Hunting Activity Rolls: The Secret Of Moss

"Nico, Nico!" The bouncing orange rhakos was hardly an adequate hunter, let alone a babysitter... But somehow, he'd been left alone with a tiny white prism and a wide-eyed black aerial pup. Still, he seemed to have some fatherly instincts, just that they were... Rudimentary. After attempting to sit on the rainbow-gelled dragon and having some of his tangerine feathers removed by a sharp nip, the giant creature devised another plan. Stretching his arm-wings wide to flush out his feathers, he leaned down to nudge the much smaller creatures towards the safety of the dark stone den. Soft moss padded the rock, and the only scent was that of a cougar who had long moved on.

Demonslayer--the aerial with a raven body, white-as-snow mask that covered her face and horns--was easily corralled away from the sunlight spotting the warm grass of the hollow and into the darkness instead. She fluttered inside and landed on the dusty ground, peeping at the new world of caverns with their rock walls and tunneling twists. Small Dragon, however, put up a thoroughly adequate defense, at least for a baby. As Nico tried to push him in he responded by batting at the rhakos furiously with his tiny paws, which were surprisingly powerful given that they were essentially soft mittens. He too, however, was swept into the cave until there was nothing but three sets of blinking eyes against the dimlit shadows.

"Uh," Nico chirped, "It's really dark." He caught himself suddenly, realizing he was using real words instead of just his name. "I mean--Nico?" He turned his eyes onto the floor before him and could barely catch the darked silhouettes of the two kits. Demonslayer's pupils had expanded to fill almost her whole eyes in order to see better into the darkness, and even though her young wings could barely get her off the ground for more than a few seconds, the movement of her fluttering around caught the eye well. Small Dragon, on the other hand--The tiny blind prism was so sneaky that he'd managed to wander off somewhere in the darkness beyond Nico's sight. Or he could've just been sitting too still to be seen, that was an option too.

"Nico!" The rhakos burst, horrified to think of what trouble he'd be in if he lost either of the kits. Surely the flock would punish him, if not exile him entirely for losing the offspring. Demonslayer came across something in the dark--a rough "rock" that seemed to deposit soot onto her wings. A first spark of light appeared--then another. A steady breath onto a piece of coal lit it into a small but flickering flame. One that lit up the dark cavern only in the most miniscule way. But it did reveal the soft rainbow gells of the prism--where he'd hidden himself between the comfort of a crack in the wall that he'd managed to clamber into. The aerial grinned as if to say, "Look what I've found!"

"Nico! Nico!" The orange bird rushed with high joy, plucking the infant up like it was his own and clutching him close with his wings. The rhakos gave a skillfull "dance" on his back paws, bouncing in excitement before a short burst of action--he hit his head on the roof above, clutched to the prism kit harder, and accidentally fell backward onto the coal. Demonslayer watched as the flame she'd worked hard to light was snuffed out in a few short seconds and instead, the scent of tinged feathers filled the small cavern. Small Dragon started coughing from the obtrusive smoke, and as soon as Nico recovered, a bare bald spot visible on his butt, he went rushing around with his feathers to fan the scent out through the mouth of the cave itself. "Ni, Ni!" he screeched, "Hot hot!"

While the caretaker was busy, the aerial gently sauntered over to the prism to see what he was up to. She blinked up at the gorgeous speckling of the cave's walls above the prism's winged back. "Want to see something cool?" Small Dragon smiled as he greeted her. He reached out and "booped" a small rock, which immediately turned into gold. "Ah!" Demonslayer was amazed and rushed forward to feel it, turn it over in her hands. But it truly did seem to be precious metal. "How can you do that?" She glanced around. The cave itself was mostly bare; the only remnants of minerals were the soft peppering of coal and calcite deposits, respectively peppering and sparkling within the wall. Instead, sections of the rock were covered in a thin moss. "I don't know," Small Dragon admitted with a smile and a shrug.

The three spent the rest of their hours inside of the cave in a mock exploration. The rhakos would charge ahead, often getting into trouble, and the two kits would follow, their eyes wide with amazement at the newfound sights of the underground. Unlike the prairie bird and the fluttering aerial, this was Small Dragon's homeland--Or at least, where his species had originated from. The prism found himself lagging behind as he used his senses to experience the sights, oogling at a lush oasis of well-grown plants. Even in the darkness, a crooked tree was growing next to blossoming flowers.

The next room was humid, and featured a stone bridge. A bursting underground waterfall spurted from the wall and filled the valley below, a stream driving under the bridge. Nico's tail-end flew up as he dipped down to drink the water. Demonslayer stayed close away from the edge, but her big eyes widdened at the moving crests and waves catching in the fires light. Small Dragon, though blind, was able to feel the water through the cold touch of the humidity on his skin, and the rippling white noise of the waterfall itself. "This must be how the plants grow," the small imp pointed out. Demonslayer gave an excited chirp. "Nico! Nico!" The rhakos agreed, raising his dripping maw from the waters below.