the Chocobo Express - FF7

Although the Shin-Ra Steam Power Company's rail system has been remarkably successful across the central continent, there are still many areas of Gaia that either have not yet been connected or refuse to be so. When delivery of documents or parcels must still reach these locations, mainlanders turn to Shin-Ra's stable of long-distance riders. The service is expensive, but the routes can be extremely dangerous. News of sudden wars or natural disasters in distant countries and regions may not be available until an assignment is already underway, requiring riders with excellent survivalist instincts and high adaptability. Many recruits who pass Shin-Ra's training are started out on assignments to the Mideel regions. The further the travel, the more experience is necessary, and the hardest of assignments are frequently scheduled around the company's three best riders.

A young Nibel boy of eighteen, Cloud Strife applied to Shin-Ra at fourteen with a forged birth certificate. His skill with chocobos, particularly with wild-bred animals that are consistently hardier stock than farm-born allowed him to both keep his position and advance quickly. Strife also shows a natural ability to traverse mountains much faster than many riders twice his age.

Valentine came to Midgar at ten years old as an immigrant from the Gongaga tribal lands. A full-blooded Whitefalcon, he was initially hired to specifically to be a liaison and translator for the board of directors. In a short time, Valentine proved to be an excellent rider and possess an incredible accuracy with any firearm. In truth, he alternates between the Chocobo Express and being a highly effective bodyguard when company president Rufus Shin-Ra travels.

Lazard Deusericus is arguably the most well-known of Shin-Ra's riders. Outside of several routes successfully completed in record time, he has gained a reputation for slipping through most any danger that arises. During an assignment to the mining settlement in Icicle, Deusericus was counted lost for weeks after his mount's tracks disappeared from the trails. He reached the military post on the coast of Bone Village after two months, accompanied by a small group of the Blackwings that had ambushed his chocobo mistakenly for trespassing into their territory. His stay to allow a leg injury to heal is the longest period any mainlander has spent within the northern tribe. Much of his information remains classified, but what has been released has proved wildly popular in print, both as a glimpse of a secretive people and due to the speculation that the beads and feather Deusericus was given hint at a love affair with a Blackwing maiden. His refusal to confirm or deny has fueled a popular string of tribal love stories throughout the central continent's theaters.

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Yeah, about that 'maiden' part? It's really, really not what you think, Midgar.

I have no idea why I seem to be relating people by their hair colors for the most part, but it just feels right in my head. Hence, why Vincent's much more tan than usual. I don't yet know why he's still keeping his arm covered, but that just seems right, too. He left the Whitefalcon territory as a child, though, so he's not the one in an open relationship with Jenova. Heh.

I am so stupidly amused by the thought of a steam-powered Shin-Ra, you don't even know. I didn't actually look up a chocobo reference, so I hope it's close enough.