The sounds of an already-recognized species was a surprise, to be sure, but not entirely expected. Birds had been used, in the last test's first environment, so it wasn't too far out, for them to be used yet again.

Troy did not seem to like this new development, though. Adam was sure about this, due to the usages of the new word, which he was rapidly portraying. A few gestures had also been used, with avid portrayal of the various activities. He was intrigued, the muscle memory to do such things must have to be a long and arduous task to learn. Adam had not even known Troy's fingers had been able to bend such directions.

The flexibility of his digits was not the most important matter at hand, currently, though. For the first time, in the last few minutes, the potential for progress had come forth.

It had all started off with, the larger reptile moving. Initially, Adam had only perceived it, as a possibility to get more information about it. With the lacking details, inside his current information, he was forced to only use, what he had gotten in this encounter. Which wasn't much, or even close to enough.

That did not mean the information was lacking in quality, of course. In fact, what it all lacked in quantity, it readily stood up for in quality. Adam would have truly never guessed, the true fact about, what resided in the jaws of the reptile. According to Troy's unconscious muttering, likely created by being deeply scarred mentally.

These black, writhing creatures were called leeches. According to his pre-known information, these creatures were known for their draining abilities, and the painful sensation, which they could cause.

In the first few seconds of knowing these creatures' existence, Adam had become sure in mind that these creatures were the other species, while would be shown in this environment.

They fit the criteria so nicely. Which, to be fair, was not too hard to fill. Yet, the fact of this event having been put into the environment, meaning that it had been added with a singular purpose. According to Adam's own assumptions, their purpose had been to show off the reality of life.

Everything leeched of everyone if given the chance. Adam had later realized the pun.

Could these creatures be blamed, for the things they had done? Were they evil, by sticking themselves to another creature, slowly killing by consumption? It could be strongly debated. It wasn't the fault of the leeches, that they were created such away. They didn't decide how they were going to be born. Their entire survival method is to prey on others. Without doing so, they would starve to death, their frail body becoming food of another animal in due time.

Did the act of surviving, their hectic spurrings, warrant them to be categorized as evil creates? No. It was the environment, which had forced them to be such a way. At first, there was a good chance, that these creatures had preyed on plant life, or something akin to it. When the area changed, though, these leeches had to change with it.

Doing the same thing as before is paramount only if one wants to be eradicated from the living. One's body needs to be optimized if they want to survive the battle of simply surviving. If the creature isn't perfect, for its environment, chances are, that it will fail to multiply itself enough times. Their numbers need to grow, or they will be forgotten by time.

These creatures were not evil. They adapted to what the environment was. A spot on the prey list was open, and these things took it. One can't be blamed, for the actions of one's forefathers. This rule includes the leeches, which survived through the mutation period, surpassing all the others.

All of this was supposed to be the start of Adam's description of the environment. He had just begun writing it all, after convincing Troy to look back at the mouth, when the bird's calls were first heard. With this, it quickly became obvious that he may have had a misconception on what the focus would be.

Troy had had the same misunderstanding as Adam, though, so it wasn't the worst. Now, he would have better reasoning, for taking such a long time, in completing the first of many environments.

As stated before, from the trees, the birds called. There weren't many. From the sounds of their screeches, Adam predicted around three to four in total.

“The ugly guy is moving”, Troy noted. While Adam had noticed it himself, being warned about it was still great. At the very least, it led him to know, that Troy wanted to be more active in the tasks. Maybe he should ask more of him, to make him feel more included in it. “Not too much faster than before, but it's in a different direction, so it should count.”

'Indeed it does. Please keep your eyes on it.', Adam requested of him. Troy was already doing so, without being asked, but it did facilitate the need for it.

To further explain the reptile's new behaviour, it was moving in the direction of the bird songs. There could have been several reasons for this behaviour. With the current information gap, though, Adam wasn't too sure, which it was.

The larger creature wasn't being quiet in its approach. While the volume wasn't on the levels of the earlier spinning, the lighter, small splashes of water, which it's tail made, was still noticeable.

Even more notable, though, was the lack of wings flapping around. If earlier bird behavioural information was taken into account, this sound should have already started a coordinated retreat. Instead, it seemingly intensified the calls. Adam was even able to hear small scuttles, as the birds adjusted their positions, in the tree they had chosen to reside in. If his analysis, of what he was hearing, wasn't too far off, they were trying to get… closer, as well. Why they hadn't flown yet, was something he wondered about.

No further full-body was made by the reptile. Troy had even honed in on its legs, which could be seen through the water. They were moving rapidly, seeming to be attempting to halt any further movement. It wasn't an immediate success, by any stretch, but steady progress was occurring.

In just ten seconds, the reptile sat still in the water. It was worth mentioning, that its mouth had not closed in any capacity. Adam was beginning to wonder.

Was the reptile… showing off?

This wasn't meant in the way, of showing off to other creatures, of the same species. No. It was more focused on simply showing off, the inside of its mouth. The mouth, which was strongly inhibited by a massive amount of worm-like creatures.

The goal for its behaviour had been figured out. It was using its unfortunate situation to its own advantage.

Even further, the mouth stretched upwards. A small click was heard, just before it finally halted. It was near-shocking, with the sheer degrees the jaws had been set apart. If Troy had attempted to copy such a feat, it would have been categorized as dislocated in a very short amount of time.

With the click being sounded, the small flock of birds took it as the last push, to go inside the jaw trap. Immediately, at the moment they landed, the leeches were being devoured. It was only a matter of time before those jaws would close. Adam was sure of it.

While the leeches may have developed to stick themselves to their prey, natural protection had not been on the same list. This was not the first encounter, that these birds had had with such functional copies of parasites.

Dutifully, they ripped the leech off the large reptile, their beaks crushing trough the meat, just before the mouth. What was left, was but a small splatter, which feels off after a few seconds, no longer having the will to hang on.

The rest of the body was swallowed whole. The size of the birds allowed to do such a thing. It was not alike for these flying animals to chew their food either. Such consumption methods were not within their repertoire.

Instead, they used a stomach like an organ, which was called the 'gizzard' by humans, to aid them in their digestion. This extra feature allowed them to consume larger amounts of feed, in a limited amount of time. Granted, though, this wasn't the most effective digestion process, in the long term. Chewing may take a longer time, but it was easier to halt when problems occurred. When the birds had any problems, they would be forced to eat smaller stones and grit, when aid to digest was desperately needed. Humans, on the other side, had the privilege of simply spitting anything unsplittable out of their system.

Speaking of systems. By now, Adam had predicted for the reptile to strike. The birds were definitely in position. Altogether, they had travelled further from the entrance, having no chance to fly out in a second. If the reptile closed its mouth, it would not go hungry for a long time.

Yet, no such thing occurred. The upper jaw was still as high up, never faltering in its position. Much like the rest of its body, actually, when Adam had another look at it. Nothing moved. Nothing indicated any sign of aggression. From his uneducated perspective, the reptile even seemed to be… enjoying it?

He didn't understand.

“How disgusting those black things are”, Troy noted, his nose wrinkling in the process. Which was weird, seeing as there was nothing in here to smell, other than himself. “Good thing those flying howlers are getting rid of them.”

A chance of inquiry. It would even aid Adam's plans in including a certain somebody more in the tasks.

'Troy. I have created a misunderstanding for myself, which I believe you might be able to solve for me.', Adam sent to him. It sounded like, he was making himself dependent on Troy's input. He really wasn't. But, according to his personal studies, such a thing was a point of pride, for some. Adam had figured Troy to be a figure perfectly fitting the general description classified in the text.

“Shoot”, Troy answered. Adam hoped he meant that he should ask the question. Shooting any projectile, inside a room like this, could not be productive or safe for anybody. “Ask what you like. As long as its about the task, of course. But, you already know that I'm guessing.”

He followed it up, with a more detailed description of his answer, in order to stop any developing misconceptions. How nice of him! It would be than improper if Adam didn't retaliate with a just as defined question. To his own standards, relative to Troy's, of course.

'Currently, the larger, unspecified reptile has, within its literal jaws, enough calories to last it the next twenty-four hours, in the least. I initially believed that it had been using its leech problem to bait birds into quite literally entering its mouth. This theory of mine was further proved, with how still the reptile was. I believe this was a sign, of it trying to inconspicuous about being a danger to the birds. When they were farther into the mouth, grabbing the older leeches, I was sure, that the reptile would finally strike, and gets its feed. Yet, no such thing has occurred. No hostile intent can be distinguished. If anything, from the unhardened eyes, I would say it was current enjoying itself.

With the inaction, this is not due to its food supply being topped up. I was then hoping, that you might be able to clarify, where my thought process went wrong, and what it should have actually turned out to be formed like.', Adam sent. It wasn't the longest explanation, but he felt it held up against Troy's own.

Taking his body language into question as well, Adam was able to see something, which he hadn't observed in a long time. The stance, the head nodding, and the hand scratching the back of his head. Troy was actively thinking about his answer, before uttering a single word. He was actively debating, with himself, how to best describe, what he thought was an optimal answer.

If Troy came up in the next debriefing, Adam was going to give him the commendations he deserved. While his recent behaviour, inside and out the testing-area, had not been on par with expectation, this showed, why he was really hired. The dedication, when he tried.

“If I had to surmise your failures, it would be your interpretation, of the data before you”, Troy began explaining, more serious than he had been in the last few conversations. Less irritated too, but that had disappeared a minute ago. “Now, this might seem obvious, but your outlook might be giving you a slight case of tunnel vision. You assume, that the goal of the reptile is simply to eat its next meal. Every action, every thought, is dedicated to finding the next worthwhile bite.

In reality, it isn't anything like that. Sure, having a full stomach is important, but not as important as it would be for, say, me, as an example. I need to eat every day, lest I go extremely hungry, with it hampering my actions with every step.

When it comes to reptile, like the one before it, it is so much different. From what I can remember, they could go months, or even years, without a single bite. Their body is designed to not take energy for granted. Every single calorie is saved, for when it is needed.

Right now, this creature isn't thinking about eating. It's thinking about getting those leeches off its mouth. They are painful, irritating, and likely hampers its ability to feel comfortable. Nothing, which is healthy to keep up for long. Now, it isn't deadly, of course. It could simply live on, not sparing any thought to these leeches, and the reptile would be in a fully fine condition, with no larger, physical health effects.

But, with these birds, it can all be changed. While it is only a temporary measure, the birds can remove them, freeing the reptile of its irritation. This requires something, which is hard to get.

I think I'll leave it there, or Dr Fidelis will be angry at me, for making the description for you. Do make sure, to twist my words, when you make it, please.'

Troy ended it rather abruptly. That was fine to Adam, though. Already, he had begun cooking it up.

With nine minutes being reached, it was time to write the description down, through Troy. Adam only hoped, that he was fast in typing it down , or they wouldn't be on schedule.