Now I understand Vultures better... {SH}

[kabuto_rocks]

The Gryphon was eager to begin experimenting. It would be great if these creatures followed him! Like he had his own mini stalkers or something. Keeping a very close eye on them (he wasn't sure exactly how fast they might move if provoked) he got back up to his feet and experimented walking a few steps. Of course, since he was walking backwards, it wasn't as easy as it might sound.

Ouch! He squawked as he stepped on a stray branch. Trying not to look away, he continued backwards until he was a good two metres away. He watched eagerly, holding his breath. Would they follow?

Though freedom was now available should they so wish, the first Huena ('Bud') still thought it best to stick to their plan. 'Suki' agreed with a croak-that Red Volpe could still be around. It would be no good at all to escape near death by one Volpe, only to run into another one after a few steps. Cautiously, they crawled out of the hole and made their way towards the black and white Volpe. Rocky beamed happily when he saw this. Success!

Meanwhile, Smores was busy nosy around the bush. He had never been the most observant guy, and had somehow managed to miss the glimmer that came from the eggs. He was sticking his nose under some leaves, glancing upwards and thinking about what food he would eat when he got back. What with him looking the other way, he failed to see the eggs when he stuck his nose under a pile of dirt. But he felt them...

Ouch!

[kabuto_rocks]

Rubbing his nose, Smores had a bright idea. It was one of the few bright ideas he had ever had. While not being 'stupid' per say, he often just didn't care enough to bother having them. But he had one this time. Surely if he had hit his nose on something, then there must be something underneath that dirt. Maybe something important!

Eagerly, he shifted off some of the dirt with his paws until he could see two bright, shiny things laying there. Tilting his head curiously, he gave them a sniff. What were these things? Obviously not creatures. They didn't have a particular smell he recognized. They looked rather interesting, but apart from that he could see nothing spectacular.

He wondered briefly if they were food? That would be good! Filled with a new kind of excitement, he stuck out his tongue and licked the nearest one...Ugh, nothing. Definitely not food then. They might be some kind of treasure though. He supposed he should alert his owner anyway. Sitting down beside them, he gave a loud yip.

Octile? Rocky? I think I found something! He wasn't sure if these things would be of any use, but he was pleased to have found something all the same. They were rather pretty. Hopefully Kabuto would find them more exciting than he did

[kabuto_rocks]

Both Volpes were alerted to the sound. Eagerly, Rocky darted ahead. Both the Huena hurried after him, anxious to avoid loosing their bodyguard. Remembering them, Rocky slowed his pace ever so slightly. He didn't want to leave them behind, poor things

Octile was distracted by the yip, but he didn't rush off. Thinking it over for a few minutes, he shook his head. Better to keep looking himself. He hadn't exactly been much use before, and he doubted his appearance would make a difference. Besides, what could the K9 found that would be of interest? He'd probably just located a discarded sandwich.

By the time Rocky arrived, Smores was sat down happily next to the eggs, nudging them occasionally with his nose. Curiously, the Gryphon peered forward.
What have you found there? Smores merely shrugged in reply, his chubby tail wagging. Rocky cocked his head, intrigued. They were pretty, shiny things-a sort of golden colour, like his beak. Another thing that came in pairs! He wondered if all the creatures came in twos. What a fun thought!

Lying down beside Smores, he cawed happily. Whatever these things were, they looked cool. He was sure Kabuto would be happy to see them...Where was Kabuto anyway?

[kabuto_rocks]

Speaking of Kabuto, she was currently trying to climb her way out of a rather muddy puddle. It hadn't seemed that deep at first. But the second she'd put her foot in, it had sunk down deep. She had the good sense not to put her other foot in, but she still had one foot trapped in the mud. Trying desperately to dislodge it, she shook her head with a sigh. She wasn't going to find anything wriggling around here, now was she?

The Huena were rather startled by the appearance of another Volpe. How many were there anyway in this forest? This one was rather short, but rather wide. He didn't look as vicious as the Red Volpe had, but Bud and Suki remained wary anyway. Seeing that their Gryphon bodyguard had sat down, they sat down too-a considerable amount of distance away from the K9 of course.

Do you have any idea what they are? The pair had struck up a conversation, not really having anything else to do apart from wait. Rocky went to shake his head, then decided to opt for a verbal answer. It didn't take much to get him talking.

I dunno. They seem pretty solid Carefully reaching out with a claw, he tapped on the surface of the nearest thing They remind me a little of eggs
Eggs? Smores frowned doubtfully.
Yes, eggs! Rocky was slightly annoyed by the tone of the K9. Why was everyone always so skeptical? I was an egg once don't forget. At least, I presume so, what with my mother being a Gryphon and everything Smores nodded along, pretending he knew what on Earth the Gryphon was talking about. Of course, Rocky's reasoning made no sense. I mean, Smores was his brother, so logically they had the same mum. The K9 was fairly certain he had never been an egg!

[kabuto_rocks]

I suppose they could be eggs. But, if that's so, then what laid them? Lifting his head, he glanced around anxiously, almost as if he expected a monster mother of some kind to come charging into the bush. It was the Gryphon's turn to shrug at that. He knew that Gryphon eggs were round and not that kind of diamond shape, so they couldn't be Gryphon eggs. Thinking of something, he turned and looked at the Huena. Maybe...naw, he doubted it. Did amphibians even lay eggs? He couldn't remember ever hearing so.

Rather more curious than her companion, Suki stepped forward and carefully placed a webbed foot on the object. She knew it was an egg and had seen them before, but still thought them pretty all the same. Bud croaked a cautious warning, but Suki merely shook her head, before retreating. She felt more confident with that large Volpe there. He had a fiercely sharp beak, not to mention those claws she had been dug up with. It was hard to imagine any thing that could be more dangerous than him!

Finally, Kabuto managed to haul her foot out of the puddle. Now one leg of her trousers was stained a deep brown, not to mention how soaking wet it was. Trying her best to wring it dry before continuing, she struggled back to her feet. Now, where was Smores? She hoped what he had found would be worth her getting stuck in the mud for. It was great how she had found those Huena...

Thinking about this positive thing, she stepped forward...and instantly tripped over something. Perfect

[Fluffy]

Silly humans. Weren't they so odd? A black miniature graevia tilted it's head as it watched Kabuto trip. Well, if the human tripped to easily, perhaps it isn't one of those ones with evil intent. Nah, this one didn't look like that. The small creature came from it's hiding spot just behind some over grown plants, and came to the human's aid. Er, much rather, stand there and watch with a questioning look on it's partly scaled face. The graevia didn't feel as if it were in any danger. Perhaps it would be better to stick around this clumsy human? After all, it really didn't have a herd to turn to..

[kabuto_rocks]

Struggling slightly, she heaved herself to her knees, wiping a bit of mud that had managed to splat onto her face. It was then she spotted the Graevia, standing a few feet away. It was a lovely creature, with ebony fur and small scales all over it's body. Smiling at it, she dusted off her hands.

"Come to laugh at me, have you?" Her tone was good-natured, as usual really, "Where did you come from then?" The Graevia stepped forward a bit. It was almost certain that it wasn't in any danger. And clearly this human needed some help in learning how to put one foot in front of the other. Yes, it would stick around her for now.

"Well, I've got to go find my Volpes now. I think one of them discovered something." She was quite excited now. Hopefully it would be something great. Although, now that she thought about it, finding a Graevia was considered pretty great. She wondered...

"Are you going to come with me?" She would love it if that were so. She didn't have much experience with Graevias, although she had two at home. It would be great to have another so she could learn more about them

[kabuto_rocks]

Of course, she got no reply. Slinging her bag back up her shoulder, she began to walk in what she thought was the direction of the cry. Letting out a small sigh, she felt rather disappointed. She guessed she'd have to leave the little fellow behind...

The Graevia thought carefully until the human was almost out of sight. Then, making it's decision, it began to trot after her. After all, the silly thing was probably going to get into trouble if it didn't follow her. He didn't like to think of her getting into any accidents.

Maybe it was a kind of monster that laid them? Rocky was getting rather bored, just lounging about and waiting for his owner. He liked to be moving, racing around and searching for things. Not sitting in some small bush, watching a pair of golden things glitter occasionally!

You think? Smores twitched nervously again, his earlier imaginings coming back with a vengeance. Surely that couldn't be true. Could it?

[kabuto_rocks]

An unusually uncharacteristic idea popped into the Gryphon's head. He needed a way to amuse himself. Perhaps this could be it? He wasn't one to tease normally, but he needed some way to pass the time.
Perhaps. It's possible. Anything could live in this Valley A sly grin spread across his face. The K9 glanced around anxiously.

Why isn't she here? Rocky frowned, then let out another loud squawk. Smores jumped at this, looking even more worried.
Don't! If there's anything around you're just letting it know where we are Bud and Suki shifted nervously, surprised by the volume of this Volpe's noise. What a queer creature they had chosen to follow-no wonder the other Volpes did what it said!

Fortunately, the squawk had not been without purpose. Kabuto grinned as she finally stumbled out of the miniature forest and found herself back on the muddy path they had started on. This is where the noise had come from...so where were the Volpes? Wait a minute-yes, there were Rocky's tail feathers. She'd have to crouch down to see into that bush. Oh well, her trousers were already muddy enough. She might as well go the whole hog and just crawl around for the rest of the day. It couldn't possibly do any more damage

[kabuto_rocks]

Ah! He really did wish that bird would stop it's infernal squawking. Octile was actually trying to find something here, unlike the rest of his party it seemed. The bush hadn't proved fruitful, but he was currently going through this 'forest' and checking around, under and up each tree. Actually, he was getting pretty tired. Not to mention, the white part of his fur was no longer white. He wasn't huge on appearances, but Octile did like to keep himself clean.

Oh great! This human would have to pick the muddy path to go down. Disdainfully, the Graevia wrinkled up his snout and looked at the mud. It was quite a light creature, and if it moved quickly enough, it posed no threat of sinking under. Still, it would rather stay clear of the mud. Watching the human beginning to actually crawl through a bit of mud to reach what looked like an ordinary bush seemed like madness. Still, it had decided to follow so follow it would.

Yuck! Kabuto was relieved when she finally stuck her head through the bush and saw two of her Volpes lying there. There wasn't enough room for her to go inside completely (not when it already had so many occupants at least) but she was fairly comfortable as she was. Well, maybe comfortable wasn't the right word.

Finally! Smores yipped in delight, and quickly moved aside to show the sparkly things to Kabuto. He hesitated-what if they had waited all this time and these objects were nothing? That would certainly be a stick in the mud...

[kabuto_rocks]

Fortunately, the response was indeed worth it. Kabuto's face lit up with excitement as she saw the two golden eggs, lying side by side.
"Well done Smores!" She ruffled his fur affectionately, before edging in further to the bush. She reached out a hand-then stopped. Would it be alright to take them? She couldn't see why not. After all, they were just lying in the dirt. And she was going to take good care of them...

What are they? Now to get the whole issue sorted out. Of course, the human couldn't understand his Volpe speech. But she should get it from the way he was tilting his head, and from the quizzical tone in his bark.
"These? Oh, they're eggs." She grinned brightly. She knew this of course-after all, she had two similar things at home, and had been told they were eggs when she adopted them. Well, perhaps not in so many words...but that's what she assumed.

Told ya so! Rocky beamed happily. Smores looked slightly irritated by his brother's tone, but he chose to let it go.
But...won't that monster be annoyed that Kabuto's stealing their eggs? What if it chased them? Everyone knew Smores was the slowest by far. He'd be caught and eaten long before anyone else. But the Gryphon merely shook his head in reply.

Naw. Kabuto can handle it His confident tone did nothing to comfort the K9. Still, Rocky was always so sure about everything. It never really mattered whether or not he was right or wrong

[kabuto_rocks]

Making sure to be extra careful, Kabuto lifted each egg and gently placed it in her bag. Fortunately, there seemed to be enough room for them to fit in comfortably. Actually, she had a bit of space left which was good. She didn't know if she'd find anything else, but she certainly hoped so.

Building up the determination, the Graevia stepped out cautiously onto the mud. Moving quickly so as to avoid getting stuck, he bounded lightly over the path until he reached the bush. Glancing sadly at his hooves before continuing, he nudged impatiently against the human's side. He could hear voices, and sensed the presence of two Volpes. What was going on? He wanted to know.

Right, that was one tree done. Time to move on to the next one. Octile was feeling rather tired though. Perhaps if he just rested his legs for a minute or two...There wasn't much chance of him missing anything. Right?

Lying down at the base of a tree, he rested his head on his two front paws. Keeping his eyes firmly open, he scanned the area briefly. He should spot anything if it came into view. He would sit here a few minutes, then go check behind that large log which was tempting him a few metres away. Yes, that would be a good plan

[Fluffy]

Gently buzzing wings came from an odd looking creature, fluttering about with an almost absent minded manner. For the most part, the thing was just wandering around, as most Sand Flirts do, though it started to pick up on something, antenna twitching. The presence of others, it could feel those vibes. Sand Flirt were an odd species, almost attracted to that presence, even if it may lead to their downfall. Curiosity killed the cat after all.
It's senses led it to the bush, and what an odd sight it was to behold from above. The creature hovered, watching for now. Quite interesting, yes indeed.