melodiesoflife | [backdated] Touch What?

Entry tags:

[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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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.

Reno rolled his eyes, not taking Yuffie's words to heart -- well, not really. They were all just ribbing each other playfully, right? Just relieved to get off that damn boat, right?

"Hey, easy over there!" he scolded over his shoulder, noticing her shuffling about in his bag. "Goin' through other people's stuff, shit..."

Rude. Maybe she'd have something to cook for herself if she hadn't relied on him and Johnny to buy everything. Along with a metal mess kit, there was some oatmeal, instant coffee, and some packets that looked like surplus MREs from Esdham. It wasn't a lot, but he hadn't expected to be the one to feed everyone. Assuming Johnny brought his own food, and Yuffie contributed... something... then Reno would have no problem sharing. If not, there wouldn't be enough for the three of the for very long.

"What's a boy scout?" Reno asked.

"Who cares?"

Yuffie retorted softly, she didn't like things she didn't know and she was growing more annoyed. So she didn't bring anything to eat? It wasn't her fault that Mooshoo would frequently siphon her money so she didn't spend it all in one place. Which meant that she never had a lot on her.

She swiped some of his food and tossed it to Reno like she was sharing. She then ate his food without hesitation. She didn't eat a lot, he'd barely notice the small bit was gone honestly.

"It's probably just something to do with camping or starting fires."

Considering Johnny eats like a horse, he came well equipped with food, both pre-prepared and that in need of preparation. Surviving on MREs for any length of time was terrible, after all.

After setting up the fire, Johnny laid out a few extra around the fire so they have somewhere to sit. He plops down with his back to the fire, to look out at the area surrounding them.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. So what else is out here, anyway? Monster-wise I mean. Besides bloodthirsty hamsters. Anythin' we need to set up watch over?"

Reno glanced over at the crinkle of packaging. "Don't you fuckin' eat all my granola bars...!"

Nothing more eventful than that thankfully happened, and camp was set soon enough.

"Uhhh..." Reno scratched his cheek, realizing they probably should have talked about this sooner. "I think... Tonberries... among a few other things."

They'd definitely need to keep a watch.

"I think they mainly stick to the ruins, though," he offered. "And Marlboros aren't nocturnal, so... I think we really only need t' watch for zombies. And if anyone has white magic, it shouldn't be so bad."

Worst case scenario, he'd throw a potion at it.

Yuffie peeked over at Johnny's stash of food trying to decide if she wanted to swipe some. It looked so much better than the 15% of a granola bar she stole.

"Don't be so stingy." Her reply back to Reno was quick before finding a place to sit comfortable. Sitting for Yuffie meant sprawling with her legs out in front of her and then leaning back on her arms.

"I don't know if we have to keep watch all night. We can just set up some alarms or something. There are only three of us and we need our sleep." Plus it was cold and Yuffie didn't want to stay up but at the same time she didn't want to sleep either... it was conflicting.

"If you want I can watch out. I usually dont' fall asleep until sunrise anyway."

"You shouldn't stay up too late. We should get a move on early, and we need all of us to be in top shape just in case this hamster thing actually is a problem. So maybe alarms are the better idea."

He turns back towards the fire and his friends now.

"No white magic, but I got some potions. Best I can offer. Tonberries, though..." Ugh. That could be bad. Their camping spot seemed quiet so far, so maybe their luck would hold out, but Johnny didn't want to take any chances.

"Tonberries are slow, zombies are clumsy." Reno shrugged. "I think we can all agree on traps? Some string around our perimeter with stuff that makes noise -- I almost wish we had cans a' soup."

Except then they'd have to carry that weight around. Even if canned soup was delicious, and cans clanked most excellently. Too late now.

"I think we'll be okay," he continued with a smile, even it was a little nervous. "We got some decent jobs. We're smart. Once we get past everythin' else, how bad can a hamster be?"

On that note, he was ready to eat. Sure, MREs sucked in comparison to "real food," but they were convenient and Reno was hungry. They had a fire, clean water, a tent -- things were good.

Yuffie looked between them and sighed softly. She still wasn't going to sleep but that clearly wasn't important. She rose swiftly and then lightly tapped Johnny on the shoulder.

"Come help me set traps." She looked over at Reno. "Think you can guard the fire while we are gone?" It was clearly a very important task.

When Johnny was ready to follow she'd lead him towards the rim of the camp and tell him her plans for traps. One thing she was good at was setting traps for monsters. She had camped alone since she was child and she was very good at it considering she was still alive. One designating the task she'll disappear into the surrounding forest for a few details of her own.

Want to Fast-forward some?

sure

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

time skip again?

Yes~

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject