Glow wasn't sure how she felt about returning to the mud if L'hatzif, but Noodle had asked for some specific mushrooms. Bloodstone and Nova were coming along to help - the two adults had tried to convince Nova that he didn't need to see all the mud but Nova had insisted - and Kion was visiting from a neighboring colony to lend his nukap to the search.

The flyers dropped them off near the City of Lights, but much to Nova's disappointment they had turned away from the massive plume of steam rising from the center of the city. The domes glinted in the light of the sun, alluring, but Glow and Bloodstone led him and Kion towards the outskirts and the trails leading into the forest.

Glow hoped that Kion's nukap would be more useful than Bunsen's in this search for the shadow cap. But who knew.

This time at least, they could stay on the boardwalks that ran through the nearby forest, connecting some smaller settlements. The boardwalks were elevated from the swamp beneath, protecting the walkways from flooding or general soggyness. There was a gentle insect repulsion field on each of their supplies, and looking out at the swamps, Glow was very grateful for it.

Kion was walking next to Glow while Bloodstone and Nova were walking ahead, and Nova was starting to look like he was regretting insisting on coming along.

"Do we haaaaaave to go down there?"

Glow looked down where the boardwalk lowered into the swamp, tall mushroom stalks erupting from the ground like long grass. Only… mushrooms. "Well, to forage, we need to go where the mushrooms are."

Nova stared up at her with big eyes. "But there's mushrooms within reach…"

"Not shadow caps," Kion piped up hesitantly, then startled at the attention. "Er… I gave one to Blueberry to smell, earlier. She'd be trying to find it if one were here."

Bloodstone nudged Nova, amused. "See? No choice but to go down there."

Nova wilted, then turned to Bloodstone with wide, pleading eyes. "Can I get a ride?"

"Nope!"

Bloodstone continued down the boardwalk, having brought tall boots to protect from the water, and Glow followed, nudging Nova along and making sure Kion was following.

"What will Blueberry do if she smells something?"

Kion tilted his head, eyeing Blueberry, happily following along on her lead. "She'll try and eat it," he said thoughtfully, "so her pulling will lead us in the direction."

Glow nodded. "So we'll have to make sure she doesn't eat it."

Kion nodded agreement, and the two stepped down into the mud. It squelched unpleasantly, but the group had boots to protect their feet. Still, Glow knew from experience in these marshes that they would all smell like soggy tar'kee after this. Nova seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and plunked along after Bloodstone, who navigated them to a familiar place. It was one of the areas they had hunted nukaps in, since they came there to forage often. Hopefully, it would provide a good starting point…

They reached the clearing, and all eyes turned to Blueberry expectantly. Noticing how flustered Kion was getting as his nukap rooted around in the mud, unconcerned, Glow cleared her throat.

"What do shadow caps look like?"

Kion perked up. "They're a dark mushroom… almost black, with dark grey spots. Pretty mottled, and they like to grow in the shadows or shaded area."

He seemed like he was about to continue, but a voice from the mushroom trees ahead spoke.

"Oh, you again?"

Glow glanced up to see Lumen's familiar face peeking out from the top of a cap. "Yes," she admitted, "though we're here for mushrooms this time."

Bloodstone waved cheerfully, then pointed at the aerobic. "This is Lumen," she introduced to Nova and Kion.

Lumen waved distractedly, then tilted their head at Glow. "What type of mushroom? Maybe I can help. Tit for tat, y'know?"

Glow rolled her eyes, but Kion spoke up and began to describe the mushroom again. In the background, Nova yawned dramatically, and Bloodstone poked him disapprovingly and pulled him off to search the shadows beneath the caps for dark mushrooms. Blueberry still didn't seem to catch a scent, and Glow wandered off some distance to study the shadows while Kion chatted with Lumen.

And in that moment while everyone was distracted… Blueberry made her move. Smelling the scent of a shadow cap, she wandered to the edge of the clearing, her lead slipping out of Kion's distracted grip. There, she began to root around and move the mud away, revealing the black and grey mottled cap that Kion had just described. But just when she was about to take a bite of the delicious dark mushroom…

"GUYYYSSSS" Nova wailed, holding up the mushroom, "I FOUND IT!"