The Sea-Cucumbers colony was composed of several large domes interconnected by locking tubes. As the hunters Far'lan and Kareena walked underneath them, they could feel the low hum of the generator, and when the buzz fluctuated, they could see the lights flicker overhead. "Are you sure that this was a good idea?" Far'lan gently questioned his mate as the white-coated Captain ahead led them on. Skittle, the aquatic tark'ee eagerly padding along behind the two, however, seemed plenty entertained to (( watch the bubbles rise and fish swim outside, as though the dome was a big aquarium to her.

Outside of the tempered glass, the dark of night overshadowed the deep ocean reef. Kelp spun lightly in the current, its shadows dancing. The bioluminescent "firefly" fish chased each other around purple-tinted brain corals and yellow sponges – Though at this depth, every color appeared more blue-tinted–even Skritch's gold eyes were almost green. The deep ocean pressure adversely affected the two ground-dwelling tsabhua, Far'lan and Kareena, making their lungs feel heavier and their brains fogger.

"Of course," Skritch clutched a set of his paws to his chest to indicate sincerity, "We are quite grateful to have a diplomatic party here from…" Once again, the name was right on the tip of his tongue. "Or'sol!" Skittle blurted excitedly, giving a big smile as she glanced around the industrial kitchen they were being lead into. She may have been a friendly face, but she was picking up on the smallest details, like the dent in the fridge and a "year of make" engraved in the stove from twenty years ago.

"Unfortunately," Skritch gave an awkward, toothy grin, "You caught us at a time where we have very few colonists… But of course, we'll welcome you with the finest feast that the ocean has to offer!" Far'lan's narrowed brow and tightened maw expressed his skepticism clearly. "Actually, we think we'll just be heading back–" He started, only to be met with a frantic head shake from Kareena. "We need as many allies as we can get!" She insisted, "Even if they're… Well, a bit odd."

"Fine," Far'lan sighed, an agreement that made Skittle visibly excited. "But you better not feed us huldah poison or something, or I'll have you made into a rug!" One of Skritch's eyes widened, while the other squinted. "Would I be… A pretty rug?" He asked, skeptically grasping at the air. "Of course you would!" Skittle piped up in a sweet voice, "Your white pelt is very… Cleancore!"

Skritch broke into a sharp-toothed grin, then darted around the far-too-large kitchen. He loudly pulled out pots and pans, throwing them onto burners and ovens, and hauling mystery chunks of frozen meat out of the fridge. "Luckily, DPIP threw in some meals for free with the used freezer!" Skritch cheered, "And we have enough chum left over from last night's fishing." He gestured to a rusting bucket composed of large fish pieces and wiggling worms.

"No way!" Far'lan's face turned green as though he might throw up. "Please… Just feed us the frozen meat and get on with it," Kareena sighed. "Yeah, yeah," Skritch waved them off, "Y'know, it just all costs money, and…" The Colony Captain leaned in eye-to-eye to a burner on the stovetop as he turned the knob, fiddling with it to get it to light. When flame erupted he gasped at his success, then screamed because he'd forgotten about the tip of his tail still sitting on the burner.

"I got you!" Skittle's orange form lunged through the air after the flailing tsabhua, chasing him across the room with a hose before managing to douse him. His sopping wet, white form rose as the oven behind him beeped. "My seaweed casserole!" He squeaked. "I'll get it!" Skittle called, appearing in a set of kitchen mitts and reaching into the oven after a disaster of a dish. "At least they're… Having fun?" Kareena offered to her mate Far'lan, but her expression was a cringing one.

But after an hour of banging and cutting passed, and a mountain of dirtied pots nearly touched the dome-roof, dinner was finally to be served. Skittle, in her borrowed oven mitts, brought Skritch's terrifying dishes to the sterile metal table. The whole room smelled of a putrid mixture of seafood, burned vegetables, and… Burnt hair? "Enjoy the finest Sea-Cucumbers creations!" Skritch exclaimed, a gleam in his eye…

"Here we have, our world famous seaweed casserole, of course," Skritch referred to what appeared to be a mixture of burnt kelp stuck to crackers. "For the Madame, perhaps… A fish stew, to help with your complexion?" He cringed awkwardly as he sat down the blood-red soup with floating sardine heads in front of Kareena. "And for the sir… What about a mystery meatloaf, to regain your… Protein?" He dropped the heavy, well-burnt cake of chum in front of Far'lan. "Well, what do you think?" Skittle chirped up, seeming to be as excited with the creations as Skritch was.

"Well, for one," Kareena intruded, "Y'know, I'm a famous hunter. I don't really need to work on my complexion–" She sighed, knowing it wouldn't go anywhere. "But what does it taste like?" Skritch raised an eyebrow. "I'll go first," Far'lan insisted, taking a spoonful of the mystery meatloaf into his maw. He made a gagged expression as he chewed, but managed to keep it down. "Alright, me too!" Skittle decreed, licking her lips. She crunched away at the kelp casserole, seeming to not notice at all that it was burnt.

"Well, what are you so hesitant for?" Skritch's ears pinned slightly with annoyance, "This is the best food that money can buy!" Somehow, Far'lan didn't believe that statement. He and his mate Kareena exchanged awkward side-eye as they forced themselves to shovel down mouthfuls of the concerning sludge. "At least if we get sick," Kareena whispered to her mate, "We can throw up what we had to eat!" Somehow, that appeared to be the most positive scenario–to at least get this chum and mystery meat out of their stomachs before they could get sick. "I don't see what the problem is," Skittles chirped, already on her third plate of seaweed casserole.

"Well, I do hope that you have felt thoroughly welcomed," Skritch approached the table of empty dishes, eyeing the uncomfortable faces there. Far'lan's grey face had turned green, while Kareena appeared to be holding herself back from losing her lunch right then and there. Skittles had fallen asleep in the bucket of fish-head soup, her head peacefully rising and falling with a dull snooze. Sleep it off, seemed to be her motto right now. "Yes, we'll just–Be leaving now," Far'lan made no excuses, eager to get his mate and their aquatic tark'ee out of the situation as soon as possible.

"Alright," Skritch agreed, using his back leg to scratch at his shoulder in a gesture most similar to a stray dog riddled with fleas. "I'd ask you to stay longer, but y'know – Oxygen costs a lot more when there's four of us!" Kareena rolled her eyes, picked up the sleeping Skittle from the underside, and scurried off with her mate towards the nearest decompression chamber. "If we can make it there," Far'lan gagged, grateful to at least escape the putrid smell.