Their search for the lost supply pod continued into another day.

Nauxha had hoped to keep the journey as short as possible. Izhuras' health had always been fragile, and she did not want to find out how exposure to a new environment would affect the young tark'ee. Jhenigi was a bit—just a bit—more hardy, but the three of them being away from the colony meant that their researcher was left in charge, with only two whelps for company. That thought did not please her.

Mireh's vast fields rolled out on either side of her, rising and falling in places like an uneven, grassy blanket. The sky was not so bright as it had been the day before, now a shade of grey-violet as what she suspected were rain clouds had started to drift towards them.

"Where do supply pods come from?" Izhuras asked, from where she slithered along between Nauxha and Jhenigi.

"Space. Another planet, I presume, but I do not know which." Miru had not told them where it had come from—only that DPIP had sent it, and they did not know if they could get a replacement if it wasn't recovered. Nauxha was beginning to doubt that their math had been correct on determining where the thing had landed; perhaps it was on the bottom of the ocean, or stuck on a peak back in Rekes, and they were wandering around the fields of Mireh for no reason at all.

"What are other planets like?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Miru."

"Do you think we'll ever get to see one, ourselves?" It was Jhenigi's turn to ask a question, now. "That would be exciting, don't you think?"

"I haven't heard of a xunari doing such a thing." Nauxha sighed; at least this was a way to pass the time while they walked. "I don't think I'd enjoy the trip. My feet belong firmly on this planet."

Jhenigi let out a disappointed noise. "I think it would be fun, just once. You wouldn't have to stay out there."

"Would you? It would be at DPIP's leisure when and if you returned." If Xiunus had craft of its own, perhaps Nauxha might have been more amenable to the idea; but she did not like the thought of being dependent on another group, with its own inscrutable interests, for the ability to come and go from her own home. And what would she even do out there? Here, on Xiunus, she was an expert on her own culture; even if Miru did not respect her, or any of their colonists, at least they consulted her often for advice. She had not attended any 'college' or 'university'; what could Nauxha offer the interplanetary community that it would value?

"Oh. Uh—"

As Jhenigi was about to say something more, the grey clouds overhead finally broke, and a spray of soft, cold rain began. Nauxha stopped in her tracks, tucking their electronics into the shelter of her belly-fur, ears gone back. Izhuras alone seemed pleased; she shouted "ooh, rain!" and lifted her head up as high as she could, trying to catch droplets in her open mouth.

Nauxha sighed. "Come on. Let's find somewhere to wait this out."

The rain was relatively mild, but she did not want to risk breaking the equipment they'd been trusted with, and led the group towards a promising area of hills. It took a bit of searching, but they were able to find the entrance to a cave, large enough for the three of them. Nauxha went first, pressing a button on one piece of equipment so that a pale blue glow lit up the way ahead; it was a bit of a squeeze for her, being the largest, but the others followed easily enough.

Inside, the cave was even bigger than Nauxha had thought. Sections along the back vanished into darkness, where it branched off into other passages. The sound of the rain outside muffled almost as soon as they entered, joined by a distant drip, drip of water, and the faint whisper of wind moving through the cave.

"Brr," Izhuras wriggled in after her.

"It's cold," Jhenigi agreed, when he'd followed the others a moment later.

"It's shelter," Nauxha said. She shined their light all along the main body of the cave, then set it down in such a way that it illuminated the rocky roof overhead. "We'll stay here until the rain passes. No exploring, alright, Izhuras? We have no idea how deep these tunnels go. You could get lost in there."

Izhuras pouted, but did not argue.

The three of them sat together on the cave floor, her and Jhenigi's backs pressed together for warmth, and Izhuras in a tangled loop on top and around them. Nauxha did not complain about the closeness; it was only sensible. The others had not been exaggerating when they'd commented on the chill.

Nauxha rested her head at her feet, ears pricked to listen for when the rain stopped.

It was still going when she heard a clatter of fast moving feet outside the cave's entrance. Several shadows blocked out the thin beam of light, accompanied by the sounds of shouts and growls, and then vanished quickly. She curled her paws around their lamp so that it would not be visible from outside, and watched the narrow gap they'd come in through with intensity.

Another, slower-moving shadow appeared, and she could hear someone squeezing through. There was a deep intake of breath, and then another tsabhua stumbled the rest of the way in.

It was Samoset.

He was wild-eyed and soaked through by the rain, and shallow claw marks on his leg left red trails of blood on white fur. At the sight of the three of them he stood, stiff and completely still, and stared. "You?"

"Us."

Jhenigi and Izhuras stirred at the sound of voices. They had clearly both fallen asleep; the tark'ee yawned loudly, while Jhenigi rubbed at his eyes with his hands.

"You can stay," Nauxha said, when she caught Samoset starting to turn back where he'd come from. "Who were you running from?"

He hesitated, but then limped further into the cave and settled down a few feet from them. "The local tribe caught me—caught me hunting. They wanted my kill. I did not give it to them."

"Don't we have some bandages, Nauxha?" Jhenigi said, stretching and standing up.

She frowned. "We've got a long journey back to Rekes. We might need them then."

"We'll have plenty once we find that supply pod, won't we?" Jhenigi practically pouted, and Izhuras gave her a wide-eyed, soppy look to back him up. Nauxha sighed, and slid their pack of medical supplies toward him, relenting.

Samoset stared at them again, but now with surprise rather than wariness. "You do not need to—"

"Accept our generousity with grace," Nauxha grumbles.

To his credit, he did not argue further. Just watched Jhenigi as he cleaned and gently bandaged his scratches. Once the other tsabhua was finished, he shifted until he was in a more relaxed position, and dipped his head at them. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Jhenigi said, cheerful—though Nauxha was of the opinion that he should—and added, in a suggesting tone that was not subtle at all, "it must be pretty tough living out here all alone, huh?"