Upon entering the grove, you notice that the desert sand has begun to drop
away, revealing a dirt floor covered in small leaves. The canopy above
is sparse, letting plenty of sunlight dapple the ground in front of your
feet. You notice the outline of rather large pawprints in the dirt, and
you begin to wonder what, exactly, lives in this little grove of trees.
Suddenly you begin to hear a rather startling chorus of barking, yelling,
and...laughing?
Peeking through a break in several shrubs, you can see three canine-like
creatures playing, running and yelping. One of them notices you and stops
rolling; shaking out his coat and coming up to you.
*Hello there, traveler. Welcome to our grove. I am Quequeg.*
You smile slightly, saying hello to the canine. Getting a good look at
him, you realize that he is not quite a dog.
"What are you?" you ask him bluntly. Quequeg chuckles.
*I am a Senoch.* he answers simply.
You decide not to delve into a long and in-depth conversation that could
take hours, instead you nod slightly. Looking, you see two more Senochs
have come up to you and are sniffing your clothes with a vengeance. You
grin at them, and they return rather toothy smiles.
*This,* Quequeg starts, *is my mate, Ad!ania.*
The ruddy-colored Senoch female looks at you, smiling sweetly and blinking
slowly, looking you over with her emerald green eyes. Quequeg smiles again
and turns to the other.
*And this is my brother - !Kina'rah.*
This Senoch grins at you in a playful way, swishing his lion-like tail
back and forth. You immediately grin at him, his friendly countenance putting
you instantly at ease.
*Hullo.* he says in English, and you return the greeting.
Quequeg says something to !Kina'rah in that strange language that you've
been continuing to hear, and he suddenly bows to you, ambling over to a
smallish wooden structure and ducking inside.
*Well traveler, I'm sorry to be leaving you like this, but we are quite
tired after all of this play!* the Senoch grins and turns away.
You do the same, smiling to yourself as you think about the personable
creatures. Looking around, you see that you could go back to the meadow,
or turn back to the desert.
