LYDIA DEETZ AND FINAL FANTASY 7
Capítulo 6: The food challenge
When the new day came and they finally arrived at the chocobos farm, but to their dismay, all the chocobos had been sold or were in stock. The managers could only sell them the Chocobo Materia, which served to attract the birds, so they could capture them and then bring them to the farm, where they would domesticate them and put them in chairs and harnesses so they could ride them. They were also sold various chocobos food to facilitate the capture of the animals.
After what they considered an eternity, they finally managed to catch several chocobos and took them to the farm. Percy won when he caught an imposing and intimidating looking chocobo, which was black and at least three times larger than a normal chocobo.
“This chocobo is for you, Lydia” Percy offered her, so Lydia was happy.
“What will you call it?” Percy asked her.
“I think I'll call it Quick Death," Lydia decided with a smile and Percy brought the chocobo to the farm with the other captured birds.
“Wow," whistled the store manager when he saw the black chocobo, "well, I'll have yuor chocobos ready in a couple of days.”
“What will we do in the meantime?” Biggs asked Cloud.
“I think we'd better go to Kalm and buy everything we need.”
Since they had no choice, they had to return to Kalm. The road to the city was heavy, even the fighting with the occasional wandering monsters did not take away the slumber that friends had to suffer, and after the fighting they resumed the heavy walk.
“You look exhausted, Tifa. Now will you let me help you?” Wedge offered his help in a polite manner.
I” don't know, Wedge, I'm a little embarrassed that you're carrying me by piggyback," admitted Tifa.
“I see, well, there's a solution to that," said Wedge with a thoughtful gesture, and standing beside Tifa, he lifted her at the waist and then made her sit on his right shoulder.
“Wedge, no!” Tifa protested, but Wedge ignored her and started walking with impressive ease.
“See, that's better," Wedge reassured her, "because you'd be sorry to have to put both legs around my neck and carry you on my shoulders, too.”
“Wow Wedge, when you became so strong," said Tifa, impressed by the way Wedge carried her sitting on his right shoulder, showing no sign of tiredness.
“Hey! I've always been this strong," Wedge replied happily, "I just fell for the charm of the dishes you were cooking, Tifa.”
“You mean, is it my fault you were overweight?” Tifa said sadly and nervously.
“What? No! I'm just saying that your food is so delicious that I thought that was the best moment of my life, although of course, I think I'll have to limit myself once we finish our mission... It'll be a real ordeal to have to endure the temptation to repeat your delicious delicacies, Tifa!” Wedge whimpered melodramatically and pretended to cry.
Tifa laughed and they continued on their way to Kalm.
Once they arrived in the city, they took rooms and after resting and cleaning up, they divided up tasks to go shopping and selling everything they needed to continue the trip.
.
.
Late at night, Tifa found herself alone in the high courtyard of the inn, looking up at the stars and with an anguished expression.
“Tifa, is something wrong?” Wedge asked her, “You look worried.”
“It's nothing Wedge, just, just...”
“Don't worry, Tifa, you don't have to tell me anything, I just want you to know that you can count on me, you don't have to carry any kind of load on your own.”
“Thank you Wedge," Tifa replied with a smile and Wedge retired to his room when he saw that Tifa wanted to be alone.
"Cloud, the story you told us... Oh, Cloud, what's the matter with you?" Tifa thought in anguish.
.
.
The next morning, the group made their way to the chocobos farm. This time the trip was more enjoyable as they had everything they needed for the trip, including a backpack made for Nanaki to carry some things.
“Well, I think it's time for dinner," said Tifa, and she got rid of her backpack to get the canned food she bought in town.
They all imitated Tifa and searched their respective backpacks for some food containers, while Lydia went over to Wedge and whispered something to him.
“Wait Tifa," said Wedge, "you're always cooking for us, let me do it this time.”
“No need to bother, Wedge.”
“Let Wedge do it," Lydia asked, "I wanted to see how much my cousin learned how to cook while I was away.”
“Wedge always helped you cook," Percy said, "let him take over this time.”
Tifa wanted to protest but Wedge grabbed her by the shoulders and made her sit down.
“Well, that's settled. Tifa, let Chef Wedge take care of the banquet this time," Wedge told her.
“That's how you'll assess how much your student has learned," Lydia said.
“Well, Tifa?” Wedge said looking her in the eyes.
“All right, but I'm a very strict judge. You'll get a punishment if you burn a plate.”
“All right, I accept," said Wedge, full of confidence.
“That's not fair, Tifa," Lydia said, "if Wedge is a good cook, you'll have to take a penitence.”
“A penitence?” Tifa asked restlessly.
“Yes, I think a kiss would be appropriate.”
“Yes, I agree with Lydia too," said Jesse happily.
“Kiss, kiss! was celebrating funny Aerith.
“It would be best," said Biggs with a smile on his face.
“You want me to give Wedge a kiss?” Tifa asked and the girls nodded.
“NO!” Percy shouted and everyone looked at him.
"Not like that, you'll cheat Tifa and kiss his forehead or his hands," Percy said with a frowning gesture.
"It will have to be Wedge who gives you a kiss, Tifa," said the cat boy with poise and a serious face.
Tifa looked around nervously but apparently everyone agreed with Percy's idea.
“Yes, so Tifa won't cheat," Barrett said with a thoughtful gesture.
“Once the noble challenge is set, it's impossible to turn back, otherwise it would make a dent in honor," said Nanaki.
“And not just a kiss on the cheek," adds Percy, "Wedge will kiss you wherever and however he wants.”
“No turning back Tifa," said Lydia elegantly.
“And when I say wherever and however, I mean that, he can kiss you by hugging you, or by putting his hands wherever he wants, and kiss you with his tongue wherever he wants and for as long as he wants. None of the "just a second" rule.”
“Percy!” Lydia reproached him, but the cat boy kept looking at Tifa defiantly.
Tifa looked at Cloud, and Percy asked the blond what he thought, knowing his answer beforehand because Cloud was so predictable.
“I don't care what you do," said Cloud with his typical tough-boy stance and his shoulders up.
“You know what," Tifa concluded with a frown at Cloud's attitude, "I'm not the type to throw a challenge and then back down.”
The girls applauded and Wedge spoke again.
“Calm down Tifa, if only one of us is not satisfied with my food, there will be no penance - he calmly reassured her. Also, even though it is canned food, everyone can ask me what kind of dish they want me to prepare for them, the harder the better.”
They all cheered loudly for Wedge's chivalry (except for Cloud the tough one in the story), but Lydia and Percy exchanged nervous looks.
As expected, everyone ordered very complicated dishes, except Lydia and Percy who ordered Vienna sausages with scrambled eggs and little salt.
Wedge began to prepare the dishes with a smile on his face and humming a soft melody. As the minutes passed, a delicious aroma spread through the place.
Wedge handed out the food plates and everyone started tasting them.
“Well, what do you think?” Wedge asked them.
“It's delicious!” They all agreed, and were surprised that Wedge had not only not burned any plates, but had prepared real delicacies for them.
“What about you, Lydia?” Wedge asked him.
“It's delicious Wedge.”
“What about your dish, Percy?” Wedge asked him with a mocking smile on his face.
Percy frowned at Wedge and then looked back at his plate, which was burnt and nauseating in appearance, and as if that were not enough, the food gave off strange green and purple vapours that emitted an unbearable stench.
“Well, don't you like it?” Wedge asked him again.
Percy looked at Lydia begging but she begged him to eat the dish.
Percy's hand shook as he put the food in his mouth, but in one quick bite the cat boy stuffed his mouth full of food. The unrecognizable, stinking mass had the strange consistency of plastic burnt with hot snot.
The whole group watched in amazement as Percy continued to chew and swallow every bite. The cat boy was about to finish eating and gave Wedge a wild, triumphant look, but at that moment his face contracted and he began to vomit.
“Umm, well, I think I lost," Wedge said, raising his shoulders the same way Cloud did.
“You shouldn't have pushed Tifa so hard," Lydia whispered to Percy as she brought him a glass of juice, "Wedge finally sabotaged himself.”
After the meal, the friends prepared to go to bed.
“Good night, girls," Wedge told them and the girls replied in the same way.
.
.
They arrived at the chocobos farm and the manager already had all the birds domesticated, including saddles and reins, all of them blue.
Seeing the chocobos in all that blue, Percy began to laugh out loud.
“Look Lydia, those chocobos look like Cloud.”
“What?” Biggs said
“They look like Cloud," Percy replied as he held his ribs by the laughter.
“Percy...” wanted to criticize Lydia but she immediately saw the similarity of Cloud's hair with the chocobos and closed her eyes tightly so as not to laugh because she thought that laughing at others was something bad and vulgar.
“Hey, Percy's right, look!” Barrett shouted and started laughing so hard that the chocobos started to get nervous, except for Lydia's imposing black chocobo.
“Hey, I don't look like a chocobo," said Cloud with a frown.
“I see that these yellow birds have a certain similarity to the hairstyle of our leader," said Nanaki.
“It is true nya, from now on you will be known as "chocobo head"... Oh my ribs, I cannot stop laughing.”
“My hair looks nothing like a chocobo," shouted Cloud angrily.
“Don't be angry, Cloud, and you look as cute as a chocobo," Tifa said, stifling his laughter.
“It's true, you're the cutest chocobo I've ever seen," laughed Aerith.
“Yes, you're our chocobo,” Jesse winked at him.
After the humiliation session, the group mounted their respective chocobos and headed for the swamp to reach the mountain range that would take them to the other side of the continent.
“Well, get ready, we'll go full speed ahead," Cloud told them. Nanaki, you hold on to Biggs so you don't fall.
As they crossed the swamp, they saw how the zolom snake followed them underwater, but the chocobos were faster.
They reached the base of the mountain range and the giant snake could no longer follow them. The group began to breathe calmly when they saw a terrifying spectacle.
A zolom serpent was impaled on a gigantic dead tree.
Cloud approached and saw from the wounds on the snake that it was Sephiroth who defeated the monster.
All exchanged frightened looks at the demonstration of Sephiroth's power.
"And we are supposed to be following Sephiroth," Lydia thought alarmed, and Percy, reading the look on her face, proceeded to embrace her.
CONTINUARÁ...
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