pinesnet | 001

Hey, wait. Not yet, hold on. You can't come yet, I have to call somebody fir--whoa! _{[A stifled intake of breath. A pleading note.]} Oh, come on, give me a break. Not yet!

_{[The message starts with a Jack's voice drifting in and out of range, like somebody caught between talking away from the receiver and turning into it. Urgency threads through the words.

There's a distant squeak of bed springs, another hissed breath.]}

Ohhhh, I see something! _{[That urgency ramps up to something closer to awe and terror of the unknown.]} It's pink in there! I can see it moving around! I forget what I'm supposed to do! I was just getting used to having Eggbert around and now he's falling to pieces on me.

_[Faintly:]

Oh, shit...

_{[Even fainter, the sound of a delicate, barely audible cheep.]}

What the hell is that? You gotta come over and bring the dog food or something-- Wait. _{[Now there's a sudden silence as a perplexed somebody realizes this isn't the private call he thought he was making. Goddamn phones, where's a moogle when you need one?]} This isn't even the right line! Lemme try that again.

_{[That there is the definitive 'click' of a hang up.]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm sure it'll be fine - y'probably don't need to go scrambling around for anythin', buddy! Just wait and see if it's got any trouble breaking out, I guess.

_{[Unfortunately, there's no good egg puns for "I'm not mentally prepared for this thing, my friends would know what to do but they're not here and I am and my plate of scrambled eggs is plenty full, thank you, somebody else needs to figure this out" ...

Never mind, guess there is room for one more egg pun.]}

... Can I bust it open to make it go faster?

_{[Ummmmmm, pretty sure the farm people said not to do that, but the ongoing struggle of creature vs. egg sure makes it seem like it's stuck in there. Having never seen the miracle of birth up close before, Jack hadn't realized it's this awkward and slow going.]}

( okay yeah no he's too alarmed by that to even think of making a pun now because BOI DON'T ABUSE THE EGG ) Uhh I can't say I've ever watched anything hatch myself but that might not be a good idea! Did you ask anyone at the farm yet?

That makes me feel better! I haven't spent longer than sixty seconds with a real egg, and this one's doing all sorts of stuff.

_{["Stuff," so articulate. It's amazing it's survived this long. Like a true Rubran, it can endure anything, even the clumsy ministrations of a boy without the natural affinity for chocobos his brother has.]}

--Oh yeah, good idea! Maybe I should've called there first. _[Pause.] Uh. I don't have their number. It's making sounds? You think that's a good thing?

That should be a good thing, right? I think, anyway... ( if it's making sounds it isn't dead, definitely, but when would you know it isn't a sign of distress? ) Are you with anyone who can look after it for you so that you can run over to the farm or something real quick for advice maybe?

_{[When would you know, Prompto? When would you know? Combat training did not prepare him for this.]}

Mmm...

_{[Give him a moment while he flashes back to the two people--"people"--he shares living quarters with who appear to have little to no qualms about punching holes in walls as well as people.]}

I have a couple of roommates looking for some extra protein in their diets. I could be walking back to a funeral, not a birthday.

( wiki and the internet didn't prepare prompto for this either. he thinks chocobos are cute, but he's never considered being a farmer -- )

Sheesh. ( a funeral is NO BUENO!!! ) Guess taking it along with you isn't really an option, huh...

They eat a lot.

_{[He adds as if this should explain anything. He has some legitimate worries to contend with here in Wayward Pines--like how did he get here, where are his friends, and will he ever wake up to his roommates looming over his bed with murder in their eyes? The hard-hitting questions.

Even at a distance, the next crunch of an eggshell cracking under pressure will be audible over the line.]}

Oh man, oh man, did you hear that!? It's starting to go! I didn't know eggs could do this sort of stuff.

( the telltale sound is clear as a bell over the phone, which speaks volumes as to how loud it must've been in person, and the guy's enthusiasm is infectious; prompto's about to join in the excitement when "I didn't know eggs could do this sort of stuff" and -- )

What, really?

( he might be an inner-city kid, but prompto at least knows where chicks come from - even if he's not aware of the specifics. ) They showed this life cycle stuff to us in science class last I remember...

I've heard about it, I just didn't think it was like this. It's like it's digging it's way out! It looks like a lot of work.

_{[He should probably be doing more than huddling on the edge of his bed, holding the phone out so the person who wrongfully received his message can listen to his egg.

But it's come to this: huddling and watching, an awestruck note in his voice. He hasn't nurtured so much as a house plant before, tectonic plates are shifting in Jack's sheltered world watching this little guy struggle.]}

I just thought eggs just sort of... opened when they were ready.

_{[In his mind, this was a cleaner, quicker process where the egg split neatly into two halves like an anime.]}

Yeah, it's kind of messy... ( none of the fluffy softness commonly associated with chicks, just matted feathers and bulging eyes on a vaguely bird-shaped form. ) Sounds like yours is doing just fine, though!

_{[Confirmation that this is supposed to be somewhat slow going and kind of gross seems to reassure Jack, for he lets out a sigh of relief. That's one last thing to worry about.

He still has to contend with the fact it's coming now, and he still isn't entirely sure what it is, but... baby steps.]}

Thanks for the second opinion, dude! I'll take anyone who knows anything egg-related at this point. I underestimated how stressful the big day was gonna be. Dunno how people do this with actual babies.

_{[His palms are sweaty. That only happens during big missions... Which in a way this kind of is. It doesn't get any bigger than being responsible for another living thing.]}

No sweat, man. ( ~~knees weak, arms heavy??~~ he's no expert, but prompto did have a bit of selective memory when it came to his favourite animals; no reason to believe most birds' hatching behaviours would deviate too greatly from one another. )

I think actual babies are probably a billion times worse than this. ( don't take his word for it, though. ) Not that I've got first-hand experience or anything, but probably -- okay prompto, stop talking. ) A-anyway! Hope it helped!

Moms know what they've got growing inside them, plus they have nine months to get used to it. That's not so bad.

_{[That's not so bad. Spoken like a true man who knows nothing of the female experience and never seen the inside of a delivery ward.]}

Er, I'm Jack, by the way. _{[Discomfort at all things miracle of life-y doesn't stop a laugh from sounding over the phone.]} I forgot that part! And my buddy making all the strange sounds is Eggbert.

Yeah, true but - I figure the scale of it's really different from this... ( probably. it's not really a train of thought prompto's looking to pursue, and the change in subject comes as a welcome reprieve. ) O-oh. Yeah. Hi! I'm Prompto. Looks like we both forgot about that in all the excitement.

This is totally more stressful!

_{[You're right, Prompto, you're so right...]}

Well, nice to meet you! Strangers things have happened than meeting over a wrong number. _{[Like... everything about the here and now.]} If you need a career change you should think about being a phone operator, you're a helpful dude in a pinch.

_{[And there might be other horrifically sheltered teens who need talking out of busting their eggs open...]}

001 | voice

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hi it's been a while omg

absence only makes the heart grow fonder!!

;3;

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