melodiesofeternity | Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

Player Plot: Bizarre Bird Behavior!

Should you happen to have missed it, the plotting and information post for this event can be found here.

A. Choco-Chaos!

Perhaps the first thing anyone notices is the noise, the incessant squawking and warking of so many startled and disgruntled chocobos. Then comes the smell. Ew! In the early morning hours dozens, maybe even hundreds of chocobos invaded many of the cities of Vaikuntha, and while for the first few minutes some may have been elated to see them, attitudes quickly change. The chocobos are panicked, running around without much rhyme or reason, trampling on flower beds, knocking over merchant stands, and making such a ruckus even the dead couldn’t sleep through it. Any food they find is destroyed within minutes, and anything they’re curious about meets the sharp end of their strong beaks. While they’re generally harmless birds, they have the capacity for devastation.

And none of that mentions the, uh, other mess live animals tend to make.

Despite being within the city limits, they are far from tame. Any attempts to approach the birds will be met with either an angry warning wark, a display of puffed feathers, or the chocobo just straight up bolting away. This seems great, as maybe they can be corralled, but… Nope. While this works to an extent, as soon as the birds get too close to the city borders they turn tail and jump straight over the heads of the people attempting to be rid of them, running back into the city to make even more of a mess in their renewed panic. What is there to be done about them?

B. Lurking Lunchers

Should anyone be so inclined as to find out why the chocobos feathers are so ruffled, they need only walk to the edge of the city. Stalking around just beyond civilization are fearsome beasts known only as chocobo eaters. Based on the feathers stuck between their huge teeth this is probably an apt name. The monsters have little interest in humans, but become very interested when a chocobo wanders too close to the outskirts of town. The chocobo eaters are quite aggressive and will gladly take on anyone bold enough to make a challenge. Adventurers may attempt to fight them, but it seems like just when you send one packing, another bigger monster shows up. Was that a baby chocobo eater you were just fighting? You could have sworn it was an adult, with how big it is!

C. Fight or Flight

At last the time has come. A gold chocobo trotted in from off the horizon and rounded up what she believes to be able fighters, herded them into groups, and partnered them with a chocobo that will fight by their side. Ironically it seems to be the feathered member of the party that actually knows what to do, and the teams are led by their respective birds out into the battlefield to take on one of the ferocious beasts waiting out there for lunch. Fight as hard as you can and don’t let the birds down. Defeat might not mean death for you, but it certainly would for the chocobos!

Once the battles are won and the flocks free to return to their natural habitat, some of the brave battlers will find themselves with new feathered friends. Others will not, but everyone will have a handful of greens. If you missed this opportunity to get a chocobo, or you have a taste and want even more, head on over and check out the chocobo capture/breeding system that will be available from now until Eternity.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Bolstered by added defense, his grip tightened on the maw of the beast. A laser fired in and he could smell the ozone as it burned to the gullet of the Eater. In a last-ditch effort to turn the tides and ponder escaping to eat chocobos another day, the large fist wrapped around the paladin and began to bear down.

That was fine. This was fine. He shut his eyes and grit his teeth. Even so beat up, it still had considerable fight left in it. When the chocobo descended to give a round of kicks to the face of the eater, it hissed and found itself thrown back, but it began to give off an odd black smoke.

It twitched.

It dissolved.

Kanji landed on the cobble in a heap of clattering armor, sword bouncing twice away from him. But he quickly held up two fingers for victory. He was okay. He just needed a minute. The Boon was a burst of light and a shower of stars as it activated. Guess even in its death throes, a boss could give adventurers a little hell.]

Edited 2018-05-08 15:10 (UTC)

[When the Chocobo Eater finally went down, Naoto had this inexplicable urge to pose for victory... how strange. She did lower her gunblade at least and let out a breath.]

The chocobos are saved for another day.

[A big incident like this probably wouldn't immediately occur again, but a creature with a diet for the birds would inevitably return. Still, they could celebrate this success. Cristo fluttered over, his fur fluffed as he clapped.]

Marvelous job all of you!

[ She feels you, Kanji. She really really feels you. So much so that she pretty falls to her knees as it dissolves as well. Then flops on her back dramatically. ]

Well, that’s it. I’m done for today.

[ Except when she opens her eyes again, there is a yellow feathered face peering down at her. ]

Uh-

[He puffed out a breath and decided that was enough of a break. He pushed himself upright to scramble to his feet, and went to gather his sword. As it slipped into its sheath at his back, he saw to the others.]

You guys did awesome! I think we got a solid trio!

[But as he went to smooth back his hair, he noticed the bird had lingered. It was checking in on Futaba... what was it doing?]

Agreed. Let's return and report our success.

[Though, noticing that the chocobo had approached Futaba too, Naoto raised her eyebrow. She was no animal expert so she wasn't certain what it was doing either.]

[ The chocobo continues to peer at her in some concern. It's a sort of stalemate until she props herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him. And then the chocobo reaches down and pokes at her side - the area where earlier Blizzard spell had been most concentrated - with its beak. Futaba flinches. ]

Ow, hey! I thought that got healed!

[ Sitting up properly, she surreptitiously lifts the collar of her shirt slightly to peer down towards where he's poking and. Well. She glances back up again. ]

You know I heard somewhere that frostbite bruises when it thaws. Never actually seen it before, though...

[ Guess it didn't heal all the way? Or maybe there was some amount of lingering injury even after it got healed? Come to think of it she's probably gonna have to ask Ren and Makoto how they dealt with all this kind of stuff now. The injuries and whatnot. Ugh she does not like being targetable.

That being said, the chocobo does not seem satisfied now that she's aware of the lingering injury. Instead he's now inspecting every inch and - to nail home where this is going - starts preening her hair. ]

Wh- hey! What are you doing!?

[Yup. That did it. Kanji broke out into laughter.]

Y'got yourself a mama bird!

[Just so long as the chocobo doesn't start feeding her earthworms, everything seemed okay by him. But he wondered more about the strange birds- did they walk up and 'pick' people like that? Was that how Cavaliers worked? He'd considered it, even if he had no experience riding.]

Congrats, Futaba, you're a chickobo!

Yes. It does appear to have become rather fond of you, Futaba-san...

[Which was curious. Was it because of the chocobo's supportive nature? Either way, she wasn't making any move to stop the giant bird from pretty much grooming the (shorter) girl.]

... Chickobo.

[What? Geez, Kanji...]

I don't know why- I didn't really do anything sp- hey!

[ She's holding her hands out, gently trying to push his head away enough to get some room. She was hardly the most beat up, she'd only healed him once when he hadn't really needed it- she doesn't get it.

Once she's able to get the chocobo to give her a bit of breathing room, she slowly pushes herself back to her feet. And gives Kanji a sidelong glare. ]

Also call me that again and you'll get a Chickobo kick.

[ Is she serious? Is she not? It's hard to tell, and probable not even she knows. ]

Huh...?

[He just looked confused, frowning. He'd heard people refer to chocobo chicks as 'chickobos'. Did he get that wrong?]

I got enough knocks to the head today! I'm gonna pass.

[He lifted his head as he heard increasing cries of victory from down adjacent streets. Seemed like folks here were getting the upper hand.]

[Naoto wouldn't know. She hadn't been around people actively raising chocobos for too long. She wasn't really interested...]

Let's head back and report we've finished. We can also find out if anyone else needs help.

[So no more kicks around for now guys.]

All right all right, I’m coming.

[ Next to her, the chocobo settles into place, looking 100% intent on accompanying them. So this is a thing that’s happening now, Futaba is slowly resigning herself to. ]

Right behind ya!

[Sorry about bird dad, Futaba. But Kanji couldn't help being a little tickled with the idea of such bonding between human and animal. He liked critters, but couldn't really have them, himself. He hoped she'd be okay with the big bird.]

---

[It was a sound thumping. Lavode among others had suffered the Chocobo Eater problem, and despite how strange the circumstance was for happening all at once in multiple areas (hmm...), the day was won and everyone got weird cabbages (and some like Futaba, bird friends!) for their efforts. They could entice chocobos, he'd been told, so it was best to keep them cool and hold onto them.

With a sigh, Kanji settled in as the airship took off, ready to take them all back to the Curti Center. Ignoring the hustle and bustle as some of the fighters told grandiose stories of their victories, and others still grunted and groaned from their injuries tended to by greenhorn white mages, Kanji instead poked at his iMog. The armor disappeared in a flash, replaced by his normal clothing as Suzette settled in at his shoulder, fanning herself.

Kanji absently stroked one of her ears, and was rewarded with a small coo and a nuzzle of the palm.]

What a ride! If it's always like this, I ain't gonna lie, I could get used to it. I just gotta work on this whole tanking thing more.

You'll get there. We're all still learning and adapting to this fighting style.

[Naoto still had her magitek armor out and was seeing if she could pre-load her gun. Seemed like, without an engagement being in her immediate future, it wasn't possible. Frustrating, but it meant she would have to remember the loadout prior to her next battle.]

[Switching back to her regular outfit now that she had that solved, she put her iMog away, looking between Kanji and Futaba.]

[ She should probably go find Makoto soonish? Apparently she'd been in Lavode as well. For now though, Futaba is just going to chill because uh, she feels about ready to fall asleep for a week. Head rolling back against her seat, she raises a hand without moving her head in response to Naoto's comment. ]

And getting hit.

[ Since that honestly... that's her biggest problem right now. Has she mentioned how much she hates being targetable? She really hates being targetable. ]

[He blinked at her. Right, not everyone was used to combat situations.]

Ya kicked ass back there regardless, but... uh, sorry. I'll work harder on bein' a human wall.

[But he felt something in his soul, something familiar and something Not Good At All. Kanji squirmed in his seat and slouched further, avoiding looking at anybody. He did tip his head Futaba's way, to quickly utter:]

Oi. We're in deep shit. That's The Look.

Moderation both of you.

[Meanwhile, she was still staring, waiting, wondering who wanted to confess first. Since it was now after the battle, yes, she was coming back to this topic. If either of them forgot, Kanji should know better and Futaba was just going to learn...]

...

[ It takes a moment for Futaba to actually lift her head and see what Kanji is talking about, but when she does- ah. Yeah that is quite the intense look she’s getting. Shit. She’d forgotten that had even come up.

Still she does her best not to quail under that look, shoulders stiff and face unrepentant. She didn’t cave under Akechi’s prodding questions, she’s not gonna buckle here so easily. ]

[Kanji had the heart of a lion about a lot of things. He could face off against a biker gang alone, take his own Shadow and punch him in the face, and go up against things like angry goddesses.

But a girl his age he could lift with one arm? Fuck. His heart was against his ribs briefly, if anything from the shame of realizing that the gaze was scary while also being really, really attrac-]

Tch...

[He sat up taller and folded his arms, a frown firm on his face. He glared back at the detective, eyes steely. Suzette hovered off the boy's shoulder, shook her head, and held up her paws, fingers raised. Six. Five. Four. Three...

Kanji began visibly sweating. Two... one...]

Grrh- W-we didn't do anything, damn it! Cut it out with the laser eyes!

If neither of you did anything then what's the issue in telling me?

[Even if Futaba didn't speak, Kanji... well, for some reason, he was easy to crack. Way too easy sometimes...]

[ Futaba’s face is that of someone who is wholly unconvinced that Naoto won’t make a big deal about it, but when she puts it that way? Well, she’s not gonna be an asshole and leave Kanji to fend for himself. ]

We met each other on the airship right after we were first brought out of the Dream Width. We thought we’d been kidnapped. So when Kanji went to go find the pilot, I told him to find me a computer so I could help.

[ She finishes her explanation with a shrug that appears more nonchalant than it is. She refuses to be ashamed about this. ]

Everything was pretty much kept locked up on the bridge though.

[He slowly deflated as Futaba spoke up. He was always terrible with words, so he was relieved as she swung in with the explanation. He nodded quickly.]

R-right! Futaba's idea was pretty damn good. Everything's run on computers, so if my idea didn't work, hers totally would.

...'Course, I didn't find any, and then the videos started looping.

[His shoulders hitched.]

You'd've done somethin' similar if ya woke up in your undershorts on a weird ship, too!

But I am here and I didn't do the same thing either of you did.

[She shook her head.]

I too would've liked to know more than what the hologram was providing when we arrived; however, did either of you consider the consequences of messing with technology you don't fully understand? Accidentally tripping the system, possibly crashing the airship, or alerting the world's police to us being a potential danger? Trying to speak with the pilots would've been fine, but I doubt they would've answered if addressed because they're busy navigating.

Some things you can force, but other times, you need to bide your time.

[ Aaand yup, there it is. Also that's actually her pride stung a bit. ]

Give me some credit, it would've taken me about two seconds to look at the code and realize I wouldn't have been able to get through it fast enough to be of any use. I'm still working on the iMog Slate even now.

[ And she does have enough perspective to know when the sledgehammer approach is appropriate and when it isn't. ]

Again, we thought we were bein' kidnapped! We didn't see the damn hologram until later!

[His shoulders sank and he looked away.]

Y'weren't... you don't know what it's like, Naoto. You let yourself go through with the whole thing, but I was just minding my own business when that truck pulled up. I wasn't expecting to get shoved in, fall a hundred feet, and land somewhere that'd expose me to everything.

Biding my time there would'a killed me. You know that. How was I supposed to know how to act when I woke up surrounded by other scared n' confused people? So many of us, too... way too many. I read the news, all the creepy shit some people do when they make people into property.

We had to do something! Even if it meant crashin' the whole operation or alerting the police!

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