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“Is this really necessary?” Cloud glanced back at Rosso’s question, making sure that the woman still had her eyes covered. She hadn’t removed the strip of cloth from in front of her eyes though, humouring him despite her reservations.
“It’s a surprise,” he reminded her, squeezing her hand within his own as he continued to lead her to their destination. He’d been planning this since Reeve gave the Tsviets the all-clear and he’d hate it if the surprise was ruined. “It’s very necessary.”
“If you say so,” she breathed after a moment, falling quiet and allowing him to guide her towards the surprise. Her fingers tightened around his momentarily and she pulled herself closer to him, easily keeping pace with his strides.
“You’ll like it,” he promised, shooting her a wide smile, unseen by her covered gaze. “It’s not bad or dangerous, just a nice, new experience.”
“I already stated that I believed you.” There was a smile accompanying her words though, easing the sting of the short words a bit. “You do not need to insist.”
“I know,” he said, seeing their destination coming up and lengthening his stride. She adjusted her own stride thoughtlessly, falling into sink without comment. “We’re almost there.”
Rosso didn’t say anything in response, simply humming softly as he continued to lead her until they came to a stop. She remained quiet as Cloud released her hand to move around her and remove the blindfold, only speaking once she’d glanced around their new surroundings. “It is a fence.”
“Yup,” he agreed, grin wide from the excitement filling his own chest. He really couldn’t wait to see how this turned out, it was going to be great.
“You blindfolded me, to show me a fence?” Her question was spoken slowly, brow furrowed over her eyes. Her gaze moved between Cloud and the fence in front of them, obviously trying to piece the puzzle together. “I do not understand.”
“There’s one more thing,” he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small wooden whistle. He handed it to her, ignoring the raised brow she had fixed him with. “Go on, blow it.”
“Is this an erotic thing?” She asked him, cocking her head at him, causing him to almost choke on his surprised laughter.
“No! Just use the whistle!” He said once he’d gotten his breath back, gesturing her to do so despite her concerned look.
She raised the carved piece to her lips and blew into it hesitantly, sending a high, piercing sound into the air around them. It hung in the air, lingering for several seconds before fading completely, replaced by a distinctive kweking sound.
The sound of quick footsteps rapidly approached them and seemed to startle Rosso; she stiffened at the sounds, a sharp line of tension next to him and held in place only by his relaxed presence next to him. She fixed him with a sharp look, watching him intently as whatever was approaching them neared their position.
Her gaze snapped away from him immediately when Snow came into view, focusing instead on the soft-yellow bird approaching the fence. She came to a stop on the other side of the fence from them, peering at them with intelligent blue eyes.
She stretched her head towards them with a demanding noise, waiting expectantly for the attention she wanted.
Rosso stared at the bird, taking in its appearance and behaviour. Cloud felt his chest puffing with pride at the stunned expression on the other’s face, this was exactly the response he had wanted to get.
“She wants you to give her some head scratches,” he said softly, nudging her forward towards the Chocobo. “Her feathers are very soft,” he added on as she remained rooted in place, lifting her arm with his own and guiding it towards Snow’s still bent-head.
He’d definitely chosen the right bird to introduce Rosso too first; Snow was one of his older ones and was very quiet and unhurried as a result, she’d been sweet and patience when Marlene and Denzel said they’d wanted to see his birds and she was doing the exact same for Rosso now. She’d definitely earned herself a treat after this.
Rosso’s fingers twitched within his grip before reaching forward herself to sink her fingers into soft, pale-yellow feathers, scratching the bird’s scalp hesitantly when Snow uttered a pleased noise at her initial touch. She gained confidence after a few moments of listening to the bird’s content sounds, moving as close as she could to the fence separating them from the Chocobo and smiling softly at the animal.
Cloud stepped forward himself, his own hand rising to Snow’s feathers and running his fingers through them. “You can get closer if you want,” he offered, feeling Rosso’s gaze snap to him at his words. “Snow’s not going to mind as long as you keep giving her attention.”
She had jumped the fence before Cloud had finished speaking, using her new position to sink her fingers in the bird’s feathers once again, searching out the places that Snow enjoyed the most. She last about ten seconds longer than Denzel had before pressing her face into the soft feathers of Snow’s chest, nuzzling into the soft, comforting down.
Snow lifted her head from where Cloud had been scratching under her chin, turning towards Rosso and starting to groom her hair. He watched them for a few minutes, reaching for his PHS and taking numerous photos, for his eyes only, of course.
“You like her?” He asked, drawing Rosso’s attention back to him. She remained where she was, turning her head just enough to look at him. Her eye was wide and shining as she looked at him, blinking slowly as Snow continued to groom her hair while making soft kweking noises. “You wanna see the others?”
“There are others?” She blinked slowly, words muffled by soft, yellow feathers. She sounded so excited by the notion, like the notion of other Chocobos being around hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“They get lonely on their own,” he informed her, jumping the fence himself to join her next to Snow. “And I used to race them so I’ve got all my retired Chocobos here.”
“Are they all like this?”
“There are a few different colours,” he answered with a shrug, rubbing his hand over Snow’s cheek when she butted her face against his own. “Snow’s one of the softest though.”
“And,” she trailed off momentarily, lifting her face from Snow’s feathers to focus on Cloud. “I can pet them all?”
“Well, yeah,” he said, moving around Snow to tug Rosso towards the barn the rest of his Chocobo were most likely gathered around. “There might even be a few Chocochicks around, if we’re lucky.”
“‘Chocochicks’?”
“Baby Chocobos,” He answered, hearing her breath hitch in her chest at the suggestion of baby fluff birds being around. He cemented the idea of getting one for her once they’d finished their trip around Gaia, he had the idea that she’d really enjoy raising one for herself.