Ryujin13 and I

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr listened quietly and nodded after Shaza had finished, thinking on what she was saying for a moment before responding. "It does sound nice there." He said. "I'm sorry you didn't get to see it before you ended up here. I'm even more impressed with your races mastery of genetics though. The Kas-Mah have never bothered with that level of technology. We just created things to help us hunt and kill. To be honest, I'm scared for the Kas-Mah. We have become stagnant. Nothing matters anymore. We just go on, day after day, year after year, living and doing the same thing that our ancestors did. The only thing that's changed is the weaponry and armor. Even the methods are the same. My people do not challenge themselves, they are content with doing nothing. Even our weapons and armor haven't evolved in over three decades. It's like my race is incapable of reaching for more. They don't look to the stars and wonder, they just see lights that don't affect them. They look at the moons and see only things that help with the night hunt. No effort has been put into making anything beyond the tried and true tested methods. I just wonder how long any race can survive this way. I wonder how long the Kas-Mah have left if we don't do something different."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded listening and wondered about something "If a race does not improve on its way of life even with things that could be more of a problem then otherwise the race will become as you say, stagnant. A very bad place for a race to get. But at least for here I have an idea. Your race needs a reason to develop new things change the old and move forward. There's a saying, desperation breeds inspiration. The desperation here is to get off this.... what ever it is prison. I would not mind if I knew it would not do things at random just watch us scurry around like Franxy's. Little bugs. But from how your talking its not really.... driving them forward. I do admit your race is.... excuse the wording but primitive. You show promise with those blades and crystal weapons I've seen your guards carry. But we need to expand on that you already have a understanding of it otherwise how would you produce it? I propose we hold a.... innovation like tournament, each race makes something new, or at least a large step forward in an area of tech, for you an example would be say, a vehicle, or... a shield of some kind. For my kind it would be developing say.... a mobile spawning pool, or developing our first metal device. Then at the end of a year, we put it all together, each race showing what they've developed, and judges from both sides would discuss things like innovation, usefulness, and how long it may last. Nothing being judged on tech before it, it would be judged fairly and equally, as if we both had no back ground knoledge." she explained "If your people want to win they'll have to develop new things, and with that, new triditions have a chance to rise." she explained as she relaxed in the fluid. "Don't tell them this but you could see it as us helping up lift your people. An often frowned apone thing however, for your case a needed one, where allies, and I have no intention of watching a allie fall when I can offer help."

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr's temper rose a little at Shaza calling his people primitive, but forced the anger down. She hadn't want anything by it, and he knew that. "I do not care that we follow the old ways, that has always defined our culture. I don't even care that we are still living in wooden homes lined with fur. We don't need anything more, and that's alright. What bothers me is the lack of innovation. I'm beginning to wonder if we were placed on our planet by someone and bred to not advance to far. We have proven that we can build things that are very advanced, our stealth armor for example, but everyone seems fine with leaving it at that. I don't think my clan is all that interested in even leaving this place. It's the same as the swamps back home, and what's more, there is different prey to hunt." He stopped, then snapped his fingers. "Ok, that's something. The reason our boats don't have motors is a simple one, the wildlife don't like it and that much noise attracts bigger predators. Your land doesn't have anything that is particularly challenging hunting wise, so..." He thought fora moment. "So I get them to consider the other places there are. Surely there is something else in this place worth hunting. So I challenge them to find it. They can't run that far, we don't have anything to ride, so they have to build something." He smiled and nodded. "That could work."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded listening frowning a little in thought. "Bred to not advance far.... that would hint at a block that may of been placed, and since everyone of you are born with it otherwise you would have continued in at least somewhere.... every socioty we've met has always had there idealists and scientists dreaming up new inventions.... but from how your talking your kind seems to lack.... the motivating idea's, something works and then no improvement happens after a while. We could look for anything that may be blocking your kind however it would take intense monitoring of the DNA sample you give us, I'd imagine we'd need to create a clone, no it would not be living per say, the reason for this is to record your growth cycle. Watch the strands mutate and add and subtract as the growing process and aging happens. If its in your genetics, there's a high chance we'll find out. As the thing grows we'll be running the mind through tests and the works simulating critical organ patterns, the works. Heck if it is in your DNA we maybe able to..... unlock you in a manner of speaking. But for all that to happen, you'd be handing us information of litterly, everything about you and your kind. We'd want a female sample as sometimes they carry different data then the males." she explained "In the mean time you put your people through challenges to try to innovate them." she finished off saying a look of deep though on her face "The question I want to know though, is who aided us in becoming who we are now. Our races, even my race we had our homes since we where hardly in the tribe stage of life. Maybe even before that, back then I highly doubt we knew how to make a basic spawn pool much less a home with a complex DNA strand that is still being processed to this day. Your people seem to have been placed possibly oddly restrained. Which puzzled me. But if you give the go I'll have my scientists get a male and female sample of your DNA and we'll begin to siphon it for any.... possibility's of a..... ingrained restriction." she finished off saying.

BEfore anything could be said a guard came rushing in "Shaza! A drones..... flying among everyone in the colony. Smaller then other others but its not ours, Quins hidden Pikna for now. The Drone is searching for something that's all we can say." he explained and SHaza blinked but nodded getting up the fluid rushing off her scales like oil and water. She nodded to Dalnr before starting to follow the guard out side to see the drone.

 

((Its no more then the size of there heads. Nothing set for it so if you want to throw in a sub plot, feel free to do so. If not I'll wipe up something for it in my next post))

[Ryujin13]

"I would like that." Dalnr said. "If we find such a block, then perhaps we could fix it. You seem to be very skilled in genetics after all." He stopped suddenly and seemed to be considering something before snapping his fingers again. "You said that your race was probably given these homes because even you haven't managed to crack their DNA yet. So, what if it's the same people? I mean think about it, your race started on a dead world where the only water was beneath the ground. By all rights your race shouldn't have evolved at all. There wasn't anything to grow from, and there wasn't anything to sustain life. You had to have had some help. My race randomly appeared about 20,000 years ago, and doesn't seem capable of advancing beyond a certain stage of development. What if it's all related? What if our races are just some experiment? Lets see what happens if we give a race the minimum they need to survive on a desert planet. Lets see how long a race lasts when nothing new is created." He sighed and sat back, thinking it over. "It sounds plausible, if cold and uncaring."

 

When the guard came in Dalnr's look said it all as he pulled himself out of thee pool and quickly dressed before running outside behind Shaza. He watched the drone, carefully moving into Shaza's house and grabbing his rifle before returning and aiming it.

"Any idea what it's doing?" He asked Shaza.

 

(I have no ideas right now, sorry.)

[little lost dragon]

Shaza looked at the drone and it seemed to pause when Dalnr point his weapon at it. It let out a few strange beeps before it fired causing Dalnr's weapon to turn to dust in his hands in mear moments. It then quickly scanned him before taking off as if its goal was completed. Shaza watched it before looking at Dalnr "No idea even now..... determining threats? I don't know, all it did was fly around apparently till now, and it seemed to do is respond to a possible threat.... beyond that.... I don't know." she said before shaking her head and motioning for him to follow her into her home. After offering a hand to help him up once he came through the opening she lead him to her chamber she liked to study in.

She drew on the floor raising 2 lumps for them to sit on. "As for what your thinking. What you say fits perfectly into what I think, we had help of some kind." she admitted "Perhaps our races may even be some what related, if that is the case I want to find out who helped or made us and find out just what there goals where." she admitted "And find out just how did my kind come along, we know we started off as your average creature, and evolved on the deserts with these homes. And yes dispite all our expertise into these things. We have yet to, again as you said crack the DNA, which tells me, we had help." she said before looking at the fleshy floor and thinking "If we do find a block in your DNA..... we'll want to make a cure, but we'll want to.... we'll need a test subject, so we can monitor them. In case there's any un forseen results we don't to make a cure and find out its.... renders you paralized, DNA is very... picky on that sort of thing."

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr practically hissed at the drone when it vaporized his weapon, and half wanted to go after it, but even angry he knew that it wouldn't end well for him. So he let himself be pulled back into Shaza's house where he sat down across from her .

"I'll talk to my people about volunteers. I would do it, in fact I want to do it, but... Well I have to be there for you, Pikna and the child."

 

As if on cue, Pikna came running in and went to give Shaza another hug, but stopped short when she remember that Shaza was raw from the cleansing.

"Shaza!" She said happily as she bounced on her feet happily. "I learned a lot today from Quen, and I think I'm on my way to making a portable spawning pool!" She stopped and looked at Dalnr, who was listening quietly as the little girl spoke. "I um, I heard about the drone Shaza, but I was inside so I didn't worry about it." She swallowed and glanced at Dalnr again, still unsure around the older man. Aera came off of Pikna's back and into the girls arms where Pikna petted the little pet carefully.

"Um, h-hello Dalnr." She said shyly. "This is um, this is Aera." Pikna said as she carefully held up Aera.

Dalnr smiled a little and gently petted Aera before nodding. "She's very nice Pikna." He said as the little girl began petting Aera again. "Thank you for sharing with me."

Pikna nodded and moved off a ways to sit against the wall where she began to talk quietly to Aera about anything that entered her head.

"Have you considered introducing her to some other children?" Dalnr asked Shaza, his voice low. "She only seems to talk to adults and her pet. Maybe she needs a friend her age."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded and smiled a bit but before she could say anything came through and nearly got hugged right away again. Not that she would mind at any other time but her scales where still sensitive. Thankfully she stopped. She still wondered how Pikna would make a portable spawning pool though but smiled and nodded "Congratulations, I'm wondering how a portable one works but then again I'm no expert on the things, know how to use them but not too much how they work." she said with a chuckle.

When Pikna went off to her chamber she looked at Dalnr and nodded "I agree, sadly there's only 2-3 other children here and there nearly grown up. We grow up quickly so hopefully won't be too long before there are some roughly her maturity." she replied in a low voice "Once she has a few friends I feel she'll be more at ease even more so around here." she finished off saying before getting up and heading over to Pikna and kneeling down and gently hugging the little Krahn. "Love you Pikna. You may hug me still just nothing roughly or something." she said smiling her tail motioning to Dalnr to come sit down with her "Would you like to tell us about the portable spawning pool?" she asked looking wondering but the motherly look of one towards a child written all over her in her body behaver.

 

((Thinking of maybe turning what was discussed into a sub plot, imagine there wonder if another race was there watching them, also caught by the sphere, but knows the 2 races are the 2 races they interferred with, or even created.))

Edited September 27, 2013 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

(Yeah I was actually going to go that route eventually. I think it's an interesting plot.)

 

Dalnr got up and went to sit against the wall near Pikna. He still didn't like the feel very much, but he was slowly getting used to it.

"I-I love you to Shaza." Pikna said tentatively, as though she expected to get in trouble. She returned the hug, closing her eyes and just enjoying the touch. A sweet smell came off other as a pheremone representing happiness came off of her. She held the hug for a long time before finally letting go and sitting back again.

"Thanks." She said quietly. "The um, the last time somebody said that to me, the didn't come back the next day. They said attachment was a distraction and that focusing on my studies was more important." Pikna explained, her fingers scratching the spot that Aera liked. The little pet crooned happily in Pikna's arms as the girl continued to pet it.

When asked about the portable spawning pool though, Pikna's eyes lit up like they did when a topic that she really enjoyed came up.

"Well, spawning pools run off what I have termed 'premordial soup' a mixture of cells, growth formulas and other things. The actual insides are complex, but also simplistic in their design. A portable spawning pool would need to be able to be uprooted and emptied of the soul while not killing it. I'm designing a spawning pool that, while not large, could fold itself into a smaller form, and wouldn't need to rely on the soup for sustenance. When it unfolds, it will begin to secrete the soup and within a few hours would be ready to go. I've already begun to play with the actual DNA of the spawning pools and am getting close to finding a gene that will allow it to stay dry without dying." Pikna explained happily.

[little lost dragon]

Shaza smiled and nodded thinking on what Pikna was speaking about. She placed a loving hand on the young Krahns shoulder "Here your going to see us often, where not going anywhere." she assured her before getting a interested look on her face. "Sort of like having the portable pool go into a hibernation stasis like condition." she said half to her self before getting into a more conferrable position to sit in looking at Dalnr and nodding with a smile for him to join her. She knew Pikna liked to talk about things, so why not have some family time?

 

((At a friends currently, but thinking on making that race, unless you got a idea for them. I'm interested to see how it would go, I can't help but think a similar situation of reapers lol))

[Ryujin13]

Pikna nodded happily and continued to chatter about the projec until she seemed to run out of things to say on the topic.

Dalnr for his part, noted Shaza's gestures, but was also at a loss as to what to say. He didn't understand what they were talking about, or even what a spawning pool was. So when Pikna finally stopped chattering, he seized on the opportunity.

"That sounds amazing Pikna, but what else do you like to do? Is there anything else you want to study or learn?" He asked, glancing at Shaza before returning his attention to Pikna.

"Um... I always wanted to learn about animals and things. All I ever got to see were pictures, but they were always so fascinating. Aera's the first animal I've ever been able to hold and touch for more then a few seconds. I always wanted to look at animals and watch them."

Dalnr glanced at Shaza again then nodded quietly. "Well, we can do that later I bet. There are lots of animals we can go watch, just not now. It's hard to sneak up on things when your skin is hurting." He said with a smile.

 

(Yeah, go ahead and design them, it'll be a cool plot.)

 

[little lost dragon]

Shaza smiled and nodded "There's many creatures around, we'll be sure to show you some of them." she said with a smile "A lot of our vehicles are based off other creatures he locate that we see a possibility in. IF we do we try to gather its DNA and then we may make our own changes however we leave the origanle ones alone to flourish with out our hand in the lifes." she explained

 

((I'm brain dead... sorry))

[Ryujin13]

(No problem it happens to the best of us.)

 

Pikna smiled and nodded happily. "That would be great! I've always seen pictures of the Ezirbril, they're um, they're big flying creatures that are really nice. You can fly right next to one and touch it and it doesn't care. They fly on the air currents and live off of bacteria! I always wanted to see one, but I never got to. They keep them away from the cities using sonic buoys. They emit a frequency that doesn't harm them, but does keep them a few miles away at all times."

Pikna glanced at Dalnr, then down again. "It's to bad that I won't get to see them. I don't think there's anything like that here."

Dalnr smiled and shrugged. "You never know until you look. For instance, we thought a great beast called a Birrka, had died out long ago. They were huge! At least 50 feet long with two pairs of legs that were strong and muscular. It could run at 50 mph even through the swamp. We thought it dead, but that wasn't the case. They were underneath us the whole time. Turns out they bury themselves to hibernate for 150 years or so, then they wake up, and don't sleep again until a full year passes. All they do is eat and mate. At the end of the year, they dig their pits again and hibernate. Their young hatch underground as well and grow there until the next awakening. Anyway, the point is this, don't stop looking until you've searched everywhere."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza listened as they spoke though wildlife not really her spot expertise but she knew a little "And the Topen hides in tree's and sometimes in other creatures bodys to evade a hunter if it knows of them. It does not harm the creature it hides in either. but as a result it can travel very far." she explained.

 

((Ill in bed with hives. responces maybe slow and short till brain power picks up again))

Edited September 29, 2013 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

(Hives suck I used to break out in them from stress because of school and such.)

 

Pikna listened with wide eyes to Dalnr's story, then nodded excitedly. "That sounds amazing, but also really scary." She said. "But if there were a way to watch it safely, then I would love that. I mean, being able to hibernate for such long periods of time would be incredibly hard on an organic being, the things that could be learned would be amazing!" She said, continuing to babble for a few more minutes about the creature Dalnr mentioned as well as the way they reverse engineered biological organisms to create tools. Finally she seemed to run out of things to say and quieted down, looking back and forth between Shaza and Dalnr as she seemed to think. Finally Pikna seemed to settle down again and carefully went back to her quieter state where she just sat and talked quietly to Aera.

"Pikna? Do you want anything else?" Dalnr asked quietly, his voice careful. "I mean to make you happy. I know you love Aera, but do you want anything else? Books, games, toys? Anything like that? Maybe something else?"

Pikna looked down and considered the question, then shrugged a little. "I don't know, can I think about it?" She asked, looking at Shaza first then at Dalnr as though expecting to be reprimanded. "What would you ask for Shaza?" She asked, carefully snuggling in against the older woman.

[little lost dragon]

((Its an allergic reaction for me, nearly all over the under sides of my arms and around my ankles.))

 

Shaza looked thoughful as she snuggled Pikna before gently bringing her to sit on Shaza's lap snuggling her some more "When I was young.... Had a few toys, a few games, never had books we..... closest we have is data pads but that's largely for tiny amounts of data..... there is one I loved to play with in my young years, we call it geputty, you can mold it to anything basic, nothing advanced, then if you knew how you could instruct it how to move, and listen to voice command, only basics but was lots of fun." she blinked "Say, I may have it around here, might aid you a little in learning the language as well." she said with a smile giving Pikna a motherly nuzzle the soreness of her scales clearly dissipating for her. She gently moved Pikna to her side again before getting up and drawing a little on a wall before a opening opened and she turned around "Before you ask, our tails can act as links to our own tech, this allows us to directly link to it and relay commands and the works like your computers would to a server." she said looking at Pikna before inserting her tail with a bit of a wet sound. She seemed to go still for a moment though her eye's moving about a little as she seemed to mearly be searching her mind. Then she slightly nodded once and a opening in her study chamber opened. She pulled out and the opening closed and she went over to the other one before removing what seemed to be a green see through egg. She came back over and sat down in her place again before reaching in and grabbing a thick substance that at first just seemed to slowly ooze off her hand. She put it on the flesh like floor and put the egg container down "Let see if I can recal how to do this." she said half to her self before starting to mold it. Being slow so Pikna could watch every movement before shortly afterwards a human like figure stood there only 1 foot tall. "Basic of basic. Now just a few symbles....." she said drawin in the back before it started to jerkily walk in a circle. "There we go, best part of this is having ternaments with others that have these. Some pretty amazing results can happen." she said before blinking "Speaking of which, that's another thing, friends, We need to get you a few friends that you can hang out with." she said before looking at Dalnr "Besides the rights and trials..... what did you like to do for fun?" she asked

[Ryujin13]

Pikna watched in fascination as Shaza molded the jelly stuff into a figure then had it walk around. She wasn't sure how it worked, but is didn't matter, it was a gift and a really nice one which Pikna already thought looked like fun.

She carefully picked up the figure and touched it a little, feeling the texture beneath her hands, then looked up at Shaza and smiled.

"Thank you." She said, giving Shaza another hug. Pikna carefully put the jelly stuff away, back into its egg container for a later time, then turned her attention back to Shaza.

"I'm not good around other kids." She said quietly. "I remember before I was given up by my mother that I didn't have any friends. The other kids made fun of me and said I was annoying. I just played in the sand and made buildings and stuff."

 

Dalnr glanced at Shaza, then at Pikna again. "Well, we have a few cubs around your age, and most don't care what you're like as long as you can keep up. When they aren't learning they're doing normal kid stuff. Hide-and-seek, tag, pretend, things like that. Mostly it's physical because of their upbringing, but they do other things, like play games and get into trouble. I think it would be good for you to meet some Pikna."

Pikna looked down and shrugged a little, obviously not to keen on the idea. "I don't know, I just want to be able to do what I want. I don't want to be made fun of."

"Pikna, I'll talk to them first, and tell them to treat you like they would any other cub. I can't guarantee that they won't make fun of you a little because that's what children do to each other. They pick on one kid one day, then another the next. It's part of growing up." Dalnr supplied gently.

"I don't want to grow up that way then." Pikna said, her voice barely above a whisper as she started to stroke Aera again.

Dalnr glanced at Shaza and made a small gesture, obviously asking for help.

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded and snuggled Pikna a bit more "Hun, everything has something we'd rather not have happen. Having friends and having them pick on you a little is normal, even adults do that. But your not suppost to focus on that part, if there good friends you'll remember them for the fun you had with them and what you did together and who won this game and who climbed this high ect. I don't like taking over leadership of the colony at times its stressful work, but at the same time it means I can look at my people and see how well things are going and know I'm doing something right. Dalnr may not of liked the right of passage when he was that age but it got him to where he is now. Everything has there pros and cons, its our duty to look past the cons and roll with them and focus on the pros." she explained "If the cons get to be too much I understand them getting the better of you and no one expects you to be with a bully in which if we find out they will be dealt with them." she assured Pikna "Friends help you through tough times, grateful when you help them, push you when you need the extra push at times, have fun with you so your both smiling and much much more." she finished off saying.

[Ryujin13]

Pikna pressed herself against Shaza as she listened to the two adults as they each lauded the benefits of having friends. She didn't want to be called a freak anymore. She liked where she was now, and she liked that she had Shaza and even Dalnr. But they wanted to introduce a new social aspect into her life, and that scared her a little. Shaza hadn't steered her wrong though, and she had always had her best interests at heart, Pikna just had to trust her.

"Ok." She said, nodding quietly. "But isn't Dalnr's swamp dangerous? Class five world, solely based around a predator structure. Herbivores are virtually non-existent, with predators hunting anything they can kill. Unlikely to find any intelligent life, colonization not advised unless biological agent to kill animal life is released into the atmosphere and new life is seeded in its place. Approximate time frame for such an endeavor; 50 years."

Pikna stopped and covered her eyes, hating that these little episodes happened without her wanting them to. She hated that she just spouted off random things whenever they were mentioned, and she hated that she couldn't stop it once it had started.

Dalnr smiled down at her and touched Pikna's shoulder, causing the girl to jump.

"It's alright, the swamp isn't all that bad if you have someone who can navigate it. Like me for instance. Once we get to the village you'll be safe though. We have wardens that patrol around the village, and the creatures of the swamp learned a long time ago that coming near us was a bad idea."

Pikna nodded again and looked down. "What about Aera though?" She asked, looking up at Shaza. "She can't come, but I don't want her to be afraid. Is she going to be alright staying here?"

[little lost dragon]

Shaza snuggled Pikna more against her as the small Krahn spoke. She nodded "Aera will be safe here. If anything she'll be eager and happy to see you and bouncing around with energy." she said with a smile. She looked at Dalnr "We should have a home on the border, between our 2 peoples near by the trade post. That would allow Pikna easier time to get to both our colony's ." she suggested before giving her a gently kiss on the top of the head "As in time I'm sure you'll make friends in both area's and I know your going to want to see them both." she said to Pikna "We'll help you learn social skills as when your grown up and get older you'll need them. Friends are a great way to teach them." she explained

[Ryujin13]

Pikna smiled and giggled at the attention before nodding. "Ok, I'll try and make friends." She said. "But I'm still worried about Aera. She's my best friend and I don't want her to be lonely." Pikna said, hugging Aera and scratching her, causing the creature to hum happily.

"Aera will be fine Pikna, sometimes everything needs a break. She might miss you, but she'll be alright while you're gone, and when you get back she'll be just as happy to see you as you'll be to see her." Dalnr told the girl.

Pikna nodded and stroked Aera some more before looking up at Shaza. "When are we going?" She asked quietly.

Dalnr looked at Shaza as well and shrugged. "Well we could go now." He said. "None of the cubs are being trained or tested today, so meeting them would work out today. As for the home, how long does it take for one of these homes to be set up?" He asked.

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded before starting to get up and smiling "Sounds like a great idea. As for how long it takes to grow a home, It takes a while. When one of our young is born the home there born in secrets a fluid that binds to the young, when they young one comes of age they find a spot for there home and the fluid leave them and soon a new home starts to grow there, it can take up to a few months for it to get up to a size for 1 Shatong, But we can always up root one and relocate it." she explained "Careful process but possible." She explained before looking at Pikna "Would you like a ride?" she asked opening her arms if the young Krahn accepted.

 

((Did ya get thee note?))

Edited October 1, 2013 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

Pikna stood up and hugged Aera close to her. "I'll be back soon Aera, please don't be scared." She said, sadness pheremones coming out slowly. "I love you, I'll be back later ok?" She petted Aera in the place that made the little creature hum happily, then set it down and went to Shaza. Pikna took her place on Shaza's back, then waited as they left the house, her heart aching from the loss of her friend. "I hope she's ok." Pikna said quietly as they took off towards the Kas-Mah village. It took them about an hour to reach the swamp and take the ferry in, but when they reached the village, the whole place was different. It was so full of life and colors compared to the morbid feelings it had given off the night before during the rememberance ceremony. Dalnr led the way to a house near the center of the village where a bunch of different sounds could be heard, most of them snarls and laughter.

Dalnr walked inside, gesturing for Shaza and Pikna to follow. The house was a large affair, with numerous play areas set into the walls. Three older Kas-Mah were in the house, one male and the others female. Around them were around a dozen cubs, varying from around five up to Pikna's age. The younger ones were playing some sort of game where they were pretending, while the older cubs were in a large heal on the floor wrestling over something.

The male noticed Dalnr first and barked an order, causing the room to come to a stop. All of the cubs stood and dusted themselves off before forming a line from oldest to youngest.

"Clan leader, we did not expect you today. If I had known I would have prepared a demonstration." The male said, giving a stiff bow.

Dalnr smiled and shook his head. "No need to worry Dendia, I'm not here as clan leader. I need to talk to the cubs, ages seven to nine."

Dendia got a confused look on his face, but didn't question the request. Instead he just nodded to the other caretakers who herded the other cubs from the room, leaving five cubs, three boys and two girls.

Dalnr knelt to their level and looked all five in the eyes carefully before nodding. "I think you'll do." He said, stroking his chin like he was inspecting them. "I have a mission for you five." He said, leaning close and lowering his voice as though telling them a secret. "One of great importance."

"What is it?" One of the boys asked excitedly.

"Shut up!" One of the girls said.

"You don't get to tell me to shut up!"

"You never interrupt the clan leader!"

"You're doing it now!"

"Only because you started it!"

In an instant they were on each other, rolling around on the floor until Dalnr grabbed them both by their shirts and pulled them away from each other.

"Enough!" He said, his voice stern as he set them down. "You will both act civil towards one another. Now, the mission." He gestured to Pikna, who came forward a few steps, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Dalnr gently picked her up and set her next to him so that the cubs could see.

"This is Pikna." He said, voice still stern. "She is part of the race known as the Krahn. She is also going to start being her more often. She doesn't have many friends right now though, so I brought her here. Your mission is to treat her as you would any other cub. You will let her play with you, you will not be mean to her, bully her, or make fun of her differences. Try to be nice to each other and get to know each other. She is very nice and I know you will all like her if you get to know her."

Pikna for her part had begun to twist her hands together an mumble to herself like she did when she was nervous.

For the most part the cubs just seemed to be interested in looking Pikna over, but this changed when one of the female cubs came forward and took Pikna's hand.

"My names Sheyli." She said to Pikna. "I have a game we can go play if you want."

Pikna looked at Dalnr as though asking for help, but he only smiled and nodded, watching as Pikna allowed herself to be taken off towards a corner.

"Let me know if they start picking on her would you?" Dalnr asked the caretaker before turning and leaving with Shaza. "That went surprisingly well." He said, a smile on his face. "I just hope it works out ok."

 

(I'll look over the note in the morning.)

[little lost dragon]

"Its alright Pikna, she'll just go into a hibernation state, to her when you come back it will only be like you left a few moments." she explained as her more or less adopted daughter got on. She nodded to Dalnr before they took off.

When they arrived Shaza let Pikna down if she wanted and walked with Dalnr through the village. The theme it held when she was here last gone not even ashes remained in the great fire pit. If Pikna was walking SHaza kept a hand on her shoulder at all times to help calm her as thy went. The poor Krahn seemed scared out of her wits.

When they got to the building Shaza crouched to Pikna's level as Dalnr got the cubs to line up. She gave Pikna some calming assuring words before gently hugging before gently nudging her forward before standing up. When one of the female cubs went up to Pikna she smiled before leaving with Dalnr. She nodded and sighed "Agreed it went far better then I thought. But I'm glad she took to step, if it back fires.... its going be really hard to get her to take the next step. But I feel she'll adjust." she said before sighing "If the Krahn see your people sheltering her, they might threaten you as well. They are not direct with it, but they mention weapons a war, but they never do for anything else so far. If they demand her back." she warned before looking around "Anyway, you've seen a bit of my village, I haven't seen much of your yet though." she said looking around before realizing she forgot a detail. The Kas-Mah where dressed, wearing some clothing and such, she was stark naked. Not all races took to that well.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr glanced around the village and gestured in a direction. "Well, our village is pretty simple when you get down to it." He said, leading Shaza towards the center of the town. In the center stood a huge building that was shaped like an upside down ship, except there wasn't any bow or stern. Instead it was flat on one end, and a dome on the other. The flat end had a large double door that was in the middle of being carved by a Kas-Mah who let Dalnr and Shaza past. He seemed interested in Shaza for a moment, then went back to what he was doing. Inside was one large room, with small alcoves holding seats and other odds and ends along the sides of a long hall. The last two before the dome held a wood pillar each that were also being carved as they entered. The dome at the end of the hall held another large fire pit with five seats in a semi circle around it, facing the door. The center seat was larger then the rest and was also being carved by a Kas-Mah. The walls were decorated by an assortment of furs and other objects associated with the hunt as well as a number of Guuji.

Dalnr glanced around the hall and shrugged. "This is the councils hall, used for decision making, debates, trials, you name it. It's the center of the village per tradition, and is where all great hunts are started."