Western Mideel, Gaia, Thursday

[raspberryturk]

Chocobo Lure Materia? Check.

Sylkis Greens? Friggin' expensive, but yes, Check.

Weapons? Reno gave his baton a tap against his shoulder, checked his Materia over, and smirked. Check.

Worm-skinned dude from Arrakis? Yep, Reno had that, too.

"So, the trick is, we follow the tracks," he informed Leto, looking down to make sure he didn't miss any as they walked. "An' then we hunt around for monsters when we find 'em. Chocobos love hangin' around monsters, yo."

Somebody had asked for Chocobos, and Reno planned to deliver.

[NFB for distance, for that worm-skinned guy, and I have no idea why half of this post vanished into the ether so that I had to re-type it. Wtf, LJ.]

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[raspberryturk]

"Yeah, right here," Reno agreed, managing not to drip as the massive purple-colored creature rose up out of the sand nearby, dwarfing the two of them. It reared up to face them, swaying from side to side as it tried to figure out just what to make of the pair that was apparently stupid enough to go chasing it down.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Reno crooned up at the worm. "Been a while since I saw one of you, pal."

It had been way too long.


[Video of the worm is up on YouTube over here, if you like, and the FF wiki has more info over here!]

[future_sandworm]

It was tiny by Dune standards, but that might mean it moved faster. Leto wasn't going to underestimate it. He moved swiftly to one side to figure out how fast the creature reacted.

[raspberryturk]

The worm responded in a way that suggested that it had decided, all at once, that the two little things on the ground in front of it were definitely going to be categorized as food, and it swung its head after Leto, needing a moment to really work itself up into the movement. But once it got going, it was going to be a tricky creature to avoid, especially since it was aiming to swing all of its girth down on top of Leto, if it could at all manage that particular feat.

Reno mostly just pursed his lips and watched, kind of intrigued about how Leto was planning on dealing with the creature now that they'd found it. The worm's attention was over there, and Reno didn't want to go and kill it or anything until Leto had had his fun with it, so he shrugged and followed along after, keeping an eye out for any telltale signs of an impending earthquake, or a sandstorm.

[future_sandworm]

Fun, yes.

Leto was suddenly quite far away from the point where the worm's body hit the ground in an attempt to squash him. Taking this opportunity, Leto leapt on to the back of the thing, looking for scales to hold on to.

[raspberryturk]

There weren't quite scales in the way that Leto was likely to be familiar with them from the worms of Arrakis, but the Sea Worm definitely had an assortment of bright orange spikes, starting in a crest at the front of its head, and then spacing out so that they were barely just colored bumps running down along the worm's back. More than adequate to be able to grab handholds and footholds from.

The worm, of course, was less than pleased about this development, realizing that it hadn't crushed anything at all, and then rearing up in an attempt to throw Leto from its back.

All the while, Reno was standing back and laughing.

"Shame we can't pack these things through a portal to send back with you," he snorted, breaking into a run to get around to the side of the worm for a better view.

[future_sandworm]

"They'd bee eaten on Arrakis," Leto called back, then let go of one hand and held it out for Reno.

"Here!" Riding a worm was best done in company, after all. And this one was clearly not used to it.

[raspberryturk]

"What, you callin' our worms inadequate?" Reno really didn't seem to mind. It was a worm, after all, and it wasn't like he was terribly fond of the things to start with. But what kind of friend would he be if he wasn't giving Leto a hard time about it?

With a running start, he made a leap for the worm's back, himself, grabbing Leto's hand and pulling himself aboard.

"So, how smooth you figure you can get this thing to ride?"

And, for that matter, how did you steer this thing?

[future_sandworm]

"Not inadequate, just small!" Leto grinned, helping Reno. "As for steering - on Arrakis the worms react to the maker hooks. This one, I think we just have to hold on!"

The worm clearly didn't appreciate having two riders any more than one.

[Sorry for disappearing. Fell asleep. Now I'm going out for the night.]

[raspberryturk]

Reno found a foothold as he settled onto the worm's back, letting out a whoop toward the sky as the worm jerked hard to the side again, trying to throw them.

Those rodeo guys who thought it was a big deal to sit on a bull for eight seconds had nothing on this insanity.

"I'm hangin'! I'm hangin'!"

This was absolute insanity. And Reno loved every minute of it.

[future_sandworm]

Leto clung to the spikes on the worm's back, keeping an eye on Reno as well. The worm threw itself to the opposite side.

"If it rolls over, prepare to jump!"

[raspberryturk]

"You think?!" Reno lurched hard to the side as the worm shifted its weight, and then planted his feet solidly against the creature's back. "I was just thinkin' to myself, damn, wouldn't bein' crushed by a giant worm be a great way to spend my da-- Oop!"

Apparently, even the worm was sick of Reno's sarcastic remarks, because it decided to choose just that moment to roll over.

And there Reno went, leaping away and making a slightly less than dignified tumble through the sand. If he hadn't been flying off at the mouth, he probably would have landed that one. As it stood, he was picking himself up and dusting the sand from his suit with a sigh.

[future_sandworm]

A moment later Leto landed next to him.

"I believe that was a new experience for the worm."

[raspberryturk]

"Pretty sure you're right about that one," Reno chuckled, watching as the worm dove back underground, trying to get away from the pair of crazy, crazy men. "For what it's worth, it's a new experience for me, too, man."

And it had been awesome.

[future_sandworm]

"As the worms on Arrakis are quite different, I guess I could say the same. You have to visit some time and I'll show you." He was still grinning.

"So, let's look for some chocobos."

[raspberryturk]

"Anytime you got room for me, I'd love to check 'em out," Reno decided, smirking. "That was one hell of a ride."

Really, he wasn't sure if the chocobos could compare to something like that, beyond that they were less likely to try to kill you, and they could be trained to go back home so that you didn't have to catch them again later.

"Alright, man. Back to the chicken tracks, an' we'll keep an eye out for birds runnin' around with Spirals when we get there."

[future_sandworm]

"There's always plenty of room," Leto replied. "Spirals?"

[raspberryturk]

"They're the pill-bug lookin' things that curl up," Reno explained. "For some reason, the chocobos hangin' out with those ones are the best around here. I dunno why. Maybe they just gotta be tougher to chill with 'em, or somethin'."

Reno had done his homework for this excursion, apparently.

[future_sandworm]

Leto nodded. "Lead the way, then. Best to look for the good birds."

They were going to have to adapt to life on Arrakis, after all.

[raspberryturk]

Reno gave a nod and a grin, starting back toward the chocobo tracks that they'd been following earlier.

"That's what I figured, yeah. Don't wanna go shippin' off some sub-par sick thing all the way to another world if we can help it, anyhow."

[future_sandworm]

Leto followed him. "So how do you judge the quality of a chocobo? Is it just stronger?"

[raspberryturk]

"Stronger, faster, holds its head a little higher'n the rest. You can spot a good bird to see it, man. It looks proud."

Reno himself had a damn fine River Chocobo, living in Spira along with its sibling, which belonged to Rikku. He didn't really consider himself an expert on them, but he knew a proud bird when he saw one.

... And also because he'd been one, on a few occasions.

[future_sandworm]

"I'll look for that." Leto smiled, squinting towards the horizon.

[raspberryturk]

"You follow my lead for the first one, and you'll be a pro by the time we find our second," Reno shared. "You won't even need me along if you ever decide you wanna grab a few more, yo."

[future_sandworm]

"Perhaps I just want an excuse to visit later on," Leto replied. "Something is moving over there." He pointed ahead of them.

[raspberryturk]

"Heeey, good eye, man," Reno said, after a moment taken to squint into the distance to see what it was that Leto was pointing at. "Could be just the thing we're lookin' for, yo."

A large yellow bird, hanging out with a couple of bug-looking things? Yep. Totally what they were looking for. Reno gave a grin, and then took off in a run in that direction.

[Taking off for a few hours! More slowplay?]