Poppy sat at the kitchen table doing her best to calm down her nerves while the smell of Branch's cooking spread throughout the house. The mother craddled and gently rocked the egg in her arms, like she was afraid that it would disappear. Her gaze fixated on it but,she wasn't actually looking at the egg itself. Rather she was looking at their unhatched baby,despite not being able to physically see their son.

It was so small and fragile. So easy to drop. So easy to lose if it were to roll away. Their baby inside was approaching his third month but, he still had two more months to develop. When it came to development of trollings for the egg method, it usually took five month before finally hatching. Having an child through the egg method was easier on both parents physically but, that didn't mean the process wasn't challenging on it's own terms.

Poppy sighed leaning back into her chair. Her pink thumb brushed against the shell around one of more bigger skulls. Branch cringed at the sight of his poor attempt at making a drawing on the last pancake in the pan. Not wanting to to burn it, he lifted the unfortunately pancake with the spatula out of the pan and onto his daughter's plate.

Harmony's footsteps could be heard from the kitchen as she came down the stairs. Poppy hid the troll egg in her hair again just in time for their sweet little girl to run into the kitchen and tackled her father's legs into a hug. Harmony was already fully dressed for school with her usual red dress but, her hair could use some more brushing. The pink troll smiled as her husband scooped Harmony up with one arm effortlessly.

"Good Morning, Daddy. "

"Good Morning, Sweetheart. Hungry?"

Harmony looked down at the pancakes immediately noticing the flashing signs of her father making them. Branch had turned off the stove a moment ago so he didn't have to worry about the house burning. Harmony's silent judgement told more turth then anything she could had possibly said.

" Their good. I promise. "

Harmony looked at Branch then back down at the pancakes then back up at him. She wasn't fully convinced nor was she impressed. A look Harmony would only dare to show at home but, usually it was unintentional on her part. This moment was no different. Poppy held back her urge to burst into laughter over her daughter breaking her man with silence.

" Look. I know Mommy's the better baker but, it's her turn to have breakfast off. Come  on. I put half of the chocolate chips in yours. " Branch pitched.

Harmony's judging softened as it got replaced with an more open and excited mindset,once she heard the mention of chocolate. One of her most favorite flavour, treat and toppings for any dessert. Her eyes lit up while a toothy smile formed on her face. The trolling hastily searched for chocolate chips in the pancakes with her eyes determined to find her plate. If it wasn't for the fact Branch was luckily maintaining his hold on her, she would had slipped out and fell head first right into the counter with her sudden movements.

Poppy locked her eyes with Branch's eyes tilting her head towards the table. Without a single word or sound escaping her. The male troll nodded his head to her as he shifted Harmony away from the counter and still hot pan. He gently dropped Harmony onto her seat at the table, only for her to climb off and quickly give her mother her overdue "Good Morning" hug. Poppy picked her up into the hug before
affectionately kissing her daughter's forehead. This was the part of parenthood that made the mother want to start all over again.

Soon the small family ate their breakfast pancakes which actually as bad as they looked. It still wasn't as good as Poppy's pancakes but, they were better tasting than any of Branch's previous attempts. Even Harmony, who didn't want them orginally, ate all of hers. She also gave them an extra badge of approval by her asking if she could have pancakes for lunch too but, with Mommy's help. 

Poppy checked her watch. Her and Branch still had an hour left before they had to drop Harmony off at school then back to work. The woman sighed feeling her returned nervousness form a pit in her stomach. Branch took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently to both get her attention and reassure that everything was going to be okay. Poppy turned her head to him and noticed in his eyes that he was equally as nervous about breaking as she was. The trolling ,being oblvious to her parents' silent conversation, tried to leave the table when her mother's voice caught her attention.

" Harmony. Sweetie, me and your father have something really important to tell you. "

" Are we getting a puppy?" Harmony asked hopeful.

Harmony was beaming with joy when the question escaped through her lips. She had wished for a puppy on her birthday but, it hadn't came true yet. Of course Poppy and Branch knew that she wanted a pet but, they didn't think she was ready for that level of responsibility and also didn't know that it was what she had wished for. She could barely keep track of her school bag at home on her own cause she always abandoned it somewhere very random.

" No. No! We are not getting a pet. " Branch said firmly.

Harmony pouted as her ears dropped disappointed over being denied of a pet. The little Rocker hung her head low without uttering a single sound. The sad eyes,the silence instead of throwing a fit, the ears and how she hung her head was more than enough make anyone feel guilty. Branch looked at Poppy away from their daughter silently hating seeing Harmony like this. He knew that if he contuined to watch their little girl's display of disappointment and saddness he would end up taking her to the pet shop that day. They couldn't afford to care for a new pet,a new upcoming baby and Harmony right now. Vet bills alone are nearly as expensive as preparing for a baby! Poppy looked at Branch then at their trolling who was still expressing herself silently.

"Harmony... We know you love puppies but, what we wanted to tell you is better than puppy. " Poppy said in uplifting and soft spoken manner.

Harmony's ears perked up as her head shot up. The sad and dull expression in her eyes vanished being replaced by shinging spark curiousity. Her silence still remained strong but, at least she wasn't upset anymore. The little trolling tilted her getting lost in thoughts of her own. Harmony's eyes fixed on both her parents' direction despite not looking at them particularly. What could be better than a puppy? Did such a thing actually exist? Her mother smiled at her than slightly leaned to her father who was still avoiding her gaze.

" You can look at your little Angel Princess now. " Poppy whispered jokingly.

" I don't spoil and dote on Harmony that much." Branch whispered.

" Your seriously telling me that you weren't considering for a second to take her to the pet shop?" Poppy whispered snarkly and playfully.

Branch paused. " I'm not made of stone and neither are you. " He contuined.

" What's better than a puppy?" Harmony finally spoke up with her soft amd gentle voice.

The couple snapped out of their conversation being reminded of the task at hand. Breaking the news to Harmony that she was going to be big sister. That she was going to have a little brother. Branch and Poppy shared another brief glance mentally agreeing to just rip the bandaid off. Poppy reached into her pink and black locks of hair ever so gently grasped the trolling egg with a single hand. She brought out the unborn rocker's egg out into the light placing it on the table. A part of Branch grew more nervous as he watched his wife stablize their egg into staying up without any prevention around it to stop from rolling away. The little girl's eyes sparkled in awe they landed on the tiny egg. Harmony knew it was an egg but, the concept of an baby troll being inside wasn't introduced to her yet.

" Harmony, this is your little brother. Your gonna be a big sister and you'll have playmate at home everyday after this little Rockstar hatches. What do you think of that,Sweetie?" Poppy introduced motherly.

Harmony remained silent and calm. She just stared at the egg. Fixed on her unborn or rather unhatched brother. The egg's grey blue with pink and brighter blue skulls appeared brighter under the kitchen light. The tuff of hot pink hair sticking out from the top also brighten as well to into a slightly different shade. It didn't move or lean once.

" Sweetheart? Harmony? " Branch said nervously.

" How did you put a baby in the egg? Why isn't he in mommy's tummy?" Harmony pointed at said egg her gaze was still locked.

" Oh.. Hmm... You remember when you asked where trolls got our eggs from? Well the Dragon Star in Rock that watches over little ones like you came all the way to Pop Village to deliver your brother to us. He didn't share his secrets. " Branch lied.

The Dragon Star was a popular mythical figure in the Rock Tribe. It was an collection of stars in the night sky that resembled a dragon. Their ancestors believed the dragon was watching over them when they first discovered their hostile lands. The idea of an watcher and protector in the sky was mostly used to give children a sense of safety and protection. Over time the dragon became associated with delivering trolling eggs and mainly watching over children while they slept in Rock. Nobody knew how the egg delivering concept got thrown into the mix but, it was easier than explaining to a young child the topic of where babies actually came from.

" Really?" Harmony's voice grew louder with excitement.

" Yeah and he's still watching over you too. You just can't see him. " Poppy said sweetly fueling her daughter's imagination.

" Can I hold him?" Harmony asked politely.

Poppy nodded her head as both her and her husband's smiles grew bigger. This was going better than they expected. Harmony was taking it so well. They had heard stories of childs rejecting and attempting to get rid of their younger sibling from other parents they met and from some of their friends back in Rock. Apparently Demo was babysitting his nephew and that terror tried multiple times to mail his little brother still in egg before eventually warming up to him. Demo couldn't look away for five minutes without that kid pulling something. Harmony wasn't as troublesome for a Rock trolling but, still her reaction to the new addition in their family mattered greatly.

" Just be careful. He's egg isn't as tough as us. " Branch commented lightheartedly.

He stood up taking hold of his son then bend forward stretching out his arm. His grip on the patterned shell was very firm,yet gentle. Harmony stood up on her seat bringing out her little arms reaching for her sibling calmly. Her sweet smile and adorable excitement displayed on her face melted both Branch and Poppy's hearts. When Harmony finally grasped her brother's egg for the first time she sat back down gently holding him as if he were one of her dolls. With soft touch Harmony brushed her thumb against one of the skulls on the shell.

" I wanna play with him now..." 

Poppy chuckled. " You gotta wait until he's ready to hatch. " 

" What if we help him hatch sooner?" Harmony asked.

" We can try but, he won't start fighting his way out right now. He's-... sleeping in there. " Branch replied.

" Then I'll wake him up!" Harmony announced already plotting.

" HARMONY! NO! " Both parents panicked as their daughter ran off with her brother.