Greetings always followed by sweet goodbyes [Open]

[justbeingknife]

Who: Majima Gorō and OPEN
When: June!
Where: Everywhere!
What: Giant chickens, runework, plus quests and basically a monthly catch-all.
Warnings: Violence in the sunbear fight thread. Salty language, maybe.


A: I'll call you Nugget

[ Whoever had said 'don't go borrowing trouble' had been a smart guy, a wise man indeed, but the thing about being told you could potentially learn to transform yourself into a totally rad magic animal was that Majima wanted to do it immediately. So it was a quiet day in the Haven, sure -- up until, with a brilliant burst of magical fireworks, a giant, six-foot tall feathery menace descended upon one of the courtyards, stalking through the garden. ]

Fuck.

[ Someone get an adult. ]

B: Runetchers

[ Majima looked up when the shop door opened. It was a slow day, which meant he'd been making progress with the pile of scrolls and other orders for enchanted items. It also meant that his fingers were cramped, and a little distraction couldn't hurt. ]

Hi there, welcome to Runetchers.

[ He stood, gave the potential customer a little bow in a show of impeccable good manners. ]

Are you lookin' for anything in particular?

Research Required (For Justine)

Oh, I... yeah. Is there any way we could skip that part?

[ Apparently, no one had told Majima that this particular research was going to require Bonding. Hey, don't get him wrong -- connections were important, and so was emotional support? But getting himself magically attached to someone when he still hadn't made peace with the idea of sticking around long-term didn't really strike him as the best of ideas.

...especially since he wasn't sure if he wanted to get un- magically attached. He looked around for a friendly face, wondering how the hell he was going to bullshit his way out of this one. ]

Pastoral Pursuit (For Iramaat)

Hey, uh. For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your ears.

[ Look, maybe while they were wandering out into the woods looking for some stray sheep was not the best time to bring this up? But hey, Iramaat's ears had been kind of cool, and she knew how to nab foxes, and Majima knew if he'd had to give up one of his favorite features, he'd be pretty pissed about it.

With no outward signs of change, it was fairly obvious what side of the monster-witch coin that Majima had ended up on. He climbed over a fallen tree trunk, careful not to stave in its soft trunk. ]

Wildcard

Feel free to hit me up via Tetradecimal or PM for plotting!

Comments

[justbeingknife]

[ Wow, don't think he didn't see that sword hand, he didn't even have a snake tail!! Probably. ]

Hey, don't look at me like that. Did I say anythin' about your hair?

[ Look, the poultry jokes wrote themselves. Either way, Majima was feeling a little judged here. Look at Cloud, with his fancy weapon and not being a giant chicken. ]

[actuallyadork]

[Waaaaaaait he knows that voice!]

Majima?

[This is getting really weird.] Why are you a cockatrice?

[justbeingknife]

Cockawhat now?

[ THE JOKES.

Majima cocked his head at Cloud, which give him a vaguely saurian appearance, what with the new beak. ]

I was tryin' one of those polymorph spells, but I guess I got hungry. Maybe I should eat something before I try and turn back, or I could end up a plate of ribs next.

[actuallyadork]

Cockatrice. Giant bird that turns people to stone...

[Please don't turn him to stone.

..... Welp.]

A plate of ribs.

[Really?]

What do these giant birds eat if they're something from your home?

[justbeingknife]

[ Pause.

Pause. ]

...chicken food?

[ Yeah, Majima wasn't really into animal husbandry. ]

I mean, I think they eat anythin' a human might. Plus bugs, but I ain't big on those.

[ And now he was stepping toward Cloud, head swiveling around like a giant feathered velociraptor scenting its prey: hopefully, treats. ]

Wouldn't happen to have anythin' on ya, would you? Snacks? Leftovers?

[actuallyadork]

[... okay that doesn't help. At all.]

So you could eat ribs.

[If a cockatrice can eat meat, a chicken can too, right? And now Cloud is getting hungry from talking about ribs...]

All I've got is dried apples. Sunshine likes them.

[justbeingknife]

Who's Sunshine?

[ And perhaps more importantly: ]

...Apples?

[ Now Majima was tilting his head, bowing down with his beak in the direction of Cloud's pockets. Tell him more. ]

[actuallyadork]

My chocobo. She isn't as big as you.

[.... Cloud suddenly feels vaguely threatened. He takes a bag out and opens it. There's the fragrant smell of what is definitely sweeter apples coming from it as he takes a slice out.]

They're sliced and dehydrated. Want some?

[justbeingknife]

[ Excuse him, just going to nosily beak at Cloud's bag in a failed attempt to open it until Cloud did the deed himself. What was a chocobo? Sounded fake. ]

I mean, I wouldn't turn one down.

[ What a lie. He totally wanted one. Magic made him hungry, and being a chicken apparently shot his impulse control to hell. ]

[actuallyadork]

[Maji-chicken is certainly acting as impatient as a chocobo... Cloud watches him before popping the slice into his own mouth. Then offers the open end of the bag to Majima.]

Here.

[justbeingknife]

[ Wow, Cloud, offering him a bag to shove his face in like he was an animal. Who was the real monster here, just kidding because Majima barely even hesitated before pecking at an apple.

At least he had the grace to pull it out before tossing his beak back and gobbling down the slice. ]

Not bad.

[ He said, somehow, through the apple chunk. ]

Seriously, though, what's a chocobo?

[actuallyadork]

[Look. That beak seems sharp. Cloud ain't risking a wound just to feed Majima.]

You can get them at the shops around here.

[How to describe a chocobo...]

She keeps being called a giant chicken. Except she's gold.

[justbeingknife]

A golden chick... chocobo?

[ Still... talking through another slice of apple. ]

Sounds like somethin' out of a fairy tale. [ Wait, maybe that was geese? ]

I've seen all kindsa animals since I got here, but that's a new one.

[actuallyadork]

[How is Majima talking like that... weird...]

I've noticed she's rather unique. [It's kind of a pain.] I was about to head home if you want to meet her.

[justbeingknife]

[ Jazz hands ~magic~

Majima looked up, ruffling his feathers. ]

Yeah? Sure, I admit I'm curious about your digs. And your bird.

[ Just don't ask to ride him, Cloud. ]

[actuallyadork]

It's nothing fancy, but it makes due for two guys.

[If Majima wants more apple chips, he better grab them now before Cloud puts the bag away.]

Let's get going.

[justbeingknife]

[ So Majima snatched one more chip, and then bobbed along beside Cloud -- for some reason, it seemed harder not to move his head as he walked. The feathers on his back seemed to be darkening for some reason, from brilliant green to some darker, browner hue, but it was Fine. ]

Been a while since I went to someone's house. Are the streets pretty wide?

[ Because he... was kind of taking up a lot of space. ]

[actuallyadork]

[... that is not something Cloud expected since chocobo don't bob their heads when walking....]

They're a decent size.

[As Majima will see as Cloud leads him into the more residential area.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Majima didn't seem to notice Cloud noticing the bobbing. Did he seem a little bigger than before? Puffier? Nah, it was probably nothing.

A few passersby gave them odd looks as Majima followed Cloud in the direction of his place, occasionally pecking at a hanging houseplant or banner. ]

Surprised they even let ya keep a chi... chocobo around. Most places where I live, there just ain't room for pets.

[actuallyadork]

[.... why is Majima getting bigger... Remind Cloud to never mess with this kind of magic.]

She has a garden area she can run around in, and when Zack gets into a mood, I take her inside. There's plenty of space for her. I take her out when I can for a run.

[justbeingknife]

Monster Zack?

[ Only as Majima asked that question, a bundle of feathers sort of... burst into the air. Imagine a popped balloon made of dark fuzz, leaving empty air where his tail feathers used to be. ]

The fuck?!

[ There was no blood, but Majima did sound shocked for obvious reasons. He seemed to have noticed the rest of his feathers starting to puff up in the same way. ]

Is it... wearing off?

[ CLOUD HELP ]

[actuallyadork]

Chimera. Or that's what it's looking like with how he seems to be growing different parts.

[........... hmmm....]

Can you still run?

[They can run just in case Majima turns into a naked human when the feathers disappear.]

[justbeingknife]

What...?

[ Sorry, Cloud. Majima wasn't even thinking about future embarrassments right now as his feathers went off in two additional bunches, like little fireworks.

Thankfully, his wing had 'burst' to reveal an ordinary-looking human hand. Unthankfully, maybe, it was attached to a bare forearm, and Majima did generally wear long sleeves... ]

[actuallyadork]

I don't think your clothes changed with you.

[If that bare arm is an indicator. Cloud is just... going to sprint the rest of the way. Majima better follow!]

[justbeingknife]

Hey! Wait!

[ Majima dashed after him on newly-ungainly chicken feet, trying not to think too hard about it as the feathers continued to pop off of him. One might say that that coat of feathers was, in fact, starting to look a little poultry.

As he chased after the man, he began to look more like some medieval depiction of a harpy than anything else -- part human from half of his torso up, chicken continuing down. Oh god people were coming to look at what was going on ]