Imilia

        Two moons were rising in Imilia, but a third (that only showed itself when it felt like it) was still resting. Up and over Swallop Swamp they went, climbing slowly, and swerving, as was characteristic, around Lizard Thicket, finally deciding to settle high in the pale purple sky. One was full, and deep green, identical in colour to the underside of a flicketing lizard's belly. The other was a waning sliver, and considerably pale, a dull mustardy yellow, the colour of an ogre's underpants. 

        

        Stars speckled the strange, unfamiliar sky and twinkled down on Imilia as a haze wafted down from the Musty Mountains, which were constantly steaming putrid fumes. The foggy blanket descended to lay heavily atop Imilia for the night. 

        

        Nocturnal creatures were stirring. Exotic birds were hushing their hatchlings as they settled down for sleep. A skunkish, ratty, long-snouted skink-skonk was already making its nightly skink-skonk noises, which sounded rather like a braying donkey crossed with a honking goose. Exploding gas frigers (frog tigers) were out in the Squelchy Bog, hopping around randomly, each landing making a PLOP, and BANG-exploding, spewing guts and bits of striped reptile skin and frog legs at anything that startled them. Oink Stoink Hogs were fast asleep on tussocks of rough, weedy grass in the Squelchy Bog, the boiling mud around them lulling them to sleep. They were snore-honking noisily, orange and green plaid-patterned chests rising and falling unevenly.

        A ways away, in the murky depths of the Swallop Swamp, stink sap was oozing from moist, perspiring, gnarled trees. Giant moths were coming out of their patterned, silken cocoons. Slarks (sloth-sharks) dropped hairy arms from where they hung in their daytime roosts in the trees, and slunk down into the warm but filthy brown muck below, scaly heads twisting and chomping leafy vegetation as their evening hunger and sleep-eating habits kicked in. Skelegrubs, stink worms and Squicks wiggled their way to the earthy surface of the ground, through emerald blades of grass, and breathed in greedily. The Vulcrious Vake, coiled in thick, winding knots around itself, was slurping a black beetle smoothie. 

        "Mmm," it was hissing quietly to itself. "Deliciousss. Couldn't get any better. Well, except..." It leaned to the left and impaled a scuttling black beetle on its fang. Dropping it into the carefully venom-blended mixture, the Vulcrious Vake took a long drought  from the roughly carved wooden bowland chewed experimentally. Crunch.

        "Mhm..." Hissing with delight, the bright-neon-scaled,  curlicue-horned reptile lay back to take a relaxing, well-deserved break from his wife...

        "VULCRIOUSSSS! VULCRIOUS VAKE!! A shriek pierced the quiet air, angry and demanding. "I want you in here this minute, Vulcrious. my socks need patching, and I still need to look through my wardrobe to see if I need anything new! In which case, of course..." She paused and her voice became sugary sweet - dangerous. "You'll buy it for me, correct?" 

        Vulcrious sighed as the his short and scowling wife stalked out from their cozy little burrow and right over to him... She was quite a bit smaller than him, he a deadly reptile and she a bossy little thing. He could eat her and in turn live in peace... But risk causing a feud between the entire Nibling race and the under-populated Vakes? It wasn't worth it, he decided reluctantly. 

        "Vulcrious? VULCRIOUS!" she shrieked. 

        "Yes, my queen, light of my life, brilliant as the sun and the focus of my heart -" 

        "Yes, yes, save it for another time... For Vake's sake Vulcrious, don't try and swoon or seduce me, it CERTAINLY won't get you out of your responsibilities!" She swatted at him with short, bald pink arms but looked flustered all the same, although she became demanding quickly once more.