Ryujin13 and I

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr spent the rest of the day in the Kas-Mah village holding a meeting with the people who had followed him. All asked questions about the attack, the result, and the Shatong reaction.

"The Shatong gave their full support to the rescue and return of my daughter. They have once again proven themselves to us, and I would ask you all something in return. You all continue to doubt the Shatong, our allies, who have done nothing but help us since we met. They have given us supplies, friendship, and have backed us in our ventures, even in war. Even now they help us when we are betrayed by the rest of our people. They give us a part of their lands, their hunting grounds, without a second spot, and still I hear whispers, wondering whether we can trust them. I would ask you all why this is. Why do you continue to doubt them. There is no honor in this, in doubting your friends, especially after we owe them so much. Tey have never asked for anything in return beyond our help. I can tell you why this is, it's because of the block. The surgery will help, and I urge all of you to consider it. Please, think about the benefits to us, and more importantly to our race. We could learn to make things that we've never dreamed of. The Shatog say they can begin doing surgeries in a few days time, and I want you all to think carefully on this. That's all." He said calmly before stepping down from the platform he had been on.

Quietly he walked back to the Shatong village, smiling a little as he noticed the young, female Kas-Mah and the male Shatong behind a house. They were both entwined in each other's arms kissing passionately.

Dalnr cleared his throat loudly causing both to jump apart. The Kas-Mah began to stammer an excuse, but Dalnr held up a hand.

"What are your names?" He asked quietly.

"Shuria" The girl whispered, refusing to look at Dalnr.

"Vieras." The Shatong said, also not looking at the older Kas-Mah.

Dalnr smiled and walked over, putting a hand on each of their shoulders.

"I'm happy for both of you. I would just ask for you both to show more caution. The Kas-Mah are still a little... Tense about the Shatong, and I know that this would end badly if they found you like this. Why not go up the river or something, where you won't be bothered. Just be careful while this transition period is going on is all I ask." He said as both stammered out surprised affirmatives and ran off towards the river.

Dalnr smiled as he watched them disappear then went back to find Shaza.

He located her after a few minutes near the marriage pod and walked up with a small wave.

"I just found two of our younger citizens vigorously enjoying each other's company." He said, another smile coming out. "A male by the name of Vieras and a female named Shuria. They were very... Preoccupied." He chuckled and began to walk with Shaza. "I wonder if anything will come of that." He said, thinking of the ramifications. "Shuria's nearly of age, I think another year or so, and from what I hear she's a very nice young woman. I just wonder if more of our people will come together. It would be nice to see them getting along, but I wonder if that will lead to more tension or not." He shrugged quietly and glanced towards the horizon where the sun was beginning to disappear. "What do you think?" He asked. "Is it a good or bad thing, and if it's a good thing, do you want to go enjoy eah others company in our pod?"

[little lost dragon]

Shaza smiled and nodded "Sometimes our young forget we can detect others, part of our chemical communication, multy racial couples we've never had a problem with, as long as they are willing to go through the trials before marriage and a family." she said "And what your people need of couples as well." she added on before sighing looking into the distance before smiling "I think its a good thing to see our young getting along. As the future starts with the young, this means there's hope our peoples will get along fine." she said before smiling a bit mischievously "Someone promised a little something this evening." she reminded him grabbing his hand as they went to the pod.

"Don't worry about our time in the pod alright? My people are very adaptive even in this aspect." she assured him smiling.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr allowed himself to be pulled into the pod, his body already relaxing as the massage started.

Without waiting he kissed Shaza deeply, pulling her close to him and losing himself in her embrace. "I love you." He said, kissing her again before finally forgetting where he was and letting instinct take over.

 

(Time skip)

 

Dalnr woke up slowly, still embracing Shaza his arms holding her tight just like they had fallen asleep. He gently touched Shaza's face, carefully stroking her cheek before finally leaning in and kissing her.

"It's time to wake my love." He murmured, kissing her again.

 

As they left the pod Dalnr frowned, sorry to leave the pod and his time alone with Shaza.

"When will we know if we were... Successful." He asked carefully, referring to their attempt at procreating. "And how long would you carry the child before giving birth?"

 

[little lost dragon]

Shaza woke slowly but blissfully to him stroking her chest before kissing her. she gently squeezed him as they kissed. She slowly blinked her eye's open to look lovingly into his. After a bit more of this she opened the pod for them to exit.

She loved how last night had gone and nodded to his question. She paused and looked at her hand before seemingly focus. After a few moments she smiled "When pregnet, we can't mimic, we are locked in our form, most likely for the youngs safety." she reported happily "As for when we'll see him or her, we'll that all depends, there's the possiblity of it taking as long as your kinds, or mine. Or in between, It takes up to a few weeks for young to be born at the shortest time for my people. We can repopulate quickly which is why we colonize, its in our nature to reporduce." she admitted smiling hugging him "Lets head over to the medical center, make sure the embryo is healthy." she suggested before kissing his cheek "Will be too early to tell and features though, but since I'm the female not you, there is going to be more Shatong in her but for sure some features from you as well." she said a little bounce in her step.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr smiled widely at his wife's happiness and followed along behind her, wondering how long it would actually be. His race wasn't known for long gestation periods either, lasting only a few months at most, probably due to the dangerous environment that they grew up in.

When they entered the medic building Shaza was shown to a seat and her vitals taken. Scans were done, then a number of non-intrusive tests. After all this the doctor came back in and shook Dalnr's hand then smiled at Shaza.

"Well, I'm happy to report that you will be giving birth to a perfectly healthy child." He said, gesturing to a screen that showed the data that was taken. "As you know it's to early to tell any features, but the genes from you both have stabilized nicely, meaning that the child will grow up happy and healthy."

Dalnr smiled and squeezed Shaza's shoulder happy at the news.

"How long until the child will be born?" He asked quietly.

The doctor smiled and shrugged. "Well the fetus is growing quite fast keeping with the Shatong metabolism, so I should say about three to four weeks. I would say that we can guess at the gender and growth pattern in about a week and a half or so. Beyond that it's up to nature." He smiled and turned to leave but stopped and looked back. "Congratulations to you both by the way, we need more good news like this, not just bad things happening." With that he left as Dalnr laughed and hugged Shaza, kissing her deeply. "We should tell Pikna." He said, sounding almost... Excited, an emotion he had never shown before. "I wonder where she is."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza looked very happy at the news as the doctor gave the news. Couple of weeks, and the gene's have stabilized. She got up and hugged Dalnr back her eye's happy and bright something that had been diminishing before now replenished. She returned the kiss gently squeezing him against her. She nodded "Last I saw her she was sleeping in my.... our home here." she said happily and correcting her self. She took Dalnr's hand and lead him out of the medical facility back to her home to see the young Krahn right where they had placed her the last day.

Shaza quietly came up and sat down beside the sleeping girl and gently placed a hand on Pikna's shoulder "Morning Pikna." she said softly and happily "We have some very happy news for you." she said as she waited for the young girl to wake.

[Ryujin13]

It took a bit to rouse Pikna from her sleep, but when she finally blinked up at Shaza she immediately hugged the older woman. She held on for a couple seconds before finally letting go and looking at Dalnr.

"I'm sorry about your hands." She whispered, as though afraid of being yelled at.

Dalnr smiled and sat down beside Pikna, gently hugging the Krahn to him. "It's alright, I told you I'd move mountains to protect you, and that includes pain. The marks are gone anyway, so there's no harm done." He said, showing his hands to Pikna. "I was more worried about you. Those things are horrible, and I wanted to check on you."

Pikna shrugged a little, looking down and away from Dalnr.

"I'm fine, they didn't use them for very long. I've had worse." She murmured.

Dalnr glanced at Shaza, knowing that pushing this talk would do more harm then good. Instead he smiled and gave Pikna another hug before gesturing to Shaza.

"We have good news for you though." He said, causing Pikna to look up from Aera who she had been petting quietly.

"You're going to be a big sister."

Pikna immediately started to vent the sweet smelling pheromones that represented happiness, and hugged Shaza again, giggling again.

"That's great!" She said, hugging Dalnr as well. "When will we be able to look at it? Shatong have a very short gestation period, so probably soon! What are we naming it?" She asked quickly, her words blending together in one long sentence as her wings buzzed excitedly.

Dalnr grinned and gestured to Shaza, offering her the chance to answer.

[little lost dragon]

Shaza chuckled hugging the happy Krahn back and gently placed a kiss in her head "In about a week and a half the medical department should be able to start predicting gender and features. We can start to decide on names then." she said smiling brightly happy about Pikna's reaction to the news, she had thoughts before of possibility of her being frightened of being replaced, it was not a uncommon thing for one to be adopted, then to feel they are at risk when the ones adopting them have there own child. "You'll be a wonderful big sister Pikna, and I have no doubt you 2 will have fun together once your sibling is born." she said looking very happy. "However this means, no more charging in my middle, alright?" she said still smiling talking about a few time Pikna comes running or flying into her for a hug "Your sibling is developing in my womb now."" she finished off saying before sitting back down grabbing both Dalnr and Pikna into a hug "Dalnr and I could not hope for a better person to be the big sister to the newest addition to the family." she said happily.

Though right after she said that her home let out a signel that a visitor was standing out side.

 

Fes stood there after a random Shatong helped him 'knock' on the home. He held a gift for newly wedded family's, and since Dalnr was still Kas-Mah an d his friend, he saw it fitting that this family should not be excluded from this. HE also had a list on a data pad the Shatong had selling when the trade post had been up. On it had a couple names for the unblocking process that had volunteered finally.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr smiled as Pikna continued to chatter, but got up and let Fes in after checking who it was.

"Fes! I hadn't expected to see you here." He said, gripping forearms with his friend. "You've met Shaza, and that's my adopted daughter Pikna." Dalnr said, gesturing to where the Pikna now sat frozen, watching the visitor warily.

"Nice to meet you, I liked your singing." Fes said kindly before looking back at Dalnr and extending the long object that he held.

"I came by to give your family their present." He said, watching as Dalnr unwrapped it from the leather and smiled before showing it to Shaza.

"It's a Fsrana bow." Dalnr explained, showing the bow to Shaza and Pikna, who came forward and looked at it with interest.

The bow itself was almost six feet in length, with a tightly woven string wrapped around its lengh until such a time as it was strung. The wood itself was beautifully carved, then lacquered. The wood itself probably gave a pull of over two hundred pounds, and could probably put an arrow through a tree trunk at 100 yards.

"It's a tradition dating back to the beginning." Dalnr explained as he handed the bow to Shaza for her to examine. "A husband was gauged on how well he could provide, and if he was deemed worthy he was presented with a bow like this one. Then he was told to go out and kill the largest animal he could with it and return, thereby proving he could provide food for the family. Anymore it's more of a decorative piece, but it is still fully functional. One of these in the right hands can bring down most animals on the home world."

He gave his friend a one armed hug before wrapping the bow back in the leather and setting it to the side where it wouldn't get wet.

"A list then?" He asked, taking the pad and looking it over. "Four of the striders, no surprise there, they always were willing to take any advantage." He looked over the other three names and nodded quietly, then looked at Fes with raised eyebrows. "You too?" He asked, looking back at the list. "What about your mate? What does she think about this?" Dalnr asked, a little concerned.

Fes shrugged a little with a small smile. "She thinks I'm a fool for following you, but she said she trusts my judgment." Fes said.

"Shaza, how long until we can begin doing the procedures for these people?" Dalnr asked, unsure about what all was required.

[little lost dragon]

Shaza looked at the bow when it was handed to her and looked rather fascinated by it. The way she eye'd it she had never held such a creation before never mind really seen one. she looked a little puzzled about how it could kill but after gently testing the pull back string she got the idea that is shoots something. "It sure is interesting." she commented before handing back and giving Fes a smile. She was suprized to hear there was a list of volunteers for the unblocking. Fes among them.

She nodded "The medical center will be ready this afternoon, Dalnr was helped in his recovery process, but we'll have extra guards on the perimeters in case some are worry of safety." she assured him "Have those that are ready for the surgery show mid day, nothing but the clothing they wish to wear in and out. Other then that I don't think anything else is needed to be brought." she explained with a nod "So far Dalnr's showed no ill sign of the change, all signs have shown to only improve him so far." she admitted putting a arm around Dalnr's shoulders.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr nodded in agreement, looking over the list again before handing it back to Fes.

"Like she said, have everyone show up in a few hours. Please warn them that it will take a bit to recover, days probably, and that they will be bed ridden for that time. I'll meet you all outside the medical area and speak with them again, but that's the basic of what I'm going to say." He said, hugging Shaza back with one arm.

"I'll make sure it is taken care of." He said, gripping Dalnr's forearm again before giving a small bow to Shaza. "Thank you for allowing me entrance to your home." He said politely, though Dalnr could tell that Fes didn't like it any more then Defas had.

After Fes had left, Dalnr gave Shaza a kiss and sat down, waiting for Shaza to join him along with Pikna.

"Shaza, I have a question that I've been meaning to ask. I know that marriage is very important to your people, as is picking a mate due to the genetic pod that is created, but what were to happen if one of your race were to mate without marrying first?"

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded and gave small bow back to Fes. but like Dalnr she could see the disgust at being seemingly inside a beast.

She joined Dalnr and thought about his question "Mating before marriage is a crime in my culture. Largely for safety reasons. My people are highly adaptive even when it comes to reproducing this allows us have children with other races far easier then most can. But that does not come with out some downs. When one mates with another there fluids get on each other, for example the females gets on the male. The male might stay with her then leave and find another female, they do it, then the fluids that the male had gotten from the other one that might have dried on him make contact with her first, her body reads that first, and for the very reason why the same gender mating is treated as a crime, she will die as a result. Our bodys then start to try to become compatible, so much so as to even attempt to swap genders. Since our body's are different from the males, this tears our insides up, and then kills. The same goes for males as well." she explained

"We have tried to cure this, but every time we end up with a failed one, or the Shatong is 'cured' but loses all there adaptability. Leaving them a husk of there former selfs and very frail and even lacking the the mimic ability." She explained some more

"Many others found our rules to be too strict, oppressive even if you asked the humans we found. But really all it boils down to is using self control. How else can we live with out things such as cloths? The ablity to modify our selfs yet not abuse it?" she asked before leaning back "All in all, mating before marriage is a crime in my culture. One must find there mate, go through the trials, marry, then they can mate."

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr considered this information for a few moments then nodded. He had worried that the couple he had found would end up doing something dangerous, but now that Shaza explained it he didn't think anything would happen, especially with how strict the laws were and the ramifications that could happen if they were ignored.

"That's good then, at least those two won't do something stupid, at least I hope they won't." He murmured. "All the same you should know. I found two of our younger... Adults enjoying each other's company. A Kas-Mah by the name of Shuria, and a Shatong named Vieras. From what you've told me things happening aren't likely, but I remember being that young, and ones mind doesn't necessarily think straight when it comes to women." He explained quietly, smiling and giving Shaza a kiss before turning his attention to Pikna, who's attention had wandered to Aera again, who was curled in Pikna's lap purring.

"So, is there anything you want to do today?" Dalnr asked, gently petting Aera. "We can do anything you want."

Pikna frowned a little and looked up at Dalnr in a questioning way.

"Why, what's today?" She asked, glancing at Shaza as well.

Dalnr smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, I just thought we could do something as a family for a few hours. Things keep happening that distract Shaza and I from spending a lot of time with you, so I figured now would be a good time." He said, watching as Pikna smiled the strange smile her race gave.

"Ok, I want to..." Pikna thought for a moment, still petting Aera before finally nodding. "I want to go see the Jaheye." She said, referring to one of the steeds that the Kas-Mah sometimes rode. "And I want to learn to ride it."

If Dalnr had been prepared for anything, it wasn't this. He had expected something like going to have a meal by the river or something similar, but this, this was a whole other game.

"Um, well we could do that." He said cautiously, picking his words carefully. "But we can't just ride it today. It will take time to even get her to get used to you, let alone let you ride her. And you have to remember that they are very dangerous. They are pack animals, and they will kill what they see as a meal, so we will need to go about this carefully if that's what we decide to do." He explained. "Of course your mother has the final say in this. She's the one you need to convince."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded "Hopefully they won't do anything rash, I've heard of the male and he's.... well, just that, young." she said with a smile and kissed Dalnr back on his cheek.

She nodded as Dalnr explained how he and she keep getting distracted and it was a good time for a family activity. But when Pikna said what she wanted to do Shaza blinked.

The timid young daughter wanted to ride a Jaheye? Dalnr explained that she would not get to ride one today at the very least and that they'd need to get one used to her. And not see Pikna as a meal.

Shaza looked in thought "I would prefer it, if we could avoid heart attacks today, but if you insist, we'll both learn alright Pikna? Together." she said with a nod and looking at Dalnr

 

Mean while the Draken did not look happy as he entered the circle with the others "Are you happy? You suggested we let this play out for test reasons, the Shatong have pulled it off with out a flaw seemingly, and now a unblocked Kas-Mah/Shatong hybrid is developing, at this rate the Shatong will engineer a new species between them and the Kas-Mah. And the small village beside the Shatong colony is starting to send others to get unblocked!" he stated "The test subjects are getting out of hand very fast. with in a few months the Kas-Mah could advance to the same tech level the Shatong are at and then we lose all ability to keep an eye on them." he finished off saying.

Edited January 19, 2014 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

Pikna frowned at this, uncertain what to do. On the one hand Dalnr and Shaza didn't seem to want to go see the Jaheye, but on the other they had said she could choose anything to do. The thing was that she didn't like conflict if any sort and was afraid of making her surrogate parents angry at her, which meant doing something else.

"Um, then I want to go see the Freywa." She said, referring to the beasts of burden that the Kas-Mah used to pull their trailers.

At this Dalnr smiled and nodded, glancing at Shaza briefly.

"We can do that." He said. "They are very gentle until roused. One of the few omnivores on my planet, although they prefer plants over meat. They can also be ridden but they are slower then a Jaweye, not that that's a bad thing." He said, standing and going to the door.

He led them all out and off towards the enclosure where a few of the Freywa stood munching on the plants around them. One was even reared up, it's front feet against a tree trunk and was sampling the leaves. Dalnr quietly handed Shaza and Pikna a bag containing berries, then led the way to the herd.

As the group approached a few of the Freywa gave small bleats of recognition and came to the edge of the enclosure, eager to see what was happening.

"When they're tamed they become very curious and friendly, always wondering what's going on." He said, watching the group. The animals present were about 15 feet long on average, their long, whip like tail increasing the length. They were also about eight or nine tall when their head was raised, although their backs crested at about six feet. On their bodies was short, fluffy, brown fur which seemed to be well groomed.

"Ok Pikna, they might push a little because they like the berries, but they won't get any closer because of the fence." Dalnr said, moving in so that he could touch the animals noses. "Now, take a couple of berries and move closer with your hand out." He instructed, watching as the girl edged closer.

Truth be told, Pikna was scared of these animals, mostly due to their size. She hadn't realized how big they were when she had proposed this plan, and now that she saw them she was a little frightened. Still, she trusted Dalnr, which meant she had to do it.

She edged closer, her hand raised until one of the Freywa could snuffle at her palm. The lips parted and a tongue darted out to pull in the berries with a slurping noise. The animal chewed quickly and swallowed, then snuffled Pikna's hand again, looking for more berries, causing Pikna to giggle.

"You can pet her if you like." Dalnr said, gently guiding Pikna's hand to the Freywa's snout. The animal seemed to like the feeling and leaned closer, giving a sigh of contentment, it's eyes half closing.

"See? She likes you." Dalnr said with a smile. "You can pet her or feed her berries or even ride her."

Pikna looked up at Dalnr, then got a few more berries out of her bag and moved forward further to feed them to the animal. The Freywa slurped up these as well, then snuffled Pikna, it's tongue even tasting her a little, causing the girl to giggle.

Dalnr merely smiled at this and watched Pikna get closer so that she could pet the animal better.

 

[little lost dragon]

Shaza smiled and nodded. getting up with the family. When they arrived at the stables she took the bag of berries and watched as Dalnr guided Pikna to giving the Freywa some. She came up to another one and placed a few berries on her hands palm and held her hand out to it, it sniffed her hand before the lips opened and the tongue darted out snatching 2. It right away though spat them out with a annoyed sound. It sniffed the berries in her hand again before huffing and moving away. Shaza looked at it windoering why it did that then she clued in, Pikna, she's dry and did not get anything onto the berries, Shaza, her scales produce a thin layer of slime at all times, that gets onto almost everything she touches as a result. "Don't think they like the taste of berrie plus slime." she muttered before another one showed up, she sighed and held the hand with the berries out and it took them, then snuffed her hand again after eating them before its tongue darted out again making direct contact with her somewhat slimy scales. Again and again. "I think someone likes my taste." she commented looking at Dalnr taking her hand away knowing they are meat eaters as well. But she was happy to see Pikna giggling and having fun.

[Ryujin13]

"I hadn't really considered your skin." Dalnr said with a small frown. "They do have different taste preferences though, so it'll be different for each."

Pikna meanwhile was petting her Freywa on the snout and giggling as it sighed contentedly then licked her back.

"Seems like you have a friend Pikna." Dalnr said, petting the Freywa on the neck. "Neyta is actually one of our oldest Freywa. She's actually with calf right now, and after it's grown..." He stopped himself and smiled, not saying that Neyta would probably be slaughtered and eaten after the calf was grown. "Anyway she's one of the most friendly. Even when she had a calf she will let people approach as long as they don't do anything aggressive. A lot of the females won't let anyone near, they consider it a threat."

Pikna laughed as Neyta bumped her with her snout, practically lifting the Krahn off of the ground. Pikna kept upright by fluttering her wings for balance, then gave Neyta more berries.

"How do you train them?" She asked suddenly, looking at Dalnr, who looked surprised by this question but shrugged after a moment.

"Well, we wait until they're almost their adult size then begin to let them walk with the adults who do the normal hauling. After that we begin to slowly introduce them to the harness, then it just sort of escalates from there. Overall they don't need much conditioning, just a firm hand."

Pikna nodded then got closer to Neyta and petted the animal more.

"I like her, she's nice." Pikna murmured, putting her head against the animal's side. "And she's soft." Pikna giggled as the long nose nudged the bag, prompting Pikna to give more berries.

Dalnr smiled and wandered over to Shaza who was still being watched by the Freywa that liked her.

"So, I guess I lied." He said with a smile. "Not everything on my planet is 100% dangerous. These guys are practically harmless compared to the other 99% of the planet." He chuckled a little and patted the nose of the Freywa.

"I'm kind of worried actually." He admitted after a few moments. "You said those pets like Aera don't last a long time, and we both know how attached Pikna is. What's going to happen when Aera passes? I'm wondering if maybe we shouldn't look into something else, something more long lasting. Not one of these obviously, but something."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded giving the Freywa some more berries "I've placed an order in the spawning pool facility to see about..... recharging Aera, but yes they are designed to not last forever.... really only as long as needed to teach the owner how to move about as it runs around on them." she said quietly "If you allow it, we could take a blood sample from one of these, and I give it to the medical facility and they then make a..... home sized one? Edit the DNA before using the DNA to create one no bigger then up to our knees or waists." she offered "How long do Freywa's last over all?" she asked feeding the one looking at her still some more. "And I think my slime is a tasty sauce to this one." she said smiling before yanking her hand ways as it made a attempt to bite her hand before making a 'awww' like sound when it did not get any of her hand.

Edited January 20, 2014 by little lost dragon

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr glanced at Pikna for a moment, then gestured for Shaza to follow him for a moment.

"Actually, I would prefer not to have one of these in the house." He said quietly, leading the way to a nearby hut where a Kas-Mah sat in a chair on the porch.

The Kas-Mah in question was obviously getting on in years, with his fur turning silver and. His posture becoming a little stooped, but his eyes were alert and were constantly watching.

Dalnr bowed , which was met with an incline of the head from the other.

"Clan leader." The Kas-Mah said quietly. "What can I do for you?"

"Sarne, I was wondering if I could show my wife your Eruaisa." He said politely.

Sarne considered this for a moment, then nodded and whistled.

From inside the house came a larger animal (about the size of a Saint Bernard), which padded over to Sarned and sat down, looking happily at Shaza and Dalnr as it was scratched on the head.

"This is a Eruaisa." Dalnr said. "It's not a natural animal, hundreds years of selective breeding and training made it into a herding animal that's gentle until it's charges are threatened. They can live up to ten years, and love children." Dalnr explained, crouching down as the animal came over and sniffed him, then allowed him to pet it.

"You and I both know that Aera isn't going to last much longer." He said quietly, looking back as Pikna gave another giggle. "Pikna will be devastated, you know how she dotes on her. Maybe we should look into a new friend for her. I think one of these would be perfect. They eat anything, but only if it's foliage or dead, and I think someone has a litter in them in the village. Maybe it's time for Pikna to get a new pet."

[little lost dragon]

Shaza blinked and nodded following him to a hut, she saw the Kas-Mah on the porch was aging. She noticed Dalnr giving a bow and did the same knowing it was a sign of respect. Beyond that she did not know what it met.

She gave a friendly nod when Dalnr asked if she could be shown a Eruaisa. She tilted her head hearing the creature coming over after a whistle. She smiled back at it as it looked at them happily. She nodded as Dalnr explained how it was bred for a very long time to what it is now. Something her people could do in a matter of a month or less. But then again, Kas-Mah where still recovering slowly but surely from what the Draken did to them.

She kelt down extending her hand and the pet sniffed her unsure of the new being it had never seen before besides when its owner walked to this location when the small population moved here after being removed from the main village. Shaza sighed "Agreed..... I'm just unsure how to.... make the change.... not as stressful for her. Maybe perhaps if we take one in today, allow her to get used to the new pet before Area perishes." she said quietly gently giving the Eruaisa a head rub with her hand.

She looked down and sighed before standing back up before looking at Dalnr "She's had enough pain and heart break as it is, Area is her first and somewhat still only friend she sees, I'll keep the order up for finding a way to see if theres a way to have....." she froze realizing something "I got it." she said suddenly "Area can be saved, the basics are uploaded to them as they develop, all we got to do is get her able to connect to one of our data banks, transfer the mind information from the body that will die, and transfer the infor to a new one until one can be made to last longer." she said "We can still introduce her to a Eruaisa pup, but the less heart break she gets the happier I'll be." she admitted.

[Ryujin13]

"You'd have to find a way to make Aera look the same as she is now. If she doesn't, I don't know if Pikna would accept her. She'd just think we're trying to give her a replacement." Dalnr sighed and looked at Sarne. "We need a pup Sarne." He said, watching as the older Kas-Mah nodded.

"Alright, they're all sleeping inside, but if it's for that Krahn girl you adopted, you might want to have her meet Cala here first, make sure everything's all right between the two species." Sarne said, obviously very knowledgable in this area.

Dalnr nodded and turned, walking back over to where Pikna was currently playing around Neyta's legs.

"She seems to like you a lot." Dalnr said, causing Pikna to look around and nod.

"Yeah, I like her, she's really nice, like Aera!" Pikna giggled as Neyta bumped her with her snout.

"Pikna, I know you're having fun, but can I borrow you for a second? I want you to meet another animal." He explained, leading the way to where Cala was laying on her back, letting Sarne pet her belly.

As they approached though, the Eruaisa rolled back over and looked at Pikna, it's head cocked to one side.

"This is Cala." Dalnr explained, gesturing to the animal. "She's a common pet that my species keep. I thought you might like to pet her." He said, watching as Cala finally got up and wandered over, sniffing the air as it approached. The animal itself was almost as tall as Pikna, who was barely five feet tall, but wagged its stumpy tail happily and sat down, allowing Pikna to pet her cautiously.

Dalnr carefully explained about the animal and what it was used for, then let Pikna play with it, watching as Cala made a strange sound that seemed to cause the air itself to vibrate.

Pikna was chasing Cala now, who was playing a game of 'catch me', but Cala was obviously getting older and tired quickly, finally flopping down on the deck next to Sarne who petted the animal with a smile.

"Pikna?" Dalnr asked as the girl came wandering over. "We were wondering if maybe you'd like to get one." He said with a smile.

"Really? Of course I do." Pikna said, her face lighting up as she looked at Cala. Suddenly the smile faded though and she frowned, looking at Cala then a Dalnr. "What about Aera?" She asked quietly. "You said your planets animals would hurt her, and I don't want to lose Aera, she's my friend."

Dalnr smiled and knelt down on one knee so that he was level with Pikna and smiled.

"That's true, I did say that, but Cala and her breed aren't really natural animals. They were bred to herd other animals, not hunt. They only eat plants and dead things, they don't hunt." He explained. "I wouldn't let anything hurt Aera I promise."

Pikna thought about this for a second, then nodded and bounced over to where Sarne had called to her.

He led Pikna and the rest of the family inside the but to a smaller room which looked like a war zone. Toys were scattered apart, all gnawed on and torn apart from the rough play that the puppies had put them through. In the center a large wad of blankets had been set up and on top of that were seven small versions of Cala, all lying in a lump, heads on top of each other, all of them dead to the world as they slept. The pups were about the a foot long and about the same tall, and all only a few months old.

"We got three females and four males." Sarne said, watching as one of the pups stretched out, almost pushing one of its brothers off the bed. "You can pick any you like. The dull red and blue are females while the green with gold feet and stomachs are males." He explained, watching while Pikna walked over and looked at them.

One of the pups, a male, chose that moment to wake up and look at Pikna before sniffing at her. It only took that for it to roll off and bounce over to her, it's little tail going as it jumped at Pikna, making the same sound it's mother made but at a higher pitch.

Suddenly the entire ball of puppies was up and bouncing around, all running at Pikna and their other guests, all happy that they got to meet new people.

"I choose him." Pikna said, picking up the pup that had woken first. "I like him, he's cute." She said, watching as the pup took ahold of her arm and chewed a little. Pikna grimaced a little and told it no, then hugged the puppy to her.

"Your new name is Taule (pronounced tall)." Pikna said happily before going to show Dalnr and Shaza the puppy.

"We'll take this one Sarne." Dalnr said with a smile. "Just ask for something and I'll get it for you."

Sarne shook his head and smiled, already walking the trio back outside with the herd of puppies following along behind Cala.

"There's no need to worry about it. You've done so much for our people that the least I can do is give your daughter a puppy. I know he'll be going to a good home." Sarne said, sitting in his chair with a sigh as the puppies ran around playing, but never straying to far from Cala who had laid down on the porch.

"Thank you then. I'm always available if you need help Sarne." Dalnr said with a small bow.

The bow was returned as the old Kas-Mah sat back and watched the three leave, Pikna giggling the whole time as the puppy nibbled her now and then.

 

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded "Would be hard to do, little tweaking in the details and it would look the same." she admitted before nodding as Dalnr said they needed a pup. And she understood why the mother would want to see Pikna first, being a mother before and soon to be again of her own biological child, including Pikna as well, she'd still like to meet Pikna's future spouse too when she gets her own.

When they got into the place and where shown to the room with the puppy's she blinked suprized at the mess. Children in her race and homes did not have much, maybe a handful of tool and toy's but mostly only connecting to the computers and playing out side. Seeing all the wrecked and chewed toys was quite the sight for her to see. Worried her even, if this happened to toy's then what if it decided the home was food or a chew toy? The insides where not easily cut or broken but thats not with something trying to naw on it, only talon pokes most of the time.

She smiled though seeing the lump of pups. and as soon one woke, it came over and in the process, woke the others as well. Shaza let out a suprized eep as 5 jumped on her not accustomed to pets of such nature. But after a few licks and nibbles they got the fact Shaza was not the best tasting. But otherwise to play on. Two found that they could run along her tail if she lowered it enough. It was clear Shaza was trying to let them have fun, but did not know how to do so. She was kind of scared of lifting a foot in case one got under her foot and cut its self on a talon. As a result she did not move till the attention was diverted else away from her.

After they left the room and Shaza felt a little safer moving about she smiled seeing Pikna looking happy, it never failed to make her smile. She gave the elderly Kas-Mah a bow "Thank you." she said before she caught up with her family. She looked a little flustered from the whole thing, but looked glad Pikna was happy. "Unlike Area you'll need to feed Taule Pikna, your going to be in charge of caring for him alright?" she said "We'll help you care for her, but she's yours." she said with a smile.

 

(Grah sorry, brain dead)

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr had to work hard to control his laughter at Shaza's reaction to the pups, but managed all the same to lead the way back to his house in the Kas-Mah village. Once they were inside he shut the door and sat down on the floor, gesturing for Pikna and Shaza to do the same so that they were in a circle, Pikna still holding the puppy which was struggling to get away and romp around some more.

"Ok, so, you've seen what the puppies are like, and you know what they do when they find something chewable. Shaza, what they do is normal, it's what they do when they are playing and teething. It's a remnant from when they weren't domesticated. Playing with bones and small creature taught them to hunt. Now it's just how they play. They are very social, so Taule will need to be walked and paid attention to, not that I think you'll neglect him, I'm just affirming." Dalnr said, raising a hand as Pikna made to object.

"Now, let him down." He instructed, watching as the puppy bounced out of Pikna's grasp to fall on the floor. It recovered quickly and was up, snuffling around as it looked at its new environment.

"Pikna, I don't know how he's going to react to Shaza's house, which means it might take some time for him to settle in. Now, in regards to Aera. He will want to play with her, that much is certain, and he won't try to hurt her, but I don't know how Aera will react. That means we'll have to train him on how he interacts with her." Dalnr explained as the puppy got ahold of the edge of a rug and began to pull at it, letting out the wierd thrumming growls as it chewed at the stitching.

"Now this is an example of a time when training must be implemented. He needs to be taught that chewing on the rugs is a bad thing. So what you need to do is just push him away and tell him loudly, 'No'." Dalnr explained, showing Pikna the correct way to do so. "Like we said, Shaza and I will help you, but this is your puppy, so he's your responsibility, which means feeding him and watering him and playing with him." Dalnr said as the puppy suddenly vaulted up onto Shaza and bounced excitedly on her tail.

"In this case it's up to Shaza if it's a bad thing or not, so she will have to tell him no." Dalnr explained, watching as his wife did so.

"So, let's get some toys for him." Dalnr said, standing and walking to one of the unopened boxes and pulling out a large stuffed animal that was bigger then the puppy. It was extremely durable, made of tough leather that had obviously been chewed on in the past, and resembled a six legged animal with a long neck and tail.

Dalnr gave this to Pikna, then pulled out two more toys, one a small Jaheye, and the other a four legged thing with no discernible features.

Pikna took the toys and went over to where the pup was currently running around Shaza, trying to get her to play with him. When he spotted Pikna and the toys however, he ran over and tackled one of the offered toys, in this case the biggest which remained unmoved as the pup rolled over, it's teeth still biting at the toy.

Pikna laughed and offered him the smaller toy which was about as big as him, and made it move a little with her hand. Instantly the pup was on it, attacking it with its little growls.

"I'll have some food brought over for him and left near Shaza's daily. It's basically cuts that aren't big enough for a Kas-Mah or one of the herd animals, but can be cooked and given to these guys. They love it, and it's a good way to make sure that everything from an animal is used." Dalnr explained.

 

[little lost dragon]

Shaza nodded and sat down in the circle as cross legged as her kind can get. She nodded as Dalnr instructed Pikna how to let the pup know what and what not to do. She resisted the urge to hiss at the pup as it came over still adjusting to having such a creature as a pet. Then it jumped onto her tail in which case she used a firm and stern voice to tell it no. The pup lowered its head starting to look disheartened now till Shaza gently rubbed its neck and just behind the ear, the pup pushed against her hand liking the rubbing feeling and soon its tail was wagging again, then it wanted to play and pawed at her before rolling over. Shaza blinked at the pup before reaching over to rub its belly like she saw his mothers owner do to her. Only Tuale tried to grab her arm with his paws and tried to playfully bit and rough house though it was clear Shaza once again had 0 experience in these matters as she yanked her hand away eye's wide. But once it saw the toys it was gone from her to play with those.

Shaza looked more alarmed at how it played with the toys but with what Dalnr's words, this was how they played. "something tells me I'll be adjusting to him as he adjusts to our home." she said with a unsure chuckle.

[Ryujin13]

Dalnr smiled and picked up two bowls then told Pikna to grab the pup and a toy. He took the rest, then helped Shaza stand and walked out the front door, heading to Shaza's house.

"Shaza, you need to relax." He said gently, touching her shoulder as they walked. "It's small, and it's bred to care for a herd. This one doesn't have a herd, but he has a family, and he won't hurt it, at least not on purpose." Dalnr explained. "These have been apart of Kas-Mah villages for a very long time and I know that this little guy will be a great addition to the family."

The family arrived at Shaza's house about ten minutes later and went inside where Pikna let the pup down, which proceeded to bounce around, investigating every room and corner. It tried to lick the walls and floor as expected, but obviously found the taste disagreeable. Beyond that though he didn't seem to mind the environment.

A few seconds later though he noticed Aera who was sleeping nearby and made its little growl as he bounced over to investigate. It didn't take three seconds for the pup to pounce on Aera, trying to get the little creature to play with him.

Aera didn't like this of course and let out a yowl of surprise as we ran away immediately, chased by the pup who just thought this was a game. Aera was up on Pikna in a few seconds, shaking in the Krahn's arms and making little squeaks of fright.

"No." Pikna said firmly, sitting with Aera and the puppy. "Don't chase Aera." She said, showing the pup the little creature and saying no again. The pup seemed confused by this, but after a few seconds ran off to tackle one of its toys, growling at it as he rolled over, attacking its neck.

"Good job Pikna." Dalnr said quietly, watching the pup as Pikna petted Aera, whispering soothing words. "It will take a bit to sink in, but he'll get it eventually."