Otatso Wetlands will you be ready when the straw-boss calls?

the russet beta stepped back obligingly as nunataq strolled over, inspecting the mound of unearthed dirt indra had created. below the surface, the root-crumbled tunnel stretched far beyond what either of them could see: indra nosed alongside nunataq, but found little in the way of a promising scent.

another sneeze wracked the narrow frame of the black-masked girl, and she stepped back, as if losing interest in their failed endeavor. to indra it did seem their chances of success was minimal, but unwilling to give up so easily (especially since she believed a victory would be good for nunataq), indra prowled around the excavation site once more.

pressing her ear close to the earth, indra listened -- and somewhere, in some dark corridor beneath the substrate, a rodent stirred.