viva_la_materia | ℵ 30 ℵ

[Materia let out a snort of laughter at that name.]

We're gonna have to come up with a better name for you, girl. What do you think?

[The green chocobo chirruped and nipped gently at her bangs. Materia frowned and grabbed a cloth hanging over the wall of the stall - time to do something about those greens! - and, by the time she was done, Night was back with the saddle. The minute the big bird laid eyes on him approaching, though, she danced backward, lowering her head belligerently. Materia covered a grin, and went over to Night, taking the saddle out of his hands before he could protest.]

Here, lemme try.

[The saddle was light enough to handle without too much trouble, and the chocobo calmed down a little when she walked towards her. Sliding it onto her back, Materia pulled a face when she noticed the bird slyly inhaling.]

Hey, cut that out, buster. No tricks.

[She gently elbowed the bird, who reluctantly let out her breath, and began buckling straps together, taking a moment now and then to frown at a strap or a buckle until it dawned on her where it ought to go. Hey, this wasn't so hard!]

[Ohhh crap. Yeah, this was going to be a tough lesson. As the bird lowered her head, his yellow eyes narrowed and he was ready to wrestle her to the ground if necessary... but Materia strolled right up and relieved him of the saddle. He only blinked at her.]

...Okay, but there's a lot of different straps and buckles to--

[And he was dumbfounded when she not only easily continued to keep the green bird in check, but saddled up like she'd done it a hundred times. His hands lay on his hips as he tapped his foot once.]

Well, damn! You picked right up! You've done this before, huh?

[He relaxed and waved.]

Okay, I'll see you outside. I'm gonna get Feathers!

[He reached beneath his scarf and pulled out a thin whistle, immediately dashing outside while blowing it. Much like a dog whistle, it seemed to barely register, but nearly every chocobo canted their head quizzically, then seemed to ignore it. They weren't whistle trained... not like the ball of black fluff that soon greeted him outside with a happy chirrup, all fluffed feathers, green scarf, and quivering wings. Night was quick to mount up and scratch the back of the male bird's head as he waited.]

[You've done this before, huh? Materia's hands stilled on the buckles for a moment. Yeah, that...that made sense, actually. She did remember riding chocobos, so she must know how to saddle one, and how to mount up, right?]

'Kay, see ya!

[Pulling the last few straps snug - but not too tight! - she reached up and pulled the chocobo's head close, whispering to her.]

Be good for me, okay? 'Cause if I biff it the first time I try riding you, that veggie-head is never gonna forget it. [She grinned.] Let's show him how cool you are with a real rider, okay?

[Taking a deep breath for luck, she put one foot in the stirrups, reached up to grab the saddle horn - don't think don't think just do it - and swung into the saddle, settling herself in place. The chocobo took a step back, then another one, then steadied when she reached down and patted her neck. Hoo boy, it was high up here!]

Good girl. Yup, that's right, staaay calm. Okay, one step at a time...

[Was she talking to herself or the chocobo? Deciding she didn't care, Materia clicked her tongue at her mount and carefully trotted her out the door, waving to Night. Looking good so far...!]

So, where are we going?

[He tucked the whistle back in the scarf and beamed at the bird who looked back with his beak partially held open in some doofy beaky smile.]

Okay, Feathers, listen up: We're partners and we're going to have to rely on each other more than ever! I think Materia's really good with chocobos, and that green one's feisty. What do you think about challenging her to a race, boy?

[Feathers' eyes narrowed, crest feathers fluffing in excitement as his talons clawed at the ground. A low "kwehhhh" was his answer, but Night patted the side of the bird's neck.]

Not yet! I'll give you the signal.

[The bird relaxed and rocked back and forth, foot to foot when Materia appeared with the green female. There was a friendly squawk of greeting.]

Nowhere in particular! Let's walk her away from here and play it by ear.

[Feathers turned away and proceeded down the trail out and away. Captain Planet had the best environments... and it was great racing overall, so Night directed Feathers to a good trail to start.]

[Materia found her mount following Night's gamely enough. She didn't seem to object to Feathers himself, just his rider. Oddly enough, the less Materia worried about what she was doing, the more comfortably her body rolled with the chocobo's stride.]

Alright, girl, you're doing great...

[She scratched the chocobo's feathers - man, she really did need to come up with a better name for her than "the chocobo" - and looked up ahead. There was a trail ahead of them, stretching away across a huge field of grass dotted here and there with trees. She didn't go to Captain Planet often enough to know exactly where they were, but it was sure pretty...]

[Grateful for the time off of his feet, Night swung his legs a little and stretched his arms over his head. At the apex, he looked back at his fellow rider and back ahead with a smile. His arms dropped to his sides and his hands slipped to the back of Feathers' neck. He tapped thrice, and Feathers' flanks tensed.]

You're really good at this, Materia! ...Let's not bore the birds anymore, huh!?

[He flashed a particularly wicked grin her way, his heels knocking against the bird's ribs. Feathers gave an excited cry, it was time to RUN RUN RUN~! And the black bird quickly picked up to a run.]

[Ooooh...! Materia gaped for a second as Night and Feathers took off running, then grabbed her bird's feathers and held on tight.]

No fair! You wanna race, huh? C'mon, girl, let's show those jerks h--whoa!

[The female chocobo had clicked her beak, making a sound almost like a tsk of annoyance - then lowered her head, stretched out her neck and took off running at full tilt. Materia yelped, clinging to her neck, but after a few strides her body started to adjust and she sat up a little, grinning as the wind of their passage chilled her face.

Now this was chocobo riding! She knew somehow that this was what she'd missed the most, and she let out a whoop of glee. Even the cloudy weather couldn't ruin the moment for her!]

Hey, slowpokes, you might wanna run a little faster!

[He laughed back at her before turning and enjoying that nice little head start. ...Then he heard footsteps and looked back over his shoulder.

Right. He gave Materia a very proud racing chocobo.

He paled, breathlessly shouting to Feathers.]

She's coming up on us and fast, Feathers! Step on it!

[What's that? Pick up the pace!? Feathers trilled in glee and lowered his head as Night leaned forward, one hand grasping the saddle horn as the black bird sped up, wings lowering. It wanted the air to move up and over them, cutting through any resistance as a wind began to blow. Night smelled impending rain, but for now his heart was racing, and he was laughing over the sheer thrill of the now.]

We're not getting beaten by girls!!

Like we'd lose to a couple of boys!

[Materia shouted it into the wind before ducking low against her chocobo's neck - she could feel the drag her body caused when she sat up, and she wasn't gonna be any more of a burden than she had to be. His chocobo might be fast...

...but Materia weighed a lot less than Night, and she was riding a bird with her dander up and a chip on her feathery wing.]

Show me what you've got, girl! How fast can you really go, huh?

[She nudged the chocobo with her heels - and got her answer a second later: fast. Very, very fast.]

[He clenched his jaw and focused. Don't try to fly... don't try to fly... A fallen tree from a previous storm was coming up and quickly, and with one wingbeat, Feathers was airborne, moving in an arc over the obstacle.]

No flying, that's cheating! Stay grounded!

[Feathers may have been a little disappointed when he immediately hit the ground running afterward, but he wasn't about to ruin a good thing by cheating! Night considered his options... pour on the last of Feathers' reserves on speed and risk tiring him out so early - they had never really set a goal, have they? - or just running until the cows come home when a roar of thunder overhead sent a chill through the demon's blood. His ears popped, and he smelled a bit of low tide from the lake some miles away. With a sharp intake of breath, he turned to the side where Materia and her steed were fast approaching...

...And a torrent of rain drowned out the shout of her name in warning that, well, a storm was coming.]

[Oh, a log, huh? Materia heard the shout about cheating and nodded - at least he was being fair.]

Think you can jump it? Or should we go around?

[The chocobo was still racing flat out for the log, with a determined set to her beak, so Materia decided to trust her. As they came up on the log, the bird dug in her claws and jumped...!

...and landed safely on the other side. Materia threw up a fist, letting out a whoop of delight - ]

YEEHAW! That's what I -

[And then the heavens opened, and a crash of rain almost literally drowned out the rest of what she was saying. Materia shrieked and threw her arms over her head to try and stave off the wet, as her chocobo turned in mid-stride and made a beeline for the nearest tree.]

Aw, maaan!

[Feathers skidded to a stop, stepping around trying to blink the water out of his eyes. Night quickly hopped off and took Feathers' reins as he saw the green chocobo make a beeline for the tree. Smart girl.]

Easy, easy... come on, it's okay, just a little water...!

[He led the black bird in the same direction, moving at a brisk pace. The branches of this tree were thick, staving off much of the rain. A split near the base of the trunk would give them a bit of shelter for the time being. Once somewhere dry, Feathers quickly shook off, fluffing his feathers to stay warm. Night shook his head a bit to get the rain out of his hair, though it still clung to the sides of his face.]

...Sheesh, I should have known this was going to hit, Edensphere was due for a rainstorm! It'll pass, though.

[He looked out... it was almost like someone held a giant watering can - those silly green ones with the holes at the end - and felt like completely soaking the island as quickly as possible.]

Man, I was winning, too!

[Sliding off her chocobo's back, Materia ran both hands through her wet hair, which got it out of her face but also made it stick up like Feather's tail, and leaned against the tree trunk with a sigh.]

Yeah, for about another ten seconds. We were so gonna catch you guys.

[She gave their birds an uneasy look.]

Are they gonna be okay? They - ack! Hey!

[Any worries about how dry her chocobo was capable of staying were cut off when the green bird shook herself in turn, spraying her temporary rider with water.]

[From the looks of it, yeah, they were pretty close to getting neck-in-neck, but he wasn't going to admit that.]

Keep dreaming!

[He looked back at the birds, shielding his face with an arm as the green shook off.]

Hahaha! Oh, if we keep out of the rain they should be okay, but they'll need some place warm and dry when this is over so we don't have two sick birds on our hands!

[And he joined her at the tree, leaning and rubbing his upper arms.]

Same goes for you! You're soaked.

[Materia rolled her eyes, then slid down the trunk to sit on the relatively dry ground, wrapping her arms around her knees.]

I'm fine. It's just a little rain.

[As if the clouds were listening, the rain started to come down even harder, making a wild ruckus as it hammered the leaves overhead. The chocobos roused their feathers and huddled closer to the trunk, and Materia sighed and rested her chin on her knees.]

Okay, a lot of rain. Still. You're soaked, too.

Stop it, before we get a monsoon or something!

[He laughed a little, but he found the sound of rain relaxing. Night was a little cold, and hailing from a desert planet didn't help, but he thought of things other than how chilly he was. He glanced over to Feathers, who was carefully sidling up to the green female and bobbing his head in greeting before offering a bit of a preen by clicking his beak quietly a few feet from one side of her head. Night folded his arms tighter.

Bird was a flirt. He remained a little quiet, just watching the rain...]

[Materia wrinkled her nose at him.]

Not my fault. I do lightning, not rain, remember?

[Resting her chin back on her arms, she stared out at the meadow. The rain was falling so hard that she couldn't see very far before it all dissolved into mist, but she could see the grass bending and swaying in patterns as the rain swept across it, which was cool.

She covered a smile as her chocobo coolly turned her head away from Feathers' overture, nibbling at some clover in the long, wet grass and ignoring him. Cold...

A shiver rippled down her back, and she frowned and hugged her knees tighter. She was fine, really. If she'd worn more clothes, they'd just be wet anyway, right?]

Hmm.

[Feathers only canted his head and decided instead to settle in the grass, tucking his feet under him. He began to preen his chest feathers to feel better. Night, however, shook his head a bit.

What Materia wore was practical for combat and movement, yeah, but what about weather like this? Sheesh. He unwound his scarf then - its wooly material managed to bead off the rain so the outside of it was only a bit damp - and he sunk into a seat next to her. Without a word he draped the thing at the back of her neck and loosely wound it twice before outright pulling her closer to him.

...Y'know, because the least he could do was keep her warm until this whole thing passed.]

Hey!

[Materia let out a yelp as Night started stubbornly draping his scarf around her, her metaphorical hackles rising. She wasn't a baby, she didn't need to be babysat, and he...he...

His arm went around her, and Materia started to grab his wrist to push him away, then hesitated. His fingers were cold. Maybe...maybe she wasn't the only one who could use a little warmth. Just for now.]

You can't give me the whole scarf, you dummy. You'll freeze.

[Unlooping one loop, she sat up a little in the circle of his arm to carefully drape the extra length back around his neck, then - reluctantly - settled back down. After a moment of feeling very grumpy about how much warmer she was wherever they were touching, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and went back to watching the rain, ignoring the little tingles under her skin.]

[She moved before he could protest otherwise, and he was back in the relative comfort of his big, stupid orange scarf. While she settled down and was content to watch the rain for any sign of stopping, he held tight and felt his own shivers begin to subside, eyes turned nowhere in particular, rather unfocused. The nagging thoughts, usually blocked by stubbornness and his work, had no choice but to bubble up, and he furrowed an eyebrow as he found himself resting a cheek atop her damp hair.

He liked this. He really liked this, and lately, he'd found himself thinking a little more about it than he should.

But should he tell her? Something told him that was a terrible idea, she'd laugh, or she'd brush it off and walk away. He couldn't tell which reaction would be worse... but...]

[Listening to the steady shushing of the rain and the sound of her chocobo - well, sort of hers - munching something crisp nearby, Materia felt his cheek settle on her hair, and bit her lip.

Why did he have to be so warm, and smell so good, and be so nice to her? How was she supposed to keep calling him names and sparring with him in the Bazaar if he insisted on doing stuff like making her sandwiches and giving her hugs and lending her clothes and pulling strings - she knew he must have pulled at least one - to get her a chocobo at last?

Worst rival ever. Materia shut her eyes, trying to think past the butterflies in her stomach and work this out...]

Night?

[Her voice was tentative, and unusually small for her.]

[His name brought him out of his reverie, something he would never get used to. Comfortably warm and no part of him wanting to move just yet, he settled for lifting his head a little and canting it a bit to look at her.]

...What's wrong, Materia?

[He could hear, smell, or see nothing wrong... what could...?]

[She lifted her head when he did, even though the scarf thing meant she couldn't lean very far away. There were worse places to be than nose-to-nose with Night, as it turned out, even if it was giving her deja vu.]

Nothing's wrong, I just...

[The smile that spread across her face surprised even her a little.]

I'm really glad you're still here.

[He, too, felt deja vu... and as he closed his eyes, he touched his forehead to hers and smiled that same old fangy smile. He wouldn't mind if the rain kept on just a little while longer.]

Kept my promise so far.

[Her face fell a tiny bit at that. Promises were great and all, but Materia knew her brother would never have left her if he'd had the choice. Which meant nothing was for sure, here...

Which meant that maybe...maybe this wasn't the place for dithering. Here, under the falling rain, with the scent of wet earth and clipped grass making everything green and vivid, with goosebumps rising on her arms and Night's hair tickling her cheek.]

I know. I...

[His mouth was so close. All she'd have to do was tilt her head a little, lift her chin just a fraction...

And before she knew it, she had.]

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