OTA: Cloud Strife- Merc for Hire

[relativefugue]

WHO:Cloud and the various denizens of Town
WHAT: Cloud is open for odd jobs!
WHERE: In and around Town
WHEN: End of October onward

SUMMARY: From UN @Bstrswrd:

Hey. Putting this up to let folks know I am open for work. I'm a merc for hire. Need something done? Heads bashed? Come get me. Payment is accepted in favors, trade, whatever you got, I know this place set everyone back. Just don't think I will do things for free.


[Cloud is accepting requests for odd jobs. Doesn't all have to be violent stuff, either. Need a fence fixed? A delivery made? Come get this absolute dork trying his best to be cool. It can be a basic request, or if you need a companion for battle, or errands...The world is your oyster. Feel free to put this man in silly situations too if you wish, it can be anything.]

Comments

[relativefugue]

Perfectly capable. What are you trying to put me up to?

[This is Genesis. There HAS to be a catch, Cloud thinks.]

[rhapscdos]

I've gotten permission from our dear Charlie to spruce up the orchard on the edge of town. And while I am a visionary of unprecedented caliber, toiling in the dirt is not precisely my forte. That's where you come in.

[relativefugue]

That's a whole lot of words and no clear answer of what you want me to do. Trying to make it suspenseful or some useless dramatic crap? Of course you probably think dirt is going to eat you or somethin' too.

[There goes Cloud's slight twang again. He really needs to stop being reminded of home as much as he is, this is detrimental.]

So go on. What do you want me to do once I get there? Are we meeting there? Details. Payment offer. Get to the good stuff.

[rhapscdos]

Goddess above, you are dense. Yes, meet me there. Clearly I have to demonstrate because words above -whatever poor grade Nibelheim schools went to- is beyond you.

[ At least Genesis is prompt. That, or he's been at the edge of the orchard the entire time he's been texting Cloud. He doesn't say, but he is looking expectantly for a particular blond to arrive. Hopefully with a shovel.]

[relativefugue]

Wait there.


[Cloud is pretty quick when he's given a task to focus on, and this time it's two: some good old fashioned work with the earth, and shutting Genesis Rhapsodos' smug mouth. He shows up at the orchard (yes, with a shovel) looking clearly aggrivated. But would he really be here if he didn't want to do the job? He could opt out of being exposed to the verbose bastard. But works work, Cloud would insist. If Genesis can pay, Cloud will put up with it. That's it, and nothing more.

When Genesis comes into view, he grumbles, closing the distance between them to stand with the shovel stuck in the ground, one arm atop the handle.]

"Alright. Get the wordy stuff over with then. You want me prepping soil, don't you?" Farm boy's first thought. "Better have good payment for me, Rhapsodos."

[rhapscdos]

Genesis is surveying the empty orchard like a king overlooking his kingdom from the faint slope leading back into Town. His gaze is a fond thing, warm with the ideas that play out in his mind. Of the beautiful boughs of white and silver, of the violet fruits that will bear from pale blooms with the whims and wants of nature. How lovely the shade will feel when the sun is high, and the sweet scent of-

Ah, Cloud is here.

Genesis exhales a fond sigh, and turns away from his grand vision to flash the blond a smirk that belies all that tender musing.

"I do, in fact. The trees I wish to plant can be quite particular about their soil conditions. So everything must be weeded, turned and tilled to perfection. As for payment," Genesis sets a hand on his hip, and shrugs with the opposite shoulder. "The place I was swept from didn't have physical currency. I'm afraid I have no gil to hand over, but I'm doubtful they'd accept it here anyway. So what is it you want in return for your labor?"

[relativefugue]

Ugh. Genesis looking at Cloud like that sure does something to him, and he isn't entirely certain he can call it causing anger. His cheeks heat up vaguely, and he scowls. "Right. So you want to make this orchard an actual orchard again instead of a dirt plot." His eyes move to survey just how bad things are. And to look away from that smirking, redheaded bastard.

The soil looks stagnant, overtaken by countless weeds. There's going to need to be a lot more than just a little TLC given here, but Cloud thinks himself more than capable...For the right price. Problem is, he isn't wanting for much just yet, not with how he is still adjusting to life here. "This is a hell of a mess. It might take a while of work- and any extra hands would help speed that up at least a little. Otherwise I can manage it alone, if you are afraid of a little dirt." He huffs, then finally turns his gaze back onto Genesis. "What about an owed favor, that I can call in whenever I need? There's no money here, but I have things in the works that may require other people's expertise."

He just has no clue what to ask right now, don't mind him.

[rhapscdos]

Genesis makes note of the way pale skin flushes with color. He hasn't said or done anything particular of note, yet still he earns such a reaction. How curious. Cloud might want to be careful of giving Genesis that sort of reaction before he's so much as tried to rile the blond. It'll just be too easy when he actually does.

"I could likely recruit others to assist with the task. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to bring in some semblance of a crew if you need assistance. But my task will be in controlled burning. Returning carbon and nutrients to the soil to establish new life. Yours is the dirt, as you say."

Payment though.

Genesis doesn't particularly like owing people anything, let alone a blank check. But this work is far too important to him to consider those ramifications. Besides, he's know... multiple Clouds now. He doesn't think the call to collect will be something he cannot afford when it does come. Or if it comes. Soft-hearted fool that he pretends not to be.

"Very well. So long as the request is something within my power, I'll oblige. Though, I put a stop to anything humiliating. Is that clear?"

[relativefugue]

"So you wanna burn the old stuff down and feed the new soil. Fair plan. Almost like you know a thing or two about farming." Cloud raises a brow, his expression otherwise settling back into that vaguely disdainful look. For him, that's genuinely surprising- at least until he remembers this is the same Genesis who made strides in agricultural tech at a young age. Something about apples. Things he ran into whilst keeping up with the-Not something to think about right now.

He shrugs his shoulders with a vaguely displeased huff at the final comment. "You humiliate yourself enough, Rhapsodos. I am not about to ask for anything stupid for payment." The translation is probably clear to Genesis, who knows Cloud more than he could even imagine: Yes, he is a softie.

"It's a deal. You got supplies, or are we needing to take a run for em?"

[rhapscdos]

Genesis laughs, turning back to the weedy fields, and sparking a flame in his palm. He dances the light over his knuckles, like a living beast scampering between the digits and over the back of his palm.

"Now, why would a metropolitan man like myself know anything of the sort? Don't confuse me for my husband, Strife." His voice comes in such a languid drawl, teasing the blond for catching on.

"As for supplies, no, I haven't much besides a few shovels and a tiller Charlie loaned me for the project. But I suppose for now, they will do. Machinery doesn't seem so common here." He sighs. Even Banora had a community tractor the locals shared (and that Genesis routinely repaired). Somehow they've ended up even more backwater.

The same hand that holds the flame points towards the fence line where some tools lean against the dilapidated boards. The spark curls around his wrist obediently, instead of flying off in the same direction. "The patches towards the entrance have been trodden enough to need to be shoveled first before I burn out the roots."