[But then Sephiroth wouldn't have had an excuse to text Cloud, who doesn't want the kid to stop contacting him. Hard to teach him how to grow up to not be a murderous asshole if he won't talk to you, Cloud.]
But seeing it for yourself is useful, too.
[Cloud has no doubt that getting kicked would teach Sephiroth a lesson, he's just not sure the kid is very good at taking the right lessons from things.]
So you do want to fight it, after all. Just make sure you protect Gaia and Popp. That thing could be a lot more dangerous than we'd ever expect a chocobo to be, if it took out the trolley and half the track.]
It isn't that I don't believe Popp, he is trustworthy. It is that there could be many other species that qualify as both red and fire breathing. Phoenix for example.
Current goal is not to fight it. If it is unique then killing it would be an unfortunate blow to the population. Ideally we will find out its movement patterns, and if it has a nest. While an adult may be unsafe to wrangle, a chick might be much easier to tame. If Etraya's going to be host to a flock of chocobos the way Snake Isle is covered in snakes, then a broad genetic pool to draw from is ideal.
[He's making a pretty big assumption about their ability to tackle this thing. SOLDIERs.]
But if it came to combat, my assessment so far is that both Gaia and Popp could fight the average First Class to a standstill, and or win. I am confident they will be able to keep up reasonably well.
[Okay, now he might be arguing just to avoid conceding a point to Sephiroth. So sue him.]
All that's well and good, but you'll end up fighting it anyway if you try to steal an egg or a chick. Chocobos are serious business when it comes to protecting their young.
Tell that to someone who's never seen a chocobo! But I have no concerns about whether or not I could succeed in purloining an egg or a hatchling from a watchful parent.
I don't recommend underestimating them. But I also am not going to describe their techniques to you, as it will be more interesting to have you find out for yourself exactly what they are capable of.
You make a lot of noise for someone who's never personally seen what we're talking about. I suppose you're used to hanging around with ordinary people, and thus a chocobo is a dangerous threat to tremble over.
I do not hang around with ordinary people. I hang around with Gaia and Popp, and they are not so fragile as to have their survival threatened by a lone monster.
But no, I hadn't considered asking if they wished to fight you. Thank you for the suggestion; fear not, I won't ask them to fight you as a group, that would be terribly unfair.
Chocobos aren't a dangerous threat, they're persistent and it's hard to get one off your back without killing it. But I should've known it wouldn't even occur to you to take the care you'd need to avoid killing.
And the fact that you think "ordinary people" are inferior to stronger ones is a testament to how little you really change in the next ten years.
Yeah, he was. Until one day, he wasn't. I told you before, the adult version of you I know decided one day that he hated humanity and wasn't a part of it. And then he tried to destroy it.
Given your ongoing efforts to provoke me, from the point of attempting to menace and belittle my friends onward, deliberately ignoring what I write in favor of an invented narrative and then insulting myself and my family, am I to assume that your goal is to invite this so-called hatred for humanity much sooner?
[Shit. Is that what Cloud's doing? He didn't think so, but...dammit, what's wrong with him? He's not usually like this. Reactive for no reason. Looking back, Sephiroth didn't say anything inflammatory until after Cloud was a dick to him. Why does just talking to the kid do this to him?
It has to stop.]
No.
[Then, a few seconds later,]
Sorry. You're right, I'm not sure what's up with me but it's not your fault. Good luck on your hunt for the red chocobo.
[He almost offers his help again but decides against it. Not like Sephiroth's gonna need it anyway, and it'd probably just make things worse.]
[It takes a while for a response to follow this time. To travel, to talk to his roommates, to think about things - or all of them. Cloud had been of special interest to his future self, a sense of obligation and responsibility. He did not share that sentiment.
But holding grudges wouldn't do any good either.]
Please understand it is not a hunt, as I have already explained. Consider it sight-seeing.
No. It's moved from where Popp saw it last. There are plentiful standard birds, they are skittish but curious. A blue. Etraya may not have enough of the right greenery to keep them all fed.
You might be right. With this kind of sudden wild population explosion, what we really need is a ranch where the greens can be cultivated and then spread around.
I'm not. But I can take care of the birds, supplies, trade, all that stuff, and hire somebody to handle the crops. Or just get the bots to do it, if nobody's available.
[If someone had suggested to Cloud a year ago that he'd be planning to open a chocobo ranch, he would have been skeptical. But there's little merc work to be had here, and in between missions he feels...restless. Too much idle time. Too much aimlessness. Having a job to do that will actually help people (and birds) sounds like exactly what he needs right now. Not like he can't still do odd jobs on the side, too.]
You get first dibs on accessories once it's ready. Gaia and Popp, too. In exchange for giving me the idea.
[Lest Sephiroth feel like he would owe him something.]
[There is something to be said for the peace that could be found in Etraya, even if it's a bit.. empty. The downtime was one of its perks. Finding something to do with it.. well, if that meant ranching chocobos..!]
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onlyembers
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 10:16 pm (UTC)You could have just taken Popp's word for it.
[But then Sephiroth wouldn't have had an excuse to text Cloud, who doesn't want the kid to stop contacting him. Hard to teach him how to grow up to not be a murderous asshole if he won't talk to you, Cloud.]
But seeing it for yourself is useful, too.
[Cloud has no doubt that getting kicked would teach Sephiroth a lesson, he's just not sure the kid is very good at taking the right lessons from things.]
So you do want to fight it, after all. Just make sure you protect Gaia and Popp. That thing could be a lot more dangerous than we'd ever expect a chocobo to be, if it took out the trolley and half the track.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 10:21 pm (UTC)Current goal is not to fight it. If it is unique then killing it would be an unfortunate blow to the population. Ideally we will find out its movement patterns, and if it has a nest. While an adult may be unsafe to wrangle, a chick might be much easier to tame. If Etraya's going to be host to a flock of chocobos the way Snake Isle is covered in snakes, then a broad genetic pool to draw from is ideal.
[He's making a pretty big assumption about their ability to tackle this thing. SOLDIERs.]
But if it came to combat, my assessment so far is that both Gaia and Popp could fight the average First Class to a standstill, and or win. I am confident they will be able to keep up reasonably well.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 10:35 pm (UTC)[Okay, now he might be arguing just to avoid conceding a point to Sephiroth. So sue him.]
All that's well and good, but you'll end up fighting it anyway if you try to steal an egg or a chick. Chocobos are serious business when it comes to protecting their young.
Doubt that, but it's their funeral.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 10:41 pm (UTC)I don't recommend underestimating them. But I also am not going to describe their techniques to you, as it will be more interesting to have you find out for yourself exactly what they are capable of.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 10:55 pm (UTC)You find that "interesting"? That your friends might have to fight to survive? Or are you implying that you guys are going to fight me at some point?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-09 11:00 pm (UTC)I do not hang around with ordinary people. I hang around with Gaia and Popp, and they are not so fragile as to have their survival threatened by a lone monster.
But no, I hadn't considered asking if they wished to fight you. Thank you for the suggestion; fear not, I won't ask them to fight you as a group, that would be terribly unfair.
One will do.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 01:27 am (UTC)And the fact that you think "ordinary people" are inferior to stronger ones is a testament to how little you really change in the next ten years.
I'm not fighting kids, jackass.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 02:18 am (UTC)I have met the man I am in ten years, and he was a kind and compassionate man, beloved by his family and friends. Thank you for the compliment.
You fought a "kid" before, don't pretend it's immoral now.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 02:53 am (UTC)What the hell are you talking about?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 04:54 pm (UTC)It has to stop.]
No.
[Then, a few seconds later,]
Sorry. You're right, I'm not sure what's up with me but it's not your fault. Good luck on your hunt for the red chocobo.
[He almost offers his help again but decides against it. Not like Sephiroth's gonna need it anyway, and it'd probably just make things worse.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 05:07 pm (UTC)But holding grudges wouldn't do any good either.]
Please understand it is not a hunt, as I have already explained. Consider it sight-seeing.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 05:21 pm (UTC)Poor choice of words, sorry. Your search.
[Then, after a few minutes of deliberating on whether he should just leave the kid alone,]
Find anything yet?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 07:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 07:39 pm (UTC)[A pause, and then,]
Think I'll do something about that.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 09:32 pm (UTC)[If someone had suggested to Cloud a year ago that he'd be planning to open a chocobo ranch, he would have been skeptical. But there's little merc work to be had here, and in between missions he feels...restless. Too much idle time. Too much aimlessness. Having a job to do that will actually help people (and birds) sounds like exactly what he needs right now. Not like he can't still do odd jobs on the side, too.]
You get first dibs on accessories once it's ready. Gaia and Popp, too. In exchange for giving me the idea.
[Lest Sephiroth feel like he would owe him something.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-10 11:57 pm (UTC)Accessories? Bridles and saddles?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-11 02:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-16 09:05 pm (UTC)