{Ore Drakes} The Expedition Outpost | OPEN

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You have obtained 1x Rough Quartz!

You and your drakes spend a good half an hour in the water, which is cool enough to be refreshing but not cold enough that you regret getting wet. You emerge, dripping, and shake off the water best as you can before heading back to your supplies, which you cached in a nice, dry spot further up the beach in the shelter of a driftwood log. As you get ready to continue, one of your drakes presents you with a piece Rough Quartz! It's somewhat smoothed by the ocean waves, and you rub your finger along one of the blunted edges as you put it away. Straightening up, you consider your next options.

Do you...

• Continue walking along the beach?
• Head away from the beach and into the forest?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
To your shock and horror, upon closer inspection, the roots really do look calcified. A cautious prod reveals that they're brittle, though, and they flake away easily with a gentle knock of your boot. That would be why the tree fell over, you think. In the center of the root ball is an irregularly shaped black object as big around as two fists. Do you...

• Try to pry the object loose?
• Leave it and continue following the stream?

[Ember]

Ember smiles and pets the drakes after their successful fishing. "Good job, you're so great, well done," she praises as she does so, though she wonders just how long the fish will last. Maybe wild drakes are fond of fish? She's not sure she'll run into another altar or anything but if some of the wild drakes aren't always so friendly a gift of food might be helpful. Either way she decides to follow the river upstream.

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra investigates the tree's roots, Chem sniffing around nearby. The bizarre state of the tree has her intrigued, but while she has druids in her family, she took a different path and didn't learn much about nature that would help her figure out what had happened.

Still, she peers deeper, seeing the strange, black object. She wonders if perhaps a nearby stick or something would help her pry the object loose.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You head upstream, meandering with the river. After a short while, you come across fallen tree, which serves as a haphazard bridge across the water. It's slippery, and you'll probably get wet trying to get on and off, but it is a possibility. Do you...

• Cross the river on the tree?
• Continue upstream?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You find a stick, but it doesn't really help, as the surface is just smooth enough that your stick can't get a purchase on it. Do you...

• Try some other way to pry it loose?
• Leave it and continue following the stream?

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra sighs as her stick fails to assist her in loosening the object, but she's too committed now.

Curiosity killed the cat, she thinks wryly to herself, as she contemplates other ways to pry it loose. She has a coil of rope in her inventory... maybe there's some way to tie some of the rope around the object and tug it free? It's a bit of a bizarre method, maybe, but she'd rather not resort to just snapping all of the roots, brittle as they may be...

[Ryuukokoro]

Having spent a lot of time hiking in the woods, it wasn't my first time stumbling across a young fawn. I knew they stayed put a lot of the time while mom was usually nearby. I was prepared to continue on my way, stepping lightly so I didn't spook the baby from its resting place.

Moss, of course, had other ideas.

The mischievious Drake circled in the air above the spot where the fawn was laying, proudly proclaiming "look what I found!" in a series of loud, chittering hoots.

"Moss!" I hissed, waving my hands. "No! Bad! Come here!"

Indignant, Moss did a little twirl in mid-air, by flaring his wings out. Like a preteen blowing a raspberry. He did not come any closer.

I groaned. Anxiously I looked around to see if I could spot the fawn's mother nearby, hoping our loud noises hadn't scared her off.

[Ember]

Ember comes to a stop next to a fallen tree that leads over the river. Given her drakes have already crossed over she simply shrugs and decides a little water won't hurt and crosses the river on the tree.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Shaydra
Try as you might, you cannot find a way to get the rope tied securely around the object - it's too round, and you can't get to enough of the surface to get a good grip on it. The roots aren't helping, either, impeding you as you try to work around them. As you try to lever a root out of the way to tuck the rope around the object, your fingers brush against it, and you pull away with a sharp hiss. It zapped you! Or something. Maybe you should leave it alone?

Suddenly, the world tilts, and you have a moment of nausea as your brain tries to right itself. When the world settles back into place, nothing seems amiss...

Do you...

• Check the object?
• Leave?

Ryuukokoro || Ryuu
A rustle in the bushes might be the fawn's mother - or it might not be. Remembering there are no predators here to threaten a drake, you assume that any predator that does exist is probably no threat to a deer, either. A fawn, on the other hand...

Do you...

• Follow the rustling?
• Approach the fawn?
• Give the fawn a wide berth and continue onward?

Ember
Just as you near the bank, your foot slips. Unable to find purchase, you tumble down, catching yourself with one hand on the rough bark of the tree only to be wrenched free as the water grabs your feet. Into the river you go, banging up against rocks and submerged trees as the current carries you swiftly downstream. You hit your head on something, and unconsciousness takes you...

You awaken to the anxious sound of drake chirping, and open your eyes painfully to see your drakes next to you, nudging your face gently. You're lying in the shallows of a bend in the river. How did you not drown? Sitting up, you wince as your many bumps and bruises make themselves known. Your lungs are raw, too, and you cough up some water, but not nearly as much as you might have expected. Your pack is soaked, your map a pulpy mess, and your food not much better. Your lantern is cracked, but serviceable as long as you get it thoroughly dry before trying to turn it on.

Wait, where are your fish? That's too bad...at least you're on the side of the river you were trying to get to when you fell off that tree.

Do you...

• Try to figure out how to get back to Tea's shelter to nurse your wounds for a bit?
• Wring out your belongings as best as you can and continue upstream?
• Rest for a while?

[Ember]

"How...am I alive? Did you two save me?" Ember asks her drakes, and if she's got tears in her eyes and her whole body seems to ache, well there's no other witnesses besides them. And actually that's a terrifying thought all on its own.

Overwhelmed and not quite ready to move on just yet after her scary experience, Ember stays to rest.

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra might not be familiar with nature, but she's certainly experienced with the effects of toxins and poisons due to her... past excursions. This startling experience was unlike anything she was familiar with, though.

She gives herself a moment to readjust after the bizarre sensation, then glances around to see where Chem is. Finally, without any desire to touch it again, she takes a quick peek towards the weird object to see if anything has changed with it.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Somehow, Tea knows that you're in trouble and where you are. She shows up shortly after you settle down in the shade of a nearby tree with a backpack full of supplies.

"Hey," she says, startling you a little. You weren't expecting to see anyone. She's got a lovely tricolored drake with her. "Are you okay?"

She pulls out some fruit, boiled eggs, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pushing them into your hands as she gets out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some bandages. "Eat something while I clean out your cuts. Did you hit your head? There's blood on your face."

Do you...

• Thank her and start eating?
• Thank her, start eating, and ask how she knew?
• Offer some food to your drakes first?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
The object is gone.

Do you...

• Look around to see if it fell somewhere?
• Leave. Immediately. No more hocus pocus!

[Ember]

Ember wipes tears from her eyes as Tea arrives though it does little to stem the tide of them. She manages to hiccup a drained, "s-somehow. Sort of," in answer to Tea's question about how she's doing. At least of all the people to see her, Tea might kind of understand.

Ember's drakes curl up either on Ember's lap or nearby which would have made reaching for the food a little difficult but thankfully Tea hands them directly to her and Ember wastes little time in taking a bite of the sandwich, even if she is a bit tentative about it. "I must have...I can't remember too clearly," Ember admits, alarmed at both the prospect and the blood. "How...did you know? To come find me?"

Option number 2!

[SeaCrest]

Ember

Tea tuts as she turns your head gently to take a look. "Vili came and got me," she answers, letting you go with one hand to gesture at the tricolor drake, who is watching proceedings from afar. "He must have seen you fall in. I don't think you need stitches," she says thoughtfully, "but this might sting."

It does, indeed, sting as she washes out your cut, but she pronounces the cut itself to be superficial, although ideally you should get some ice on it and get a real doctor to look at it. You probably have a concussion.

"Do you want me to call Barnaby to come pick you up? We can go back to base camp if you want so you'll be more comfortable while you wait."

Do you...

• Agree to go back to Tea's house?
• Decide to stay here to wait for Barnaby?
• Decline to call Barnaby?

[Ember]

"Thanks Vili," Ember says, and the tears are finally starting to stop, "and thank you, Tea." She winces through the cleaning of the cut but otherwise bears it without complaint. With a shaky sigh and a pat to the drake on her lap she nods very lightly and agrees, "Yes, that's probably best. I'll head back with you and wait for Barnaby there."

[SeaCrest]

Ember
After radioing Barnaby to ask for a pickup at her house, Tea helps you up, and the pair of you move slowly downstream, the three drakes in tow. You cross at a very shallow, wide stretch of the river, and you think ruefully that this is definitely much safer. Back at Tea's, she gets you set up on a comfy rug (she doesn't have much by the way of furniture, and the table and chairs in the kitchen area are a bit too hard for you at the moment) with some hot tea with herbs in it that are supposed to help with bruising.

Barnaby picks you up in his truck, and Dr. Wong checks you over, but she thinks that Tea did a decent job of patching you up. Still, you shouldn't be going out again with a head injury, so she gets you on the next supply plane so you can get some actual medical care.

As you're convalescing (doctor's orders), a package arrives for you in the mail. It's a piece of Platinum Ore! Attached is a note;

I hope you're feeling better! The hatchlings found this, I thought it might cheer you up! Hope to see you again soon!

Tea

You have obtained 1x Platinum Ore!

Expedition complete! You have gained 2 expedition EXP!

You may now apply for another expedition!

[YourLoveOnly]

With the heat it seems best to find some more shade so let's head into the forest

[Ember]

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: Ember
Drake(s):
086 - Andromeda

and 094 - Rhea

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra, not seeing the object anymore, dusts herself off. "Well, that's that," she says to Chem, and the drake seems to nod once in agreement. "If we had 'Ven or Vay with us, maybe they'd know what to make of it, but..." the feline-girl shakes her head and trails off. "Magic and all that is not my forte."


The two set off once more, with only one more suspicious glance at the strange, dead tree.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You head into the forest, sighing with relief at the immediate cooling effect of the shade. The vegetation isn't too thick yet, and it's quite pleasant, although the insects seem to be out in full force today.

Do you...

• Go south?
• Go east?

Ember
After Dr. Wong has given you your map, as well as checking over your supplies, she sends you out to meet a young man by the name of Barnaby, who shuttles you out to one of the expedition areas. After all, if everyone is exploring right next to the Outpost, there won't be much by the way of discovery, will there?

After Barnaby leaves you, you look around. The trees are tall and thick here, with no discernible path into the forest. Do you...

• Use your machete to hack your way through the undergrowth?
• Try to climb a tree to see if there is a path nearby?
• Head west along the tree line?
• Head southeast along the tree line?
• Turn around and go home?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You leave, electing to follow the stream. At least this time you didn't pass out and get rescued by a mysterious being.

The trees thin out somewhat up ahead. Do you...

• Continue following the stream?
• Enter the forest?
• Cross the stream?

[YourLoveOnly]

I will go east.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You head east, picking your way through the undergrowth carefully. Eventually, you realize that you are climbing, and probably have been for a while. The slope has been quite gentle up until now, but it's getting steeper as you go.

Do you...

• Continue uphill?
• Head back downhill?
• Turn left?
• Turn right?

[YourLoveOnly]

Turn left!

[Ember]

Ember's...not really sure how she convinced herself to come back out again, but here she is staring at a vast expanse of trees with a strange feeling of deja vu. She decides that she still isn't keen on incurring the wrath of anything if she chops through the underbrush so she goes west instead.

[Ryuukokoro]

I froze in place as I noticed rustling in the nearby bushes. It was hard to tell how large the creature was by the sound alone, but it definitely seemed to be enough noise for a creature of some substantial size. Cross chirped on my shoulder, directly behind my ear, a sound of interest that meant he must have noticed it too. That was fine, I could depend on my cuddly boy to stay with me pretty much no matter what. My other Drake, however... If I could just keep Moss from noticing...

Too late. With a shriek of challenge, Moss pitched his wings into a dive directly toward the bushes where the rustling came from.

"Moss, no!" Worried for the little guy who always stuck his snout into trouble, I broke into a run and followed the Drake as we both followed the rustling.

[Saturnalia]

As the trees thin out, Shaydra and her drake friend take a moment to contemplate their options.  Shaydra glances from the stream to the trees. They'd been following the stream for some time, so maybe it was time to take a bit of a different path.

Shaydra and Chem decide to enter the forest.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You turn left, feeling the unevenness in your muscles as you walk across the slope of the hill. Soon enough, however, it evens out a little, and you find yourself on the bank of a narrow river, deep and swift-moving.

Do you...

• Try to ford the river?
• Turn downriver?
• Turn upriver?

Ember
Heading west, you eventually find that the forest has thinned out enough that you could walk under the trees. Do you...

• Enter the forest?
• Continue along the tree line?
• Head south, where your map says there is a lake?

Ryuukokoro || Ryuu
When you catch a glimpse of the cause of the rustling, you recognize the deer mother, or at the very least a doe, but she flees away from the fawn, pursued by your drake. Do you...

• Call back your drake and leave?
• Follow her?
• Go back to the fawn?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You enter the forest, listening for the sounds of wild animals, but hearing none. Despite Odekka being the home of the drakes, you haven't seen any sign of them, really.

Do you...

• Head north?
• Head west?
• Head south?

[Saturnalia]

Without much outside influence to help with the decision, Shaydra looks around, turning, and then shrugging.

"Up to you, Chem," she says, and the drake heads west, Shay following behind.

[Ember]

Ember enters the forest.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You head west, avoiding thorny vines and clumps of dense berry bushes full of unripe fruit. After a while, you come to a clearing, where the remains of a campfire still smoke. There is nobody here at the moment.

Do you...

• Look around?
• Douse the fire first, then look around?
• Circle the campfire and leave the clearing?

Ember
You enter the forest, and are promptly glad you did so, because the clouds that have been looming up above finally release their contents in a torrential downpour. You are quite well protected by the trees, and so you continue until you come across a sunfruit tree. Do you...

• Pick a sunfruit for later?
• Leave the fruit and continue?

[Saturnalia]

Shadra's eyes narrow at the sights of the campfire. Wasn't there not supposed to be anyone else out here? She supposes there could be fellow adventurers, or... well, it's a big enough area that someone else could have slipped through without the staff at the Outpost knowing.

Shaydra's time spent sneaking through cities kicks in, and she moves relatively quietly, though she's not quite as accustomed to being stealthy in forests. She decides to look around before touching anything, unwilling to disturb things until she knows a bit more about the situation and who might have been stopped here.

[Ember]

Ember recognizes the fruit from before and smiles as she picks one for later. It came in rather handy before so why not?

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Shaydra
"Hands up. Now." You turn to find yourself looking down the barrel of a rifle, a hard-faced woman at the other end. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Do you...

• Introduce yourself and your drake, and explain you're explorers?
• Ask her what she's doing here?
• Fight back?

Ember
You have obtained 1x Sunfruit!

You pick a ripe sunfruit and stow it carefully before continuing on your way.

Eventually, you encounter a tree stump that you swear you saw before. Do you...

• Mark the spot somehow and continue on your way?
• Consult the map?
• Shrug it off and keep going?

[YourLoveOnly]

Trying to cross it doesn't seem too safe with its perceived depth and speed, so let's go downriver.

[Sunchaser]

Sunchaser looks at the path as it stops being a easy path. With a sigh she started to trudge forward even slower. She did not want to hurt the vegetation here because this was not her home so she did not use her machete.... yet. She looked at her drakes and smiled as they tried to help too.

[Ember]

Ember marks the spot and keeps going.

[Saturnalia]

In the blink of a few moments, a handful of thoughts flash across Shaydra's mind.

Firstly, how on earth had this woman snuck up on her like that? Ears of a cat, and she hadn't been listening for the right sounds. She mentally kicks herself.

The second thoughts are some choice words aimed at Saturn, who had a) been the one to send her out, and b) had insisted that she leave all of her best daggers at home, even the ones that weren't poison-tipped. The conversation had included phrases like "It will be fun; you need to relax more" and "You don't need to assassinate every problematic thing you come across" and "Sometimes stabbing isn't the answer". Shaydra generally disagreed.

The third thought revolves around the present situation. She knew how she stacked up, speed-wise, against arrows and crossbow bolts, but not guns. Treat her like an unhinged wizard about to cast Fire Bolt; she thinks.

And then proceeds to open her mouth. All of her training had gone into shadier learnings, and diplomacy was, unfortunately, not high on her skills list. She cannot quite contain the growl that accompanies her words, or the flash of fangs that talking tended to show off. Her tail flicks back and forth in typical agitated-feline mode.

"Asked by a woman holding a rifle on an island with no known large predators", she snaps back. "I can only think of one reason for that, and it's not flattering. Plan on adding my coat to your collection, poacher?"

She wonders how the balance of her provided machete was, and whether she could get to it if need be...

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You head downriver, your pace a little faster thanks to the downward slope. At the base of the hill, the river becomes slower and wider. Do you...

• Continue downriver?
• Try to ford the river?

Sunchaser
You push onwards, wincing as plants catch at your clothes and skin. Eventually, your persistence is rewarded, and you emerge at the edge of a narrow gulley with grassy banks. It's not a canyon, but more like a valley on a small scale. There's a stream at the bottom of the steep bank.

Do you...

• Head downhill?
• Head left along the edge of the bank?
• Head right along the edge of the bank?

Ember
You mark the spot and keep going. Presently, you see another stump ahead, and forge onwards until you reach it...

Only to find that it is, indeed, the same stump. You've been going in circles!

Do you...

• Pick a different direction to go this time?
• Mark your path somehow to try and keep going in a straight line?
• Sit down and have some lunch?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
The woman raises an eyebrow, the rifle never wavering. "It's not the island predators I'm here for," she replies. "Odekka's creatures are my care. I could ask the same of you; are you a poacher?"

If she's here to protect the island, why didn't Dr. Wong tell her about you? Or you about her?

Do you...

• Respond indignantly?
• Respond politely?
• Respond fearfully?

[Saturnalia]

"I'd be a pretty garbage poacher traveling mostly unarmed and with a drake in my care," Shaydra responds dryly. "Oh, and, you know, filling out a permit to be here, informing the Outpost in charge of expeditions that I was coming, getting flown and driven out by them..." Her tail continues to flick back and forth, her eyes narrow. Her tone isn't outright rude, at this point, but it's certainly not friendly, given the rifle still pointed at her. "Strangly," she continues, the growly accent to her voice drawing the word out, "no one at the Outpost mentioned you."

From the corner of her eye, Shay can see Chem, off to the side and out of reach of the woman. The drake is crouched, eyes narrowed in a reptilian echo of Shaydra's, though what she understands of the situation is questionable.

[YourLoveOnly]

At this speed maybe I can get across, even if I need to swim. I don't see anything dangerous coming up. Let's try to ford the river.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Shaydra
The woman snorts, but she lowers her rifle and sticks her hand in her pocket. You tense, but she only brings out a laminated card, flicking it at you. She doesn't throw it hard, not an attack, and you catch it easily, scanning it with one eye while keeping the other on the woman.

"You might have filled out a permit, but even Farrowstead isn't perfect. They've had trouble before with people abusing their right to be here. Ellen called in a favor, so here I am."

The card bears the DEO stamp and Dr. Wong's signature. It states that the woman's name is Clara Woods, and she's an environmental protection agent of the DEO.

"Vili hasn't attacked you yet, so that's one point in your favor. Your drake also trusts you, so that's another point." The corner of her mouth lifts up in a half-smile. "And your first reaction wasn't to reach for a weapon."

What do you do next?

YourLoveOnly || YLO
The river is very cold, coming up to your waist as you wade in. The current is strong enough to pull at you, but you manage to cross without drifting too far away. Once you're out of the water though, you quickly realize that you are very chilled.

Do you...

• Stop and make a fire to dry yourself off?
• Lie down in the sun for a bit, and hope that's enough?
• Keep moving?

[YourLoveOnly]

Let's try making a fire, careful not to set any part of the forest ablaze!

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra reads the card and relaxes, tail ceasing its twitches. She hands the ID back, and offers a half-smile of her own.

"Fair enough; I can imagine it pays to be cautious out here. Shaydra, by the way," she says as introduction. "You managed to sneak up on me, so my respect for that. Doesn't happen much, though I'm a bit out of my element." A flash of a full, toothy grin passes across her face. "It's good to have reminders to not get too comfortable."

She laughs a little in response to the comment about reaching for a weapon. "I've been told my first reaction should be to shut up in more situations, but..." she shrugs. "There's a reason I'd rather spend my time on my own than attempting small talk in high society."

She looks around, noting that Chem is no longer on the alert, but lounging in a patch of sunlight.

"I'll move along and get out of your hair," Shay says to Clara, "though if you've any suggestions on what direction I should travel in, I'd be glad to hear them."

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You make a fire, despite the warmth of the day, and by the time jyou get it going, you've warmed up a little. With the heat from the fire, you stop shivering, and soon enough you're (mostly) dry. Do you...

• Sit until you're fully dry?
• Douse the fire and move on?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
Clara snorts. "If you think I'm sneaky, you wait until you meet Tea. You'd never know she was right behind you unless she touched you." She taps a finger against her rifle thoughtfully.

"West of here's the mountains. It gets pretty cold up there, and it's not cleared for outsiders yet, just me and Tea. You could get a decent hike out of it until you hit the barrier line Farrowstead draw, you can't cross that unless she lets you. North's got some good sun for fruit, and the wild drakes like that in the afternoon. South's more forest than's worth thinking about, but you could maybe find the old copper vein where one of the big flocks hangs about."

Do you...

• Head west?
• Head north?
• Head south?

[Ember]

Ember starts to wonder if she is either truly that bad with directions or if maybe she's meant to keep coming back to this spot. Either way staying for lunch doesn't mean she can't continue on later.

[YourLoveOnly]

Douse the fire and move on. The sun will dry the last bits!

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You sit down for some lunch on the stump. As you're finishing off your food, you notice that there seem to be faint chirping noises coming from somewhere near your feet. Looking down, you are perplexed to notice a pair of drake hatchlings, not long out of the shell, shuffling around in the grass at your feet.

Do you...

• Pick them up to examine them?
• Offer them something to eat?
• Leave in a hurry. You don't know where their parents are, and if they might be annoyed with you or not.

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You douse the fire and move on, shouldering your pack and setting out with your drakes. The day is getting warmer as the sun rises to the apex of its path, and the shade of the trees is much appreciated once you've dried off.

You come to a rocky outcrop of ground that seems to lead up to a similarly rocky hill, bare of trees and dotted with low scrubs.

Do you...

• Head uphill?
• Stay in the forest?

[YourLoveOnly]

With the current heat it doesn't seem smart to head out into a place without cover, especially not one that involves a climb. Let's stay in the forest.

[Ember]

Ember startles a little as she notices the baby drakes hanging out by her feet. "Oh...hello there!" They. Are. Adorable. Ember smiles at them and digs in her pack to see if she has anything to offer them to eat.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You turn away from the hill, staying in the shade of the trees. You can hear the rustling of something winged in the trees - probably a drake, although you're not fast enough to spot them. Presently you come across a fallen tree. It seems to be quite old, as the tree has been hollowed out by time and insects, and as you go to step around it, something shiny catches your eye.

Do you...

• Crawl in and pick it up?
• Send one of your drakes in to fetch it?
• Leave it and move on?

Ember
You manage to scrounge up some dried fruit and some pebbles for the hatchlings, and they gobble both offerings down happily. One climbs up your leg, its little claws pricking you through the fabric of your pants, and makes a rather demanding-sounding squawking noise.

Do you...

• Pick it up?
• Offer it more food?
• Gently dislodge it and look for a parent?

[Ember]

Ember laughs a little as the hatchlings eat and laughs a little more as one of them scrambles up her leg with a clearly demanding sound. "Now, now, I don't want to feed you more in case it bothers your parents. Let's look for them, hm? You should probably go back to them," she says, trying to dislodge the hatchling and looking for a parent lurking around somewhere.