Breeding and such
Taking a step forward, you’re greeting by a massive cavern with echoing caws and chirps, feathers and fur occasionally fluttering across the air, and figures gliding across the cavern and landing on ledges before walking into smaller caves that can only be assumed to be dens. Most of the four legged avian-like creatures are occupied with their own matters, leaving you at the entrance until you see a figure soar in your direction from a ledge on the far end of the cavern near the top that seemed to be decorated with crystals, gems, and posted with what looks like guards. Within seconds, the soaring figure lands before you, its features becoming more clear. Standing before you is a brightly colored Cawhowler that seems to be two different tones on each side, both avian and serpent heads staring at you, intently.

“Ah, welcome to our little cavern. This is where many Cawhowlers come to breed and nest with their eggs. With you being here, I take it that you have a dame or sire that you wish to breed?”

It then lets out a small sound that resembles something similar to a chuckle.

“Of course you do. Why else would you be in this part of the tunnel system? Anyways, my name is Ramiel! I help keep track of all the breeding pairs around here so we have an idea of who is who and the different types of offspring that are born to our species. Come, follow me, that way you aren’t just standing in the entrance and so we can discuss this elsewhere.”

With that, he turns tail and walks along the rough ledges of the cavern, occasionally waiting for you to catch up, giving you a better opportunity to view all the different Cawhowlers that lived in this part of their land. With their darker pelt colors, it was easier to tell that many of them lived underground and in the caverns, while a few others had brighter pelts that helped make it clear that they must live above ground and see the sun more often. Along the way, a large male that seems vastly different from the Cawhowlers around landed on the ledge near Ramiel, quietly murmuring to him, not seeming to notice your presence, though if he did, he certainly wasn’t showing it. He was a dark gray, nearly black, with faint red streaks running through his pelt while his back paws tips were a bright crimson. A crimson streak seemed to also run down his head, well, heads, seeing that he had not just the one normal avian head, but also a canine like head. Tusks were hanging from his beak and he had sharp spikes coming from his back that was mostly covered by thick leather wings. Finishing their discussion, Ramiel gives a sort of smile and motions for you to keep following him, the large male walking beside him, his dual headed serpent tail glaring at you the entire way to a small cave that glowed with small flames that lined the bottom edges along the walls. Ramiel and the large male settled down on the fur and feather covered ground, waiting for you to sit.

“Sorry about that. This here is Chernobog, son and second in command to our queen. He’s also my brother from another hatch. He was just informing me of some new hatchlings that were due to hatch any day now that’ll eventually be sent to our adoption center. Now, let me tell you a bit more about the breeding of our species.”

The dual pelted male carefully pulled out a paper scroll out of a small pocket in the wall and unrolled it.

“Our males around here can breed up to nine times while females can breed only up to five times. Males are able to breed more as they don’t have cooldowns to worry about, while the females do. It’s also limited, as we don’t want to overpopulate and have an overabundance of Cawhowlers everywhere. That would put a strain on nesting space and resources. However, if you do run out of breedings and would like to keep breeding a male or female, then you’ll have to appeal to our queen, and that usually comes with a high fee. Now, to also help with keeping breeding under control, we put up a fee to be paid in order for the breeding to occur, including having a nest to lay the eggs in safely. There are also items that you may use that would help with litter size, gender, etc. You can find a shop with those items in the next cave over beside this one here. The average litter size can range from two to three eggs, though the most that we’ve heard of is five eggs in a clutch, which is pretty rare. As for the gender of the hatchlings, it varies, as there is no definite for males or females. It’s all by chance.”

As Ramiel spoke, your gaze shifted over towards the large male, Chernobog, who looked like he would rather be somewhere else. It was easy to tell the differences between him and Ramiel, and the inverted pelt male noticed your gaze shift.

“Ah, so you’ve noticed that Chernobog looks a bit different from myself and most Cawhowlers. My brother here is a rare case and is considered a legendary sort around here, due to his many mutations. Mutations are pretty rare around here, but they do happen. We’ve been able to classify the different types of mutations and mark the rarity of these rarities. With all that we’ve gathered, it is impossible to have every mutation, as some contradict each other. We do have an item that purges the genes and reverts them back to a normal Cawhowler look, but also another one that purges the genes of any lethalites and keeps the mutations that aren’t harmful to their health. Mutations that we are aware of presently don’t pass on naturally and it’s by pure chance that a mutation will appear on a Cawhowler. DNA is truly complex, but like I mentioned before, they don’t naturally pass. A very complicated topic, though i’m sure you don’t want to go on with this. If you do have any questions, feel free to talk to me or my brother here.”

Pushing himself up, he stretched out his legs and wings before standing up, Chernobog standing up beside him as his heads focused on the cave entrance.

“Alright, I believe that’s everything.”

“You forgot to tell them about the stud list.”

The dark pelted male spoke up, almost bored with having to remind him.

“Oh, right! If you only have one Cawhowler, yet would like to have your’s bred, we have a list of males that are listed by our queen that are able to be bred to. The fee to breed is the same, regardless of the male, though you have to be sure to ask the owner of the stud if the breeding is okay. Once they say okay, then be sure to let either of us know so we’ll be able to go ahead and approve the breeding. Once it’s approved, then the fee gets sent in and the two are paired together before the female is nested with her clutch of eggs. It takes about three days for the eggs to hatch, though we currently don’t have items or materials to make them hatch quicker. Now, this time I do believe that is everything. If you want to hit up the shop, it’s right next door. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

As soon as his brother finished talking, Chernobog let out a small huff from his two main heads before padding out of the cave and back into a cavern, hearing his wings unfold and take off. Hearing a sigh, you see Ramiel walk over, looking at the entrance for a moment before turning his gaze to you.

“Don’t mind him. He just hates being underground. Nothing against you. ”

He then drops a small scroll on the floor at your feet.

“Here, it’s a small recap of what I explained to you, just to make it easier. If you have any questions, i’ll be at the cavern entrance where you first came in. Also, remember that the shop is in the next cave over should you like to have a bit more control over your breeding results.”

With a nod of his head, he pads out of the cave, leaving you with the scroll. Opening it, you look over at the scroll’s contents where it’s set up as a bulleted list.

-Males can breed 9 times.
-Females can breed 5 times.
-Clutch size averages 2-3 eggs and can range from 1-5 eggs.
-Mutations are rare and are currently not passable.
-Stud fee is the same for all studding or breeding.
-Eggs take 3 days to hatch.