Still missing the elusive golden bumps for the prince's request, Glow was taking some of the youngsters out again. It was a little bit of time after the last, so that the youngsters had had some time to mature and learn more about what hunting meant.
Bloodstone had taken it very seriously, while Rocky had apparently burst into tears. Rocky was staying home from this one, but Bloodstone, Noodle, and Snickerdoodle were coming along, carrying their weapon of choice. Glow didn't think those weapons would get much use, but she supposed it would be good for them to get some experience carrying them.
Seeing Lairi and Marchus up ahead, she waved at them. They waved back, and turned to Snickeroodle with some interest.
Glow introduced them, and added "Snickerdoodle decided to stick around with us and see what things are like. She's happy to help scout for nukaps."
Snickerdoodle nodded shyly next to her, wings folded tight along her body.
Marchus nodded appreciatively, taking her into his mental calculous for the hunt, while Lairi exclaimed over her wings and Snickerdoodle all but blushed at the attention. Sensing her discomfort, Glow nodded at Marchus.
"We're tracking today?"
He nodded. "The nukaps near here have been learning to avoid the snares. They're smarter than they look. Besides, it'll help us try and spot a gold one."
Lairi snorted. "As much as the true colors of any nukap can be seen under the mud."
Which was true. Even for the hunters, a brief time in this muddy land, swampy soil squishing under their feet, resulted in their legs and belly being spattered with foul-smelling mud. For those that lived here, like the nukaps, that mud was a full body coating.
Noodle was looking particularly soggy, not yet having had the growth spurt of Bloodstone or Snockerdoodle, and their brown fur was blending into the mud quite well. Glow was glad she and the other tar'kee couldn't smell very well, as the stench of decaying plant matter in this mushroom swamp was apparently quite strong, according to Depths.
The group began to move on, Snickerdoodle taking to the air and calling down to Marchus whenever they saw something that could be a sign. Glow watched the aerobic flitting between the caps of the giant mushrooms agilely, dodging them and the strange vines and fruit that grew from them. What would it be like, to do that? She wondered, then shook her head and continued leading Bloodstone and Noodle after Marchus and Lairi.
Soon enough, Snickerdoodle called down from her perch on a mushroom tree, and Marchus waved the group to join him. He made a motion for quiet, then gestured to the other side of what appeared to pass for grass here - tall, thin stalks of mushrooms, flexible but growing thickly like wild grasses on prairies.
"There's a small herd on the other side, there. Snickerdoodle thinks she sees a gold one, but she's not sure."
Lairi, Glow, and Bloodstone nodded attentively, while Noodle just looked relieved that the slog was over and done with. They listened as Marchus explained the plan: getting up on some of the mushroom bushes and attacking when Snickerdoodle and Noodle startled the group to run towards them.
It sounded like a plan, and so Bloodstone, Glow, Marchus and Lairi clambered onto some mushroom caps, readying their weapons of choice. Lairi drew her bow, hoping to catch a nukap with an arrow through the eye, while Bloodstone held a spear nervously. Glow and Marchus both opted for long knives, and the four settled down to wait.
Soon, thymes heard Noodle and Snickerdoodle's yells, and the rustling and snorting of surprised nukap. They burst from the strange mushroom reeds, and Lairi began to loose arrows, felling one, while Bloodstone threw their spear, missing.
Glow leapt onto the back of one of the creatures, as did Marchus, but she was bucked off while his fell. As the squeaks faded in the distance, and the swaying of the mushroom-grass stilled, the group stood up and look at each other.
With a rustle, Noodle popped out, and Snickerdoodle appeared peering overhead. Bloodstone and Lairi hopped off their mushrooms, and Glow shook herself out of the mud while Marchus stood up, glancing at the others.
It appeared their task had - hopefully - been successful, and the group turned to preparing their kills to take home. Golden enough or not, these nukap would go to feed someone.
Marchus: 3 mentions
Noodle: 1 mentions
Glow: 4 mentions
Bloodstone: 2 mentions
Snickerdoodle: 4 mentions
Marchus: 1 mentions
Noodle: 1 mentions
Glow: 2 mentions
Bloodstone: 1 mentions
Snickerdoodle: 1 mentions
Marchus: 5 mentions
Noodle: 3 mentions
Glow: 3 mentions
Bloodstone: 4 mentions
Snickerdoodle: 3 mentions
Marchus: 2 mentions
Noodle: 2 mentions
Glow: 2 mentions
Bloodstone: 2 mentions
Snickerdoodle: 2 mentions

They Grow Up So Fast
Borrowing Marchus and Lairi again... golden nukap be merciful plz
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