LizardFolk Burrow

Within the North-East of the Great Forest, in the middle of a partially dried up-swamp that seemed to be deserted probably due to the dwindling sources of food and precarious footing was a burrow of sorts which extended into the now hollowed out trunk of a massive mangrove. Within this dead tree were eggs having been laid nine days ago and were due to hatch anytime soon, Lizardfolk were interesting in that the females carried their young for quite sometime before laying the eggs which protected them, after which they developed further on their own before hatching. However in their culture when laid it counts as being born as often times the hatchling can choose to delay hatching until it feels conditions are favorable for it to come out, usually anytime between nine and eighteen days. While the Lizardfolk within this forest had never been the most populous race, the one watching these eggs had some hope as this was a record large clutch and it could be that these hatchlings could be what saved their clan from extinction.

She was an older Lizardfolk, most of her teeth had fallen out and she walked with slow but measured steps her back stooped with age and one of her eyes a milky white blinded from a battle long past. She would sit patiently waiting as the eggs began to shake undoubtedly they would be hatching any moment now and thus be able to go out into the world explore and most importantly try and survive all of that which would see a Lizardfolk dead. Hopefully these won't be like the last, she didn't think any of the layers could bare to lose more hatchlings.

J'Tali rolled around the little segment that she had claimed all to herself. Not like there was anybody around yet to tell her 'no' as she had remained hidden, or not so much perhaps, by the egg she had came in. She liked the quiet, but as the hours since her break out occurred, the ground was no longer the warmth she enjoyed. Scampering up on to her feet, carrying with her a large chunk of the egg she came from, she poked her head from the little nest at last, meeting gaze with the elder Lizardfolk. Out of instinct she let a little raspy growl, or what she might attempt to pass as one, as she was more testing for predator, and trying to act protective to her as yet unready brethren before she stepped out. "... Hello," She was actually startled more by the sound of her own voice, a flick of her tongue over her lips, stepping out further. Language somehow fell on her with ease, even if it were very little, "You... watch us?"

"Yes, little one. Hmm what will your name be..how about Zardj'Tali yes, it is exotic not like the common names I'll be giving to your younger brethren. Still you moved to protect them from what you perceived to be a threat, that is good hatchlings should help each other..lest you perish like the last batch. You can call me Zardgrammy" Zardgrammy said with a small incline of her head as in her youth she was prone to a little flourish when saying her name, but now that she was old the most she could do without straining herself was that. "You are a Zard, like myself and like your younger brethren what this means is that you must strive more than all others in this Great Forest we call home. It is unfortunate but we have lost most of our hunters and a good chunk of our layers have been forced to become them due to the resources around our home dwindling day by day. We live in a harsh section of the Great Forest, so you will have to adapt to survive, however if you are hungry you can always eat your shell for immediate food, but you will have to wait for the others to hatch before I give each of you the rations the layers have saved for you." she said before pointing behind her and if Zardj'Tali looked she would see the light which illuminated far down the burrow near the base of the tree turned burrow.

"However, I can give you a water spirit stone, it'll give you enough water to survive for thirty days if you don't overdo it. After that we don't have much so you must learn to hunt if you want anymore food, even after the hatchlings break free of their shells."

Words were still just a little difficult to grasp, but 'exotic' was good, if she understood correctly. Thus she felt a warmth in her chest and gave a rather smug expression, clutching the remainder of her egg tight. "So... I can eat?" She hadn't thought it possible to eat, it seemed hard, but she wasn't aware truly that she could bite harder than it. She would snap a segment off, and tucked it in to the torn bit of cloth that was put with the eggs, instinctively wearing it, and smiled at ZardGrammy. "I no want to forget," She gave as her reasoning and took a bite from the rest of the shell. "What is water spiral stone? Is water not hard to hold?"

"Indeed, it is important not to forget where you came from." Zardgrammy said nodding her head in time with her statement, she would cackle when Zardj'Tali asked her question but understood the misconception. "No this is a spirit stone, it has the ability to pour out water for you to drink or bathe with. But be careful it will run out if you go overboard, but if you manage it well and only use it for drinking it should last you for 30 days." she said watching as three other eggs would begin to crack open and she would move patting Zardl'Tali on the head while going over to them in order to not only name them but likewise tell them what she told her, minus the bits about being the eldest and what not.

The young Lizardfolk girl nodded, she just about get the idea. Barely. "It... like an egg. Hatches water little at time," She followed the elder one after having her head pat. She would however stay back, letting her work and giving a lizardy smile to the newly born, her own little way to reassure them if they felt nervous like she was when newly hatched.

As the others were born and got their names one of them would proceed to completely eat his shell and then after being given the water spirit stone from Zardgrammy he would shake himself off grab a loincloth from the pile to the right and walk off towards the entrance to their Burrow. Another one would hatch and it was weird because that one still had their shell over their head minus the two eye-holes that she had poked out though she seemed content because she would begin walking around and would hiss at anyone who tried to remove her shell or help break it off. The last was also a boy though after getting hissed at he would retreat back to where the other unhatched ones were and put his head to one of their eggs out of curiosity. They were an odd bunch, that's for sure, and with more eggs beginning to wobble it was only a matter of time before the entire clutch would be up and about.

Everything was dark and cramped. Though he didn't know why for that matter, what he did know was he din't like it. he'd twist and turn every which way but despite his efforts all of his moving was met and blocked by something. So he tried pushing and push he did but to no avail nothing came of it. It saddened him. Was he stuck? He didn't want to be stuck. Then he decided to push harder this time with his head. After a few hard headed thrusts a cracking noise resounded and his scaly skin was awash with a cool sensation mixed from the watery goo of his egg and the new fresh air. Senses were overwhelmed with smells and sounds around him. A lot smelled like him... yet different. Were they him? Had he already been out? But he just got here wherever here was. Finally his eyes would begin to shudder as they tried to open. A couple of seconds would go by as he felt around, his small claws would touch around the inside of the shell that still remained but as they rose he would realize there was more beyond it. He wanted to get out, so he did or he tried. As he moved er struggled about he would tip over egg and all landing upon the ground with a frightened yelp. The rest of his egg shattering more from his weight than the ground. Now half opened eyes would see what before he could not and it awed him. So much so he didn't even bother getting up as his eyes simply wandered about the area. They would catch sight of little ones moving about and coming out of things. Ah, were they the hims? They must have been trapped too. Soon though they would stop on something big and would rise to see what such a thing could be. This would turn out to be a big one. All he could do was stare but he'd get himself up, his mouth opening to do something. But, he wasn't quite sure what that was. So he closed it and just continued to look up at the big one.

ZardJ'Tali swung her tail happily as she watched her brethren hatching like she had done only a short time ago, smiling at the lizard girl who seemed to enjoy wearing her shell on her head. She could understand the want, keeping her own shell chunk against her chest. She would patiently wait for the elder to be done before giving a tug of her tail, "Can has stone for water? Want go out, find food."

And with that more of the eggs hatched until all of them had done so,during which Zardgrammy had heard ZardJ'tali's request and had thus handed her a water stone so she could be on her way. "Nice of you all to finally break out of your shells, you can call me Zardgrammy. You are a Zard, like myself and like your younger brethren what this means is that you must strive more than all others in this Great Forest we call home. It is unfortunate but we have lost most of our hunters and a good chunk of our layers have been forced to become them due to the resources around our home dwindling day by day. We live in a harsh section of the Great Forest, so you will have to adapt to survive, however if you are hungry you can always eat your shell for immediate food, otherwise I have some rations for you lot to eat, it isn't much but it is at least something for now that you don't have to hunt for." Zardgrammy said reaching into the sack she held on her back and going around to give each of those that remained some rations made from a mix of bone meal and the jerky of an unknown animal. "I will also give you a water spirit stone, it'll give you enough water to survive for thirty days if you don't overdo it. Other than that I have nothing else to give you and if you wish to survive you must hunt in the world outside of our home. she said as while she had been giving rations she had also been naming them in particular the only one who stood out to her, not that she made any indication that he did, was the 5th to hatch Zardbion.

Spoiler:

J'tali was grinning as a proud little lizard folk as she dragged the corpse of the myconid in to the burrows again. Albeit there were chunks missing where it had been eaten a little by her. "ZardGrammy! Look at what I caught!" She said excitedly coming in, curiously looking for any other new borns.

As she entered she would see that in addition to her having returned, the Lizardfolk with an egg shell covering her head hadn't nor would the one who rushed outside after eating all of his shell either. Whether that meant they were dead or they had decided to keep hunting as the sun fell was unknown at this point. Furthermore, it would seem that the other Lizardfolk were all around, doing there own things at the moment while the timid one was in the corner for some reason. All of this wasn't all that important though as when Zardj'tali entered the room Zardgrammy would smile at her and beckon her to come closer. "Wow, how interesting you managed to take down a Myconid. They are just as smart as we are, I am proud of you Zardj'tali. Since it was your kill you are free to do with it as you wish, but you should probably eat it so you can have enough strength to hunt in the morning."

The sound of voices were but soft murmurs that this lizardfolk could hear from within his shell. Someone was watching over him as he was in this egg? And there were others under the same eye? A wiggle and a soft crackle sounded as he began to break out of his egg. Everything was so bright outside the egg and he curled up back in before closing his eyes and pushing out of the shell again. When he was more accustomed to the light, he could see the colours and shapes that soon made out to be the burrow and its inhabitants. Second came scent, the air felt fresh and free. The egg became stuffy and hard to breathe in, the air outside smelled so sweet. The hatchling struggled onto his feet, trying to get a sense of his surroundings but hopefully not getting noticed as he got up. In the light, his scales were a shimmering indigo, hinting at a bright green at certain angles and a brilliant green pair of eyes to accompany them.

As Zardkeanu was the last to hatch, Zardgrammy treated him like the baby he was, withholding the information that was freely given to the others from him on account of one of them was more likely to talk to him instead. However the first face he saw wasn't Zardgrammy but instead the fourth born Lizardfolk who had been watching over his youngest siblings egg while the others abandoned him. "Zardteak, what's your name? If you don't have one...maybe your name could be...Zardkeanu." Zardteak said naming the youngest if said Lizardfolk hadn't managed to think up a name of his own. He would notice that while his scales were pretty muted, Zardteak's eyes were completely blue and he was rather excited that Keanu had managed to hatch for whatever reason.

"H-hi..." The newborn looked at the other Zard, accepting his new name. "Zard....Keanu.... I like it!" He looked around, he could have sworn there were other voices around but no bodies to match the number. He tilted his head to the side in trying to understand where the voices went. "I thought I heard other voices. Are there others?"

Zardteak would nod before stepping to the side and pointing towards the others seeing as they were in a corner of their home it was reasonable that Zardkeanu couldn't get a good look around, and she would be able to see that there were about two dozen Lizardfolk around their size milling around the area. One of which was currently holding something that didn't resemble them and was very much dead. "Oh, big sis has come back. She the first of our older siblings to come back, though I guess since you the youngest...everyone is your big bro or big sis!" he said nervously thus the last bit came out a bit louder than normal. "Oh, before I forget. Here. Zardgrammy said to give you when you hatch." he said handing him a water spirit stone like the one he had.

Keanu looked around to find other hatchlings doing their own thing throughout the burrow. So they were the sources of the other voices. He looked over at the Lizardfolk that Teak had pointed out, bringing back something dangling. His head cocked to the other side in curiosity and then his attention was redirected to the item that Teak was giving him."Thank you.", he said, looking it over. "What does this do?"

"Lesser Water Spirit Stone, that's what Zard Grammy called it. Dunno why it's called such a long name, but it makes water which we can drink if we are thirsty." Zardteak said before pointing to Zardkeanu's shell. "Are you hungry? If you are you can eat that, but if you don't want to eat that could I eat it?" he said as since he had eaten his shell and rations a while ago he was getting hungry again but he was scared to go outside the burrow alone. Maybe that was why he had kept watching over the youngest Lizardfolk in hope that unlike the others this one would want to be friends with him.

Keanu was a bit hungry, now that it was mentioned but... He turned around and pushed the shell fragments together into a pile. "I'll share with you.", Keanu said. Hopefully Teak wasn't the kind to be a bottomless pit, it seems like food was scarce and so they needed to be careful in eating too much. At least, that's what he could gather based on how young the other lizardfolk were already out and hunting.

Zardteak would smile, though a Lizardfolk doing that did show off their dagger like teeth so it was a bit unsettling, and then promptly eat his portion of what was shared with him. It staved off some of the hunger and yet he was still hungry and would turn to the exit of their burrow. "Do you want to join up and hunt outside? I think with the two of us we just might be able to survive." he said hoping that his youngest sibling would agree to his request that way he could have a partner who would have his back outside of the safety of their burrow. He wasn't confident that he could make it alone out there especially since twelve of his siblings hadn't come back since they went outside in the early morning.

The outside world? Curiosity overcame the young Zard. There was a larger den outside this one? What did it look like? What did it smell like? What was it like? "Yeah! We'll be able to watch over each other!" It was better to go in numbers than alone, more eyes to catch more things and save others compared to those who tried to go it alone, right? Keanu munched on his portion of shell, picking up the last few pieces to nibble on as they made their way out.

ZardJ'Tali smiled wide with pride as she was complimented for bringing down the creature. She dropped herself down in an instant, tearing off a lower arm and holding it out to Grammy to take and seemingly refusing to take no for an answer. As she got to snacking down, she held her trail in her arm, rubbing her fingers over the length of the 'weapon' that killed the mushroom, whilst also observing those still in the den.

"Thank you Zardj'tali you are such a dear." Zardgrammy said not bothering to refuse as she saw that the oldest of the hatchling was going to be stubborn about her doing such. She noted that the youngest had finally hatched and was being escorted outside with Zardteak she hoped that they would return safely, meanwhile she would refocus her attention on Zardj'tali. "Come with me, I wish to show you something since you were so nice as to share your kill with me, unlike your brethren." she said and would get up before heading deeper into the fallen tree which comprised their burrow. As for Zardteak he would nod in agreement with Zardkeanu and both of them would head outside with Zardteak deciding to head straight out of their burrow.

(Zardteak & Zardkeanu exit)

Tuki:

ZardJ'Tali clambered up on to her feet again after finishing her meal at last to follow Grammy. She silently followed behind Grammy, being shown whatever it was that was hers to be seen. She gave a brief glance to the other young Lizardfolk leaving, silently wishing them the luck that she had with the Myconid.

Once they eventually made it to Zardgrammy's quarters she would turn around and look at Zardj'tali with utter seriousness before speaking up again. "As a reward, for being the first one to feed me of your own initiative I have to reward you properly. Hold out your Lesser Water Spirit Stone." she said and when Zardj'tali did she would nod and then hold out her hand with a Lesser Earth Spirit Stone (with Nutrients) as the Myconid had been grasping it in it's hand. "This knowledge that I am giving you will come at a price, there is a chance for you to gain a unique racial skill and guide you towards a specific Rank Up if you eat a Lesser Elemental Spirit Stone. You can do the same with this, however you can likewise eat both. Either way, all of these choices come with the loss of a Mana Spirit Stone, and it is not a guaranteed chance of success. If you fail you will get mana poisoning which will resort in intense pain however it is unlikely you will die from such a thing at least as long as you do not eat both and fail. Even then it is possible you still won't die but your mana development will be crippled until your next Rank up. So what do you want to do hatchling..what is your choice? she said witholding the Lesser Earth Spirit Stone unless Zardj'tali decided that she wanted that one or wished to eat them both.