There was a particular trench that Erasmus often returned to for fishing, yet could not truly remember why. It was in one of their first memories, they were faintly certain of that. And they thought, sometimes, that perhaps someone else had been there. Or maybe they had imagined that, because before Alek, they were more a feral territorial hunter of prey than anything else.

It was so distant of a memory, it was hard to grasp why it stayed in their mind. Yet, it was a memory they held close even if they could not remember why entirely. Today, they had decided to teach one of their children to fish, and so they had brought Doru here to this trench. They explained in stilted, raspy speech that they wished to teach him how to hunt fish. Now they started to explain how.

"To hunt fish, Doru should, use claws... At first. ...Doru can breathe underwater, with gills. But, Doru does not have a swimming shape like Alek, so would have... to be patient, if in water. ...Erasmus has claws with venom. ...Venom relaxes the fish, makes them want to not fight back, not even want to move away. ...Doru may have this, as well. Doru has claws like mine."

@Doru

It was rare for Doru's pale and gold parent to speak extensively on anything, it sometimes seemed. Yet, when it came to certain topics, Erasmus tried. Doru could appreciate the attempts, especially when it led to more knowledge.

Doru was larger now than when he had hatched, but not by that much. Alek, his dad, had said most growing came in the third cycle. Doru was only in his second cycle of life.

With a thoughtful look at the water, Doru began searching for a pebble. The fish were currently settled peacefully on the other side of the water, and he needed one to swim closer to him if he was to catch one.

Empathy meant understanding. Doru could understand that fish would only move if given a suitable distraction, and to move closer, the distraction must not clearly come from him.

The distraction worked well, with more than one fish scattering in his direction. He grinned toothily and triumphant.

@Erasmus

It was interesting, watching Doru's thought process in motion. If Erasmus was hunting, they had long enough arms to reach the fish, but Doru was a child with shorter arms. They had not fully considered that.

But it seemed that limitation was not going to stop Doru. The child searched for a pebble and artfully aimed it to cause carefully constructed chaos among the fish.

Erasmus kept quiet, waiting to see if Doru's attempt would pay off.

@Doru

Doru leaned over the water and reached golden claws out in a flash towards the fish that moved closest. His claws did not close around the fish initially, but they did happen to scratch the fish, which slowed interestingly. It seemed Doru might have the venom his parent spoke of.

With the slowed speed, it was easy enough to grab the weakened fish and toss it onto land. Once it was on land, it flopped lethargically, and Doru was quick to finish it off before his prey escaped.

He tried a chirp with his vocals at his parent, and then offered the fish to Erasmus. He had heard his parent make that noise before to signify food was available. Then, to make things extra clear, he spoke. "For 'Rasmus!"

There would be some sustenance left over for him if Erasmus drank some of the blood carefully. Even if Doru liked his food bloody, he didn't require only blood in the same way that Erasmus did. And Doru had seen his pale and gold parent had been eating less lately, and he and Bez needed both their parents still. Feeding Erasmus was important.

@Erasmus

Erasmus crouched by the water nearby, but not close enough to cast an image of themself over the trench. "Doru is... very clever," Erasmus praised in their raspy voice, once Doru had successfully snatched and finished off the fish.

They had not wanted to speak beforehand, lest they interrupt Doru's concentration on the task. Erasmus was startled to have the fish offered to them, especially with that chirp they could not really remember learning but often used.

It felt especially odd to hear that chirp here while receiving a fish. They were not sure why. "...Thank you, Doru," They stated hoarsely, appreciating their child's gift to them.

They went to the already bleeding cuts and carefully drank some but not all of the blood of the fish, then placed it back down before Doru. They chirped back. "Doru eat rest," They firmly rasped.

@Renasci

So it had... been a while.

Not a while for them having been in this cave- no, Renasci had spent a while here after chasing that odd deer, getting used to how it moved and deciding on a name for it.

A while since they'd heard a chirp like that.

It's sharp, and echoes only once or twice, really, but it's enough for the harpy to catch, follow, and mimic in turn, ticking the end up like a question.

Another chirp, then- Renasci is calling out for a response, a searching noise.

"When I speak"
When I think

@Doru
@Erasmus

Erasmus's gratitude was unnecessary. Doru needed Erasmus to stay strong, to protect him and Bez. It was a gift of necessity. Yet, Erasmus appreciated it all the same. It made Doru feel weird about the gift, a bit, but he still ate what remained.

The two-cycle old child, Doru, paused at the sound of a familiar chirp, but it hadn't come from his parent whom they were facing.

He felt a wariness, in part of his mind, but that noise should be friendly, right? Or was it a hungry creature, one that Doru should not engage with that his parent had happened to pick up the noise from....

Their parent was a collection of eclectic noises. They glanced towards Erasmus with uncertainty, seeking answers.

Erasmus heard a distant yet close chirp, and they mentally paused. It was familiar in tone, yet it was not either of their children. It was not themself, either. Yet, it was undeniably familiar.

Still, Erasmus would not risk their child for anything. "Stay behind," they told Doru. "Ready escape, if need," they firmly rasped to their child.

But, the sound was not unfriendly, not an unpleasant familiarity either. It might be safe. So Erasmus gave a louder chirp to help the one chirping find them, followed by a series of smaller chirps to help the one find the way, if they were going to.

@Renasci