sixthiterationlogs | See, everywhere I go I got a million different people tryna' kick it

WHO: Ashley Magnus
WHERE: Around the village
WHEN: During the first part of March, post Take Two
OPEN TO: OTA, with individual threads for Desmond and Lucy
WARNINGS: Talk of dying and killing likely

Vagabond - South village, moving

For the second time in five months, Ashley found herself moving. Things aren't nearly as bad with Druitt as how she'd felt upon arriving, but she's happier having distance and space from the central hub as well.

Gathering all of her things, mostly clothes (not all her own) and little else, she heads for Vanille and Phryne's place to start getting settled in there. Before leaving though, she pauses at the house where she had lived with Ty for such a short time and digs a small folding knife out of her pocket. Maybe it's vandalism, but laws are always a gray area for Ashley as she works to carve Ty's name on the railing of the porch. Maybe it's childish and pathetic, but he's one of the dearest friends she's ever had, and she doesn't want him forgotten.

Gathering up her things, she heads for the other house. It's not a far move, but it feels like such a change of life for Ashley yet again. It's more times in five months than she's ever moved in her life, and she's still trying to adjust to it all. And maybe in semi-healthy ways as well.

Readjustment - South village throughout the first 2 weeks of March

After the knowledge of her death, of what her life becomes, Ashley kind of let herself wallow in her own depression. She is a Magnus though, and wallowing is not in her blood. Not truly. Not in the way she was raised.

So despite the cold, she starts getting up every morning and going for a run. Hard and fast, sweating out the anger and the pain and the frustration she is feeling without a repeat of her first time dealing with this build up of emotion. It had taken her weeks to heal from the beating she had put on Druitt, and he had returned, and she would like to avoid that if she can. It's hard though, and she pushes herself more and more every day, going out farther and father in an attempt to work through the thoughts in her head.

Other times she might be found in the stable, or outside with one of Vanille's animals, grooming kirin or playing with the other animals from the barn area in the police station. Not much of one to cook, she heads to the inn often for food, spending time by the fire and studying books she got from the schoolhouse.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oddly for her tiny size, Vanille has enough strength to boost Ashley up enough for the blonde to swing her leg over Diamond's back and settle on. Once she's sure Ashley is okay up on the kirin's back, Vanille gives her a short demonstration of how to use her legs to turn her mount and how to sit up straight and tall. The kirin have long manes at least, which will definitely help Ashley hang on and Vanille tells her to hold on there if she gets uncomfortable. Then, she heads for the gate, opening it to let the animals out, before moving to Crystal's side and vaulting onto the kirin's back with ease borne of years of practice.

"No, we rode chocobos," she explains, shifting her weight and firmly pressing her heels against Crystal's side. They turn around so she can lead the way out of the gate. The four llamas follow and the two dogs behind them. Vanille lets them pass her, waiting for Ashley and Diamond. "They're large, flightless yellow birds, so we did have to be careful not to bend their feathers backwards, but as long as you treated them well, and had the greens they like to eat, they would carry us all over the Steppe."

Once Ashley and Diamond are out of the pen, too, Vanille guides Crystal in next to them, taking the outing at a nice, easy walk to start. No use getting into anything too fast on their first outing. Bhakti seems content to follow the llama pack, while Raine falls into place at the rear of the llamas, between Bhakti and the riders, clearly looking like the herding dog he was bred to be. At this point, Vanille is confident enough in his training to talk with Ashley while they walk a little way to the north, far enough from the house and village to give the herd a decent grazing spot, but close enough to be fairly visible from the village all the same.

Settling onto the kirin's back, it's different than it was when she was younger with horses with full tack, but the basics of it are the same, and she's sure she can adjust to it without causing herself or Diamond too much damage.

Ashley follows suit, shifting her weight and setting Diamond in motion to move alongside of Vanille and the other kirin. She blinks at that though, glancing at her. "Wait, how big are you talking? Like kirin size or so?" It makes he think like ostriches or emu, though imagining them yellow is amusing to her.

"Do you break them and train them like we would kirin?" She's known there are those that ride ostriches, but not that they were entirely guidable. More just get on and hold on for dear life.

Vanille watches happily as Ashley and Diamond fall into step beside her and Crystal. Ashley seems content and relaxed enough that Diamond isn't prancing with fear. Both kirin seem happy enough with their riders and their motions are fluid and even. Vanille smiles.

"Their heads are a lot taller than these guys, but their bodies are about the same size. I guess you could train a chocobo the same way, but it's not necessary. You feed them their favorite greens and generally even the wild ones will let you ride them."

It's easy to move along with the motion of the animal, letting her body just sway with it. That much is familiar, so much like what she's known in the past. Though listening about birds you could ride the size of horses, and that they were so much easier to work with, it kind of amazes her.

"Are those greens like hard to get or something?" Because otherwise, wouldn't everyone be riding them?

"They can be," Vanille says thoughtfully. "They're around the Steppe, if you know where to look for them."

A lot of people used to ride them, but there aren't exactly a lot of people around anymore to keep that up. Anyone who used to live in Oerba is now a Cie'th, a mindless monster cursed to wander for eternity.

"If a chocobo ever turns up here, or if I find the greens they like, you'll be the first person I show. Deal?"

See, everywhere I go I got a million different people tryna' kick it

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