A black tsabhua, red draconic tark'ee, a yellow wingless aerobic tark'ee, and a small green tsabhua whelp are taking a gentle stroll at the edge of the swamp. The adults doing this in hopes of feeling a bit better after eating that biological war crime Ycthuthrheth calls "food." The whelp tagging along because she was simply curious of the land she just arrived at.

The evening was still bright as the big brother sun began to dip below the horizon and the little brother sun was still not ready to set. The hot and muggy swamp has cooled to a pleasantly warm and still muggy swamp. The usual buzz and chitter of local fauna slows slightly as the local residents prepare to turn in for the night.

"A monster! Behind that mushroom!" Xochcatl yells, pointing at a giant mushroom.

Dread tries to hide, wanting to avoid getting attention, but it was too late. Citria, Bloe, and Tezcatlipoca have already spotted them.

"Hi there! Sorry about that," says Tezcacoatl, waving his front arm to the hiding figure.

Citria faces Xochcatl and speaks to her in a gentle yet firm voice. "Can you come up to them and tell them you're sorry?"

"But I'm scared."

Bloe wraps the tip of her tail around Xochcatl's hand. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you." She began to guide the whelp to the hiding tsabhua.

Xochcatl gave a small, apologetic bow. "Sorry for calling you a monster."

Dread begins to get flustered and stutter. "No you don't- I mean- I'm the one who-," they pause a bit to collect their thoughts, "I should be the one apologizing for scaring you."

"Nonsense," Tezcatlipoca chimes in, "You was just mindin' ya own business."

"Sor-"

"You don't need to say sorry"

"Oh, sor-"

Tezcatlipoca raises an eyebrow at Dread.

"Okay, thank you for understanding."

The light mechanical hum of Ycthuthrheth's drone gets louder as it approches. "Ah, there you all are. We have to go back to the base soon. And who is this here?"

"Uh, Dread is what people call me."

Citria makes an offer to Dread, "Would you like to join us for a bit? Ycthuthrheth is currently gathering stories for research, and I'm sure it would love to hear from you."

"Well, I wouldn't like to bother you all…"

"You won't be a bother," states Bloe.

"If you do not want to, just say so," says Citria, "But don't let it be because you think you're a bother. You're not."

Dread responds, "…Okay. I will join you all for a few hours."