MUG

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

See the competitor in me wants to say that Inadi should win but I'm fine with giving the race to either Les or Ace. I like to be a good sport. :)

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

It seems like the short posts continue for me. Didn't want to be the one to choose a winner. I leave that up to one of you.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

The feeling of going this fast with the wind sailing past his hair, his glasses barely staying on him, Inadi felt like he was living out a wonderful dream. Here he was, a few hours ago, fighting a giant slime that had tried to devour him and the others he had come to know here in Nowhere. Now he was riding a Chocobo. This was something he had been dreaming about since he was a child. And the fact that he was racing made it feel all the more exhilarating.

He was neck and neck with the others for a good part of the race, and watched as others began picking up speed. It was all the Chocobo's though, most were still sitting upright in their saddles and it was affecting their speed. Inadi had seen a horse race or two in his time and knew that jockeys kept themselves close to the horse that way there wouldn't be that much wind sheer to have to deal with. Smiling to himself he leaned in close to Pini and began speaking to him, raising his voice to overcome the loud sounds of the talons underneath stomping into the ground.

“Kick it into the next gear there Pini! We got these guys no problem at all,” Inadi said as he gave a quick snap of the reigns, making the great bird kweh loudly in response. The bird began picking up speed, and started catching up with some of the other Chocobos. That was when Inadi lowered his body into the saddle and seemingly sank into the feathers of Pini himself. Keeping his head slightly to the left, he was able to keep an eye on where the other racers where and moved the reigns as best he could to avoid the Chocbos around them. Once he began passing by Ace and Lesley, he knew that he had to just find a way to get past Riley.

That was when Lesley suddenly picked up speed and started catching up. He wasn't sure how, but the bird seemed to be racing with a purpose now. Maybe Lesley had said something to his mount or something. Either was this was a problem. Lesley was gaining on him, Ace was keeping it close and Riley seemed to be just a second or so ahead of him.

He turned back to Pini and began snapping the reigns again. He wanted to gain some more speed, but didn't know what the birds ceiling was. The sound of the talons bashing the ground beneath them was getting louder and the tree seemed to just seven or eight lengths away from them now. “Come on Pini! Now is the time to get that last big burst. These other Chocobos have nothing on you! Work those legs and make the feathers fly!” Inadi yelled as Pini let out another loud call and began lowering his head as well. Now both looked almost horizontal with the ground and continued to pick up speed. It was going to be a photo finish. Hopefully somebody was going to be at the tree to crown a champion.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Inadi is prepared to take this race home ladies and gents.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Inadi, still lost in his enjoyment of the action the many large birds were engaging in, suddenly found himself feeling weightless and floating above the ground. Staring down he realized he wasn't floating but sitting atop the Chocobo that he had greeted earlier. Still bounding up and down with happy sounds coming from it's beak, Inadi began grabbing the reigns with a smile as he pulled back on them. It took a few tugs, but the large bird finally settled itself down and gave a few pleasant kwehs, almost as if to say it was ready to go to work.

Staring around the room and seeing the other Chocobos, Inadi smiled. He finally felt comfortable in the strange world of Nowhere. This was something he knew about. Something he had a history with. Now that he had a rhythm with something he felt his nerves somewhat relax and his fear begin to subside. Petting the Chocobo that he was riding's neck, he felt the creature lean into his hand and felt a contented sigh escape his throat. When he looked up, he suddenly felt a rush of awkwardness overcome him.

Apparently after his bonding moment with the Chocobos he had gained somewhat of an audience. Lesley was right next to him on his Chocobo, Riley was staring at him as was Ace and Haku. Jasper seemed to be in total fear of all the animals in the stable so he wasn't sure if he was somewhat responsible for that look on her face as well. Being so caught up in his Chocobo, he completely missed Jasper's run in with her bird on the other side of the stable. Inadi quickly cleared his throat and his steed warked in response, as if to take the attention of of his new master.

Staring back at the stable somewhat, Inadi looked up to see a name plate that he had missed earlier. He smiled as he read the name Pini. A cute name at least, definitely fitting this one's curious little attitude and upbeat personality. Petting it again he smiled and looked over to Lesley who was, again, standing nearby him. “Hard to believe you see something you recognize in a place like this. Here I thought I would never get comfortable during my time in this place.” He said with a smile as he grabbed the reigns in his hands and began walking out of the pen Pini was in. “Hopefully riding Pini won't be too difficult though.” He then turned over to Harper and gave him a nod. “Yeah that's me. And if I remember correctly you are Harper. I wouldn't worry too much about riding these guys. If Ace can get a hold of it in less than a minute it shouldn't be too hard.” He said, not trying to sound rude, though with the way it came off it would seem he was attacking the long-haired fire wielder.

Right as he began getting into the alley, Riley and Ace began talking about racing the Chocobos. Inadi immediately felt an urge of competitiveness wash over him. Oh how he would love to do that. Another dream fulfilled actually. After he watched Riley stamper off towards the exit and have a bit of a spill, he laughed and steered the bird towards the girl who had just taken a bit of a tumble. Looking up at the sky that she referred to, he stood above her on his steed and watched the clouds change shape ever so slightly as the wind moved them. He looked down at her and laughed. “Considering all the other weird things this place has to offer I wouldn't doubt it.” He told her in reference to the cotton candy comment.

Inadi then pulled the reigns to the left, still a little bit uneasy with the process as he shook a bit in the saddle. He looked over to Riley and then to Ace. A cocky grin appeared on his face as he pushed his glasses up slightly on the bridge of his nose. “So what exactly will we be racing for everyone? Cause I have to say.....I hate taking money from the fairer gender, ladies.” Inadi gave a small chuckle as Pini began almost laughing with his master. Kwehing as he was, it seemed he was challenging the other Chocobos to the idea of a race as well. Inadi began petting the large bird on the neck and looked back to the group, waiting for a response.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

I love how everyone is looking at Inadi as a total psychopath for nerding out toe the Chocobos! Haha! Everyone is staring at him like...

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

I'm just so mad I can't find a gif of the seen from Atlantis: the Lost Empire where Rourke (when talking about Milo) goes "He's like a kid at Christmas".

I feel like that would totally fit the situation. XD

And while he likes it now, I'm sure something terrible is going to make him go back to hating it. Haha!

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Alright. Inadi had his nerd out moment. I gotta say it was hilarious writing this out. XD

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Inadi followed with the rest of the humans into a room that he assumed was a stable. The amount of animal sounds in the hallway leading to it seemed to suggest as much. If not a stable, clearly they were off to visit the Sol zoo before going to face the dragon. Good thing too. Inadi always loved a nice and cheerful field trip before marching off to his imminent and fire-filled death. It was a custom he was trying to instill in himself before it was too late. Though he had to admit there was something familiar about some of those calls...

Looking down at his slightly flamboyant (at least in his eyes) cape and armor. When he explained he was a magic user he didn't think they would make him look like some kind of mysterious wanderer. Far be it from him to complain about the added protection. Whatever this armor could do to prevent himself from being hurt against whatever monsters were out there he was all for wearing. But did he really need something that made him stick out like a sore thumb as badly as this ensemble did?

Then there was the situation with his newly acquired spear. When he saw how low his magic was after summoning the lightening bolt to be his weapon, Inadi grew worried. After a few of those he would end up running entirely on life energy and there was no telling what all was going to happen if that last resort had to be pulled out. He'd rather not risk the chance to be honest, which was where the spear came into play. He showed some knowledge of how to wield the thing, but naturally he had no idea what the overall capabilities were in regards to combat. He just figured he would keep doing the 'thrust-thrust-stab' thing until he had to come up with a new plan.

The spear itself was actually quite astonishing. It was just barely bigger than he was but it felt like it weighed about as much as two grocery bags of food he would carry back to his home every other week. And the barb that was on the back end of the spear made him cringe. The idea of that getting stuck in something or someone. Once that spear came out after a thrust, it was going to take something out with it. He quickly got his mind off the subject as he felt a queasy feeling stirring in his stomach.

As they inched closer to the doors, Inadi heard his name get called. He looked up and noticed it was Riley. She seemed to be complimenting him and Haku for a job well done back with the slime. While he was flattered that she thought he contributed, he had to admit he wasn't all that worthy of praise. He pretty much just poked the big thing to see if it was dead. And the little slimes weren't that big of a threat. Hell, Ace had been kicking a few of them with her foot, where Inadi didn't even humor at the idea that he should touch one. Haku really deserved the majority of the praise, not him.

When the doors to the stables opened, Inadi's eyes immediately went to the large tiger that was near the entrance. He was massive! So much bigger than tiger's back home. At least from what he could tell. And he was so friendly too. Like a house cat that hadn't seen his master in such a long time that he felt he had been forgotten about. He began rubbing his head and sides on Inadi, begging to be petted by the newly met human. As Inadi smiled and fulfilled the cat's need to be the center of attention the boy began picking up his head. What he saw made him go wide-eyed and had his jaw drop to the floor.

Quickly running over to a stable, he stood in front of something he had only seen in fantasy. A Chocobo! A real life Chocobo! The feathers were a brilliant gold, the legs long and strong. “This is the real thing! This is a Chocobo!” Inadi screamed out with a laugh caught in his throat. Here he was, a 20 year old man jumping up and down like a child going to see Santa for the first time. Yet for as sure as Inadi was at what was standing in front of him was the real deal, there was still one thing left to check.

“.......Kweh?”

Inadi sounded as best he could to the old sounds he remembered in the games he played that a Chocobo sounded like. To his astonishment the Chocobo standing in front of him, who before seemed to be completely unaware of Inadi's existence, suddenly shot a look down and leaned in closer. Its eyes seemed to show signs of curiosity and intrigue.

Leaning in closer still, Inadi could smell the feathers on the great bird now. They had a mixture of open fields and old wood, no doubt from the stables themselves. The bird tilted its head to the right and blinked twice at the human. “Kweh!”

Inadi smiled and began shooting back calls with the Chocobo, each one generating a response. The room was quickly filled with kwehs and warks so much so that even the other Chocobo's seemed to become involved in the discussion. Inadi felt himself becoming lost in a childhood dream. This may have been the first great thing that he experience in Nowhere, and he was sure nothing was going to top it.

Searching around for the two guides in the room, he turned to Victoria and Avian with a smile shooting across his face ear to ear. “Excuse me, I hate to be a bother but I have a quick question? Do you have any Gyshal Greens here? Or is that asking a little too much to make this whole thing the perfect experience.” Inadi laughed as the Chocobo behind him began jumping up and down, flapping its wings with a happy look in its eyes. Clearly Inadi said something right, as he laughed at the little show the great bird began putting on in front of everyone in the stable.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Okay so are the mounts actually gonna be called Chocobo's by chance? I know we had a few people reference Totoro when the Catbus appeared but I just wanna be sure for my next post. If they are, Inadi's totally gonna nerd out. XD