In this time, in this place

[theturksway]

Who: Reno, OTA
Where: All around the train.
When: Fiddlesticks, from day 16 and beyond.
What: Reno has things to do. Like, not doing chores, lazying around, oh and he got a summon materia to try out in one of the larger carriages. The surprise is on him though, he doesn't need a large space for this little guy.
Warnings: Cursing, probably, but not much else for now. Can/will update if needed.



I. Summon

Fiddlsticks Day 16 Specifically For Initial Summoning

Reno sought out the most open space with the fewest obstacles in his way. Summons could be unpredictable sometimes and many of them were quite large as well. And if he had gotten what he wanted he was gonna have one of the largest Summons available at his beck and call. It probably wasn't the greatest idea to call forth a Summon on the cramped train but Reno wanted to get used to the feel of materia once more, especially since Summons were one of the most draining magics to use.

The new training gym was a nice place but after a bit of consideration he kept moving further down the train. It was new and had all the useful equipment in it; he didn't want to get yelled at if the Summon happened to ruin something. So he continued to the original game gym where there was less equipment out while it was empty and, as far as he was concerned, a lot less useful. It still had the open space he was looking for though. He tried to measure it by sight but, well, it's not like he knew the dimensions of the King of Dragons off the top of his head anyway. He was just going to hope for the best and if the train did suffer for it then at least they would know Summons were more powerful than the train itself.

As Reno concentrated on the Summon materia in his hand though a surprise came to him. "What? No, no, no... no way! Don't tell me it got it wrong!" All right, so maybe Reno should have been a little more demanding but Reno thought listing the name of his most preferred Summon would have sufficed. If Bahamut was too hard to kidnap the train could have at least got him Ifrit or Shiva to kick butt with. He should have been more specific and not given the train the option to deal him a bad hand.

Because as far as he could tell by examining the magic within the red orb in his hand, the Summon he possessed was not in fact Bahamut, the King of Dragons. Instead Reno felt the curious energy of a little Summon the Turk had only ever heard of in stories.

With a resigned sigh, Reno concentrated on the materia once more and this time a magical aura with glyphs surrounded him for a moment as he recited a simple summoning incantation. The glyphs reappeared in the air a little ways from him and a second later a white fox-like puppy bounded onto the ground. Reno gave it a flat look. It looked up at him curiously and gave a sniff. It instantly became happy and tumbled over to him, looking up at him with eager little eyes as if waiting for a command. Reno made a rude face at it and instantly regretted causing it's ears to flatten in disappointment.

"All right, all right. Don't look at me like that! Just..." he sighed again, "Let's see what you can do, fuzzball."

Any Other Day After That for Random Sightings

Reno practiced Summoning the little fey fox from time to time after he got over the fact that he was stuck with the tiny Summon. Summoning magic was the most draining type out there, especially depending on the Summoned creature's power. Carbuncle didn't seem so bad but Reno thought it felt particularly hard to focus on the materia magic for some reason--an attribute he wondered if had to do with the fact that he wasn't on the Planet. Like the lack of connection to the Lifestream made it harder to cast the magic trapped inside the glowing orb.

He didn't think about it too much. It made him miss things and he hated to be mopey or sentimental in front of other people. Besides, the more he practiced the easier it got to focus and use the magic without the aid of the Lifestream around him. Instead, it seemed to make him tired and groggy more quickly but at least he was getting used to it.

So the creature made appearances more and more often as Reno practiced and built up his stamina for casting magic. He got to the point where he could keep Carbuncle out for quite some time and whenever the little guy disappeared in a flash of bright light, Reno would just Summon him again immediately to further test his reserves. At least until he couldn't anymore for that day. He might want to remember to spend a few points on Elixirs next time he had some.

Reno Summoned Carbuncle anywhere and let the little fey-like creature run around as it pleased. The Turk was usually in the same carriage somewhere but Carbuncle seemed to get used to the autonomy more and more as it was Summoned by the same person repeatedly so it began to explore its surroundings a little bit. Two most notable things: it was very friendly but very shy about approaching other people; and it had a huge curiosity, nosing its way into places it maybe shouldn't always be if it thought no one was watching.

II. New Training Gym Carriage - Any Day

Whenever Reno wasn't practicing with his new Summon materia the Turk took to testing out the new training gym equipment. He wasn't as adamant about exercising as a lot of others on the train but he was a Turk and a damn good one and that meant he had to keep his skills up. Besides, he was bored as shit with nothing else to do on this train.

Reno was most often seen using the obstacle pads for setting up courses though it seemed he mostly enjoyed running them after someone else did the hard part of setting them up. He was quick. Even when he wasn't using his Electro-Mag Rod for a boost of speed he finished the courses in record time. It was clear he wasn't exactly the strongest guy around so he must have made up for it with perplexing amounts of speed and agility.

If he wasn't showing off his speed in horizontal races then he was probably showing it off vertically as he raced up the sides of the climbing gear. That seemed to be his favorite place in the whole gym, in fact. Reno would climb or simply hop on up to the top of the structure and lounge up there as if he were a cat basking in the sun. He liked to sit up there while he watched everyone else work up a sweat.

Less occasionally he would work on punches and kicks with one of the training dummies. Despite his lesser attention to such practices, he was rather good at it and his form looked nice and professional. And though he never asked himself, on the rare occasion he was asked to spar he'd square up and fight with someone who asked him to go a round.

III. Cinema

For Elena:

The redheaded Turk managed to bully, cajole, and bribe his way into clearing out the cinema for a few hours one day. Honestly, it didn't matter if people stuck around but what he wanted was the choice of movie or show for the day. In actuality he didn't pick the show of the day but rather debated and chatted with his fellow Turk Elena over what they would watch. In the end he let her have the pick though he wrestled a little to steer it towards something they could both enjoy.

He was prepared for the day to be a fun time to relax and chill with his younger associate. He brought all of his remaining snacks--of which he had bought quite a few with his remaining shop points--and had them stashed in a bag next to his seat. Elena was on his other side and he offered her first her choice of one of the three sodas and then one of the bags of chips and then handed her a full chocolate bar. Look, he had had a lot of points and the snacks were cheap and he had a sweet tooth, sue him.

"Also got some random candies if you want any let me know," he told her as they settled in, indicating the bag next to him and the rest of his stash of goodies.

Everyone Else:

Reno hung out here from time to time lounging around like it was a living room. Sometimes he'd get to the theater when it was empty and put on some sort of action flick or investigative series. He seemed fond of one series that involved a small group of government agents that fielded a plethora of strange cases ranging from regular missing person cases to tracking down stolen magical items, hunting monsters, and other random modern day crossover with fantasy style occurrences.

Other times he'd wander in while someone else would be picking out a show and throw in his two gil whether the choice was stupid or not. Or he'd walk in during the middle of a screening and plop down into a seat with his feet propped up on the seat in front of him. He'd be relatively quiet--until he reached for one of his bags of snacks and started opening it with no regard to the crinkling noise it made. If the movie was really atrocious he would make fun of it loudly.

At some point he found out the hammocks in the back were really comfy and started to hang out in them before, during, and after screenings. Honestly, it seemed like he'd simply found a new place to take naps most of the time he was laid out in one.

IV. Wildcard!

[[The usual joker card! Reno can be find lounging around a lot of times so if you want to find him somewhere else be my guest. If you wanna discuss/plot something else special beforehand, hit me with a PM or plurk @ AisuYoukai.]]

Comments

[unfavorableinstigation]

Welp; no petting for Carbuncle!

Nita, chagrined, tried to turn her focus back to the cleaning supplies she'd come here for as Reno came in.

Her eyes still followed the creature in its scampering right back to its owner, and she snorted.

"Guess that little guy's yours?" she asked, finally lifting her improvised basket off the shelf with a huff.

[theturksway]

"Yeah, you could say that," Reno responded. "Get back." He ordered and the little creature obeyed instantly. Reno looked up at Nita and what she was doing. He looked rather disinterested.

"He ain't no pet though. He's a Summon. Just a...lame little one." Reno told her and ignored the way the fox's ears drooped at the insult.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita noticed the Summon's deflated expression.

"He does make up for size in sneakiness. And maybe a sense of humor," she said.

"He jumped out at me from behind the shelf here just now."

[theturksway]

"Neither of which I want in a grandstand against a red dragon," Reno retorted. Of course what he didn't mention was the little guy's ability to cast several different defensive spells that would turn any fight in his favor. "What I want is a fighter! A prized champion of the battlefield. Not some little skimpy dog following me around."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita rolled her eyes.

"So you can have two different Summons for different purposes!"

There was an unspoken "Geeze!" at the end of that.

"Never underestimate an underdog, though; I'll tell you that for free."

[theturksway]

Reno snorted derisively at her advice. "If I wanted the advice of a little girl, I would ask for it."

The Turk shifted his stance, leaning his weight back and putting his hand on his hip. "Besides, it's the train's fault I didn't get a better Summon. I asked for Bahamut and got this instead. If the train thinks it's funny then it probably won't give me anything better. I'll just have to think of something else for now."

At least until they could get weapons and battle materia from the shop. Then maybe he would finally be able to get himself a proper attack Summon.

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Pretty sure I'm older than you, actually."

Though she'd have to check the roster to be able to say that in the Speech.

"See if anything changes before next mission, huh?"

Hefting the basket, she made to walk back down to the lower level of the Stores car.

[theturksway]

Reno laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment to my boyish good looks, yo."

If she were serious she was wrong but Reno wouldn't be surprised if he was being called childish--again. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. He never did exit that delinquent phase, as the chief liked to constantly remind him. Often in the form of complaints for his prankster tendencies at the office.

"Oh, I'll get more fun things to play with one way or another," he assured her. "The train won't hold me back."

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita rolled her eyes, though she did look more amused this time. If Reno and Kaito ever teamed up, they'd be a headache squared!

"That I don't doubt. In quarters like this, we HAVE to be creative."

Reno - or possibly just Carbuncle - would have to follow her to continue the conversation properly, now.

[theturksway]

"I'd say it could be worse but--" he trailed off. Honestly, he could think of worse fates than being stuck on this train. But that didn't make being here any less stir crazy for the size and limit to being here.

Carbuncle started to head for the stairs but paused at the top when Reno made a tsking noise with his teeth. The redhead gave the little fox a look. "Who Summoned you anyway?" he asked rhetorically.

There was nothing for Reno up here though--he had only come this way to find Carbuncle in the first place--and he started languidly for the stairs.

Carbuncle took it in stride, yipping once and then darting down the stairs after Nita. The little fox ended up somewhere under her feet in no time.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita shouldn't have been surprised to see the little critter again, and she braced herself against the side of the stair-column so she could keep her balance.

"Stick to my arms and not my feet, okay? I don't think you want any of this to fall on you," she pointed out, with no small amount of snark, listening to the footsteps behind and above her.

[theturksway]

Carbuncle tilted its head up at Nita, a confused look on its face. But it scampered down the stairs and out of the way nevertheless after a moment. It at least understand the part about not tripping her up with the heavy load in tow.

It stopped to wait for her, hunkering down like it wanted to play but refraining from doing anything else to annoy her (or its Summoner).

[unfavorableinstigation]

Once at the bottom of the stairs she breathed an amused sigh.

"You can climb on, if you want," Nita offered.

"Not like I can grab you when my hands are full and all..."

Assuming, of course, Reno either didn't mind or didn't care.

[theturksway]

The white fox looked up at her with a cocked head again. This time it might have been debating whether to hop up or not. He hadn't been offered to be picked up yet before.

It made a decision and walked up to gingerly hop up into her arms. But the basket was full of the supplies and Carbuncle couldn't decide where to settle so he kept spinning around and poking at the objects in the basket.

Carbuncle has been missing out!

[unfavorableinstigation]

The white fox's movements tickled, but they didn't distract Nita as much as the jump from earlier had as she left the carriage.

/Hope you're not planning on sleeping in there,/ she said, heading towards the Kitchens first. /Maybe when I'm done with it, though, okay?/

he'll just have to try harder to win Reno's heart so he doesn't have to run away for better things

[theturksway]

Carbuncle looked up at her innocently. No, of course he wasn't trying to curl up for a nap. Whatever gave her that idea?

He bopped her chin with his nose and then resumed nosing about the basket, moving objects around slightly to find a comfy spot to sit.

awww. Thread wrap, you think?

[unfavorableinstigation]

With one last wave in the general direction of 'behind her' for Reno, Nita pressed on.

"You'll get your time to shine," she said, just a little more quietly.

"You'll see."

sure.

[theturksway]

He yipped quietly, almost conspiratorially at that, a happy sounding little noise. He finally settled in and watched her.

Reno knew that now was a great time to wonder off. The Summon wouldn't last much longer and if he wasn't around she couldn't ask him any questions about Carbuncle's sudden disappearance. Though Reno wondered how far Carbuncle would allow himself to be carried away from his Summoner. Probably not too far.