The Calm Lands
Docking Area: Al-Bhed Psyches
The crowd waiting outside of this particular dock was a rather large one, consisting of mostly Al-Bhed. And it would take but only one look at the ship pulling down to see why. The Al-Bhed Psyches had just arrived. The crowd seemed to get more and more excited the closer the ship got. And when it finally pulled to a stop, and the doors rose, the fans lost their collective shit. One after another, the blitzball stars strolled out of the ship, each one earning a hearty greeting from the loyal sports fans.
rustle rustleBut there was one who hadn’t quite gotten swept up into the frenzy just yet. Little Durren stood watching what appeared to be just a large pile of fruit on the back of a cart. The cart had been tucked off of the main path ever so slightly. A small Hypello stood nearby, barking at passerbys to try Ruppa’s Delicious Oranges. The small round fruits did look delicious...but they weren’t what Durren was focusing on.
rustle rustle rustleIt was the furry red ball bobbing up and down that drew the child’s eye.
rustle rustleDurren shot a look back at the Hypello. He seemed preoccupied by the hubbub going on over by the docks. Perfect. All he had to do was quickly snatch the ball, and he’d get away scott free. The child looked first at the furry ball, then once more towards the cart’s owner before simply diving for it. A single hand shot out and his fingers curled around the surprisingly soft...thingy. Now all he had to do was run. But...it was attached to something. A black...wire-like thing. The boy gave it a small tug an-
“KU-PHEH!! Hands OFF the pom-pom, kupo!”The boy let out a surprised yelp as he let go of the red ball and tumbled backwards. The fruits stacked up high on the cart began to tumble down, the haphazard pyramid being destroyed by something within moving. The boy trembled, terrified of what was emerging from the orange stack.
“Didn’t anybody ever teach ya not to-”The fluffy white cat-like creature stretched out it’s leathery wings and gave them a flap or two as it spoke, but it never got a chance to finish what it was saying. Or perhaps it did. Durren would never know for sure, for as the creature was scolding him, a nearly inhuman screech sounded out from nearby. The boy tore his eyes off the fruit monster despite his terror, just in time to see the blue-skinned frogman racing towards the cart, arms waving wildly.
“NOOO! Shtop! Ze fruitsh! Ze fruitz! Impossibibble!”The little boy, even more spooked by the Hypello’s frantic reaction, scrambled to his feet and beat a hasty exit. The owner of the fruit paid him no mind. He was much too focused on his cart and the fruit now spread out over the ground. He fell to the ground, scooping up as much fruit as possible.
“Why?! WHY?! OoooOoooh nos! I’m ruined!”The little creature standing atop the ruins of the Hypello’s fruit empire gave a little shake of his booty and threw up his arms to stretch away the slumber. The kid ran off, but Mogryo wasn’t sure why. Hopefully he learned his lesson about pulling strangers’ pom-poms without their consent. Rude. Bah, but Mogryo wasn’t about to let that ruin such a beautiful day.
And it truly was a beautiful day. The sun was high over the Calm Lands, but it wasn’t too hot. On the contrary, the weather felt perfect. Well...unless you were covered head to toe in fur. Beautiful and silky smooth as it may be, fur and the heat did not get along well. Which is precisely why Mogryo decided to burrow into the stack of fruit for a quick nap. A little bit of shade, food literally all around him. It wasn’t a bad set up, really.
The little moogle bounced off the cart and landed softly. He even stuck the landing. After giving a quick tug at the strap across his chest, holding his bag o’ stuff neatly behind him, Mogryo threw his arms out wide, like wings, and walked one foot in front of the other over a crack in the pavement, passing a now wailing, devastated Hypello. Not that the moogle picked up on the frogman’s sadness. They spoke funny, so Mogryo honestly thought the man was just playing around.
Oh well.
The walking ball of fluff walked away whistling a cheerful tune.
It wasn’t long before the moogle came across the crowd of folks cheering for...something. Mogryo found himself curious, but with his stumpy little legs, there was no chance of him seeing past the giants in front of him. But luckily, moogles had wings! Not very strong wings, mind you, but they worked well enough in very short bursts. He couldn’t sustain it very long but…
KUPO!
Mogryo spotted a series of crates stacked just high enough to easily let him see what the hubbub was all about. The moogles straightened his strap and tugged softly at the tuff of fur on his chest. And then he crouched slightly, gave his widdle booty a shake for good luck, and launched himself upwards. His jump was...less than impressive, but it was all he needed. His tiny wings began beating at the air rapidly, causing him to gain some extra lift. Giving his all, the little guy made his way towards the boxes. As the furry bat-cat took flight, he drew the attention of some confused folks who were just passing by, but they quickly dismissed it as just a toy of some sorts and continued on their way. Mogryo never noticed. He was much too focused on getting to his landing spot.
He slowly grew closer to it…
But he wasn’t high enough.
Mogryo doubled up his efforts, pushing his tiny wings as hard as he could.
It wasn’t enough.
Determined not to be beaten, he gave it some more.
It still wasn’t enough...but…
Mogryo extended his arm fully, reaching...reaching…
SUCCESS!
After his paw landed on top of the highest wooden crate, Mogryo began to pull himself up, tiny wings still flapping at Mach 5. He struggled...but it paid off. He managed to get another paw up and with that he was able to pull himself fully onto his throne. The moogle rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, panting. That was too much of a workout. He was all tuckered out already. He briefly considered laying off on the kupo nuts...but that madness quickly passed. It was replaced by the temptation to take a nice nap up high.
He almost gave into it, but his curiosity came back and won in the end.
Mogryo pulled himself into a sitting position just in time to see some folks in flashy looking clothing strolling past. They were...quite close, honestly. The crates ended up being a bit closer to the main path that he would have thought.
“Ku...po?” the tiny creature mumbled as it tilted its head, his eyes never leaving the important folks. One in particular caught his eye. It was a larger man. There wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary about him really, but…
Mogryo leaned his head the other way now, still watching.
...the eye-thingies the guy was wearing looked nifty.
REAL nifty.