PERSONAL DRAKES
Miri scoops Rukia off of the counter with practiced ease as the drake eyes the mug of pens with interest, moving to a different door than the one you entered from. "I actually live here on the preserve," she explains, although she doesn't mention the office door with the nameplate that readsMIRIELLE FARROWSTEAD, M.S., Ph.D.
Drake Export Office Preserve Founder & Caretaker
on it as you pass by it on your way out. "So my drakes hang out in one of our enclosures, especially right now when we don't have many drakes to show to people. Most of them are well socialized, but I'm quite attached to them, you see, and they don't technically belong to the preserve."Rukia, of course, has been with you and Miri the whole time, but as you enter the enclosure, another drake immediately greets the three of you with a chirp. Miri lets the drake climb onto her shoulder with a smile.
"This is Lissa, my first drake. She actually was from one of the first clutches we found, and is a bit of a figurehead. Since she was hand-raised, she was a lot more receptive to strangers and lots of attention than our other drakes, most of whom are wild-caught, and not raised. We have a few clutches waiting, but trying to keep our population diverse here on the preserve means that we only keep one egg out of each clutch, two at the most," Miri explains.A chirp-whistle calls out three other drakes, although two of them halt at the sight of you. The other clearly has no such qualms, bounding over without hesitation and accepting a treat from Miri."This is Aris. They're another one of my demonstration drakes, along with Lissa and Rukia. The two in the back are Nuri and Cahya. Nuri is the white one, and Cahya is the black. They're not the most demonstrative, unfortunately, but they hatched somewhat prematurely, so I hand-raised them, and they've stuck with me."