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Hayabusa was the Haneishi family chocobo. When their first child Rion was born the two quickly became thick as thieves. Everywhere that Rion went, there was the faithful yellow bird. Meals, naps, sometimes even baths. They would do just about everything together.
That is, until their daughter Arisa was born five summers later. Suddenly the attention that the chocobo was usually showered in was redirected to this small thing that needed constant care and attention.
It began to bother the bird.
One day he warked a little too close to the baby. The crying outburst that followed drove the household into chaos and made the Haneishi family decide to finally put the chocobo outside. While Hayabusa had behaved well with Rion the bird had also grown considerably since. It was just a tad too crowded and precarious to juggle them all inside when a perfectly sized stable sat outside for the chocobo.
“Sorry boy but we can’t take any chances.” Tseren apologized as he attached a new lock to the door of their home so Hayabusa couldn’t follow after like he used to.
It was the worst day of his life.
How had everything gone so wrong?
He sadly looked in on the family through the window and saw the culprit to his misery.
The baby.
From that day the chocobo decided that it was all that baby’s fault he was now banished to the stables outside instead of the comfort of the indoors near the family hearth.
Hayabusa held onto his misguided grudge as the baby grew into a little girl. He watched carefully as the family fussed over her.
While contemplating his own mischief to play on the baby, he would simply watch her fall over by herself and cry. There was really no need for him to ever act on his thoughts in fact. With a loud kweh he would alert the family to pick her up. The more it happened the more he seemed to gain back the trust.
Rion would give him more attention as he got older. They would go off on errands together and if danger happened upon them Hayabusa would swiftly put an end to things with a powerful chocobo kick or two. He was the perfect reliable partner.
Until the day that Rion set off on his adventure without Hayabusa.
Once again he was left feeling shocked and confused. He called out sadly for his dearest friend but it was too late. The once boy turned man was off on a journey and Hayabusa found himself left behind contemplating what he could have possibly done wrong.
What did he do to deserve this abandonment?
Rion had left with a peculiar request for Hayabusa:
“Look after her.”
Her…
Why should he have to look after the epitome of his suffering?
…
Another day, another unpleasant yank at the back of her head.
“Good morning to you too, Hayabusa.” the small au’ra sighed as she went out to feed the family chocobo.
She was responsible for cleaning his stable now that Rion was off on his adventure.
Day in and day out it was the same. No matter how much she tried, the chocobo would simply not show her the same affections he had to her older brother. Arisa was too young at the time to understand that the bird had likely imprinted on the boy since they grew up together. She had interrupted that bond in a sense.
Yet as much as the chocobo loved to tug on her long hair whether she wore it up or down, she never once felt like she wasn’t safe near him. Arisa hoped one day they would come to an understanding but until that day came she felt something needed to give.
Another pull at the back of her head alerted her she was slacking and that was the final straw. An idea struck her and she was going to seize the moment.
Later that day she chopped off the long locks she had grown since she was a baby and that was that. Freed from the object of the bird’s frustrating beak pulls, Arisa felt free.
Hayabusa was shocked when she returned. Who was this person? No longer the baby that tormented him that was for certain.
In fact, now that he thought about it and watched her at work, she was the one taking the most care of him. He desperately missed Rion but somehow every time he felt that way the girl would begin to tell him a story. The loneliness began to fade away as the sound of her voice and her pleasant hums became more familiar and routine.
Perhaps this wasn’t such a cursed fate after all.
Now if only she would let him back inside the house…