Quirk, a tark'ee the color of matcha with a pelt vibrantly spotted with koi, hopped up onto the smooth boulders. A dark bracelet curled around one of her front wrists, obsidian-black with a stripe of blue upon the stomach. "Ahem," she coughed to clear her throat, and absent-mindedly twisted the bracelet around her fingers–revealing that it was not a piece of jewerly, but a newborn creature: A draconic tark'ee, by any means not much larger than a garden snake. "Hear ye, here ye!" She called, putting on her best faux-harold voice to summon the relaxing colony.

Below Quirk, tribemates played in the shallow tide pools, hardly paying a lick of attention in the world. A belemoid pup at the edge of her sight poked at an orange starfish and laughed with a similarly-aged youth. Meanwhile, a couple sitting in a pool bubbling from the heat of a volcanic vent stared longingly into each other's eyes. The coastline was rocky and battered by the sea. Waves hit the rough barrier of stone and sprayed salty water high into the air, dazzling coats with the sparkle of sea spray. They'd discovered this rocky alcove of a small island a few days ago, and since then, all had been basking in the fun–and feast.

"I said–Ahem!" Quirk raised her voice louder, clasping her paws tightly around the pup. The draconic tark'ee squirmed uncomfortably in her grip. A greying tshuba, washing his back with a sponge glanced up at her. "What is it, lassie?" He called. But around him, conversations continued at loud volume and pups chased each other around the slick rocks–she'd failed to catch the colony's attention away from their vacation. No matter how earned their rest may have been, however, Quirk–and the baby draconic tark'ee–had an announcement for them.

"Well!" She huffed, more offended than she was willing to admit. "Y'all need a reason to stop and stare? Watch this!" When Quirk put on her dances, it would be impossible for anyone to resist the urge to stop and stare. She released the draconic tark'ee pup onto her shoulder. In turn, he wrapped around her arm, holding on tightly. Then, she raised up on the boulder stage platform onto her hind legs, and started to hit the dougie. A pup gasped and pointed, and by the time the crowd stared up, wide-eyed, she was popping and locking, and then segwayed into doing the stanky leg.

All of the action at the tidepool stopped at once to stare, and cheer. Colonialists turned away from harassing the wildlife, their mid-day bubble soak, and even their conversations to admire the dancing tark'ee bust a move. "Now!" She spun into action, a mischievous gleam lighting up her matcha-green eyes. "Now that I finally have your attention, I have today's announcements ready for you!" A murmur of disappointment rolled over the crowd, who would've rather watched a full dance-show, but their faces stayed glued onto her, nevertheless. One belemoid tilted his head and eyed the draconic, who waved the tip of his tail at them in a gingerly greeting.

"A new egg has hatched within the colony!" Quirk triumphantly scooped the black draconic from around her neck and held it up to the crowd. There was a mix of reactions–a tshuba clapped both sets of hands, squinting at the serpentine creature. A tark'ee family reeled away slightly, whispering about its limbless appearance. Quirk narrowed her eyes at them, recognizing the unease. "What's that, some kind of snake?" A befuddled old belemoid called out, shaking his head as if he wasn't seeing the pup properly. The pup blinked at the crowd, adjusting to the new light and the sight of so many creatures.

"He pipped from his egg just yesterday night," Quirk explained, staring over the crowd to gague their reactions. "He presents as a male draconic tark'ee. They're merely a same subspecies such as myself, except that he will never have legs." She gestured to his blue-grey tinted underbelly. Qirk meant to put to rest any skepticism, or conversation surrounding curses or mutations that often followed the serpentine creatures. The draconic tark'ee's eyes welled up, as though he might cry from the overstimulation.

"You've all seen draconic tark'ee before!" Quirk called out, "Do you not remember Milli, Racer, and Narys?" murmur rippled through the audience, and then finally, recognition: They had recognized draconic tarkee based on their adult counterparts, thirty to fifty feet long, but even while tiny, this infant was a colonist all the same. "I give this pup my approval," Quirk declared, "When he is old enough, may he have great fortune should it be in immigrating or taking up a role here." She pulled the youngling back in close to her; that and her acceptance of him seemed to dry his tearful eyes most immediately.

But that was not all of the announcements for the day -- Just the most important one! "Ahem… Along with the successful hatching of this pup," Quirk continued, "The other news today is that a whale was sighted off this coast. We ask that all parties interested in hunting migrate to the east beach." With that, she finished her speech and padded off the stage, feeling rather proud of herself. A few tsauba visibly scurried off to join the party, grabbing from a rack of spears left by one of the tidepools as they did.

"So…" Quirk turned back to the pup for the journey back to the nursery. "How'd you like those dance moves, little guy?" She grinned. The draconic tark'ee raised his head and gave his first little smile. "I bet you'll be a dancer, just like me!" Quirk pointed to herself, and he gave an excited little nod in return. Since gathering the crowd had worked so well to announce the birth of the little tark'ee, she had all the time left in the world now to teach this little serpantine guy how they bust a move around these parts!