Dark, damp, and dreadful. The room ahead was musky and molding with a furiosity no one could have prepared for. The stench of mold was overbearing and envoked a strong sense of unease. Stood near the water's edge, Rypple tapped the water with a claw. It was mostly still water, and the thought of potential parasites and disease flickered over his mind. It could very well be dangerous to slip into, and frigid at that. Much less cautious, Pisang seemed to cannonball his way into the waters. A bellowing yelp resounded from his throat, his leg-tail... appendage moving wildly. "Cold, cold, cold—Oh!@#$ it's cold!"

"No duh, idiot," mocked Rypple. Behind him, two females stifled chortles. Iro, the tallest in their little band of misfits, was scruffing up her fur in brace for the icy chill of the dark waters. In comparison, Chy, the shortest of them, sat patiently. She'd let the two aquatic males make fools of themselves first. "You're full of blubber, and you're still cold?" Rypple chose to dunk a full toe into the water and nearly leapt from his skin. "What the hell?" He scoffed, baring teeth. He'd been in several of the hallways now, and none were this cold.

"You sure we should go through this one?" Iro seemed uncertain, rubbing down her long legs. Stretching was very important for such a lanky species, especially for the hexapodic breed. "I'd rather not drown in ice, y'know." Chy nodded in aggreement, her tail wrapping around her forelimbs and covering herself. The room itself was cold. Although not yet cold enough to allow the colonists to see their breath, the overall temperature was borderline uncomfortable on bare skin. Water droplets sluggishly slid down the walls and clung like sparkling dew drops on the moss-like mold growths. "And hopefully none of you are allergic to mold," she pointed out, grimaced.

"No allergy here," sighed Chy, her scowl prominent. She finally bucked up the courage and dipped a toe into the icy bath, only to get abruptly splashed by Pisang. He barked out in laughter and took a plunge deeper. Rypple's eyes widened in surprise, and he shot a glance at the two females. Pisang was fortunate, born with a set of gills, making the prospect of deep diving, even cave diving, alluring. Chy cried out in a mix of surprise and fury, opting to charge into the water, intent on making the yellow Tark'ee pay for his crimes. Iro was collateral, water soaking her entire right side. Her ears shot back, and nostrils flared, eyes wide.

"Are you !@#$ing kidding me!?" Iro stomped her feet, puffing out in rage. Rypple took this as a sign, quickly diving into the water to avoid the Tsab's rage. His head immediately breeched, yelping in surprise. It was indeed frigid, his coat thick enough to prevent hypothermia for sure, but the cold lapping at his pouch and groin was enough to startle anyone. It was a good thing none of the researchers tagged along on this adventure, lest they succumb to the cold embrace of the water. "You get back here, you- you." Iro flustered, charging into the water herself. Her tail shot straight up, and her rage abruptly chilled out. "Good gracious, what in the world is with this?!"

"Told you!" Pisang called from further down the hall, his yellow snout barely visible in the distance. The darkness of the hallway was oppressive, even with the colonists' natural dark-sighted visibilities. Rypple's pink eyes glowed in the dark, an eerie sight for those not used to it, and before him glowed Chy's blue and yellow eyes. They glanced at one another, took deep breaths, and plunged. They knew why they were there; they all did, but it changed nothing. They had to find some way to drain the halls in order to progress in their tasks. Sure, the DPIP loyalists were looking more technically at the problem, but they figured there had to be some form of drainage. Pisang's tail was a few meters ahead, Chy rapidly approaching. It was a loud bang when she managed to catch up to him enough to bite onto his tail—not hard enough to break skin, but enough to elicit a reaction.

Iro was spooked by the sudden bang of Pisang's head against the ceiling. She kicked up, breaking the surface of the water with a heavy gasp. "What happened?"

"She BIT me!" yowled Pisang, thrashing. Rypple tried to calm his fellow Nuryian down, pushing gently on his chest. "She !@#$ing bit me!" Pisang wailed, glaring accusingly at Chy.

"I did no such thing~" Chy sang, taking a deep breath and diving deeper. They had a job to do, and if the young Tark'ee was going to throw a fit, she would take no accountability. Rypple shook his head in mock disbelief, despite seeing it himself. He chuffed, following Chy. It was easy to catch up with her, his webbed toes making quick work of it.

"Alright, alright, come on. You're not bleeding, are you?" Iro huffed, treading water. It was uncomfortable to hold her mass above the water with how cold her muscles were. Discomfort was ebbing into her body quickly, wanting to get this whole ordeal over sooner rather than later.

"No but-"

"Then it's fine! Hurry up already." Iro gruffed, her face skewing as she took a heavy breath, and plunged downward.

"Whatever, you guys suck..." Pisang muttered, a scowl snaking across his face as he followed. At least he didn't need to hold his breath, unlike these losers...