Woodland sighed as she stepped back into the strange jungle. She had mostly calmed down after their last encounter, and Wyrd had excitedly shimmied her back into the Enclave, excitedly saying that she just "needed a few more notes" and that they would hopefully be ready to head home after. "Uh- so we already went west. Let's go east this time? Maybe that'll be better for us I sure hope we don't have to encounter massive bugs again." Woodland said, feeling a bit more confident the second time stepping foot in the bunker. The air was thick with humidity, clinging to her fur, while the faint, earthy scent of decaying leaves filled the space. Wyrd, walking ahead of her with eager strides, was already scribbling notes in her notebook. “East it is!” she chirped without a second glance, like Woodland, she seemed to be more excited than uneased the second time around. Woodland scanned the area around them as they moved further east, the jungle growing denser with each step. Massive ferns spread out from the forest floor, their leaves as wide as shields, and tangled vines hung down from the tree branches, creating a thick canopy that allowed only

streaks of light to filter through when Woodland shone her torch trough them. As they ventured deeper, feeling encourages by the discoveries made along the way, Woodland's ears perked up at the sound of trickling water nearby. "Do you hear that?" They carefully made their way toward the sound, pushing aside thick underbrush and ducking under low-hanging vines. Finally, they found a small stream winding through the jungle. Woodland bent down, dipping her fingers into the water. It was cool to the touch and seemed clean enough. "This is kinda nice, actually," she admitted. Wyrd, however, was still focused on her notes, her eyes darting from the plants to the stream and back again. "This place is incredible," she murmured, almost to herself. "As far as I can tell, it goes around in a circle. We might be able to reach the Mireh bunker from here." Woodland hummed, filling a bottle up with the water from the stream. She doubted it was anything out of the ordinary, but she was still sure that the scholars back at home would be interested. "Are we really walking all the way to Mireh? Maybe we should leave that part up to the colonists

who live there- I am not sure I want to walk that far, especially this late in the day- this doesn't seem like a very peaceful camping ground." As if on cue, the underbrush nearby rustled. Woodland froze, her hand instinctively reaching for the small blade she kept strapped to her side. They both watched in tense silence as something large moved just out of sight, rustling the leaves but not revealing itself At least not yet. “Uh maybe we should head back now?” Woodland suggested, her confidence from earlier vanishing in an instant. Wyrd’s excitement dimmed only slightly, but she nodded. “Yeah, maybe a few more notes can wait for now.”