The Echoing Grays knew words, but not their meanings. Each sound, each syllable, the whole colony picked up on--their ears cupped forward, their large eyes gleaming in the dark. They memorized the sounds, to mix them around and repeat them; but they didn't know what it was that they'd be communicating. Only the sound; never the meaning.

It was pure accident, then, that the screeching voice that called back delivered a scathing insult:

"AH, NO! I GOT STUCK COPYING IDIOTS!"

...probably, at least.

She stared, silent, her humor fading. Had they understood her-? Annoyance flickered up, and she lashed out with her magic. "Little shits-!" she started, and almost at once the echo picked up in the distance, her magic lashing back and again carrying her message instead of her actual intention of horrific predatory nightmares.

'LITTLE SHITS!' came the screaming chorus, and the hyena stared out sourly.

"We can come back later," she decided, firing a sour glance at Nemo. "Bested by a coupla screaming rats..."

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

exit Giggle; @Nemo

Nemo

Nemo himself continues to cackle- its too funny!

"Ahah- HAH! Oh, sorry, I'm... Sorry, that's just too good! Oh boy I stuck my claws in my beak with that last bit... Hah..." The lammergeier had to shake his head a bit, to calm down, and he blinks at Giggle's irritation and offers his best beaky smile.

"Yeah, those things are creepy... let's go do something else- maybe another Tunnel or something had better things to eat that can't insult us back?"

Some more snickering, and he follows Giggle, probably still yattering on about whatever comes into his mind.

;Exit Nemo @Giggle for visibility