2nd chapter 'Of Sorceresses and Chocobos
Me, my chocobo and the rookie
The Chocobo ran through the trees on his morning run, enjoying the peaceful quiet on the Northern Continent…well; it was peaceful until a huge bang nearly startled him out of his feathers. He shook himself "Wark?" and strode over toward the noise, whatever it is, they were in his forest and they shouldn't be there. In surprise he cocked his head to the side, 'what is this?' And walked slowly up to a tree where a small lump was laying and stared down at it, cocking his head the other way. "Warkk?"
"Waaaaaahhhhhhh!" wailed whatever was lying there in the rags.
"Waaarrkkk!" He flew up startled, dropping feathers as he rand around. "Wark…wark...Wark!" He stopped and tried to preen his ruffled fathers, glaring sideways at the thing.
"Gah." A small fist wove around in the air holding one of the Chocobo's green feathers, giggling and burbling happily. He was stunned for a second and then walked over nodding to himself… 'Oh, a human chicobo.' He leaned down over the chicobo.
"Wark." The chicobo cooed up at him and grabbed at his beak. 'What funny feathers, all light brown and dark brown, and just on its head. Hmm, maybe it will grow out of it.' "Wark…Warkkk." He picked up the bundle in his beak and walked back to his home. Maybe that ancient will know what to do with this.
And time goes on…
The Chocobo Mage blinked again as he starred down at… 'I know what it is… I remember, it's a goblin…no no, a baby, yes, it's a baby.' Well, he decided to keep it and put it in one of the baskets that lined the wall by the fireplace as the infant was still waving around one of the Mountain Chocobos green feathers.
…and further still…
Chocobo glanced down at his charge as it crawled after a yellow butterfly drifting around the flowers outside. The chicobo had grown quite quickly over the past six months, and it always seemed to have some of its feathers stuck in its hair. The chicobo pulled itself up onto the side of a tree root trying to balance on its unsteady legs and looked around. When it saw him it let go and wobbled toward the Chocobo with unsteady steps, until it stumbled and he ran over and it caught itself on his beak.
"Wark?" (Are you okay?) The chicobo looked up at him with its grey blue eyes and then grinned.
"Wa…wark." (Yes Papa). He picked his chicobo up by the back of its shirt and put it on his back going back on his walk as the chicobo giggled and clapped its hands.
…as time flows…
The child sad down again in front of the Chocobo Mage after the Chocobo had found her hiding up in a tree and forced her to come down to her lessons. She rolled her eyes and wiggled her loose tooth as he was showing her how to use a fire materia.
"Show me again." He used the materia and created a small fireball in his hand. She picked up hers and tried, focusing through it like he said that she should, but nothing happened. She dropped it back down on the floor and it rolled off to one side of her.
"Wark (Oh!)…I will never get this." She flopped herself down onto the floor and hit at it in frustration and suddenly a spark flew off her hand, smoking on the floor.
"Warrk?" (What?) She chirped, shocked as she watched the ember burn down.
"Mr. Mage, Mr. Mage…look." She pointed at the small burn mark. His eyebrows lifted up under his pointy purple hat.
"Try the materia again." She sighed and tried to use the materia, but it still just sat there like a rock in her palm. "Now without." She pointed her hand, thinking of how mad she had been at not creating a fire, and a small fireball flew off her hand into the fireplace.
"Warrr…" she whistled, "…I did it, I did it…" she danced around wildly, her feathers shaking around in her hair. The Chocobo Mage shook his head at his wayward student.
…no body knows…
"Warr…wark wark waark wark war warrak?" (Papa, why am I so different?) She quietly squawked into the downy feathers on his neck. His chicobo was growing up way too fast, she was already almost up to his shoulder and her hair was down to her mid back in a bunch of wild braids, feathers woven into some. It had been almost thirteen years since he had adopted her as his chicobo.
"Warkk war war waak." (Not different, special.)
"Waak?" (Special?)
"Wa…war warkk…wark warkkak…wark wark." (Yes, my chicobo. I have presents for you, learn to use them.) The Chocobo picked up a golden armband with one slot filled with a red summon materia. After she put it onto her upper arm, it shrunk down to cling to it and he picked up a strange bronze colored staff. She held it and looked up at him in confusion.
"Waarkk?" (What is it?)
"Warrk war waark wark wark. Wark wark, warrk warwark waark wark wark." (A weapon the ancient found in some ruins. Press the button and it will become a double bladed staff.) She pressed the button and two foot long blades came out of the ends, her eyes gleamed as she spun it around a little. 'Cool.'
"Waark war." (Thank you Papa) she cooed to him, and hugged his neck digging her fingers into his soft down and then strapped the weapon onto her back and took of to thank the Chocobo Mage.
'Such a strange chicobo.'
…that things are bound…
The sun was just pulling over the horizon, showing a young woman practicing with a double bladed staff sparring against her shadow, her knee length braid swung around behind her like a second weapon studded with green chocobo feathers handing near the top of the braid. The Chocobo Mage watched his student who had gone further than he thought that she would have ever been able to, especially using her non materia magic, amazingly, once she had seen a type of magic, she could perform that power after a few tries. She goes in the mornings now with the Mountain Chocobo to make sure that their tiny valley was safe from monsters, but this child had been with them for seventeen years and was more chocobo than human, he doubted that she would ever be able to go back to her own kind.
…to change…
Chocobo was worried. Something was just setting his feathers on end, something he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop.
…as all things…
Clouds hung thick around the Shinra helicopter as it tried to navigate through the thick mist. The pilot looked over his shoulder back at the messy looking teenager lounging on his couch playing with his electro rod, and at a very serious looking black man with shads who kept on staring out the window at the rising mountains. 'Shit!' He veered the chopper to the right to avoid a large peak, throwing the passengers around in the back, Shades pulled himself back up into a sitting position and leaned down and picked up the boy by the back of his suit and threw him back up onto his seat.
"Get up rookie."
"Aw, come on Rude, you didn't have to throw me around you know." Whined the red headed boy with a small pony tail and two red tattoos on his cheeks.
"Quiet." He went back to staring out the window as the teen crossed his arms and sulked.
"Sir, there is too heavy of ground cover, permission to rise to 2,000 feet."
"No, we are nearing the location, keep going."
"Yes sir." They landed on the base of a large mountain with an opening up on one of the cliff faces that had a sheer drop down onto shattered rock, splintered like spears, death would be almost certain if they fell.
"Come on Reno." Called Rude, walking up toward the mountain.
"We have to go up THAT?" He starred up at the mountain with his jaw dropping.
"Stay here." Rude told the pilot, and started up the face, grabbing onto hand and foot holds and hoisting himself up.
"Come on rookie, your in the TURKS now, you do it or you die, no pulling cold chicken anymore."
"Hey, come on I aint a chicken," Reno started pulling up onto the rocks. "Bring it on."
The sun was just setting over the trees as Reno pulled himself out of the cave and down the rock face knocking small rocks down ahead of him and Rude followed a little slower carrying a pack on his back. When they were sitting in the helicopter waiting for the pilot to finish starting up the engine, Reno grabbed the pack to see what it was that was inside, Rude tried to get it back from him but his PHS started to go off… 'Tweedle tweedle tweedle…tweedle tweedle…' "Rude….yes sir…yes we have the artifact…no…" he starred at Reno for a second who was flopped over his cushion snoring while using the pack as a pillow. "…no trouble…yes sir…Junon sir…affirmative." He closed his PHS and stuck it in his suit.
"Head to Junon." He called to the pilot.
"Yes sir."
Night fell and as they were passing over another mountainous area, the fog grew thicker and the winds picked up, tossing the chopper slightly. Reno snorted and sat up a little. "Wha...?" Suddenly the chopper shook so severely the door flew open as it swung around in the turbulence and Reno and the pack went flying out the door, being closer to the exit and disappeared into the mist before Rude could get a hold of him. As the flight leveled out, Rude closed the door and pulled out his PHS…
"Sir. We have a problem."
…Do.
/I know, I know, a really strange chapter, but I had to get this idea out of my head. Any of you other writers probably feel the same way sometimes. To clear up some of the confusion, no the girl is not part chocobo, the ancient is not Aeris, her weapon, think of some of the weapons that Zidane has in FF9 but only a little longer and thinner, oh, and each of these segments is a different time frame cause our little chicobo has to grow up, doesn't she.
/And I don't own FF7 or FF8, just these crazy ideas and characters of mine.
