Glow and Marchus had discovered that Lairi hadn't yet had the pleasure of dealing with wild huldah. Given that the royal tar'kee had asked for some of the creatured to feed their people, the two were more than happy to introduce her to the pests. Marchus was curious about the ones here in Rekes - aparently they were different than those that liked where he did, which Glow was surprised about.

"So they have short hair?" she asked as they set out traps and snares in the caves where her colony stored grain and food.

Marchus nodded in agreement, while Lairi peered under the baskets and furniture in an effort to spot one of the creatures. "And bigger ears, too. It's warmer, so they don't need as long of a coat, I guess."

"Huh."

Meanwhile, Lairi pounced with an "aha!" and held up a squirming huldah. "This is your pest?" she held it closer to examine it, "it doesn't seem so - ow!"

The huldah had bit her, and it scrambled off as she swore and shook her fist at it.

Glow snorted, then made a calming gesture as she set another trap. "Everyone makes that mistake at least once, don't worry. But it's not their attack that's to be feared - it's their eating of our food stores."

She turned one of the crates to show where one had gnawed through the wood and it hadn't been patched yet. Marchus nodded in agreement, and Lairi made a hmm-ing noise. "Where should I put this?" she asked, holding up a trap.

Glow nodded at the storeroom - the walls were unadorned grey granite, with jury-rigged lights running along the ceiling. Some of them were out, but they provided illumination, albeit leaving some dark corners. A few of the ever-present bones peeked through the wall, but they were subtle in their glow. Woven baskets and wooden crates filled the room, labeled with their contents.

"Find a dark corner that you would like to hide in, if you were a huldah. Set it, bait it, and then place another."

"Does that really work?" Lairi sounded skeptical.

Marchus jumped in with a shrug, not looking up from placing his traps. "If you use the same trap for too long, they'll figure it out and avoid them. So you need to switch it up every so often."

Glow nodded in agreement, then swiveled her ears as a snap sounded. She went to collect her prize and reset the trap, placing the huldah in her bag. She felt a little bad for the six-armed little creature - it wasn't deliberately being malicious, just taking advantage of an easy food source. But up in these mountains, even a small amount of missing supplies was no joke.

"Have you set yours?" Marchus asked, and Glow blinked at him over the boxes.

"Not yet. Not everyone's an overachiever like you are."

She meant it as a joke, but he glanced away, seeming hurt, and she clacked her beak embarrassedly. She set about setting the rest of her traps and called out when done, then the two of them waited for Lairi to finish with hers. While they waited, a few more huldah fell for the traps, and she and Marchus collected them to bring to the royals.

Their task done once Lairi finished setting her traps, the group left the storeroom. Hopefully the other hunts would go as smoothly…