Such a Bedraggled Kitty... (Open, Random Social)

Looking at the necklace he smiled at Mairi. It was in face a very pretty necklace, it suited her very nicely. "Yeah, I like it too.. A pretty necklace for a pretty little lady, don't you think?" He grinned at her and picked up the necklace and took it to the cashier. It cost about what he expected.. which wasn't what he was hoping for at all. But price wasn't a problem for him, and besides, he saw how happy it made her. After making the transaction he returned to Mairi and knelt down behind her. Brushing the hair away from her neck, he raised his arms over her and hung the necklace around her neck, tying the ribbon gently but securely in place. "There you go." he said to her and twisted his body around to in front of her, admiring how it looked on her. "Wow.. now don't you look nice!" He said playfully and smiled. Lar couldn't remember the last time he had fun like he was now. It was almost like he was living his missed childhood out through Mairi. He felt that he had grown very close to her over such a short time. It was an odd sensation, but one he welcomed with an open heart.

Mairi loved the choker necklace. She really, REALLY loved it. And she showed how much she loved it by squeeing loudly and hugging Lar, just like an excited little sister.

"Thank you!!"

Then she grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards some of the other stalls. "Come on, let's get you some new clothes, okay? I think it would be very fun to see you in something new, don't you? I certainly enjoy getting new stuff, so I think you would too."

In honesty, she knew about the Shin-Ra SOLDIER uniform, though she really didn't want to try to explain how she knew, so she tended to feign ignorance as it made everything easier for everyone. She figured that Lar would feel more comfortable in something that looked more like him and less like he was a part in a machine that had almost destroyed a world.

Besides, he was her older brother and she wanted to have fun with him.

"Wha--Woah!" Lar let out as Mairi pulled him along by his hand. New clothes? what was wrong with his current outfit. Looking down at his usual appearance, he thought "Whats wrong with this?" He thought about it and his dreams and how proud he had been a part to wear this Shinra issued uniform. He had worn it so long and customized it he really didn't think that it was so standard, his trick had finally worn off in his own mind, and the cause? This little girl that he felt that he would do anything for. No harm would come to her, but maybe this uniform WOULD in fact bring that trouble. After all.. more and more people were now learning about Shinra's SOLDIER.. and they weren't positive reviews. Lar realized that if he were ever to follow through with his dream, he couldn't wear the exact same thing he had when working with Shinra. He looked at Mairi and smiled and stopped her and knelt down to her level. "Ok, lets get me some new clothes.. but if you make me look silly.. I will get you back!" He said smiling to her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, standing back up. They continued into the clothing shop but was at a complete loss. So many colors, styles, sizes.. where would he even begin? "Uhh.. Mairi... little help?" he said dumbfounded.

Mairi had to giggle at his confusion. Just like a boy to not know how to clothes shop. She took his hand and pulled him into the storefront. "Well, there's a changing room in the back for trying on stuff, and it's easy once you get an idea of what sizes you wear." She couldn't believe that he didn't know what size clothes he wore...

But given the fact that he was wearing a uniform... he probably had been given it by a Dispensary and not even told the sizes... or what they meant...

She sighed and started digging through the stacks of clothes, looking for items that she thought would fit him. She started handing items to him as she found them, pants, shirts, vests, that sort of thing. "You have any particular style you wanna go for? Swashbuckler? Debonair? Or is that just not your thing?" She giggled at the mental image of him done up like a Musketeer. That was just too funny.

After several failed attempts at finding Lar anything that would either look good on him. Finally after several hours and several what could be almost considered sibling arguments. They found something Lar finally liked. Using the changing room, he finally removed the SOLDIER uniform, taking with him only the shoulder armor that he wore, reattaching the pieces to his new outfit. Lar felt much more comfortable, and admired himself in the mirror. He turned to Mairi, "So, how do I look?" he asked her, hoping she approved of the new look. He continued to adjust the clothing and bend in it trying to increase it's flexibility. He liked how he looked but was worried about his movement when he would exa jump. "Hmm.. shouldn't be any problem.. I really like this.. Thanks Mairi." He looked over at her and gave her a smile. This trip was getting better and better all the time for Lar. "So, I'm ready for the cave.. How about you?" Lar asked her as he walked over to pay for the outfit. Lar's appearance seemed to have changed him. It was almost like he stood taller, more proud, his blue eyes' glow seemed so bright and vivid, and his skin looked like it had more color and life to it. He looked healthy.. even though the poisonous mako cells flowed through his body.

Mairi clapped her hands happily, glad that Lar had found an outfit that he liked. And it looked good on him, too. Much better for him than that somber SOLDIER outfit that he'd been wearing. He looked like he was finally in charge of his own destiny.

And that pleased Mairi to no end. No one should simply be a cog in a machine, a thing.

And the fact that Lar was standing on his own pleased her to no end. When he'd paid for the outfit, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back out to the street, taking a deep breath and grinning. "Yeah, let's go check out the cave!!"

It wasn't that far a ways from the village gate, just following the sheer cliff face rising up on the left towards an opening at the base. Mairi slowed as they got closer, pulling her wok out from the belt pouch.

"I dunno what's in here... so prob'ly oughta be careful."

Lar nodded as they approached the cave, "Caves..", Lar thought, "I can't jump at all in caves, I better be careful just in case.". With one hand he guided Mairi's body slightly behind himself, for if anything did attack suddenly from without the cave, it would hit him, and not her. Soon they had approached the opening. The smell of stale air filled Lar's nostrils as he poked his head close to the opening. "It's pitch black in here.. I cant tell if it goes back or drops off right away." Lar said slightly concerned. Lar figured the only way that he would find out though was to take a step inside. He walked in as far as the opening was allowing him to see, and soon he came to the first step of darkness. He looked back at Mairi, and took a few steps in. Solid ground so far, but he could feel the slope of the elevation changing. the cave was starting to drop down, but how far and how fast. Lar was so preoccupied with where his feet were, that he didn't notice where his free hand was. He thought he was holding a vine, but whatever it was, struck the back of his hand swiftly. Lar didn't let out a noise, but it sure did hurt. He could feel the warmth of his blood running down his finger tips. Kneeling down before Mairi could notice, he reached into his bag and grabbed a loose scarf, wrapping it around his hand tightly, and easy task in the dark after all that SOLDIER training, but he knew better to pay attention.. "Ugh.. Lar you idiot!", he screamed at himself in his head.

The one thing Lar didn't count on was the fact that his little sister was a Mithra. She could smell the blood even though he didn't say anything and she eeped in concern, rushing to his side to put a hand on his arm. "Lar? Lar are you okay? I can smell the blood. If you're hurt I can make it better."

She didn't like all this darkness and she knew that they needed some sort of light before they could go exploring any further. Additionally, she was worried that maybe he'd gotten snakebit and they had some nasty venoms. She didn't want him to get sick because she'd been bored and wanting to do some exploring.

"Lar, lemme see where you're hurt and I can fix it, I promise. Then we can go back to town and get some torches or a lamp or something that can give us light while we explore. I'm sorry I didn't think about it." There was a wobbly, worried sound to her voice. She was genuinely scared for him.

Thinking quickly, and now having no reason to hide his injury since he was unaware these cat girls could smell so well, he grabbed his phone and flipped it open. There was obviously no service on this world, but the battery still had a charge and the light from the screen helped illuminate his hand. The cloth he wrapped it in was already soaking wet with blood. Sharp pains filled his hand and forearm. He grit his teeth behind his lips, and tried to hide the pain, but Mairi was obviously having no issues seeing right through him. "It's not that bad kiddo... Just more surprised me than anything, but yeah we need to get some light in here.. This is a deep cave, and I bet it'll be alot of fun!", Lar smiled and gave her a reassuring hug, being careful not to get his hand near her clothes. Lar had been injured worse than this in the past, but never had anyone ever seem so genuine with their concern for him. He was still used to being just another body on the battlefield, like so many other young SOLDIER men. His pain, while great, was tolerable when he thought about how good it felt to have someone worry about him. He took her hand with his good hand and they exited to the front of the cave, where he saw that the amount of blood was more than he thought it would be. He knelt down beside her and unwrapped his hand. On the backside were two incredibly deep bite marks, most likely from a type of snake, that were still bleeding profusely. Lar thought the sight of the injury would terrify little Mairi, so he looked up at her and smiled. "Ok, Mairi.. do your best!", he said with the happiest tone he could manage.

Mairi bit her lip when she saw the blood on Lar's hand and the deep puncture wounds. Those would be incredibly difficult to heal naturally. Puncture wounds were always more than a little twitchy for healing, especially without magic to aid in the process.

The only wounds that were possibly worse than puncture wounds were wounds made by a bronze anything. That metal was darn near poisonous just as a natural feature.

She could sense that Lar was trying to put the best face he could on things, but that he was worried and hurting and trying so hard to not let her see it. She smiled up at him and put her hand over the wound, lighting up for a moment as she called her magic to her, glad for the chance to use her abilities to help her brother. Just to be sure that there wasn't anything lingering afterwards, Mairi made sure to send a cleansing wave through him. Better safe than sorry in situations like this.

((Cure and Esuna, 10 MP and 20 MP means 30 MP spent of 150 total, so she's got 120 MP left.))

As quickly as the pain came, it disappeared from Lar's body. He looked at his hands, and the two holes had seemed to heal quite nicely, leaving almost no trace of a scar. Lar looked at Mairi with a slight surprise on his face. He knew she said she was a healer type, but not the the extreme that she had just demonstrated. Not even he could cast such spells. "T-that.. was incredible, Mairi!", he said with a smile on his face. He took the blood soaked wrap and rung it out, wrapping it back up and returning it to his bag. holding his hand up in front of his face slightly, he opened and closed his hand, stretching the fingers open wide, to see if there was any after effects. Nothing. Lar was incredibly impressed wit his new little sister. "You're probably going to be a very powerful mage one day.. I'm glad I'm on your side.", he said with a bright smile on his face. "Now how about those lanterns?"

Soon after a brief stop at a supply shop, they returned with a pair of lanterns. Lighting them both they finally re entered the cave, now being able to see where they were stepping, they noticed that only a few feet from where they were, a very steep decline began. Had Lar gone much further, he would have reached the bottom of the decline faster than he would have liked. "Looks pretty deep kiddo, be careful."

Mairi giggled at her brother's fond flattery. She wasn't what she once was, not since she'd fallen to Vana'diel and become a Mithra, but she was certainly better than any other Mithra at Healing, particularly at her age. She grinned and hugged him. "Just be careful, okay? Monsters are mean and they need to be whalloped... but I'd cry if they managed to whallop you..."

The supply shop was found easily enough and Mairi found that she was a bit fumble-fingered trying to juggle the lantern and her wok. It was rather frustrating, actually, because she needed both hands for the Wok to wield it properly.

Finally she let out a huff of frustration and hooked the lantern to her belt while she went digging in her belt pouch, ending up with most of her arm buried in the little 8 inch deep pouch. When she finally pulled herself free there was a small stone in her hand, with a silver bracket on it, and a ribbon. She threaded the ribbon through the bracket and tied it around her head, so that the stone, now glowing softly, was in front. "Alright."

The deeper the darkness around them, the brighter that stone glowed so that she had the equivalent of a lantern on her forehead and both hands free to boot.

When Lar found the drop off, Mairi nodded. "Yeah... looks steep as heck..." She looked around and saw the faint traces of a path off to the side. "Hey, looks like there's something of a path over there. Maybe we can follow it?"

Lar looked towards the path that Mairi pointed out, It looked far less dangerous than the way he wanted to go. "Yeah let's head down that way. I wonder where it goes?", he said curiously to his little sister. They began to head down the passage, the cave walls were wet with condensation and the smell of water was faint on Lar's nose. He looked back at Mairi who was right behind him and thought that if he could smell the water, she MUST be able to as well. "You can smell that right? does it smell fresh to you? I honestly can't tell. If it is fresh though.. something might be living down here.." he said quietly to Mairi, to help diminish the signs of their being there. Whisper or not though, it was hard to miss the constant echo of every move they made and every word said. Lar figured if there was anything noteworthy of danger, other than what bit him, their exploration wouldn't go unnoticed.

Not shortly after, Lar noticed that the path seemed to be going down in almost a spiral shape. He wondered how low this went before they found any signs of an opening. But as that thought just entered his mind his lantern illuminated a wide opening off to the right of them. From here he could see several more paths and turns they could take... all looked relatively interesting. the smell of the water still lingered in his nose. Looking around, he caught an image in the corner of his eye, he looked over trying to illuminate what he saw, and what was there in the shadows looked like a small chocobo, Lar pointed over at it, "Hey, look! I think thats a baby chocobo..." he said to Mairi as he walked over there quickly, "Nope, sorry.. it's just a rock.", he said with a slight tone of embarrassment.

Mairi nodded at his question about the water. The smell of it was so strong to her that it was like she was standing right above a freshwater lake or something, along with the tang of the rocks around them. "Yeah, lotsa water, and close."

But then Lar had to go and say the words that changed everything.

For one, incandescent moment Mairi's heart lit up like fireworks at the thought of a baby chocobo, all lost and lonely and warm and snuggly and making those baby "kweh" sounds as it followed her around like she was its momma hen. Oh, she wanted a baby chocobo and she wanted to snuggle it and pet it and teach it how to scratch...

But there *wasn't* a baby chocobo... it was just a stupid old rock. Mairi's heart fell just as quickly as it had risen, shattering as it landed and she plopped on the ground with a mewling sound of pain, tears falling down her face from sheer disappointment. "I... I want a baby chocobo!!"

Lar laughed as Mairi cried out that she wanted a baby chocobo, but then soon saw, in the faint lantern light, that her reaction was that of an incredible truth. Lar felt upset to see her in such a state, he walked over to her and knelt down beside her. He wasn't going to say no to such a 'simple' request, after all, pets were quite common for most people, why COULDN'T Mairi have one too. He wiped her face gently, cleaning up the tears, and smiled at her, "Okay, but on ONE condition! You have to take extra good care of it... Pets are a big responsibility and it deserves all the love and care in the world!". He patted her on the head and slid of of her hair away from her face, giving her a big brotherly kiss on the top of her head. He know knew what he had started, a chain reaction that would probably take them from world to world just looking for the perfect chocobo, and he knew that that meant either one of two things. Either he better get comfortable with departing from the majority of his funds, or learn how to deal with several angry chocobo parents. Either way, he was ready for either one, because neither option would be worse than having a young cat-girl sister who wasn't allowed to get her way.

Mairi sniffled and looked up at Lar with huge eyes. "Really?" He was going to help her get a baby chocobo all her own? She smiled and impulsively hugged him. "You're the bestest best brother in the whole world... in any world."

She stumbled to her feet, wiping the tears from her face and smearing her cheeks in the process when a sound echoed through the cavern, one which made her stop completely still for a moment, wondering if she'd imagined it.

But then the sound rang out again, and it was clear as day through the echo of the stone walls and the ever-present drip of water falling from the ceiling.

Kweh.

Mairi shivered in place, energy flooding through her for a moment. "A chocobo!" Then she was off like a shot, scrambling over rocks and splashing through puddles to get to the source of that tantalizing call.

Kweh.

"Y-You've got to be kidding, right?" Lar said as he heard the echo fill the cavern. He watched Mairi run off as quick as a bullet, "H-Hey! Be careful Mairi!", he yelled as he began following. It was much easier to keep up to her this time. She wasn't a small cat, and there werent tons of people crowding his path. The lantern she was holding was also a big help. Jumping and dodging over rocks and puddles, Lar eventually matched pace with Mairi. "Mairi!", speaking in a fairly stern voice, as quietly as he could, "Whatever is making that noise, chocobo or not, do you think it's going to appreciate being barged in on? You're gunna scare the poor thing, or make something else really angry with us!". Lar hoped his words would sink in to her quickly. They both had no idea what could be in the cave, and Lar figured one close call was enough. Time to take things slow. He slowed his own pace and put his hand on Mairi's shoulder to suggest she do the same. It was time to be calm and careful, not brash and foolish. Lar couldn't believe his own thoughts. Only days before, he would've been the one charging in to face whatever was there.. but with Mairi around, he seemed like a different person. He FELT like a different person. What he felt, was the respect he was searching for.. the respect for himself. He said nothing, but his face said it all. His smile couldn't lie.

It was probably a good thing that Lar was able to slow Mairi down, because as they turned a corner around an outcropping of rocks, they found the source of the distinctive trill. Sitting on a stone platform in the middle of the lake was a nest, of sorts, formed of rocks and branches and a soft layer of feathers inside it. The feathers were all colored strangely, though, glinting metallic in the lantern light, but not exactly golden metallic.

They were electrum colored, like a silvery gold, just like the color of the chocobo hen that sat in the nest, her wings folded on her sides and her feathers puffed out like a broody chicken.

Mairi's eyes grew very large and she took a careful step towards the chocobo hen. "It's okay, momma chocobo, I'm not going to hurt you." She smiled and her ears perked up as she approached in as non-threatening a way as she could. "I remember you... we met at the Universal Metroplex. You were the only chocobo with your color feathers. Your name is Daethil. I remember you. Do you remember me?"

The chocobo hen watched her approach, tilting her head so that she could focus on the Mithra girl with one eye. She made a sound very much like "duuuuuurk" and then fluffed her feathers again with a "kweh" of acceptance and let Mairi pet her head.

"Oh, Lar, isn't she beautiful?"

"She's almost as beautiful as you are, Kiddo." he said happily. Looking over at the uniquely colored chocobo, he bowed his head to it, stepping carefully closer, as to not close the gap too quickly. He had never really seen a chocobo up close before. He looked over at Mairi, who seemed to be as happy as she had ever been. He looked back at the chocobo and waited for some kind of signal for him to approach. He had grown used to people, and animals alike, being weary of who he was. deep down though, it hurt him. Lar would always try his best to give everyone a certain equality when first meeting, but it was rarely returned. Most people only say the SOLDIER, and not the person. But Mairi saw right through the uniform, and he hoped, in a silly way that the chocobo would too. "Is she gunna bite my hand off if i get too close, or is it going to be ok to pet her too?" He asked Mairi, as he stopped only a few feet away, not sure how any of the following actions should take place. Lar also began to wonder, and said aloud to Mairi, "I wonder why she decided to make her nest all the way down here? I thought chocobos liked.. ya know, being above ground?". Lar's lack of knowledge really made him realize that outside of SOLDIER, he didn't really understand much of anything.

Daethil tilted her head, looking at Lar through one eye and then the other, curious about him as he approached. She started to fluff up her feathers, using her head to pull Mairi around to her side as if she was concerned about the Mithra girl's proximity to him, a low "duuuuurk, duurk, duurk" sounding out from her chest.

Mairi smiled and reached up to scratch Daethil's forelock. "It's okay, Daethil. He's safe. He's my brother."

After a moment, Daethil settled back and gave her wings another twitch as she leaned her head down and consented to be petted by Lar.

Mairi looked around at the cavern, considering Lar's question. "I'm not sure why she wants to be down here... maybe it seems safer to her or something. Fewer predators I guess... The stablehands at the Universal Metroplex have special pens just for broody chocobos. I don't know why she'd come down here instead of using one of those pens." She bent down and started crawling under the chocobo, pushing feathers out of her way. "Daethil? Do you have an eggy?"

Daethil clucked, almost as if she were laughing at the way the girl was knelt down, half under her and half out, her tail swishing back and forth as she looked.

Lar watched in total confusion as he watched Mairi burry herself halfway under Daethil. He bent down to see what exactly she was doing, and shook his head in bewilderment. "Mairi... what're you doing!?". He was sure that there must be a reason for her doing that, but it was far above his level of understanding.. He stepped back and knelt down waiting for Mairi to finish her exploration of Deathil's nest and underside and continued to look around the cavern. "If there is an egg involved, wouldn't this be kind of a dangerous place to try and have a baby? I mean what if something came in here.. We found her easily enough, what's stopping something else from doing the same.. like whatever bit me earlier?", Lar talked with a tone of concern on his voice. He didn't want to see Mairi's new friend endangered just for a little privacy. Surely there was something they could do to help the chocobo find a safer place to lay an egg. "I regret saying this already.. but maybe we should bring her with us...", Lar said pausing for a reaction from the two.

Mairi practically crowed with happiness, though the sound was muffled, coming from underneath Daethil's breast feathers. "There's an EGGY!!" She started to back out, rolling the egg gently with her as she emerged.

Daethil looked down at the two of them as Mairi plopped down and set the egg in front of her, bending her legs around it as she put her hands gently on the shell and started to glow noticeably in the dim cavern. "Gotta check the baby," was the only explanation she gave her puzzled brother.

After a moment she giggled and then ever-so-carefully hugged the shell of the egg. "Awww, little baby chocobo's gonna be so cute when he's born!" She looked up at Daethil. "Momma Daethil, this is not a safe place for your baby. You can come with me and I'll help you with your baby, okay?"

Daethil blinked slowly for a moment and then seemed to nod.

Mairi stood up, holding the beach-ball sized egg in both arms as she awkwardly climbed up onto Daethil's back, settling the egg in front of her and holding on with her legs. She wobbled in place as Daethil stood up, but kept her balance and grinned at Lar.

"Alright! Let's get Momma and baby-to-be to safer quarters."

Lar led the way back to the entrance to the cave into the late evening setting sun. It would be dark now, and they still had to find a place for the chocobo and baby to go where they could be left to their privacy. Taking them to the town, Lar thought, would be suicide for trying to find somewhere to keep them. They would get no peace there. The fresh cool air whistled across Lar's face and the sudden realization crossed his mind. He knew very little about chocobos, but he did know eggs need to stay warm in order to hatch. He quickly took out his cloak and took it to Mairi, and draped it over her and the egg, wrapping them carefully up as to not hinder Mairi's movement on the back of Daethil's back. "Here that should help keep you and the egg warm!", he said as he smiled at her. They walked for a few more minutes before Lar spoke up, "Mairi, do you have any inclination as to where Daethil would want to go with her baby?', he paused for a moment. "I mean we could probably frind somewhere in town, but will that scare her too much?". Lar felt dumbfounded in the situation. He wished he knew exactly what to do, but he had to accept that he didn't know everything and even he needed help sometimes. He looked and smiled at her, waiting for her suggestion.

Mairi thought about the situation as they made their way back out to the desert sands beyond the cave entrance. She had to grin gratefully at Lar as he thought to wrap her and the egg against the cooling wind as the desert lost the daytime heat in favor of nighttime cold.

"I don't think Daethil would like the village. It's noisy and there are kids running around and one of them almost certainly would try to hurt the egg out of sheer meanness." She frowned. "And if this eggy got hurt because some little boy thought it would be funny to shoot pebbles at Daethil's eyes... I would be very upset. I would have to hit that little boy and I would have to hit him hard."

She looked out at the sands leading towards the village and then she looked at the river just beyond it. "Hmmm... I have an idea." She balanced the egg with one arm and reached into her belt pouch, digging around in it up to her elbow before pulling out a small, strangely shaped device. It looked... like some sort of conch-shell.

She held it up to her mouth and spoke. "Martika? Can you land in the river near here? I gotta new friend and I'm gonna need the gangplank to get her onboard and into the storage level." She paused. "Pleeeease, Martika? She won't be any trouble. She'd got an egg she's gotta guard and I don't want some stupid little boy to hurt her egg because little boys are just stupid."

She sighed and put the shell away. "Okay, she's gonna land in the river, so we should probably head that way to meet her." She chewed on her lip slightly. "Sorry 'bout that comment 'bout boys... you're different and I'm fairly sure the problem disappears with age..."

Lar didn't say anything to Mairi.. He just looked on in astonishment. He didn't care about the comment of boys, he wasnt even sure if he heard it, all he could do is wonder what Mairi had just done. Looking down at his hand where the creature had bit him, he looked back up at his little sister. Maybe the snake had killed him, and this was his hell. Yes, thats exactly what was happening.. He died and was now stuck with a little girl who just found a chocobo, egg, and is now talking into a seashell to summon most likely some kind of airship, because all teenaged girls had a seashell phone with a direct line to an airship... "Unreal", he thought to himself looking at the situation he was in.

His dearest wish to accept the fact that he was in fact dead was when Mairi looked at him and apologized for her comments about boys. Regaining his focus he patted her head, scruffing her hair playfully. "It's ok kiddo.. boys do funny things sometimes... I know i did..., So did that shell just summon an airship? Sounds like it did." he said with a nervous smile as they made their way towards the river.