The rope they had brought along was heavy, and dragged Alter down more than he had originally expected. It wasn't easy, swimming with the long rope- they had at least remembered to choose a rope that was as light as it could be, but they had still needed the darned thing to be as long as possible, which made it much heavier than Alter had wanted it to be. Still, it was important to keep future explorer's safe. He had gone under first, tying the rope to a support beam on the ceiling of the original flooded hallway. Fero'hart, still hesitant to actually reach into the waters, had asked Alter to dive in first again and tie the rope to another support beam at the end of the tunnel so he could follow it as a guide. He was quite surprised when he popped out of the tunnel again, only to be face-to-face with Eridanus and Sagitta. He looked at the two, confused. "Uhm- hi?" Both other Xunari whipped around, not expecting to hear the familiar voice of Alter. "Oh! We didn't think you'd be back so soon." Sagitta said, stumbling over his words a little. The Tsabhua quickly hid

something in his bags. Alter frowned, "We didn't think you guys would still be here- we assumed you went home to fetch some rope like us." Sagitta looked at Eridanus for guidance, who just shrugged. "We didn't see it necessary. But thank you for making the exit. That'll be helpful when we head back." Alter finished tying the rope. The hallway had been mostly straight, so the pair had agreed that when Fero'hart could tug on the rope without pulling it away, he'd follow after Alter. Alter was sure that he'd be right over. "Well why didn't you say anything- it probably would've been safer to travel as a group." Alter said, with a tense smile on his face. He didn't like the situation at all- it was clear that Eridanus and Sagitta were avoiding the other colonists. He just hoped they wouldn't try anything to "get rid" of the other divers- which was honestly really unlikely, but the anxious part of his brain didn't quite want to admit that. "Ah, that. You two seemed quite set on leaving to get more supplies, so we thought we'd let you to it. No hard feelings, of course." Eridanus said, dismissively. Before

Alter could continue, Fero'hart emerged from the watery tunnel. Quickly taking off the mask and goggles he was wearing, he looked at the scene in front of him, filled with confusion. "Ah- hi there." the reddish Tsab said, offering a small wave to the other colonists. "Good timing." Alter said. "I was just about to dive into the next tunnel- If you can hold the end of the rope here for now I won't have to carry it with me while swimming." Fero'hart awkwardly agreed, shooting a curious glance to Eridanus and Sagitta, who seemed to be heading into the tunnel to the right now. "You guys ah- found anything wherever you went-" Sagitta gestured vaguely in the opposite direction "Ah- yea, nothing there, don't bother checking it." before diving under the water again. "Those two sure are odd, right Alter?" Fero said, only to notice that Alter had already gone off into the waters again. "Oh- guess I'll wait here, then."