A/N: Hey! Sienna here! Here marks the beginning of another story of mine, one that I've had planned out forever and have not yet finished. It's mosty supposed to be Reno-centric, but I'll tell you that there is a pretty main OC. But I kinda needed her for the story to work out right. Anyway, please read and tell me what you think so far!

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Reno or any other Final Fantasy VII character/place/etc. My idea on the chocobos is my own (you'll see in later chapters), as well as Sienna and other minor rolls. But sadly, I don't make money off of any of this - it's all Square's!

The Chocobos of Midgar
 -by Sienna Alexanderson

Sixty-three… Sixty-four…

Reno tapped his foot impatiently, looking out of the glass elevator. How many floors did this place have again? Seventy? Eighty? One-thousand?

Well, it certainly felt like a thousand. Especially since he didn't have anyone to talk to. No beautiful women…

…Sixty-eight… Sixty-nine…'Almost there!' Ding!

"Finally! They really need to install a faster elevator." Dashing out the doors as they creaked open, Reno ran right into Elena, knocking the blonde onto the pale linoleum floor.

She gave him a death glare, standing and fixing her blue Turk uniform. "Reno, watch where you're going!" With quick sweeps, she dusted off the dark blue fabric. "Aren't you still supposed to be in 'critical condition'?"

A grin swept over the red-head's face. "Oh yeah, I'm as in as critical condition as they get!" He flexed his muscles and looked around the large, dull, gray room, then back at his colleague, who had already begun towards the Turks' office. "Hey! Wait up!"

With a few steps he fell in stride with her, only to gain another death glare. Reno rolled his eyes and rested his hands behind his head as he walked. "Well aren't we chipper this morning?"

"Shut up, Reno."

With a shrug, Reno turned towards the blank office door. The lighting in the room made it appear bleak and rather unwelcoming. 'Man, they really need to invest in some better lighting, or maybe even some windows. And fix those stupid elevators'. In Reno's opinion, the whole place needed a make-over. On a sudden thought, he dropped his arms to his sides and looked over at Elena, who had reached to swipe her keycard for entrance. "Hey… how did you get up here faster than me, anyway? It's not like it's any quicker to take the stairs. And that freakin' elevator…"

The blonde sighed, slipping her keycard back into her pocket. And she thought today was going to be a good day. "Shut up, Reno. Just… Shut. Up."

With a casual shrug, Reno followed her into the office. Rude stood next to the door, face expressionless as always. Reno gave him a grin and a thumbs up as he passed by; the only sign of recognition Reno received from his friend was a slight nod and the barely visible tilt of the corner of his mouth. On the long cream sofa sat Elena, fidgeting with her hair as she looked expectantly at the doorway. No doubt nervous over the thought of seeing Tseng again, Reno thought. Hopefully she'd be able to keep her mouth shut this time. She'd only been with the Turks for a short time and she had already slipped out information to AVALANCHE that she shouldn't have.

Reno sat on the other end of the couch, leaning comfortably back with his legs spread out, dark brown shoes resting at ease on the coffee table in front of him. He didn't know what Rude saw in that girl. Heck, the only thing he saw was a good target to annoy. A grin broke out on his face. It seemed as though he'd already done a good job to irritate her today, and it was only morning.

Reno faked a yawn, "Another boring day working for Shinra."

Elena glared at him, but Rude only rolled his eyes at the remark.

"Reno. You should learn to think twice about what comes out of that mouth of yours and where."

Recognizing Tseng's solid voice, Reno brushed the warning off as though it were an annoying little mosquito. "Why? It's not like you, Rude, or Elena really care about…"

"Well, they may not care, but someone else might."

Reno sat bolt upright. "Ruf… ah, I mean, Mr. President!" He turned his blue eyes over towards the blonde President, who stood with no sign of emotion on his pale features. Scratching the back of his head, Reno relaxed back against the plush sofa. "It's nice to see you, sir. How was your trip?"

Tseng sighed and dropped a large file on the center coffee table, causing Elena to jump. Reno simply shrugged and turned towards the file, grin still plastered on his face.

Offering one of the plush chairs to the President, Tseng nodded and sat in an identical one next to it. It was tattered and torn, but comfortable nonetheless. Not like looks really mattered all that much to the Turks. He let his gaze sweep over the other two Turks and then set on Reno for a brief warning second before letting it settle on nothing in particular. "The President is here to give you a briefing on an important assignment, so pay close attention."

Reno caught the implied warning and settled into a state of seriousness, one that he rarely used but had perfected for just such an occasion.

A frown crossed Elena's face. "Another assignment? Aren't we still after AVALANCHE? And Sephiroth?" she asked with a hint of worry. Chasing after that resistance group was already taking up a lot of her time and energy, especially since Reno was still considered to be recovering and hadn't been able to help for a while. What ever made her think being a Turk was going to be easy? Maybe it was because Tseng made it look so easy. She looked expectantly at him, as though he held all the answers in the world.

The black-haired Wutaian Turk merely ignored her pointed question, and gazed blankly at the almost bare walls of the office lounge. He simply motioned with his hand towards the blue-eyed young man next to him, who had already picked the huge file up off the table and was pulling something out of it. The stack of sheets in Rufus' hand looked like any other personal file held in the Shinra building; it was a stark black and white document similar to the ones filed on each Shinra employee and other figures of importance.

Rufus stood up with an air of authority, pushed aside a lock of his golden hair, and looked straight at Elena. "Yes. You are still to follow orders concerning the terrorist group AVALANCHE. This assignment," he motioned to the papers in his hand, "is mostly for Reno, since he is currently incapable of dealing with them…"

The flashy grin returned to Reno's face as he ignored the snide implication in the President's words. "Aw, for me? You shouldn't have."

The President merely snorted at the comment and continued, "Elena and Rude are to back him up if he has any troubles. Understood?"

Elena quickly nodded, "Yes, Mr. President!"

Rude's voice came from his spot near the door. "Yes, sir."

"Okay, so… what am I supposed to do?" For once, Reno's curiosity was getting the better of him. What was it that Rufus, the new President of Shinra Inc., had that was more important right now than finding Sephiroth and AVALANCHE?

Rufus turned to Reno and handed him the file in his hands. "You are to watch and guard this girl and make sure she does what she has been told to do. I need her knowledge and skills." He looked pointedly at Reno with his frosty-blue gaze. "I will have Tseng fill you in more as the necessity arises. "

"So I have to baby sit?" Reno took the papers without even glancing at them, his excitement and curiosity waning. "Hmph. How hard can this be?"

"There are more copies of her file in the folder on the table for Rude and Elena." Rufus stated, walking purposefully towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder at the young Turks. "And no funny stuff, Reno. Don't mess up." With that he strode purposefully out the door.

"Yeah, right, no funny stuff." Reno snorted derisively and rolled his eyes. "What the heck is this all about, Tseng?"

At that moment Tseng was handing the extra copies to Rude and Elena, along with the updated news on the actions of AVALANCHE. He glanced over his shoulder at Reno, "Go see for yourself. She's waiting in your office. Come back and see me in a little while and we'll discuss the particulars." Reno nodded his head, wondering what kind of situation he would be in this time, and turned towards the office doors. "Oh, and Reno… don't forget to actually read the file. We don't need you screwing up like last time."

Reno growled under his breath. "Yes, Tseng." Why the heck did he always get stuck with the dumb jobs? He looked at the first line of the file as he walked into the inner hall. Words littered the page, from basic facts to family backgrounds. It's not that Reno didn't like to read, it was just that these files tended to be so dry. Hmph, well at least it wasn't another one of those specimen reports from Hojo - those things were creepy. He glanced at the girl's name as he reached his office door. "Sienna Alexanderson, huh? Oh! And she's my age, too!"

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

A young woman sat nervously waiting in one of the side offices of the large Shinra Inc. building, looking around at the dull room. She wished she hadn't agreed to this. But her foster parents had looked so happy when they found out that she had been summoned by the President Rufus himself. She sighed. They lived on the upper plate, so they had never seen the wrongs that Shinra had done to those living below in the slums. To them, Shinra was the hero - the one who provided them with electricity and jobs in the large city of Midgar. So of course they would be excited if Shinra were to call on her. And besides, her family, even if they lived on the upper plate, needed the money. If she did this she would have plenty to give to them for all that they had given to her.

A beep sounded across the room and she looked up just in time to see the door open to admit a young red-headed man who looked to be about her age. He looked at her with deep blue eyes and gave her a huge grin. Embarrassed, she looked down at the folded hands in her lap.

Reno gazed at the young woman. She was attractive enough. For some reason he hadn't expected her to look as she did. He hadn't even thought of taking a look at her picture in the file. She wore fitted white jeans and a light blue three-quarter sleeve shirt. A tan belt rested at an angle on her hips. It was simple, yet flattering on her, unlike what most girls he had been with liked to wear. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders in layered golden brown and her eyes were a pale blue-gray that looked cautiously and a little curiously up at him.

Reno suddenly realized he was staring and recovered quickly to notice that her eyes had done the same as his, and he naturally took advantage of the situation. With a sly grin he tilted his head towards her. "Like what you see?"

She jerked her head away and gazed down. She had always been shy around people she didn't know, and this red-headed hunk was no exception. Gah, and why was she even thinking about that? She was here for her foster family's sake and that was all.

Reno's grin disappeared and he scratched his head. Ah, so she's a shy one, huh? Well, she is his assignment after all. A smaller, gentler smile crossed his face. He'd just have to try a little harder to get her to talk to him. It wouldn't do any good if she was afraid of him.

He pulled up one of the chairs to sit across from her and leaned back casually. "So… you must be Sienna."

She only nodded slightly but didn't look up to meet his gaze.

Hmm… this might be a little harder than he had thought.

"Well hey, my name is Reno, and I'm the one who's going to be supervising you and whatnot."

She simply nodded again in concession.

Reno scrounged for a topic. "So… what do you do?"

Her sudden movement surprised him as she looked up to scrutinize him with her cloudy gaze. He didn't know? She noticed the file in his hand and her name plainly written on the top of it. If he didn't know, then maybe Shinra didn't… "Um… you don't know? But isn't that my file in your hand?"

Reno grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, sending his red locks flying. "Uhh… yeah. You see, I haven't quite read it yet. I only just got it a little while ago and…" A soft sound stopped him from his continued ramblings. He looked around for a second and soon he realized that it was her laugh that had interrupted him. It wasn't loud or mocking, but a teasing giggle. And it was infectious. Soon Reno was laughing as well.

After her giggles began to subside, Sienna covered her mouth to hide her smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh… you just… took me by surprise. I thought Turks were supposed to be much more serious. And you look so young." Her eyes twinkled questioningly as she looked at Reno. She had heard such awful things about the Turks… but this man seemed so… carefree. Not at all like the dreaded Turks she had been told of.

Reno flashed her a smile. "Why thank you, miss Sienna. We're actually the same age, as that was one of the things I had the chance to read in your file. And I must say that you are not too hard on the eyes yourself." He had expected her, like every other girl he had ever talked to, to melt at the cleverly inserted remark. Yet to his surprise, she seemed to grow quiet and uncomfortable with his candid compliment, so he quickly changed subjects. "Um, well, being a Turk was never really my dream job. And I'm sure Tseng wishes I were much more serious. But hey, I'm good at what I do, and that's all that counts, right?"

Sienna seemed unsure of herself, but answered anyway. "Yeah…"

"I am the youngest member, but not by much. Elena's maybe a year older… I'm not sure, and Rude's only a few years older than me. Same with Tseng, although he's been with the Turks the longest of us all." He shrugged and looked at the girl, who seemed to be listening intently. "Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that…"

Sienna shook her head, sending her hair tumbling around her shoulders. "No, no, don't worry about it!" A shy smile graced her lips. "I like to listen… it's always been easier for me than talking… I never usually know what to say… like right now…" A blush crossed her face as she looked a little down and to the side. "Gah, now I probably look like an idiot…"

Reno smiled and tilted her head to look at him. "Not at all." He gave her a wink with his crystal blue eyes and leaned back once again in his chair. "Now… would you like to tell me a little about yourself? I'm sure it'd be much more interesting than reading this file." With a quick flip of his wrist, he tossed the file on the top of his paper-littered desk.

She looked at him and gave a little smile. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she had thought. He seemed trustworthy enough, as far as Shinra employees went. "Um… do you even know why I'm here?"

Reno brought his hand to his chin as though he were thinking. "No, not really. Just that I'm supposed to watch out for you and stuff…"

After he finished speaking, he shrugged. Sienna took that as a cue to speak. "I'll tell you as much as they told me."

Nodding, Reno grinned, flashing his white teeth. "But first would you like to go somewhere more comfortable? I don't know about you, but I never really liked these chairs in here. They give me a terrible butt-ache."

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

Heidegger, Palmer, Scarlet, Reeve, and a few other heads to the various departments sat around the large table in the conference room. They waited, some patiently and some not so much, for their new President, the young Rufus, to show up from his meeting with the Turks. No one really knew what was on the young President's agenda, but many hoped it meant a pay raise for them and their respective departments.

Reeve fidgeted nervously with the pen and pad of paper set in front of him on the polished desk. Perhaps Rufus had decided that it was a good idea after all to rebuild Sector 7. Reeve was still appalled by the choice of his father, to leave the ruined Sector down as a visual threat. Maybe, just maybe, Rufus had decided to overturn the prior President's decision. At least he could hope so.

Emerging from the far door, Rufus swept his gaze over the group, not even bothering to hide his scorn. His father had chosen a bunch of fools for his cabinet members - greedy fools who didn't know their place.

He sat at the chair at the head of the table, pushing aside the papers in his way. He noticed Palmer bouncing up and down in his chair, eager to inquire about the space program. "Mr. President, sir! Mr. President!"

Rufus turned his sharp gaze on the rotund man. "What do you want?" he barked angrily.

Palmer seemed to shrink in his chair under the withering gaze. "T-th-the…" He swallowed hard. "I-is the Space Program getting any… any money? We r-really need it and…"

"No."

"Oh…um, bu-but…"

"No. And that's final." His icy voice stopped the man from stuttering out any more requests, as well as weaken the resolve of others who had thought of asking for similar favors. "Now on to business.

"There have been some small uprisings against Shinra and the usage of Mako in places such as Kalm and Junon, no doubt inspired by the terrorist group AVALANCHE. There are also reports of the growth of the Fort Condor military and their intentions to try and overthrow Shinra Inc., doubtless also linked to the same terrorist group. I have the Turks working on the capture of AVALANCHE as well as the pursuit of Sephiroth and the Promised Land. Meanwhile, however, to take care of these uprisings before they get out of hand, I have arranged to build and train a strong Chocobo Calvary that will be more useful than the Soldiers that are being trained and deployed now."

Heidegger leaned forward and furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "Chocobo Calvary? Gyahahahaha! Those giant birds are useless except for racing! How are you planning on doing this?" He slapped one of his huge hands onto the table for emphasis. This drained so much energy out of the portly man that he had to lean heavily on the other large hand to rest his head.

Rufus rubbed his temple in annoyance. "The breeder has knowledge of the eight breeds. These chocobos are not your average overgrown chickens. Besides, fear is the best way to make people follow you, is it not? The scrawny Soldiers of my father do not instill enough fear into the people to keep them submissive for long."

Leaning forward to expose what little her dress didn't cover, Scarlet spoke up, "Eight Breeds? What does that mean?"

"That knowledge would be of no use to you. You will see what I mean in due time."

Rising to his feet, he glanced around the room at the various faces. There were a few looks of dislike, more of approval, and the rest remained neutrally blank. "There will have to be a few cuts in each budget, but I'm sure you will all be able to manage the money allotted to you. That is your job, after all." The look he cast upon the onlookers was fit to kill. "Any more questions?"

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

A few minutes later Reno and Sienna found themselves seated comfortably in the recently vacated Turk office lounge. Reno was sitting stretched out much like he had been earlier before his meeting with Rufus. He noticed, however, that Sienna didn't seem so much at ease. She acted calmly enough, but her rigid posture in the old worn-down chair and the way her arms crossed defensively across her stomach were easy enough signs for the Turk to read. She was still frightened out of her mind, even despite his best efforts to loosen her up.

He supposed she had a right to be frightened - it wasn't everyday that one was sent up into one of the higher offices of Shinra Inc., especially to the office of a Turk. He was sure what she had heard about Turks and the business they did was frightening - and sadly enough, probably quite accurate.

This time, Reno was determined to ease her fears, at least around this one Turk in particular.

He got up and stood next to her chair, resting his arm on the high back, and leaned down so that his head was practically next to hers. The bewildered look she gave him only served to make his grin grow. "Hey, you still don't look all that comfortable still. Would it be better if we went somewhere else to relax? Say... my apartment?"

A disgusted look crossed her face and she turned away.

Reno backed off with a laugh and plopped again on the couch, resting his head on his hands and stretching his long legs along the length of the sofa. "Kidding. Kidding." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Just trying to break the tension, ya know? I don't want you to be afraid of me. I won't bite." He opened one crystal blue eye and gazed sideways at her. "Too hard." And with that, he shut his eye and was content to just lay his head back on the armrest as he was. He looked just as comfortable as if he were lying in his own bed.

For a second Sienna didn't know what to do. She just sat and stared at him. He had surprised her, and not for the first time. She suddenly realized that his plan had worked - she felt more relaxed and comfortable, even in her slight confusion. How could he do that? No where else had she ever been put at ease so easily. So much that she tended to just avoid situations like this altogether. Right now she just felt like laughing out in nervous relief.

"Not that I'd blame you for being frightened. We Turks do have quite the reputation following us, don't we?"

He was back in a sitting position before she even realized he had spoken.

"Well, as long as Reno's around, you'll have nothing to worry about." He gave her a wink and patted the seat next to him on the couch. "Now come over here and tell me a little about yourself and why you're here. In a little while I have to go meet with Tseng, but he'll understand if I'm a little late: a pretty lady always comes first."

She was shocked, confused, and flattered all at the same time, but had enough control over herself to nod and take the few steps towards the sofa.

Reno grinned. "Good. Now remember: relax!" He leaned against the back of the worn sofa. "Now tell me a little about yourself, and why you're actually here."

She leaned back against the soft material of the sofa and tried to take Reno's advice. "O-okay… I'm a chocobo breeder and trainer, usually more often for those who want to race, but many of my chocobos are used for travel and the movement of goods by people who'd rather not use mako power or machines…"

"Chocobos, huh?" Reno brought one of his hands to his chin. He was genuinely interested in what the girl had to say. "You like those large, scrawny yellow birds?"

Her expression brightened at his interest, and she naturally began to truly feel comfortable. "Well…" A giggle escaped her lips before she could stop it, "The chocobos I breed aren't exactly the same 'scrawny yellow birds' that you'd find in the wild, or even at the farm in the grasslands outside of Midgar. There are eight distinct breeds, in fact, each one unique. Actually, that's why President Rufus hired me. Although I'm not exactly sure what he'd want with chocobos..." Or why she needed to meet with a Turk, for that matter.

Sienna placed her hands palm down at her sides on the sofa and looked shyly over at Reno, who seemed to be watching her intently, a thoughtful look on his face. "You don't say? I've never heard anything like that before." he replied with a laugh, "And the only chocobos I've ever seen were poor excuses for giant chickens."

"So you've never heard the story and history of Midgar's chocobos?"

"Can't say that I have." He looked up at the ceiling, creating patterns in his mind out of the dappled ceiling paint. Anything not to get lost in those questioning gray eyes. What was going on with him? Eyes never had such an effect on him before, and he'd seen plenty. "Shinra removed all information concerning the past of Midgar that didn't fit into the company's ideal. As far as the records go, Shinra's been here as long as Midgar has." He shrugged and dared to look back over at her. Her eyes seemed to reflect a little sadness at the information. "But I'd love to hear it from you if you're willing to tell." he amended, sending a grin her way.

For a second she couldn't help staring into his eyes. She felt that, if she had ever wanted to, she could read his soul from those sapphire orbs. Not that she had any intention of doing so, that is. "I'd love to…" she replied.

Suddenly she looked up at the wall as if realizing something, her smoky-blue eyes darting back and forth across the room, searching. Reno waved a hand in front of her face, bringing her attention back to him. "What is it?"

"What time is it?"

"Uh…" He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "A little after 10..."

Without hesitation, Sienna stood. "I'm sorry, I have to go. My chocobos are supposed to arrive at the new stable at 10:30, and I wanted to be there when they arrived." She looked at him out of the corner or her eye. "You'll have to remind me to tell you the story some other time…"

Reno casually stood and nodded, "No problem at all. Need help finding the stables?"

She wanted to ask for his help, oh how she wanted to. But he had better things to do. Didn't he say he had a meeting with someone? "…No…thanks, I'll be alright." She gave him a weak smile and turned for the door. "Didn't you have to go meet someone?"

"Ah, yes, Tseng." Reno adjusted his dark blue jacket, giving Sienna a wink, "Duty calls."

Nodded awkwardly, Sienna turned to head off towards the stables when she felt his hand touch her shoulder. "Wait." Confused, she turned her head to see him digging something out of his pocket. Once he had succeeded in fishing out the crumpled piece of paper, he handed it to her. "It's my phone number and address… Just in case you need it."

And with another playful wink, he was off.

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

Reno turned to find himself face to face with Tseng.

"Hey! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that..."

Tseng simply smirked. "It seems you've hit it off quite well with her."

Reno shrugged. "What can I say, I'm good with the ladies."

He heard a snort from Tseng.

"Well anyway, didn't you have some stuff you needed to tell me...? Hey! What's all this?"

Halfway through Reno's question, Tseng shoved a folder full of papers in the red-head's face. "Be sure to look over these. Rufus wants you to write down everything that seems important about the breeding and care of the chocobos. And don't forget to write your daily reports and hand them in."

Reno grabbed the folder and dropped it on the nearby table. "Fine, fine. I gotcha." He gave Tseng an interrogating look. "Tseng... What does Rufus want with these birds? Are the ones Sienna has really all that special?"

The elder Turk's face remained steady. "He's planning on building a Chocobo Calvary-"

"Chocobo Calvary? For what!"

"That, you don't need to know as of now. Be sure not to tell the girl - we do not know if she'll take kindly to the idea." He turned to leave, "As for the chocobos' worth - I don't know. I suggest you go find out on your own." With a dismissive flick of his wrist, he turned and went into the hall, leaving Reno to chew on the new information.

A/N: Chocobo Calvary? Sounds... fun... XD
Oh, and I wasn't exactly sure what floor the Turks would have an office on, if any, so I fudged it and plopped them way at the top! As well as some other random stuff that I hope no one notices... Anyway, I have the next three chapters already written, but I want to see how this one goes before posting the next, as well and give myself some time to write the rest. So please, find it in your heart to review! D