Thank you Steve Redfield, Lost in Reality's Mirror, hellokatie123, hellokatie123, mike's girl gaia jackson, for the follows and favorites!

LadyAmazon- Indeed! I didn't want the whole 'not one group of friends' to be lasting too long, now that we're on chapter thirteen. But she also had to prove her worth to them, now we got the gang together!

ENJOY AND STAY SAFE!


"You guys have to ease yourself, relax when with the Chocobo." Lexus explained as she stood with Ferris who kept nuzzling her back. She let him do whatever, nibbling her hair or softly cooing when she would reach back and pet his head.

Before the pine haired girl, the four boys stood with their respective bright yellow Chocobos. With Deadeye gone and no longer a concern, Wiz allowed the Chocobos out and they were just as excited to be out and free to roam the ranch again.

They decided to wait another day to reach Lestallum after Gladio called his sister, Iris. She was doing alright and wished them to be safe and sound. He had asked her to look for Lexus' parents, since Wiz informed the group that's where they went to years ago. Lexus didn't know if she even wanted to see them, especially her mother. But, deep down, she felt she had to let them know she was alive and well. Possibly assuming she was killed in the attack on Insomnia.

For now, today, Lexus agreed to teach the boys how to ride a Chocobo. She felt it would come easy for Prompto and Gladio, while Ignis will figure it out with his constant calm demeanor. It was Noctis she was curious about, as his Chocobo was restless beside him and tried to bite his fingers a few times when feeding this morning. Finding a good behaved Chocobo for the prince would be difficult.

"How do we mount them?" Prompto asked.

Lexus smiled, "It's more simple than you'd think. But, let's first connect and learn about your Chocobo." she turned to Ferris and reached a hand up. He nuzzled it instantly, letting her pet his red feathers and give his chest a rough scratch. Ferris ruffled at the joy of the scratch and cooed with his neck stretched out high.

"Each Chocobo is different, not one being the same as the other. They all have that sweet spot that'll make them love you more. Try to gently find that spot." She explained to them.

Prompto was a bit skittish at first, his excitement spooked the bird a few times. Soon he rubbed under its wings and then reached for its chest, kneeling down. His bird ruffled itself, making him nearly fall over. The bird wasn't too bothered, as it stepped over and nuzzled his cheek, he was doing pretty good. Lexus inwardly joked they might be mistaking Prompto as a fellow Chocobo with his hair.

Gladio held his hand out for the bird to sniff and soon rubbed his head against it. Gladio patted its head, which the bird loved, resulting in a small scratched right above his beak. He had found his bird's sweet spot pretty quickly.

When watching Ignis, he had skimmed his hands gently through his bird's feathers along the back and neck, then heard it coo when he touched under his chin. He had found the spot and scratched under the bird's chin, making it raise its head and tilt it this way and that.

Three down, one struggling prince to go.

Noctis had trouble even touching his bird, let alone find a spot. Concerned for his fingers being snapped off or getting kicked by the large legs. Amazing, she thought. He fought creatures ten times his size, but the thought of petting a Chocobo is what got to him. As a child, she would have enjoyed seeing this sight. But now, she just wanted to help ease him with the bird to ride comfortably. She approached Noctis who sighed in frustration.

"Is there something I'm doing wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Just relax, this bird might not feel okay with you is all."

"Oh, if that's all." He responded with sarcasm as she approached him.

Lexus gave him a look and gave his bird a few scratches and pets to find its sweet spot. She eventually found it at the back of his head, making the bird coo and rest its head on her shoulder as she gently hugged it.

"I think this one likes hugs more than scratches." She figured.

Lexus taught them how to feed the birds, care for them, and finally got to mounting them. Wiz helped her set the saddles up on the birds, she did her own for Ferris and made sure it fitted him well.

"When mounting them, you must keep clear of their wings. They're small, but if you hurt them, they will hurt you back." She warned, placed her right foot onto the stirrup and patted her hand onto it. "Make sure you use the correct foot, or you'll end up sitting backwards."

Prompto was pretty eager to follow her instructions, he did almost use the wrong foot and corrected himself.

"There's a horn on the saddle, use that to pull yourself up." She gripped it and pulled up, lifting herself and swinging her leg over the other side. Instinct gave her the advantage of slipping her other foot smoothly into the other stirrup. Ferris shifted in excitement as she held the reins.

"Now let's see you guys."

Prompto moved a bit too fast with pulling up, and fell onto the other side of the bird. It didn't deter him, he jumped right back up and tried again. Gladio was pretty tall and seemed nervous of his large solid mass on the bird. But he tested it and saw the bird shift comfortably as he patted its neck. Ignis was a natural, he pulled himself up and his long leg gently swung to the other side as he adjusted his seating in the saddle. Prompto after his third attempt, eventually got on just fine with a victory fist in the air.

When it came to Noctis, Lexus couldn't help but bite back a laugh. He was going in circles trying to mount the bird, who was side stepping in an endless circle spinning them both like dancers in a ball room. His friends laughed justifyingly at him, soon he got his foot off the stirrup before he fell over.

"And here I thought it would be difficult." He joked, dusting the dirt off his pants and jacket.

"Want to give Ferris a try?" She offered him.

"No, no, I can- I'll figure it out." Noctis assured, attempting the climb again.

Thankfully, he did succeed and his bird started to calm down. "Good!" Lexus smiled.

She proceeded to teach them how to use the reins and the gentle communications with the nudge of their feet. A single nudge was to speed up, but she reminded them they can only go so fast for so long. Lexus eased them into how to turn left and right and to stop. Eventually, they all were getting the hang of it, to a point Prompto tried to start a race with Gladio.

"I'll race you from the caravan to the Regalia." Prompto offered.

Gladio grinned, adjusting his hold on the reins. "You're on."

"You're not." Lexus approached them to have Ferris block the birds. "You guys are nowhere near ready to race."

Prompto pouted. "Aww, come on. Just a small one, please?" He begged, palms pressed together.

Lexus kept her stance, arms crossed. "These birds need to adjust."

"Why not?" They turned to see Wiz coming over to them. He grinned broadly at the group. "It's great to see the birds up and about. But they probably got a lot of energy to use. A race might do them good."

Prompto cheered but Lexus held a worried look. "Are you sure? They're still getting used to learning and-"

"I'm sure the boys and birds can handle it." Wiz told, reaching over to give Ferris a scratch on the neck. "What better way to teach them than a good old fashion Chocobo race?"


The poles were set, the banners were up, and flags were positioned; A small Chocobo race was prepared for the group!

The first to race was Gladio and Prompto, Wiz gave them a once over as they held two tracks, using the smaller one. The rules were set to no kicking, pushing, nor hurting the birds. One lap, whoever won would race the next contender. Everyone stood by the sidelines to watch, each racer getting a cheer to win. Lexus gave Prompto a good luck, then Wiz fired the starting gun into the air. Gladio's was startled at first, giving Prompto a good start as his bird bolted right into the race track.

"Go, Gladio!" Noctis yelled. Gladio finally got control and he bolted after Prompto.

Lexus bit her thumb nail. "A bit skittish." She noted to Wiz next to her.

But he waved her off, "The birds are just anxious to get going. Don't overthink it too much, Lexus." he reassured.

How could she not? Chocobo races were dangerous, she'd know more than anyone next to her father. Sure, these guys weren't just anyone; a prince and the royal guard. She felt down her collar bone where the black feather necklace rested, the bristles brushing her skin as she gently rubbed her fingers against the delicate plume. In her dreams she saw the same event occur over and over, a personal hell in her mind of the traumatic event. Now seeing a race, albeit small, it still caused anxiety to weigh in her stomach.

"They're coming around the bend!" Noctis hollered, alerting the others and jerking Lexus from her thoughts.

The lead was shockingly Prompto, with Gladio lagging extremely behind. He ran past the finish line, throwing his hands up and hollering in victory. Ignis joked about Gladio's weight compared to the skinny blond that was Prompto, is what caused the loss of the race. Next to race was Ignis against Prompto. Lexus kept fiddling with the feather as Prompto stepped at the starting line and Ignis got up his bird.

"Wish me luck?" He asked Lexus, making her look up as he walked past her.

She sent a smile, nodding. "I wish you both luck."

"Take your mark!" Called Wiz, having the starter gun ready.

Ignis took his spot beside Prompto. The two shared some friendly remarks, and then the gun fired. The two were neck in neck at the beginning, looking it could be a tie. But when they came around the bend, it was Ignis who took the lead. It looked like he was going to win until Prompto made a last minute nudge and his chocobo beat Ignis' by a feather.

The final race was now to Noctis against Prompto. The prince was a bit nervous but when he got a small taunt from his best friend, his competitive side kicked in. Lexus was slowly relaxing, seeing no harm or foul from the small racing so far. The birds were fine and so were the racers. It was a tight race with these two. They were neck and neck, Noctic promising all the scratches and rubs to his Chocobo if he won. That seemed to have worked, as the bird cawed into the air and burst into a sprint at the last mile through the finish line. Noctis had to hold the reins tightly so as to not fall off from the sudden speed. Prompto took the win well, with slight teasing that he bribed his bird.

"Is that a sore loser I hear?" Noctis countered.

"You're just jealous my Chocobo is well behaved." Prompto bit back, letting said bird nuzzle against his arm.

"Now, now, boys." Gladio stepped in. "Noctis won fair, right Lexus?"

She chuckled and nodded, "Nothing wrong is with encouragement."

"Onto the final race!" Wiz announced, but earned a confusing looking Lexus turning to him. "Lexus is up next!"

She was taken back, feeling her knuckles lock in place at her sides. "Me? Wiz, you know I don't race." Lexus rubbed her arm, trying to fight the nerves out of her joints. "Besides, let him take the win and give what his bird deserves."

"Do it for Ferris, boy old poor is itchin' for a run! He's been on the side lines too long." Wiz nodded to the red bird seeing he was pacing around the starting line.

Lexus shook her head. "No, I can't put Ferris through that. He's retired for a reason."

"And that reason bein' yer father gone. He won't let anyone else ride him, except you." He pointed out.

Wiz wasn't doing it for ill intentions, he knew Ferris wanted to race after seeing the whipper snapper of birds giving it a go. But, Lexus just felt too anxious. Her eyes fell onto the bird, seeing him chirp and scratching at the dirt rearing to get running. Lexus had a hard time saying denying these birds what they want. Be it sneaking them some extra treats or staying out later in the barn then she should've.

"Alright, okay, okay." She forced a smile and stiffly marched over to her.

Noctis called over, "Hey, if you don't want to, you don't have to."

Lexus raised a brow at the prince, "If you're saying 'you can't beat me anyway' after that line." She challenged, bringing a smirk to his features.

"Then it's on!"

Lexus breathed a bit to fight off her nerves, tightening her fists on the reigns to bat off the trembling that threatened to emerge. The others joined the side line, Prompto cheering Lexus calling Noctis a cheater and Gladio cheering his prince. Ignis was silent, his eyes staring intently at Lexus studying her. He saw her fear, heard her panic and knew she was not doing okay as she pretended to be. He knew the horrors she faced that day, the race that crippled her father. The others have never seen how horrific a Chocobo racing accident could be. Not only was her father injured, but it led to an accident with other Chocobos. One trying to avoid him jumped over the crowd and broke its wings. Two Chocobos after trampling her father, got their legs tangled and-

Ignis shook his head, letting the images fade from his memory as he returned to focus on the current small race.

Once Wiz fired the gun, the birds shot off into a long neck and neck race. Lexus wanted to wrap her arms around Ferris' neck in a split second fear of falling. But she tightened her legs and hunched herself down, which in turn made her speed up past Noctis.

After the second turn, Lexus started to ease in, giving less whimpers of each turn and hitch her breath less when he sped up. Her shoulders lowered and her elbows loosened, allowing her to take a proper racing position.

"I'll catch up!" Cried Noctis from behind.

Lexus let her lips stretch and smile, almost daring to look back. "What? Ran out of bribes?" She called back, laughing to herself.

She bounded around the next turn, seeing the finish line poles in the distance. Lexus padded Ferris, praising him. "You're so awesome, Ferris! Keep going! We can do this!"

Lexus saw the boys, all giving their hollers and waving arms. Ignis cupped his lips cheering as they locked eyes. She felt her smile stretch as wide as possible, throwing a fist into the air as she screamed "YEAH!" passing the finish line.

Ferris stopped himself short, skidding onto the dirt. He seemed to have gone a bit fast, for his sliding made Lexus lose balance with her one hand on the reigns. The bird's footing fell to the side making Lexus tobble to the ground, rolling into the grass. Ferris' cries and the scream from Lexus caused panic attention to the men.

"Oh, shit!"

"Lexus!"

"Is she okay!?"

"Lexy!"

The boys with Wiz ran as fast as possible to the hill she had rolled over. It was small and grassy, but a fall off a Chocobo shouldn't be taken lightly. Prompto and Ignis were the first there, spotting Lexus sitting up at the bottom of the hill. They slid down, Prompto near tripping as they approached her.

"Hey, that was a big fall. Are you alright?" He asked, Ignis crouching down to her.

To their surprise, she was grinning ear to ear as she rubbed a small scrape on her palm. Her hair was at a disarray with dirt and grass stains on her face and clothing. Once she looked up at the two boys, she burst into laughter and fell back into the grass. Prompto couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. But Ignis, he was terrified of her being injured like her father had. He released a tight sigh and fell back onto the grass, his arm resting on his risen knee and leaned back onto his palm. She had scared him almost as bad as the hunt for Deadeye did.

"She's okay!?" Called Gladio from the top of the hill.

Prompto gave a thumbs up. "She's all good. Just laughing at a scrape."

"You call it a scrape," She pointed at him with her clean hand. "I call it a winner's injury!" Lexus stood and attempted to wipe the dirt off her backside and knees, calling to the others. "Is Ferris alright?"

A squawk was heard, and Ferris joined them at the top. "He's good!"


"You're sure nothing else hurts?" Ignis asked, as he knelt before Lexus cleaning her hand.

She rolled her eyes, sitting at the bottom step of the caravan, allowing him to tend to it. Her hair was fixed and she was in clean clothes. "Just some small bruises that'll fade. Stop fussing, Ignis."

"I saw you tumble over a hill after being flown off a bird at high speed." He recounted, getting the bandages to wrap her hand. No need to waste a potion, Lexus told him. "I expected you to see you in worse condition."

Lexus was quiet for a moment, drumming her fingers across her knee. "How bad?" She inquired, curious for his answer. Lexus was used to Roland being concerned and was still getting used to others caring about her well being.

But at Ignis' silence, she had an inkling of what he was thinking.

She leaned back, her elbow pressed up against the upper step as she looked around the ranch. "Think I'd end up crippled?" Lexus felt Ignis pause, his eyes gazing up at her. She returned her eyes to his, seeing him looking over his glasses at her. "Like my dad?"

His eyes searched her's, he looked down for a moment and finished wrapping her hand. Once done, he stood and padded the dirt off his knees and adjusted his blazer. "I saw the entire thing, that day in the city. It was horrifying to watch, but…"

Lexus chewed her lip, "So you were there that day." she assumed. Ignis nodded, watching her hunch in her position to stand, fingers reaching to feel the black feathered necklace hanging around her neck.

"Lexus, at that time, I had been tasked to take care of Noctis." He started to explain, as the two stood before each other, he towering her. "He had been-"

"I know, he was injured and had returned at that time." Lexus remembered how her mother gushed over the news, a small pang of jealousy threatened to rise but she forced it back down. "You were his caretaker, even then?" She asked, raising her head to him.

He nodded, "I didn't start my duties at the time. Once I was given the news by my Uncle, it caused me to be late." Ignis explained. "By the time I had gotten there…" He sighed and looked to the dirt beneath him. "I'm deeply sorry, Lexus."

Lexus suddenly felt guilty, had he held this feeling all this time? He had arrived, he saw the accident as well as she did- As anyone did who was attending. Lexus started to think of herself a fool, for assuming everyone in the world hated her. Everywhere she turned, she lost someone or was forgotten by another.

Ignis never forgot her.

Her fingers let the necklace go as she turned and stepped into the caravan. Ignis, fearful she was angry, stepped forward to follow her. She soon was met back with him, stepping down to hold out a familiar handkerchief. The beige cloth was one he had seen her use to clean the grease, but also the same one used to dry her tears when she was just a little girl. She unfolded it and showed him his name was embroidered into the material. Green stitching of his name in a beautiful cursive just in the corner.

"I asked my mom to put your name on it so I wouldn't forget about you." She rubbed her thumb against the growing worn out thread. A small smirk was found when Ignis stole a glance at her. "Uncle Roland always said I would meet you again, someone that was hard to miss."

"Just as you are." Ignis said, without even thinking of it.

Her eyes shot up at his, remembering Roland saying the same thing to her. She felt her eyes sting, she blinked to will back any tears that threatened to come about. Lexus folded the handkerchief and held it out for Ignis, he frowned at her in confusion.

"In thanks, for giving me back the necklace." She told, her eyes wanted to avoid contact but struggled to.

Ignis reached for her hands, taking one and placing it over the handkerchief and gently pushing it back to her. Her brows knotted, but she saw a soft smile playing.

"I meant it when I said to keep it." Ignis gently patted her hand, letting it go as she took a step back. Lexus looked down, feeling the soft handkerchief in her palms.

The sudden sounds of a truck caught their attention, spotting a large yellow pick up with 'HAMMERHEAD' spray painted on the side. The cute greasemonkey, Cindy, climbed out of the vehicle giving a big wave to them. On the flatbed of the truck, Lexus' motorbike could be seen ready to be unloaded.

Lexus quickly pocketed the handkerchief and jogged over with Ignis walking behind. Prompto's calls could be heard as Gladio approached to help get the bike down. Lexus had noticed it looked cleaner than before, and the headlights were different too.

"Bike's looking better than ever." Prompto pointed out.

"Cindy?"

"Yeah?" Once the bike touched the ground, she looked over to the pine haired woman. "Pretty, ain't she?"

Lexus let out a sigh with a small smile. "Did you…?"

"Poor thing looked like it needed a small clean up, I hope ya don't mind. I also put on a new pair of headlights to see better, it's twice as dark out here than in the city." She explained.

Her smile widened, eyes sparkling as she circled her precious bike. It had looked as good as the first day she got it! Lexus would feel bad getting it dirty again.

"Some special wax will make it a smooth ride, you'll be glidin' in the wind!" She cheered.

"It's incredible!" Lexus exclaimed. "Oh, uh, let me pay you for the services." She reached for her wallet in her pockets- wherever it may be.

Cindy waved her off. "Don't ya worry your pretty little head 'bout it." Lexus frowned, looking back at her. A soft look came over the blonde's slightly grease features. "Paw-Paw made it a special order. It's on the house."

Lexus stepped around the bike, and engulfed the greasemonkey into a sudden hug. It caught her by surprise, along with the others who watched on the sidelines. Cindy smiled and hugged her back, thankful she was wearing clean gloves.

"Thank you, Cindy." She whispered, pulling back to let her go. "Give Cid a thanks, and sorry. For me screaming at him last time."

Cindy tipped her hat, "Will do, and ya be safe out there." she nodded to the others." All ya'll!" Cindy moved to her truck and climbed in, starting the loud vehicle. "Call if ya need anything!"

They all waved as she pulled the truck off the lot and onto the road to return to Hammerhead. Lexus looked over her bike, taking her helmet off the back and noticed even that had been cleaned up too. She shook her head and turned to the boys.

"So, when do we move out?"


It has been five months since I touched this story and it turns four years old this month! I thought I started this story much sooner, but 2017? Holy shit! I'm trying to fix it where I take turns in updating between three stories this year. With this one, the Sherlock one, and Loki one!