The Drake Preserve

[SeaCrest]

THE DRAKE PRESERVE

You pass through a handsome cast iron gate, beautifully wrought with spiraling vines and blooming flowers (and, if you look carefully, a handful of drakes peeking out from among the greenery) and gilded with silver paint. Anchoring the gate on either side are low stone walls, only about chest high; if you strain, you can see over to the grass just behind the wall, spotted with daisies. Carefully, you close the gate behind you, making sure it latches, and continue down the wide gravel path towards what appears to be a gatehouse-turned-office. Beyond the building, you can see large enclosures, much like those used for housing birds, with metal cages keeping their inhabitants from flying off into the unknown.

Approaching the office, you are startled by a mid-sized drake swooping at you from your right, and duck instinctively.

"Rukia, no!" a voice rings out as you recover from the fright. You straighten to see a slender brunette in sturdy working clothes scolding the drake, a beautiful creature with bright wings.

Somewhat bemused, you wait for the stranger to finish her scolding. When she turns to you, she smiles apologetically.

"I'm sorry. She's quite curious, and even though I've been trying to stop her from actively ambushing visitors, she doesn't quite understand the concept of saying hello." She extends her hand to you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear with the other. "My name is Miri Farrowstead, one of the rangers here at the preserve."

You introduce yourself, and at Miri's gesture, the three of you continue towards the office.

When you inquire about Rukia, she smiles while shaking her head. "Oh, no, she's one of mine. Most of the workers here have several drakes of their own, and we encourage them to bring them to work so they can socialize with other drakes."

Would you like a tour of the facilities? Or would you rather meet Miri's personal drakes?

[SeaCrest]

FOUNDATION DRAKES


"This is Parhelion, one of our boldest drakes. They're the first one to greet new visitors, and quite friendly."


"This is Ettos. He doesn't much like visitors, but he's actually quite good with small children. We might be seeking to rehome him so that he has a more stable environment."


"This is Esa. She's not very fond of visitors, but she likes me and most of the other rangers."


"And that's Toren. He's a bit hot-tempered and impulsive, but he is one of our most intelligent drakes. We're hoping to teach him some tricks."


"This drake responds to the name Pele. We decided to add her to the drakes housed here to better study her unique mutations. She's a little flighty, and generally solitary."


"This is Kalia. She's very good in front of visitors and actually quite likes performing."


"Alaq is a bit of a runt, but they're good at making themselves heard. It's taken a while, but they've found a good balance with the other drakes here."


"Vili is actually "on loan" to us from Tea. He's from the flock that she spent a lot of time with on Odekka, and he'll be going back soon, although he will remain a part of our foundation stock."


"This is Huilan, one of our more exotic-looking drakes. She was created at the lab for a client that backed out at the last minute. She's rather imperious, but is always willing to share, and is a very fancy flier."


"Here we have Melly, named by Dr. Wong's niece. He's not exactly the brightest drake but he's very friendly and loves to nap in the sun, quite like a cat. He's Chloe's favorite."

[SeaCrest]

PERSONAL DRAKES

Miri scoops Rukia off of the counter with practiced ease as the drake eyes the mug of pens with interest, moving to a different door than the one you entered from. "I actually live here on the preserve," she explains, although she doesn't mention the office door with the nameplate that reads

MIRIELLE FARROWSTEAD, M.S., Ph.D.
Drake Export Office Preserve Founder & Caretaker

on it as you pass by it on your way out. "So my drakes hang out in one of our enclosures, especially right now when we don't have many drakes to show to people. Most of them are well socialized, but I'm quite attached to them, you see, and they don't technically belong to the preserve."

Rukia, of course, has been with you and Miri the whole time, but as you enter the enclosure, another drake immediately greets the three of you with a chirp. Miri lets the drake climb onto her shoulder with a smile.

"This is Lissa, my first drake. She actually was from one of the first clutches we found, and is a bit of a figurehead. Since she was hand-raised, she was a lot more receptive to strangers and lots of attention than our other drakes, most of whom are wild-caught, and not raised. We have a few clutches waiting, but trying to keep our population diverse here on the preserve means that we only keep one egg out of each clutch, two at the most," Miri explains.

A chirp-whistle calls out three other drakes, although two of them halt at the sight of you. The other clearly has no such qualms, bounding over without hesitation and accepting a treat from Miri.

"This is Aris. They're another one of my demonstration drakes, along with Lissa and Rukia. The two in the back are Nuri and Cahya. Nuri is the white one, and Cahya is the black. They're not the most demonstrative, unfortunately, but they hatched somewhat prematurely, so I hand-raised them, and they've stuck with me."