Chapter 93: A Meal for The Egg?
Karl and Zayn stood at the entrance, both arms folded as they stared in the direction of the egg bouncing from one place to another and the people running after it.
They were quiet as they looked at each other without any words. And then continued staring at the ongoing chase before their eyes.
"Do you think we should do something?" Zayn asked.
"Why bother? Let’s just watch," Karl shrugged.
---
The chase lasted for over an hour and was basically fruitless. They couldn’t catch the egg, and soon they all stopped running, standing there with hands on their knees while they panted.
The egg had stopped before a tree, moving around it as though it was looking for a way to climb it.
"That egg... is stubborn," Eris stated, struggling to catch his breath.
"Do you think it’s going to climb that?" Luka inquired as they stared up at the tree and then at the egg moving around it.
"I think we should stop it before it even does," the male mouse suggested.
"But how? That egg is still going to keep running," Little Black insisted.
While they speculated on what they would do, Azure stepped forward. They stared at him as he slowly made his way towards the egg, one foot after another.
Azure stretched out his hands to the egg as though he was ready to give it a hug. "Hey... It’s me... Do you recognize me...?"
Everyone stared curiously, watching him approach while wondering how everything would turn out.
Azure got closer while the egg slightly moved backwards. Following his intuition, Azure reached out his hands as his blue scales visibly glittered at the side of his hand. "It’s Papa... Don’t worry... I’m here to protect you... nothing will happen to you..."
He was following his intuition as this was his first time. He didn’t know anything about taking care of a little one.
Luka leaned closer to Eris. "When did Azure even learn to speak like that?"
Eris shrugged. "Probably after he got a kid, I guess."
They watched to see if it would work.
Immediately, the egg sensed Azure closer. It quickly moved towards Azure as he carried it in his arms, patting the egg as gently as he could. "That’s it... that’s it..." He was relieved it actually worked.
The egg did recognize his energy through his scales and was pulled to him instantly.
"....." The rest blinked.
"It worked," Luka said.
"So he could have just done that but instead had us running after the egg for hours?" Eris folded his arms.
"Like father, like egg... I guess," Luka shrugged.
---
Evening came, and the men were still in possession of the egg. They sat around it, not even knowing what to do, while Azure was the one holding onto it.
After picking it up earlier, he had been holding onto it firmly as though leaving it for a second would make it run off (or it could). He held it firmly in his arms, almost cuddling up to it while uncertain what to do next. The egg moved in his arms, shifting from time to time in unpredictable ways.
That evening, Sunnie was still unconscious while most of them worried. But Elza assured them that she was okay.
They had nothing to eat for that night, and Sunnie wasn’t around to give them directions.
As the egg moved more, Luka suggested, "I think the egg is hungry."
Karl stared at him. "And what makes you think that eggs get hungry?"
Luka blinked. "I mean, it moves!"
Karl rolled his eyes. "Makes no sense."
The egg moved again and again. Everyone was sitting around it in the outer cave room, watching it move in Azure’s hands.
"Maybe it’s really hungry?" Little Black suggested.
"And what are we supposed to feed it?" Karl demanded.
Everyone was silent; they hadn’t heard about feeding eggs. They also stared at Azure, hoping he’d know something.
But Azure let out a soft sigh. "I also don’t know..."
Little Black blinked. "Huh? Aren’t you a mer man, though? I thought you’d know."
Azure was quiet for a while before he said, "I didn’t grow up in my land... so I didn’t learn a lot of things."
No one asked further; they understood what he meant by that. He was cast away at a young age, so it was obvious he hadn’t grown there enough to pick up this knowledge.
They were quiet for a while, looking around and thinking about what to do.
"Since Sunnie is still unconscious, I think we should still cook something," Zuna insisted. "I and the women will prepare something for everyone to eat tonight."
The women agreed, and everyone soon did.
"Maybe we’ll look for a way to make a soup for the egg too?" one of the women thought.
"A soup?" another asked. "Does an egg eat soup?"
They shrugged.
"Hmmm, I thought eggs are used in making soups, though," Luka openly aired his thoughts as silence filled the room.
Everyone turned and stared at him with immense shock and disbelief. At that moment, he realized what he had said again as he wrapped both hands over his mouth.
Luka blinked. "Sorry! I didn’t mean it that way..."
"Really... You should stop talking," Eris insisted again.
Everyone was still baffled over what he said that Azure had even placed both hands over the egg’s side as though he was covering its ears (even though he didn’t know where the ears were).
---
Everyone proceeded to work that evening. The men continued looking after the cub with Zayn and Karl sitting at a distance and only watching without much contribution.
The women went to prepare something to eat that night. They made a normal soup for everyone to eat and decided to make a special soup for the egg.
They didn’t know if the egg would eat it, but they still made it anyway. And when it was ready, they all served the soup to the egg.