Redhawk Caldera Twilight Firefly

When one has a long evening all to oneself, you try to find, how to pass the time. Sleeping it off always is a wonderful option, but occasinally Birk's mind asked for more stimulation rather than the two main activities that took 90% of it's schedule. Sleeping and hunting, that is. He had been in good luck that day, having been able to bring down a plump hare, eat a half and have enough to leave it for others to dig in. 

And with stomach full he had been walking through the forest and noticed remnants of a rather big, fallen tree and right next to the heavy trunk something that looked like an unfinished tunnel. Upon closer inspection it indeed looked like someone had been trying to dig right underneath the tree and for some unexplained reason left the job unfinished. Birk decided that the idea of a tunnel was not that bad and therefore began to dig right away with soil, grass and moss flying in every direction.

Sleep was just out of Orca's reach on this particular night, teasing her into staying awake even when her siblings had drifted into slumber nearby. She tossed and turned for a while, flopping back and forth on the soft, dry grass, then eventually decided that enough was enough. She stood up, stretched her compact figure, and then padded away from the rendezvous site.

The caldera was entirely different under the cloak of darkness. It was quiet and peaceful, and the dark-coated youth moved through the shadows like a wraith. She didn't expect to see anyone else out and about, but her large ears picked up the sound of churning earth. It wasn't long before she spotted a pale figure digging busily. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she recognized Birk and ambled toward him with a smile.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pausing and tilting her head as she examined the upturned tree roots.

"Me?" Birk paused the intense digging and turned to face the person, who had spoken to him. One of the puppies definitely - one that was not Towhee, which was a relief. That serious kid was a little scary and aside from having amusement at their arguing about her black and white views of the world, he had a difficult time figuring out, how to handle her. 

But this was... O... or... Orca - he had not interacted with her much, but she did seem like a regular kid. Conversation should be easy. "Digging a tunnel - want to help?"

Orca looked around, as though there would be someone else in the vicinity that she was talking to. There wasn't, so she refocused her attention on Birk. He explained what he had been doing and asked her to accompany him, which earned a hearty nod and a smile from the young Redhawk.

"Sure!" she replied, stepping up to the mound of roots. Now that she was closer, she could see that the hole was deeper than she initially thought. She would have guessed that he was digging a burrow or a den, but this did indeed look like a tunnel. "How far do you think we can go?" she asked, even as she began to knead the dirt next to him.

"Well, my plan is that it goes straight under the tree trunk and through at the other side," Birk explained and after that with claws and teeth he attacked a particularly solid root that was blocking his way. With a lot of digging, gnawing and pulling he managed to free one end and after some more "jaw-work" he bit off the other end of the root too. 

"Phew... that was something," he told his diligent companion. Birk was about to ask, how the other was doing, when something in the sand caught his eye. "Hey, what is this?" he got to his feet to examine the hidden treasure in the middle of their tunnel.

ooc: free to decide, what they found. :)

She nodded as Birk shared his plan. It sounded good to her; there were a lot of roots to dig around, so even the idea of tunneling all the way through sounded like a daunting task. She was up to the challenge, though. She massaged the soil steadily with her paws for a few minutes, lapsing into silence, until Birk began tugging at a root that was in her way. Pausing momentarily, she watched as he used his teeth to break off the offending end of the stem.

It seemed that they would continue with their work now that Birk had removed the obstacle from their path, but before he began digging again he pointed out something else half-buried in the dirt. Orca shifted, peering down at the object. She reached out with a forepaw and gently unearthed it, revealing a small, delicate wishbone. Of course, she didn't know exactly what it was, or that it had likely come from the breastbone of a bird. How it ended up beneath this particular tree was likely an interesting story; if only the tree could talk.

"What is it?" Orca asked, blinking up at Birk.

Birk had not eaten many birds in his career as a hunter and, when he had, he had not cared much to examine their bones. Therefore the origin of the wishbone and what it really was, was just as much a mystery to him. 

"Hmm..." he pushed the thing closer to him with his paw. "I am not sure," Birk sniffed at it and the very faint whiff of a dead animal met him. "Judging from smell alone this once was pretty alive."

Orca watched as Birk examined the bone, and was slightly disappointed when he was unable to identify what it was. That feeling lasted only briefly, however, and she smiled up at him. "Maybe if we keep digging we'll find more like it," she said.

She reached out to carefully take the item in her teeth and, holding it gingerly, she moved it out of the way so that it wouldn't break beneath their paws. Then she started digging again, with more fervor than before.

"That is a spectacular idea!" Birk replied, liking the kid a tad bit more than before. The girl did not waste time with asking questions - why do you do this/why are you here at all - which was definitely a bonus, because the man was in no mood for cooking up in-depth answers. 

They dug in silence for a little longer, the hollow getting deeper and deeper and finally they were moving under the fallen tree-trunk. "I will go and dig on the other side - should be quicker that way," he told, then jumped on and over the trunk and landed head-first in a bush of stinging nettles. "Youch!" he exclaimed, batting at his muzzle with his paws.

She grinned at his compliment and doubled up on her digging, working faster than before. When Birk suggested that he shift to the other side of the log, hopefully to reach their goal quicker, Orca simply nodded; she was focused on the task at hand. But only a moment later, she heard him yelp and raised her head sharply, paws stilling.

"Are you okay?" she asked, getting to her feet. She couldn't see him on the other side of the tree, so she placed her paws on its trunk and peered over. It looked like he had landed in a very prickly bush, and she winced as she watched him squirm. "Can I help you?" she asked; she wasn't sure if her assistance would make the situation better or worse.

"Stinky, effing horrible plants," Birk muttered to himself, while rubbing his sore muzzle with his paws. It did not help much to ease the prickling pain he felt, but gave a feeling that he was doing something. 

"Nah, I will be fine," he replied, stepping away from the dangerous bush and glaring at it with great dislike. "Just think, how much that plant hates the world to hurt others like this?" he asked in a rare moment of philosophical thoughts and then went back to the digging. 

"Let's finish this!" he told, but little did he know that there was trouble around the corner waiting for them again. A bee flew over his head. Then another one. They were approaching a well-hidden bee-hive and did not know that yet.

She blinked down at Birk as he insisted that he was okay; her brow remained furrowed until he commented on the plant's negative outlook on life. This caused Orca's lips to twitch into a smile, and her tail wiggled behind her. "What a meanie," she said, sticking her tongue out at the tangle of thorns that had assaulted her friend.

"Raven can take a look at your scratches later, if you need it," she suggested, then dropped back to all fours on her side of the tree. Birk had resumed his digging, so she did the same. She didn't notice their black-and-yellow visitors at first, until one buzzed particularly close to her ear. She jerked her head back and looked up, staring at the bumblebee -- until she noticed that there were a couple of them looming over Birk's head. "Uh...Birk? Do you see the bees?" she asked, flinching away from a fat one that zoomed past her cheek.

"I will be fine," Birk replied from behind the tree trunk. The hard work made him forget his sore muzzle, because he had hit a spot in the ground, where he could almost see Orca's side of the dig. 

"We are almos... what?" he began talking at the same time Orca had and therefore he did not hear, what she had said. However, when a particularly nasty-looking bee-like creature landed on the bridge of his nose, he did not have to ask. 

"Oh, shit! Let's get out of here!" he yelled out, jumped over the trunk almost tackling the young wolf that was in his way. As he did this a swarm of bees appeared.

In just a matter of seconds, more bees appeared rapidly. Orca heard a shout from Birk that she barely registered; she was already backing away rapidly from the fallen tree as the insects began to swarm. An instant later, she looked up to see Birk vaulting over the trunk towards her. Somehow, they managed not to collide, and Orca's paws scrabbled beneath her as she pivoted and made to follow her friend.

"Run!" she yelled, even though that was what they were already doing. She couldn't help but to laugh as they put distance between themselves and the bees, her breath coming in gasps as she galloped.