04. [video] Fortune

[mech_and_mutt]

[When the video begins, Red's already slumped back into the pilot's seat of his airship, his weary posture and tired limbs looking like they'd already long-since given out on him. He's breathless and panting- and not even in a particularly dog-like way- while sweat somehow manages to run off of his fur. Or is that just water? It'd explain why he was in his blitzball outfit. And all those bruises.

And yet, somehow, his face is the biggest, toothiest smile most people would ever have seen from him.]

..I... did it.

[He pauses, reaching beside him to grab a hold of a metallic water bottle with an oddly familiar logo on it, and ravenously gulps from it a few times between heaving breaths before using the rest to douse himself.

A few seconds of a more familiar canine head-shaking, water-flinging dryoff later- and a quiet ugh from the offscreen moogle- he catches his breath enough to continue.]

Starting lineup. Dragons. Cloud City.

[...and then, as if he suddenly remembered he was actually broadcasting this--]

Uh-- I'm Red. I play Blitzball. For the Cloud City Dragons. It's a great sport. Come watch me sometime. ...cause I just got promoted!!

[He manages a fistbump for a few seconds before his fist quivers, and with a weak groan his arm soon goes limp. Yup. That muscle was probably pulled.]

...So yeah. Tryin' to think of how I should celebrate. Any ideas?

...Y'know, after I get some rest.

Comments

[defenestraighttomyheart]

[A pause. Richard Conway scrambles to the monitor screen, frantically messing with the controls. He curses quietly to himself, cursing an inconvenient water droplet that prevented the camera from picking up him drinking from his damn bottle.]

Red, you look so faint. You should take another drink of water. And then we should go out to a bar.

Although, given that your contract is now a matter of public record, I think you're buying from now on.

[mech_and_mutt]

Nah. 'ppreciate it, but they're not gonna serve me there.

[Still, Richard had a point. The bottle's raised, and- with all the imprecision of a sore, cramping arm- he poured a brief flow of water into his open mouth before slumping back again.]

Is Star Mogs okay? Just don't tell me you wanna drink Kombucha. More for me, 'po.

[defenestraighttomyheart]

[He seemed very visibly down a little (definitely not because he squirted the water from the bottle), but perks up after confirming they'd go to Star Mogs.]

Uh, sure that'll work just fine, let's just-

[He didn't even pause before going into a tangent.]

wait hold on why can't you go to a bar

[mech_and_mutt]

I, uh.

I'm not old enough.

[defenestraighttomyheart]

[Richard widens his eyes slowly as that revelation creeps up on him and then leans back in his seat and gives Red that particular kind of look of spaced-out introspective horror that can only be associated with someone being forced to take a good, long, hard look at their life choices leading up to that point and finding them wanting.]

Oh. Okay.

See you at the Star Mogs.

I need to go call Corrin now.

[mech_and_mutt]

Wait wait waaait, not yet! At least give me few minutes to relax and catch my breath! [Honestly, the thought of another upside-down flat white ri--

LATTE. The thought of another latte right now wasn't making his aches any lighter.]

Corrin? She givin' you a lift?

[defenestraighttomyheart]

Oh just, uh.

Call me when you want to go.

I have to go to Finn's thing anyway.

And no, when you have the ability to cross the length of a blitzball field by jumping, you kind of are your own ride.

Anyway, bye.

[Richard calls up Corrin before the video was even up. He seemed distressed and said something about three months before cutting the video feed.]

[mech_and_mutt]

Hold on, what was that about the jumpi--

[...Well, that was odd. Doesn't that guy usually try to act cool?]