rekindleme | Of Birds and Barns

Entry tags:

[ou] m'gann m'orzz

Of Birds and Barns

Who:Anyone, Everyone
Where: Fourth District, unoccupied lot
When: 20th-22th January
Summary: Trying to find room for two Chocobos was a puzzle enough; now, with four more on the way, it's in everyone's best interests to get a place together to house them all.
Warnings: Not recommended for those with bird allergies.

Ramza was forced to draw upon a few favors- and no small portion of his stipend- in doing so, but- one way or another- he couldn't simply leave the birds without a roof over their head.

Eventually, and after a bit of generosity from Saeng Seong's administration, he was able to have set aside a vacant, verdant lot in the fourth district for use as a pasture... or, at least, he was assured of its green; in January, it was harder to discern beneath all the gathered snow. The Chocobos seemed comfortable there, at least, the season's weather notwithstanding. It wasn't huge, but... then again, there wasn't a huge herd that called for acres and acres.

The more pressing matter, however, was a lack of housing for the birds. And while there were materials plenty enough for such a task- from tools to planks and old corrugated metal, some purchased, some donated, others 'reclaimed' from the past month's more violent happenings, and some of it even sitting in sorted stacks on the sidelines- Ramza had to acknowledge that, for all the Chocobo stables he'd passed through in his homeland, the process of actually building them was well outside of his skills and knowledge.

Thankfully, a few kind souls throughout the city were willing to offer their help in any number of ways... or at least to come and see the big, strange riding-birds for themselves.

((OOC: Apologies for the delay! Feel free to start your own threads, and don't think you need to focus entirely construction either; get involved, mingle, and play out however you wish... and feel free to use Ramza's two chocobos to lend yourseves a hand. Thanks again, everyone!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Don't mind him, he was just gonna help himself to some coffee after barely being able to feel his face while hammering away on nails and holding wooden bars in place. It was nice to just sit down and take a rest, running his upper arm over his forehead before taking that first drink.

"Man... ya look at a barn and it looks so simple, but puttin' one together...!"

"To think that my brothers might have called it a drudge's task..." Ramza might have had only the slightest fatigue to his muscles, but his eyes and his thinking had both grown weary after hours upon hours of figuring out the particulars of the matter. Certainly more complex than nailing together a square frame! "'tis as rigurous in thought as in labors."

Of course, Boco hadn't forgotten his little gift and proudly wore his brightly-colored patchwork cape as he stepped over to offer thanks of his own to Kanji with a nuzzle against his shoulder...

"Bullshit, right? When I worked at Junes to help a friend, people were goin' on about how easy my job was. They don't think about all the ass-busting ya do in stuff like this." Even with it as cold as it was, he was still sweating, but it was for a good cause.

The yellow bird came around for a nuzzle and Kanji couldn't help the lopsided grin, reaching up to scratch under the chin.

"Anyways... the weather's gonna stay good for a while, so we got time to make this thing as big as ya need it, man."

Boco leaned into Kanji's attention and affection with a flattening of his headcrest and a closing of his eyes... until Kanji finally pulled his hand away and he snapped back to attentiveness. Begrudgingly. whydja stop, Kanji?

"We may need all that time to enlarge it... especially if these two create another clutch in the future." Ramza gave a look over to Boco- whose head pricked up at being, apparently, talked about- but he couldn't even begin to get upset by him.

"And I know at least one other guests brought a Chocobo with her, as well."

"Yeah, I heard about that. They're gonna come in handy though, yeah? Cars ain't much here, but the paths are perfect for bikes and the chocobos are compact enough to work, too." He looked up. Sup, Boco?

He pushed to his feet and decided to ruffle neck feathers instead. Aw, how could he say no to that face, huh?

"...So where'd the others go, anyway?" That's right- he offered a kinda-sorta adoption gig before all this. The egg sat in the apartment now, warm and out of harm's way, but... what of the other three?

"And affectionate, no less; I know not if they would thirst for touch same as you or I, but I cannot imagine they would have much issue in getting it." Especially if Kanji's reaction was any indication.

"The eggs?" Ramza replied as Boco leaned right back into Kanji's affections with a placid sway. "That 'hatching specialist' Gold's lot was drawn... as was a curious girl named Piper. Cupid, as well-- one can only imagine the luxury of that chick's rearing..."

He nodded, distracted. The eggs had homes, then, which put a little load off his mind. But with the swaying Boco at hand, his focus was on not only scratching the bird's itch, but his own- sometimes you just wanted to pet a soft and fluffy thing. Didn't every man?

"There's no way in hell anybody'd let these guys get cold n' sick with that weird Saeng Seong stuff. All the people that're here? They wanna help 'em! What's sparing an extra petting on top of everything, y'know?"

Ramza let out a quiet laugh. "Better people and better life than they would have found in Ivalice, for certain. And here they would find no use in battle, as well."

Though he had his suspicions about the latter, from what he'd gathered about Pokémon...

"To say naught of your own efforts. You've my gratitude as well, Kanji."

He nodded, glancing away briefly. Gratitude, huh...? "I'm just bangin' nails into boards, man."

"Battle, though? That weird snowman invasion shows that we gotta put up our dukes sometimes, don't it? If they're good to fight, then ya shouldn't let 'em get all rusty."

"And I suppose a blacksmith just swings a hammer against an anvil!"

But Kanji's second thought leaves Ramza at a scowl.

"Mayhap it does. But I still would not have wished it upon this city any more than I would wish a life of battle upon any man or beast."

"Yeah," he conceded.

"This place is pretty chill. The snowmen showin' up was way too weird, but I gotta wonder if somethin' else is comin'. Can't imagine that'll be it, especially after everybody's started askin' questions about this priestess or whatever."

"Ah... yes."

In his bustling to get the barn together, he'd almost forgotten about the broadcast; if nothing else, it was a relief to know he was not alone in his concerns.

"...What do you make of it, Kanji? The interruption, I mean."

Whoa, someone was asking his input?? That's a first. But even though he was flattered, he still had to rub the back of his neck and shrug. "Search me, man."

"I think there's a lot that native group ain't tellin' us. Nobody'd break through a video like that unless they had no other way, right? Like there was a message they hadta get out but knew no other way how. But the person that busted in ain't innocent, neither. They wanted to make that shit public, but why, y'know?"

"A challenge to her station, perhaps," he spoke, as his sight trailed away alongside his thoughts. Thankfully, there were no souls but a few birds within earshot to them. "It would not be the first I had seen. In this world, mayhap, but..."

He glanced down to his gloved hands... he swore he could still feel the scratch of timbers from the snowmen's strikes.

"...If those snow-monster attacks were their doing, I cannot say they have my sympathies."

"Back home, I got to learnin' that the most unexpected people can get up to no good. Taught me a good lesson. I got my eye out on 'em."

So they weren't like Adachi, maybe, but it was worth remaining vigilant. With a nod he stood, setting down the thermos.

"I figure they need a solid talking to and sooner instead'a later. But right now some birds need a place to sleep. Back to it."

"Such things I'd learned all too well in my own affairs," Ramza muttered. Perhaps some things never changed, even across worlds.

"But we will see soon enough. If naught else, we know our allies are many among the guests."

Ramza sighed as he picked up his clipboard and thumbed through his pages of notes. "Right you are... let's see if we cannot finish the roof frame by nightfall."

(no subject)

topgun_textiles - 2014-02-07 02:40 (UTC) - Expand

"Yeah, I guess so," M'gann was really just overhearing the statement while drifting over to see if any of those drinks had cooled a little. It's reflexive that she answers it, all before looking at who spoke. "But it's so different from what I usually get to do, and-"

And-

...Oh. Hello, person she sang at in the past! M'gann tries not to freeze up, and also reminds herself that she's in her super hero ID at the moment, instead of a civilian one as she scrambles for more words.

"A-and it's...Been fun so far? Right?" Okay, friendly social question asked; good first step! Now she just has to work on making eye contact without staring or looking like she's analyzing him too closely.

He hummed and looked up, and something in his stomach clenched when he saw the girl. He couldn't peg down why, but he wasn't looking at her in the next moment.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I mean, it's helpin' the chocobos, right? Ain't the first woodwork job I've done, so..." Plus, he's seen her do some intense magicy (psychic?) stuff here and there. With Takeji Zaiten holding up boards for others to hammer in or sand down, having some pretty neat powers really helped ease and actually pick up the pace of protecting the large birds from the cold.

"You takin' a break?" Well, it seems he doesn't notice the connection, and is receptive to friendly social questions! You're in the clear, M'gann.

She feels relief sweep over her at that...Up until M'gann realizes that there isn't any eye contact being made, despite her best efforts to look friendly and-totally-not-prying-really. That's more than a little worrying, though she tries to keep her voice steady and positive sounding. She can do this; she can make up for that first encounter. (And possibly add another friend!)

"And I've repaired fences before, myself." M'gann gives a nod as she glances back to where the chocobos are; maybe they can handle the cold for a while, but she'd like to see them get a nice building of their own. "Yeah; just a quick break before getting back to work. Besides, I can't wait to start painting!"

Because they're building a barn, and barns should be red. That's just a rule.

That practically perked his ears, but as he unscrewed a thermos and drank from it, he glanced her way and nodded once he'd warmed up his core a little.

"Ain't just you, man; the wood's a real boring color, and barns are usually bright red n' catchy, yeah? I was thinkin' of puttin' a design on the top front, too, like a chocobo or somethin'! Farmers usually put on a sheep or horse design for their ranches, right?" Ah, he never went to a farm so he didn't know. TV shows didn't count, either.

~~What are you talking about Kanji, TV is a perfect way to understand the world.~~

"Yes!" M'gann nods at that, plopping fully onto the ground as she gives an eager grin. "At least I'm pretty sure they do, and every barn I've seen before has been red." Including ones in Qurac, but she isn't sure about bringing that up OR thinking back on that location.

"But it's...It's supposed to be a good color, and I've always liked how it looks, and I could even go buy some paint if we need to, if that means the barn gets painted." Cue excited rambling, but she at least warms to the subject, quickly enough.

~~TVs can also be killer.~~

That brought Kanji pause, enough to scratch the back of his head. "...Red, though."

Screwing the lid back on, he idly swirled the contents as he thought aloud. "Why's it always red? Not to shit on the color, but all the barns're red, every single one I've seen. There some kinda rule to it, or is it just somethin' everybody does 'cause everybody else is doin' it...?"

"Maybe...Because it looks really nice?" That's the best M'gann can come up with. "It looks really nice against green grass and blue sky, maybe with a little bit of white trim on it?"

From that far off look in her eye, it's clear she's visualizing a nice summer barn...And not unlike every image she's seen on television. "That sounds like a pretty good reason, I think."

He blinked, processing that before nodding thoughtfully. "Color contrasts... I feel that."

He supposed something that can stand out against blue and green made sense, and what else but red and white? It was a comfortable, cozy color scheme all told.

"So let's make this thing red as hell!"

"OKAY!"

...Yep. She can get behind that enthusiasm alright, complete with an excited fist pump that carries her halfway into the air. Granted, she settles back down quick enough, and starts scanning the area for some paint cans and brushes. They can't be too far off, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of Birds and Barns

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

Thread hopping!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject