A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews! You guys rock. :)

Chapter Two

Rikku felt a swoosh of wind rustle through her hair as the muscular bundle of dark gray fur, slender legs, and snarling jaws barely missed her. She jumped back, using her weight to balance herself before springing vertically into the air. And just in time too; the fiend barreled right through the place she'd just been standing with a ferocious yowl. She could feel the gust of wind against her bare leg as it passed.

Too close! Rikku's mind whined but she ignored it. The weight of the long, wide bladed sword pressed into her hands. She whirled to face the Lupus as it crouched, power rippling through every tense muscle hidden beneath the thin, oily fur. It watched her predatorily with its glowing blood red eyes. She watched it carefully while it began inching around her, muscles tensing in a pounce position.

Rikku tightened her grip no the hilt of the sword. Sweat trickled down her spine despite the cool breeze ever present in the Calm Lands. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she made a mental note to herself to thank Paine for suggesting that she equip the Warrior Dressphere for her trip across the vast Calm Lands. From the constant encounters she was having against pretty much every fiend around, Rikku wouldn't have been surprised if she'd mastered all of the skills of the Warrior by the time she made it to Clasko's Chocobo Ranch.

With a wild snarl, the Lupus sprang. Rikku bounded forward, then swiftly sidestepped. The sharp black claws missed her by centimeters. The Lupus twisted its head, jaws snapping, spittle flying. Rikku stumbled over an out of place rock and was nearly struck as the fiend lunged for her legs. She managed to scramble to the side and noticed that in the Lupus' desperate shot for her legs, it'd left its neck vulnerable.

She didn't hesitate. Moving quickly to avoid the massively powerful jaws, Rikku slammed the hilt of the sword down unto the exposed neck. The fiend emitted a high yelp of pain. Its body hit the ground with a thud, and it whimpered in momentary daze.

Rikku wasted no time in pressing her attack. She rushed forward and brought the sword down in a smooth, wide arc. Finely honed steel easily sliced through muscle and bone, severing blood vessels and veins. The beheaded Lupus fell limp and then shimmered. It abruptly burst into a scatter of pyreflies, dissipating into the air like a fading cloud.

The girl hastily looked around for signs of any more immediate attack. When she was sure it was safe, Rikku let out a relieved sigh. The Warrior outfit and sword disappeared at her command. She was back in her more comfortable Thief attire.

There has to be an easier way to get around here! Rikku huffed to herself. She started jogging again towards the far eastern wall of the Calm Lands where the Chocobo Ranch was situated.

A week ago, Yuna had gotten a call from an apologetic Clasko, begging forgiveness for being unable to attend her coming wedding. He'd been eager to go but had been forced to cancel when he realized that a clutch of Chocobo eggs he had on his hands was due to hatch on the very day of Yuna's wedding. Yuna had just laughed understandably and reassured him that it was all right. She knew the first thing in Clasko's life was his passion with Chocobos.

However, Clasko told her that he had a wedding present that he desperately wanted to get to her but knew no way how being so far isolated in the massive Calm Lands. It was well known that self-reliance was not one of Clasko's forte. But luckily, Yuna had known that Rikku was nearby on Mt. Gagazet visiting the Ronso. So, the High Summoner got a message through to her cousin via Ronso Elder Kimahri, asking her to pick up whatever it was that Clasko so desperately wanted to give her before she returned for the wedding.

Rikku didn't mind and after a quick "I'll see you at Yunie's wedding!" to Kimahri, she'd set off for the Calm Lands. After she picked up the present, she would be heading back towards Luca to get ready for the wedding as one of Yuna's bride's maids. She smiled just thinking about Yuna and Tidus finally tying the knot. Even though many though that getting married at twenty-one was young, Rikku knew that her cousin and soon to be cousin-in-law were meant for each other. She was glad the blond Blitzer was back; Yuna was happy.

"Here we are!" Rikku said to herself when the opening to the Chocobo Ranch finally came into view. Eager to get this over with, Rikku quickened her pace towards the underground ranch.

Even as she neared it, she could already hear the unmistakable 'kweh!!' of the Chocobos inside. The ranch had been expanded a bit since the last time Rikku had been there, which was a little less than half a year ago. Clasko and his young assistant (and fellow Chocobo-obsessee) Calli had had the entrance tunnel widened and set up small fence off areas outside so they could take the Chocobos out for air.

She walked into the underground ranch and turned to the clearing where Clasko usually occupied. Not surprisingly, a plush Chocobo doll was set on the ground with a note pinned to it, asking for whoever that was reading it to call for Clasko since he was on patrol.

"Hey CLASKO!" Rikku hollered. She waited for a moment. Sure enough, a moment later the sound of footsteps thudding against the stone paved ground could be heard nearing her location.

"Huh? Sorry, I was-Oh! Rikku!"

Rikku reeled and smiled cheerfully. "Hey Clasko! Long time no see."

"It's good to see you again," Clasko warmly greeted her with a handshake. She was happy to see that he didn't seem to have changed much. Despite being bumbling and a bit pathetic, Clasko was a nice guy.

"Same here. How have things been? This place looks great!"

Clasko blushed but a proud expression came onto his face. "Thank you. Calli and I have been working on expanding. It's been really fun. Have you heard about the Chocobo eggs hatching tomorrow?"

Rikku nodded. "Yunie mentioned it. Sounds...exciting."

"OH but it is! I can't believe that I'm actually going to see a real live Chocobo hatching! It's really rare for any human to see this even, you know. Even with so many Chocobos around, hardly anyone has had the opportunity to watch baby Chocobos hatch as they're so protective of their young..."

The young Al Bhed woman was nodding cordially. She patiently tilted her head at the man before her as he continued to rant on in his terrible excitement about the birth of three Chocobo chicks.

"....maybe get to hold one—that is if the mother doesn't mind of course! Calli calls them 'Chicobos'. I think we're going to stick with that term. OH I JUST CAN'T WAIT!"

Seeing Rikku's stance, Clasko's face turned red again in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I...I'm just so excited, you know? Calli and I have worked so hard on this ranch, and this is just such a great reward for all that we've done."

Rikku smiled reassuringly and waved a dismissive hand at his unnecessary apology. "Forget it. I think it sounds wonderful. Congratulations." She giggled. "You know, in a way...this makes you a grandfather! Grandpa Clasko! Imagine that!"

This made Clasko blink at her blankly a few times, then he slowly started chuckling. "I've never thought of it that way before. Yes...yes, I suppose it does make me like a grandfather." He laughed. "Just wait until I tell Calli! She claims that she's the Chocobos' big sister."

Rikku grinned. "Sounds right. Okay, how about that present you said you had for Yunie? I'd love to stay and chat but I really need to be getting to Luca."

"O-Oh of course! I'll go get it. It's in one of the back rooms. We had a storage room built out of one of the old Chocobo pens but I haven't managed to have the place organized yet. I was telling Maddox-"

Clasko was abruptly cut off by a loud wailing noise that very suddenly filled the air. Red lights that Rikku had not noticed before attached along the walls came to life in red flashes as the high rhythmic keening continued. Wincing, Rikku's hands instinctively shot up to her head to cover her ears.

"WHAT IS THAT?" She demanded loudly to Clasko, who was doing the same as her, face contorted in discomfort. Even with her hands muffling the loud siren, she could hear the now distressed cries of the Chocobos. The siren was obviously scaring the wits out of them as well.

"IT'S THE ALARM SYSTEM! IT MEANS THERE MUST BE A FIEND INTRUDING ON THE RANCH!" Clasko screamed back and began scuttling away, hopefully to shut off the alarm.

An ALARM system for fiends? From the sounds of it, you'd think Sin was back! Rikku thought incredulously as she followed him. Better be prepared. Just in case...

The Warrior outfit shimmered onto her body and the sword materialized into her waiting hands. Ahead of her Clasko warily peaked around the corner, pressing himself against he wall. In a nervous voice he said, "Uh...I don't see anything...must be a false..."

KWEHHHHH!!!

Clasko's eyes widened, "The Chocobos!"

All caution aside, he made a break down the corridor. Rikku easily followed. She gripped the hilt of the sword tightly. The weight of the blade in her hands was comforting at the thought of meeting whatever fiend was harassing one of the poor Chocobos.

The wild, panicked shrieking of the Chocobo continued to echo throughout the Ranch even as the loud siren was blaring. Clasko veered down the right path and ran into the corridor. He halted so suddenly that Rikku nearly slammed right into him. At the very end of the corridor, a Queen Coeurl was stalking rapaciously towards the unseen, distressed birds in their pen.

"NO! Goldie! Pekko! I'll save you!" Clasko shouted and pelted across the hall before Rikku could stop him.

"Clasko! Wait!" Rikku automatically ran after him. The man could barely defend himself nevertheless a Chocobo!

Their shouts had distracted the fiend. It turned to look at them and growled threateningly, the whiskers lining the orange face stiffening. Small sparks of energy began to crackle from the bushy red end of the whiskers. It smarted, crackled in tiny irregular jolts and then quickly into a web of energy, charging a dangerous amount of energy.

"CLASKO! MOVE!" Rikku roared and threw herself forward at the man. She used her weight to shove both of them out of the way. They landed in a heap as overhead, a powerful blast of shocking white-blue electricity exploded past them and blasted right into a stone wall, fizzling into nothing.

Rikku frowned as she rose. "You're going down!"

The Queen Coeurl hissed at her menacingly and turned so that it was fully facing her, crouched and poised for combat. Rikku swung the sword elegantly in a wide circle and took a moment to concentrate, centering herself. The fiend predictably saw this as hesitation in its opponent and took the chance to run forward, ready to go for the kill. Big mistake.

Rikku waited a fraction of a second longer for the Queen Coeurl to come closer. Even as Clasko's hysterical shout of warning came, she was already dashing forward to meet her opponent head on. She slashed, using Magic Break to render the fiend's impressive magic usage to nothing. The Queen Coeurl, startled, yipped and clumsily fell back. It struggled to its feet while shaking its head in a vain attempt to dispel the restriction Rikku had just imposed onto it.

It wasn't terribly hard to defeat the creature, to the point of almost being disappointingly easy. A few well-timed dodges at the swipes the fiend made and a few painful hits she brought home the Queen Coeurl's body soon had the fiend vanishing into a puff of pyreflies. It hadn't even bothered using magic against her since she'd weakened it so much.

"Pekko! Oh Goldie! It's all right! The fiend's gone. Your eggs are fine!" Clasko was cooing to the two irate Chocobos when Rikku joined him at the last pen. The poor things were understandably in a great deal of distress. Rikku saw the mother Goldie protectively traipsing around a bundle of straw where three, large blue-speckled eggs were nestled. So these were the eggs Clasko had been so excited about. The father had calmed somewhat and was crooning worriedly at his eggs.

"Clasko, shut off the alarm! It's scaring all of them!" Rikku suggested. The loud wail and the startled cries of the Chocobos were giving her a headache.

"Oh! Right!"

She followed him back around to the other side of the Ranch to what appeared to have been a newly built office or storage room of some sort. On the wall was a piece of machina with all sorts of buttons and switches. Clasko hit a few of the buttons in what appeared to be a sequence of numbers, a code perhaps? But the deafening sound shut off and the red lights ceased flashing.

Rikku sighed, relieved. "Quite an alarm, you've got there, Clasko. Trying to raise the dead?"

Clasko hung his head, "I don't know what's wrong with it. It's really loud and I have no idea how to adjust the sound. But at least it works and warns us when a fiend gets into the Ranch. Still...I wish I knew how to fix it...or at least someone who did."

She shook her head, smiling to herself. Nope. Clasko hadn't changed much at all. She knew what he wanted but was afraid to ask. As usual, she took pity on him.

"Well, you're in luck since you're talking to a machina expert! Tell you what, after Yunie's wedding, I'll stop by sometime and take a looksie for you, okay?"

Clasko's face lit up. "Would you really? That'd be great!"

"No problem. But first things first, okay? I need to get to Luca for the wedding so I'm going to need that present to be on my way."

"Of course. Let me get that. I'll meet you at the entrance," Clasko was blushing again in embarrassment. He quickly dashed off and Rikku chuckled quietly as she dismissed the Warrior outfit, making her way back to the front. She wondered how Clasko and little Calli managed to deal with the fiends as neither of them were anything remotely similar to a warrior. It felt rude to ask so she just pondered it silently.

Clasko returned holding a package wrapped in, surprise surprise, Chocobo patterned wrapping paper. He smiled sheepishly. "I hope she likes it. And please tell her again how sorry I am that I'm going to miss the wedding."

"I will," Rikku assured him. "I'm sure she'll love it, Clasko. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for your help, Rikku."

"My pleasure. Bye now!" Rikku tucked the package under her arm and ran, waving back at Clasko.

She hastened her pace towards the Item Shop that was centered near the western end of the Calm Lands. She only had about fifteen minutes before her ride would get there. Before she'd gone by Clasko's Ranch, Rikku had called ahead to the owner of the tiny item shop and managed to secure herself with a ride to Luca from the supply airship that was stopping by to drop a shipment of items. The kind owner and her family had become friends of hers over the years so she didn't mind having her husband give the girl a lift once in a while. Luckily, today he was making a trip to Luca to pick up a shipment of Potions and High Potions. Initially, she hadn't thought that she would have spent so long at Clasko's but the unexpected battle had drained some of her time. Now she had to really move it if she was going to make it.

KWEEEHHHH!!

"Now what?" Rikku muttered as she wheeled when the thudding of large feet came jogging up behind her. She was surprised to see one of the Chocobo from the pen she had saved. He came up to her and stopped. He hummed and lowered his head so she could see the note dangling from his neck:

Pekko wanted to thank you for saving his family.

Don't worry, he'll find his way home. See how smart they are?

-Clasko

The Chocobo tilted his head at her and nudged her shoulder affectionately with his beak. He crouched slightly and butted at her legs, motioning towards his back. Rikku grinned. He wanted her to ride him! She eagerly climbed on and grasped the straps that were strapped to harness around his neck.

'KWEHHHH!' Pekko shouted and then took off at an incredible burst of speed.

"WHOOO HOOOO!" Rikku impulsively cried as the cool wind rushed through her hair and past her face like an invisible current. She could feel the powerful muscles of the Chocobo beneath her as it effortlessly sprinted across the grassy plain of the Calm Lands. The world around them became a blur of green and blue as Pekko ran. She smiled, gripping the riding straps and Yuna's present as the exhilarating ride continued. This was way better than running to the Item Shop!

She couldn't help but to feel a stab of disappointment when the said shop started coming into view. She tugged on the straps slightly and Pekko slowed to a trot. He stopped when they got to the shop and let her dismount. Rikku placed the package down for a moment and reached out to rub the smooth, disheveled yellow feathers of Pekko's neck.

"Thanks a lot, Pekko. You're a life saver," She reached into her side pouch where she had a Pahsana Green left from an earlier visit to the Ranch. Pekko shrilled in delight, accepting the offered treat. Then he gave her a loving nip on the fingers with his beak and then turned, dashing off with a final 'Kweh!' of goodbye.

Rikku cheerfully scooped up Yuna's present and sauntered up to the counter of the Item Shop. "Hey Amira."

The owner looked up, "Rikku! Hello there!" She glanced at the clock on the counter. "You're early. The supply airship doesn't get here for another ten or so minutes."

"Oh, it's okay. I was...uh...around so I figured why not stop by early?" Rikku answered, silently thanking Pekko.

"Well, it's wonderful to see you. Have a good trip to Mt. Gagazet? I heard you went there to visit the Ronso. Look at you! Goodness, have you grown? I haven't seen you in two months and you look taller!"

They chatted for a while until the shadow of the supply airship enclosed over them. Amira reached under the counter and slid the pack Rikku had entrusted to her earlier the last time she'd been by. They were presents to Yuna from well-wishers that Rikku had encountered in her journey and other things that she'd picked up herself along the way. "Here are your things, dear."

"Thanks Amira," Rikku smiled and gratefully took the pack. She helped Amira's husband unload the items. Then gave Amira a hug, exchanged good-byes, and followed Elsion onto the airship with her pack. The older man gave her a gruff smile and told her to buckle in. They were off to Luca!

A/N: Chapter 3 is finished and being edited so it'll be up soon. Read and review!