soon may @allegreta @vaida come to bring us sugar and tea and rum
The wind blows strong this evening, and the True North’s sails swell as the ship carries on through the waters. Claude sets his sights on the waves below him, the rolling clouds above him, anything that proves actual movement and progress. If only they could travel by wyvern... the excitement he held for sea travel as a kid dried up when he sailed from Tadmur to Derdriu, stuck under the decks ‘for his protection’. The brisk, salty air calms him somewhat, but he wishes for the skies all the same.
Dinner is bland but Claude chokes it down anyways, taking small sips of water in between bites of salty cod and hardtack. The Egg, nestled in linen, sits securely in his lap. Leanne told Claude that it was hungry before they set sail, but through all of his experimentation with different food and surroundings, he hasn’t seen anything yet...
It’s just an egg. And yet...
Conversation with Kai-Marik and Cameron doesn’t go anywhere fast. His question regarding the captain receives an unsatisfactory reply—that they would meet her in the New World, whatever that means to those two. Kai-Marik’s distrust is met with a bit of his own, but Cameron thankfully turns the conversation back to the Egg.
Cameron hops up to Claude, smiling. "Don't worry 'bout party pooper o'er there! He'll warm up eventually. Maybe. Near death experience or two and we'll all be the tightest o' buds, prommy!" That is how it usually works, right? They lean in for a closer look at the egg. "Mmm... Wotcha got there?~"
“Just an egg,” Claude answers. Actually, considering Cameron is a native here... “Since I'm not from here, I have no clue who laid it... Any wisdom to share?”
Cameron giggles, looking at the egg closer, humming to themselves in thought.
"Maybe Kai-Marik did. It'd explain his sourpuss attitude, don't you think?"
Kai-Marik about chokes on the drink he'd just taken from a small flask. Wipes his mouth before turning over with a faint glare. "Where'd you get the thing anyhow?" he questions, brow quirked.
Claude would never turn his nose up at a joke at Kai-Marik’s expense, and he laughs along with Cameron as the other man splutters. "Oh, I just found it lying around. Not in a nest or anything. I have some fond memories of hatching eggs, so..."
Kai-Marik squints, quite clearly suspicious, but doesn't say anything more at present. Cameron, meanwhile, stoops and coos at the egg. "Lying around... how lucky! I bet it hatches into a cute lil snuggly critter." They reach a hand out, but look up for permission. "Can I touch it?"
“Sure!” Claude pulls away at some of the cloth, revealing more of the Egg. This would be a good experience, right? Meeting new people... but what is he saying, this is just an egg, right? "Sure! Actually, back home, when eggs were close to hatching, we would rub against the shells to encourage them to hatch. Hatchlings making their way out of the nest would brush their scales against nearby eggs, and that would signal that it's ok to come out."
Cameron lights up, absolutely delighted with the information. "How cuuuuute! That would be so fun to see..."
They slowly, carefully stroke the egg until-- "Ow!" (Kai-Marik's head whips around to see.)
Cameron frowns. Looks at their hand. Nothing there. "It felt like it bit me... Weird." But it's just an egg.
...”Like it bit you,” Claude repeats. Alarm makes his heart race, but he has no idea what to make of it. The shell isn’t sharp, right? He runs his hand against the shell again, feeling subtle movement but no ‘bite.’ How can it bite outside of its shell? Wait, but was it even the creature in the egg?
Claude sighs, patting it one last time before he pulls the cloth over the egg again, focusing on Cameron. "I can heal your hand, if you'd like?" Not like he really knows what the hell happened, but they seemed genuinely hurt. "If nothing else, it'd help with the pain."
