Chocobo Chaos!

[shatteredlenses]

Who: The Chocobros and You!
What: The long awaited hatching of a pair of chocobo eggs and the chaos it causes.
When: The week of 7/20
Where: In and around Cottage 2, Islet 1
Warnings: Cuteness and the guys being the biggest, dorkiest, pet parents?

After Gladio's arrival, the last thing anyone could say about the activity level around the chocobros cottage was that it was low. The renovations were good, the occasional dramatic flare-ups not so good, but both were better than the absolute stillness that settled over the cottage while the three boys--once more minus their king--were off spending more time than probably advisable exploring Umui. Not long after their return, though, the activity picks up again. There is a different feeling to it now, a sense of expectation, of preparing--not for the worst like findings on Umui suggest they should prepare for--but for something eagerly awaited.

Of course, who wouldn't be excited about the hatching of two new chocobos? For Gladio, it's bringing new life to a species lost during the darkness; for Ignis it's seeing the full potential of the heartwarming gift he was given come to life; for Prompto, well, everyone knows his view on chocobos.

The eggs hatch on the 20th, and after that anyone who comes near the cottage risks getting caught up in the excitement and chaos the two new chocobo chicks cause. Of course, there are much worse ways to spend than afternoon than cuddling a cute little chocobo chick.

At some point after the hatching, a certain hobo will find a small bowl of sweets and a note left outside his shack's door. The short message is as neat as the writer could make it, but Ardyn will know well why 'as neat as' is still pretty messy. The note simply says:

Please come meet Hresvelgr's new siblings.


(OOC: This is basically set up like a mingle. All the boys will be tagging around, so if you want a specific boy, please say so in your header! If you prefer surprises, just leave it blank! :-) )

Comments

7/20 - And We Wait. (Closed to Ignis, Gladio and Prompto.)

[shatteredlenses]

[scourgingstars]

[Why did he put up with this? Ardyn still didn't know, and likely never would.]

[He took his damn time showing up, a day or so after the note was left- nearer to sunset with the usual hat in place to guard against the lingering daylight and Hresvelgr just a few steps behind.]

[...He couldn't have wanted less to do with this, but on the other hand: chocobos.]

[want_to_belong]

Unsurprisingly, Prompto spent a lot of time around the eggs anxiously awaiting their hatching. At times he could be found lying down in front of them, camera in hand, hoping to catch the first crack. He jumped at every wiggle, waited with bated breath in the stillness and, sometimes, stared closely to see if that egg had done something or if it was just his imagination.

He was constantly reluctant to leave them because then he might miss the moment, so he'd run off to quickly do his business and go back immediately. Coco wasn't forgotten, of course. He lounged around comfortably near the eggs. But for right now, Prompto's focus was on the new arrivals as he laid on his belly in front of the eggs with his camera out.

7/22 you know all three of y'all could hit me up and I wouldn't mind a bit :U

[attheclocktower]

[ Aster waits until the day after she and Shion return, stumbling and tired, from their exploration of Umui. But. She'd been... given more than a hint about something to come back to in a few days. Not to mention she wanted to fill Ignis in on what she'd found but. Still.

She'd kept to herself for so long it still felt weird edging her way across the islets towards the Chocobros' house. Even though there was probably nobody watching, it felt like there was a spotlight on her. Aster's more than a little relieved by the time she gets close enough to call out. ]

Hello? ... Ignis...?

[ let her see de babs ]

[shatteredlenses]

Ignis isn't sure what amuses him more--how excited he is about the eggs finally hatching or how excited Prompto is. If nothing else, listening to Prompto move around as he snaps picture after picture is enough to help him keep his own desire to hover in check. He'd thank Prompto for that if it didn't practically guarantee some kind of joke about him wanting to hover like a mother hen would be the result.

Since the hovering quota and the documentation quota are both currently being filled, Ignis settles himself nearby and waits, ears twitching each time he hears another crack. He can't help but wonder which egg is hatching first, but he figures that he will know soon enough. All he has to do is be patient for a little longer.

[shatteredlenses]

[When Ardyn finally accepts the invitation, he will find Ignis is sitting outside near the low burning fire. There's a small bundle of cloth in his lap and curled snugly in that cloth is a bright, light blue colored chocobo.

Ignis is too caught up running his fingers over the baby's feathers to notice Ardyn's approach at first, but once his mind focuses on the sound of footsteps matched with those of a chocobo, he can't help but smile.]

Would you like to hold her?

[scourgingstars]

You said 'siblings', plural. At least I presume you did, I've no idea why you didn't just tell Gladio to write the note.

...He is literate, right?

[ardyn.]

[shatteredlenses]

Aster! In here!

[Ignis calls out to her once he hears her voice. At another time, he might actually have gone out to meet her, but once she comes inside, she will find out why he doesn't do so this time. That why takes the form of a small, bright, light blue chocobo who is sitting in his lap. Her bright eyes are taking in the cottage around them with the wonder that is so common to young children and animals.]

Welcome back. Would you like to say 'hi' to Leilani?

[piercetheheart]

Just because he's not literally shadowing the nest doesn't mean Iggy's not hovering. And so is Prompto.

Which means Gladio is working. He's converting the room that Noctis had been sleeping in to a nesting space, setting up a wide bed of dried leaves in one corner, laying out the tarp he arrived with to cover most of the floor. Bowls for food and water, sewing together strips of canvas to start collecting down in. No reason not to use their shedding for nice thick fluffy pillows, after all.

When he runs out of things to do for them he'll take to pacing, Leopold curled up on his cushion in the main living area now, watching him go back and forth. Leo's new place is tucked into the corner between the two doors, blocking the door to Iggy and Gladio's room really. He's got dads and birds to watch okay.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis raises a hand to his mouth to smother the soft chuckle that slips out.]

Yes, I assure you he is quite literate. I wanted to write the note, so I did. I'm not going to get better if I don't practice, you know.

[He waves Ardyn closer and then tilts his head toward the house.]

Gladio and his new baby are inside.

looking for ignis and gladio, but the whole squad is welcome!

[crosslaced]

[The 22nd sees a certain blonde approach the house…. then stop and whisper a few expletives, archaic and sounding vaguely like old Tenebrean. ]

… is this a bad time? I’ll come back later.

[scourgingstars]

Hmph. Well, I think I'd prefer to be wherever he isn't, so I'll spare him my presence today.

[shatteredlenses]

[A small pang strikes Ignis when he hears that, but he pushes it away, reminding himself that it's a step in the right direction that Ardyn even showed up after what happened on the beach. He just needs to give him time.]

I'll go ask Gladio if I can borrow her in a little bit then. That way you and Hresvelgr can meet them both.

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn's only answer at first was a small derisive snort, the teenage chocobo in question craning her neck to get a look at her new small sibling.]

...More eggs granted by our most gracious divine host, I take it.

[shatteredlenses]

Laurent?

[Ignis sticks his head out the door in surprise, a bundle of bright, light blue feathers in his arms.]

No, no. It's all right! Please, come in.

[There are a lot of questions Ignis wants to ask, first and foremost when Laurent got back from...wherever he went...but there are also baby chocobos and well, he's distracted.]

Did you need something?

[shatteredlenses]

Yes, Gladio asked for one for himself and then got me one as a gift.

[As he answers, Ignis carefully lifts the bundle in his lap a little closer to Hresvelgr so she doesn't have to strain so much. The chick lets out a small peep of surprise, but soon seems more curious than anything else.]

He claims he was being selfish and just wanted someone to ride with, but...

[Ignis shrugs.]

Let him say what he wants. I'm simply glad they are both healthy. It will be nice for both Coco and Hresvelgr to have more of their own kind around.

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn knelt down next to him and tilted his hat back for a clearer look, generally ignoring the mention of Gladio in favor of looking over the bird.]

What are you naming it?

[crosslaced]

I wanted to- apologise. To Gladiolus- and you and Prompto.

[He's... real awkward. Uncomfortable, even. And he definitely, definitely doesn't come in- he seems to even have shuffled back a bit, from the sound of his voice.]

If you're busy I'll come around later.

[shatteredlenses]

Her. And I think I've settled on 'Leilani.'

[Once more, he offers the bird out to Ardyn to hold.]

The name can mean a few different things, but I'm partial to 'heavenly flowers' or 'royal child' as the translations.

[One for her color and the other because, lets face it, he's going to spoil her rotten. She might as well be royalty.]

[shatteredlenses]

[When Ignis realizes that Laurent isn't following him, he stops moving back into the cottage and comes back out instead, taking a few steps in the blonde's direction. As he does, the bundle in his arms peeps softly.]

I'm afraid newborns aren't exactly the kind of busy that goes away quickly. This is important to all of us, though. I would hate for you to leave. Please stay. We will make time to listen to you, even if there might be a few interruptions.

[crosslaced]

[aaaaalright it's already getting Too Much.

Notably, Laurent keeps backing up with every step that Ignis takes, maintaining the respectable distance between them. The bird's doing the opposite of helping, not that he shows any sign of that. Because having your chicks near a guy with proven animal experience is a bad idea, obviously.]

You misunderstand. I'm only here to apologise- you shouldn't have to bend over backwards to accommodate anything.

[While he sounds... sincere, something else is starting to show that Ignis in particular might be sensitive to: his voice is detached, like he's apologising to a stranger whose horse-cart he rear-ended. Perhaps within Ignis can find his answer- stay? No thanks. ]

[want_to_belong]

Tension was high, but for once it was the good kind. At times it felt like watching water boil - nothing ever seemed to happen while eyes were on the egg.

But with a small wiggle and the tiniest of cracks, Prompto was suddenly at full alert again. He scrambled from his stomach into a squatting position, checking the egg closely behind the lens of a camera.

"Gladio, there's a crack!" he yelled urgently to make sure the other man knew. Wait, even though Iggy was in the room he couldn't see it. Despite the fact that Iggy could clearly hear what Prompto said to Gladio, he shuffled over anxiously to grab and pull at his hand, making sure he was listening as if there was any doubt that he might be, "Iggy! One of the eggs has a crack in it!"

[scourgingstars]

[He picked up the bird carefully--more delicate than he'd ever bother to be with a person, Hresvelgr sitting down next to him and putting her head on Ardyn's shoulder to observe.]

My, we're liable to end up with an entire ranch before long.

7/21 - whoever feels like addressing the space marine, really, i have no preference

[counterblows]

[He's passed this area before, while performing daily patrols of the area - patrols that are largely unnecessary and wholly superfluous and have exposed nothing but the fact that Agent Washington is deeply entrenched in his own post-traumatic routine - but today his attention is drawn by the high-pitched flurries of chirping emitting from inside one of the houses.]

[A fully armored space marine goes poking his helmeted and visored head in on the scene.]

Is someone in here raising chickens?

[piercetheheart]

[If one Ignis and a chick is Too Much then it's really unfortunate when Gladio comes back up to the cottage. He'd only stepped away to draw water from the filter down by the beach, one of his nifty bamboo water bottles in hand. Tiana is not bundled in his arms though. No, no. Gladio has taken the backpack he arrived with and modified it here and there so it is now hanging over his chest with a purpley-grey ball of down tucked inside, her dark eye not quite closed even though she's clearly nodding off.

Gladio might not be the first thing Laurent notices though because there's a person and they don't have their hands full of bird. It's a first in these last few days so there is a very large tigerlily slinking up behind him. Leo's tail brushes Laurent's hand as he circles around the blond, an obvious invitation if ever there was one.]

Attention whore. [Muttered affectionately at his cat as he approaches, too caught up in birds and cats and fluff and boyfriend to catch on to just how tense Laurent is.]