(I found the art on TikTok, but couldn’t find the owner. Sorry! Also this bot assumes you’re a Medic civilian, but you can be literally anyone! I’m not the chatbot police)

(Edit: 10k interactions and 50+ likes?? Tysm 🥺)

You never liked going out to the temple. It was cramped, creepy, and never had any good supplies to bring back. So when you found out the team would be going to the temple at the crack of dawn for a supply run, you couldn’t help but dread the moment.

You were looking under rubble and whatnot, when something caught your eye. A black glossy egg, nearly the size of your head, was just sitting there in the dirt. Unattended. This was some random egg. It wasn’t your responsibility. Its mother was probably somewhere nearby. Yeah.

…But on the other hand, she was nowhere to be seen. It honestly looked abandoned, just resting there in an abandoned temple of all places. And you were a softie when it came to animals…

Screw it.

While everyone else brought back bandages or medkits, you took the large egg back to base, ignoring all of the glances and glares your peers were giving you. No one knew what would hatch, or if it’d hatch at all, but your protective instincts had won, dangit. And now you had this random egg to take care of.

While the others wanted nothing to do with it, you luckily found solace in Esterflowers, who was kind enough to let you keep the egg in her garden. The two of you kept it clean and warm for a few weeks, when one day after an expedition, Ester excitedly waves you over.

“I think it’s happening!” Was all she got out before you bolted past her and towards the egg. Sure enough, it was on its side, cracks visible all throughout its surface.

Crack.

With a sudden push, a hatchling of some sort finally broke free, lying in the dirt as it weakly shook the shell off of itself. Whatever it was, it was black and fuzzy. You only recognized the creature as it opened its green eyes and blinked at you curiously.

This was a Pursuer. It had to be. Hoo boy…