un: cc | video

[bubblegumheart]

[When the video starts, it's what appears to be a static image, from the point of view of someone sitting in one of the trolley seats. There are large claw marks spanning the side and it looks pretty banged up, but overall intact.

It's also not moving, which might not normally be a problem if not for the fact of where it's currently sitting.]

Hello? I don't want to alarm anyone, but...

[Chrissy sounds out of breath, but otherwise fine?]

One of those big birds- the chocobos?- it did this. The claw marks, that is. Something else happened and the entire thing went flying at it.

[Something else happened, she says, as though she hadn't managed to get a clear enough look at the one responsible for shoving the trolley. But she also has no idea what all of that was about, so she's not particularly in the mood to point fingers right now.

The view shifts a little, to get a better look out the window.]

I'm also not entirely sure where I am? I don't think I've ever been here before, so I'm not sure what to do now.

[Other than wait for now?]

Comments

[bubblegumheart]

Does that mean the red one is the leader?

[Is that a thing? Chrissy has no idea. She's just trying to make sense of what happened.]

I will do that! Thank you.

[bubblegumheart]

Your guess is as good as mine. The birds I'm used to are a lot smaller than these.

I'm afraid not. I was reading so I might have missed a lot of the action. I'm still not sure why kicking the trolley was necessary.

[bubblegumheart]

Oh yea. I'm fine. Holding onto the seat helped.

[Listen, Chrissy is absolutely the type of person who holds conversations with animals like she's expecting a response.]

[oblige]

No, reds are simply far more aggressive than their kin. They tend to travel alone, rather than in a flock.

[ Perhaps because of their cantankerous natures, though when Dion thinks on it, he can't be entirely certain whether this is the case. ]

[bubblegumheart]

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind.

[In case she's ever unfortunate enough to cross paths with another red one, presumably.]

[oblige]

Should you sight one in the future, head in the opposite direction. If such isn't possible, you may notify me.

[ With his jump, he could just pick her up and launch away.

He'd suggest Odin, who is himself a formidable combatant, but he has no idea whether the man would come to a stranger's rescue. ]

[nimbuster]

Someone attacked a chocobo with a moving trolley without even bothering to see if there was anyone on it?

[Sometimes you're a SOLDIER and the parts that stand out to you aren't the parts that tend to stand out to other people.]

And still hasn't checked, I'm guessing. What an asshole. Fight still going on?

[copsormasks]

Fucking asshole bird. [Sorry Chrissy, he's made out of 'fuck's and other colorful cursing.]

[bubblegumheart]

[Well, now she just feels a little guilty for suggesting it.]

I think we're probably better off walking for now.

[copsormasks]

Yeah, probably. [He gives the weird bird one more glare before he resumes walking next to Chrissy.] Why are these even here?

[bubblegumheart]

[There will be plenty of time to befriend the chocobos in the future. For now, she's just hoping to put as much distance between herself and snake island as she can.]

Maybe Aurora thought we'd like them?

[ghostlord]

Thank goodness. [It's hard to tell if he is being genuine or not.] Stay put while everything gets cleaned up. We'll get to the bottom of it.

[copsormasks]

Well she was wrong. [Jason tilts his head toward Chrissy before shaking it.]

[bubblegumheart]

I think they're kind of interesting most of the time.

[Specifically, when they're not shooting fireballs and trying to wreck the trolley when she's the only one on it.]

[copsormasks]

[Jason raises an eyebrow at her. Seeing as he has gotten pecked by every bird he's gotten close to, he's not a fan.]

Really? So far they suck.

[bubblegumheart]

Have you tried making friends with one?

[She's blissfully unaware of his willingness to try and fight them, so it feels like a reasonable question.]

The yellow ones are the easiest to get along with.

[bubblegumheart]

In their defense, I was the only one riding.

[That's some kind of defense, sure. He's not wrong, though. The hedgehog-guy hadn't even bothered to stick around after the chocobo left.]

Nope! But it's alright. The fight pretty much fizzled out when the chocobo wandered off.

[bubblegumheart]

It'll be easy enough to remember after this. I haven't been approaching them directly, but this one was kind of hard to avoid.

[The trolley's on a pretty set route after all. With any luck there won't be a repeat of today anytime soon.]

[bubblegumheart]

[Regardless of his intent, Chrissy is going to choose to believe that he's being genuine, because that's just what she does.]

Thank you! I was kinda planning on it for now.

[Because the alternative is walking back to civilization on foot.]

[oblige]

It does strike as deeply unfortunate luck in this case.

[ Made worse by the reality that they'd be hard-pressed to corral such a bird. ]

[copsormasks]

[He's about to roll his eyes and ask why the fuck he would make friends with a bird when he mentions the yellow ones being easier to get along with.]

The yellow ones?

[bubblegumheart]

[Chrissy would absolutely tell him that all the cool kids make friends with birds, but she is spared from having to do that. Alas.]

Yea. I guess there are a bunch of different colors that all act differently. The yellow ones are friendlier and less likely to be aggressive. The blue ones like the water.

[The red one is aggressive and/or territorial.]

-> spam!

[nimbuster]

One or a hundred, doesn't matter. No excuse.

[Cloud grunts in disapproval.]

It's not alright. You could've gotten hurt or killed. As it is, they stranded you on an island full of giant snakes. You're still in danger.

[Speaking of which...Chrissy might be able to hear the faint, oncoming growl of the motorcycle's engine now.]

Coming up on the end of the line. Be there in a minute.

[Cloud makes a wide circle around the tracks, looking for a sharp incline...there. Good enough. He circles around one more time to gain momentum, then zooms straight at the incline at top speed. If Chrissy didn't hear the bike before, she sure can now, roaring as if in challenge to any predators around. One more burst of acceleration and then--

--Cloud and the bike sail through the air as if in slow motion, leaping the entire distance between the two shores and landing not far from the trolley only to swerve immediately into a drift with a squeal of tires. By the time he skids to an expert halt, he's right outside Chrissy's closest window.]

Hey.

[copsormasks]

I've only seen the mean ones. [Or, really, the ones who don't put up with Jason's shenanigans, which are all of them, let's be real.]

[bubblegumheart]

Have you seen the red one yet?

[She's assuming not because he probably would have mentioned that. But it's still around here somewhere.]