#rhrellia

First Day

It was their first day, and Rhrellia was feeling rather nervous. It seemed a little silly; this was something they had been trained for and were excited to have finally happen, but there was still that nervous feeling fluttering in their stomach.  They took a deep breath and worked to keep themselves calm, but when they reached the top of the hill, they got their first good look of the hatchery.

“Oh wow...” The hatchery was one of the complexes that was established for the breeding and development of young Anura tadpoles, situated in a large area of marshland. And it was huge.  There were a few buildings spread out over the area, but the vast area was just marsh and wetlands surrounded by a large fence to keep the wilderness out.  It was both impressive and intimidating, adding to Rhrellia's nervousness, but they took in a deep breath, slowly calming their nerves before continuing down along the path towards the main gate.

The main entrance wasn't very big and seemed to have only a simple guardhouse; something that surprised Rhrellia at first.  As they approached, they could see two other Anura ahead; a taller one dressed in simple armor and holding a spear while the other, stockier one was wearing more simple clothing. The two noticed Rhrellia's approach and the stocky Anura raised their hand up in greeting.  “Hello there!”  They called out, “You must be the new caretaker!”

“That's right.” They replied, “I'm Rhrellia.”

The stocky Anura nodded, “Pleasure to meet you!  I'm Seralha, I'm the supervisor of the care grounds here.”  They introduced the other guard, “This is Crvohk, one of the senior patrol guards. They'll be your partner here to help show you around and help you get acclimated to how we do things here.”

Rhrellia nodded, looking to the taller Anura, “Nice to meet you!”

Crvohk nodded, “And you.”

Seralha smiled and nodded, “Right!  Let's get you inside and situated before the day really starts!  I hope you're not too tired from your trip.”

“Oh not at all.”  Rhrellia said, “I'm actually really excited to get started here!  This has been something I've been looking forward to for the past few months!”

“Excellent!” Seralha smiled, “Well right this way, we'll show you to your room!” The two Anura lead Rhrellia into the compound proper, even inside they were still amazed by the size they of the place. Their first stop was to the bunk house, where most of the guards and caretakers stayed.  They were shown their new room and was able to drop off their traveling gear, before heading out to the see the rest of compound.

“The marsh is separated into six different pools.” Seralha explained, “It helps makes watching over the tadpoles easier for the guardians, as well as help keep up with our roll call.” As the morning came and the sun started to rise into the sky, the area started to wake up and come alive.  The tadpoles were waking up and started to play around while other Anura caretakers started their work.  Seralha showed Rhrellia around the area they would be working, instructing them about their procedures for meals and the times for school and play time.  Crvohk then took them around the perimeter, explaining their patrol routes and showing them where the guard stations, armories and first aid stations were placed.

“We usually rotate and take turns on certain duties.”  Crvohk explained, “Some days we'll take care of the manual labor, feeding and cleaning, the other times we'll be on patrol to chase away any of the larger predators.  Thankfully, over the years, things have been pretty quiet since most of the predators know to stay away.”

“That's good.” Rhrellia said, nodding before they smiled.  “So when do I start?”

Seralha laughed, “You are an eager one!”  They smiled, “Well, I think that covers about everything, so I think you can get started whenever Crvohk says.”

They nodded at that, “We'll be working in the east section, we've been short-handed after one of our older caretakers retired.  We won't have you start on patrol just yet, so you'll be helping with the the feeding and manual labor tasks.  This way you can get meet the tadpoles and they can learn who you are as well.”

Rhrellia smiles and nodded. “Alright, that sounds good!  Ready when you are!”

Seralha left the two as they headed to the eastern marsh area.  The different ponds were separated by natural raised walls made of more solid earth with natural pathways set up so the older Anura could walk around while carrying supplies.  Along the sides were several wooden docks that lead into the waters where there were other caretakers and teachers with schools of tadpoles all gathered around.  Some of the tadpoles noticed Rhrellia and swam over to them and almost immediately started asking many different questions, making Rhrellia laugh a little before the teacher managed to wrangle them back over to continue their lessons.

The rest of the morning went by and Rhrellia was proving to be a natural at this.  They worked well with the other caretakers, going about the tasks quiet well, and taking time to meet and talk with some of the other tadpole schools they got to meet.   By the afternoon,  Crvohk came over with some of the other caretakers.  “C'mere Rhrellia.  It's about time to start the afternoon roll call, we'll show you how that works and how we handle that.”

Rhrellia nodded and walked with the group as they approached the edge of the pool.  The schools all gathered and they started to do their head count, calling out the names.  While it was slow, it seemed pretty simple and straightforward.  However, an uneasy silence fell over the caretakers.  “Is something wrong?” Rhrellia asked.

Crvohk didn't answer right away.  “....we're a few numbers short.”  They said, “This isn't too uncommon though; but this is why we do multiple counts throughout the day...”

“Do we have anything to be worried about?”

“I hope not.” Crvohk replied,  “They might be playing or hiding and just didn't hear the call.”  They made the call again and redid the count, but they arrived at the same number.  “Okay...now we have to worry.”

Rhrellia's ears twitched, starting to feel nervous.  “What do we do in this case?”

“We don't panic, first of all.” Crvohk said.  “The caretakers here will check the immediate area and see if they're nearby.  We'll go and check the perimeter fence and just make sure things are alright there.” 

With a plan in mind, two of the caretakers went int the water while Crvohk took Rhrellia and headed for the tall outer fence. “We'll just do a quick check of the fencing, just make sure there isn't anything strange or damaged.”  Crvohk said, the two jumping into the water and swam towards lower sections. The fencing was made mostly of hard wood, held together by lengths of metal wiring, leaving little to now space for anything to slip in or out.  At first glance, everything appeared to be sturdy, but the two moved in closer and started to inspect it, rapping and pushing against the sections.  Rhrellia was tapping along until they came to a section that rattled.   Startled, they gave it a firm push, discovering a section that could be pushed out, creating an opening that lead right out into the marsh beyond.

Crvohk saw this and he had a worried look on his face.  “Oh no...”

Rhrellia pushed on the board and looked out, letting out a gasp,  “I see one of them!”  They said and started to squeeze through the opening, despite Crvohk's protests.  They quickly swam over to the scared looking tadpole.  “It's okay, you're gonna be safe.”  They said, reassuring the young Anura and gently coaxed, them out of their hiding spot holding onto their arm.  Rhrellia then swam back to the fence; Crvohk pushing on it so they could let the tadpole swim back in.

“The others must have snuck out through here then.” Crvohk said, the worry now clear in his voice.  “We'll need to warn the others and get a search party together.”

“Right, but we need to hurry!” Rhrellia said, “I can start on ahead!”

“What? No!” Crvohk said, “We have a lot of area to search, and there are still predators out there!  We need to gather the others.”

“But the longer we take, the greater the risk they'll get lost, or worse!” Rhrellia argued back. “I'm already out here, I can go on ahead and start the search, then I can meet up with you!”

Crvohk seemed to groan, but they relented. “Alright...” They said in a disapproving tone, “But take this with you.”  They pushed the fence open again and pushed their spear out for them.  “It's still dangerous out there.  Don't get into anything you don't think you can handle!”

“Thanks, I'll be careful!” Rhrellia took the spear and quickly turned and started to swim out further into the wild marsh.  Crvohk let out a small, worrying grumble. “Be careful you.”

Trying to track down and find a group of tadpoles was not an easy task; there was no way of knowing how long they were out here or how far they could have gone.  Still, Rhrellia had to stay calm; getting worried or panicky wasn't going to help anyone.   They quickly started the search by exploring the immediate area; checking around rocks and reeds, but so far there wasn't any sign of them.  Slowly, they started to expand their search and moved further out.

And further still.

This was starting to scare Rhrellia. They were now pretty far from the hatchery, too far for any of the lookouts to spot anything.  Would the kids really have gone this far out? Rhrellia climbed out of the water and onto the marshy shore, looking up into the sky.  It was slowly turning over into evening now; while there was still some daylight, it would only last few a few short hours at most.

“Not sure how much more I can do.”  They let out a sigh as they started to feel rather defeated.  They turned to head back to the water, but that was when something caught their attention.   Close to where they were, they could see what looked like tracks in the marshy ground.  As they moved in closer to investigate, they could see that they were animal tracks of some kind.  There weren't many but they were big; bigger than anything they thought was around here, and they actually seemed familiar.  Before they could give it any more thought, something else grabbed Rhrellia's attention; it was the sound of reeds clicking together, despite the lack of any wind blowing.  They turned and looked around, seeing the many clusters of reeds and plants at the edge of the water.  “Ah! That's it!  They must be hiding there!”

There was a huge sigh of relief and Rhrellia started to move to the water's edge, but they stopped suddenly again when they picked up a new sound.  They stayed still and listened close; it was more clicking but this time it was different.  This wasn't the sound of reeds or plants rustling against, this one was more distinct.  And it was one they recognized. They gasped, suddenly realizing what it was: the size of the prints and the sound of the clicking, the clicking of echo-location.  It was an Ursrapod.

That couldn't be right though, what was a dangerous apex predator doing so far out of their normal habitat?  Now Rhrellia was scared and they held their spear in a tight grip.  While they were trained to fight, most of it was against smaller creatures that were expected to be in the area, not something as dangerous as an Ursrapod. They stood still and slowly started to look around, trying to scan the area  There was a chance that they were already discovered by the Ursra's echo-location...

And they were right.

Despite its size, the predator came charging out from the brush, taking them by surprise.  It swung its large forearm out and slammed it against the smaller Anura, sending them off their feet and landing hard in the muck with their spear landing a few feet from them.

“Uuuhhh...” Rhrellia's head spun as they tried to recover, forcing themselves back up. They looked up in time to see the Ursrapod bring their tail around; the flower-like bulb on the end opening up to reveal the tail mouth, hundreds of sharp spines lining the 'petals' and the sharp teeth around the central opening.  They let out a gasp and jumped out of the way as the tail mouth came down, snapping the air where they were just seconds ago.  Rhrellia tried to stay up, but they slipped and fell back down and started to scramble, trying to reach the the spear. The Ursra moved quickly though and soon it was on hovering over them again.  Just as Rhrellia grabbed hold, the tail mouth came streaking down again.  They tried to roll out of the way, but this time the mouth snapped down and grabbed hold of one of their ear tendrils.  Rhrellia's breath caught in their throat as they tensed up, but the Ursrapod started to pull its tail back, causing the Anura's reflexes to kicked in and they tried to jerk back.

For a brief second, there was the sickening sound of flesh tearing.  Rhrellia let out a sharp, loud cry as pain hit them hard and flooded over their head and face. They tumbled forward and hit the soft muck again, letting out a gasp of pain as they could feel blood start to flow from their missing ear and onto their shoulder.  Rhrellia pushed themselves up, using the spear to help as they gritted their teeth and head ached.  They had to try and fight through the pain, else the predator was going to get more than just an ear.

The Ursrapod continued to advance on its prey.  Rhrellia saw it coming and tried to ready themselves as it charged. They dodged around it and ducked down, but they slipped in the muck again and lost their balance.  They were able to catch themselves this time, but they stumbled as they turned to attack back. They swung the spear, aiming for the predator's softer underbelly.  The blade made contact, but with their failing strength and the awkward swing, the blade only made slight purchase, hitting more on the tougher upper hit and only scratching the softer flesh below. The Ursra was quick to retaliate and used its hind legs to kick backwards.  Rhrellia tried to deflect, raising the spear up quickly, but the kick still made contact, sending the Anura spinning backwards and crashing into one of the rock formations behind them.  They landed awkwardly and the impact caused the spear shaft to shatter in their hands and the hooked blade sliced into their arm as they tried to catch themselves.

Rhrellia gasped out in pain, shaking in pain and fear as the world was spinning all around them.  “Oh no no no...”  Their mind was racing, trying to think of what to do as they could hear the Ursrapod advancing on them, ready to finish them off.  There was little time to think and they just let reacted instinctively as adrenaline surged through them. They dove down to the ground and grabbed hold of the spear head as the larger creature reared back up on it's hind legs, ready to slam down on top of them.  Using all of their strength, Rhrellia pushed themselves up and lunged forward.  They weren't aiming, but they managed to plunge the hooked blade right into the Ursrapod's forepaw, using their momentum to push forward, digging the blade in and dragging it up its' leg before they lost their grip and fell forward.

The Ursrapod let a loud, low groaning sound from the pain and pulled back.  It had taken enough damage now that it lost interest in its prey and it started to retreat back into the brush at a quick pace.

Everything was suddenly quiet.  Rhrellia didn't move for a few moments, laying still as their mind buzzed from the pain and body shook from adrenaline. Slowly, they pushed themselves up and looked around, “Is...is it gone...?”  All they could see was the broken spear pieces amongst the blood-splattered mud. As much as their body demanded rest,  Rhrellia had to make sure that the tadpoles were safe.  They pushed themselves up and slipped back into the water; the cold immediately hitting them and giving them a moment of relief as it dulled the pain.  Slowly, they made their way over to the reed patch and started to look around.  It was hard to see with the fading light, but after a few brief moments, they were able to see several pairs of eyes looking back out at them, followed by the smaller Anura tadpoles as they started to come out of hiding.

Finally, there was a huge sense of relief and Rhrellia nodded.  “It's okay little ones,  you're safe now.  Lets get you back home.”

“There!  Over there!”

Rhrellia was taken by surprise and they looked up and finally saw a group of the other caretakers approaching, including Crvohk. “Rhrellia!” The called out, shocked when they saw how injured they were.  “What happened?!”

“Ur...Ursrapod...”  They managed to say, “But...I found...found them.”  They pointed over to the reeds as more of the tadpoles started to come out of hiding.

The other caretakers started to gather the tadpoles while Crvohk helped Rhrellia to the surface, settling down on the bank as Seralha came rushing over with a first aid kit.  “What did you say?  An Ursra?  Are you sure?”

Rhrellia nodded slowly.  “I...I managed to chase it off...”  They started to recount the events of what happened and the encounter while the other two worked on bandaging them up. “Do you realize how dangerous it was to go off like that by yourself?”   Seralha said, looking and sounding rather flustered, “It's already dangerous out here for anyone by themselves with the just the normal predators, but to face off with an Ursrapod?”

Crvohk lowered their head down before speaking up, “They're not the only guilty one here, I let them go on ahead..”

“I should reprimand you both for it!” Seralha before they let out a heavy sigh.  “But...I'm just glad things didn't turn out worse than they did.  I'm also rather impressed that you were able to chase something like that off by yourself”  They looked to Rhrellia, “...first day on the job and you fight off an Ursra...”

Rhrellia looked down, at a loss for words, but Crvohk helped them back up to their feet.  “Come on, let's get back to the compound, we can discuss all of this in safer waters.”

It was slow going, but soon the three made it back;  Rhrellia never felt a sense of relief like they did when they were back inside.  “Did we...get all of them?”

Seralha slowly shook their head, hesitating to answer for a moment.  “Not all of them...we're still missing one.” They sighed, “I don't like to admit this, but with an Ursrapod out there...”  They didn't finish the sentence, the others knew full well what that meant.

“What's an Ursra even doing out here in the first place?” Crvohk asked.  “We're a long way off from any of their swamps.”

Rhrellia sighed as they held their head for a moment, “Something must have chased it or forced it out?”

“Maybe,”  Seralha said, “But Ursrapods don't leave their grounds very easily.  It would need to be something either very big or very devastating.”   They let out a sigh, “I think we can think on that some other time.  Crvohk, could you escort Rhrellia back to their room?  I think we all need to get some rest after all of this.  I'll need to speak with the others and make sure the fence is mended and we have extra patrols for the night.  Just in case.”

“Of course.” Crvohk nodded and he helped Rhrellia back to the bunkhouse and up to their room.  “Well, I have to say...you have a heck of a way of making a first impression.”

Rhrellia just let out a dry laugh, “It wasn't my intention.”

“I'm sure.” Crvohk said, “But you've certainly impressed me, just by going off like that to look for the missing 'poles.  I don't think many newbies would be willing to do that.”

Rhrellia sat down onto the bed. “I just thought...it would be a bad idea to wait any longer.”

“And you could have very well be right.” Crvohk said, “I wish I had gone with you though...could have saved you from loosing your ear like that.”

Rhrellia sighed, “It...I'll be aright.”

Crvohk nodded, “Well, you'll be off duty for a while I wager, and then on light duty after that.  Just make sure you don't make a habit of it, okay?”

“I'll try.”

Crvohk nodded, “You'll have a good story to tell the others at least.”  They reached into their pouch and pulled out the broken spear head and sat it on the side table.  “And a good trophy to go along with it.”

Rhrellia looked at the stained metal blade and shivered. “Yeah...I guess so...”  They slowly shook their head, “Still...I'm sad that we lost one of them.”

“I know.” Crvohk said.  “That's a feeling you'll never get used to...but sadly it's one of the risks of our job.  We do everything we can to watch and protect them, but sometimes, even with all of that, it can't be helped.”  They reached over and put a hand on their shoulder.  “Just remember, you saved many more today, and that's nothing to be taken lightly.  Okay?”

Rhrellia sighed, “I'll try.”  They looked up and gave them a weak smile. “Thanks.”

Crvohk nodded and turned to head out.  Rhrellia watched them before their gaze fell onto the blade again before letting out a sigh.  Exhaustion was finally starting to over take them and they laid back, finally letting themselves rest.

In the following days, the story of the Ursrapod encounter had spread through the compound, to both adult Anura and tadpoles alike.  Rhrellia found themselves retelling a few times, even showing off the spear head to those that asked.  The tadpoles would immediately recognize Rhrellia now, some even referring to them as the 'Ursra slayer'.  It was odd, but kind of flattering as well, so they were willing to roll with it.