[Aerith is excited, there's no denying it. She manages to get on the wagon, settling down on the bench and gives Cloud one of her brightest smiles. How hard could it be to drive a wagon?]
Yes sir, moseying it is!
[At first, it is a little thrilling. New place, new things, wide open spaces and new people to talk to. They joined a wagon train with several other people, and they would occasionally stop by and chat.
After a few hours, however, she realizes that it isn't too hard to steer the oxen. But it's boring. At one point she's tempted to coax Cloud into playing eye spy, but then one of the women from the train came over to talk to her at length about...eggplants.
Why are eggplants on her mind?
After a while, she rolls her neck. Her shoulders were stiff since she'd tried to sit up straight the whole time. So she starts talking at Cloud, keeping her mind off the monotony that is wagon driving.]
You know, I've named the oxen.
[She points out each of them - there are four, and they are identical, but she swears she can tell the difference.]
That's Wesley, on the right is Bill. Back left is Bessie and the last one is Brutus.
[Cloud has, as only Cloud is able, managed to stoically ignore everyone that's tried to be friendly. In fact, he's managed it so well that no one bothers come up on his side of the wagon to talk anymore. They just aim for Aerith. Which is fine with Cloud but do they have to talk about things that are so... boring? Eggplants? Really? What even ARE eggplants because he was pretty sure eggs came from birds not plants...
The monotony of the trip sets in fast and unfortunately so does Cloud's motion sickness.
damn...
He feels like he's a Shinra grunt again. Sick and bored. His memories of that time are still a little fuzzy but he's pretty sure that's how it went for the majority of his service. He's about to start hoping for a buffalo stampede when Aerith perks up with her chosen topic of conversation.
Which... isn't eggplants. His glazed over mind blearily shakes itself back into focus. Intelligence flares to life again and brilliance flows.
Because I promised a little boy from one of the families I would name an ox after him!
[Aerith points to one of the wagons, which currently had a boy around seven leaning out the back, waving wildly in their direction. She waves back, smiling at the boy.]
Otherwise I would have kept up with the naming theme I had. 'B' names fit farm animals, right? Except maybe Barret.
[Barret's name just fit...Barret to her, and nobody else really. She loops the reins around her hands a bit, taking a tighter hold so they wouldn't fall. It was a strange experience, to be directing animals, but they seemed to follow the wagons in front of them.]
So, I've been talking to everyone, trying to find out just where we're going. I know Oregon...not that I know where that is. Doesn't seem anyone really knows a lot about this trail, just that it can be dangerous.
[By talking, she of course means grilling. Gentle grilling, but she was still digging for info. Most of the stories were about sickness, starvation and getting lost. Doesn't sound too fun.]
[Aerith, you're looking at the guy that names his Chocobos: Mr. Good, Ms. Great, Mr. Green, Ms. Blue, etc. Cloud has no idea what letter of the alphabet is appropriate for animal names so he's willing to go with Aerith's choice. Barret starts with a B. So does bear... in a marshmallow...
heh.
He'll nod at her summary though.]
Mostly it sounds bad.
[Because Cloud's known for being comforting and sugar coating things.]
We'll be okay though. We've been through worse with less. And we'll keep an eye on the others too. Just in case they need us. [like Wesley, for instance. Because Aerith likes him. And because he's a kid. Cloud will lean forward in the seat to rest his arms over his thighs. Because the real burning question in his mind is:]
[Cloud was better at summarizing it than she was - even if bad sounded like an understatement. Keeping an eye on them was a good idea, she certainly didn't want to end up like the Donner party people kept whispering about with fear in their eyes.
A bit a fascination was there as well, and that was more disturbing. Aerith actually refrained from asking for details on that story.
His question made her smile.]
It's apparently some plant we can eat. I didn't get a lot of details, but some woman was raving about them back in Independence.
[The woman also talked to a broom as if it were her child, and had glued a paper plate on it. With a drawn face. Aerith didn't judge, though.]
I bought some seeds, just in case. No telling how long it'll take them to grow, but better to be safe, right?
[Actually, she's bought them because she felt a little sorry for the woman. She's pretty sure she can't even plant them in this climate, but she isn't the absolute expert in foreign plants.]
[he offered it as if, somehow, that was supposed to make some kind of difference he still couldn't fathom. He could set up a tent with his eyes closed. Setting up a house seemed a lot more complex though.
Maybe he could make them a tent-house?
Either way, he squinted up ahead. He had better eyesight than most and he'd been catching a glint on the horizon for a little bit now.]
Looks like there's a river up ahead. Maybe we can take a break on the other side and stretch our legs a little.
[depending on how wide the river was of course...]
[Aerith can barely see the river. Cloud does have freakishly good eyesight, and she gives him an impressed look. Not that she should be surprised, really.]
How do you think we'll cross? If it's too deep for the wagon, I mean. Hopefully it'll be shallow enough to just trot through.
[By trot she means the oxen, obviously. And getting out of the wagon sounded like a good idea, too. The sun was high and bright in the sky, which meant it was probably giving her a sunburn on her nose and cheeks. Fantastic!
She's also getting hungry, and she looks over her shoulder to scan what's in the back of the wagon.]
I don't think we have anything quick to eat, do we? Everything seems like it'll take a while to prepare.
Yes sir, moseying it is!
[At first, it is a little thrilling. New place, new things, wide open spaces and new people to talk to. They joined a wagon train with several other people, and they would occasionally stop by and chat.
After a few hours, however, she realizes that it isn't too hard to steer the oxen. But it's boring. At one point she's tempted to coax Cloud into playing eye spy, but then one of the women from the train came over to talk to her at length about...eggplants.
Why are eggplants on her mind?
After a while, she rolls her neck. Her shoulders were stiff since she'd tried to sit up straight the whole time. So she starts talking at Cloud, keeping her mind off the monotony that is wagon driving.]
You know, I've named the oxen.
[She points out each of them - there are four, and they are identical, but she swears she can tell the difference.]
That's Wesley, on the right is Bill. Back left is Bessie and the last one is Brutus.
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The monotony of the trip sets in fast and unfortunately so does Cloud's motion sickness.
damn...
He feels like he's a Shinra grunt again. Sick and bored. His memories of that time are still a little fuzzy but he's pretty sure that's how it went for the majority of his service. He's about to start hoping for a buffalo stampede when Aerith perks up with her chosen topic of conversation.
Which... isn't eggplants. His glazed over mind blearily shakes itself back into focus. Intelligence flares to life again and brilliance flows.
Or... not.]
Why Wesley?
Reply
[Aerith points to one of the wagons, which currently had a boy around seven leaning out the back, waving wildly in their direction. She waves back, smiling at the boy.]
Otherwise I would have kept up with the naming theme I had. 'B' names fit farm animals, right? Except maybe Barret.
[Barret's name just fit...Barret to her, and nobody else really. She loops the reins around her hands a bit, taking a tighter hold so they wouldn't fall. It was a strange experience, to be directing animals, but they seemed to follow the wagons in front of them.]
So, I've been talking to everyone, trying to find out just where we're going. I know Oregon...not that I know where that is. Doesn't seem anyone really knows a lot about this trail, just that it can be dangerous.
[By talking, she of course means grilling. Gentle grilling, but she was still digging for info. Most of the stories were about sickness, starvation and getting lost. Doesn't sound too fun.]
Reply
[Aerith, you're looking at the guy that names his Chocobos: Mr. Good, Ms. Great, Mr. Green, Ms. Blue, etc. Cloud has no idea what letter of the alphabet is appropriate for animal names so he's willing to go with Aerith's choice. Barret starts with a B. So does bear... in a marshmallow...
heh.
He'll nod at her summary though.]
Mostly it sounds bad.
[Because Cloud's known for being comforting and sugar coating things.]
We'll be okay though. We've been through worse with less. And we'll keep an eye on the others too. Just in case they need us. [like Wesley, for instance. Because Aerith likes him. And because he's a kid. Cloud will lean forward in the seat to rest his arms over his thighs. Because the real burning question in his mind is:]
Aerith? What's an eggplant?
Reply
A bit a fascination was there as well, and that was more disturbing. Aerith actually refrained from asking for details on that story.
His question made her smile.]
It's apparently some plant we can eat. I didn't get a lot of details, but some woman was raving about them back in Independence.
[The woman also talked to a broom as if it were her child, and had glued a paper plate on it. With a drawn face. Aerith didn't judge, though.]
I bought some seeds, just in case. No telling how long it'll take them to grow, but better to be safe, right?
[Actually, she's bought them because she felt a little sorry for the woman. She's pretty sure she can't even plant them in this climate, but she isn't the absolute expert in foreign plants.]
Reply
[he offered it as if, somehow, that was supposed to make some kind of difference he still couldn't fathom. He could set up a tent with his eyes closed. Setting up a house seemed a lot more complex though.
Maybe he could make them a tent-house?
Either way, he squinted up ahead. He had better eyesight than most and he'd been catching a glint on the horizon for a little bit now.]
Looks like there's a river up ahead. Maybe we can take a break on the other side and stretch our legs a little.
[depending on how wide the river was of course...]
Reply
How do you think we'll cross? If it's too deep for the wagon, I mean. Hopefully it'll be shallow enough to just trot through.
[By trot she means the oxen, obviously. And getting out of the wagon sounded like a good idea, too. The sun was high and bright in the sky, which meant it was probably giving her a sunburn on her nose and cheeks. Fantastic!
She's also getting hungry, and she looks over her shoulder to scan what's in the back of the wagon.]
I don't think we have anything quick to eat, do we? Everything seems like it'll take a while to prepare.
Reply
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