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Snowblind - Showing Off

By Chaos Blackwing

(A sequel of sorts to Snowblind, if you haven't read that one yet I'd suggest you at least check it out long enough to see the illustration of the dragosect)

It had been a week since Smith and the others first encountered the strange creature, and in that time things had changed quite a bit.

While before their purpose at the research station had been more in the nature in an extended field trip, a way for the assistants to get some valuable field experience while the professor directed them, their discovery of a new and rather intelligent species had changed their priorities drastically. Abandoning their previous goals, the team was now focused on studying the life form that they had discovered(or that had discovered them, depending on how you looked at it), finding out as much as they could about it.

They were assisted in this by the very subject that they were studying, who it seemed had taken a liking to them, and was often to be found resting just outside the main buildings of their little research outpost, when it wasn't examining the small valley that the outpost was situated in.

Far from being aggressive, or territorial, or in any way acting as one would assume a 'wild animal' would, it was instead curious and friendly, if prone at times to being a bit too friendly. More than once the examin_er_, became the examin_ee_, as the creature decided to investigate Smith or one of the others, using it's long but dexterous antennae, the short 'mandibles' around it's mouth, or a combination of the two. Thankfully, despite the creature's large size and strength, it was always very careful when handling them, never leaving so much as a bruise from it's attentions.

This was not however the most notable interaction between the creature and scientists. On more than one occasion, a simple examination lead to one or more of them finding themselves consumed and sitting in the creature's 'stomach', though unlike the first time it had happened, they were rarely kept inside for more than an hour or so before being released.

Though he would never admit it to the others, Smith had begun to rather enjoy his little 'visits' inside the creature, as the pouch inside was both comfortable, and strangely relaxing, and on more than one occasion he had simply reclined with his tablet, resting against the soft insides of the creature, as he read one of the books he had stored on the device. His enjoyment of the act, though thankfully missed by the rest of the team, had, somehow, been picked up on by the creature itself, and as a result he found himself 'eaten' far more often than the others.

Between discovering a new species, the shift in their focus towards the study of it, and the repeated visits to the belly of the friendly creature, it had been an active, strange week indeed for the small team of scientists.

**

The dragosect was probably the happiest she had ever been. Though she had run across smaller creatures a few times in her life, always before the interactions with them had been temporary, with the smaller animals leaving once they were released. These new creatures though not only came back to her after being released, they showed a complete lack of fear, coming right up to her and even touching her. As though that wasn't reason enough to be happy, one of them even seemed to have developed a special bond with her, and if his actions were anything to go by, enjoyed spending time inside her as much as she enjoyed having him there.

With all that her little belly warmers had done for her, providing company, and the pleasant feelings of a full and warm tummy, she wanted to do something nice for them, and after a day or so of trying to come up with an idea, she though she had found a good one. There was a special place that she and others of her race knew about, and as luck would have it it was fairly close to where they were now, so traveling to it would only take a few days or so.

Given how much she enjoyed her visits there, she was sure her little ones would enjoy it as well, and as an added bonus the long trip would mean she would be able to hold her little belly warmers inside for long stretches at a time, something she had been missing since their initial encounter with each other, as with the exception of her favorite, who often seemed perfectly content to spend hours inside her, the others seemed to get fidgety fairly quick, leading to much shorter times together.

Her mind made up on the upcoming trip, she moved on to trying to figure out how to get her little ones to bring along their nesting supplies and food. Unlike other animals she had encountered, her tummy warmers seemed to carry such things with them, as they had the first time they had met, although after their return to their main nest she hadn't seen their little portable nests since. It wouldn't do to bring them on a trip if they had nothing to eat, and nowhere to sleep after all(tempting as it was to carry them inside her the entire trip).

Eyes unfocused, the dragosect stared into the night sky, her mind awhirl as she tried to solve the problem.

**

The next morning, Smith was walking past the window of the outpost, still mostly asleep when he thought he saw something strange out of the corner of his eye. Pausing a moment, he gazed out the window in an attempt to spot what had grabbed his attention, only to blink, shake his head, and take a second look, certain his tired mind was playing tricks on him. However, even after his impromptu attempt to clear his head, he still saw the same thing, that of the large creature sitting outside, staring at the outpost.

While that in and of itself wasn't too unusual, given the creature had spent most of the previous week near the outpost, the fact that it had two of their packs at it's feet, the same packs that they had taken with them on their eventful trip a week back, and that had been placed in the storage shed upon their return, very much was. Adding to the oddity of what he was seeing, unless he was completely mistaken in reading the creature's body language, it's current stance was one of expectation and eagerness, as while it's face never wavered from watching the door to the outpost, it's antennae were very much in motion, similar to the fidgeting of the hands one might expect of someone eagerly waiting for something.

Looking around the commons room of the outpost, Smith failed to see the professor, and not wanting to leave his position in case the creature did something, he called out to the older scientist.

"Professor. Professor Imbiss, there's something you might want to see."

Hair still a bit ruffled, the professor slowly walked over from the kitchen area, carefully holding his mug of morning coffee.

"Mister Darke, while I admit, as a man of science, that there do exist in this wondrous galaxy of ours those rare individuals known as 'morning people', I would think by now you would know that I am not among their number. As such you should know that the only thing I want to see this early is a good cup of caffeinated ambrosia. Now then, what is it that has excited you so?"

Not saying a word, Smith merely pointed out the window at the scene in front of the outpost. Following his finger, the professor peered out the window, eyes at first squinting, but then widening as he realized what he was looking at.

"Oh... My word, that is most certainly not something I expected to see this morning. It would seem our friend has found our travel packs and brought them out to show us."

With a touch of excitement in his voice, Smith couldn't help but add to that. "Not only that professor, but look, both of them are completely intact, and it looks like the supplies are still in them. The creature was not only smart enough to get them out of the shed, but did so carefully enough to leave both packs intact." As he thought more on what they were looking at, Smith couldn't help but become more animated. "Also, why two? Why not just one, or all of them? And why, after going through the trouble of retrieving our gear, would the creature place it at it's feet and then just wait?"

Looking over at the older man, Smith pointed out towards their packs. "I know we've been discussing just how smart this species is professor, but it's actions here, on top of how it's acted this past week, seem to me to be a pretty good indication that it's at least moderately intelligent, perhaps to the degree of old earth dolphins or parrots."

Still staring out the window, the professor had a contemplative look on his face. "You may be right my boy. It's actions since we first encountered it have been most peculiar, and this even more so. To not only discover a new race, but one with a measure of intelligence... " The professor suddenly laughed as something occurred to him. "And to think, we came here to study rocks! Simple geological studies to give you youngsters a bit of field experience. Ah my boy, this, this is why science is so amazing. Making new discoveries, and in the most unexpected places... it's almost enough to make me feel young again."

Smith found himself swept up more than a little by the older scientist's enthusiasm, and he couldn't help but agree with the idea behind it. The allure of science was one of discovery, most often of mundane things, but every so often the incredible was found, and this certainly seemed to be one of those times. Nevertheless...

"Be that as it may professor, we really shouldn't keep our guest waiting should we? After all, it went through all the trouble of getting out our gear, it's only fair that we see what it wants with it, and us, no?"

"Quite right Mister Darke, quite right. So then, shall we get bundled up and go see what our friend has in store for us?"

**

As the morning progressed, the dragosect found it harder and harder to sit still. Her eagerness to show her little friends something amazing, coupled with the fact that she would soon have them in her for several days, had her quite excited, and growing more so as time passed. When they finally exited their large nest, it was all she could do to not scoop them up and smother them with affection in her exuberance, but while her antennae did wiggle about a bit, she managed to restrain herself.

Standing up from the crouched position she had waited in, she looked down at her little ones, while they looked back up at her, seemingly waiting for her to do something. Reaching down with her long antennae, she carefully scooped up the two portable nests that her belly warmers had originally been found with, before lightly depositing them in from of the pair. When they looked down at the items, and then back up at her, making some of their strange noises as they did so, she lightly nudged the nest items, hoping that they'd understand her intentions.

**

As the packs were placed in front of them, Smith looked down, and then back up to the creature, who seemed to be waiting for some sort of response. Without taking his eyes off of it, he spoke to the older scientist standing next to him.

"Any ideas professor? It seems pretty clear that it expects _something_from us, though I'm not quite sure what at the moment."

As the older man was about to respond, the large creature gave the packs a nudge with it's glowing antennae, as though to once more draw their attention to them. Collecting his thoughts, the professor responded, though much like Smith he was still looking upwards at the creature.

"I am not quite sure myself my boy. It seems to want us to do something, and whatever it is, would seem to involve our supplies in some way. Perhaps it is curious as to our packs or their contents?"

As a stray thought struck Smith, he looked back down at the packs, and then up at the waiting creature with a surprised look. "Professor, what if it wants us to put on the packs to go somewhere? Think about it, the first time it encountered us, we were out on our trip and carrying the packs. Once we got back here, we put them away. What if it believes we _need_them if we want to leave the base here?"

Looking down at the packs, and then up at Smith, Professor Imbiss had a contemplative look on his face as he considered the idea. "You may be on to something Mister Darke. If the creature has come to associate our camping gear with leaving the base, then it would follow that bringing us our gear would indicate that it wants us to leave, and go somewhere." Apparently coming to a decision, the professor turned to look at Smith directly. "Still, it should be easy enough to test. If you'll go inside and inform the others that we will be absent for the foreseeable future, and gather rations for say, two week's worth of travel, I'll stay out here and check to make sure all our supplies are in good shape, and our friend here didn't forget anything. If your theory is correct, I imagine we'll find out soon enough at that point."

Slightly confused, Smith couldn't help but ask for clarification. "Two weeks Professor? You really think we might be gone for that long?"

A knowing smile on his face, the professor just grinned at the inexperienced younger researcher. "If there's one thing you need to learn, and as soon as possibly my boy, it's that you always plan for more than you think you'll encounter, and always pack more than you believe you'll need. While I may doubt we'll be gone that long, it's better to have extra, just in case, and if it starts to look like we may need more, that much should provide us with a safe buffer zone for the others to find us with the snow crawler and either drop off additional supplies, or pick us up."

About to head inside to begin gathering food-packs, Smith paused as the professor laid a hand on his shoulder. "That reminds me, make sure to pack several back-up batteries and two solar-chargers for our electronics. We wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of no-where with no way to call for help would we?"

Giving a nod at the professor's words, and with a little shudder at the thought they conjured up, Smith headed inside to tell the others what was happening, and to begin gathering up the necessary supplies.

**

Watching her little ones scurry about, the dragosect was starting to think that they had caught on to what she wanted. While one had stayed with the portable nests, and seemed to be examining them, the other had gone back into their main nest, only to return soon after carrying several small items that the two of them proceeded to place in the nesting items. After several such trips, it seemed that they had gathered everything needed, as after a bit of fumbling about, both of them soon had the nesting materials on their backs, and were looking up at her.

Voicing her excitement with a happy little churr, the dragosect, eager to be off, quickly though gently reached down and scooped up her two little belly warmers, swiftly sending the first down her throat, though keeping the other wrapped up for the moment as she gazed at him. Though she knew it wasn't nice to play favorites, she couldn't help herself, as the two of them seemed to have bonded in the past week, with this little one in particular spending so much time with her, often seeming as eager to spend time warming her tummy as she was to have him there.

Still, she did need to head out if they were going to make it to her little surprise, so with a light caress alongside her little bound pet, she sent him down as well, and turned to start her trek into the empty whiteness.

**

Travel by stomach turned out to be... interesting, to put it mildly. In the morning Smith and the professor would be let out, with the creature curling around them as much as possible, blocking the wind and allowing them to eat, stretch their legs, and take care of personal business, all under it's watchful, glowing eyes. Once they were done, they would be brought back inside the creature, there to stay until they were released around noon, and then finally in the evening for the same reason.

The first night out the professor had thought to set up their tent when they were let out for the evening, but he had barely starting laying out the framework before he quickly found himself traveling down the creature's gullet once more, followed shortly by Smith, the creature making it abundantly clear by it's actions that there would be no need for tents or the like when there was a perfectly serviceable stomach for them to rest inside.

For the most part the trip itself was almost a vacation for the pair. With nothing better to do, the two mostly spent their time reading on the tablets they had brought along, the professor engrossed in scientific journals covering a multitude of topics, while Smith hunkered down with one of the many fantasy books he'd loaded onto the device.

With the constant gentle blue glow from their surroundings, it was hard to keep track of time, and unless they checked the built-in clocks on their devices, often the only way they knew what time it was was when they were brought up for meals and to stretch their legs.

For three days they traveled like this, spending time reading or resting, while the strange creature plodded across the empty arctic tundra, towards an unknown destination. At last though, towards noon on the fourth day, they found out just what their new friend had traveled so far to show them.

**

Though it had taken several days worth of travel, as the sun crested the horizon and started it's slow climb into the sky, the dragosect knew that they were almost to their destination. Eager to get there at last, she caught herself only just before she tried to rush their morning activities, realizing that it would be unfair to take her anticipation out on her little belly warmers. Even so however, it seemed they were able to sense her excitement, and were quick to pack up and get ready to leave, soon finding themselves back inside her.

Several hours later she saw what she was looking for over in the distance. Rising some ways into the sky from the otherwise flat surroundings, a great half-sphere was carved into the landscape, several hundred feet wide, and perhaps a hundred deep at the lowest point. Though the dragosects did not know how it came to be, the large crystal formations that were located within it were greatly prized by the race, both for their beauty, and for the changes the crystals made to the 'flavor' of the light that passed through them, making for a varied and wonderful 'meal' for those that visited.

Reaching the lip of the large pit, she looked around for one of the pathways that had developed after years of visits by countless others of her race, before carefully making her way down once she found one. A short trek towards the central area of the depression, and it was finally time to release her little ones and show them the surprise.

**

As soon as they were let out that morning, Smith knew something was up. While normally content to let them go about their business in the morning, stretching their legs, having breakfast and whatnot, this time the creature had watched them closely the entire time, antennae twitching all the while, like it was waiting for something. Not quite sure as to the cause, Smith and the professor hurried through their normal morning routines, and were quickly brought back inside the creature.

That had been several hours ago, and now, far earlier than they had been let out during previous days, it seemed they were about to find out the cause of the creature's strange behavior, as they were brought up and gently laid out on the snowy ground, a process that had become almost normal after having been through it so often in the past few days. Getting to his feet, Smith moved over to help the professor up, before looking around at their new surroundings. When he did however, he was struck completely speechless by what he saw.

Far from the barren, snow covered tundra that had been their surroundings up to this point, the area around them was filled with colors and shapes of all sizes. Massive crystals of every hue imaginable sprouted forth from the ground around them, with smaller ones clustered about at their bases. As if that weren't amazing enough, the light streaming from above passed through and was reflected off of the countless crystal formations, leading to an ever changing, constantly shifting rainbow of light, bathing everything around them in a kaleidoscope of colors. It was, without a doubt, one of if not the most amazing and beautiful things Smith had ever seen.

Left completely without words to describe the sight before him, Smith turned to the professor to see how he was reacting, only to find the other man just as spellbound as him, gazing about with a look of wonder on his face. Though the older scientists had undoubtedly seem many amazing things in his years, it seems even he wasn't immune to the sight before them.

Unable to express his feelings in words, and knowing that the creature wouldn't be able to understand them if he tried, Smith instead walked over and hugged one of it's large legs, as tight as he could, hoping that the action would get across his feelings anyway.

**

After letting out her little ones, the dragosect had carefully watched them, hoping that they would enjoy her little surprise. Though only having known them for a short period of time, their actions upon looking around certainly seemed to indicate that they were enjoying the spectacular view, but it was the sensation at the base of one of her legs, that of her favorite pressing against her and wrapping it's little arms around her leg as best it could that truly reassured her that they were indeed pleased.

On more than one occasion her favorite little tummy warmer had done something similar in the past, when it seemed to be particularly happy and wanted to show it's appreciation for her or something she had done, so the fact that it was doing so now seemed a good indication that it was similarly pleased with her surprise, of which she was quite happy. Still, as much as she enjoyed her little one's affections, she had brought them here more for their sake than hers, so she gently nudged the little one away and back towards the crystals, while she watched over them both.

**

The next several hours were enjoyable ones for all three of them. As the dragosect watched over her little tummy ticklers, in a fashion similar to a mother hen watching over her chicks, the two scientists explored the garden of gems that they found themselves in, as all the while the rainbow of colors filled the air around them with ever shifting lights. They saw crystals as thick as a person, arching up twenty feet or more. Stooping down they noticed crystal formations barely larger than a finger poking out of the rocky ground beneath. There were formations familiar in shape, and others so exotic that they had to be seen to be believed, such as a formation that looked almost like an explosion frozen in time, glittering reds and oranges running through it as though it were a real flame.

With so many amazing sights to see, it was only when the professor looked at his watch, and noticed that they had been exploring for several hours that the pair finally realized just how hungry they had gotten, and decided to break for a light meal before getting back to their examinations. Heading back towards the central area that their friend had been relaxing in, and where they had left their more cumbersome packs, the two broke out their cooking supplies and soon had a warm meal fixed and ready to eat.

Looking up at the looming creature next to them, Smith was surprised to see that rather than watching them, as it often did whenever they were around, it was instead staring off into the distance, as though something was there that the two smaller scientists could not see. Following it's gaze, Smith looked over, but was unable to see anything that it might be starting at. Not letting it worry him overly much however, he went back to eating, eager to finish up soon so they could explore more of the crystal garden surrounding them.

**

While watching over her little ones as they explored the area had been pleasant, and knowing how much joy she had brought them even more so, the dragosect had to admit, having them nearby, as they were now, and watching over them was a very fulfilling experience, and one she very much cherished. There was just something about watching over a little creature, and one that enjoyed her presence and spending time with her at that, that she very much enjoyed.

As she looked down at them as they went about their strange eating rituals however, something began to intrude upon her senses. Looking up, she gazed about, trying to spot what it was that had caught her attention, before suddenly realizing what it was. It appeared that another one of her race was nearby, and they seemed to be getting closer, likely also with the intention of enjoying the crystals and their tasty energy.

Not having expected any others to be here at the same time they were, she wasn't quite sure what to do. While she was quite sure that her little tummy warmers would be perfectly safe around any of the others of her race, she was privately more than a little possessive of them, and didn't much care for the idea of another dragosect knowing about, and potentially even playing with, her little ones.

However, given how close they were, and how fast they were moving, it would seem that she had little choice in the matter, and so she resigned herself to the impending meeting.

**

Finishing up the last of his meal, Smith was about to get up and start packing up the cooking supplies when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he froze in place, almost dropping his plate, as he realized just what he was looking at. Another of the creatures, even larger than the one they were currently with, was approaching the clearing that they were currently in. Though similar to the one that they were familiar with, the new creature sported a slightly darker skin tone, with it's glowing portions likewise slightly darker.

As it approached through the crystal field, the large creature seemed to be focusing most of it's attention towards winding it's way through the large formations, though as it made it through the last of the large crystals at the edge of the clearing, it's eyes gravitated towards the other member of it's race, before being drawn down to the two humans nearby. If Smith had been surprised to see another such creature approach(and a quick glance to the side showed that the professor was likewise stunned at this new development), he was not alone in it, as the new creature likewise seemed amazed at their presence.

Looking up towards 'their' creature, Smith noticed that it was gazing intently at the newcomer, though whether in friendly greeting, or wary caution he couldn't say. However, what he wasn't expecting was for the two antennae attached to their friend to come down and gently scoop up both him and the professor, before placing them softly next to the creature itself. It would seem it was making it quite clear just who they 'belonged' to.

As if the arrival of another visitor to the place wasn't enough, what happened next was to make everything that they had seen so far almost pale in significance. The message of 'ownership' having apparently been received, the newcomer instead chose to settle down on the other side of the clearing, before slowly lowering it's long neck towards the ground. At first confused as to what it might be doing, suspecting perhaps some sort of social interaction between the two creatures, it was only when Smith noticed a large bulge traveling up the creature's throat that he realized that it was bringing something up, much like their friend had done with them numerous times in the last few days.

Not sure what to expect, Smith was absolutely amazed to see a drastically smaller, though still rather large member of the race appear in the mouth of the other creature, before being gently placed on the ground, with the larger creature curling up around it not unlike their friend was curled up around them. It took a few seconds, more due to surprise than anything, but Smith eventually realized just what they were looking at.

An adolescent, if not younger, member of the species. Not more than thirty feet from where the two human scientists sat in stunned silence at that. To be able to see a young example of the species, and at such a close range, was an amazing feat given how protective most animals were of their young, especially around unknown creatures. Smith could only guess that perhaps the show of 'ownership' that their friend had done moments earlier was somehow seen as assurance enough to the other creature of their harmless nature, and if that was the case he was extremely grateful for the opportunity that had been presented as a result.

As curious as the two scientists were about the new arrivals, it seems that they were equally curious with regards to the two humans. Though the larger one contented itself with just staring, the smaller, upon getting over it's shock at seeing such a dramatically different pair of creatures, appeared to have all the curiosity of a human child, and quickly stood up, before slowly approaching, eyes glittering in what was almost certainly excitement over seeing something so new, as it's larger counterpart(what Smith suspected was it's parent) looked on with a mix of cautious curiosity of it's own.

As it approached, the youngster's size become more and more apparent. While sitting next to it's parent, the thing had seemed almost tiny in comparison, though as it got closer and closer, it's true size became much more apparent, and 'small' was not the first thing that came to mind. Though he had never seen one in the flesh, only through books and videos, the nearest comparison would probably be that of a horse, a large one, with it's shoulders likely tall enough to come up to his head were he standing, followed by several more feet for it's neck, and a head that must have been as large as his torso at the end.

Soon enough the creature was standing almost right next to them, craning down to bring it's head close enough that Smith could reach out and touch it if he could gather the courage to do so. The little creature on the other hand had no such hesitation, as it brought it's antennae down to run across his face, twisting it's head back and forth a bit as if to get a better look. As the glowing, slightly bulbous ends ran across his skin, Smith felt a strange sensation, almost like a light electrical charge was contained in the blue feelers, making for a very unique sensation.

Hoping he wasn't going to startle the creature, Smith slowly raised one of his hands up, and reached forwards to the large head barely two feet from him. As his hand got within a foot, the creature paused in it's explorations, and focused it's eyes on the approaching digit, but far from pulling back, it instead closed the remaining distance itself, butting it's hand into the palm of his hand. With a nervous chuckle, Smith gently ran his hand over it's head, up and over the bump he guessed would grow into the 'horn' the adults sported, before coming to rest softly behind it, to the accompaniment of a happy little chitter from the small creature as it crossed it's eyes trying to follow the movements of his hand.

Looking up, Smith noticed that both of the larger creatures were watching him, his friend with a happy look in it's eyes, while the parent of the youngster seemed to be relaxing it's watchfulness, seeing as both it's young and the strange new creature were behaving. Speaking of the youngster, it had ducked it's head underneath his hand, and now seemed to be studying his hair, probably fascinated with the difference between his head and what it was used to. When it gently 'nibbled' his hair with the mandibles around it's mouth, he couldn't hold back a laugh, both from the feeling, and the thought of something as simple as hair being considered novel enough to warrant investigation.

Somewhat less entertaining was feeling the antennae that had been running across his body wrap around his torso, shortly before Smith found his vision blocked out as the youngster apparently tried to eat him.

**

Watching the interplay between the hatchling and her little belly warmers, the dragosect had a happy gleam in her eye. Though she of course adored spending time with her little ones, with the size-difference between the two she always had to be careful to restrain herself, lest she accidentally hurt one of them. With the hatchling on the other hand, the risk was much less, as it was much closer to their size, and therefore much less likely to accidentally do something to hurt them.

Almost as soon as she thought that however, the hatchling clumsily wrapped up her little one in it's antennae, and in what she guessed was an attempt to copy what it had seen it's mother do, attempted to swallow him. Thankfully, due to the much smaller size of the hatchling it could only fit her belly warmer's head inside it's mouth, and it's antennae were much too weak to lift the rest up. Momentarily worried that her little one might lash out in trying to escape, harming the hatchling, she was reassured when instead it seemed to take the matter in stride, and merely tried to pull it's head back and out.

As well as her tummy tickler might be taking the matter, she knew she needed to intervene, and so with a trilling chuckle she reached down and gently pried the two apart, much to the relief of her little one, who gazed up to her with what she guessed was a look of gratitude.

Smiling at the actions of the two, she settled back down, watchful, but not worried.

**

Free once more thanks to the timely assistance of his friend, Smith shook his head a bit to clear it. That had been more than a little surprising, though in hindsight it probably wasn't that unexpected. Children do after all learn from watching the adults around them, and if this one's parent regularly carried it around inside, much like their friend did with them, then the hatchling trying the same when encountering smaller creatures wasn't overly surprising. Thankfully it seemed that it had learned it's lesson, and contented itself with returning to less taste-based forms of examinations.

Hoping it would be safe enough, Smith moved to stand up, both because his legs were starting to fall asleep from the position he was currently in, and to get a better look at the hatchling. Getting to his feet, he saw that it was watching him intently, eyes widening in surprise. 'Guess it's never seen something standing on two feet before,' Smith thought as he stretched out a bit.

Apparently deciding that if it's new friend could do something it could too, the little creature tried to mimic his actions, but not being built for standing on just two legs, it didn't exactly have much success, only managing to raise it's body up a bit before landing right back down on it's feet. Not to be dissuaded, it tried again, this time getting ever so slightly higher before landing right back down on the ground. Finally it decided to try something different, crouching down a bit before throwing itself as forcefully up as possibly, at last reaching a point where it was almost vertical, letting out a trill of excitement over it's success. Sadly however, as the hatchling was soon to learn, four-legged creatures are not meant to stand on two legs for more than a moment, and triumph quickly became panic as it's momentum carried it back and down, legs and antennae flailing as it went, until it landed with a loud *Thud* on the ground behind it.

Worried that the small creature may have hurt itself, Smith rushed over intending to check for injuries, though before he got there it had rolled over and gotten back to it's feet, apparently none the worse for the wear. Thankful that it was okay, Smith patted it's neck in relief, an action that brought a curious trill and the hatchling returning the favor with it's antennae, looking at him with a happy shine in it's eyes all the while, like a child with a new toy.

Before anything else could happen however the hatchling's parent let out a cry of it's own, a deeper toned version of the sounds made by the youngster, who turned around and after a disappointed look towards the human in front of it, headed back over to the other side of the clearing. Wondering if he had done something wrong, Smith was surprised to see the parent creature instead spread the shimmering wings on it's back, several times, looking down expectantly at the hatchling, until the smaller one followed along. As he watched the pair, he gradually came to realize that it was teaching the little one something, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out what. Still, even without that knowledge, he contented himself with watching, enjoying both the unexpected company, and the sights around him.

**

Watching the other dragosect teach it's young the proper wing position to best feed with, the dragosect was quite content with how this trip had gone. Not only had her little ones gotten to enjoy her favorite spot, but they had even gotten to meet others of her kind, and watching her little one playing with the hatchling had given her a great sense of happiness, and she was sure the memories of their little meeting would be something she would look back on fondly for many years to come.

Still, as enjoyable as the trip had been, she knew that she couldn't keep her little tummy ticklers our here for good, and she would need to return them to their nest soon enough, if only so they could get more of the strange food they consumed. At the same time, she didn't want to leave too soon, both for their sake and her's, so she decided that at least for today they could stay here, before heading back the next morning. Until then however, she decided to simply relax and enjoy the feast of light around her, along with the company of her little ones and their new friend.

**

As the two scientists packed up their gear the next morning, both of them were deep in thought, minds filled with all the amazing things they had seen and experienced on their little trip. Not only had they been shown a 'garden' beautiful enough to put to shame the most colorful and verdant greenhouse, but to encounter even more of the strange new species they had discovered, and a young member of it at that... so much had happened that it was hard to focus on just one thing.

Several minutes went by as Smith and the professor put away their gear, their large companion watching all the while, when suddenly a random thought struck Smith. At first he just chuckled at it, but the more he thought about it, the harder he laughed, until finally the professor looked over, a curious look on his face. Wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, Smith looked over and explained as best he could, barely holding back his mirth.

"I was just thinking, when I told the other two that we were heading out, they laughed and told me we were wasting our time, that our friend here had most likely just grabbed our packs at random. They are going to be _so_jealous when we tell them what we've seen here, and what they missed out on just because they didn't care to come along and deal with the peculiar mode of travel."

By the time he had finished his explanation, the professor was smiling and chuckling softly as well. "Indeed Mister Darke, it would seem their lack of curiosity has cost them quite the experience, and they shall instead have to make due with what pictures and video we have gathered during this trip. Hopefully they'll learn from this experience and be a little more open minded in the future."

Packing up the last of their gear, Smith shifting his pack to his back before helping the professor to his feet. Looking over, they saw their companion patiently waiting for them, a twinkle in it's eyes at it looked down at them. Their initial meeting may have been... unconventional, but the relationship, and the results from it even this soon, made all of them all the happier that they had run across each other on this cold, unassuming world.