Creative Corner

Ginn lets the hatchlings walk ahead. Turns out when he's in the lead he'll just run and run and while Prawn has no problem, Esz can't hope to keep up. And anyway, it's a learning experience, to look about and decide where to go, what deserves attention or investigation.

Learning. Teaching. Ginn watches them and finds himself at a loss to explain the difference. Though he supposes rather than the world, he's gaining insight about himself.

At that moment Prawn looks back at him, as much to reassure himself of his presence as to ask for his help. Or, Ginn comes forward to see what has Esz babbling so, tracks, hooves, animal, and she's not so much babbling as theorizing, his guidance, confirmation one way or another. He looks to Prawn, who offers his own guess after a moment.

Ginn pretends to consider, then sweeps a paw left-right along the tracks, for them to decide whether they want to follow up on this and if so in what direction to go. Esz snorts and Prawn sits himself down a little mutinously, before they all too quickly descend into an argument.

He likes it. Teaching. The pride and accomplishment when they pick the correct path, their attention and their trust.

Caesar circles far overhead, a green glimmer just under the clouds, keeping an eye out for beastclan and everything else that might just be too much to handle on someones first guided exploration. A reasonable precaution considering recent events and shockingly hands off in regard to all other parts of things. His trust, too.

Esz jerks backwards. That bush moves too much to be a result of the wind. Snickering, Prawn steps forward. While the Guardian's so big it probably wouldn't be able to bother him much, Ginn clicks his tongue in reprimand anyway. He moves to its other side and swiftly demonstrates how to unearth the creature, for how it turns out it's not a conventional plant at all. The other option was for there to be something hiding within it, but with experience you learn to tell the difference. Or maybe it's just that he tormented Strangler so much. Eh.

He throws it at the hatchlings feet for them to look over and take apart.

Then Ginn gets to watch as they straight up eat it.

When they have decimated it completely he makes a sound, unable to keep his amusement to himself any longer. Prawn shows some trepidation, but Esz stands unabashed. Ah, how to convey this...

"Well just find something else to bring back for everyone to eat," Esz states, consternation easily pushed aside.

Ginn flicks his tail because well yeah. Not like they have any other options. Gotta get a move on, though. He gestures.

Helplessly Prawn looks about. Esz, too, considers the landscape and then by mutual agreement they pick a direction at random.

Since he lead them away from the harpy ambush at the beginning it's all the same to Ginn, but he wonders whether they'll even be able to point to the cave by the end of this. He supposes he'll see soon. It's getting late and he doesn't want them to overextert themselves. After already bitting off more than they could chew once, let this trip be a safe one. They'll encounter some opponents soon, a small group of them for the young ones to actually get combat practice and also enough food to feed the clan for another day. Then they'll turn right around with their bounty. A simple plan.

Kekki, as a dragon, isn't prone to jealousy, she's almost sure. But that might just be inexperience and youth talking. She finds herself envious now. They mean different things, those words, though she can't explain it at the moment and certainly won't ask.

Ascan continues to show off his new form and patterns to the returned hunting party, who continue to oblige him with admiration of the same. It's indescribably petty.

Kekki, though having not been taught exactly still internalized through observation Redge's approach to life, violently refuses to feel bad, especially as at the moment it's but private thoughts.

And anyway, so what if Prawn already has his patterns, and now Ascan, too? When she gets hers, one way or another, she'll look better than both the boys, at least as good as Caesar, if not Redge. Oh, that's another thing! She won't just ask someone else to do the work for her, no she'll go out and find some other way! Not anything as exciting as a beastclan attack, but...

She'll find her own way! Thus resolved, Kekki nods to herself.

Trouble nudges her with a wing and Esz gives her a strange sardonic look, but what do they know?

She turns to her nestmate to ask about their trip, which finally derails everyone.

For all her determination, she still finds herself thinking on it again later that night, with Ascans new form next to her and Prawns rough scales underneath. Stormcatcher above.


Once everyone in general and Ascan in particular has recovered some more, Redge ushers all interested parties (the whole of the younger generation by this point, if only because Prawn does not care to be the odd dragon out) a little ways away, for the promised and much anticipated magic lessons.

"Right, let's sit down, first."

After a moment of collective dismay, they sit down.

Redge scrutinizes them, waits them out a little more and nods. "You're all lightning element, for obvious reasons. You are aware you can tell a dragons element by their eyecolor. Not that I suppose you'll get much use out of that anytime soon. Animals and beastclan, unfortunately, do not have any such obvious, intuive indicators, nor do they tend to keep to the realm of their element, not to the extent dragons do. As such you're left having to tell case by case again every time. Well, no, some species or subspecies are all the same element across, but memorizing all of them and then not mistaking subtle color and pattern differences nor ever encountering outliners seems a poor plan to bet your life upon." While she talks her gaze wanders, but now she fixes them with all her considerable attention. "Tell me, what do you think, why would your opponents elemental alignment be of any import?"

Redges teaching manner differs from Caesars offhand dispensation of knowledge and wisdom, and differs again from what Kekkis gleamed about Ginns. She supposes the topic warrants it, in that they are learning to hurt someone in a volatile manner, and it would be poor form if they're left to injure themselves, or anyone they don't intent to.

But, "Wait! So we're not doing any magic today?!" Kekki rears up, betrayed.

"Nope!" Redge swaggers past them, throwing and catching her pearl and altogether not possibly able to look any more uncocerned with the dismay left in her wake.

Once she's over the hill back in their 'frontyard' proper, Kekki and her nestmates look at each other.

"Do you suppose this is a test?" Prawn asks.

Before she can even seriously wonder what kind of test could possibly, Esz shoots the idea down hard, "No. Unless it's a test on how well we listen and don't jump straight into it. Redge only just finished listing all the warnings and dangers!"

Ascan squirms and yet still opens his mouth and says, "But it's not like you and Kekki haven't already done magic before, without any problems."

Uneasy silence.

Also, Kekki turns to Esz who already has her eyes on her, wrong, wrong, wrong. That situation was far from ideal, which no doubt had something to do with it, but it took their throats an unreasonable amount of water and time to recover. They went too hard, too fast, for too long, with little consideration for anything but inflicting damage in the name of survival. Neither of them says that or indeed anything.

The boys shift, discomfitted, but at least unlikely to go behind backs and against orders in this manner just yet. And then the Ampelope rescues them all from akwardness by troting up, Storm seeker loyally circling overhead. Because the species change did nothing to really change him at all, Ascan jumps at the chance to play tag.

"Really?" Esz and Prawn ask simultanously, unimpressed. Kekki flaps her wings at them as she lungs by to join in.

They are not that adult yet, despite all markers to the contrary. Hell, the adults aren't above a good game or tussel.

After a couple moments the other two get in on the fun also.

---

Notes:
This is so late cos I disappeared into special interest hell and also had a little trouble getting the needed gem gene. The marketplace ate my gems on prior occassions, when I tried to buy one. Accepting payment without then, you know, handing me the gene. Worked out this time, though.
As for the festival, I got a bunch of genes, more vistas than four people need, 40+ chests, so much food on top of all that I already amassed these last few months I'm honestly contemplating hoardselling some and an earth egg, bringing the current egg count up to two (2).

[center][b]progress & setbacks[/b] [url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=57546606] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/575467/57546606_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] Ascan falls back to Redge's side. She lifts a wing, for him to - what, hide under? He does so and in return she attempts to hit him with her tail. "Hey!" With a huff and a roll of her shoulders she continues onward. Hanging back like this lets Ascan observe Trouble and Esz, who themselves appear in deep conversation, even as they hound the current prey. ...for a given value of 'hound', as the thing they're chasing really doesn't move fast enough to put any distance at all between even a sedately marching Tundra. Easy to demonstrate various techniques on, though, which he supposes is the point. "Good of you to do the change so early," Redge suddenly decides to say. "This way you don't need to relearn too much." Right, because that would be inconvenient, and they have concerns. Perfectly understandable ones! He twists about her wing to get a look at the sky. Yeah, Trouble and her are old and experienced and all, but more people being mindful about their surroundings can never hurt. When Ascan makes to unwind himself she tenses and oh, this is what she wanted? He lost enough weight to make carrying him a thing for everyone, and he does like hanging onto people like this. "Was that difficult?" he asks. Redge gives due consideration. "Yes. I don't want to talk about it." They already did, anyway. Which. "Do you suppose that's what they," he flicks a wing forward, "are discussing?" "You'd know better, I'm sure. Esz is your nestmate." What, no gossiping either? Ascan twists till he's hanging over her shoulder and so able to see some of her face. "Are you alright?" He feels her tense up, relaxe, shrug. She says, "Just worried, I guess." Right. A lot to be worried about, isn't there? The adults, the oldest three, as Ginn wisely escapes to spend time with the cool kids, are always arguing lately. The clan needs to move, maybe? Food might becoming an issue? Certainly there's beastclan to be all conflicted about. They need to take an interest, Ascan knows, but they'd all rather not. And he certainly won't ask right now, when Redge just really isn't up for it. At that moment she shakes herself and says, "C'mon, let's make those two get a move on." She picks her pace up and he could cling, he supposes, but he needs to move, move, move, too, so he slips free and loops into the air to approach the rest of the hunting party under his own power. Once they've cut the thing to pieces Trouble grumbles and says, "We really need to get you clothes. Bags! Stuff." He and Esz look at each other. She said that before and they were going to, presuambly, and then shit happened. Redge looks them over similarily clinically. "We're out and about already," she turns away with a huff. "Might as well look for creatures which'll have pieces of clothing with them or can be made into something with a little work." "That sounds delightfully omnious!" Esz says, thereby voicing Ascans thoughts exactly. They look at each other and he shrugs because it does sound delightful, in truth, and they are not yet experienced enough fighters to raise objections in any case. For their benefit Trouble lists all the species they've gotten useful things from before, and their group heads in the direction of a valley where they just might have a higher chance of encountering some, but ultimately they have to go hands empty in this respect. "You should brew them some clothes," Redge tells Trouble snidely. Trouble tosses her head. "Maybe I will!"

"I think," Trouble interrupts, "the most straightforward way to have people let something drop, is to not bring the topic up all the time."

Caesar stares her down, really stares down, as with him standing even if she stretched up her wings she couldn't hope to reach his chin. But Trouble already feels terrible enough, because, yeah, she is older and wiser now, and that whole brew thing? Not the best of ideas. Not for children so young.

"We're not that young anymore, you realize?" Prawn says. Which, he easily reaches Caesars height, fair enough.

Briefly Caesar struggles with the urge to tell him to shut up, let the adults talk. He swallows it down and stalks off to lie down some ways away.

Trouble resettles her wings before adressing Prawn. "First up. Your elders will always see you as young. Possibly even younger than you are. Secondly... that's an argument between him and me."

"It seems like all you do lately is argue." A statement of fact. And even 'cheating' she can't discern any petulance or accusation in him. True in any case. Which.

"People should lie more often."

He shifts his weight, causing a cloud of dust. Ultimately he chooses not to adress that statement. "You... Are you okay?"

Her tail flicks while she considers. "You know how when you do something new, you don't yet know whether you'll be any good at it? And in fact, of course, in the beginning couldn't hope to be any good. You've never done this before!"

"I guess." He sits down. To Trouble, he looks and feels very unimpressed. "You're just gonna have to practice. Can't get better otherwise."

"Of course." She tosses her head. "But sometimes lives are on the line. So you can see how we are very stressed."

A pause.

Prawn settles down more firmly and says, "It wasn't your fault."

It actually takes her a moment to get it. Because. No, he's right, Napoleon's part of it. And it is their fault. Their stupid, hairbrained idea.

But no way she's going to say any of that, so. "Emotions aren't that logical, unfortunately," she says and smiles.

A most unsatisfactory exchange. "I suppose I will understand when I'm older? Have a nest of my own?"

Oh, wow, there's an idea. She looks around a little wildly, but noone's paying attention to their exchange, as she knows, which is both fortunate and unfortunate. For the first time in a while Trouble has not only not the desire, nor the words to respond.

Already the problem is that there's too many dragons! And they don't know how to deal with this many dragons! So now if these itsy-bitsys go have eggs of their own...

She shudders, asks, "How do big clans do it?" Not of anyone in particular, certainly not Caesar, who already explained he wasn't involved with any of this stuff before the Demise. Then the clan had a system running so well, the younger generation didn't need to know. Or worry. Right up until some decisions got everyone the **** killed. Sigh.

But Prawn lies there and Trouble was just holding a conversation with him and she just complained how keeping some people, even youths, out of it ain't likely to get anyone anywhere either, though he doesn't know about that part presuambly, so she doesn't wave him off when he hums, decisive.

"Isn't most of the issue right now how there's as many experienced dragons as inexperienced ones? I figured we'd get the hang of it soon, become able to protect ourselves and need no more supervision to go anywhere, including to do tasks, which we're also getting the hang of. And so then at that point things will work themselves out naturally?"

That is the idea, but. She flexes her toes.

"In that case, I ask you to keep up the good work."

"Alright, everyone." Redge sits down, pearl in a hindpaw, to allow her to clap the front ones together. "Say goodbye to this place, it's time to get a move on!"

Caesar gives her a strange look, but everyone else appears as excited as she feels, so. What if this is disproportionate? And she in a better mood than she's been in a while? Nothing wrong with that!

Kekki and Ascan run off to do a very last check, promise, on the cave, that they've left nothing behind they don't mean to, and then it's finally time to get going.

The newest generation wears clothing of their own now, even if some people refuse to cover up much at all, and none of them yet look particularly put together. But already they've waited till those four are as ready as they can hope to be so young, which means now they can go hunting for additional improvements on their own. And on their own time.

Leaves Caesar free to lie at their camp of the day and Redge, Ginn and Trouble to explore these ruins without his knowledge.

"I wonder what the purpose of this was. Maybe...? Mh." Trouble pokes the contraption she - dances around. It refrains from using that moment to topple over and crush Redge and Ginn beneath it, which Redge appreciates.

Ginn loudly scrapes the metal under their paws, a question, but Trouble, engrossed, floats a little higher without taking notice.

"Ask again on our way back," Redge advises, and then, after an affectionate body check, he calls Storm seeker down to lead him off. Not to more eggs just yet, she hopes.

This leaves her a little at loose ends. She wanted to talk to them more, maybe play. Bad choice in location, she now acknowledges. The place does well to capture peoples interest. Redge wanders around and wonders.

A lot of metal. A lot of - gears, is what those are called? Machines, undoubtly. Advanced technology. Caesar taught them not to get near any of it, but figures they're too curious to let it lie forever.

She pokes her head into an opening. Barely dragon-sized or at least she could make her way through. She deliberates damingly long before deciding not to chance it. Without even being able to tell whether this was meant for dragons to transverse or just fell apart in such a conspicious way...

Not that Redge can tell much of anything about any of this. Missing the base knowledge, as it were. She jumps to some higher level the better to look about and wonders whether Caesar might know to make heads and tails of any part of this.

It doesn't really matter. They aren't going to ask him.

She continues on.

After a while Trouble lands beside her.

"What do you think?"

The fivethousand treasure question. If the clan had any treasure at all.

"I think... there's no point in talking about how it is now. This isn't how this place is supposed to be. It's been abadoned so long. Unless you're here for the ruins rather than what it was..." she trails off, gesturing helplessly. That is what she thinks, but she really could have put it better before opening her mouth.

Not that Trouble judges her. She nods along while her gaze swings around. "I understand. But at the same time, there should be nothing like this running in top conditions on our clan lands."

"There better not be!"

"Yeah." Trouble laughs. "But as such we aren't gonna get the chance to look at anything not a ruin."

Redge rolls her shoulders because yeah. She sees no problem with that. But, "You are too invested now to just give it up."

Before Trouble can defend herself agains this grave accusation Ginn bounds up to them, Storm seeker circling overhead.

"Found anything interesting?"

He slashes a paw through the air.

They glance at each other.

"Alright then," says Trouble, while Redge asks, "What are you waiting for?" And then, the both of them together, "Lead the way."

He snorts and does, a winding trail through this strange dragon-made maze. Or maybe one might mark it down on a map as a landmark? Define it as a terrain in its own right?

As they travel deeper the constructions on either side reach higher towards the storm. "But to think, how many people must have worked and lived here to operate all this and keep it in condition?" Redge asks, a little despite herself.

In answer Ginn increases his pace. She shares another look with Trouble, but nothing for it but to speed up, too.

---

Notes:
I didn't write anything (for anything not just this) for three days, but I was sick miserably, so.

Ginn has to surreptitiously keep checking Storm seekers position, that he leads the right way. As Redge and Trouble dared move from where he left them, he had to first go looking for them and so if it weren't for his familiar he might have gotten the tiniest bit lost.

In his defence, he's used to the wide open plain of the desert, with easily identifiable mesa in the distance to orient along. Here, he can't see the horizon no matter where he turns, it's metal (and rarely stone) all the way around. The view of the storm, too, lies obstructed, sometimes completely when they pass under arches.

It simply hadn't occurred to him that he may need to try and remember the way. And unlike rockformations or plants in a sea of them (he assumes), these things look just uncannily repetitive enough to make using any as waystone a risk, anyway.

Ginn backtracks twice, in a roudabout enough way he figures noone notices.

"Do you even know where we're going...?" Trouble asks kindly just moments before they arrive.

Again he considers the gaping maw half in the middle of the road, half in the side of a particularly blocking building going, he knows, down, down, down till the light can't reach. Then he shakes himself off and whirls around to see their reactions.

Redge doesn't disappoint, disbelief and what's almost offence in every line of her body. After she stalks closer for a better look, she turns to their surroundings, but there's no answers to be found there. Or at least they look just the same to Ginn. With a toss of her head Redge turns back to the opening and spits lightning down the slope of it.

All three of them crane to watch.

The magic fizzles out when it hits a wall, a long ways in, but not nearly to the end of even that arm of the cave system (for it splits off more than once), the illumination showed that much.

Meanwhile, Trouble continues flinty-eyed and focused.

When Redge turns to them she sees it to. She and Ginn share a look, clearly communicating they might have to drag her away. He winces. His bad.

But he actually had a specific reason he went to get them and so he leads the way in with perhaps more confidence than he entirely feels now he has company.

After a moment they follow, though at least one of them might not be entirely happy about things, if the sound of nails scraping against rock is any indication. But noone's saying anything, so Ginn classifies the situation as not (considered) too bad yet.

And anyway, he shrugs his wings, he won't lead them too far, just. Down this branch-off, first on the left side and third in total, and then just far enough for his light-eyes to become useless in the dark. Already the water laps at his paws again.

Redge yelps when she steps up on his side, quickly turning on him. "A little warning??"

On his other side Trouble takes it more graciously, lowering her head to the waters surface, an inquisitive sound deep in her chest. "This is freshwater," she states. And then, "Ginn, are there fish in this?"

He rumbles affirmation. They both strains their heads to look, though unable, he knows, to detect any of the creatures flitting about in the depths just in front of them.

Esz sees them first. Not a particular accomplishment, she has to concede. It's just that she lies looking in that direction in their semi-circle and that she actually is looking in that direction, because Caesar doesn't gesture while talking the way some dragons do, not usually, not in a way she misses out staring into the distance just listening with her ears.

The story compells enough, that's not the issue. Just, she can take things in better like this, maybe? Without watching Ascans antics (and those of everyone pulled in). He's completely lost the ability to sit still, though at least they're all doing something otherwise unoptrusive when Esz glances around, occupied talking and listening while piecing together some more clothes, respectively. She wonders whether she should point the approach out, give Caesar the opportunity to bring his tale to a close in a satisfying way before the party arrives.

They would have had to encounter something of interest, wouldn't they, to get back even later than them?

She waits for him to pause momentarily.

"Why are we standing to attention? They should have been here to welcome us back," Kekki mock complains.

Caesar and Prawn snort at her. Which.

By the time the others actually arrive only Esz is free to greet them. Kekki and Prawn are arguing heatedly about his sporadic loyality while Ascan switches sides as it pleases him and Caesar watches as disspassionately as he does avidly.

Ginn nudges her, and oh yeah, they've definitely found something interesting with how he's vibrating.

"This argument is the fault of your lateness, you know," she says, not acting remotely disgruntled.

It allows Trouble to let loose her laughter.

"Oh?" Redge sits herself down, entertained. "Do tell."

"Chide us properly!" Trouble agrees.

Caesar slides over, then. "First you should make some excuses, surely?"

To the end of that Ginn dumps his bounty at his feet.

Caesar glances at it and then he looks at it and oh, even if Esz can't tell anything off about the meat, it has to be interesting, alright.

"What's that?" Kekki asks, as the first other to clue in, witht he boys all tangled up in and distracted with each other.

A moment later Caesar demands to know "Where did you get fish??"

Caesar lands on the likely issue after a day of subtle resistance. Redirection. Distraction. That kinda stuff. It follows minutes after realizing they're resistant to begin with. Where (and when) did the hatchlings learn to talk so much ****, huh?

If they don't want to show him where they got the fish, it's got to be cos they don't think he'd approve. And what's the one kinda place he consistently tells them to stay away from? Aside from unspoken, practical concerns, like 'leave beastclan settlements alone'? Somehow he doesn't think they've struck some ill-fated trade deal with the local harpy flock. Or, he hopes not, rather?

He closes his eyes and asks Stormcatcher for strength. Then he opens them again, and there's Ginn, perfect, and entreats, "At least tell me you didn't strike some ill-fated deal with the local harpy flock."

The snarl comes immediately and with so much offence all Caesar worries, or at least all the ones about this specific scenario, leave him to slump at once. Waiting for him to collect himself, Ginn stands there, wings and crest flared ridiculously.

"Yeah, well. That's what lack of information does." He waves a paw about. "In all seriousness though, no other beastclan either, right?"

Ginn shakes his head with his whole body, claws sunk deep into the stone to
keep him anchored.

Caesar nods, "Right, right," and pointedly doesn't apologize.

When Ginn realizes as much he wanders off in a huff. Caesar watches him tackle Esz and thinks.

Where did he go wrong? He'd like for them to trust him more. But then, he'd like for them to heed his warnings and not stray to machinesites or maybe a straight up elevator kinda machine carrying fish up from an underground reservoir (?) in the first place, too. Now, as it appears too late on either of those counts, what else is there for him to do...?

He decides to talk to Redge and to not be confrontational about it, which seems like a counterproductive combination on second thought, but.

"Could I have some of your time?" Caesar asks with due courtesy.

With a grimace, but because there really is nothing for it sometimes she agrees to fly a little ways away.

Redge raises the pearl to her face only to abadon the move halfway through to instead lie down with it cradled to her chest by her frontlegs. "What is it?"

"You don't want to show me where you got the fish," he says, a nice neutral statement which doesn't cause so much as a blink. "Fine," he says, which has her ears flick, surprised. "Just tell me your plans."

She shifts. "Our," she says and pauses either omniously or concerned (and concerning) before continuing, "plans."

Caesar waits. Her eyes turn to stare into the distance.

"You do have plans. Don't you."

Without missing a beat Redge says "Of course." Then descends another unwelcome pause. "You'll have to be more specific. To what kind of plans are you refering?"

He reminds himself he decided not to be confrontational about it. Mocking would be confrontational, with her. So instead he gets to the point. "How long do you assume you will need to follow the water to another access point? You've already checked whether that's a possibility, of course. It is some kinda Ridgeback-made underground canal that you've got it from, right? Not some other dragons passing by on our clan lands?"

Prawn stares down into the scarcly illuminated water.

"This is not how I expected my day to go," he says, as he can't decide on which question to ask first.

Kekki, here accompanying him for giggles, leans her weight into his side while she swings her head around. They stand on the - river? lake? - waters only shore, as all its other sides have vertical cave walls dropping down beneath its surface. The size of the water allows for perhaps three dragons his weightclass to go through at once, a ridiculously decadent amount of space, it seems to him, but a little smaller than what he's seen of the cave and the above ground sites usual.

How many dragons must have lived and worked here at one time, to warrant all this?

"And he's to just go in there and see where it leads," Kekki asks, as distrustful of a large and deep body of water as any desert dweller would naturally be, "without getting lost."

"Please do not get lost," Redge and Trouble immediately say simultanously.

"Not getting sacrificed to the machine after all," he murmurs to Kekki.

With a shake of her head and a pitying look she whispers back, "No, just to the monster in the waters depths."

Prawn can't fault her for being unsettled. He's unsettled, and they asked him specifically because the Tidelord is his species benefactor. In theory, he should have the easiest time of it out of any clanmember.

"You don't have to," Kekki says loudly, once again proving nestmates are the best.

Neither Trouble nor Redge disagree and while silence could be interpreted as an attempt at guilt tripping, he chooses not to take it that way. In accordance, he refuses to think on how this really needs to be done, how much better off the clan would be once they figured this out, with fish readily available to supplement their diet, thus probably solving their food issue for the forseeable future.

He refuses to think about it. Instead, he shoves Kekki into the water.

Her bellows and wild flapping about scares scarce all the visible fish.

Prawn figures the prospect wouldn't be so bad, if they weren't already underground, and also he could see. He says as much.

Trouble stops her doings to give them a dissapointed look and also because they did just scare away all the fish. Opps. Well, no, her and Redge already amassed a big heap behind them, it's fine. She shakes it off in any case. "I think there's electrical light fixtures in the walls. At one point... Well! I guess it's no help now, and you're right."

"Who is?" Redge asks, in a stunning and frankly insulting degree of inattentiveness. Though, "Do you need someone to help you out?" she has admittedly become preoccupied with Kekki at some point. Who, indeed, has not made her way back onto land yet.

"I lost - my braclet." She holds up a sodden wet and thus visibly unadorned paw as proof. Oh no. "Also, I'm wet." And there's the offence.

Prawn winces. Regret sinks in his belly. Making everyone else as miserable as you never does make any situation better. He's suprised anew every time, though.

Kekki waits for Caesar to adjust the wing blanketing her, then nudges up against it to the same careless non-reaction as before. He's fallen asleep on her. Both literally on her and in the middle of her musings.

She huffs and, pressing herself uncompfortably to the ground, crawles out from underneath. Tundras weren't made for crawling, if you weren't aware. But her fur keeps her from scraping anything, against the hard ground of their newest campsite or the underside of his heavy (!) wing.

Since someone should really keep an eye on their surroundings and they are still, it appears, the only two dragons in the vincinty, she looks about. No other creatures either, not that she honestly expected anything lesser to try and sneak up on them. They just cleared this area earlier. And by clearing Kekki means a dragon clan descended here without any care for sublety, dumped their stuff and ate anything within reach, making a ruckus, carving furrows into the stone and getting their stench on everything, probably, before scattering into all directions.

At this point in her martial prowess all dangers left are intelligent. That or too big or too numerous to hide their approach, since, they have been told, even experienced dragons can be overwhelmed in such a way. The world is big, presuambly, so it's probably true, even if Kekki hasn't ever seen any single creature bigger than a heavyweight dragon for herself, nor cannot quite imagine the size of a swarm of regular dumb animals to begin to give an adult dragon trouble. She supposes that means she doesn't want to see one, to become able to imagine. She'll bring it up with Ascan, later, and Trouble.

For now there's Ampelope and Strangler to occupy herself with. The former is as happy as ever to prance about and play, while the latter exhibits its usual lazy recalcitrance. Not willing to annoy it into entertainment today she leaves it be, only taking Ampelope, but then that should still leave one more...

Kekki looks around, sits back on her hindlegs and cranes her head, but no bird. After a short consideration she whistles, quietly. Caesar stays lying asleep, thankfully, he needs it, apparently, but noone else pops up anywhere, soooo...?

"Did Ginn take Storm Seeker with him, do you think?" she asks Ampelope. "Or does it just... go wherever, and it's fine cos it'll come back? Free range familiar. Do I need to be careful when hunting birds, I don't actually eat ours?"

Ampelope, of course, has no anwsers to these pressing questions. Kekki resolves not to worry about it. Just yet.

---

Notes:
First gathering turn of trickmurk and I find a shadow egg. Yay me. Anyway, this brings up the count to, let me check, three (3). Uff.