cryopathy | sticksandbones IC Inbox

Hah. Kiera, Ambrosia. Ambrosia, Kiera. Ambrosia is my Chocobo from home. The finest friend one could ask for, and never a better steed to be seen.

[ The giant bird turns her head around and down to lower her beak towards Kiera, turning her head to view her better out of her eye. The proceeds to fluff her feathers up and 'wark' in greeting. Then dip her head down further. Clive huffs a laugh. ]

She's asking if you'll scratch her feathers against the back of her head.

[??? hello??? pinto grigio is RIGHT here and extremely offended??? snorting!!!

kiera tosses her a sugarcube to placate her for now. settle down, girl, kiera has another beautiful lady to pet!! they graciously accept the offer, moving slow and in ambrosia's eyeline even though she was the one to ask for attention. kiera must have experience with some sort of bird or another, because they know exactly how to rub and scritch at the feathers.]

Thank you, Lady Ambrosia. You are quite striking... and I can't help but notice we match! I'm honored.

[ While Kiera pets Ambrosia, Clive will turn his attention to the horse because it's not something he's seen before. It looks a lot like an Antelope, without the horns and a lot less fragile looking. Distracted from the reason he came here in the first place to cautiously raise his hand towards the nose. He has his bone ring on, obviously, but he won't bother the horse - this is a horse right - too much. ]

Hello there. Sorry for interrupting.

[ Ambrosia is old and wise, and won't take offense to the snorting. Instead she warbles and turns her head, eye closing contently. Clive smiles a little. ]

She also asks if you got it saving the life of a wayward chick.

[oh, he's sorry?? her mane is only half-brushed. is he going to fix this?? and obviously she's a horse. is this human stallion an idiot???

(sorry, the horse is rude.)

kiera, on the other hand, is having the time of their life.]

Aha... No, though I commend your noble efforts. I was only a hatchling, myself, when I earned mine.

[ Ah, he understands some of that, and huffs a gentle laugh as he looks around to find the brush to pick it up, glancing towards the horse, then Kiera, then the horse again to lift it. ]

May I?

[ Ambrosia doesn't seem to like that idea that Kiera was injured as a chick, lifting her head a little to begin preening Kiera's hair in turn. Clive glances over, amused. ]

She's saying some choice things about your herd for not protecting you well enough. Careful, or she might sit on you.

[ How those tiny little Chocobo chicks survive is unknown to him when she plops on them. ]

[pinto side-eyes him... and kiera does their best to continue giving ambrosia attention while chuckling a warning to clive.]

You can try, but I can't promise she won't bite. Be gentle, but firm.

[their laugh is soft and airy when ambrosia decides to preen them back.]

Ah, darling, don't worry. My new flock is far more caring. I'm going to hazard a guess you've met my nestmate?

Hm. [ He lowers his voice to talk to Pinto only, turning his hand to show the bone ring. ] I can understand you, if you speak to me. Tell me if I tug too hard, though if you must bite, ware my right hand. It's stone.

[ He waits a moment for the horse to absorb this, then carefully steps forward to begin brushing down her mane. It's not unlike hair, but very different from feathers. There's no feather shafts to be careful of, so he goes cautiously.

And smiles as he listens to Ambrosia as she tilts her head back with a bunch of hair caught in her beak. There. Much better, before shaking her beak free and grinding it gently. ]

And I quote "They are quite a peaceful herd, I rarely hear any squabbling. It is the one Clive-" Okay, I'm not saying that. Yes, she's seen him.

[this human is weird. telling her to bite his flesh hand instead of the one that would hurt her instead of him. she'll allow the brushing to happen for a time. when she does bite, it's a lock of his hair rather than anything that might hurt. yes, she's jealous that kiera's attention is on ambrosia -- see, she can nibble all cute, too-- and to her credit, she doesn't pull his hair out.

meanwhile, kiera laughs good-naturedly at the snag, and at the chocobo's translated words.]

Aha, I thought as much. Thank you very much, Ambrosia. You are truly lovely.

[ Because he's a good man, and if she bites him, it's because he did something wrong and he won't have her hurting herself. He's gently as he works, but the brushes are firm. Have to be, he noticed, to get through the mane. Huh. He actually gets pretty absorbed into it until his hair is nibbled and he blinks, laughing. ]

I do need a haircut, don't I?

[ He's aware his hair looks Like That.

Ambrosia bobs her head and waits, expectantly. Clive oh's. ]

Bag by her door, she likes beets.

[ There's some root vegetables in there. Carrots too. But that also reminds him and he pauses brushing to reach into his pocket, fetching a brilliant orange gem to hold it out to Kiera. ]

Right. I'm making your brother something, and was wondering if you would put some energy into this.

[oh FUCK yes they get to feed the baby!!! absolutely zero hesitation they are tearing into this bag for a BEET. and holding it out to sweet, precious ambrosia, palm flat the same as feeding a horse. a beak the size of your head is nothing to mess around with!

once they turn to accept the stone with raised brows, and clive is sufficiently distracted... pinto reaches out for his hair again, though now she just teases at it with her lips. hello? she is still here and likes being brushed, and also that beetroot looked really tasty! just saying!]

What exactly is it you're making?

[ Ambrosia takes it gently, carefully, then whips her head back to throw it down her gullet. One crunch, two, and it's on it's way. She fans her feathers out in glee, stomps her feet and kweh!s loudly.

The tug on his hair makes him laugh and reach up to rub that nose. ]

Okay, hold on, let go. Beet? Carrot? There's corn in there too, I think.

[ What can horses eat? He waits until he's released to go over to the bag to pull some things out. ]

A method to shut the Phoenix up. I can't punch it, or kill it, yet but the stone with the right enchantments will act as a barrier when activated.

[ He carefully holds the items out for the horse, palm flat for one but his right hand lightly curled. But she can get around the stone fingers to choose. ]

[oh, kiera adores the sounds she makes. they have just decided that they love chocobos. this one in particular.

pinto whickers and paws at the ground, rearing her head back to look at him expectantly. all of the above, please! and she will take it all if allowed, at which point clive will become her third favorite person in the grove.

as they hold the stone in their hand, the lighthearted feeling of the moment fades to something cold and hard in their gut. where did clive get the idea for such a thing? and why didn't they think about it first? is it even possible for such a thing to work as intended, or will it only end up making the phoenix angrier and using it as an excuse to hurt luca further?]

... Do you know for certain it will function properly?

[ He will definitely let her take all of them, smirking a little and making sure Kiera can't see him spoiling their horse a little. And when Pintos ate all she can, he will rub her nose again gently, looking back to Kiera with a soft sigh. ]

I hope so. It's been blessed by the guardians, Joshua and myself have offered energy to it, and I felt it right the third should be you.

[ He picks up the brush again to gently go back to Pintos mane, frowning a little thoughtfully as he does. ]

It's... something, at any rate. If it doesn't work, I'll think of something else.

[ There's determination in his voice. Ambrosia makes a deep raptor like noise and moves to settle herself back down again. Right onto some Tomas chicks, spreading her wings to make sure they're all covered. Clive answers her with an amused: ]

It's in another world, I can't.

[ The most chicken grunt ever. ]

[please. as if kiera spoiling her ass isn't the entire reason she's such a brat.

kiera turns the stone over in their hands, contemplating. she very nearly says aloud that if it backfires and hurts him, she'll kill all of them, including herself. ultimately decides that's a bad idea and in poor humor, given that she would take the threat too seriously if clive said something similar.

as she summons a tiny whirlwind of snow over the crystal, she glances to Clive once more.]

What can't you do?

Kill the Phoenix.

[ His expression is a humorless little smirk, before he finally backs away from Pinto to join Kiera again, the smirk fading away. ]

As much as I'm a God killer, if there's no actual God to fight...

[ A half shrug with his shoulder, watching her summon the snow. That makes him smile a little more relaxedly. It's not unlike Jill with Shiva. Small and precise, something he can't do. ]

[the chill over kiera's hand spreads to their heart for just one moment. they recall a time last year, an argument with luca in which he shared that his goal was that very same -- to kill the beast. kiera knows it tortures him, of course they know, but that doesn't mean they're willing to just let luca potentially kill himself in the process of removing it.

they stare deeply into the stone, their hand shaking once before they force it still once more.]

I must admit, I'm relieved you're unable to access it. Luca is tied intrinsically to the Beast. Killing it may very well kill him.

I was hoping it wasn't the case with your brother. My brother is the Phoenix. Killing the Phoenix would kill him. But from the sounds of it, Luca was blessed.

[ He sighs on 'blessed', the tone saying 'cursed'. He leans himself against a pole of the barn, studying the other animals in their stalls. Ambrosia warbles and coos nonsense to the chicks, and his eyes land on the cow. The hells is that. ]

I'm more than willing to find a way to 'untie' them, however, before finding a way to kill it. I would never hurt Luca.

[the cow makes eye contact. does clive want to go? she's very clearly beiwe-themed, the same horn-halo and all. she's up for a tussle. try her. she dares him.]

I'm inclined to believe it wouldn't be such an issue with the other Beasts. There are those Blessed by the Wolf, the Fox... the Butterfly. Each of them are many. Luca, being the Phoenix's only heir... [kiera, and even luca, has no true way of knowing what would happen, if they were to kill it. but kiera isn't willing to risk it.

they glance to ambrosia, to pinto, to clive. following a discussion that seemed very difficult for them, the smile on their lips is surprisingly tender.]

I can tell. You're very gentle with him. [he needs that, she doesn't say, but the sentiment is clear.]

[ .... He getting a very strong feeling that animal is challenging him to a fight. Does he- does he honor it? Is it? It looks like Beiwes pet. He focuses on Kiera instead, though he keeps the animal in the corner of his eye.

And he nods to show he understands. ]

It may have tied him more thoroughly than others might have tied theirs. It's a risk and you don't want to find out the hard way.

[ The smile and 'very gentle' makes him huff softly and turn a little red. ]

It's easy to be, with him.

[ And not because Luca is fragile or anything like that. ]

Thank you, Kiera.

[if kiera thinks anything of clive's slight fluster, they don't speak of it. even if they themself find the concept of romance a bit... icky, they haven't seen luca in such decent spirits since they were children. maybe he isn't doing great, but it's a hell of an improvement from the man who returned to her over a year ago, now. she can't bring herself to harass clive too much, when he's done so much for them.

she steps closer, to offer the gem back to him.]

Was that all I needed to do?

It was.

[ After taking the gem back and tucking it away into his pouch, he reaches out again to clasp her hand. A warm, firm squeeze, his expression soft.

... Actually as way of thanks, he glances towards Ambrosia, then to Kiera.

Tilts his head inquisitively. Want to ride her? ]

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