[ dextera can’t take his laptop far, but he’s on the bottom floor of his little house when he hears saber… land…? in his yard. leliel is sitting in his lap, since she’s not the one taking care of this egg, and so when he goes out to meet saber it’s with a fluffy but maidenly chicken in his arms.
[ Saber jogs over to said coop and peeps into it. The egg in question gives a meek little kick, and Saber startles slightly as if kicked herself. There's no chick forthcoming quite yet though, so... ]
All we can do is wait. The chick will emerge on its own.
[ ............. She assumes.
She lowers herself to sit on her knees, her eyes still glued to the egg. Fight hard, little chick...! ]
Sit with me, Dextera. This will be a sight to treasure.
[ to emerge, he means. dextera wants to reach out and touch the little delicate shell, to help peel away the egg so that the chick can free itself, but even he knows that it’s a bad idea.
so he crouches next to saber, too, balancing himself by placing his palms flat on the ground. ]
Hm... Those are astute questions. I suppose it would be the same as if we woke to find ourselves in giant eggs. The desire for air, the urge to stretch our limbs, the boredom inside and the courage to venture out into the world... One or all of these things could be driving the chick to escape its egg. Regardless, it will be ready; it was ready from the moment it decided to break down the only wall of safety it has ever known.
[ She looks away from the egg for a moment to smile at Dextera. ]
The egg has not hatched, and you already sound like a doting mother.
[ dextera is staring hard at the small egg as saber explains her thoughts, and so he doesn’t immediately realize when she turns to look at him—only the comment about motherhood gets his attention, but it’s in a way, more appropriate than saber realizes. much of dextera’s life has been shaped by motherhood, in one way or another, even if he doesn’t remember the woman he was born to.
he returns her smile, awkward, but soothed at having someone else here. ]
I don’t think that’s a bad thing. A mother… created this egg.
[ dextera gasps softly, and leans closer. now that a significant part of the shell has been cracked off, dextera can see something—okay, well, it’s unsurprisingly colorless inside even if the egg had color, but the little grey-skinned chick is moving. it’s grotesque, and yet, dextera finds himself captivated. ]
[ dextera’s naming sense is unique, as evidenced by leliel’s name amongst all those chickens named after baked goods. he feels like he should keep in with that theme rather than his own, to honor their origin. ]
Not yet. But I think… something like its mother’s… would be good.
[ dextera hasn’t tried half those things, but when saber says one particular word, it jumps out to dextera as an absolute necessity. any other name would be doing the chick a disservice. ]
[ dextera does not know who archer is, which makes him all the more reluctant to let one of his precious chickens go. of those who exist, bagel seems like the best candidate for going to a new home, but… ]
Ah, pardon me. I thought you might have known him.
[ Tristan seemed to know of Dextera, at any rate. Perhaps it was only passing knowledge. ]
He is a melancholy but sincere and well-meaning man. He was more interested in the chicken's eggs, as his housemates are avid cooks. Their names are Jim and Xie Lian, and I can personally vouch for their good character.
[ Sensing Dextera's hesitation, she adds: ]
But it is not a pressing matter. Merely a thought for the future.
[ melancholy… sincere… well-meaning. dextera searches his memory. ]
Ah… he asked me about…
[ guren’s defense force.
dextera had been in the throes of agony when archer had posted to him, and dextera doesn’t remember much from that period of time. from his perspective, as well, it’s been months.
remembering the defense force, or archer’s interest in it, however, does somewhat assuage him. ]
[ dextera is pleased, in fact, and it’s visible just beneath the surprise on his face. saber is so kind, and gallant, and intelligent—it’s hard to feel like he’s the sort of person she would like to spend her time with. ]
I am glad to hear it. I would welcome you to my abode as well, but I fear there is little of interest there.
[ Some people would say it's beneath her station to be playing at a livestock farmer with a somewhat delicate, mild-mannered man, but she loved the most humble of her people, and Dextera and his small flock remind her of them. It's nice to spend time in a small, peaceful bubble like this, a break from the nonsense of Chroma and her often complicated knights.
The egg wiggles once more, and the crack widens into a split. The two halves of the shell tilt away from each other, exposing a quietly heaving mass of gray feathers, but the chick halts in its progress as if too exhausted to come out fully. ]
[ such is dextera’s gentle comment, before he looks to the egg once more. it’s breathing, it’s alive, but for the moment, it doesn’t seem to be attempting to finish the process. in response to it, dextera shifts forward, leaning his weight on his palms to get a better look at it.
he doesn’t want to touch it, in case he harms it by accident, but he can’t help but think of how easy it would be to pluck it right from the rest of the shell. ]
#030066 | early may
Something is happening
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What do you see?
[ Another dragon attack? The forest closing in? Death about to rain down on them all?? ]
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The egg has a crack in it. It’s moving.
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I will be right there!
[ ... And no more than fifteen seconds later, Saber bursts onto Dextera's yard with a punch of wind. ]
I am here!
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he lets her drop. ]
In the coop… I don’t know what to do.
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All we can do is wait. The chick will emerge on its own.
[ ............. She assumes.
She lowers herself to sit on her knees, her eyes still glued to the egg. Fight hard, little chick...! ]
Sit with me, Dextera. This will be a sight to treasure.
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[ to emerge, he means. dextera wants to reach out and touch the little delicate shell, to help peel away the egg so that the chick can free itself, but even he knows that it’s a bad idea.
so he crouches next to saber, too, balancing himself by placing his palms flat on the ground. ]
What if it tries to escape too early…?
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[ She looks away from the egg for a moment to smile at Dextera. ]
The egg has not hatched, and you already sound like a doting mother.
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he returns her smile, awkward, but soothed at having someone else here. ]
I don’t think that’s a bad thing. A mother… created this egg.
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[ The egg rattles in place, drawing Saber's attention once more. And then a tiny piece of the egg pops off, leaving a small puncture in the shell. ]
Oohh. A mighty blow!
[ It's happening!! How unexpected that such a tiny event could seem so exciting. ]
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[ dextera gasps softly, and leans closer. now that a significant part of the shell has been cracked off, dextera can see something—okay, well, it’s unsurprisingly colorless inside even if the egg had color, but the little grey-skinned chick is moving. it’s grotesque, and yet, dextera finds himself captivated. ]
It’s really… alive.
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Which means it will soon need a name. Have you put any thought toward what it will be?
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[ dextera’s naming sense is unique, as evidenced by leliel’s name amongst all those chickens named after baked goods. he feels like he should keep in with that theme rather than his own, to honor their origin. ]
Not yet. But I think… something like its mother’s… would be good.
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[ And she loves breakfast, so she'll love whatever name they decide on, no matter what. ]
I can think of toast, donuts, crepes, cake, bread rolls, bagels...
[ she'll keep going ]
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[ dextera hasn’t tried half those things, but when saber says one particular word, it jumps out to dextera as an absolute necessity. any other name would be doing the chick a disservice. ]
…Bagel.
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[ by whose standards
The crack in the egg widens, and then widens some more until it reaches around the entire egg to meet itself. ]
... Ah. By the way, Archer has expressed an interest in having a chicken of his own for his household.
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[ dextera does not know who archer is, which makes him all the more reluctant to let one of his precious chickens go. of those who exist, bagel seems like the best candidate for going to a new home, but… ]
What kind of person is he?
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[ Tristan seemed to know of Dextera, at any rate. Perhaps it was only passing knowledge. ]
He is a melancholy but sincere and well-meaning man. He was more interested in the chicken's eggs, as his housemates are avid cooks. Their names are Jim and Xie Lian, and I can personally vouch for their good character.
[ Sensing Dextera's hesitation, she adds: ]
But it is not a pressing matter. Merely a thought for the future.
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Ah… he asked me about…
[ guren’s defense force.
dextera had been in the throes of agony when archer had posted to him, and dextera doesn’t remember much from that period of time. from his perspective, as well, it’s been months.
remembering the defense force, or archer’s interest in it, however, does somewhat assuage him. ]
…if he wants them to cook the eggs… that’s okay.
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[ Did they talk about a next round? She's saying there's gonna be a next round. ]
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[ it’s not that he’s opposed to it, but rather, he’s surprised that saber would continue to involve herself in the matters of his chickens. ]
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Of course. It is an important project, is it not? And coming here has become a treasured part of my routine.
[ Her routine is a little pathetic, all things considered, so it's nice to have something to look forward to... ]
Unless you have any objections?
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[ dextera is pleased, in fact, and it’s visible just beneath the surprise on his face. saber is so kind, and gallant, and intelligent—it’s hard to feel like he’s the sort of person she would like to spend her time with. ]
I’d be happy to see you here. Anytime…
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[ Some people would say it's beneath her station to be playing at a livestock farmer with a somewhat delicate, mild-mannered man, but she loved the most humble of her people, and Dextera and his small flock remind her of them. It's nice to spend time in a small, peaceful bubble like this, a break from the nonsense of Chroma and her often complicated knights.
The egg wiggles once more, and the crack widens into a split. The two halves of the shell tilt away from each other, exposing a quietly heaving mass of gray feathers, but the chick halts in its progress as if too exhausted to come out fully. ]
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[ such is dextera’s gentle comment, before he looks to the egg once more. it’s breathing, it’s alive, but for the moment, it doesn’t seem to be attempting to finish the process. in response to it, dextera shifts forward, leaning his weight on his palms to get a better look at it.
he doesn’t want to touch it, in case he harms it by accident, but he can’t help but think of how easy it would be to pluck it right from the rest of the shell. ]
Is it… okay…?
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