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“You again?”

Evangeline perked her ears at the oddly close voice, looking around her for the source. Was someone talking to her or were there several other people around? She sat up more, sitting up on her hind legs and trying to peer over the stone ‘walls’ around her. She’d found a new beach here in the obsidian bluffs, different than some of the others she’d located. Pockets were washed out in the beach, all the sand blown away and deep pools impressed into the stone beneath, probably from high tide waves that wore away at tide pools until they were large enough to fit a whole ketucari. There were treasures to be had in here though, washed up bits of artifacts and ore and gems that caught in the pools when the ocean retreated.

Who would be surprised to see her though, all the way out here, and sound so . . . confused? She hadn’t run into anyone enough times for it to be considered strange, and how had they even seen her in the tidepool if she couldn’t see them? She crawled up the edge slightly to peer out and look around her location. A pair of figures just a tidepool or two away, they probably hadn’t even seen her.

“Lich swears you’re stalking us at this rate.” Ramses stared at the cream colored female who was shoulders deep in a water filled hole. The cream kaden looked entirely unapologetic though, grinning at the male and holding up a purple gem just beneath his snout.

“I’m not following you both, I just keep running into you on accident. But it’s lots of fun.” Evangeline kept watching the two, curious about the others who had wound up in her area. The female was actually familiar to her, the one who’d helped her seal a toa’s wounds back in kandriya. That was the one who spoke now. “I was actually following the frizzle over there.”

Evangeline’s ears dropped flat in surprise at that, her head ducking lower to hide all but her eyes from view of the others. So it wasn’t coincidence, the other kaden was here intentionally and had known she was here all along. That was . . . a bit unsettling to know that she’d basically been spied on for the last however long. At least they were harmless. . . she assumed from their former encounter.

Ramses, apparently, had not spotted the stone female yet, as he immediately looked over with a concerned face. “Who? There’s someone else here?” Buff paws padded over to her hole where she sunk further in. “Well . . . . hi there.”

“Hi.” The frizzle smiled nervously up at him. One could never tell when a stranger would be content sharing mining grounds and when they would try and drive you off so they could have it all to themself. “I hope I’m not in the way of anything?” She smiled at him shy but friendly. The best way to not be chased off would be to act harmless and nice, not getting in the way of the others.

“You were following this one?” Ramses looked back over his shoulder, talking to Ace. “Isn’t that kind of . . . weird?” He cringed a bit, pitying Evangeline and her poor luck.

“Not stalking, just working near.” Ace smiled brightly, shrugging off how strange it was she admitted to following a complete stranger without their knowledge. “She found these super great holes full of ore and was digging and I thought, hey it would be cool to search for gems in these too!”

“That’s weird. Don’t do that,” Ramses advised the younger ketucari before turning back to Evangeline. “Have you found much useful ore in there? I didn’t think anywhere with water flowing into it consistently would maintain its soft ore supply. I assumed it would have all washed away.” Ace’s shout informing the other two that she had found another gem went ignored. As cute as excitement over a shiny stone might be, they were holding conversation and didn’t need to pause every minute to acknowledge a rock. Though, Evangeline might have paid her more attention if the male wasn’t speaking with her at the time.

“There’s some,” the frizzle admitted, showing the small stack of what she had gained so far. “It’s not a ton but it’s definitely something.” Ramses looked over it and nodded to himself. Not a terrible haul for being in an area like this, he decided, but there was probably far better to be had.

“Can you swim?” the fantail questioned. A quick glance at the fantail kadin told him she was occupied and they may slip away without her following. Please say she knew how to swim if she was exploring here in the obsidian bluffs, that was basically requirement one of being out here and the only way he’d ditch the cream female who was so annoyingly chattering.

Evangeline wasn’t sure where the stranger was going with this, but she nodded slowly anyway, not wanting to seem rude. “I can swim fairly decently. Why? What are we doing?” He was already moving away from her tidepool hole and walking toward the ocean, leaving her to clamber out of the dip in the ground she’d taken over and try to follow his long legged steps.

“You want ore right?” Ramses raised a brow at her and motioned to the water. “I know where some of the best in this beach is. I’ll show you.”

Evangeline nodded mutely and trailed behind, letting water wash over her paws. She also looked back, noticing that the cream fantail was rolling around in the sand and not at all disturbed by the fact that the two were walking away. Or maybe she just hadn’t noticed yet. “How is the best ore in the water?” It didn’t fully make sense to her just yet, she’d been digging in the beach and gathering from solid ground until now, water didn’t seem like it would just be carrying around chunks of iron for her to gather.

“There’s some caves under there, the water doesn’t reach back up into them so the ore is untouched by the ocean and usually untouched by fellow miners as well. It’s not the easiest way to gather but the results are good.” Ramses was up to the base of his neck in water, looking back at Evangeline. He just nodded at the water again, lowering himself down and pushing off the shore into the deeps. The kadin could see his form under the clear waters, swimming away. With only a little more hesitation she followed, though less gracefully as she leapt out farther, landing on the water belly first before sinking in, fluffy fur and all.

It was darker down here, but the light from above criss crossed around, making broken lights that illuminated the lighter pelt of the male in front of her and the bright fish that swam about her face. If she was hungry she probably could snap one up just by opening her mouth and swimming forward.

Following was easy enough at least, Evangeline scooped water with her paws and moved forward until she spotted the fantail disappearing into a cave mouth in an obsidian cliff wall. The cave took a sharp turn upward as soon as she’d entered and she began to paddle upward, hitting cool air quickly and sucking in a deep breath. The male was on a ledge right at the water edge, waiting expectantly for her to join him, so she gripped the stone and pulled her body up, letting gallons of water pour out of her fur. She was wet and heavy now, but they’d made it to wherever this was that he’d led her.

“The ore is here?” She was very aware she was alone with a strange male in a small cave now, but he showed no interest in harming her. The walls seemed normal at a glance but as she looked closer the signs of veins running through the stone became more apparent.

“There is. You’ll have to dig for it though.” He sat, beginning to scrape at the walls methodically. “You joining in or no?”

“I am.” Sh nearby, digging with him. Her pack filled quickly here, a rich deposit of ore not touched by the ocean in so many years hidden in the cave walls. They worked silently and quickly until her bag was as heavy as she dared take into the ocean with her. More and she’d be pulled down while trying to return to land. “Thanks,” she took her things, shuffling away from the male. “You staying?”

He nodded, not looking as the female left the underwater cave with a full load.

Description
“You again?”

Evangeline perked her ears at the oddly close voice, looking around her for the source. Was someone talking to her or were there several other people around? She sat up more, sitting up on her hind legs and trying to peer over the stone ‘walls’ around her. She’d found a new beach here in the obsidian bluffs, different than some of the others she’d located. Pockets were washed out in the beach, all the sand blown away and deep pools impressed into the stone beneath, probably from high tide waves that wore away at tide pools until they were large enough to fit a whole ketucari. There were treasures to be had in here though, washed up bits of artifacts and ore and gems that caught in the pools when the ocean retreated.

Who would be surprised to see her though, all the way out here, and sound so . . . confused? She hadn’t run into anyone enough times for it to be considered strange, and how had they even seen her in the tidepool if she couldn’t see them? She crawled up the edge slightly to peer out and look around her location. A pair of figures just a tidepool or two away, they probably hadn’t even seen her.

“Lich swears you’re stalking us at this rate.” Ramses stared at the cream colored female who was shoulders deep in a water filled hole. The cream kaden looked entirely unapologetic though, grinning at the male and holding up a purple gem just beneath his snout.

“I’m not following you both, I just keep running into you on accident. But it’s lots of fun.” Evangeline kept watching the two, curious about the others who had wound up in her area. The female was actually familiar to her, the one who’d helped her seal a toa’s wounds back in kandriya. That was the one who spoke now. “I was actually following the frizzle over there.”

Evangeline’s ears dropped flat in surprise at that, her head ducking lower to hide all but her eyes from view of the others. So it wasn’t coincidence, the other kaden was here intentionally and had known she was here all along. That was . . . a bit unsettling to know that she’d basically been spied on for the last however long. At least they were harmless. . . she assumed from their former encounter.

Ramses, apparently, had not spotted the stone female yet, as he immediately looked over with a concerned face. “Who? There’s someone else here?” Buff paws padded over to her hole where she sunk further in. “Well . . . . hi there.”

“Hi.” The frizzle smiled nervously up at him. One could never tell when a stranger would be content sharing mining grounds and when they would try and drive you off so they could have it all to themself. “I hope I’m not in the way of anything?” She smiled at him shy but friendly. The best way to not be chased off would be to act harmless and nice, not getting in the way of the others.

“You were following this one?” Ramses looked back over his shoulder, talking to Ace. “Isn’t that kind of . . . weird?” He cringed a bit, pitying Evangeline and her poor luck.

“Not stalking, just working near.” Ace smiled brightly, shrugging off how strange it was she admitted to following a complete stranger without their knowledge. “She found these super great holes full of ore and was digging and I thought, hey it would be cool to search for gems in these too!”

“That’s weird. Don’t do that,” Ramses advised the younger ketucari before turning back to Evangeline. “Have you found much useful ore in there? I didn’t think anywhere with water flowing into it consistently would maintain its soft ore supply. I assumed it would have all washed away.” Ace’s shout informing the other two that she had found another gem went ignored. As cute as excitement over a shiny stone might be, they were holding conversation and didn’t need to pause every minute to acknowledge a rock. Though, Evangeline might have paid her more attention if the male wasn’t speaking with her at the time.

“There’s some,” the frizzle admitted, showing the small stack of what she had gained so far. “It’s not a ton but it’s definitely something.” Ramses looked over it and nodded to himself. Not a terrible haul for being in an area like this, he decided, but there was probably far better to be had.

“Can you swim?” the fantail questioned. A quick glance at the fantail kadin told him she was occupied and they may slip away without her following. Please say she knew how to swim if she was exploring here in the obsidian bluffs, that was basically requirement one of being out here and the only way he’d ditch the cream female who was so annoyingly chattering.

Evangeline wasn’t sure where the stranger was going with this, but she nodded slowly anyway, not wanting to seem rude. “I can swim fairly decently. Why? What are we doing?” He was already moving away from her tidepool hole and walking toward the ocean, leaving her to clamber out of the dip in the ground she’d taken over and try to follow his long legged steps.

“You want ore right?” Ramses raised a brow at her and motioned to the water. “I know where some of the best in this beach is. I’ll show you.”

Evangeline nodded mutely and trailed behind, letting water wash over her paws. She also looked back, noticing that the cream fantail was rolling around in the sand and not at all disturbed by the fact that the two were walking away. Or maybe she just hadn’t noticed yet. “How is the best ore in the water?” It didn’t fully make sense to her just yet, she’d been digging in the beach and gathering from solid ground until now, water didn’t seem like it would just be carrying around chunks of iron for her to gather.

“There’s some caves under there, the water doesn’t reach back up into them so the ore is untouched by the ocean and usually untouched by fellow miners as well. It’s not the easiest way to gather but the results are good.” Ramses was up to the base of his neck in water, looking back at Evangeline. He just nodded at the water again, lowering himself down and pushing off the shore into the deeps. The kadin could see his form under the clear waters, swimming away. With only a little more hesitation she followed, though less gracefully as she leapt out farther, landing on the water belly first before sinking in, fluffy fur and all.

It was darker down here, but the light from above criss crossed around, making broken lights that illuminated the lighter pelt of the male in front of her and the bright fish that swam about her face. If she was hungry she probably could snap one up just by opening her mouth and swimming forward.

Following was easy enough at least, Evangeline scooped water with her paws and moved forward until she spotted the fantail disappearing into a cave mouth in an obsidian cliff wall. The cave took a sharp turn upward as soon as she’d entered and she began to paddle upward, hitting cool air quickly and sucking in a deep breath. The male was on a ledge right at the water edge, waiting expectantly for her to join him, so she gripped the stone and pulled her body up, letting gallons of water pour out of her fur. She was wet and heavy now, but they’d made it to wherever this was that he’d led her.

“The ore is here?” She was very aware she was alone with a strange male in a small cave now, but he showed no interest in harming her. The walls seemed normal at a glance but as she looked closer the signs of veins running through the stone became more apparent.

“There is. You’ll have to dig for it though.” He sat, beginning to scrape at the walls methodically. “You joining in or no?”

“I am.” Sh nearby, digging with him. Her pack filled quickly here, a rich deposit of ore not touched by the ocean in so many years hidden in the cave walls. They worked silently and quickly until her bag was as heavy as she dared take into the ocean with her. More and she’d be pulled down while trying to return to land. “Thanks,” she took her things, shuffling away from the male. “You staying?”

He nodded, not looking as the female left the underwater cave with a full load.