Chapter 21: Chocobos!!
"We're riding chocobos!! YEAH!!!" Miranda and Chris shouted together.
"What did I tell you…they are perfect together," Kristin whispered.
They both slammed a mallet on Kristin's head and mounted their chocobos.
"Can you believe her?" Chris grumbled.
"No kidding," Miranda agreed.
"YAY!!! BOBBY CORWIN IS HERE!!!!" Vivi yelled ecstatically. He hugged the little chocobo's neck tight and it made a strangling noise. (o.O strong little Vivi .;)
"Now Vivi, don't choke him to death," Mikoto said as she put Vivi on top of Bobby Corwin's back. (I realized I didn't have him in the Black Mage Village chapter .;;; and what kind of name is Bobby Corwin o.O?)
Everyone was mounted on their chocobos. "Everyone ready?" the tour guide asked.
A resounding "ready" was heard.
"Then lets move on out!"
"They actually have a smooth gait," Miranda said. "Definitely different from a horse, but at least they aren't bumpy."
"Sp-ea-k for yo-ur-self," Chris said. Apparently his chocobo didn't like him and was giving him a hard time.
"Chris…what did you do to that chocobo?" Miranda asked.
"I-I d-did n-no-th-thing," he replied.
"Did you give it a gyshal green?" Eiko asked. "That one only behaves if you give him a gyshal green. Bad training I know, but he won't change."
"O-oh. N-no one t-told m-me th-at," he said and tried to fish out a gyshal green from his pocket. "I-I c-an't g-get my gy-gyshal gre-ens!"
Miranda sighed. "Stop the chocobo. I'm gonna get it to behave without the use of gyshal greens. Lets switch, Chris."
After a few moments of fighting, Chris brought his chocobo to a halt and jumped off its back. "Phew! I thought I was gonna die!!"
Everyone had stopped and watched as they switched and Miranda mounted on the chocobo. "What's his name anyway?" she asked Eiko as she fumbled a little with the reigns. These are uneven to begin with…
"Rocky."
"Suits him perfectly," Chris said dryly.
"Hold on, I need to fix his bridle thingy." Miranda dismounted and adjusted the bridle. "No wonder! It's on all wrong! Who tacked him up?"
"Don't look at me!" Chris said.
Miranda fixed it and patted Rocky's neck. "There ya go, buddy. Doesn't that feel better?"
Rocky gave a soft 'kweh' and bumped her. Miranda laughed. "I think he likes me!"
"Wow! That's the first time he's ever shown affection for anyone, miss," the tour guide commented.
"She's has this thing with animals," Kristin said. "It's a pretty cool talent.
Miranda smiled embarrassed. "It's nothing…really you just have to find the problem and fix it…"
"Admit it! You have a gift!" Kristin persisted.
"Gift or not, you do have a way with animals," Freya stated.
Miranda mounted up gently onto the chocobo and gave it a pat on the neck. "Now, show me that you can behave without gyshal greens."
Rocky gave an enthusiastic 'KWEH' and walked smoothly down the trail.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at them. "That's a first!! Even with gyshal greens, Rocky never walked like that!" Eiko said amazed.
Tristan watched from the shade of a nearby tree. "That's amazing…"
Miranda turned Rocky around. "Come on!! This castle is HUGE! I want to see all of it! Er…well most of the good stuff anyway, heh," she added after an afterthought.
The group walked up to the pair and they soon started the tour.
"On the right we have the Lindblum Gardens, filled with blah blah blah…" the tour guide droned.
Chris rode next to Miranda. "You are good!"
She patted Rocky's neck. "It's not me…it's Rocky! Isn't that right?"
"Kweh!" Rocky answered.
Chris smiled. "Least he likes you. He probably hates me, hehe."
"Nah. You like Chris don't you Rocky?" Miranda asked the chocobo.
Rocky glanced at Chris then gave a short "kweh."
"Uh…I'm taking that as a no, hehe," Chris laughed.
"Aww come on Rocky! Chris is a nice guy!"
Rocky looked at Chris again then seem to debate in his mind. He bumped his head against Chris's arm then gave a soft "kweh." Miranda smiled. "I think he likes you."
"Alright!"
"Then go ahead and pet him," Miranda suggested.
"Uh…" Chris hesitated.
"He's not gonna bite," she laughed.
"Eh-heh…that's what she says," Chris muttered. "Hey Rock Meister," Chris said while patting Rocky's neck, still walking.
Rocky gave a happy 'kweh.'
Miranda laughed. "I think he likes that nickname."
Chris blinked. "What? Rock Meister? Hehe."
They continued onto the tour, going both inside and outside of the castle. They returned to the Chocobo Stables at the end of the tour. Rocky looked at Miranda and kwehed sadly.
"Aww…Rocky already misses you, Miranda," Eiko said.
Miranda gave Rocky a hug. "Poor thing…I'm gonna miss you, too, Rocky. But don't worry! We'll be staying here a while, so I'll come visit!"
Rocky gave a little happy chirp. (so cute T_T I want a chocobo now….;;)
"Come on! Mom and Dad made a feast for us!" Eiko said, tugging at Miranda's shirt.
"Ok ok! Let me give Rocky some gyshal greens first." After she had fed him some greens, they went over to the castle and made their way to the dining hall. Everyone was already there and Miranda found that Chris had saved her a seat between him and Kristin. Tristan sat on the opposite side of her.
"Welcome, travelers!" Regent Cid began. "I hope you all have worked an appetite from your tour."
"I know you can work an appetite anytime," Miranda whispered to Chris.
"At least I actually eat," he whispered back.
"Are you saying I don't eat?" Miranda hissed.
"More than you at least," he said.
"Then that must make you a real glutton," she retorted.
"Are you saying I'm fat?"
"What if I am?"
They suddenly stopped when they realized everyone was staring at them.
"Eh-heh…sorry!" they both said.
"They are acting like a perfect couple," Hilda said smiling.
They both worked really hard on not shouting at Hilda.
"At any rate, lets eat!" Regent Cid said.
After a very satisfactory dinner, everyone went upstairs to their rooms. Miranda shared a room with Kristin. While Kristin was taking a shower, Miranda walked out to the balcony and looked at the city below. It's so peaceful…the Mist hasn't reached here yet. I wonder what the others are doing…
"Boo!"
Miranda jumped up and whirled around to find a smiling Kristin looking at her. "Were you thinking about Chriiis?"
"No I wasn't," she said huffily. "I was thinking about how nice it was and that the Mist hasn't reached up here yet."
Kristin joined her on the balcony. "It is a nice place, huh? Different than Alexandria."
"I think I'm gonna go down to the Chocobo Stables and ride Rocky some."
"Ok…but be back before it gets really dark, ok?"
Miranda gave her a teasing smile. "Yes mom."
"I'm serious! Are you going to ride outside of Lindblum?"
"No, just probably out in the fields, so I won't have that much of a chance of encountering monsters."
"It's not monsters that I'm worried about…I just have this bad feeling something is going to happen…"
Miranda gave her a pat on the arm. "Don't worry. I'll be fine! I'll bring my sword with me, ok?"
"Alright…"
"Well see ya later!" With a wave, Miranda walked out of the door and headed toward the stables.
Kristin looked at the closed door and sighed. Please be careful…
On the way down the stairs, Miranda spotted Chris looking at the fountain. She walked toward him. "Hey! What's up?"
He blinked and looked at her. "Oh, I was just reading the engravings on the fountain. Funny…they say something different in the game. Oh well."
"Heh. I'm on my way to the Chocobo Stables. Do you wanna come? I could use the company."
"Sure I guess."
They walked down the path to the stables and asked if it was okay if they borrowed two chocobos.
"It's okay with me," the manager said while dumping feed into one of the chocobo stalls. "Just come back a little before we bring them in to eat."
"And when's that?" Miranda asked.
"Oh…I guess maybe in two to three hours."
"Ok! We'll be back before then."
"Have fun!" The manager flashed Chris a wink and returned back to work.
"I can't believe that guy…" Chris muttered while he got the chocobo he had ridden earlier, Joey. (I came up with it okay? O.o I'm sorry if you don't like it .;;;)
He found Miranda already mounted and waiting. He soon mounted up and walked to her. "Well, what do you want to do first?"
Miranda gave him a challenging grin. "Wanna race?"
"R-race? I can handle walking, but I'm not sure of any pace faster than that!"
"Come on, it's not that hard. They only have two gaits: walking and running. They don't have any others since they only have two legs."
"Uh…I guess so…" he said hesitantly.
"You aren't chicken are you?"
"Me? Chicken? Hah! I'll take you on!" What the heck am I saying?!?!?
She smiled. "Alright then. Lets warm them up, then you can get accustomed to the running gait." She turned Rocky around and headed to the pasture. Chris quickly followed her.
After a few minutes, Chris had gotten used to the running gait and was ready to go. They marked a starting and finish line and stood at the starting line.
Miranda glanced at Chris. "Ready?"
He nodded.
"GO!"
Both broke into a dead run heading toward the finish line. The course was just straight line from start to finish and they were approaching the finish fast. It was neck and neck, neither giving an inch. They reached the finish, both the riders and the chocobos breathing hard.
"I think…we tied…" Miranda said breathlessly.
"What…? Again…?" Chris said trying to regain his breath.
"Come on…lets cool these guys off." Miranda gave Rocky a pat on his sweaty neck. "You did great boy!"
Rocky gave a soft 'kweh' in answer and seemed to have a spring in his step, as if knowing that he did a good job even if they did tied.
"We'll have to do a rematch," Chris said grinning while patting Joey's neck.
"I guess so, heh," Miranda said. "So where do you wanna go?"
"Why don't we let these guys decide?" Chris suggested. "They know the place better. I'm sure they'll find a cool spot to rest in."
"Alrighty then. We'll trust the chocobos then!"
They let the chocobos lead them to a path going through a small forest. They felt relieved to be in the shade after that tiring run. Miranda soon heard water falling from a small distance away. They emerged into a small clearing where a small waterfall emptied into a crystal clear pool.
"Whoa…this place is beautiful!" Miranda said in awe.
"Yea…these chocobos sure know where to go!"
Joey and Rocky both gave kwehed and stopped so they could dismount. They then went to the pool and drank.
"Well, if a chocobo can drink that water, so am I!" Chris said and took a handful of the water and drank it. "Hey, this is pretty good! You should try some Miranda!" He turned around only to find her not there. "…Where'd she go now?" Not this again, argh! "I'll just watch the chocobos then…" He sat against a nearby boulder and watched the chocobos play, though he was more concerned about Miranda. She shouldn't have gone off alone like that…but what if she comes back only to find I'm not here? ARGH what do I do?!?! "I'll just wait a little bit, and if she's not back in oh, 10 minutes I'll hunt for her. Yeah that sounds like a good plan!"
Miranda had gone off back into the forest following the trail they had come from. "Darnit! Where did it go…I know it must have fallen here somewhere…"
"Are you looking for this?"
She looked up and saw Tristan sitting on a branch holding the book about the history of Alexandria. She sighed in relief. "Thanks! I was hoping I would read some of it while I was out here."
He smiled and jumped down in front of her and handed it out to her. "Well you didn't drop it here. It was on a stool back at the stables."
She blinked. "Really? Eh-heh…I better be more careful, hehe." As she reached out to take the book, he grabbed her hand. "Eh?"
"You know Miranda," he said quietly, "throughout this journey, I've seen many sides of you I've never seen before, and each one I liked."
"Um…what are you getting at?" she asked nervously. What do I do? What do I do?
He pulled her closer to him and stared into her eyes. "I think I've fallen for you…Miranda…"
She gulped. "But, uh, we haven't known each other that long! Hehe! There are others out there that are better looking than me, eh-heh…"
"That doesn't matter to me…Miranda…I love you." He tilted her chin up, his face now merely inches away from hers.
I can't move! Miranda thought horrified. Chris!! CHRIS WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU, YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING!!!!
She felt his lips brush against hers but then he turned at a noise nearby
"You're a worse jerk than I thought!" Chris yelled as he punched Tristan across the face. (*cheers*)
"Come on, lets get out of here," Chris said as he grabbed Miranda's hand. She felt herself able to move again. He half-dragged, half-ran with her back to the open clearing they were in before.
He turned around and saw her shaking. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah…I'm fine…"
"Don't ever, EVER, do that to me again, ok?" Chris said firmly. "What if you had gotten hurt? Or worse?!" He stopped when he noticed her crying. "Um…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"
Miranda hugged him burying her head in his chest. "I'm sorry Chris!! I'm really sorry!!"
He blinked surprised then patted her head. "Hey…it wasn't your fault…"
"If I hadn't ran off…"
"If you hadn't ran off, we wouldn't have the book now would we?" He drew her away a little and looked at her. "You still have that book."
She blinked and realized she still had the book in her hand. She put it down on the ground and stood there still shaking. "Man…I was so freaked out…I just couldn't move…and I kept thinking…I kept thinking…"
"Hey, the dam broke again," he said softly as he gently wiped her tears with the cuff of his sleeve. "You kept thinking about what?"
"Well…one…where the heck were you…and…if you did come…you would get the wrong the idea…"
"Heh, well apparently I didn't get the wrong idea…but…why would you think of how I would feel?"
She glanced at him then looked away. "I…I don't really know…I just did…"
"Well…if I had taken the wrong idea…I guess I would have felt hurt."
She blinked and looked at him surprised. "Hurt? Why?"
He started to say something, but instead he gave her soft kiss on the lips. "That's why, Miranda…you're more than a friend to me…right at that moment, I knew that I had loved you for a long time…but I just never accepted that idea…" He looked at her stunned face and thought, Oh great!! She probably hates me!! Aaaahhh!! Why'd I go and do that?!? T_T (ß yes that's what he thought, he thought that face .)
"You…you love…me?" she said a little shakily.
He turned a little red. "Er…yea, heh."
His eyes widened in surprise as she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Rocky and Joey turned around giving low whistles in the progress. (haha .)
Chris stood there stunned when she jumped back red with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't meant to do that…er…I was just so happy…uh…" She turned around facing the water. I can't believe I did that!! AAAHHH!!!
"Well…er…that was certainly surprising…" Chris said still stunned from her reaction.
"Well…it's just that…I…" she turned around and faced him. "I love you, too."
Chris smiled. "Glad the feeling's mutual."
Miranda smiled back and looked up. "Uh oh…the sun is now setting…I have to get back before Kristin kills me."
"Hah! I'm bunkin with the Viv-meister."
"You like giving those kind of nicknames don't you?" she said as she went to Rocky, puzzled why they were facing the other way and were whistling. "Wonder if their sick…"
"Kweh!" Rocky looked at her indignantly, as if getting sick was the last thing that would happen to a chocobo.
She stroked his beak. "Well, I bet you're hungry, so lets get back."
"I worked up another appetite…" Chris said as he mounted Joey.
"Hungry?!?!? AGAIN?!?! WE JUST ATE!!!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I did use all my energy earlier," he said nervously.
She shook her head laughing as she led Rocky to the path. "Alright, we'll go to the kitchens when we get back."
They rode side by side out of the forest and saw the chocobo manager wave them over from the fence. After taking care of their chocobos, and Miranda had given each a green and a hug, they walked to the kitchens. Chris pigged out while Miranda waited by the door. I think I'll get sick if I watch him eat…
"Did you kiss?!?! Tell me!!!!"
She jumped up startled and found Eiko and Vivi looking at her. "What are you two doing out?"
"We were going to fo--" Vivi started but Eiko covered his mouth.
"Nothing, nothing! We just wanted to get a snack, right Vivi?" Eiko said nudging him in the arm.
"Huh? Oh yea!"
Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Snack, huh…? You weren't originally going to try and follow us, were you?"
Eiko looked at her innocently. "Us? Follow? NOOOO."
"Cut the cute act, we know you tried to follow us," Chris said as he emerged from the kitchen, his appetite satisfied.
"Amazing that you eat so much, yet you stay in good shape," Eiko commented.
"Eh, I just have fast metabolism."
"Ooh…" Wonder that is…I'll have to ask Uncle Kuja… "Well did you? Huh? Huh???!?" she asked jumping up and down.
Miranda and Chris exchanged glanced. "And what if we did?" Chris asked, a sly grin on his face.
Eiko's eyes opened wide. "NOOOOO!!! NOT FAIR!!! I MISSED IT!!!! DO IT AGAIN DO IT AGAIN!!!!"
"What are you nuts?!?!" they both screamed.
Chris and Miranda walked away grumbling. "Can't believer her…" Miranda muttered.
"Me neither…the nerve!" he muttered back.
"Admit it you want to do it again!" Eiko said as she popped out of nowhere in front of them.
"GYAH!" They both jumped back.
"Eiko I think it's time you went to bed," Mikoto said as she appeared from the next room and grabbed Eiko's wings.
"Hey!! Let me go!!!" Eiko yelled as she struggled to get free.
"I'll handle her, she's my room mate," Mikoto said giving them a wink.
"Aie…well I'm tired anyway," Miranda said stifling a yawn.
"Where'd Vivi go?" Chris asked looking around. He suddenly looked down and found Vivi tugging his shirt. "Well, what perfect timing!"
"Can I have a ride back to the room?" Vivi asked with big eyes. (HOW CUTE *O*)
"How can I refuse a face like that…ok hop on," he said as he leaned down so Vivi could clamber onto his back.
"Yay!!"
Miranda smiled and walked next to them as they climbed up the stairs.
"Here's your stop!" Chris said as he opened the door to the room and let Vivi down.
"Aren't you coming in?" Vivi asked.
"I have some things to take of first. Then I'll come back," he said giving Vivi a wink.
Vivi's eyes widened a little then scuttled to his room.
"I saw that," Miranda said.
"Well, I have to walk you back to your room, do I not?" he asked as they walked to her room.
"Ok, ok. Wonder if Kristin's up…"
They didn't have to wonder for long when they heard the slamming of a door and Kristin walking toward them.
"I TOLD you to be back before dark! It's already ten minutes after the sun went down!!" she raged.
"Boy she's strict," Chris muttered.
"And exactly were you doing?" Kristin glared at Miranda.
"I'm sorry Mom. I was just riding around with Chris."
"Riding around!??!?! Just riding around?!??! Do you know how worried I was?!?!"
"We know how she's gonna act when she gets children," Chris muttered as he looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry, Kristin. I didn't mean to keep Miranda out for so long."
Kristin blinked and looked at Chris, then looked at Miranda. She then got a sly look on her face. "Oooohhhh…I see now…hehe…well then, you're excused, Miranda. Don't stay out too late now!" She turned around grinning and went into the door.
"What is her deal?!" Chris asked.
Miranda sighed. "I have no idea…"
"Better get back before she blows a gasket," Chris said laughing.
"Hah, ok." She gave him a soft kiss then walked to the door. She smiled. "Night."
"Uh, er, night!" Chris stammered surprised, turning red. Hope no one saw that…He turned around only to find Fratley leaning against the wall. AAHHH!!!
Fratley smiled and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Well done, my boy!"
"I'm your son now?" Chris asked.
"Uh…forget that. But at any rate, the group plans to go shopping tomorrow. Maybe you can find something for Miranda."
"Hm…I guess she would like something…" Don't know what though…
"Alright then." He patted his back and opened his door. "Get a good night's rest. You'll need it. The city is humongous! Oh, and Zidane and Garnet will be meeting us later."
"Whoa! Really? Alright!" Zidane outta help me out!
"Well good night, Chris."
"Night!"
Chris entered the room and took off his shirt. He saw Vivi already fast asleep and smiled. Better start thinking of what to get Miranda…hm…After showering and getting dressed, he flopped onto his bed and drifted to a dreamless sleep.
It was several hours before Miranda could find sleep. Kristin kept bugging her about what happened. Then the excitement of the day kept her up.
Another person was still up. Tristan looked out the balcony of his room. He had his room. Damn that Chris…that was really uncalled for…well…tomorrow is another opportunity…
"Admit it, you suck."
"That isn't they way you should talk to your dear brother," he said as he shot a bolt of lightning at Altea that she narrowly dodged.
"Hey! Watch it! Do you want to attract attention?"
"What do you want?"
"Just checking up. You better do your job right tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll have to handle it."
"No problem…I have the perfect plan…I'll kill two birds with one stone…hehe…" He grinned and walked back into his room, shutting the door.
Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN!!!! Wee…well I hope you guys are likin' it so far. The title is deceiving, isn't it? . hehehe…well on to the next chapter!! *jumps on a chocobo and runs to the next chapter*