And welcome to the nice and so far mostly fluffy story we got here! We got another interesting chapter here for you guys so we hope you enjoy!

Ch.8

Cloud and Zack were running through Gongaga. They both were trying to run as fast as they could, but they also tried to make sure they wouldn't get too far ahead of each other. They did manage to keep a good pace between each other though as they ran down the dirt roads of their home.

It had been two years now since the boys started to train together. Zack was now 10-years-old and Cloud had just recently turned 8-years old. They had both grown taller and leaner, but surprisingly Cloud was almost starting to catch up to Zack in height. They were only a couple of inches apart, and Cloud kept trying to boast he would be the taller, though Zack of course claimed he was going to be the taller one, since he was the older brother.

The two continued to race down the street until Cloud slowed down and he came to a stop. He bent over as he took in deep breaths. His breathing finally started to slow down now that he had stopped, though he could tell that he was starting to grow more exhausted.

Zack looked back quickly and noticed that Cloud had halted a few feet behind him. He turned around and walked over to his brother. "Hey, you gonna keep up? No time to be tired now," Zack said as he started doing his squats in front of Cloud, almost as if to taunt him.

Cloud let out a laugh. "Hey come Zack, can't we take a short break? We've been running and exercising all morning since breakfast."

"Hmm...I guess you're right. Sorry, I forget that you can't quite keep up with me yet. You wanna just stroll around town and get some water then?" Zack offered to him.

"I can keep up with you though!" Cloud protested childishly. "But we just gotta stop and take a break sometimes. So yeah, let's get some water."

"You sure about that?" Zack said as he nudged Cloud on the shoulder. "Looks like you've still got a ways to go. Besides, you're still a little bit on the short side," he cackled as held up his hand over Cloud's head to represent the distance.

Cloud scrunched up his nose as he sent a glare at Zack. "I'm gonna grow more! You'll see! Mom says that I am growing really well!"

Zack chuckled at Cloud being flustered. "I think what she meant is that it's your hair that's growing well. If you count that, then you might be as tall as me, Spiky." Zack them held up one of the sections of Cloud's hair, to show how long it had gotten. Though his hair was mostly cut in layers, some of his spikes reached a little past his chin.

"Well if your hair wasn't so spiky on the top maybe I would be as tall as you!" Cloud taunted back as he tried to mess up Zack's hair.

"Hey who said you could mess with my hair," Zack said playfully as he started to ruffle Cloud's more. Soon, the two boys now had spikes going in all directions. They glanced at each others' hair and started to laugh as they tried to see who's was more spiky this time before Zack spoke up once again.

"Okay, time to go get some water and take a break then," he motioned to Cloud to follow him as he started to walk away.

"All right," Cloud said as he followed right behind Zack.

The two entered into the main part of town and started walking towards one of the shops. They sooned arrived at one of the shops and bought two water bottles with the small amount of gil they carried around with them. As soon as they stepped outside of the store they opened the bottles and began to drink the cold refreshing water.

Minutes later after they had finished up their drinks, Cloud noticed something and started to tug on Zack's sleeve. "Zack! Look!"

Zack turned to look where Cloud was pointing too. There several feet away by one of the stores was a man near a large feathered creature. Both the boys smiled as they looked at one another.

"A chocobo!" they shouted together in union. Neither of them had actually seen one in person yet. They only had looked at pictures of chocobos from the books at school.

"Can we go see Zack?" Cloud asked.

Zack's face lit up, as he had wanted to see one some day. He also knew that Cloud did as well, so this was perfect. "Of course Cloud, let's go!" he said as he and Cloud took off in the direction of the chocobo and the man that was beside it. In no time, they had made it over to where both of them were, and Zack and Cloud stood there with wide eyes and awe on their faces.

The bird was much taller than they had expected. It must have been at least a few feet taller than the two boys were. Though now that they were up close they could really see how fluffy it was. It turned its head and with its long neck it looked down at Zack and Cloud.

"Wark," the chocobo squawked at them.

Cloud and Zack giggled with delight. Cloud smiled largely as he jumped up and down. "It's a real chocobo."

"Well of course it is," a voice said. "You guys never see a chocobo before?"

Cloud and Zack looked to their right to see the man that they assumed owned the chocobo. He was tall and lean, and was decked out in full black clothes from head to toe, though his arms showed through the sleeveless vest he had.

Upon looking at his face, the man looked to be younger than their parents, but he was quite a bit older than they were. Maybe he was in his mid to late teen years. His skin was fairer than anyone else around the area, which meant that he must be from another place. His short blonde hair arched sideways in an upward spike to the right, and his freckled face was soft with a warm expression across it. His calm blue eyes also gave off a friendly feel.

The more Zack looked, however, he couldn't help but notice something familiar about the man's face, but he couldn't quite come up with anything. He shrugged it off after a moment, as he felt that it did not matter all that much. Though, he felt that he did need to respond to what the man had asked. "Umm...no we haven't ever seen one. It looks so cool. My brother has been wanting to see one for a while now," he responded.

"Ah, well little guy, wanna step a bit closer and pet her? Don't worry my chocobo is very friendly," the young man said as he squatted down to Cloud's level.

Cloud stared at the man for a minute. He seemed to be having the same thoughts as Zack. Instead of answering the question the man had asked, Cloud ended up asking his own. "What's your name?"

"Oh! I'm Prompto! Nice to meet you," he said with a big grin. "How about you guys?"

"I'm Zack!" he bolted out with enthusiasm as a grin came to his face.

"And I'm Cloud," he replied, stepping forward slightly more as he said it.

"Nice to meet you guys," Prompto replied. "So you two have never actually seen a chocobo before? Seriously?" he asked sounding like he was in complete disbelieve.

Cloud shook his head. "Nope. We've seen them in picture books though. They are a lot fluffier than I thought."

"Wark!" the chocobo squawked, sounding as if it was delighted by the statement.

"Well just wait 'till you feel how soft they are," Prompto said as he looked at his chocobo. He held out a hand and the chocobo brushed its head against the palm of his hand. "Now all you gotta do is gently place your hand on her head and pet her."

"Okay," Cloud replied as he slowly reached his hand out and placed it on the top of the chocobo's head. Cloud's eyes lit up with wonder. "Wow! So soft!"

"Wark," the chocobo cooed calmly n response which caused Cloud to laughed a little.

Prompto laughed before he looked over at Zack. "You also wanna pet her?"

"Oh yeah!" he answered with excitement as he slowly walked up to the chocobo. He reached out his hand just as Cloud had done earlier and gently positioned it on the head of the chocobo. "Hey, it is really soft. This is cool!"

"Wark wark." The sound came once again from the chocobo, who seemed pleased with the attention that it was getting from the two boys.

Zack continued to pet the chocobo's head, but as he looked down, he noticed something that seemed familiar. He stopped rubbing it's head and glanced over to Cloud quickly. He exchanged looks with both the chocobo and Cloud, going back and forth between them for a few seconds. Finally, his eyes landed back on Cloud, and he looked at his brother for a moment before snickering started to come from his mouth as a grin started to form.

Cloud looked at Zack, slightly confused. "What's so funny Zack?"

Zack tried to stifle his oncoming laugher so that he could explain to Cloud. "It's just...the chocobo's head...and your's...they look just the same!" he managed to finish as he began to laugh heartily at this revelation.

"What?" Cloud gasped as he looked more carefully. He stared at the chocobo as it tilted its head to the side, looking right back at him. Then Cloud looked back at Zack. He pouted a little, but there was a bit of laughter in his voice. "Heeey! Zack!"

Zack just continued to laugh. "But it's true. Better to be a chocobo head then a chocobo butt though!"

Prompto glanced up towards Zack momentarily after hearing what he had said and a small grin came to his face as he started to chuckle as well.

"Very funny Zack," Cloud spoke as he continued to laugh chuckle slightly at the comment. He wasn't too bothered by that name anymore as he had gotten older. Besides, he knew Zack was only kidding.

As they kept laughing, Cloud then noticed something as well. The chocobo had started to move and turned away from them to face Prompto as it apparently wanted more attention. Cloud looked at the two of them there together, and he started to move backward to get a better view of it all. After a few seconds, he began laughing even harder than before as he pointed in their direction. "Chocobo butt!"

Prompto shot a look in Cloud's direction upon hearing that and saw that Cloud was pointing right at him. He thought for a moment, but then he knew what he meant. He decided to just let the boys have their fun for the moment.

Zack chuckled slightly still as he turned back to Cloud with a bewildered look on his face. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Come back here Zack and look," Cloud said as he motioned for his brother while trying to stay calm.

Zack inched backwards until he was beside Cloud again. "Okay, now what is it?"

"Look...it's that. His...his hair...it's a chocobo butt," Cloud managed to say before he burst out in laughter again.

Zack glanced over to the pair of them. He looked at the chocobo that was still turned around, and then he glanced up at Prompto, who happened to be looking in his direction. "What is it Zack?"

Suddenly, Zack's face twisted as it did earlier as he tried to contain his enjoyment at the situation, but he had to let it go. "It's true! Your hair does look like a chocobo butt!"

The boys continued to laugh together, not having a care of anything else happening in that moment. What surprised them though was that Prompto started to laugh along with them. Both young boys turned to look at the older blond.

"Why are you laughing?" Cloud asked.

"You two wouldn't be the first ones to say that about my hair. But I really don't think it looks like one," Prompto said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh really? So you're not surprised or mad since you heard it before?" Zack asked through failed attempts to stop his giggling.

"Well you guys were just stating what you thought, not trying to mock me or anything. I get it though. Don't worry guys, you're fine," Prompto replied with a smile. He then looked at Cloud. "It's nice to know though I am not the only one with hair the looks like a chocobo."

Cloud smiled back at him. "Same here!"

A moment went by before Prompto spoke up again. "Hey if you guys want to. I could give you guys a ride on my chocobo. I'm sure that would be exciting for you two. I've been looking for something fun to do anyways since I came here. Whaddya say?"

Cloud and Zack both looked at Prompto with wide eyes as their faces lit up with joy.

"Oh we could?! That would be so cool!" Cloud shouted out loud as he jumped up and down.

"Yeah! If you wanna do it, then that sounds really fun!" Zack exclaimed with more excitement than before. Then he thought about something. "Well, we might have to ask our parents first though. If that's okay."

"Yeah that's fine. I'll still be here for a while," Prompto said before going to pet the head of his chocobo again.

"Come on Zack! Let's go ask!" Cloud shouted as he started to pull Zack as hard as he could, trying to get him to move.

"Right! Let's hurry so we can get back," Zack agreed as he rushed off towards their house with Cloud in tow. "You know...this is still some good exercise, huh Cloud?"

"Yeah I know!" Cloud shouted as he tried his best to keep up with Zack.

The two of them raced all the way back into the house where they found their mother in side. They immediately swapped around her, asking her as quickly as they could if they could ride the chocobo. It took a few minutes before she was able to calm the boys down.

"So you said this man came here on a chocobo?" she asked them.

"Yeah! And it's big and fluff!" Cloud exclaimed. "Like really really big!"

"Yea and it's head looks just like Cloud's hair too," Zack chuckled. "We wanted to ride it. Can we please mom?" Zack pleaded with his mother.

Their mother laughed. "Well if you are sure it is okay with the man, then it is okay with me. Just be safe, okay? I'm going to start lunch soon though, so don't stay out too much longer."

"Thanks mom!" Cloud shouted before giving his mother a hug.

"You're the best mom!" Zack said with glee as he also gave a hug to his mother.

The two boys then ran off from the house and made their way back to the spot where they had last seen Prompto and the chocobo. The two were still in the same spot, just casually waiting. Prompto though was sitting on the ground, but he was petting his chocobo on the head as he squawked happily.

"Hey we're back Prompto! My mom said we could go!" Zack yelled as he ran up to the young man and his bird.

Prompto stood back up on his feet. "Cool! So who wants to ride first?"

"I wanna go first!" Cloud shouted first.

"Awww but I wanted to go first too," Zack said in response.

"Hey don't worry guys. If you really want, you guys can ride together," Prompto suggested.

"Wow really?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, we'll take it nice and slow though," Prompto said before looking at his chocobo. He made a signal with his hand and the chocobo laid down on the ground. "I'll help you guys get seated."

Prompto then helped Cloud up first onto the large chocobo saddle. Then he helped Zack up onto it. "Now Cloud you hold on tightly to the ropes," Prompto instructed. "And Zack you hold on to your brother tightly okay?"

The boys nodded and Prompto turned to look at his chocobo again. He signaled and the chocobo stood back up. Cloud stared to giggle with amazement. "Wow! Look how high we are off the ground!"

Zack looked down as he dangled his feet loosely. "Yeah, you're right, this is pretty high. Make sure to hold on well Cloud," Zack said to his kid brother.

Cloud clutched the ropes tightly as the chocobo started to move forward at the behest of Prompto guiding it. Zack grasped the back of his little brother to make sure he held on as well since the bird was walking now. The boys were already enjoying their ride that had just begun.

"Can't chocobos run really fast?" Cloud asked Prompto.

"Yeah, but we aren't going to go that fast."

"Awww but why not?" Cloud asked as he frowned.

"Cause you guys aren't ready for the full speed of a chocobo. Maybe when you guys are older you'll get to see how fast they can go though," Prompto replied.

Cloud and Zack just nodded in response as they understood what he was saying. They stayed on the chocobo as Prompto walked out in front of it and led it around the main path through the town. Every trot from the chocobo made the boys slightly bounce as they enjoyed every second of the ride. They rode for several minutes to the edge of the main road, and once they had reached it, Prompto instructed the chocobo to turn around and head back the other way.

Once the bird was turned around, Prompto spoke up. "Okay, why don't you boys switch now so that Zack can ride in front this time."

"Yeah, I wanna control it now," Zack said in a joyous tone.

"Okay, that sounds good. Now I get to hold on to Zack," Cloud giggled in response.

After the boys had switched around, Zack clutched the ropes of the chocobo tightly as Cloud held onto him as well. After Prompto made sure both were secure, they were off back to the main part of town. Several minutes passed of riding and in no time they had arrived back at the town center. It almost seemed like no time had passed at all, but they had so much fun they paid no attention. Now that they were back, Prompto helped them both to dismount the chocobo. Zack and Cloud each then patted the birds head as it squawked in appreciation.

"Thank you Prompto!" Cloud replied.

"Thanks Prompto! This was some great fun today," Zack responded shortly thereafter.

"You're welcome guys, hope you had fun," Prompto said with a smile.

The young boys waved and said goodbye before turning to run home. Both boys still ecstatic about the event that just had happened. The smiles never left their faces for the rest of the day as they kept talking all about the chocobo and how exciting it was.

So lol yeah we had Prompto (from Final Fantasy 15) cameo, cause who else would be the best to have the chocobo? Prompto may show up again later, we thought it was a fun cameo so he may cameo again in the future! XD

Thank you all for reading! Let us know what you thought!