[Open] Carpentry And Making The Bucks

[plate_builder]

WHO: Reeve Tuesti, Open
WHERE: Gridania, Gold Saucer
WHAT: Learning Carpentry, Gambling on Chocobos, Playing Triple Triad
WHEN: Throughout Event
WARNINGS: CW: Gambling
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, Reeve will be wearing this while in Eorzea, and Mini will be following him silently.

I. Hands On Work | Gridania - Carpentry Guild | [Open]

Investigations were something Reeve had only passing skill with. Mostly he was the sort of person who knew how to trust in the sorts of people who were good at it. Perhaps it came from knowing Turks. And sure, perhaps he was capable of being a spy at times through Cait Sith, but...

Well, this wasn't a place that Reeve was quite sure he knew how to spy on probably. There was so much cultural weight and context that was needed in a good spy or information seeker, that much he was pretty sure of, even if he didn't know just what that information might really entail. Either way, he wasn't going to be good at that, so he might as well learn something, right? Right.

Gridania. It was a beautiful place, one that Reeve and Mini liked from the word start, and shortly after arriving... Well, he knew what to do. Which was why Reeve was here now, humming to himself as he worked on an early project of building a table. Did he need a table? No. But was knowing how to make one useful? Yes. Very much so. The basics can always be scaled up, and it was more about learning the work with his hands, to further what he'd learned in the Iteration.

Still, he was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face enter. Another He Row. He offered a nod, and a hopefully unremarkable gesture meant to beckon them closer without seeming strange for an apprentice to be calling to someone else.

II. Betting On The Birds | Gold Saucer | [Open]

The Gold Saucer. Reeve had only first come to the place because of the name. Because of how that name evoked the idea of home. He wasn't expecting, though, that the place would be so familiar. So similar. There had been games he'd seen before through Cait Sith's eyes, and decorations, and chocobos.

In a way, this was the closest he'd felt to home in two and a half years. Perhaps that was what brought him here, to the Chocobo races, to sit there and watch with a smile, as the birds raced around.

"You know," he said, sipping at a glass of something vaguely fruity with a pleasant bubbling sensation, "this reminds me of my friend Cloud. He breed champion chocobos. Everyone wanted a bird from his breeding lines. Never understood why he moves from that work to deliveries instead."

III. It's All In The Cards | Gold Saucer | [Open]

Being at the races only served to make him think of people and places he could not easily get back to, so maybe it was easier to walk away. That was what Reeve had done to justify his wandering the Saucer. In the end he'd found himself here, looking not at the words of games he might have toyed with back home, but contemplating a starter set of Triple Triad cards.

"Alright," he said to the young employee who had just finished explaining the rules. "And you say this tournament has a prize to it?"

That sounded like something worth looking into.

"I guess I just need to find my first match against another registered player then. Who knows, maybe I'm a natural."

And speaking of another player, he turned away from the employee and registration desk, and his eyes set upon another of the Agrii's guests.

"Don't suppose you've taken to this card game."

Comments

Birbs

[mrsklover]

Richie wasn't sure what he was looking at here. It was the fucking weirdest ostrich-ducks he'd ever seen. But hey, gambling was gambling, right? And Reeve seemed to know what he was doing. He sipped on the drink like the other man was and made a mental note to get fifteen more of these things. God, he missed good drinks.

"You'd think they'd be related to chocolate somehow with a name like 'chocobos'. Do you have hollow, candy ones for Easter? That would be sweet."

He took another sip and reigned in his ADHD.

"Cloud... That's a cool name. You guys go gamble on his birds sometimes?"

[plate_builder]

"I wouldn't think it related to chocolate at all if I'm honest," Reeve answered with a shrug. It was just something he was used to back home.

"What's Easter?" he asked as he looked over the listings of what birds and jockeys would be in the next round. He was evaluating experience and statistics quite carefully, as Cloud had taught him.

"Cloud Strife, yes. And I didn't gamble with him. Jockeys and breeders aren't allowed to bet on the races they are involved in, and in those cases we went to see the birds together, he was either riding or one of the others was riding one of his birds."

[mrsklover]

"Cloud Strife. Had a hard life, that dude? Get it? Strife?" He smirked at Reeve and elbowed him lightly in the side. He glanced over at the listings for the birds and tried to make head or tail of it. He squinted and pointed at one randomly.

"That one. Got a good feeling. The gods of chance and fate are cruel and capricious! We must indulge in their whims and accept their power!" He took another sip of his drink.

"Also I have no idea what any of that shit there means."

[plate_builder]

“Very hard,” Reeve agreed with all seriousness. “He deserved better than he got, and yet, without him, the world would no doubt have fallen.”

Sorry Richie, the joke fell sort there.

“I think you’ve chosen a passable enough bird,” Reeve said politely. Because, well, it was not a good bird in his opinion.

2

[nightmare_scientist]

“Hm.” Comes a voice that Reeve may not necessarily recognize as that of one of Temba’s current residents. The beaked mask also won’t help with recognition. Or the part where the man with the top hat has a straw tugged under said mask to sip his own drink. Similarly bubbly and decorated with a tiny paper umbrella.

Wilson doesn’t bother removing the straw from under the mask that came with his disguise. Possibly an attempt to hide his not quite as human teeth. Neither does he take his feet from the seats of the row in front of him while he shrugs idly, speaking around the straw. “Maybe he found a better use for the eggs. I know I would have. Birds this size? Makes me hungry just thinking about it.”

[plate_builder]

Truly, Reeve has no idea that this man is even a He Row. So he's mostly been keeping his blathering on about his friends as something that was viable here. It was easier that way.

"Really? You'd eat chocobo eggs? Well, no, he didn't do that. After all, he was deliberately breeding. But I've known people to do so."

[nightmare_scientist]

"An egg is an egg." Wilson remarks with a flippant wave of a single hand. "Always great for bacon and eggs. Can only recommend." Come to think of it, these birds also look like a great source of meat... But that's just the former survivor in him thinking again.

"So who are we betting on?" Because he has no idea. Wilson is literally just avoiding to get back into the city at this point. Spending some time on little games and drinks and certainly not returning to the alchemist's guild any time soon.

[plate_builder]

“Perhaps, but I do not make judgments based on the choices people make for their own birds and ranches. I never had more than two birds in my life, and they worked our farm.”

And that was a long time ago. He does, though, point at a vividly yellow bird with hints of green in its feathers.

“That one. Gilionnaire. Bird’s perky on its feet, rider seems energetic. I think it will go well.”

[nightmare_scientist]

Wilson regards the bird with a slow, silent nod, almost as if he has a single clue about chocobo racing. It sure is a bird. And it's running pretty fast.

"Say, you don't look like a farmer." He states rather than commenting on the bird. "Did you quit?"

[plate_builder]

"Yes," Reeve said, because that's the best answer. "I was called to something else, and I gave myself to it happily. I'm also, well, not exactly a green thumb."

So it wasn't bad that he had left.

[nightmare_scientist]

"Ha! Yes, follow your passions and let no one hold you back!" Reeve receives a thumbs up with that approval that turns into a finger pointing towards the racing birds. "Have you ever ridden one of these large Gobblers?" And the pointing finger snaps back into a quick wave. "No. Forget that. You should ride one of them. Let people bet on you! Get a chocobird from your friend."

Saucer - Chocobos

[tempredmental]

Keith had barely managed to win one of the obstacle courses. He honestly hadn't expected it to be so high up in the air. He hadn't fallen off, but it definitely hadn't been an easy feat. And while he wasn't currently betting on any of the races, he was sitting there now, half paying attention to the race as he studied the odd box he'd been given as a prize. He glanced over at Reeve as the other sat down.

"Did you ever ask him?"

[plate_builder]

"To ask Cloud for just about anything needful was hard enough. Asking him to explain things about himself and his own decisions was like talking to a wall," he said, offering a light shrug. "And I was far from the best one at getting through to him."

He looked at Keith toying with the box. Reeve hadn't bothered to ask about it, but he truly was curious.

[tempredmental]

Keith shrugged a little.

"Maybe he just liked the other job better," he offered. It was honestly the best he could come up with.

He noticed Reeve looking at the box, so he held it out. "I got it as some prize for doing the obstacle course. I uh... I don't know what it is. It won't open."

[plate_builder]

"Perhaps," Reeve agreed. He supposed he understood. Being able to be alone for long periods of time was easier as a delivery driver than as a chocobo breeder and racer. Especially when the frivolities of jockeying were harder to justify because the world was a bit ruined.

With the box handed out, Reeve gently took it, looking it over.

"STrange, I can't seem to find any seams to it."

[tempredmental]

"Yeah... me, neither. I mean... I think it's a box, because it feels like it should be heavier? Which means it's probably hollow... but I don't know." Keith frowned. "I haven't found anyone else with one, yet."

[plate_builder]

Reeve frowned and turned it over time and time again. Nope. No way to open it. Damn.

"A mystery I don't know how to address. If it is a box and there is something fragile inside, destructive methods would be bad. Maybe it's a puzzle box."

[tempredmental]

"Yeah." Keith agreed. "Destroying what's inside would definitely defeat the purpose of winning it in the first place." He shrugged. "I just... I guess I have to work on it. Whatever it is, it seems well made. It's seamless."

Cards

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis had wandered away from Gladio just for a few minutes. He had no idea what the shield was up to and wasn't going to ask. So he decided to start meandering around and try to find something to do. He hadn't gotten around to the chocobos yet, but he did want to check out the games first.

So he'd no sooner sat down and started to puzzle over these cards he was handed, then Reeve sat down next to him.

"I have no idea what I'm doing." Noctis admitted. There weren't many people he'd actually come out and admit that to, but Reeve was definitely one of them.

[plate_builder]

"That would make two of us," Reeve admitted with a chuckle. There wasn't much eh could do about it, but it seemed like it might be a nice enough pass time. "I can barely keep the rules they gave me straight in my head. We don't have things like this back home you see."

NOt to his knowledge. Though he supposed card games other than poker and the like might well be a thing for children. Yet here it was, at a casino. All a very interesting question.

[fatedsacrifice]

It was nice to hear that Reeve was as lost as he was. He looked at his cards and recognized some of the creatures on them and didn't know what to do with them. Was this a matching game? But he just looked over at his companion.

"We don't have cards like this, but we have card games."

He'd won some and lost some.

[plate_builder]

"You do?" Reeve said, flipping through his cards. "Huh, a bomb. How strange. I never expected to see one again."

And that was quite interesting. So many creatures that looked like home's creatures. Which all made him interested.

"This place reminds me of home."

[fatedsacrifice]

"You have a bomb monster card?" Noctis asked. He was almost horrified because those damn things. And the next moment his eyes looked over at Reeve curiously. "You have those too?"

More similarities and it always made him wonder about this man's world and what it was like.

[plate_builder]

Yeah, those things were horrible. Reeve revealed the card. It looked slightly different from the bombs he knew, but he knows this form. And he smiles. At least he's not alone.

"Indeed. You as well?"

[fatedsacrifice]

"Ugh." the king replied with a sigh and a shake of his head as he looked through his own cards. "They're a pain in the ass to fight."

This of course was an understatement but at least they weren't mindflayers, because he'd admitted to the guys that looking at them made him sick.