Fixer-Uppers, Thursday

[the_merriest]

Rikku didn't like the idea of leaving a tiny baby chocobo alone to fend for himself in the big, bad apartment. Especially not when she wasn't sure that Petey didn't think of him as a snack.

And so today there was a tiny, overexcited little chicobo, bouncing on the counter and blowing raspberries.

Rikku didn't actually think she'd get much work done, no. But luckily, Reno was adorable like this.

(Reno modded with permission. Open and OCD-free!)

Comments

[heromaniac]

Momoko really didn't mind the tinsel rain. It wasn't as awesome as the sugar snow, but at least it wasn't trying to strangle her like the garland from that one year.

"Hi Rikku!" She stomped her feet as she entered Fixer-Uppers, attempting to dislodge some of the tinsel, but didn't bother to mess with the glittery strands in her hair.

[the_merriest]

"Hey!" Rikku bounced, waving cheerfully to her friend. "Say hi, Reno! Can you say hi?"

The chocobo warbled happily in Momo's direction. Hello!

[heromaniac]

"OH! OH! OH!" Way to totally distract the Momoko from discussing the shiny rain, Rikku. "Reno?! He's a chocobo again! And so TINY this time!" She rushed closer, reaching out her fingers to him.

[the_merriest]

Reno kwehed at Momoko, reaching to nip at those fingers.

"Careful," Rikku said. "He'll bite."

Not hard. He just liked playing. Hi, Momo! Hi!

[heromaniac]

"He's so cute, though! It totally can't hurt when he's so cute!" She let him nip a bit as she took full advantage of his nearness to coo at him.

She looked back up at Rikku with a smile. "I bet he totally hates it when he's been like this, doesn't he? When did he transform?"

[the_merriest]

"A week ago," Rikku sighed. "You know, it's really frustrating to have your boyfriend be a chocobo for a whole week. Cute or no."

He was so going to owe her when he turned back.

[heromaniac]

"Oh, wow! I can totally imagine!" No she couldn't. She gave Reno a few rubs under his neck. "Wait, that was in the middle of the goblin maze kidnappings fight thing, right? He is totally going to be mad he missed it."

[the_merriest]

"He is," Rikku nodded. "I missed it, too. I didn't trust Mako and Petey not to chew on him while we were gone."

They so needed to go kill things, over break. She was overdue.

"Did you go?" she asked. "Brave heroics, saving the day, all that good stuff?"

[heromaniac]

Momoko made a face. "Not really? I tried! I went looking for clues and tried the maze. I didn't know for sure, but I thought maybe that people would be lost in it? So I tried to go in, but I kept getting lost. I don't do so well against magic yet."

[the_merriest]

"It's easy to get lost," Rikku said. "I mean, you should try finding places in the desert. Big, wide desert. One sand dune looks like the next."

She lifted her shoulders. "You just need practice," she said. "Shame there aren't fiends running around here for you to work your mojo on."

[heromaniac]

"But I even tried different tricks like marking where I'd been and stuff! It totally got messed up somehow or erased. If it was just me, I'd totally think I was crazy, but I was with someone and he saw it all, too!"

She pulled a string of tinsel from her hair to dangle at Reno-bo. "Fiends are your monsters, right? So they have magic?"

[the_merriest]

"So the place itself was screwing with you," Rikku said. "I guess labyrinths don't have to play nice. Someone else said the gravity was messed up for people, but only some people."

Reno leapt up, eager to eat the tinsel. Nom! He was gonna get it!

"Some of them do," she said. "Some of them bite you or hit, and others cast magic. Plenty do both."

Hey, there was an idea.

"So ... what are you doing over break, anyway?"

[heromaniac]

"The gravity was messed up?!" Momoko dangled the strand higher, not really wanting him to catch it... it was probably bad for him, right? "That would be totally weird! Especially if I tried to fly!"

"And I'm not doing much?" Christmas was a romantic holiday where she was from, you see. "I'm going to Dinah's world for a few days to see her play and hang out, but that's really all I have planned. Why? Did you need some help with the shop or something?"

[the_merriest]

There was the saddest of kwehs from the wee tiny Reno. Hey! Heyyyyy, he almost got it, and then she pulled it away. That was mean!

This would not deter him from trying again. Naturally.

"Oh, nothing like that," she said. "I was just thinking -- I don't know. Sometime when you don't have class, and can spare a few days ... would you want to get some practice in? I need to do a supply run soon, anyway."

[heromaniac]

Aw, that kweh was so CUTE! He was this close to being scooped up and squeezed.

"Eh? Really? Break's two weeks long! I can totally do both! I can!" Rikku's fiends were like Reno's, right? Totally just monsters that killed without thinking, so Momoko didn't have to worry about how much she hurt them? "When are you going?"

[the_merriest]

He had suffered that fate many, many, many times in the past week. He seemed to like it.

"I don't know yet," she answered. "I hadn't gotten that far. I just need to go so I can stock up on a few things I'm running low on. We can start somewhere easy until you get your bearings, figure out where the good hunting is at. If you'd be okay with that."

Some people thought they would be, and then weren't.

[heromaniac]

"I'm totally okay with it! I am! Just let me know when you're going to leave and I'll totally join you!" Momoko beamed at her, bouncing at the idea and not really getting Rikku's meaning. "I mean, I understand it's for work, so if I get in the way or utterly fail at killing something, I can always visit your family or go sightseeing or something, right?"