rekindleme | 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

Then perhaps he'd be even more astonished by the beak nudging him further into the lot by the big, red, feathery beast of burden who crept right up behind him. Thankfully Ramza's able to jog over and scold her as he takes a hold of her bridle. "Come now, if you must ask, ask nicely!"

Ramza swiftly turned back to face their 'guest'. Ah-- this was the one who held that party a while ago. "You'll pardon her... she's all the more excited for the company."

"A-ah?" He turned his head to see a large red bird nudging him closer to the construction and for the moment was unsure of what to do. Was he being attacked, was he to expect a kick, or--

Ask? Ask nicely?

"...Company?" He looked perplexed, then looked astonished.

"Is she asking for assistance?" How smart were these ostrich-chickens?

"...In a manner of speaking," he replied. "We've found no lack of volunteers for the barn-building, but Persephone is never one to turn down further attention."

A little mock-huffy snort and scoff of her head Ramza's way drew her pestering away from Rei... but a glance aside showed she had hardly lost interest.

"She means well, I assure you."

"But I'm no carpenter! I-" He cried to the red bird helplessly. But with a pause and a glance up at the progress done to the barn, he couldn't help an eyebrow twitch. Something was...

"...Where are the blueprints? Can I see them, please?"

"Pay no mind to her insistence. I know for true the strain of--"

...The blueprints? Well, now, there was aid Ramza couldn't turn away. He beckoned Rei over to his workbench, where Ramza had been working- with mixed success, and definitely unfinished- to scale down and modify some of the designs he'd been given.

"You've an eye for these things?"

He followed to take a look, and scrutinized the pages in silence for a time. So he'd been given designs and was for the most part left to his own devices. Really, scaling things up was simple math, and then it was another thing entirely to gather the right materials and pin them down according to the overhead view.

"I'm not an architect, but I can bring something like this to proper scale," he noted, already grabbing the pencil and frowning slightly at the math in this corner here... and that one.

"There's no telling how the weather will be later in the Winter, or if Saeng Seong has summer storms! The utmost structural integrity will ensure the safety of the hor-- ...birds..."

Ramza didn't have much experience, talent, or learning in these sorts of things, having found most of his training and education in... field work. And he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his work corrected- finally. Perhaps now he could set those pieces in place and have them fit properly.

"My thanks, Rei. I dare say you had the look of a scholar about you; I am relieved to see you're not above giving me your aid."

Persephone nods studiously from behind Ramza. This human is a generous one.

"You think it would hold?"

A minute to think as he makes a few adjustments, and he cants his head slightly.

"With these dimensions, it's impossible for the structure to fail... barns are simple, inelegant, but effective. The primary issue with a barn is not only to keep the livestock warm, but to also risk fire hazards in the building with all the wood and straw within. Having the fire department inspect the completed structure will lead to any issues being addressed and suggestions to fix them. But much of the preventative measures are common sense, of course."

A bit long-winded, but Ramza was able to follow Rei enough to get his meaning. He peered over the blueprints... good to know the ones he was given were adequate, and moreso to know that- with a change or two from a trained eye- it would stand.

"Ah, you're right. I should ask them to examine it... though unless someone came to harm them I doubt the birds would have any cause to start flinging fireballs."

"...fireballs?"

Nobody told him the birds were magical, Ramza. Why keep creatures that were able to perform such feats, especially within the vicinity of a very non-fire-proofed structure built to stay warm and dry??

"Fireballs."

He spoke as though it were the most sensible and ordinary thing to mention... but soon remembered not everyone knew so much of Chocobos. Ramza quickly corrected himself..

"Fear not; they only resort to such means in desperation."

...For what it was worth.

He'd seen way too many randomly-cantankerous beasts to really believe that entirely. The face he made was one of worry.

"Desperation, I'd hope, that will never occur. Building a structure like this is still hard work." He erased one last detail, and rewrote a quick equation before jotting down the completed measurement.

"...Regardless, this is complete. This will hold and be large enough to house a great number of these..." He let it hang. What were these called? They looked nothing like ostriches.

"Chocobos," he replied after a moment's pause. "They're a beast of my world."

But he almost jumped as a certain read-feathered specimen of the sort gave him an irritated squawk from his side, having shown herself nearly out of nowhere. He cleared his throat.

"Beg pardon... 'beast' is hardly a fitting term." Persephone seemed placated enough to strut back to her own affairs, giving a poorly-concealed nuzzle of thanks to Rei as she passed. "Nonetheless, you have our gratitude."

Though he started with the great bird's nuzzle, he resigned to a quiet chuckle as Persephone departed.

"Think nothing of it. The pleasure is all mine to flex a bit of my mathematical expertise!" With a nudge of his glasses, he looked rather proud of himself.

"I take it you need extra hands regardless? To which team should I proceed?"

"You've helped plenty, but if you're offering..."

Ramza glanced over his shoulder to the work tables and the volunteers... but soon returned his glance to Rei.

"You're the running sort, are you not? I may need your skills one more in an errand. We've run low on nails."

He held up a hand. "...Say no more."

Of course, by the measurements he'd calculated, he knew which nail sizes were required. But how many was the trick, and in most projects running out to get more nails was one of the most common errands.

"I'll be back within the hour."

Of Birds and Barns

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