Korran motioned to the two Phib lackeys carrying the bundle. He drew his paw up, extending one curled talon and called them to bring the Find to him. His large jade eyes were bright with excitement. His eye slits had gone deepest onyx black as he contemplated this one. The bundle was shiny, which in and of itself made it a curiosity. As the Phibs laid it on the table in Korran's lab, he watched the silver covering sparkle and shift til the Find settled into place.

The large taloned paw waved the Phibs away and they backed out of the lab, doing their usual tedious bowing. Korran had so little use for them except when something needed fetching. The only exception was of course Berrick. Berrick was something of an enigma among his ilk. Korran was certain there had to be some inbreeding to aid this, but he respected this Phib too much to bring his heritage into question. Even as Korran finished these thoughts and turned once again to the Find, Berrick loped into the room.

The familiar sound of the old toad's toe pads on the smooth lab floor made Korran grin. His own scaled tail lashed back and forth as he turned to lower his head in greeting to his colleague. "I was just about to call you in."

"Ah. Well. I'd already heard. You know how quickly such news can spread." Berrick's voice always sounded gurgled to Korran, but he'd gotten used to it. Not nearly as pleasant as his own soft rustling rasp, but one cannot choose one's hatching.

Berrick drew his paw up and rested his chin on it while looking at the shiny bundle on the lab table. "Are you certain it's living still? Or ever was? Hardly looks organic to me."

"Oh it's living. It put up a fight at first, but was subdued."

"Minimal damage, I hope."

"As do I. We need to get this shell off it to see though." Korran's claws were already toying with the silvery casing of the Find. "Looks like a metallic cocoon or such. I don't think it's attached." Even as he said this, one sharp claw pierced the cocoon near what appeared to the top of it. He drew his talon down the length of the Find, cutting through the shiny weave easily. Both Berrick and Korran leaned in from either side of the lab table to see just what was inside the silver cocoon.

Berrick's eyelids blinked in from the sides and then the second pair blinked down. He'd not seen such a thing before. It appeared soft, which was not unusual for a pupae, but also smooth and rather pink to almost white. There were no markings on its hide at all, except for an indentation here, a raised bump there and an odd tuft of fur.

Korran nearly bumped Berrick in the head with his spine ridge when he leaned to peer into the top end of the cocoon. That part of the binding was different. It was solid. Korran tapped it to show Berrick it wasn't something they could easily cut through. Yet as he looked, he was convinced that it was still not connected to the pupae itself. "I think we can just slip it off."

"Are you mad? If it IS attached, we may tear off its head!"

"No no no. We'll do it slowly. If we meet resistance, we'll rethink it. Yes?" He looked at Berrick a moment but didn't really wait for a reply as his claws wrapped to either side of the rounded casing and began to pull it away.

Berrick gasped as Korran removed the casing completely and set it aside. "See?! Look what you've done. Look what has spilled out of it! You've torn it or something, I say!"

Korran drew down an eye ridge as he leaned in for a closer look. His talon swirled in the silken stuff pooled onto the lab table, then he lifted some strands up and belly laughed at Berrick. "It's fur, you fool. Granted, it's longer and finer than we've seen on the Warms. But it's still just fur. It's supposed to be on the outside. Come, let us get the casing away completely and we can start exploring."

Thick smooth digits and deft talons worked to slip away or cut away the remainder of the shiny cocoon. The four limbs were straightened out and lashed to the table. Korran had no way of knowing how long his potion would last to keep the Find subdued. A collar was placed around the Find's neck and secured to the table as well. Berrick was very careful moving the long fur up and out of the way to hang off the edge. He still suspected it was more vital than Korran theorized. They took a break then and stood back looking at the specimen.

"You know, Berrick. This is quite odd. I believe this is a biped."

"No, can't be. Nothing that frail could walk upright as we do."

Korran reached over and slipped a curved talon under the collar to check it and point out to Berrick, "But look how short its neck is. If it walked on all fours, it could not look up easily. And…" His paw curled as he ran the back of it down one of the upper limbs then continued down a lower one. "The limbs are not equal in length. Even in a crouch, as your people are so fond of, it's not built for that. I'm sure of it. It is a biped, I say." His long teeth were out in a grin now, as he loved to tease his colleague.

Berrick cleared his throat, though his change of demeanor was only mockingly defensive. "You know very well that the 'crouch,' as you call it, is only part of the mating ritual. We do not crawl about on all fours like the Warms."

Korran shugged his dark scaled shoulders and turned back to the Find, still grinning. "Well…" He splayed out his taloned digits and placed them over the middle of the Find, pressing lightly. "This is a Warm of some sort and it does not crouch, nor walk on all fours regularly. It's a warm-blooded biped. And I think… female, unless I miss my schooling."

Berrick stepped back up to the lab table and looked from one end of the Find to the other. "On that last bit I would have to agree. It has no organ with which to fertilize so it must be the egg carrier. Hmmm… unless something is hidden. I mean, some are difficult to locate." He tapped a toe pad to his thin lower lip as his large round eyes and thoughts pondered the Find.

Korran tisked at him. "Look at what's in front of you, Berrick." He brushed a talon across a swell near the upper end of the Find, accidentally catching the soft tissue with the sharp tip of his claw and leaving a red streak that was now beginning to drip dark red blood. "These are mammaries, meant to suckle their-"

"Blast you, Korran! Watch what you're doing there! You've injured it for certain this time and don't give me another flimsy explanation, like fur." Berrick grabbed a patch of sterile cloth and dabbed at the red slash until it stopped bleeding. He noticed how strangely the soft swell moved with his pressure.

Korran had already moved further down the Find's length in his research. "Oh. Sorry." His talons were starting to reach between the lower limbs when Berrick knocked his paw away.

The Phib scolded, "What are you doing now?!"

Again Korran shrugged. "Just looking for hidden appendages, I suppose."

Berrick harrumphed. He was still rather agitated but he knew he shouldn't be. Korran's methods were always the same. He wasn't very compassionate with specimens, but his research was always thorough. "Please allow me to investigate? I don't think we're ready for vivisection as yet." His tone was sarcastic but getting calmer as his curiosity returned. He leaned over the Find and let his digits part the lower limbs a bit further than the restraints had left them. Korran kept shifting, trying to see around Berrick's large head while the Phib probed near the small patch of fur, looking for… he wasn't sure. He wouldn't be surprised to find just about anything. This was a very strange creature.

"Hmmm… Nothing unusual here for a Warm." He was looking up and away at nothing while one digit slipped up between the lower limbs and, to Korran's eye at least, seemed to be inside the Find. Berrick was trying to interpret his findings. "Yes. Canal for bearing live young, I'm guessing."

There was a slight movement from the Find as Berrick withdrew. Korran and Berrick looked at each other then up toward the head of the Find. Indeed, its face was frowning and its lips were trying to form some sound, or so it appeared.

"Your potion seems to be wearing off, Korran."

( More weirdness later?)