Nearly half a year after the runt's hatching, the clutch has diminished by a further nine. Down to forty-eight. This was still considered a good year; the Culling slows as they get older and sturdier. Around this time was when the hatchlings would begin to actually listen to speech as words, rather than just noises made by the adults. Most of the time communication was limited to hisses and growls for another few months yet though.

One morning while sitting at his stone table, the same one upon which the runt had hatched, Korse looked down after feeling something bump his tail, only to see said tiny kobold tugging on it.

"Well, how'd you get out of your pen? I figured I had a few good months yet of you guys being out from underfoot." He ponders aloud, looking at his little hanger on.

With big, black eyes she looks up at him and hesitantly says, "What do?"

A look of shock on his face as he stares at the little one, "Huh?! What did you say?"

Beaming with pride and youthful curiosity. "What you do!"

Baffled by the apparent understanding from such a small hatchling, "Well, this is a first, six months old and already asking questions. I'm doing work."

Her eye's lighting up at getting an answer, her new favorite word coming next. "Why?"

Korse looked back at the table, not yet realizing the impact that one little word would come to bear, "I'm trying to figure out how much food we need for you and your siblings. As well as the five older clutches in this hatchery." He tries to explain, unsure how much she's actually understanding. "Moss from the farms only goes so far, then you need meat and bu...."

"Yay! Meat!"

Laughing at the adorable little interruption, "Yes, you quite like your meat, don't you. Like I was saying, and bugs, and even fish from the deep lakes."

"Fishy!" cries the little ball of scales and happiness. "Meat best! Fishies good too! Beetle fun, but not as good."

"Yes, but you have to be a good girl to get fishies," Pausing as he realizes what he just said before chuckling at himself, "And meat and good girls stay in their pen with their siblings." As he lifts the still tiny, forty-two cm tall hatchling, opens the gate and places her back into the pen. The pen that is nearly a meter deep, as tall as most adult kobolds ever grow, inset into the stone floor by nearly half its height.

He looks between the little kobold on the floor of the pen and the latch sitting what should have been well out of reach, "How the scale did she manage that?"

The next few weeks pass with much the same, every time Korse turns around he finds his tiny shadow following him. The minders that watch them in the later hours all experience the same. She'll be sound asleep in the little cubby she's claimed, turn your back on her and before they can take two steps, a tiny form is clasping their tails.

She isn't the first escape artist Korse has dealt with, but she is the only one that hasn't tried to escape the hatchery itself. The first hatchling he picked out of the clutch after he became an elder was similar, he ended up having to have Elder Bolst set up snares and traps to keep her from slipping out. Kora eventually learned to dismantle the various traps and even moved one late one night, catching the poor minder in it. She's already one of Bolst's best trappers.

This one however, does not seem to want to go anywhere; just to be with whatever adults are around. Usually, to pester them with questions. One afternoon just as Korse thought he would be able to get a meal, he felt that oh so familiar and somewhat dreaded tug on his tail.

"You Korse?" Her little pleading eyes looking up at him in a way that it's just impossible to refuse to answer

"Yes, little one, that's my name, Korse." He explains

"Why I no name?" She gives her head a little tilt to the side as she asks her question.

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"Well, my dear, that's just the way things go. you're too young for a name." He knew the dreaded response was coming, he could just see it on her tiny little face...

"Why?"

Trying to think of a way to explain things to her, "Well, what happens when you say or think 'Status' little one?"

"Stasus... Statis... Status... Status?" She fumbles with the new word a few times before it sounds right to her.

"Nothing, right?" receiving a nod in return, "You cannot access your Status until you take your first step into adolescence at three years old and it is unveiled to you. It's then that you'll be given your name." He knows he should leave it at that, that offering anything extra just means more questions, but he can't help himself but to continue with his lesson. "And then when you turn six, you'll unlock your class and be able to pick jobs to go with it." He explains to her. "That's when you're considered an adult and get your full name and become a true member of the Clan."

"Class? Jobs? Clan? What those?" The questions spill out of her as she cocks her head to the side.

"Patience, little one, patience, when your siblings are a bit older and they start to talk too, then the matrons from the chapel will come to teach you about the system and the history of the kobolds and the Emberscale clan."

"No wait! Now!" As she stamps her little clawed foot.

"Fine, fine, just a little, then back with the others you go." Korse sighs as he receives vigorous nodding in response. "When you turn three your status will unveil itself, it will show you the true things about yourself. How strong you are, how quick you are,"

As Korse says these things the little one begins to poke her arms and pose. "Not strong, not like brother. But quick!"

"Yes indeed." He smiles at her antics. "It will show you how healthy and durable and cunning, I think you'll have this last one in abundance, and even if you'll be able to awaken to the spark of magic." He says the last with a bit of reverence; Magic is rare amongst kobolds. "These will all be the truths of who you are, and the point from which you'll begin your life."

She continues to stare up, "That tell me name?"

"Not quite," He replies, "We the minders and the Elders will give you your name to celebrate the unveiling of your status." Trying to move on quickly before she asks him why the wait, "Then you'll join one of the Elders as an apprentice and they'll teach you how to do work to help the clan. Whether it's farming and making food, mining and quarrying stone to sell to the humans and other folk above. Or most likely for you, my little escape artist, helping Master Trapcrafter Bolst defend our caverns."

"Finding what you're good at and how you fit into the Clan, while learning Skills will help you get a good Class." He explains, "A class that you can begin your adult life with and in turn help improve the clan."

Thinking for a moment on how the Matrons describe it to the hatchlings, "A class is like a goal to work towards for the rest of your life. The more you work towards your goal, the more it gives you Abilities and improves your Ability Scores. This makes you stronger, faster, better at magic, or even smarter, so that you can better fulfil the goals of your class." Struggling to describe the complex system in a way she might understand. "As long as you do the things that your class calls you to, you will continue to grow."

The little one nods along, but Korse can't quite tell if she's doing so out of understanding or just happy he's trying to answer her questions.

"Now, take me for example. When I was a bit older than you, I would help the minders look after my clutchmates, or to clean up the brood chamber." He continues his lecture, hoping an example will help her understand. "When it was time for me to become an apprentice, they placed me here with the minders to help them with the younger hatchlings." A smile blooming on his face as he recalls his early years. "I enjoyed the work and was good at it and when it came time for my clutch to go to the Chapel of the Scale, my class reflected that."

"In the Chapel a relic of our ancient patron is kept, a scale from Emberscale, the Garnet Tyrant, for whom our Clan is named." A note of reverence bleeding into his voice as he spoke of the great dragon. "There in a ceremony referred to as our 'First Ascension' one by one we each placed our hands upon the great scale and were blessed with a class and a choice of our first 2 jobs." Pausing a moment before clarifying, "I'll just speak to the class for now." Not wanting to overload her with too much information. "For me that first class was Novice Brood Minder and I've spent the many years since, here looking after hatchlings like you." Giving her a poke in the belly as he says 'you'. "I've gained Levels, Skills, and new Abilities, that help me take care of you all, and tell me if anything is wrong in the hatchery."

Near the end of the explanation the little one plopped down and sat, quietly enraptured by the telling. Still somewhat caught up on the mention of magic but mostly having listened to the rest.

"Now, it's time for you to rejoin your siblings." Pointing back to the pen. "Go wrestle or whatever it is you do with them." Knowing full well she'll likely just sit and play in the dirt on her own.

Much to Korse's surprise, instead of waiting to be picked up or trying to climb the railing into the pen, the little kobold totters over and easily unlatches the gate, hopping down and pulling it closed with a clank behind her.

"Huh... Now I really want to know how she's getting out, there's no way she's reaching the latch from the inside... Is there?" Giving his muzzle a ponderous scratch as he tries to figure out how she's doing it.

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