SALAMANDER HATCHING -- New Salamander Acquisition Thread

[Matope]

Unlike other familiars, Salamanders don't breed in captivity -- in other words they can't be coaxed into breeding at the will of Kimeti. Instead, salamanders breed in the wild and the only way to get more is to find an unguarded egg.

Fortunately, it seems, they often leave their eggs completely unattended.
Maybe this is the reason for their rarity...

__________________________

This thread is a simple CYOA that you can play through if you have gotten your hands through a Salamander Egg Token, either through buying one from the shop or via staff run games and events. When you have one in your inventory, you can bring it to this thread and choose one of your kin to complete the following Choose Your Own Adventure RP to determine just what kind of salamander emerges.

In order to complete this CYOA, you must have a minimum word count of 250 words.
However, if you hit 500 words, you can claim this RP for 5 RP points.

[Matope]

STEP ONE: Somewhere in the swamp, your kin has discovered a strange egg: it's a semi-transparent, pale, near-white color, and feels slightly gooey to the touch. Perhaps they have heard stories of the strange elemental salamanders that grace the swamp, and they have learned that once one of these eggs has been found, Kin can take care of them and coax them into hatching into helpful companions.

However they found this egg, they decide to hatch it. In order to do so, they must start by building it a special nest, where it will be safe. But even more than that, where they decide to build this nest matters greatly. Certain environmental factors will be key in how your salamander(s) develop.

In your first post, pick one of these biome combos for your egg, and describe what the area looks like and how your kin builds a shelter to keep it safe.

- Cool & dry are best for salamanders who love the cold.
- Warm & dry is the optimal combo for the scorching hot variety.
- Cool & wet will beckon the most gentle, growth driven types.
- Warm & wet boasts the best swimmers.

[Matope]

STEP TWO: After finding and building the perfect lair for the egg, your kin must protect it for 24 hours -- a whole day and a whole night -- before it will hatch into a salamander or several. At this point your kin settles in to protect their egg.

In your second post, you must roll 5d25. If you wish to RP in this post, please include it at the time of rolling, as under no circumstances should you delete or edit this post.

[Matope]

STEP THREE: Roleplay out your kin's protection of their egg! In order to do this, you must match each of the five dice you rolled to the list of prompts below. Post how your kin responds to the challenges of being a salamander parent, and how they keep their newly found egg safe. If you roll multiples of the same prompt, you've faced the same troubles multiple time, and must reply to them more than once!

Spoiler

1. A bird flies down and tries to make off with your egg; fend it off before it does too much damage.
2. A cute mongoose offers you a gleaming apple while its friend tries to steal your egg.
3. You doze off and mischievous floxes steal and hide your egg in a pitcher plant not too far off.
4. A group of furbies try to scamper off with your egg. Fortunately for you, there's no ringleader and they're clumsy.
5. A territory dispute between two lynxes comes close to where you're protecting your egg.
6. A crane with its sharp beak considers you its sworn enemy. Fend it off!
7. Confused marine iguanas surround you, mistaking your egg for one of theirs.
8. A smack of jellyfish float through your nest. Slight electrical pulses run through their long reaching tendrils.
9. A heavy lighting storm rolls in suddenly, and a fierce bolt splits the ground not far from you ominously.
10. A sudden downpour causes you lose your grip on the leaf bundle the egg is in; it starts to roll away down the hill.
11. The weather changes dramatically in the night, and you have to protect your egg's chosen habitat.
12. That greenery around the edges of your chosen nest is poison ivy of the intensely itchy kind.
13. You eat a strange mushroom and lose track of some time.
14. A band of misfits wants to see the egg and are ready to rumble.
15. Somehow, you set up in a spider nest, and at night they emerge: cobwebs and hatchlings as far as the eye can see.
16. Howling winds blow through your nest and keep knocking your egg out of place.
17. You've run out of food, and your stomach growls dangerously.
18. You stay up watchful all night and start seeing things. Or are those spectrals?
19. An amorous sugar glider has mistaken you for its long lost love. It is glued to your side and won't stop chattering, barking, chirping, or sneezing its love song to you.
20. Waking up from a nap, you and your egg are covered in frog eggs. Mama frog glares on protectively.
21. Not too far away, you find some additional supplies to more comfortably protect your egg.
22. Just at the edges of your chosen nest, you find some delicious berries to help keep your stomach from grumbling.
23. To help your egg grow, you sing it a quiet song, and imagine that it responds.
24. When the light hits just so, you see something moving under the slightly-translucent skin of the egg.
25. The flesh of the egg shifts and moves, and you are certain for a moment that a salamander is about to emerge.

IN ADDITION: The total of these five dice will also determine how many salamanders emerge from your egg at the end of the night. Take note of this total, as you will need it in a future post!

1-84: One lovely salamander emerges from your egg.
85-99: Not bad at all! 2 salamanders emerge.
100+: You've gotten very lucky! 3 salamanders emerge.

[Matope]

STEP FOUR: After the end of 24 hours, one salamander hatches from the egg -- or perhaps it's more?

If you placed your egg in a warm and dry area to hatch, you will produce a Fire Salamander.

Roll 1d10 for every salamander you hatched and continue to step 4.
As a reminder, when rolling do not edit or delete your post.
Your roll will correspond with the color of your salamander(s):

- 1-4: yellow fire
- 5-7: red fire
- 8-9: black fire
- 10: blue fire

If you placed your egg in a cool and wet area to hatch, you will produce a Spring Salamander
[left-indent]Roll 1d10 for every salamander you hatched and continue to step 4.
As a reminder, when rolling do not edit or delete your post.
Your roll will correspond with the type of your salamander(s):

- 1-6: verdant green
- 7-10: floral

[/left-indent]

If you are placing your egg in a warm and wet area to hatch, you will produce a Water Salamander

No rolling is required, continue to step 4.

If you are placing your egg in a cool and dry area to hatch, you will produce an Ice Salamander

No rolling is required, continue to step 4.

[Matope]

FINAL STEP: Congratulations on successfully hatching your egg. Your vigilance has paid off.
At this point, you will roleplay out your kin's reaction to the new salamander(s) they have brought into life!

When you have completed all prompts and reached a minimum of at least 250 words, post in the certing thread using the following form for each salamander:

Code: Select all

[color=magenta][b]Salamander Name:[/b]
[b]Kin Owner:[/b] Leave blank if there is none.
[b]Owner Username:[/b] Make sure this is the Matope forum username.
[b]Type of Salamander:[/b] Water, ice, red fire, yellow fire, black fire, blue fire, vendant spring or floral spring
[b]Link to Salamander CYOA:[/b] Link to the start of your Salamander Hatching RP[/color]

[Lirilei]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft] The co-leaders of Taste the Swamp, Drink it Up and Bone Chewer had been doing one of their usual walks to see what sort of things they could find to take back to either turn into interesting things to eat or drink, when Bone Chewer suddenly let out a pleased gasp and moved off toward a strange, semi-transparent nearly white and gooey thing. From this distance he couldn't quite make out what it was.

But his friend was near salivating as she approached it a please "That's going to be tasty, I just know it!" thrown over her shoulder at him as he got close enough to see what it was even as she leaned in, ready to start eating it. Of course, she was only thinking with her stomach, again. "No wait! Don't eat that!" "Why?" "Don't you know what it is?" "Lunch!" "Uhm no. Look closer, it's an egg." "Like I said. Lunch." "No, no. Bone, look. It's a salamander egg, don't you remember the stories we heard?"

He watched the doe think long and hard and finally step away. "Ohhh you're right. Good thing you stopped me." "No kidding. Come on, lets take it back with us, and make a nest for it and see if we can hatch it." "Well...okay. I guess." she still kind of wanted to eat it, but she was more curious than hungry.

Carefully they moved it onto a flat piece of wood and between then got it back to the tribe's grounds. Looking around Drink decided they should find a warm, dry area and Bone decided that the usual birthing area would work. There was no eggs, or anything else there right now but it was a perfect spot for this egg. So the pair push-pulled the wood over there and moved it to the furthest area where it was going to be protected by some larger stones. That done the pair looked at one another pleased.

This would be a good spot for this egg to hatch they figured. It was out of the way of the other tribe members, and currently not being used, so no one would have a reason to even come here. Save to locate them and even then that wasn't necessarily going to happen. While he stood guard, Bone went and found some food for the two of them, though more herself than Drink and brought it back where the two of them settled in for a time, before she grew bored and wandered off again.

She couldn't eat it, so she'd lost interest really. Where as Drink hadn't. He was willing to stay as long as it took, really. Especially, if it meant keeping it safe from Bone Chewer, who given half a chance would probably still try eating it without much of a second thought. Shaking his head, he stared at the egg a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to recall more of what he'd heard about the salamander eggs.
(501 words)

[Lirilei]

It turned out to be a good thing Drink it Up stayed put, because more than once Bone Chewer had come around, peering in at the egg, and he knew that look. She still had that 'I really want to eat that' look on her face, and he had to gently nudge her away, once poking her in the side with the tip of his horn.

It was slightly annoying how single minded she was as far as the egg was and so in the middle of the night when he was tired, and beginning to lost patience with her trying to sneak past him while he attempted to get a little rest and tired suggested she go look for an eagles egg to eat, if she really wanted an egg.

Her low "Ooooh..." was confirmation enough his ploy was successful and he sank back down to the ground gratefully, hoping to catch a little more sleep. He'd already lost count of how many times she'd tried. Three? Five? Something like that, and the first time had been comical and sad. This last time was more annoying for him.

All he needed was a little sleep...and so he did doze for a time. Until more noises woke him up, and he looked around sure it was Bone Chewer. Except, it wasn't....
(221 words)


[blockquote]Rolled 5d25 : 3, 19, 9, 15, 13, total 59[/blockquote]

[Lirilei]

Prompts

3. You doze off and mischievous floxes steal and hide your egg in a pitcher plant not too far off.
19. An amorous sugar glider has mistaken you for its long lost love. It is glued to your side and won't stop chattering, barking, chirping, or sneezing its love song to you.
9. A heavy lighting storm rolls in suddenly, and a fierce bolt splits the ground not far from you ominously.
15. Somehow, you set up in a spider nest, and at night they emerge: cobwebs and hatchlings as far as the eye can see.
13. You eat a strange mushroom and lose track of some time.

No, it wasn't Bone Chewer at all. He'd been woken up this time by the sound of small feet, and angry noises. Looking around he caught sight of floxes running off and he sighed a little. At least it wasn't Bone. He turned to check the egg and discovered it wasn't where it was left, which made him lurch to his feet and begin to look around the area in concern. It didn't help he was half asleep and he was tired, but finally he found it nestled in a pitcher plant not too far off and he carefully brought it back to where he'd had it before.

Once it was back he let out a sigh and resettled, more awake than he was before, and so he stayed there, to keep guard. A small noise caught his ear and he turned his head expecting another flox or two. Nope, sugar glider. He decided not to pay it any attention, except suddenly it was hanging onto him, and being noisy as could be. It wouldn't stop making it's various noises at him, as well as sneezing. At least it was pestering him and not the egg and it had the minor added benefit of keeping him awake. So he didn't mind too much.

He'd just decided to try ignoring it, and maybe napping when the sky suddenly rumbled over head and not far from him and the egg lightning hit the ground, leaving a large crack in it. The sound deafened him, and the flash left him blinded briefly, fur standing on end. As his vision returned to him, he was able to see that maybe, they should have checked the birthing area before setting the egg in there.

Somehow, the area had become infested with spiders far above his head and in the deeper trees and all he could see now was cobwebs and hatchlings. He shuddered a little, wishing he had some way to keep them at bay. Instead he just moved a little closer to the egg, to keep it safe. The sugar glider was still hanging onto him though the lightning strike had seemed to leave it quiet for the time being. He supposed he needed to keep the little critter safe as well so the spiders didn't try to eat it.

Near the end of the night, his stomach rumbled, and remembering he hadn't eaten everything Bone brought, he decided to eat something from the small pile, and without thinking twice munched on a mushroom in the pile, and swallowed it down. The last thing he remembered was hatchlings dangling down from webs, and the moon high in the sky. The next thing he knew the sun was up, and had clearly been up for awhile by the sounds of the tribe moving around beyond the area he was at. Looking around it seemed the spiders were hiding, and he was glad for that though he found webbing sticking to legs and hooves. There was no sign of the little sugar glider, and he tried not to think about what had possibly happened to it while he was out of it thanks to that mushroom. He really needed to learn not to eat mushrooms from Bone. They always did odd things.

With a worn sigh he yawned and let his head drop to the ground for a time. Maybe he could get a little rest before Bone came around again.
(576 words)

1-84: One lovely salamander emerges from your egg.

[Lirilei]

[blockquote]Rolled 1d10 : 6, total 6[/blockquote]

He hadn't been back asleep long, the morning giving way to the afternoon, when noises startled him awake. A loud conversation not far off, and there indeed was Bone popping up. "I came by earlier, and you were sleeping. You missed the morning meal. So I brought something to you for lunch!"

There was a worn sigh from him but he had to admit he was hungry. "Thanks. I think. Not sure if I'm more tired, than hungry." She looked at the crack in the ground and back to him. "Looks like you had a long night." "You have no idea. Has it really been a day since we brought the egg back here?" "It sure has." "I don't know if I can do this a second day..." he gave another tired laugh.
(133 words)

[Lirilei]

"I don't think you'll have to!" was her sudden bright response and he turned to see the salamander working it's way out of the shell, and he stepped away to give it room.

It became clear, very quickly it was a good thing he had because he could see the fire already on it's body, the red flames flickering and his eyes grew bright as he watched in amazement as the salamander finished making it's way out, the piece of wood it's egg had been on catching fire as it stood there.

"I think...we're going to have to find somewhere safe for it to live." "Guess I can't eat it now, can I?" "Not unless you want to get burnt." "No. No burns thanks." "Didn't think so. Guess salamander is off your meal plans then?" "Yeah... that was neat watching it hatch. Guess if we ever find another one, I won't eat it, either." "Probably a good idea." "What are you going to call it?" "Me?" "Well, you did just spend a lot of time watching and protecting it from me." "And from floxes...spiders..lightning...an amorous sugar glider..." "Lightning...sugar glider...?" "I'll tell you later. It's a long story, and I'm exhausted."

He really was. "But... it was worth it, honestly." "Would you do it again?" "To keep you from eating it? Yes." and he gave a soft laugh. "Maybe I should name it Not Food." "Naaah. What about Cinders? Because if we're not careful that's what we'll be left with." she laughed some. "I like it. Cinders it is."

(259 words. 1690 total)

[Prolixity]

[imgleft]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... uncert.png[/imgleft] Seared Earth was fairly certain that the egg he had found was a salamander egg. He had never seen one, of course, but he had heard other kin talking about them, and he knew perfectly well that King of Shadows wanted one. Seared Earth picked up the egg from the little hollow at the base of a tree, holding it delicately between his teeth. It tasted slightly salty, slightly tangy, slightly earthy, and he thought very briefly about eating it. But salamanders were far more valuable as familiars than as meals. It felt slightly warm to his lips and tongue; that probably meant it was still viable.

He thought about bringing it back to the tribe. He could give it to King and be praised and probably celebrated, for a little while. For a little while, anyway. No. He would rather hatch it himself, he decided. He could be special for a few days if he gave it away. But if he kept it .... he could be special all the time.

He could build a little nest for it and keep it safe until it hatched. It was warm; that probably meant it should be kept warm. And he had found it above water level, so he should probably not get it wet. He trotted along the ravine and found a spot to climb up away from the swampy verge of the water, searching for a sunny, dry clearing. It took some time, but eventually he emerged from a tangle of brush into a sunny, grassy spot, surrounded by trees and sloping slowly downward back toward the water. It was high up enough that the egg would stay dry. Unless it rained, of course. Maybe he could protect it himself if that happened.

He set the egg down carefully at the base of a little cluster of blue flowers, then ranged around the clearing to pull up clumps of dry grass, bringing them back to tuck carefully around the egg. With some work, he managed to craft a small, round nest of grass to keep the egg off the ground, warm, snug and dry. He transferred the egg into the nest; on a whim, he plucked a stem of the blue flowers and worked it into the nest as well. There. That was good. Wasn't it?

He frowned at the little nest, then trotted over to one of the trees nearby. It took some careful chewing and tugging to work loose a sheet of bark from the trunk. He brought the bark back to the nest he'd made for the egg and set it carefully on top, leaning it over the egg so that the bark formed a leaning roof. That was better. Should it rain, the bark would help to protect the egg against water.

That task finished, Seared Earth settled down beside the nest he'd constructed and prepared to wait. He had plenty of sweet grass to graze on while he waited, and he had no other appointments. He hoped that hatching the egg wouldn't take too many days.

(Wordcount: 512)

[Prolixity]

Seared Earth found himself bored quickly. But he didn't mind that too much. He tucked his legs under himself and set his mind to composition. If nothing else, by the time the egg hatched he might have figured out a new song or two.

[blockquote]Rolled 5d25 : 7, 18, 5, 4, 19, total 53[/blockquote]

[Prolixity]

Seared Earth lifted his head, hearing a rustle in the grass. Another one sounded, and another, and to his surprise, a group of iguanas emerged from the brush. Their beady eyes were fixed on the egg. "No," Seared Earth told them, and got up to stand over it. He wasn't sure if the iguanas wanted to take the egg or eat it, but as they moved toward it he pushed them away, one by one, keeping them from getting to close to the little nest he'd made. It was an irritating task, but he was capable of being patient, he told himself, and continued to fend them off. Eventually they seemed to lose interest, and the little group vanished into the grass, the rustling noises making their way downhill toward the water. Still, Seared Earth stood over the egg for some time, staying alert, just in case the iguanas came back for another round.

Dusk came on, and the iguanas appeared to have left for good. Seared Earth lay down again beside the nest. He had no intention of falling asleep. He had already chased off the pack of iguanas. Who knew what else might show up to try stealing his egg? He had decided to keep it, and keep it he would. He watched as the moon rose with excruciating slowness. It was half full, at least; he could see in the light of the moon and the sprawl of stars. As the night wore on and nothing happened, Seared Earth began to nod, catching himself each time with a jerk and blinking furiously. He had to stay awake and guard his egg. How long had the night been? When would morning come? Motion seemed to flicker in his peripheral vision, and he jerked his head around. Nothing. It was nothing, and when it came again it was nothing. Or was it? He seemed to see a large bird gliding between the trees, strange and transparent. Was it even real? A figment of his imagination, or a spectral or some kind? He looked back down at his egg, suddenly paranoid. It rested in the nest, unharmed, and when he looked up again, the bird was gone.

Dawn came with no further interruption. Seared Earth edged closer to the nest and put his head down on his forelegs, just for a moment. He wasn't even sure that he slept at all. An explosion of yowls and hisses jerked him back upright, and he moved to interpose his body between the nest and the sounds as two lynxes burst from the brush between the trees, circling each other aggressively. They paid no attention to him, focused on their dispute. One threw itself at the other, and the snarling ball of fur and claws that resulted began to drift dangerously close to where Seared Earth stood beside his nest. "Hey!" he yelled, hoping to startle them. "Take it somewhere else!" They didn't seem to hear, and he turned, ready to kick the fighting animals if they got any closer. But there was a startled yowl, and one lynx struggled free of the altercation and took off into the trees. The other chased after it, and Seared Earth was left shaking slightly from adrenaline.

He turned to check on the egg, only to find the nest empty. The culprit hadn't gotten far, though; a brightly colored furby was nudging the egg along the ground, rolling it toward a little group of furbies that waited a short distance away. "No!" Seared Earth shouted, and trotted over to pick the egg up again. The furbies clustered around him, pecking clumsily at his legs, but he shoved them away and held the egg out of reach until the furbies gave up. They trundled away, squeaking and chattering to each other. "I hate furbies," Seared Earth mumbled to himself, and carefully set the egg back in the nest he'd made for it.

He stayed beside the nest, dozing on and off, always checking the nest immediately whenever he opened his eyes. Then, something landed against his side with a soft thump, making him jump up suddenly. He whipped around, ready to fight, and found nothing but a sugar glider clinging to his back spines. It gave him a big-eyed look, then began crooning at him. "Off!" he barked, and shook himself sharply. The sugar glider clung stubbornly to his spines and climbed along his back, closer to his face. He snapped his teeth at it, but it barely flinched. It continued its chirping song, apparently determined to serenade him lovingly. Was it trying to distract him? He spun back to the nest to check, and found the egg lying safely in its spot. The sugar glider refused to shut up or to leave him, in spite of all the shouting or wiggling he could do, and Seared Earth eventually gave up and lay back down, his ears flattened back against his head in irritation. He didn't want to actually hurt the thing, and it seemed that any other deterrent was doomed to failure. The rest of the afternoon was punctuated with its chirping song, and occasional outbursts of, "Motherfather's sake, would you just shut UP?!"

(1-84: One lovely salamander emerges from your egg.)
(Wordcount: 868)

[Prolixity]

Seared Earth dozed off again eventually, in spite of the stubborn sugar glider's noise. When he woke up again, it was gone, and he heaved a deep sigh of relief. He moved around the clearing, patrolling the edges and nibbling on the grass, checking periodically on his precious egg.

[blockquote]Rolled 1d10 : 6, total 6[/blockquote]