Just a flock of birds, that's how you think of love

[photoshooter]

Who: Prompto Argentum photoshooter and open
What: A log that isn't about chickens! Come jogging, celebrate a special birthday with MEAT MEAT MEAT, witness something odd in the tech lab, or take a romantic picture in the rain.
When: April 2 - 8
Where: (i) The beach, baby! (ii) Keystone kitchen (iii) Tech lab (iv) Tempest Seacaves
Warnings: Nah.

Any day, early morning, Glitterstone Beach

[Prompto's been feeling better these days, what with the prospect of a new feathery addition to hype and his boyfriend moirail best bud in town. With his hugest source of anxiety quelled, he's been keeping more regular hours and a more regular diet, and the best way to maintain that is to get up early to get some exercise in.

Every morning, rain or shine--and it's mostly rain, this week--Prompto's out jogging down Glitterstone Beach. If it's wet, all he does is throw on a poncho made out of a garbage bag. Ain't nothing keeping a boy from his cardio.]

April 2nd, evening, kitchen

[It's not common knowledge, but today is a very special day for a very special meatstick. I mean man. And while Gladio might not be here for the boys to celebrate with, Prompto can't let his birthday go unobserved.

Besides, he's been wishing he could help out a little more. Most folks he sees in the kitchen lately are a little... well, they make him feel less bad about himself, let's put it that way.]

Let's see... I'm sure I've seen Ignis do something like this...

[There aren't any instructions on the packages of razorbone steaks, but Prompto swallows his fear like the manliest of men and reaches for the salt and pepper shakers.

Soon, there's a delicious smell of cooking pepper-crusted meats--venison-like, if you happen to have that kind of creature on your home planet--as Prompto, nervously humming, does his best to sear those steaks. They might come out overdone, or over-salted or -peppered, but there's buttery pre-made mashed potatoes heating up in the microwave to go with them and a variety of fresh fruit set out in bowls, and, hey, at least he didn't burn anything.]

Too bad we don't have any Cup Noodle. That would've really taken the cake.

[Also, at least he didn't try to make a cake.]

April 5th, late night, tech lab

[Mmm, machinery and the smell of grease--no better antidote for nightmares. Sort of. Maybe. Prompto can think of a bunch, actually, but it's too late at night to bother the chickens and he certainly doesn't want to wake anyone else. So, he's put his glasses on his nose and stuck his arm in the guts of something engine-like, trying to distract himself from the quavery chill of his dream by getting the thing started.

It starts, to some yelping, and Prompto yanks his arm back and away as the engine chokes out some dust at him, sputters, and then quiets to a jittery hum. Prompto coughs and shuts it down again, pulling off his glasses to wipe them on his shirt, still spooked by the noise.]

Ugh, warn a guy next time, would you? You scared me!

[He breathes on the lenses of his glasses to fog them up, then stills very carefully.

This close, even unaided, it's hard to miss the frost that's spread across the front of his glasses, forming delicate fractal patterns.]

April 8th, day, Tempest Seacaves

[But anyway, he's not gonna think about that.

Even though it's the fifth in a series of miserably rainy days, Prompto pulls on long sleeves and heads out--not to the beach, but just to explore the caverns, jacket against the wind. Now that it's stabilized, it's a lot safer down here, and he takes his time to snap photos of crystals and cool rock structures and those creepy fish things in the tidal pools.

Eventually, he finds his way to the eastern overlook, where he sits to eat a sandwich lunch. And just in time--the sun finally breaks through the clouds, and Prompto laughs and drops his sandwich back into the Armiger to take pictures of the resulting rainbow over the sea.]

Comments

kitchens

[founderinglight]

[What was that about Cup Noodle, Prompto?

Because there's very suddenly one by your elbow - with an alien label, but the shape is unmistakable.

Also there's Izunia, who apparently warped over here from how quickly he appears (and the last few sparkles of blue afterimage across the kitchen).]

They're palatable enough, most of them.

[photoshooter]

Cup Noodle!

[DADADADAAAAA, DAAA DAAA DA DA-DAAAAAAAAAA! Prompto swipes it and holds it aloft, joyful, but then pulls it back down to squint at the label.]

...What flavor is this one even supposed to be?

[founderinglight]

Some kind of poultry, I imagine?

[There's a bird on the label, along with a figure of what's pretty clearly a troll like Jetshard by the orange horns. It seems this one is a promo for some kind of fighting game.]

I don't know, Alternian terminology is damned dense as far as I can tell. There's at least three different kinds of 'hoofbeast' flavors in there, we've got damn near a full cupboard of the things.

[photoshooter]

[Prompto turns the cup around to scrunch his face at the nutrition facts and ingredients, but it's not like he can read those, either. Finally, he hums, shrugs, and turns to heat up some water.]

Well, I guess when you get down to it, it's the ingredients you add that really make the Perfect Cup. We can use some of this... razorbone?

[He glances at Izunia again.]

You ever heard of an animal like that?

5th; tech lab

[personalityquarks]

Oh, hey, you got it working!

[It's your partner in late-night engine mess, Prompto - Top has a couple grease smears across their arms, and has been fiddling with an extracted part for a while now. They abandon the project on the worktable to come over and take a look at the blond's handiwork.

(Also, Josephine is settled in on a cushion in the far corner for a nap.)]

I hadn't even really had a chance to look at it yet - been too busy with the construction drones and trying to get more stabilizers together.

[photoshooter]

[Prompto folds his glasses quickly and shoves them away in his pocket, just like he shoves away his alarm at whatever just froze his glasses.

They're cold in there. He didn't imagine it.]

Well, I got it to start once, anyway. I guess the proof's in the pudding. The pudding of... getting it to start again?

[He laughs and rubs his arm, willing the goosebumps to go away.]

I don't even know why that's a saying.

[personalityquarks]

Don't look at me. At least 'third time's the charm' is pretty explicable.

[Don't mind Top just pausing in their examination of the engine to glance your way.]

You okay? You look spooked.

[photoshooter]

Yeah! Yeah, it just. Startled me. You know me, scared of every little thing that goes bump in the night. Haha...

[Granted, Prompto's been less jumpy since time proved there aren't any daemons here to go bump in the night, but he knows he came across as a scaredy-cat those first couple weeks.]

Is it kind of cold in here, though, or is it just me?

Glitterstone Beach, morning

[scarsolderthanyou]

Prompto isn't the only one out getting some exercise in the early mornings. Stone's large, black shape swoops up over the cliffs, circling around between the damaged lighthouse and the station, then dives down at the water, stretching his wings and chasing seagulls. He's not eating any, right now; he's just playing. Even old guys can get bored and want to torment little, annoying birds.

When Prompto reaches the end of the beach, he'll find Stone sitting on the sand, human-shaped again. "So are you having fun?" he asks, once Prompto is close enough to talk without having to shout too much.

[photoshooter]

Prompto grins, not particularly out of breath, and comes up to jog in place near him.

"You bet! This place is great now that those stupid flashbang things are gone. The way the sun comes up right over the water..." He turns with a sweeping gesture to indicate the whole eastern horizon. "It's unbelievable. I couldn't dream of views like that where I lived in the city."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Really?" Stone looks out over the ocean thoughtfully. "This isn't even the best view I've ever seen. It's better from higher up, or when there's more clouds, or trees to filter through." And now he's homesick, thinking of dawn in the Reaches. Sigh. "What does a city sunrise look like?"

[photoshooter]

"In Insomnia? Well, we're built up pretty high, since the wall's older than most anything else. Buildings had to go up instead of out. So..."

Prompto comes out of his jog slowly, looking out across the water even though his gaze is more distant than that.

"The colors would change way before we got a glimpse of the sun. Orange and pink behind all those towers. Sometimes, if you caught the right light, you could see the Wall's magic flicker... But it was always really hard to see anything." He shakes his head. "Too much stuff in the way."

Tempest Seacaves

[nightcure]

So this is where you scurried off to, huh, buddy?

[ Noct's dressed warmly, too, and he's getting a little stir-crazy from not being outside. It's not like he was looking for Prompto, it just kind of happened. But he's glad for it.

Noctis sits down next to him. ]

It's pretty, huh? The view.

[photoshooter]

Now that the sun's out, yeah. Hang on, stay right there.

[In trying to get an angle that includes both Noct and the sky, Prompto leans further and further back until he finally ends up flat on the ground.]

Oh, yeah, hold that!

[Snap snap snap. Prompto comes back up, grinning down at his camera and then up at Noct.]

Perfect.

[nightcure]

[ Oh, hey, this is familiar. Noct grins--what a photogenic boy--and waits for Prompto to finish before he scoots over to see. ]

No weird face. Nice.

[photoshooter]

Yeah. Guess you're getting better at the whole 'actually smiling' thing.

[He nudges Noct in the side and settles happily, going through more pictures.]

Maybe we should look into being seaside supermodels.

April 2

[rhododendronhoney]

Oh wow, something smells good! [Cori sounds pretty happy about it as she wanders in, grabbing herself a bottle of soy sauce.] How many are you making?

[photoshooter]

Uhhh...

[He counts the number of packages on the counter, then pipes up:]

There are four total, so I guess I'm making four! [Nod, nod.] If there isn't enough meat for everybody, I saw some weird burgers in the freezer, too.

[rhododendronhoney]

Well, that seems like quite a lot already. [She looks over at the fruit bowls, and nods approvingly.] And you've prepared something healthy for the side as well.

April 5

[stormkingofshepherds]

[Nathaniel actually jumps back as well. He has Macy at his side, and the Lampent pair Memo and Fran hovering behind him, giving off a soft unearthly glow.] I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep, and then I heard the sounds.... [And then he notices the frost.]

...it's...not that cold in here, is it? [Considering Macy is grass-type, she should be more sensitive to it than he is.]

[photoshooter]

I...

[Prompto fumbles and almost drops his glasses, then folds them up and presses them against his shirt. Who knows whether it's to melt the frost or just hide the evidence?]

M-maybe it was the machine? Some of the stuff in here is, is magitek...

[stormkingofshepherds]

...yeah, that could be it. I admit I'm unsure what half the things here do... [He leans against a wall.] You...couldn't sleep either?

3rd, morning

[thoroff]

[Depending on how much attention Prompto's paying to the world at large, he may or may not notice the approaching sound of wingbeats as he makes his way down the beach. Either way, he'll almost certainly notice the great shadow passing over him, blocking off what little light the morning sun provides.

Look up, and there's the sight of black wings, and peeking out from above them a certain white-haired rider, who waves down at Prompto in a friendly, if not terribly energetic, manner.]

[photoshooter]

[Prompto's always alert to great shadows from above. He doesn't place the sound of wings until she's already right over him, but when he does look up, he's delighted to see Wren and Catria and not, say, a Magitek Trooper dropship.

With much more enthusiasm, he returns the wave and calls up:]

Hey! Good morning!

[thoroff]

[Wren has Catria continue to keep pace with Prompto.]

Good morning! Up bright and early, I see!

[She, on the other hand, has the early, but maybe not so much the bright. Cheerful as she is, there's some weariness to her voice.]