Hivoo, Thylla, and Ballast lurked their way through the murk in L'Hatzif. The dank swamp water swirled around their paws. The massive branched trees wove their leaves together casting a net that caught the sun, preventing all but a scattering of rays from hitting the waters. A chilly breeze whisked its way through the tunnel formed by the trees, whipping up the water to spray both the hunters and the trees on either side.

Thylla shivered and Ballast shook his mane out against the wind. "How much further did you say this wallow was?" Ballast asked the Tsidal colonists. After getting fixed up by Rozwel, Hivoo and Thylla had invited him nukap hunting with them, and the other tsabs had claimed they knew a nearby wallow where nukaps loved to play in the mud. So far, all Ballast had seen was damp, water, and massive trees. It'd been rather shocking how quickly the seaside had turned into dense mangroves and something akin to a jungle.

"Not too much further now. Don't worry." Hivoo dug a berry out of her pack. "We leave some food out for the nukaps in this wallow specifically cause it's the closest one to us, and even though they know sometimes there's the risk of getting jumped by hunters, most of the time it's safe, and there might even be easy food. So we're pretty confident there will be some there. I've got more of these berries to scatter around the area after we've completed our hunt too."

"Nukaps are omnivores. So even if the birds end up getting the berries, who knows, they might just eat the birds." Thylla offered that tidbit of morbid optimism. Ballast grimaced for a second at the thought, but continued trudging forwards. They had to succeed in their hunt so that they could bring those carcasses to the royals in the bunker. He was on a mission, and he was not about to fail, so if he had to put up with dark and dank conditions to hunt weird omnivorous creatures, so be it.

Hivoo leapt forward through the water, up onto the bank artificially created by mangrove tree roots. "Hold real quick" she whispered back, and the other two tsabs kept their position in the water. She peered through the foliage past the roots, where real dirt and mud made a landmass. With a deep inhale, the pungent aroma of nukap hit her nostrils. It was fresh. Hivoo motioned for the two to creep closer to her. Ballast hopped up on a root series beside her while Thylla carefully climbed up a few roots over. Whispering ever so carefully, Thylla told the other two to wait there. Ballast fidgeted from side to side, unhappy with waiting around. He could also smell the nukaps and was ready to get into the action.

Thylla stalked low, careful not to rustle the bushes. She slunk forward until she could get a visual on their prey. Beyond the shrubbery, several nukaps rustled around the wallow, just as they hoped. A couple of them looked old with tough wrinkly skin and wiry hair, but the majority seemed spry and were likely to either make a swift exit or fight the tsabs when they attacked. Thylla knew none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of a nukap charge. She took note of where the older looking ones were resting and quietly made her way back to the group to report their location. If they went for the older ones, they'd be less likely to get away and the younger ones might be more likely to leave them in peace and simply run away.

Thylla made it back to Hivoo and Ballast without alerting the nukaps. Ballast's ears immediately perked up and he looked coiled like a spring, ready to leap through the shrubs. Thylla instinctively held up a palm signaling him to wait, and the male tsab's ears sank. "They are there" Thylla whispered. Hivoo simply nodded and Ballast shifted his weight, looking off in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. "But listen, we should go in together. There's a couple of older ones that we'll have better luck catching. They're towards the back left of the wallow. Follow me and we'll move stealthily around to get a good angle on them."

Thylla turned and crouched low again to sneak around and get that angle. Hivoo followed after her mother, crouching and even somewhat blending into the verdant plant life. Ballast didn't love creeping and sneaking around, but he knew he was on mission and followed the other two, doing his best to slink along with them. He'd been ready to take down the nukaps since the very start of the journey. All he had to do was stay patient for a little while longer.