Spira

"You'll have to," he said, unable or unwilling to phrase it a little more delicately. "We'll probably have to teach you how to ride. It will be faster if we travel by Chocobo where possible and believe me, you'll definitely want to, once we reach the desert."

He didn't object to the desert heat, but he was well aware that other people didn't fare so well. Giving the donkey work to Chocobos, preferably the hardiest type they could rent, would make it easier on her if she turned out not to be able to tolerate hours and hours of heat.

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Aerith drew herself up and folded her arms, although she was clearly putting on being annoyed rather than genuinely irritated. "I can keep up with you if I have to, don't think I'm soft just because I'm a girl," she told him, although there was still that faint smile.

"We should get some chocobos then, shouldn't we?"

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Saix's face twitched with the barest hint of a smile that was gone as quickly as it appeared. "I can see why you like her," he commented, flatly.

He made to continue walking; they needed a chocobo stable. Fortunately, they tended to be planted near population centres, no matter how small the population.

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Axel snorted at what Aerith said and shook his head. His continued grin made it clear that he knew what she said was a joke and that he was continuing in that tone.

"Hey, hey, I don't think you're soft because you're a girl. I just think you might need a little more ... direction, because you were a city girl and this isn't a city."

He wouldn't automatically think that someone was soft just because they were a girl, joking accusation or not.

He knew Larxene.

He pointedly ignored Saix's comment, but glanced sidelong at him all the same, grin in place.

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"I lived in the slums, remember?" She wagged a finger at Axel, plainly amused. "Cities aren't all suburbs and supermarkets. I can handle myself." Still, she was smiling, and even seemed cheerful, content to tease back and forth with Axel for a while.

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Saix shook his head, subtly, but caught Axel's sidelong look. Axel, it seemed, had ulterior motives for rescuing Aerith, and yet... it was nice to see his former friend so animatedly like his old self with someone. Even if it made Saix a tiny bit jealous.

They found a chocobo stable before too long. Saix eyed the ugly yellow birds with his usual displeasure. He didn't like them, and they didn't like him, and in this, he and chocobos found common ground.

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Axel, contrary to Saix, didn't mind chocobos all that much. Sure, they smelled bad and were a bit noisy, but they were fast and reliable and kept a lot of the more common beasts off their tails. He had heard tell of Chocobo Eaters from various stable-hands on numerous occasions, but he had yet to see one. He had a feeling that they were like bogeymen for chocobo riders, but he wouldn't put anything past Spira.

"They aren't very nice," he said, speaking to Aerith as he eyed them. "But they're all right. Just try not to breathe too deeply around them and you'll be fine, got it memorised?"

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Aerith seemed faintly amused at the advice, but approached one of the chocobos with care. "They don't smell that bad," she told him, reaching up to tentatively pat the bird on the side of the neck. It responded with a wark, and allowed the petting.

Aerith smiled in response to it, and petted it a little more.

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Saix, conversely, only looked grumpier as he watched. The birds nearest him were all responding with a wariness that Saix had long since grown used to. They never misbehaved for him, much, but they also never seemed exactly eager to be near him, a feeling which was distinctly mutual.

He ignored the birds for a moment to deal with the moogle in charge and pay for the rent of three of them, leaving Axel the task of teaching the girl.

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Axel raised an eyebrow at that comment. If his eyebrows were longer, he would have even arched it. He stared at her for a moment and shook his head.

"If you say so," he said in near-amazement, fairly sure that she must be immune to bad smells due to spending so much time in the slums below Midgar. He shook his head and indicated the chocobo that she was petting. "You want that one?"

It seemed to like her enough.

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Aerith nodded. "He seems friendly enough," she said, as the bird warked musically until she took her hand away. "What do you think?" She asked the bird, playfully, "Can you get us to Rabanastre?"

The bird warked again as she petted it once more, and she turned to Axel with a smile. "I think that's a yes," she said, clearly amused. "So, how do you get on?"

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Axel gave the bird a pat and indicated the stirrup closest to her. "Put that foot," he pointed to the correct one, "in there and swing your other leg over the saddle. Grip the pommel to pull yourself up. I'll help you, don't worry."

He scratched his head again.

"If ... you can do that in a dress, anyway." He hadn't considered that she may need to ride side-saddle -- something he, obviously, had no idea about.

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Aerith looked amused and thoughtful for a moment before she unbuttoned the lowest button at the front of her dress, giving herself more room to move. Then, she lifted her foot up into the stirrup with only a little difficulty. The bird was quite tall, and she'd never had to get her foot up that high before, but she managed it. She gripped the pommel with one hand, and the back of the saddle with the other, and then glanced at Axel and told him, "No peeking!"

Then she hoisted herself up, slightly clumsily to swing her leg round and plant herself in the saddle.

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Axel diplomatically covered his eyes with the palm of his hand but grinned nevertheless.

"Would I do that?" He asked, a laugh in his voice.

He decided that it might pay to get Aerith a pair of trousers if she was ever going to accompany them on any jobs. White mages and healers were undoubtedly useful, but if they struggled to ride a chocobo ... well.

He felt the weight and stance of the chocobo alter when she properly mounted it.

"Not bad," he said, looking up at her. "They're pretty easy to control. Pull back on the reins to stop it and dig in with your heels to make it go. There's a bit more to it than that, but I'm sure you'll pick it up as you go on."

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"Well, I have a good teacher," she said in reply, adjusting herself slightly to be more comfortable.

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"If you two are done flirting," Saix chimed in, as he headed over. He sounded like his normal dour self, and walked by as if to slosh cold water on the mood.

"You must have a thing for holy elementals," he commented, as he passed Axel and took hold of an unlucky chocobo's reins. It tried to back off, warking unhappily, and then resigned itself to its fate with a grumpy look that matched Saix's own.

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Axel's eyebrows shot up and, for a second, he almost denied Saix's near-accusation. Instead, he decided to suppress his inner Lea and head off the denial with a sighed "Yeah yeah."

He left Aerith to her chocobo and stepped away, going to mount his own bird, but not until he had affixed some travel supplies to the saddle. They weren't going to do so well if they didn't have those on a long, long trip.

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They'd both been carrying supplies when they'd first left. They'd depleted somewhat now, but should have enough to see them through. Saix busied himself with the same, keeping a firm hand on his bird's reins before hauling himself up into the saddle. The bird gave an unhappy wark, but at least let him climb up without a fight, which was more than could be said of Saix's early experiences with the birds.

He directed his chocobo over towards Axel's by a couple of steps, and then, sounding like someone who'd thought about it too much, asked, "Has it occurred to you that you don't have to return to Rabanastre, or the Order?"

It seemed out of the blue, but Saix looked completely serious.

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Had it ever occurred to him? Of course it had.

Although he prided himself on being less like his Nobody self and rather more like his original one, he hadn't lost the sly, conniving edge that he'd so deftly wielded back then. As much as he tried to be a decent person, he still planned and schemed, though generally not for nefarious purposes. It was second nature. Axel knew full well that he could simply 'not return' to the Order every time he and Saix went out on a Mark Hunt together. There were enough dangerous monsters in the areas where they hunted big or troublesome game to claim accidental death.

He stayed out of familiarity, out of a shred of loyalty for his childhood friend and, though he would be loath to admit it out loud, safety in numbers. Xigbar was dodgier than a marketplace spiv with a coat full of falsified licenses, but ... better the devil you know than one you don't.

As such, he grinned. "And make Vexen's day?" he asked, shaking his head. "You wish."

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A corner of Saix's mouth twitched upwards, and he nodded. "I'd hoped you'd take that view," he replied. "In the event you ever change your mind," he added, "I'll cover for you." He directed the chocobo away before adding, "Or join you."

Going home and dealing with the fall out of leaving in the first place wasn't high on his list of things to look forward to.

He looked over to the girl instead, "This will not be an easy journey for a first time rider. If you begin to struggle, say so."

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Aerith just smiled sweetly at Saix, and almost seemed to make a point of fussing her chocobo at the back of the neck, a gesture which made the bird wark happily. "Don't worry," she answered, "I learn quickly, but I'll let you know if I'm having difficulty."

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Axel didn't doubt that Aerith would raise comment should she begin to have trouble. From what he knew of her, he knew she had an independent streak, but at the same time he thought her too smart to put herself in and remain in difficulty for the sake of upholding that independence.

He just rather hoped she didn't have any qualms about killing and eating animals in the field. They had dried meat, of course, but that should wisely be left until they had miles and miles of desert to traverse and pickings are thin.

"You'll do fine," he said with clipped confidence. "Just don't wander off, got it memorised?"

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"I promise," Aerith replied, with an amused smile. They were... fussing. Axel, at least, was doing it out of genuine concern, and some amusement, but his friend was harder to gauge.

She had a lot of questions to ask, about that, and about Axel's other friends in particular, but there'd be time for that, later. For now, she had to concentrate on riding a giant bird.

At least it was a friendly giant bird.

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Saix's bird was less friendly, or perhaps it was the rider's grumpiness rubbing off on the bird. Still, it obeyed, and Saix took the lead, wordlessly letting Axel do the work of babysitting Aerith.

Saix was at least aware that he wasn't a people person. Axel was better at it. Lea had always been better at it.

He kept an alert eye out for any potential threats, as well as potential prey. One bonus, childish as it sounded, to travelling this way was that he had to contend with less vegetables.

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