that had always been on a job -- not wrangling Yuffie and a hot half-demon. Reno supposed he could try to handle it like a job, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. Johnny and Yuffie weren't his subordinates... but they weren't the same as Turks, either, when it came to teammates. They were... Reno wasn't sure what they were.

Complicated.

They managed to get more provisions and gear after Reno did, in fact, pay for lunch (and stow away the mental note that they now owed him). It wasn't until they were finally on the airship that Reno was able to start relaxing.

And promptly stop relaxing again once they reached the harbor at Balicea. Reno had though it would be alright, and it was the most practical way to get to Aqures Tosf, but... Looking at the various ships and boats, he couldn't help but get tense.

Yuffie considered the word responsible to mean not fun at all. The airship ride wasn't so bad but she wished that Reno would lighten up. She tried to tease and talked to Johnny some but she got nowhere with that either. It was so long and so boring, though she wasn't alone so there was that much.

When they get to the boat portion of the trip Yuffie moaned; loudly. She made all of her displeasure known.

"This is going to suck! I hate boats!" She had the motion sickness potion that Mooshoo gave her when she traveled but it never completely worked when it came to the sea. Either Reno or Johnny will have to deal with a sick Yuffie clinging to them and trying to remain steady.

"This world needs Dramamine. I mean, this world needs a lot of shit it doesn't have, but actual motion sickness medicine should be one of 'em." Johnny does give Yuffie a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, at least. It's not like they had a lot of options when it came to transportation.

Johnny had been noticing that Reno seemed awfully tense about this whole trip, too. Personally, he hadn't felt much one way or another about it; just being out on the road doing some work was fine by him, no matter what the dangers might be. But eventually, he'd ask Reno about it.

"Dude, you seem way uptight about this trip. You sure ya really wanna do it?"

"Huh?" Reno snapped up and stared at Johnny for a moment. "Oh, uh, yeah -- yeah, I'm good."

Johnny's honest concern was actually nice, though. And, well, the only way things were going to get less awkward was to just face them. Sooner rather than later. Just... maybe not with Yuffie listening. She was already needling him about his sexual preferences as it was.

"Yuff, go grab our tickets?" He gave her a handful of gil, more than she needed.

Yuffie gave him a look as if he had just sentenced her to death. "Why do I have to do it!?" Though her argument wouldn't get very far because she really wanted to get on the boat so that they could get off of it and be on their way.

With a grunt she turned on her heel and walked towards the ticket counter. She's going to be as quick so Reno might want to say what he has to say quickly.

"This is gonna be a long trip," Johnny muttered, mostly to himself. Dealing with a sick Yuffie the entire time wasn't going to be fun, but this was a job, after all.

Johnny picked up their bags, ready to go for when Yuffie got back. He turned to Reno, seeing that it was clear something was bothering the man. He wasn't going to press too much if he didn't want to talk, but that didn't mean Johnny wasn't going to be joking with him. Maybe he'd lighten up.

"You really that scared of a hamster, man? I didn't know I was supposed to get my will in order before this trip. Just bury me with my electric guitar, okay?"

"Not the hamster..." No time like the present -- truly, with Yuffie returning shortly and the rest of the trip ahead of them.

"You ever seen a kraken? Or heard of 'em? Like, giant -- giant -- squid monster things, really not friendly. Or, I guess, could be too friendly, in a black widow sorta way?"

Please get the hint and don't make him say things directly. It was embarrassing enough to see the doctor afterward and admit exactly how he died.

"I wanna get outta the city, I need t' get outta the city, an' I thought hey, what's one boat trip? No big deal, I'm totally fine..." Gods, he was rambling. "But... fuck. Just tell Yuffie I'm bein' stupid an' embarrassed about seasickness if she asks."

Shit, she was coming back... Reno cracked his knuckles in agitation. But he'd feel more angry and ashamed if he turned back now.

"And the time loops!" he blurted out belatedly. "Are we okay?"

Because he wasn't sure if Johnny remembered. Reno knew he'd never forget.

Yuffie waltzed over without giving Johnny and Reno's conversation any thought. She interrupted by interposing herself between the two of them and holding the tickets out beneath Reno's nose.

"Here! I got your stupid tickets. Let's go and get this over with."

She wasn't looking forward to their impending boat trip.

At first, Johnny wasn't sure what to say about Reno's rambling. Mostly he just nodded to his request.

"Yeah man, sure. You got it. Y'know, if ya needed to just get out to chill or somethin', ya coulda went to the beach houses in Balicea or somethin'..." Johnny was fond of escaping there when he was feeling the same way.

In repsonse to his last question, Johnny nodded, grinning ever so slightly.

"Of course we are. Super okay."

As Yuffie returned, Johnny looked eager to get this trip going, even if he wasn't quite sure how it was going to go with these two respectively.

"Sounds good to me."

Reno smiled -- still awkward, but a lot less agitated. He didn't know why he felt like telling Johnny all that, he barely knew the other man. But his intuition had been right. And he was relieved.

There might even be a future beach trip.

"Thanks." On a whim, Reno gave Yuffie a side-hug as he took the tickets. "I'm feelin' better already. Y'know, Johnny just gave me this great advice for seasickness, there's an acupressure point right... Here, sit by me..."

There was no kraken here, only bad memories following him around. And he was not going to let that make things worse. They'd take care of Yuffie, they'd make it to Aqures Tosf, and things would be fine.

Yuffie was not expecting a hug but it was nice. She smiled feeling slightly less agitated. "Oh? It better work." She looked up at Reno hopefully, between him and Johnny he's the one who really knows the extent to her motion sickness.

The boat ride was HORRIBLE. Yuffie spent the whole time leaning against Reno and wishing that the world would end in a fiery inferno but of course that didn't happen. It was only a couple of hours but it was the longest in Yuffie's life. Boat sucked... there was nothing good about them. When the boat finally docked Yuffie moved slowly, her legs felt a little bit like jello and she ended up latched to Reno's arm as they made their way back to land.

As she stepped on the hard ground her stomach stopped turning and the color began to return to her features though it was a slow process. She glanced around and then pointed towards the ruins.

"Is that where we are going?"

They've spent most of the day traveling, the morning was spent on the airship and the afternoon on the boat. Now the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon which would then turn the empty city dark as night.

"Should we wait until morning?"

Her voice was slowly getting stronger but Yuffie still wasn't feeling like she was at her best. She looked over at Johnny trying to shake her head free of it's hazed state. "Can you get firewood?" Then Reno could set up the camp and she could just fall down and wait for the world to stop spinning.

Johnny was more than okay with camping. It's not like they were going to find an inn anywhere close by. He gave Yuffie a helpful pat on the back.

"Sure. So that means once yer done bein' green, you're on dinner duty. I'm starvin'." When wasn't Johnny hungry?

It would take him a couple of trips, but Johnny wouldn't take too long to get them enough firewood to last them the rest of the chilly night. If Yuffie and Reno weren't done setting up camp by the time he got back, he could help them finish up. For a city kid, he'd gotten pretty used to this camping deal back in Exsilium, out of necessity.

A city kid himself, Reno wasn't big on camping either, but once again -- necessity. Things were always better with good company, though. He'd chat with Rude about shit, wonder at how the air smelled different. Sometimes, it was actually nice to be able to see stars, even if he was sleeping in the middle of nowhere. There were some... small... perks. Small.

"Yuffie can cook?" Reno smirked, teasing as he helped her sit. "I dunno..."

He slung his backpack down and looked over the area. Just outside the old city, hopefully far enough away from any nasties that might be living there. Decently flat ground. At least they'd bought a tent, even if Yuffie didn't actually bring anything herself. It wouldn't be too hard to set it up by himself.

Yuffie shot Reno a hard look when he teased her about her cooking. First of all she’s been getting better at cooking since living with Vincent. Second she wasn’t all that bad in the first place. Third that’s not nice. Her cheeks puffed up slightly feeling noticeably better after a few minutes of sitting.

”I won’t make anything for you then.” She mumbled under her breath before rummaging through Reno’s bag. “You got the tent?” She asked lightly.

Yuffie didn’t actually know if they had provisions or if she was expected to run out and catch them something. She could easily fish for something; she’d just need a net.

While the other two set to their tasks, Johnny would not only come back with enough firewood, but get the fire going as well. He'll have it ready to go so dinner could be made, in whatever form is might come in.

He's always a bit proud of himself when he manages to do things like this while camping.

"And I wasn't even a Boy Scout. Not bad, huh." Except that his companions don't know what Boy Scouts even are. Oh well.

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Want to Fast-forward some?

sure

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time skip again?

Yes~

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