Strange Creature's Tribute to Tegus - Dice, Coloring, Scavenger Hunt!

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Strange Creature looks around eagerly, waiting to pair kin and reptile companions. Even if you're not going home with one, you are not leaving without at least saying hi to a lizard. Or snake. Or turtle. Or tortoise. Or... whatever tea dragons are.

Or one of her own scaly brood, because let's face it, there's... a lot of them.

"Welcome! Come say hello! We've got some activities going- if you want to learn about how to feed a reptile properly, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it..."

The feeding time dice game is open!

[Anhelisk]

4. You find a dead fish. It’s foul and disgusting, falling apart and the smell… ew. Ew ew ew. You try to fling it away but the tegus find it first. +1 ticket.
14. A wayward marshfowl hen has made a nest here and then abandoned it. Tegus like eggs, right? +1 ticket.
18. As you’re looking for lizard food, a fat frog flings itself in front of you. Sorry, friend. It’s fate. +1 ticket.
10. Mmmmm, rodent surprise. Eat up, babies! +1 ticket.
10. Mmmmm, rodent surprise. Eat up, babies! +1 ticket.

Hunting was Small Game's specialty, and today was no different. He'd done a great deal of fishing earlier, before wandering around to feed his mother, and if he recalled correctly, he'd seen a rather nasty looking puddle starting to evaporate in the heat of the sand where he'd seen a fish. It was reeking, and when he picked it up by the fin, he was revolted to find some sort of maggot in its eye.

He flung it away, garnering the attention of the scavenging animals... and clearly, whatever had been making a home in the dead fish were just as appetizing to them as the fish themself.

It took him a little while to compose himself, after that. He found a nest of marshfowl eggs, cool to the touch of his cheek and smelling vaguely rotten even through the shell. He carefully nudged some grass over his find, looking for and securing a turtleshell to fill with some sludgy, clay-rich mud before carefully settling the eggs in, and dragging them back.

Much like the rotten fish, the abandoned, foul eggs seemed to be a popular find... but he couldn't just scavenge things for these darling girls-- they needed real protein to thrive on, and so he found his way back to a reed-covered pond not far off the grass-covered sand dunes nearby, quickly bagging a frog unwise enough to hop out into the open in front of him, and then two... shrews? Large marsh rats? He'd crushed the heads enough that he wasn't entirely certain, but the tegus didn't seem to mind.

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username: Anhelisk
Roll Results: 4, 14, 18, 10, 10
RP?: Y
Ticket Total: 6

[Zuki]

The still-nameless kiokote doe blinked, masking her surprise with stoicism. She hadn't expected to be approached so warmly.

"I...feeding the reptiles, yes. It wouldn't do for anyone to go hungry at winter market." Yes. Foraging. That was something she knew how to do! And it would get her out of this crowded space of unfamiliar kiokote and other kin, crowding about for the family reunion, or just to see the familiar spectacle of Strange Creature's herptile hoard-slash-petting-zoo.

But she couldn't stop herself from flinching in surprise when a blue kimeti buck strolled up to her like they were old friends.


"Ah, come to help us feed the tegus? Let's go! I'll show you exactly where to look. Last time I was here I spent..."

The kiokote scanned the brush and scraggly beach trees for signs of nests,letting the young bucks patter wash over her like the sound of tides over sand. She hadn't said a word to him. But, she hadn't tried to lose him, either...

6. A whole haunch of boar? For tegus? This is way too fresh. They nibble politely, but would prefer something a little grosser. No tickets, these animals are NOT sophisticated enough for this.
12. There’s some pumpkins left over from fall. They’re a little out of place at the beach, but the tegus like them! +1 ticket.

Kio: "Feasts are common in winter celebrations. So I had this stashed away. Don't worry about the slime."

4. You find a dead fish. It’s foul and disgusting, falling apart and the smell… ew. Ew ew ew. You try to fling it away but the tegus find it first. +1 ticket.

Pebble: "Piiough! That one was RIPE! But see? They're scavengers!"

8. You’ve been looking everywhere but all you can come up with is some wild mustard greens. The tegus eat the ghastly greens but their glares make it obvious that they hate it. +1 ticket, they need to eat their salad.

Pebble: "You're a monster! Look how sad they are!
Kio, unflinching and implacable: "Everyone will eat their greens. Everyone."

19. You find a delicate nest of songbird eggs, each spotted shell a tiny work of nature’s art. +1 ticket, but was it worth it?

Pebble: "Almost too beautiful to touch..."
Kio: "All life requires death."
Pebble: "...you're grim, lady."

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Zuki
Roll Results: 4, 6, 8, 12, 19
RP? Y
Ticket Total: 6

[SkylerKarashi]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : SkylerKarashi
Roll Results: 2, 7, 18, 19, 20
RP?
Ticket Total: 3

[Astoria]

18 20 4 6 19

4. You find a dead fish. It’s foul and disgusting, falling apart and the smell… ew. Ew ew ew. You try to fling it away but the tegus find it first. +1 ticket.
6. A whole haunch of boar? For tegus? This is way too fresh. They nibble politely, but would prefer something a little grosser. No tickets, these animals are NOT sophisticated enough for this.
18. As you’re looking for lizard food, a fat frog flings itself in front of you. Sorry, friend. It’s fate. +1 ticket.
20. You thought about getting caiman eggs but don’t want to risk it, so you get some tortoise eggs instead, confident that tortoises aren’t what you’d call “good moms.” Not like caimans. +1 ticket.

Oh! Twig was curious about this particular booth. Deciding to give it a go she wrinkled her nose when she found a dead fish. It...... was not pleasant. She wasn't sure she'd be able to eat for a week afterwards. Next, haunch of boar. She knew a pack of wolves would probably enjoy this, however, tegus, not so much. As she nosed around a little more she had a fat frog jump right in front of her. Was this food? She'd take it anyway, sorry mate. Finally she had to make a decision between some caiman eggs and some tortoise eggs, in the end she went with the tortoise. Hopefully they wouldn't hate her for that!
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Astoria
Roll Results: 18 20 4 6 19
RP? Yes
Ticket Total: 4

[Kalahari]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username: Kalahari
Roll Results: 9, 13, 17, 19, 19
RP? Easy Rhythm felt delighted by the chance to help out - another Winter Market, another diverse gathering of kin and their familiars with different tasks offering special rewards for those who could do it just right. Though her eyesight remained... questionable, considering it was stated that the tegus could eat just about anything? Well, she figured it wouldn't be that hard to find them a good meal or three. So the zikwa set off into the undergrowth, using her sense of smell and hearing more than her eyes to seek out things that lizards might enjoy. First, a little sparrow nest noticed by the mother bird flitting away loudly when she startled it. They were such lovely little blobs, and she could imagine the delicate crunch of the shells between her own teeth - but no, she needed to bring these back for the tegus. The nest made a good enough container to carry them back in, and she was delighted when the lizards found equal enjoyment in crunching down on the eggs.

Next, she found herself stumbling over a bone. It looked nice enough for chewing on... but when the tegus turned their heads in disinterest, she gamely turned herself around to go looking for something else instead.

Rhythm got lucky though, and found another songbird nest. This time the owner wasn't present, and she had nearly run her face into it before realizing the tangle in the low hanging branch carried yet more delicious little treats. Tempting as it was, she held back from eating any and carried the nest back with great care. She watched the lizards chow down - but two little bird nests' worth of eggs was hardly enough for hungry, hungry lizards. Seting forth again, the next foray leading her to a lovely prize by way of hearing a low buzz - a mostly empty hive, abandoning by a swarm no doubt... not that there weren't a few stray workers still clinging to their old home. Each sting drew yelps and cries, shaking and tossing herself about to dislodge the tiny attackers. In the end though, victory! Surely these tegus would enjoy a sweet, sticky treat if they would eat almost anything, right? Right!

She had one last foraging session left in her. This time it was her sense of smell, now reminded of the delicious fragrance of honey with the first hive, that led her to the true treasure: An entire log, with not just a hive (this time thankfully completely abandoned), but a clutch of turtle eggs nestled within it as well! It took all of the slender zikwa's strength to drag her find back with her, but she managed - and stood victorious for her efforts. It just felt good to help!
Ticket Total: 7

[Kalahari]

I rolled a 13! May I please have the watersnake?

[doomsayer]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : doomsayer
Roll Results: 9, 3, 9, 10, 13
RP? Ditzy Slick usually has a difficult time focusing on one thing for long enough to actually make anything of that focus or be able to do anything that affects anything, but one look at this creature has her obsessed. The sounds it makes causes her to erupt in laughter and she can't help making cooing noises at it.

She puts all her efforts into finding it something to eat--but she hasn't the first clue what it actually eats. It would take too long to find someone who knows--her poor little friend would starve to death by then! So she does what she does best, go into a manic scatterbrained frenzy to cobble together whatever can be considered remotely edible and offer it to her scaly buddy!

Some beehives? Ha! They'll be a crunchy treat!
A dead rat? Meat is meat!
Some eggs belonging to a creature she doesn't know? That's protein!
A banana? A banana is healthy. Everyone likes bananas!

Ticket Total: 8 + 1 RP ticket (Also, dang! Someone beat me to the 13!)

[Scaramouche Fandango]

I rolled a 13! May I please have the watersnake?

Yes! All yours!

[Fasti]

4. You find a dead fish. It’s foul and disgusting, falling apart and the smell… ew. Ew ew ew. You try to fling it away but the tegus find it first. +1 ticket.
2. Sea turtles like eating jellyfish, yeah? Maybe tegus will, too! Oh, no, they hate it actually. No tickets.
15. Blueberries! What are they doing blooming this late? Don’t question it, surrender the berries to the tegus. +1 ticket.
14. A wayward marshfowl hen has made a nest here and then abandoned it. Tegus like eggs, right? +1 ticket.
15. Blueberries! What are they doing blooming this late? Don’t question it, surrender the berries to the tegus. +1 ticket.

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Fasti
Roll Results: 4
RP? Grained Melon stood at the edge of the tegus habitat, his ears perked and twitching. He looked over at the two tegus lounging in the sun, a deep blue and a vibrant green, their scales glistening like gemstones in the light.

“Okay, I’ll go find them something to eat,” Grained Melon said, puffing out his chest. “I’m sure I can find something they’ll love.”

“Just remember,” Strange Creature reminded him, “Tegus are omnivores, but that doesn’t mean they should eat everything!”

Grained Melon nodded, determination in his heart. He bounded off into the underbrush, the smell of wildflowers and the sound of rustling leaves filling his senses. As he tramped through the forest, he kept an eye out for something delicious for the tegus. His first discovery was a bedraggled, dead fish half-buried in the mud of a meandering stream. It was foul and smelly, its scales glimmering unappealingly in the sun.

“Ew, ew, ew!” Grained Melon exclaimed, wrinkling his nose. He tried to fling the fish away from him with a swift kick, but the fish flew in a lazy arc, landing right in front of the inquisitive tegus. Before he could protest, they were upon it, chewing eagerly.

“Uh, guys, maybe not that!” Grained Melon called, a shudder running through him as he watched them devour it.

Unfazed, the tegus seemed pleased. Their tongues flicked out in delight. Grained Melon glanced around, searching for something more appropriate.

Suddenly, he recalled how sea turtles loved jellyfish. “Maybe tegus will like jellyfish too?” he murmured. He found a few glimmering strands in a puddle and gathered them up. But as he presented them proudly to the tegus, their expressions turned to disgust as they turned their snouts up.

With a defeated sigh, he looked towards the sky; it was turning a divine shade of blue, and he spotted a patch of late-blooming blueberries not far off. He trotted over and gently picked as many as he could carry.

“Perfect!” he said, bouncing back towards the tegus with the berries nestled between his hooves. “These could be working!”

As he offered the blueberries, they lunged for them, their jaws snapping with joy. The taste was magnificent, and Grained Melon felt a swell of pride. Maybe he was getting the hang of feeding them after all. They munched happily, their colorful scales shimmering as they basked in the sun.

But his adventure wasn’t over yet. As he explored a nearby thicket, he stumbled across a nest abandoned by a marshfowl hen. He hesitantly peered inside to find a handful of fragile eggs, slightly speckled and pristine.

“Tegus can’t eat these, right?” he thought. But his instinct told him they liked eggs. Carefully, he nudged one out of the nest and brought it back to the waiting tegus, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety.

“Here, it’s an egg! Go on, try it!” he encouraged, hoping for the best.

The tegus paused, eyeing the egg suspiciously. After a tense moment, they freaked out, scrambling backward, their tails snapping in fright. Grained Melon felt a blush of embarrassment.

“Sorry, sorry! Maybe it wasn’t the best idea,” he chuckled, gently rolling the egg back into the underbrush.

With the sun dipping below the horizon, casting an orange glow, Grained Melon finally settled with the two satisfied tegus, both of them now full of blueberries. He felt accomplished despite the missteps, grateful for their companionship, and fascinated by their quirky tastes.

Ticket Total: 5

[Dizzy_Kat]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Dizzy_Kat
Roll Results: 11 10 12 17 5
RP? (if yes, add one to the ticket total, and remember, ANY RP at all counts!)
Ticket Total: 4

10. Mmmmm, rodent surprise. Eat up, babies! +1 ticket.
11. HOLY SH- IS THAT A MANGO? IT IS????? +1 ticket and some happy lizards.
12. There’s some pumpkins left over from fall. They’re a little out of place at the beach, but the tegus like them! +1 ticket.
5. You bring a strange, exotic fruit with skin like hide and a soft green inside. An avocado… thanks… They don’t eat it and look kinda disappointed. No tickets.
17. Tegus are like scaly dogs, right? And dogs like bones? You bring back a smallish femur, and the tegus show zero interest. No tickets.

Bite was back at Winter Market. Again, reality had begun to shift and he found himself remembering more and more of those strange moments and forms within them. There was hope, small and held tight to his chest, that he might meet The Other again in one of these many forms. He wandered the strange beach, reminded of the first arrival of the Harbinger and the strange rip he had opened to that sunny shore so long ago. It had been the beginning of the descent into madness Night Father seemed to be suffering. The once powerful figure in Bite's life withered to an old man clinging to his beliefs regardless of the truth laid bare before him.

These thoughts clouded his mind until he near ran into the group of distinctly reptilian kin. More surprises, he found himself still in his own fur. These were kin, hatched and born as they appeared. The one in charge was asking for food for the multitude of reptiles at her hooves. Well, that was something Bite was experienced in at least. He nodded without a word and slipped off into the grassy dunes.

Moments later he returned with a large rat and the femur of a creature it had been feeding from. The tegu's clearly favored one over the other. As Bite observed what others were bringing he got a better idea of what they seemed to prefer. It wasn't as exhilarating, but a few minutes back into the swamp and he had a large leaf bundle containing a mango, some small late season pumpkins, and a strange fruit he'd never seen before. He unfurled it before the lizards and stepped back. Ah, yeah that did it. It was messy and feral and satisfying even if it was just fruit.

[Baneful]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Baneful
Roll Results: 14, 19, 13, 3, 7
RP? Will add rp tommorow I'm 2tired
Ticket Total: 5

14. A wayward marshfowl hen has made a nest here and then abandoned it. Tegus like eggs, right? +1 ticket.
19. You find a delicate nest of songbird eggs, each spotted shell a tiny work of nature’s art. +1 ticket, but was it worth it?
13. Jackpot! You find a rotting log that has an abandoned beehive and a bunch of turtle eggs. Drag this whole thing back to the beach, and if you’re the first person to hit 13, help yourself to a familiar by quoting Scara. [Won by Kala!] Also (and for everyone after), +2 tickets.
3. Who doesn’t like a banana? The tegus devour it. +1 ticket.
7. This rabbit has been sitting out for so long that it’s turned into jerky. The tegus do not want this! No tickets.

[Lutz]

SPECIAL DELIVERY
Username : Lutz
Roll Results: 19, 14, 3, 11, 16
RP? Starving couldn't stand by and let hungry creatures feel the pain in their stomach that she constantly felt! Not only that, but she might find some of the things these lizards ate enjoyable, too. She could probably sneak a snack here and there or take what they didn't want.

Her hunt began successfully with some rather beautiful eggs. She was pleased to find that there was enough for the hungry lizards as well as one for herself. Definitely worth it, thank you very much! More eggs were on the list this time, larger but less plentiful than the little songbird nest. She ended up letting the two big eggs go to the lizards, though her stomach gave a snarl in retaliation. She'd find something better later, she was sure.

Unfortunately, she found a banana a bit later. That was good for the tegus, not so great for her. Though it seemed some of them were starting to get a bit full...maybe if she found more fruit things they'd fill up on that and any more eggs or meat could be hers. She hunted a bit harder and found some mango, which made the lizards VERY happy!

Her final find was a big pile of grubs. She'd eat bugs as a last resort, so she passed them off to the last tegu that was looking for a little more to top it off. She had some pretty happy, content lizards around her, but her own stomach was still empty. She'd have to go hunt for herself and come back later to see if any of the critters wanted to tag along with her.
Ticket Total: 6

[Scaramouche Fandango]

SURPRISE BONUS TICKET OPPORTUNITY
I told you there would be some surprises!

First people to quote me with what these sleepy creatures I saw at the zoo are (common name and/or scientific name) get one ticket each! One per person, and quote codes are below the pictures so you can grab them quickly if you're on mobile.


This Australian lizard has upward-facing nostrils it can seal when it dives, making it even better adapted to water than the Asian water monitors.

Code: Select all

[quote="Scaramouche Fandango"]
[imgwidth=400]https://i.imgur.com/2PvCzWM.jpeg[/imgwidth]
This one's a NAME!
[/quote]

This little rattlesnake's name comes from an Ojibwe word that means "great river-mouth." Well, one of its names. There's a BUNCH.

Code: Select all

[quote="Scaramouche Fandango"]
[imgheight=400]https://i.imgur.com/rR7aeEr.jpeg[/imgheight]
This one's a NAME!
[/quote]

This sleepy guy is an Australian monitor with a few common names. The most interesting of them comes from Greek mythology, and plays into this lizard's need to always be watching and uh, monitoring the situation. Eyes on the prize, as they say!

Code: Select all

[quote="Scaramouche Fandango"]
[imgwidth=400]https://i.imgur.com/QgTYREM.jpeg[/imgwidth]
This one's a NAME!
[/quote]

[rexcorvus]

This one's an eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus)!