Tell a story about your character's favored animal companion. This can be a mount or a pet, whichever is preferred, past or present.
In the first days after the Calamity, Syra wavered in and out of consciousness as Allerian, the one surviving healer, struggled to keep her from the Lifestream. In those rare, blissful moments that she slipped into slumber and away from the agonizing pain of her injuries, she dreamt. Or, perhaps, it was remembered. She was never quite sure. They were lucid and so real, it was as if she could touch and smell everything. This one was no exception.
Father took her up in his arms, lifting her high overhead to settle her onto Yohan's back. She squealed giddily as she threw her arms around the valiant chocobo's neck, nuzzling into the downy feathers. "Yohan here has been in our family since my grandfather raised him from a chick, so you'll have to be gentle. He's an old boy."
Syra loosened her grip on the chocobo's neck a tad, large green eyes looking to her father as she nodded with a grave seriousness that was ill-suited to the normally precocious child. "Yes, Father. I'll be good to him." The chocobo turned his head and nuzzled his beak against his tiny rider's knee. She scratched his crest feathers in return. A slow, content whistle eased out of Yohan as he closed his eyes in enjoyment.
"See? He likes you." Her father chuckled. "Chocobo are very loyal to their riders, as long as they're treated well. I want you to be sure and take extra good care of him because he's always been there for our family."
"Yes, Father. I promise."
Wait. Where was Yohan?
All at once, Syranelle snapped to full wakefulness. Her eyes darted to her surroundings as the fog of slumber gave way to the searing dawn of pain. Even as her body stiffened in reaction and tears welled in her eyes in response, she wouldn't stop searching. Yohan. Where is Yohan? Her vision wavered and she felt more than saw the looming shadow of someone sitting nearby. She lifted a hand toward it and felt two others envelop her own. They were cool, small, and delicate. Arthuriel.
"Shh, Syra, don't speak. I know it hurts, Allerian will be here shortly." Her sister murmured softly.
The elder of the sisters shook her head vehemently. "--han..." she managed to gasp past the overwhelming feelings of pain and bewilderment. "Yohan."
Arthuriel's brows twitched together. "You nearly died in that cave-in and all you can think of is the damned chocobo?"
A wave of dizziness assaulted Syra's senses as the peripherals of her vision were hemmed with blackness. She was going to lose consciousness again. Arthuriel didn't understand, though, she had to make her sister understand. This was important. Yohan was important. She'd promised. Promised Father...
"Oh, Allerian, thank every God that you're here..." Arthuriel drew away and despite a Duskwight's keen sense of hearing, whatever was said next became nothing but garbled sounds as Syra continued to struggle to stay awake. The pain was too great, though, and her body refused to partake of it any longer.
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Long recovered, Syranelle crept through the Shroud undergrowth toward the caravan encampment. Donatien's information had proven true; the merchant's guard contingent was non-existent. This would be easy-pickings. She looked over her shoulder, holding up two fingers and waving them off to her right, then motioning with a hand to move forward. Two of the hunting party split off and flit through the forestland off to her right as indicated, the other four followed her as they snuck into the encampment proper.
As they neared the wagons, they could see that one of the two was a cage. In that cage were crammed at least a dozen chocobo so that there was barely space to move. They all lay on the filthy, mute-covered floor of the cage, piled on top of one another as they tried to sleep. Just by looking at them, it was easy to see that they were malnourished and mistreated. Syra motioned for the other three with her to check the other wagons as she herself went over to the cage of birds. Hopefully they wouldn't raise a racket and rouse the camp before their work was done.
Duskwight shadows flit through the camp, but Syra's attention was rooted to the chocobo. Poor, abused creatures. She studied the simple iron lock holding the cage closed; it should be simple enough to pick. Her nimble hands plucked the lockpicks from her belt and she set to work. As the picks rattled lightly, one of the birds raised its head and peered her direction. One eye of the noble bird was swollen shut and there was a crack in his beak on that same side, as if he'd suffered some massive trauma or beating on that side of his head. Syra felt a wellspring of sympathy for the creature.
"Almost done..." she whispered to the birds. At the sound of her voice, the chocobo's one good eye seemed to brighten. "Kweh-kweh!" it piped.
The sound jolted Syra and she peered more closely at the bird. Dusty-green feathers covered the bird, save for a few patches where they'd been rubbed down by harness or saddle. Yet, there was something unmistakable in his carriage and the sound of the creature's ululations. "Yohan..." she breathed.
Somehow, the chocobo had escaped the cave-in during the Calamity and found his way to the surface. Like her, he was a survivor who had found a small group of others to band together with. She smiled, tears welling in her eyes as she worked to pick the lock faster. "Oh, Yohan..." There. It was done. The lock clicked then sprang open, allowing her to throw the door of the cage open. Yohan shuffled to his feet, which woke his cage-mates.
For a moment, the chocobo stood there, bewildered at this development. It took Yohan piping and hopping down out of the cage for the rest of them to follow suit. Syranelle didn't waste any time throwing her arms around Yohan's neck and hugging the bird as she buried her face in his neck feathers, as she had done so many times as a child. Chocobo are very loyal to their riders... she recalled her father saying.
"Syra! Come on, there's nothing here. Let's go!" one of the other Duskwights hissed. Oh, how wrong he was though. There was something beloved and treasured here. She turned to him and replied, "Lead the chocobos out of here, they're good animals that could be good for us, if we nurse them back to health and take care of them."
There wasn't any time for argument. The other hunters took the remaining chocobo by ones and twos, leading them out of the encampment. Syra wouldn't allow anyone to lead Yohan away but her. Bird and rider, reunited. This time, she intended to make good on her promises and make sure that he was well taken care of for the rest of his natural life.