The three eyed crow circled high above the serval. Their white fur stuck out against the black sands—almost like a beacon—but the animal didn’t call out greetings or request an audience with the Pharaoh. So, then, not a typical stranger… which was both intriguing and dangerous.

However! Vale had never had a normal response to danger. Xe fled the eruption. And, yet, xe enjoyed hunting coconut crabs despite hating the taste of those dreadful not-sentient carnivores. Dying was *annoying*, but potentially worth it xe learned something useful in the process. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!

With a cackle of a caw, the crow circled lower. Head tilted to the right, xe studied the serval.

“Aye, you a future friend?” Vale cawed.

Noisy wingbeats as Vale circled closer to the serval. However, xe wasn’t stupid; xe stayed out of range of an attack. Vale might’ve followed up with a threat or insult, but, hmmm, that seemed a bit rude. Maybe the feline had suffered a concussion or intense brain damage to arrive on the volcanic island.

“If you’re a future friend, you gotta prove you’re smarter than a coconut crab!”

At the serval’s sudden shapeshifting, Vale cawed in alarm and zigged away. However, as Vale adjusted xyr flight path to cruise by the stranger (in a wider circle), xe blinked all three eyes in bamboozlement. The stranger wasn’t shapeshifting into an aggressive shape, unless it thought baby bird barf was an elemental attack.

“By Requiem’s scales, became a current friend! Current! Friend!” Vale squawked. “You’ve proven sentience, so become a current friend and tell me the fuck you’re doing on Cannibal Island?!”

Vale’s wings beat noisily as xe circled the baby crow, quite reluctant to land and get near the thing. Children were petri dishes of diseases! They carried plagues in their grimy snotty pawpads! Or, well, feetsies in the case of this baby crow.