Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII so don't sue me. I'm just some poor girl who lives in the middle of nowhere and has nothing better to do with her time. All original characters-the people you don't recognize-do belong to me so don't steal!
A/N: Sorry the last chapter was so short, but it was still introducing the story. I'm trying my hardest on this one so my chapters may be a little shorter than in my other stories.
Chapter 3
Farm Life
Choco Billy was tending to the chocobo's belonging to the worlds heroes with his son. He hadn't known too much about what the group had been up too until it was announced that they were responsible for the destruction of Meteor. They alone had defeated the once Great General Sephiroth. It was still hard for many to believe that the war hero was responsible for so many innocent deaths.
Billy's 9-year-old son, Cole was feeding one of the rare black chocobo's that the blonde headed hero owned. Apparently he met up with the legendary Chocobo Sage and gained the knowledge of mating the chocobo's to get one with special abilities.
Inside the small house that bordered the corral was Billy's dad, Choco Bill. He had been the one to lease the stables to Avalanche; he also leased the extra rooms in the house as a room for the night kind of thing. It made pretty good money when the eight friends came visiting.
It was strange how things happened. The evening was growing late so Billy and Cole locked up the stables for the night and went to the house. They sat down to dinner as usual and ate; talking about anything interesting that had happened during the day…then came a soft knock at the door.
Billy stood up wiping his hands off on his napkin. "I wonder who that could be at this time of night? I'll get it." He walked out of the kitchen, through the dimly lit hall then opened the front door.
At first glance he say no one then he looked down. The two children seemed to shrink away from his questioning gaze; Billy frowned and knelt down at eye level with them.
"What are you guys doing out here at this time of night?" He looked around once more to be sure he hadn't missed anyone else. "Where are your parents?"
Both children bowed their heads; hot tears weld up in the little girls dimly glowing eyes.
"Oh," Billy hummed softly realizing what had most likely happened. He reached forward and tenderly whipped the tears from her eyes. "Are you two hungry; why don't you come in and have dinner with us? We'll figure out in the morning what to do with you two."
The twins nodded knowing that that was what the planet wanted them to do. They ate a light dinner then cleaned up before going to bed. It had been a long day for the two so sleep came quickly for them. They were up with the sun the next morning like always, but that was fine with Billy and his dad. They were always up that early too, taking care of the chocobo's and making breakfast.
"You two are up bright and early. Sit down and I'll have breakfast done in just a second," Bill instructed the twins, they did and watched as he made three plates. When he had finished he sat a plate in front of each of them then took his own place. "So, I don't think I caught the two of your names last night?"
"I'm Magnus and this is my sister Naqada," the boy answered and picked at his food.
"Did you two come here from Kalm all by yourselves?"
"No, we lived in Midgar…someone's chocobo got loose and we were trying to help catch it. We accidentally wondered away from the city so when we caught the chocobo we rode him…but something happened and we ended up near here and the chocobo was gone." Magnus found something on his plated and popped it into his mouth and chewed.
"How old are you two and what happened to your parents?" Bill asked, worried that these two may be runaways and that someone might be looking for them.
"We're six…" The girl spoke for the first time since they arrived. "Our mom died a few months ago in an accident…or father got killed not too long ago."
"I understand. So you two don't have any family?" They both shook their head in response. "Then how about you two stay here and help out around the farm until we figure out a more permanent plan? You'll have to work to keep your stay here but I'm sure two tuff kids like you can handle it." He smiled reassuringly.
"Thank you," Naqada stated softly and picked up her fork to eat. Magnus continued to pick through his breakfast like always, it was a habit he picked up because of a joke played on him just before the death of their mother.
Not too long after Cole came in along with his father returning from the stables. The remainder of breakfast was eaten in silence. After the dishes were put in the sink Cole and Billy showed the young twins around the stables then showed them what would be their jobs.
"This black chocobo here is called NIGHT and this one across from him is a gold chocobo. Here name is SAM. You two will clean out their stalls every day, give them clean water twice a day and feed them in the afternoon and evening. I'll take care of the feeding in the morning. Cole will show you how to properly bed the stalls. Can you two handle all that?" Billy asked.
Naqada and Magnus both nodded. Cole was happy to have them there; it was rare for someone around the same age to be at the farm and these one's were staying for a while. He handed them both a pitchfork then pushed a wheelbarrow in front of the black chocobo's stall.
"You know we can ride them sometimes? They need exercise every now and then because Cloud and his friends don't always take them out. Night here is a real pain sometimes. We have to take him out of the stall and put him out into the paddock before we can clean out the stall. Naqada…right?" Cole asked unsurely; the girl nodded. "Can you grab that blue halter right there next to you?"
"This?" Naqada held up a nylon headset.
"Yes, that's it. Now I'll show you how to put it on him." Cole unlocked the stall door and opened it enough for him and Naqada to go in.
Night 'warked' impatiently and bent his head uncharacteristically to the young girl in his stall. Naqada scratched his black head with her small hand then slipped the halter over his beak and fastened it behind his head.
Cole handed her a rope, which she tied to the ring that hung from the bottom of Night's beak. "What now?"
"Follow me." Cole slid the stall door all the way open and headed out of the barn with the twin following and the girl easily leading the giant black bird.
"Would you look at that," Billy said once the three kids came out of the stables with the black chocobo. Bill looked up and smiled.
"She has a way with these animals doesn't she?" Bill asked. "I wonder who there parents were?"
"Were?" Billy asked looking at his dad. "Were they killed by that Meteor the other day?"
"I think their mother died sometime before that, but Naqada told me there father just died. So I'm betting, considering they lived in Midgar, that he was probably killed by the meteor."
"Yeah, I can't help to think they look like someone I've seen before though? And what strange names they both have. I've heard the name Magnus before but Naqada?" Billy shook his head in wonder.
Naqada untied the black chocobo letting it loose in the pin. The three watched it for a moment before diapering back into the barn to complete their chores.
"They seem like good kids. It'll be good to have the extra help and company. Cole needs to have some friends other than the chocobo's anyways," Bill said and went back into the house to do his own work.
This would be the routine for the twins for months to come. They always did as they were told and answered questions the best they could. They learned a lot about the chocobo's from how to care for them to ridding them, even about breeding them. Cole had taken notes from what Cloud had spoken about with the Chocobo Sage.
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-End Chapter 3-