<strong>Eshalu - confronting the Saurian matriarch</strong><br/><br/>There was the steady movement of<em>something</em>encircling their position. Eshalu sensed it. Perfectly blended in the foliage, shifting and prowling the sharp, uncanny ease of an arboreal predator, but she saw them. They were just streaks of disturbed light - flashes of odd colours delineating the shapes of muscle and skin in movement. Eshalu tightened her grip on her spear. She kept her eyes focused on the light, seeking out the slightest irregularity. The sensation of being so observed by Kelcis's predatory kin was unsettling. It triggered something deep in her racial memory - the fear of being overwhelmed by large, scaly sylvan predators. It had been aeons since the lands of her People - at that time, according to legend, they were hotter and wetter - had been inhabited by Saurians, but the instinctive triggering of the combat reflexes mechanism in her subconscious mind was unmistakable.<br/><br/>She waited for Aeryn to finish their introduction to the matriarch. Something felt wrong, though. The matriarch's words faded, becoming only a low, sibilant ringing in her ears. Her analytical mind receded, allowing her more primal instincts to take over.<br/><br/>"You have summoned many children to your side, Cold Mother," Eshalu said, clasping the shaft of her spear tightly, her biceps tense with anticipated effort, "my companion has introduced us - will you not introduce them?"