Mini-Games of Justice!
WHO: Roy Fokker, Agrias Oaks, Thomas (SPECIAL GUEST NPC: King Bowser)
WHAT: Delivering a present to Thomas for Christmas, trouble brews.
WHEN: Around Christmas~
WHERE: Budhec Gameboard Castle
If other places can be decorated, why can't Budehuc do the same? Maybe because there aren't many holidays? Or are there? Well, whatever the case may be, the area still looks the same - just colder and more rennovated than before.
Thomas wears something a little more in between styles of contemporary and his usual gear, the colors fitting the scenery as he brushes his bangs away from his eyes. Although much doesn't happen here, things always seems to be evenly-paced.
'WARK!'
"Go wark yourself!" Roy yells, jostled forward again as he grabs his arms around the neck of the chocobo, which illicits him to sneeze /again/ as his nose is tickled by muted yellow feathers.
What was it that Agrias said? Oh, she used Roy's words against him.. when in Rome...
ROME DIDN'T HAVE GIANT CHICKENS TO RIDE.
'WARK!' the chocobo protests again, damn near pecking at the tall man on it's saddle.
"Go ahead, do it, I'll serve you up with 11 herbs and spices, mashed taters, gravy, cole slaw and a biscuit!" the Veritech commander rumbles angrily.
It had only been a short trip to the Zexen Federation, and from there, a short trip to the lands that purportedly held Budehuc Castle. He seemed to know her, and a bit of inquiry around the port city of Vinay del Zexay revealed that the shy castellan did, indeed, hold territory in Chris Lightfellow's own world. A friendly chat with more nobility turned up a location, and so that's where they had headed.
At least, it was /supposed/ to be a short ride. It ended up rather longer than she would have liked. Mostly, that would have been because Roy's steed, while certainly a spirited fellow, seemed entirely untrained to the saddle. Agrias had been successful in procuring two mounts from Ivalice, thanks to a bit of sneaking around and a few people she had once known, as well as generous intervention from Roy and a bit of direction...
Riding it, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
Agrias Oaks sits the saddle of her own bird, gauntleted hand gripping the reins of both her own and a third chocobo, both of the two docile. She sighs, shaking her head.
"You're not going to eat it, Roy. At the very least... you aren't going to want to." Still, she sounds amused; more than she likely has a right to. "And they taste terrible, let me assure you, no matter how much you may try to garnish it with herbs and spices. Very stringy and tough. Aside from the logistics of eating your own steed, I would not recommend..."
She pauses, golden eyes flicking off to the side. Motion. Ah, and that would be the shy seneschal himself.
"Thomas!" Agrias raises her arm in a cheery wave. She wears her full armour today, sword strapped to her side, shield over her back. "Master of the Castle! We come, bearing a gift." It had seemed the nice thing to do, at the time, and most chocobos could be found fairly cheap in Ivalice. Horses, however, were harder to come by.
What the -
The castle master's attention is caught as he watches the commander come in...on this...bird thing. However, Agrias makes a better show of her riding skills than Roy does, so it's easy to assume these animals were from her world. The youth smiles awkwardly, waving an arm in return. "Ah! Welcome! It's nice to see you again!"
Thomas trots up to meet them, watching out for the chocobo that is having a ball with Roy as the rider. Maybe it's safer to stay nearer to Agrias.
And yes, he blinks when a gift is mentioned.
"Stringy? Then I'll make a STEW!" Roy promises in an angry retort, which causes the chocobo to give him yet another jostle. "..."
Climbing off of his mount, the pilot can only glare at the chocobo. "...I hope you end up in a combo meal with a side of fries and a large Petite Cola." the pilot rumbles at the Chocobo, which gives a defiant 'Wark' in return.
Did we say dismount? No, Roy's fall from the Chocobo causes him to land flat on his rear with a whoompf of pain. He sits there for several moments, trying to regain his wits.. and trying not to grab his pistol and put down his mount himself, right here and now.
Finally pushing himself to his feet, Roy dusts off, giving a low whistle at the size of the castle. "Well, I see why you have a lot of visitors of the female persuasion." he says casually, "..man, if I totally had a bachelor pad like this..."
Welcome to CRIBS: Roy Fokker.
'See, here in the foyer, I put whoofers in the chests of these suits of armor and tweeters in the head. So when the base is really pumping, they move and shake, it's pretty flag waving. Wait til you see the bedroom. Jacuzzi, hot tub, and still enough room for my honeys...'
Agrias chokes up on the reins as the castle master draws a little closer. Once he's close enough, she reaches out, handing him the second set of reins she carries. The third steed is a handsome-looking bird, a dusty yellow, and seemingly rather docile in temperment.
"Good to see you again as well, Master Thomas." The Holy Knight grins, holding out the reins towards Thomas. "This is for you. Consider it a gift, but not on behalf of the Vanguard Detachment. After our last conversation, I thought you might use some cheering up, aye? It is a chocobo. They are the chosen beasts of burden, in Ivalice, though horses are also used. These birds are cheaper and more common, though, and quite a bit more sensible than horses in many cases."
"Ah." She glances over to Roy, blinking a bit. Her tone falls a little quieter, murmuring something to him just out of the seneschal's hearing. That done, she glances up, smiling to Thomas. "Go on, she won't bite you. Neither will mine. Perhaps Roy's... quite an ill-tempered bird, I must say." She clucks her tongue, disprovingly; Roy's bird glances up briefly before resuming its bout of staring down the Veritech pilot. Agrias' bird seems quite content to stand there, watching, and Thomas' scratches disinterestedly at the dust and flagstones.
"If you do not know how to ride, I would be quite willing to teach you. As an independent territory, I heard in Vinay del Zexay that you are sometimes required to travel here or there, and I thought this may help you in your travels."
Oh, MTV, how you affect us all.
NO that's not how Budehuc looks! *armflails*
Thomas' head sort of tips forward at Roy's comment, his mouth turning crooked as he lets out a shakey laugh. He would reply to it, but as soon as Agrias hands him the set of reins, his hand closes around them as topaz eyes divert to see where they led. Aw, they shouldn't have.
"Yes, yes, t-thank you. You shouldn't have," he replies politely, looking at the chocobo approvingly. Hey, this is a step up from whatever he was riding during those mini-games! :D
Anyway. It's nice to know he was thought of. Then, another thought clicks. "Oh - I don't have anything for you, though!"
"Anyway, Merry Christmas, kiddo." Roy says with a smirking grin, still checking out the house.
Wait, did Thomas think about mini-games? Yes, yes he did.
Suddenly, dark clouds swirl into being around the castle. The Chocobos wark and claw at the ground restlessly. As they do so, a large, wooden ship, floating on propellors makes it's presence known. On the deck, a giant lizard looking creature barks orders at various creatures. Some look like turtles, others flying mushrooms.
Ropes descend, wrapping around the Chocobos and capturing them. "BWAHAHAHAHAA!" King Bowser declares loudly, "Your chickens are MINE! And the only way you can get them back is if you beat me at a game!"
Agrias shifts in the saddle, climbing carefully down. She lands with a stagger, using Roy as a convenient support. She seems about to say something else, but then the sky darkens and down come the ropes. Hissing and screeching, the chocobos are yanked skyward on their tow-cables, none too gently, by the Koopa Troopas manning the airship.
The Holy Knight's reaction, of course, is to be rather angry about the theft of three rather expensive birds she had acquired rather cheaply. Her immedate response is to rip her sword from its scabbard, waving it furiously at the giant, fat, spiked creature atop the deck of the airship.
"Whit th' haell d'ye reckon y'r daein', ye bluidy reiver?! Gi'e those birds back, an' gi'e them back /nae/, oorit ye'll taste ma blad'!" Hopping mad? Just a bit. It had taken considerable effort to sneak into Ivalice to /acquire/ those birds, and it could have very easily turned into an ugly melee. "Whit th' haell games aer ye talken' aboot? Y'r mad! Gi'e back yon stowen pack! /Nae/!" she snarls, furious.
Man, he just got a present and now it's being taken from him. It's like how the weaker kids are picked on by bullies twice their size, taking all the lunch money they have. Thomas' head jerks back in surprise when this crazy contraption comes from the skies, letting out a weak gasp in the process as the Koopa King speaks.
Goodness, there's already two video game-related characters in this place as it is. Adding another one with different settings is just insane. But - why not. "Buh...H-hey!" Thomas manages to let out after some hesitation, a fist clenching. "What...what do you mean by 'game'?!"
"Easy, girl!" Bowser yells down at Agrias. "And what the heck are you saying anyway. Common! SPEAK IT!" he yells down, and then turns his attention to Thomas. "Oh, that's easy!" And with a flash of magic, Budech Castle is transformed into a gameboard! One that looks a lot like this: Gameboard
+--------------------------------------------+
| |
| (Star) |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Blue) | (Item) |
^| < | < | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Bowser) | (Blue) |
| > | > | > |^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Lottery) | (Blue) | (Red) |
^| < | << | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Blue) | (Happening) |
| > | >> | > |^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (DUEL!) | (Red) | (Blue) |
^| < | << | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Red) | (Special) |
| > | >> | > | ^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
^| (Start) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------+
Blue Space: +3 coins
Red Space: -3 coins
Duel: The person who lands on it can challenge anyone else to a 1-on-1 match and wager coins. Winner-take-all.
Happening!: A Surprise!
Item Space: A board-specific item that could be used for some bizarre purpose. Like bribing Bowser.
Bowser: Bad things happen to the person who steps here.
Lottery: Creative!
Roy, staring at the situation as it develops, wraps a protective arm around his knight, scowls. "We better do what he says, Aggy. It's probably the easiest way to get Thomas's chocobo back.."
Then louder, to Bowser, "YOU CAN KEEP MINE, THOUGH!"
"Ah'm speaken' juis' fine, ye braw bluidy toad! Ah've nae mercy faer tha' likes o' ye an' y'r bluidy band o' thieves! Ah howp ye're nae afraid o' ae guid bluidy fecht! Dae ye /knaw/ whit Ah had tae gae t'rou' tae get those bluidy birds?!"
Veritably shaking with rage, not to mention shaking her sword at Bowser, it would seem the knight is in a rage quite worthy of Ruvelia Atkascha's finest examples.
She blinks when the castle transforms, scowling down at her feet. A neat, orderly square, with 'Start' in neat, orderly letters. She's tense as a live wire when the pilot wraps an arm around her, and... well, she's lucky she's surrounded by allies, or she might do something stupid, in her anger.
"Ah'll gi'e him whit faer," she snarls, shoving her sword back into its scabbard. Standing there with Roy's arm around her, still obviously displeased, the Holy Knight looks all the world like a pissed-off raptor with its feathers ruffled up. Her baleful, golden glare doesn't help this image any.
Right now, Thomas would have freaked out, shouting "MY CASTLE!!" at the top of his lungs in horror, but he keeps his cool, only letting this change surprise him to a certain point.
Plus, he only can make out part of whatever Agrias Oaks was saying at the moment. The youth glances about his surroundings, then back at Bowser. "...So, we just follow this, then?" he asks towards the other two players of this game, shifting his weight oddly.
"Ah, but there's a catch.." Bowser growls, jumping off the side of the ship and lands on the 'START' square. And now, even if Agrias wanted to attack, she will find that she cannot. The game rules are now in effect.
Roy frowns, looking towards the star. "We're just going to have to beat him there!" the Veritech pilot offers to the others, just as four squares appear. Each one of the squares rotates between 1 and 9. Bowser jumps, then the others will hopefully follow suit to get the following rolls to start the game!
OMFG DICE ROLLS!
Agrias Oaks rolls a 4!
King Bowser rolls a 6!
Roy Fokker rolls a 9!
Thomas rolls a 6!
Agrias staggers back a bit when Bowser lands, making a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. She pulls away from Roy, then, glancing up at the dice suspended in the air. Four, eh?
She glances down at the ground, limping along after the arrows until she comes to a halt at her space. Crossing her arms with a curt motion, she glares behind, waiting for the others to make their move.
Now that she seems to have calmed, however incrimentally, she tosses her head to clear her bangs from her face. "What exactly is the point of this, anyway? And who the bloody hell are you, that you would impose yourself so dishonourably?"
Agrias finds herself the owner of 3 shiny coins!
Agh. This is just too confusing for the castle master. And, as his luck would have it, he gets to land...on the duel square. "Wh..what?
Thomas blinks, seeing that his fate is sealed.
Roy moves along, past Agrias, who gets a peck on the cheek. Past Thomas. Who gets King Bowser as a date. Aww nuts. And he keeps moving and moving and moving. Wow, that was a lot of spaces.
And he finds himself in the Castle Master's master bedroom. Where.. several dozen girls in skimpy bikini armor wait for him. "OH ROY!" they all fan girl and swarm him.
Roy is armed with a paintball gun, and is supposed to shoot them off before they get to him.. but he forgets that notion, and finds himself returning to 'Start'. Oops.
King Bowser, in the meantime, stomp stomp. Looms over Agrias. "I AM KING BOWSER, RIGHTFUL RULER OF MUSHROOM KINGDOM." And he leaves it at that as he stomp stomp stomps to Thomas. "...the pipsqueak! BWHAHAAHAHAHAH! I challenge you to a game of SLAM DUNK BASKETBALL!"
Bowser and Thomas play a game of Slam Dunk Basketball.
King Bowser scores: 49 points.
Thomas scores: 12 points.
Agrias relents to a peck on the cheek as Roy files past, though his contest earns a bit of a jealous glare. Fortunately, he's kicked back to the starting space before any ill may come of such an, er, contest.
The Holy Knight draws herself up as the King Koopa invades her personal space for the sake of a greeting. Ordinarly she'd be shrinking back about now, but... damn it, she's pissed. She snorts at his greeting (whose force and magnitude is enough to blow back her hair, a bit) and turns to watch as Thomas fails, miserably, at a game of basketball.
...Sigh. It's up to her, isn't it?
Well, back to start, right? Yeah. And there goes the coinage. Or did he even have coins?! Whatever! This is confusing!
Thomas flies back, landing promptly on part of the 'start' lettering. "OW..." Now he has to begin again, yo.
Thomas rolls, a 6 appears.
Agrias Oaks rolls a 10! And she does not roll a FAIL this time!
Bowser, after stuffing the poor kid and proving definetly that White Castle Masters can't jump, stomps on along, making faces at Agrias as he does so. He even collects three coins for his troubles!
Roy, in the meantime, seems to have pisspoor luck. He finds himself on a red space, and loses the three coins he had. "Aww, nertz." he mutters dejectedly. Can't we go back to the bedroom thing? Maybe with just Agria.. err, nevermind.
Okay, a six again? That's fine with him. He starts to lose his reserved manner as he dashes to the same spot, an index finger shooting out towards Bowser, spine straight, feet firmly planted on the ground as he narrows his eyebrows in a comical way. He means business now. And just because he couldn't shoot a basketball doesn't mean he does bad at everything!
His voice rings out, loud and clear for a change. "BOWSER! I CHALLENGE YOU!" Oh yeah, the castle master means it.
"Oh yeah, pipsqueak!" Bowser shouts back at the little short bristle head. "And what's the game I'm gonna stomp you at this time?! GWHAHAAHHHAA!"
Ten, eh?
Agrias limps on past the other arrows, instantly regretting the fact that her cane remains tied to the packs of her chocobo, which remains somewhere up in the clouds on that stupid-looking airship run by its even stupider-looking captain... ahem.
She glances down. The square, it would seem, is marked 'Bowser.'
...God, she wishes she could draw her sword right about now.
"Oh, you'll see..." says Thomas, smirking a bit...madly? Of course, his choice is questionable.
The game: Tiddlywinks!
You all know the rules. Rolling from 1 to 50.
Thomas rolls! And gets a 15!!!
"Grah!" Bowser roars. "First things first!" Stomping over to Agrias as he goes to play Thomas, he attempts to kick Agrias. If he succeeds.. she will be sent back some spaces.. if he misses, she gets to advance some spaces... so, that first, then tiddly winks.
Bowser winds, up, brings back his leg and PUNTS Agrias.
Agrias is sent back 5 spaces...
Now Bowser sits on his fat tuckass, and tries to get his thumb claw on the tiddly winks, sticking out his tongue and closing an eye. "AUGH! THIS IS SUCH A PUNY GAME!"
But he still manages to score: 39
And lo, does the Holy Knight fly like the most finely-fletched arrow ever created in the Kingdom of Ivalice... only slightly less aerodynamic, that is.
She lands with a clear 'thud,' mixed in with a clank or two of her armour smacking into the square she lands on.
Ow.
Picking herself up, she shakes her head as though to clear it.
She's muttering something under her breath. The words 'wretched knave,' 'slay,' and 'going to' are all audible, though not necessarily in that exact order.
Okay. This just shows how much Thomas sucks.
With that, Thomas flies back to the starting area, sounding miffed. As soon as his feet touch the 'start' panel, he rolls immediately, getting a 3.
And Agrias is also on the happening space. And she finds herself in the courtyard. In a garden. With a large hammer in her hands. And popping out of the ground are little Bowser Jrs. Can she whack more of them than what appear?
13 Bowser, Jrs. appear!
...Man. This isn't Thomas' day.
What is this special square???
She lands. She picks herself up. And... she's holding a hammer?
However, there's no time for thinking about that. Agrias is more interested in the fact that they're little effigies of Bowser, and she has a staunch hammer of striking in her hand. In her bout of Righteous Fury, she's able to squish 4 of the little buggers, too.
And Agrias is sent all the way back to start. With Roy. At least their together? Roy reaches up to hit his block and gets a 4
Thomas, on the special space has a friendly little cloud visit him. "You get to trade places with one person!" it says cheerfully. "Roll a die 6. 1-2 is Roy, 3-4 is Agrias, and 5-6 is Bowser!"
And in the meantime, Bowser is getting ready to roll, and possibly win this thing!
Roy Fokker gets three more coins. Yay~
And lo, the Holy Knight is airborne again. Fly like an eagle, land like a sack of rocks.
Damn it, she's going to be visiting a hot tub somewhere, after this. Picking herself up, Agrias straightens out her hair a bit, reaching up and irritably punching her block. The number flashes a 2.
Now clouds are talking to him! He smoked NOTHING!
Thomas pauses, then nods silently, staring at the cloud. This is tough. He rolls....
a 5.
Bowser, just as he starts to roll.. is suddenly picked up by the cloud. "WHAT?! AUGH! YOU DARN CLOUD! PUT ME DOWN!" And lo, he's switched out with Thomas! Nothing special happens to him, though, because Thomas was the one that activated the special. And now, it's a new turn. If Thomas rolls a 6 or higher, he can reach the star!
Roy, in the meantime, gets a 7.
And King Soreloser gets a 9
Almost there! Amazingly quick, that was. And annoying. Thomas only has this chance to get closer. If he fails, then he fails. "Here we go..." he mutters.
Thomas really rolled a 7. >.>
Arriving at the star, Thomas is giving a friendly little Starman for winning. In the future, he can use this to become temporarily invincible!
Bowser snarls as Thomas gets to the star. "Lucky little punk. Worse than the plumbers, I swear!" And the gameboard warps back into the Castle Master's home. The chocobos are brought back, Thomas's has a little red bow around it's next, and poor Bowser is left to leave, screaming all the way. "I'll be back, and next time you won't be so lucky!!!"
Agrias picks herself up, shaking her head as though to clear it. Guh. Next time she sees that overgrown tortoise, she's going to run her sword clean through his stupid fat face. Rest assured.
She blinks as the board fades and the chocobos are restored. Thomas' even seems to have a cute little red ribbon around its neck, standing there docilely. Her own she makes her way to, climbing and falling into the saddle; because hey, she doesn't have to stand, then.
Twisting, she reins the bird around. "Sorry, love. Looks like yours is back, too." She chuckles. "Actually, let me ride that one." She slides from the saddle, using the side of the bird to lean on. "You can ride mine. She's a bit sweeter than that."
Roy will probably help. Unless of course, he's away or something. As Agrias offers to make the trade, Roy is immediately agreeable. "Sure thing, sweetheart." the pilot says, eyeing her bird for a moment, before he goes to mount up on the chocobo. Let's hope things go better this time, hmm?
"..that was... interesting." Roy says with a small shrug from the saddle. "So, we ready to head home?"
"'Interesting' is not quite the word I would use." Agrias presses her lips into a thin line, reaching over to take her cane from the saddlebags of what seems Roy's bird, now. The chocobo eyes her, baleful, backing its crest. It's quite the pretty bird; yellow as the one she had left behind, but with a frosting of black on the tip of each feather, giving it an almost smoke-like appearance. Too bad it's so pretty and yet so... disagreeable.
"Easy, now." She takes the reins swiftly, using her cane to try and discourage the bird from biting, holding it up horizontally so the chocobo would bite /that/ and not, say, the bones of her /arm/. A neat vault into the saddle, and she chokes up the reins until the bird has no spare room to try and bite her.
"Handle them like this, love." She indicates the reins. "Don't give them the room to take a piece out of you, or they'll certainly try..." She chuckles, nodding to his question. "Aye, let's go home."
Trying to remain settled in Agrias's chocobo, Roy still doesn't look like he's comfortable in the saddle of these mutant turkeys. As he rides along side Agrias, he offers a smile. "...you were jealous." he says in a mild tease.
Agrias glances over, making sure the pilot doesn't fall out of his saddle as he gets himself situated. Once that's done, she digs her boots into the stirrups, setting to the task of handling her rather ornery bird. Kind of sweet and endearing, really. It reminds her of the last ill-tempered chocobo she had ridden into battle.
"What? Jealous?" Her head jerks up at the accusation, brows quirking. She doesn't look away fast enough to hide all of the blush. Of course she wasn't. She's expected to be an epitome of calm, level-headed responsibility, not to mention a paragon of good behaviour. Just because she doesn't serve Ivalice in particular doesn't mean she's stopped being a Holy Knight in her heart.
She looks forward again, tucking her chin and glowering at the road ahead of her. Good paragon of behaviour she may be, but everybody has their flaws, and she's still somewhat new to this whole... thing.
"...Maybe a little," she relents, mumbling. Hmph. There. Happy?
"...I thought it was adorable. And it reminded me how much I love you. And you, me." Leaning over, Roy pays Agrias the favor of a kiss on a blushed cheek before he rides on. "...I prefer your armor to an armored bikini'd floozie, anyway."
"I fail to understand how such armour would serve its purpose." She's still a little prickly, and she grumbles the mostly-rhetorical question. The chocobo tries to edge over and bite Roy while he was leaned over, but Agrias puts a swift end to that, jerking the reins.
"Mm. And I love you. The thought of someone else even attempting to lay claim to you disgusts me." If he couldn't tell. She snorts, settling more comfortably in the saddle. "You are mine, and mine alone; just as I am yours."
"Tch. I am." If Ranpha and Agrias's reaction to her was any indication.. "..you worry far too much about my much malinged reputation, Agrias." Roy says with a smirk. "Are you that worried about me?"
Agrias chucks the reins, guiding her chocobo closer to the pilot. She lets out a sigh, rolling a stiff shoulder. Maybe that last landing was a mite too hard.
"No, it isn't you I'm worried about." She uses one hand to guide the reins, clutching her left hand into a fist; around the ring she wears beneath the glove. Those golden eyes dim a little, though she doesn't shift her attention from the path before her. "It's me."
"I've lost anything that's ever been important to me. I had it torn away, and then I was almost crushed as well." She glances over to him, with a smile that's a few degrees too wilted to look confident. "To say I made it out of that unscathed would be a lie I could not stomach the telling of."
"What's to say I may not lose you to an outsider? I've lost everything else. Everyone else. And I will not let go of you, nor will I lose you without a fight, so no; it isn't your own reputation, love." She glances forward again. "It's my own damnable fears. Try as I might to banish them..."
"...Agrias Oaks." Roy sighs as he rides alongside the woman. "I know that you picked me up rather easily after Claudia left me.. but that doesn't mean I just chucked a ring at you to keep you. I was serious when I offered myself to you."
Straightening up as well in the saddle, Roy looks forward. "...and no pilot in a little black bikini, or women in chainmail, or anyone else is going to change how I feel about you."
"I know, love; I know." Agrias reaches up, rubbing at her forehead. "But, it wasn't easy, you know." She gives a weak smile, closing her hands around the reins and keeping a close eye on the chocobo. "To... 'pick you up,' as you say. They may not have counted for much, any more, but my vows and oaths were all I had. And for you, I sacrificed them anyway."
She wraps the reins around her other wrist, reaching out to take Roy's hand with the one she has that's closer to him. Her left, incidentally. "I know, Roy." She murmurs quietly, her words almost lost in the chocobos' footfalls, talons raking through the forest loam. "And nothing will change how I feel about you. Nothing. I am sorry for doubting, truly sorry... it's just... sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you. And how fine a line I walk -- whether or not my incredible luck in finding you will run out."
"You had a coupon." Roy says teasingly, twining his fingers with hers. "Come on, let's get home and get some sleep.. and I totally need to wash this /chicken/ smell off of me.."
"A coupon, eh." Agrias chuckles, lacing her fingers with his, even wearing her gauntlets. Her grip is sure, as firm as it is on the reins. She bows her head a bit, closing her eyes and smiling. Better. "Aye, sleep would do well, and a shower. I am exhausted."
WHAT: Delivering a present to Thomas for Christmas, trouble brews.
WHEN: Around Christmas~
WHERE: Budhec Gameboard Castle
If other places can be decorated, why can't Budehuc do the same? Maybe because there aren't many holidays? Or are there? Well, whatever the case may be, the area still looks the same - just colder and more rennovated than before.
Thomas wears something a little more in between styles of contemporary and his usual gear, the colors fitting the scenery as he brushes his bangs away from his eyes. Although much doesn't happen here, things always seems to be evenly-paced.
'WARK!'
"Go wark yourself!" Roy yells, jostled forward again as he grabs his arms around the neck of the chocobo, which illicits him to sneeze /again/ as his nose is tickled by muted yellow feathers.
What was it that Agrias said? Oh, she used Roy's words against him.. when in Rome...
ROME DIDN'T HAVE GIANT CHICKENS TO RIDE.
'WARK!' the chocobo protests again, damn near pecking at the tall man on it's saddle.
"Go ahead, do it, I'll serve you up with 11 herbs and spices, mashed taters, gravy, cole slaw and a biscuit!" the Veritech commander rumbles angrily.
It had only been a short trip to the Zexen Federation, and from there, a short trip to the lands that purportedly held Budehuc Castle. He seemed to know her, and a bit of inquiry around the port city of Vinay del Zexay revealed that the shy castellan did, indeed, hold territory in Chris Lightfellow's own world. A friendly chat with more nobility turned up a location, and so that's where they had headed.
At least, it was /supposed/ to be a short ride. It ended up rather longer than she would have liked. Mostly, that would have been because Roy's steed, while certainly a spirited fellow, seemed entirely untrained to the saddle. Agrias had been successful in procuring two mounts from Ivalice, thanks to a bit of sneaking around and a few people she had once known, as well as generous intervention from Roy and a bit of direction...
Riding it, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
Agrias Oaks sits the saddle of her own bird, gauntleted hand gripping the reins of both her own and a third chocobo, both of the two docile. She sighs, shaking her head.
"You're not going to eat it, Roy. At the very least... you aren't going to want to." Still, she sounds amused; more than she likely has a right to. "And they taste terrible, let me assure you, no matter how much you may try to garnish it with herbs and spices. Very stringy and tough. Aside from the logistics of eating your own steed, I would not recommend..."
She pauses, golden eyes flicking off to the side. Motion. Ah, and that would be the shy seneschal himself.
"Thomas!" Agrias raises her arm in a cheery wave. She wears her full armour today, sword strapped to her side, shield over her back. "Master of the Castle! We come, bearing a gift." It had seemed the nice thing to do, at the time, and most chocobos could be found fairly cheap in Ivalice. Horses, however, were harder to come by.
What the -
The castle master's attention is caught as he watches the commander come in...on this...bird thing. However, Agrias makes a better show of her riding skills than Roy does, so it's easy to assume these animals were from her world. The youth smiles awkwardly, waving an arm in return. "Ah! Welcome! It's nice to see you again!"
Thomas trots up to meet them, watching out for the chocobo that is having a ball with Roy as the rider. Maybe it's safer to stay nearer to Agrias.
And yes, he blinks when a gift is mentioned.
"Stringy? Then I'll make a STEW!" Roy promises in an angry retort, which causes the chocobo to give him yet another jostle. "..."
Climbing off of his mount, the pilot can only glare at the chocobo. "...I hope you end up in a combo meal with a side of fries and a large Petite Cola." the pilot rumbles at the Chocobo, which gives a defiant 'Wark' in return.
Did we say dismount? No, Roy's fall from the Chocobo causes him to land flat on his rear with a whoompf of pain. He sits there for several moments, trying to regain his wits.. and trying not to grab his pistol and put down his mount himself, right here and now.
Finally pushing himself to his feet, Roy dusts off, giving a low whistle at the size of the castle. "Well, I see why you have a lot of visitors of the female persuasion." he says casually, "..man, if I totally had a bachelor pad like this..."
Welcome to CRIBS: Roy Fokker.
'See, here in the foyer, I put whoofers in the chests of these suits of armor and tweeters in the head. So when the base is really pumping, they move and shake, it's pretty flag waving. Wait til you see the bedroom. Jacuzzi, hot tub, and still enough room for my honeys...'
Agrias chokes up on the reins as the castle master draws a little closer. Once he's close enough, she reaches out, handing him the second set of reins she carries. The third steed is a handsome-looking bird, a dusty yellow, and seemingly rather docile in temperment.
"Good to see you again as well, Master Thomas." The Holy Knight grins, holding out the reins towards Thomas. "This is for you. Consider it a gift, but not on behalf of the Vanguard Detachment. After our last conversation, I thought you might use some cheering up, aye? It is a chocobo. They are the chosen beasts of burden, in Ivalice, though horses are also used. These birds are cheaper and more common, though, and quite a bit more sensible than horses in many cases."
"Ah." She glances over to Roy, blinking a bit. Her tone falls a little quieter, murmuring something to him just out of the seneschal's hearing. That done, she glances up, smiling to Thomas. "Go on, she won't bite you. Neither will mine. Perhaps Roy's... quite an ill-tempered bird, I must say." She clucks her tongue, disprovingly; Roy's bird glances up briefly before resuming its bout of staring down the Veritech pilot. Agrias' bird seems quite content to stand there, watching, and Thomas' scratches disinterestedly at the dust and flagstones.
"If you do not know how to ride, I would be quite willing to teach you. As an independent territory, I heard in Vinay del Zexay that you are sometimes required to travel here or there, and I thought this may help you in your travels."
Oh, MTV, how you affect us all.
NO that's not how Budehuc looks! *armflails*
Thomas' head sort of tips forward at Roy's comment, his mouth turning crooked as he lets out a shakey laugh. He would reply to it, but as soon as Agrias hands him the set of reins, his hand closes around them as topaz eyes divert to see where they led. Aw, they shouldn't have.
"Yes, yes, t-thank you. You shouldn't have," he replies politely, looking at the chocobo approvingly. Hey, this is a step up from whatever he was riding during those mini-games! :D
Anyway. It's nice to know he was thought of. Then, another thought clicks. "Oh - I don't have anything for you, though!"
"Anyway, Merry Christmas, kiddo." Roy says with a smirking grin, still checking out the house.
Wait, did Thomas think about mini-games? Yes, yes he did.
Suddenly, dark clouds swirl into being around the castle. The Chocobos wark and claw at the ground restlessly. As they do so, a large, wooden ship, floating on propellors makes it's presence known. On the deck, a giant lizard looking creature barks orders at various creatures. Some look like turtles, others flying mushrooms.
Ropes descend, wrapping around the Chocobos and capturing them. "BWAHAHAHAHAA!" King Bowser declares loudly, "Your chickens are MINE! And the only way you can get them back is if you beat me at a game!"
Agrias shifts in the saddle, climbing carefully down. She lands with a stagger, using Roy as a convenient support. She seems about to say something else, but then the sky darkens and down come the ropes. Hissing and screeching, the chocobos are yanked skyward on their tow-cables, none too gently, by the Koopa Troopas manning the airship.
The Holy Knight's reaction, of course, is to be rather angry about the theft of three rather expensive birds she had acquired rather cheaply. Her immedate response is to rip her sword from its scabbard, waving it furiously at the giant, fat, spiked creature atop the deck of the airship.
"Whit th' haell d'ye reckon y'r daein', ye bluidy reiver?! Gi'e those birds back, an' gi'e them back /nae/, oorit ye'll taste ma blad'!" Hopping mad? Just a bit. It had taken considerable effort to sneak into Ivalice to /acquire/ those birds, and it could have very easily turned into an ugly melee. "Whit th' haell games aer ye talken' aboot? Y'r mad! Gi'e back yon stowen pack! /Nae/!" she snarls, furious.
Man, he just got a present and now it's being taken from him. It's like how the weaker kids are picked on by bullies twice their size, taking all the lunch money they have. Thomas' head jerks back in surprise when this crazy contraption comes from the skies, letting out a weak gasp in the process as the Koopa King speaks.
Goodness, there's already two video game-related characters in this place as it is. Adding another one with different settings is just insane. But - why not. "Buh...H-hey!" Thomas manages to let out after some hesitation, a fist clenching. "What...what do you mean by 'game'?!"
"Easy, girl!" Bowser yells down at Agrias. "And what the heck are you saying anyway. Common! SPEAK IT!" he yells down, and then turns his attention to Thomas. "Oh, that's easy!" And with a flash of magic, Budech Castle is transformed into a gameboard! One that looks a lot like this: Gameboard
+--------------------------------------------+
| |
| (Star) |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Blue) | (Item) |
^| < | < | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Bowser) | (Blue) |
| > | > | > |^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Lottery) | (Blue) | (Red) |
^| < | << | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Blue) | (Happening) |
| > | >> | > |^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (DUEL!) | (Red) | (Blue) |
^| < | << | < |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
| (Blue) | (Red) | (Special) |
| > | >> | > | ^
+--------------+--------------+--------------+
^| (Start) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------+
Blue Space: +3 coins
Red Space: -3 coins
Duel: The person who lands on it can challenge anyone else to a 1-on-1 match and wager coins. Winner-take-all.
Happening!: A Surprise!
Item Space: A board-specific item that could be used for some bizarre purpose. Like bribing Bowser.
Bowser: Bad things happen to the person who steps here.
Lottery: Creative!
Roy, staring at the situation as it develops, wraps a protective arm around his knight, scowls. "We better do what he says, Aggy. It's probably the easiest way to get Thomas's chocobo back.."
Then louder, to Bowser, "YOU CAN KEEP MINE, THOUGH!"
"Ah'm speaken' juis' fine, ye braw bluidy toad! Ah've nae mercy faer tha' likes o' ye an' y'r bluidy band o' thieves! Ah howp ye're nae afraid o' ae guid bluidy fecht! Dae ye /knaw/ whit Ah had tae gae t'rou' tae get those bluidy birds?!"
Veritably shaking with rage, not to mention shaking her sword at Bowser, it would seem the knight is in a rage quite worthy of Ruvelia Atkascha's finest examples.
She blinks when the castle transforms, scowling down at her feet. A neat, orderly square, with 'Start' in neat, orderly letters. She's tense as a live wire when the pilot wraps an arm around her, and... well, she's lucky she's surrounded by allies, or she might do something stupid, in her anger.
"Ah'll gi'e him whit faer," she snarls, shoving her sword back into its scabbard. Standing there with Roy's arm around her, still obviously displeased, the Holy Knight looks all the world like a pissed-off raptor with its feathers ruffled up. Her baleful, golden glare doesn't help this image any.
Right now, Thomas would have freaked out, shouting "MY CASTLE!!" at the top of his lungs in horror, but he keeps his cool, only letting this change surprise him to a certain point.
Plus, he only can make out part of whatever Agrias Oaks was saying at the moment. The youth glances about his surroundings, then back at Bowser. "...So, we just follow this, then?" he asks towards the other two players of this game, shifting his weight oddly.
"Ah, but there's a catch.." Bowser growls, jumping off the side of the ship and lands on the 'START' square. And now, even if Agrias wanted to attack, she will find that she cannot. The game rules are now in effect.
Roy frowns, looking towards the star. "We're just going to have to beat him there!" the Veritech pilot offers to the others, just as four squares appear. Each one of the squares rotates between 1 and 9. Bowser jumps, then the others will hopefully follow suit to get the following rolls to start the game!
OMFG DICE ROLLS!
Agrias Oaks rolls a 4!
King Bowser rolls a 6!
Roy Fokker rolls a 9!
Thomas rolls a 6!
Agrias staggers back a bit when Bowser lands, making a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. She pulls away from Roy, then, glancing up at the dice suspended in the air. Four, eh?
She glances down at the ground, limping along after the arrows until she comes to a halt at her space. Crossing her arms with a curt motion, she glares behind, waiting for the others to make their move.
Now that she seems to have calmed, however incrimentally, she tosses her head to clear her bangs from her face. "What exactly is the point of this, anyway? And who the bloody hell are you, that you would impose yourself so dishonourably?"
Agrias finds herself the owner of 3 shiny coins!
Agh. This is just too confusing for the castle master. And, as his luck would have it, he gets to land...on the duel square. "Wh..what?
Thomas blinks, seeing that his fate is sealed.
Roy moves along, past Agrias, who gets a peck on the cheek. Past Thomas. Who gets King Bowser as a date. Aww nuts. And he keeps moving and moving and moving. Wow, that was a lot of spaces.
And he finds himself in the Castle Master's master bedroom. Where.. several dozen girls in skimpy bikini armor wait for him. "OH ROY!" they all fan girl and swarm him.
Roy is armed with a paintball gun, and is supposed to shoot them off before they get to him.. but he forgets that notion, and finds himself returning to 'Start'. Oops.
King Bowser, in the meantime, stomp stomp. Looms over Agrias. "I AM KING BOWSER, RIGHTFUL RULER OF MUSHROOM KINGDOM." And he leaves it at that as he stomp stomp stomps to Thomas. "...the pipsqueak! BWHAHAAHAHAHAH! I challenge you to a game of SLAM DUNK BASKETBALL!"
Bowser and Thomas play a game of Slam Dunk Basketball.
King Bowser scores: 49 points.
Thomas scores: 12 points.
Agrias relents to a peck on the cheek as Roy files past, though his contest earns a bit of a jealous glare. Fortunately, he's kicked back to the starting space before any ill may come of such an, er, contest.
The Holy Knight draws herself up as the King Koopa invades her personal space for the sake of a greeting. Ordinarly she'd be shrinking back about now, but... damn it, she's pissed. She snorts at his greeting (whose force and magnitude is enough to blow back her hair, a bit) and turns to watch as Thomas fails, miserably, at a game of basketball.
...Sigh. It's up to her, isn't it?
Well, back to start, right? Yeah. And there goes the coinage. Or did he even have coins?! Whatever! This is confusing!
Thomas flies back, landing promptly on part of the 'start' lettering. "OW..." Now he has to begin again, yo.
Thomas rolls, a 6 appears.
Agrias Oaks rolls a 10! And she does not roll a FAIL this time!
Bowser, after stuffing the poor kid and proving definetly that White Castle Masters can't jump, stomps on along, making faces at Agrias as he does so. He even collects three coins for his troubles!
Roy, in the meantime, seems to have pisspoor luck. He finds himself on a red space, and loses the three coins he had. "Aww, nertz." he mutters dejectedly. Can't we go back to the bedroom thing? Maybe with just Agria.. err, nevermind.
Okay, a six again? That's fine with him. He starts to lose his reserved manner as he dashes to the same spot, an index finger shooting out towards Bowser, spine straight, feet firmly planted on the ground as he narrows his eyebrows in a comical way. He means business now. And just because he couldn't shoot a basketball doesn't mean he does bad at everything!
His voice rings out, loud and clear for a change. "BOWSER! I CHALLENGE YOU!" Oh yeah, the castle master means it.
"Oh yeah, pipsqueak!" Bowser shouts back at the little short bristle head. "And what's the game I'm gonna stomp you at this time?! GWHAHAAHHHAA!"
Ten, eh?
Agrias limps on past the other arrows, instantly regretting the fact that her cane remains tied to the packs of her chocobo, which remains somewhere up in the clouds on that stupid-looking airship run by its even stupider-looking captain... ahem.
She glances down. The square, it would seem, is marked 'Bowser.'
...God, she wishes she could draw her sword right about now.
"Oh, you'll see..." says Thomas, smirking a bit...madly? Of course, his choice is questionable.
The game: Tiddlywinks!
You all know the rules. Rolling from 1 to 50.
Thomas rolls! And gets a 15!!!
"Grah!" Bowser roars. "First things first!" Stomping over to Agrias as he goes to play Thomas, he attempts to kick Agrias. If he succeeds.. she will be sent back some spaces.. if he misses, she gets to advance some spaces... so, that first, then tiddly winks.
Bowser winds, up, brings back his leg and PUNTS Agrias.
Agrias is sent back 5 spaces...
Now Bowser sits on his fat tuckass, and tries to get his thumb claw on the tiddly winks, sticking out his tongue and closing an eye. "AUGH! THIS IS SUCH A PUNY GAME!"
But he still manages to score: 39
And lo, does the Holy Knight fly like the most finely-fletched arrow ever created in the Kingdom of Ivalice... only slightly less aerodynamic, that is.
She lands with a clear 'thud,' mixed in with a clank or two of her armour smacking into the square she lands on.
Ow.
Picking herself up, she shakes her head as though to clear it.
She's muttering something under her breath. The words 'wretched knave,' 'slay,' and 'going to' are all audible, though not necessarily in that exact order.
Okay. This just shows how much Thomas sucks.
With that, Thomas flies back to the starting area, sounding miffed. As soon as his feet touch the 'start' panel, he rolls immediately, getting a 3.
And Agrias is also on the happening space. And she finds herself in the courtyard. In a garden. With a large hammer in her hands. And popping out of the ground are little Bowser Jrs. Can she whack more of them than what appear?
13 Bowser, Jrs. appear!
...Man. This isn't Thomas' day.
What is this special square???
She lands. She picks herself up. And... she's holding a hammer?
However, there's no time for thinking about that. Agrias is more interested in the fact that they're little effigies of Bowser, and she has a staunch hammer of striking in her hand. In her bout of Righteous Fury, she's able to squish 4 of the little buggers, too.
And Agrias is sent all the way back to start. With Roy. At least their together? Roy reaches up to hit his block and gets a 4
Thomas, on the special space has a friendly little cloud visit him. "You get to trade places with one person!" it says cheerfully. "Roll a die 6. 1-2 is Roy, 3-4 is Agrias, and 5-6 is Bowser!"
And in the meantime, Bowser is getting ready to roll, and possibly win this thing!
Roy Fokker gets three more coins. Yay~
And lo, the Holy Knight is airborne again. Fly like an eagle, land like a sack of rocks.
Damn it, she's going to be visiting a hot tub somewhere, after this. Picking herself up, Agrias straightens out her hair a bit, reaching up and irritably punching her block. The number flashes a 2.
Now clouds are talking to him! He smoked NOTHING!
Thomas pauses, then nods silently, staring at the cloud. This is tough. He rolls....
a 5.
Bowser, just as he starts to roll.. is suddenly picked up by the cloud. "WHAT?! AUGH! YOU DARN CLOUD! PUT ME DOWN!" And lo, he's switched out with Thomas! Nothing special happens to him, though, because Thomas was the one that activated the special. And now, it's a new turn. If Thomas rolls a 6 or higher, he can reach the star!
Roy, in the meantime, gets a 7.
And King Soreloser gets a 9
Almost there! Amazingly quick, that was. And annoying. Thomas only has this chance to get closer. If he fails, then he fails. "Here we go..." he mutters.
Thomas really rolled a 7. >.>
Arriving at the star, Thomas is giving a friendly little Starman for winning. In the future, he can use this to become temporarily invincible!
Bowser snarls as Thomas gets to the star. "Lucky little punk. Worse than the plumbers, I swear!" And the gameboard warps back into the Castle Master's home. The chocobos are brought back, Thomas's has a little red bow around it's next, and poor Bowser is left to leave, screaming all the way. "I'll be back, and next time you won't be so lucky!!!"
Agrias picks herself up, shaking her head as though to clear it. Guh. Next time she sees that overgrown tortoise, she's going to run her sword clean through his stupid fat face. Rest assured.
She blinks as the board fades and the chocobos are restored. Thomas' even seems to have a cute little red ribbon around its neck, standing there docilely. Her own she makes her way to, climbing and falling into the saddle; because hey, she doesn't have to stand, then.
Twisting, she reins the bird around. "Sorry, love. Looks like yours is back, too." She chuckles. "Actually, let me ride that one." She slides from the saddle, using the side of the bird to lean on. "You can ride mine. She's a bit sweeter than that."
Roy will probably help. Unless of course, he's away or something. As Agrias offers to make the trade, Roy is immediately agreeable. "Sure thing, sweetheart." the pilot says, eyeing her bird for a moment, before he goes to mount up on the chocobo. Let's hope things go better this time, hmm?
"..that was... interesting." Roy says with a small shrug from the saddle. "So, we ready to head home?"
"'Interesting' is not quite the word I would use." Agrias presses her lips into a thin line, reaching over to take her cane from the saddlebags of what seems Roy's bird, now. The chocobo eyes her, baleful, backing its crest. It's quite the pretty bird; yellow as the one she had left behind, but with a frosting of black on the tip of each feather, giving it an almost smoke-like appearance. Too bad it's so pretty and yet so... disagreeable.
"Easy, now." She takes the reins swiftly, using her cane to try and discourage the bird from biting, holding it up horizontally so the chocobo would bite /that/ and not, say, the bones of her /arm/. A neat vault into the saddle, and she chokes up the reins until the bird has no spare room to try and bite her.
"Handle them like this, love." She indicates the reins. "Don't give them the room to take a piece out of you, or they'll certainly try..." She chuckles, nodding to his question. "Aye, let's go home."
Trying to remain settled in Agrias's chocobo, Roy still doesn't look like he's comfortable in the saddle of these mutant turkeys. As he rides along side Agrias, he offers a smile. "...you were jealous." he says in a mild tease.
Agrias glances over, making sure the pilot doesn't fall out of his saddle as he gets himself situated. Once that's done, she digs her boots into the stirrups, setting to the task of handling her rather ornery bird. Kind of sweet and endearing, really. It reminds her of the last ill-tempered chocobo she had ridden into battle.
"What? Jealous?" Her head jerks up at the accusation, brows quirking. She doesn't look away fast enough to hide all of the blush. Of course she wasn't. She's expected to be an epitome of calm, level-headed responsibility, not to mention a paragon of good behaviour. Just because she doesn't serve Ivalice in particular doesn't mean she's stopped being a Holy Knight in her heart.
She looks forward again, tucking her chin and glowering at the road ahead of her. Good paragon of behaviour she may be, but everybody has their flaws, and she's still somewhat new to this whole... thing.
"...Maybe a little," she relents, mumbling. Hmph. There. Happy?
"...I thought it was adorable. And it reminded me how much I love you. And you, me." Leaning over, Roy pays Agrias the favor of a kiss on a blushed cheek before he rides on. "...I prefer your armor to an armored bikini'd floozie, anyway."
"I fail to understand how such armour would serve its purpose." She's still a little prickly, and she grumbles the mostly-rhetorical question. The chocobo tries to edge over and bite Roy while he was leaned over, but Agrias puts a swift end to that, jerking the reins.
"Mm. And I love you. The thought of someone else even attempting to lay claim to you disgusts me." If he couldn't tell. She snorts, settling more comfortably in the saddle. "You are mine, and mine alone; just as I am yours."
"Tch. I am." If Ranpha and Agrias's reaction to her was any indication.. "..you worry far too much about my much malinged reputation, Agrias." Roy says with a smirk. "Are you that worried about me?"
Agrias chucks the reins, guiding her chocobo closer to the pilot. She lets out a sigh, rolling a stiff shoulder. Maybe that last landing was a mite too hard.
"No, it isn't you I'm worried about." She uses one hand to guide the reins, clutching her left hand into a fist; around the ring she wears beneath the glove. Those golden eyes dim a little, though she doesn't shift her attention from the path before her. "It's me."
"I've lost anything that's ever been important to me. I had it torn away, and then I was almost crushed as well." She glances over to him, with a smile that's a few degrees too wilted to look confident. "To say I made it out of that unscathed would be a lie I could not stomach the telling of."
"What's to say I may not lose you to an outsider? I've lost everything else. Everyone else. And I will not let go of you, nor will I lose you without a fight, so no; it isn't your own reputation, love." She glances forward again. "It's my own damnable fears. Try as I might to banish them..."
"...Agrias Oaks." Roy sighs as he rides alongside the woman. "I know that you picked me up rather easily after Claudia left me.. but that doesn't mean I just chucked a ring at you to keep you. I was serious when I offered myself to you."
Straightening up as well in the saddle, Roy looks forward. "...and no pilot in a little black bikini, or women in chainmail, or anyone else is going to change how I feel about you."
"I know, love; I know." Agrias reaches up, rubbing at her forehead. "But, it wasn't easy, you know." She gives a weak smile, closing her hands around the reins and keeping a close eye on the chocobo. "To... 'pick you up,' as you say. They may not have counted for much, any more, but my vows and oaths were all I had. And for you, I sacrificed them anyway."
She wraps the reins around her other wrist, reaching out to take Roy's hand with the one she has that's closer to him. Her left, incidentally. "I know, Roy." She murmurs quietly, her words almost lost in the chocobos' footfalls, talons raking through the forest loam. "And nothing will change how I feel about you. Nothing. I am sorry for doubting, truly sorry... it's just... sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you. And how fine a line I walk -- whether or not my incredible luck in finding you will run out."
"You had a coupon." Roy says teasingly, twining his fingers with hers. "Come on, let's get home and get some sleep.. and I totally need to wash this /chicken/ smell off of me.."
"A coupon, eh." Agrias chuckles, lacing her fingers with his, even wearing her gauntlets. Her grip is sure, as firm as it is on the reins. She bows her head a bit, closing her eyes and smiling. Better. "Aye, sleep would do well, and a shower. I am exhausted."