This Extra-Long Episode follows the tale of Ka'Hai, a curious Uktan who must traverse the challenges on the Houze Prairie from hatching to adulthood.
Tropes:
- Battle Couple: Uktan mates are naturally this, working together to take down large or difficult prey like Ghlanos and Chelotaurs. Ka'Hai's parents, Hyani and Trok, were excellent hunters of both pronghorns and Chelotaurs, and Ka'Hai would become a hunting partner with his mate Oniya.
- Big Brother Instinct: Druk helps to protect his younger siblings from nest raiders too quick for their parents to catch, and is enraged after one is killed by a hyena. This is actually an important part of Uktan behavior, and later clutches will have lower mortality rates thanks to the protection of their elder siblings.
- Bookend: The episode starts with Ka'Hai hearing the song from his eldest brother Druk, urging him to hatch from his egg. The episode ends with Ka'Hai as an adult, using the song to guide his own offspring to hatch.
- Bolivian Army Ending: The last time that Ka'Hai and Kyan see Druk is when he is fending off a coalition of Harkundi from his kill. Given his brutal injury, it is unlikely he survived the encounter.
- Brother–Sister Team: After leaving Druk, Ka'Hai and Kyan spend many years together hunting down prey and growing into sub-adults. Oniya and Adoyi are also a pair of siblings, first seen working together to kill a giant buffalo.
- Cursed with Awesome: Zig-zagged with Kyan, who's melanistic coat makes it harder to keep cool, especially in the warm dry season. However, the dark feathers do help her hunt in night by camoflaging her in the darkness.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After various trials and tribulations, including predators, droughts, and rival Uktans, Ka'Hai reaches adulthood and finds a mate with Oniya.
- Homage: To The Ballad of Big Al, focusing on a single theropod from childhood to adulthood. Unlike Al, Ka'Hai's story ends with him having a happy ending with his new family.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: Averted. Hyani and Trok eat the carcasses of another Uktan couple that tried to take their territory but are still treated sympathetically, especially as it provides them much needed nourishment during a harsh dry season.
- Polyamory: Uktan are normally monogamous, but some same-sex siblings will share a mate for the first few years before one is chosen. Kyan is courted by a pair of brother, and she ultimately joins and mate with them in their first dry season together.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: In-Universe, the Assembly named the major Uktans after legends and folklore from nomadic Shu Kaimerans that live near Ka'Hai's territory. Ka'Hai is named after a spirit of trickery and curiosity in Shu religion.
- Rule of Three: There are three times in the story a Uktan attacks a Houze Chelotaur during the dry season. First is Hyani and Trok, who work together to kill an old bull. Next is Druk, whose effort to kill an adolescent Chelotaur leaves him injured and ultimately leads to his death. And finally is Ka'Hai, who uses his experience to successfully kill a Chelotaur cow and prove himself to Oniya.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Initially a protecting brother and loyal son, the flood of hormones as he shifts from sub-adult to adult causes Druk to act more aggressively toward his family.
- Xenofiction: The story takes place from the viewpoint of the Uktan Ka'Hai, expressing how he sees the various animals of the Houze Praire.
