Waveform stared out the window of the flyer with unabashed curiosity as the ground below transitioned from the snowy mountains of home to the orange-red desert of Issiq, spotted with rocky outcrops that rose high into the air. They watched in fascination as the flyer descended towards one, a mesa criss-crossed with the dark lines of ravines.

Parhelion nudged them and then shoved them over to hog the window for himself, and Waveform let out a protesting noise at his conduct.

Parhelion stuck out his tongue at them, only to be lightly poked by Depths and told not to be rude.

"We're here to help out in the mines, and we can't do that if you two are squabbling the entire time," Ambergris told them after setting the flyer down. "We'll have to go home or find you…. Daycare!"

Both Waveform and Parhelion gave ae bug-eyed expressions of horror, and Ambergris laughed, shouldered a bag, and motioned for them to follow ae off the flyer.

"Hello!" Norm called, uncurling from where he had settled in a sheltered overhang. "You made it! Good, good." They waggled a tail in greeting at Parhelion and Waveform, and Waveform made a startled noise and hid behind Depths while Parhelion started trying to hunt the tail.

Not breaking stride, Depths picked up Parhelion by his scruff before any damage could be done, and nodded to Norm. "Nice to see you. I heard you had a cave-in?"

Norm nodded sadly and began to lead them down into the ravine, sandstone walls rising on either side as the temperature began to cool markedly.

"Yes, yes. Thankfully nobody was hurt but, well - all hands on deck situation. Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Ambergris nodded, and Depths mirrored the gesture.

Waveform scurried along after the three adults, Parhelion giving up and hanging boneless in Depths' grip. They wove comfortably through the tunnels, though Ambergris kept having to fetch Waveform when they got distracted staring at some tapestry. Soon, the sound of work came from up ahead, and Depths and Ambergris donned their helmets, and gave ones to Parhelion and Waveform.

"If you want to go in the mine, you have to wear them," Norm told them, donning his own.

Parhelion donned his own with only minor complains, but Waveform stared at the tunnels that lead even deeper into the earth.

"What if… I don't want to?" they voiced hesitantly, and while Norm gave them a sympathetic look, Depths shook his head.

"You know you need to get used to being underground," he told them gently, settling the helmet on their head.

Waveform stared at the ground, but nodded slightly and began seating the helmet on their head. Helmets in place, the five moved on, towards the sound of calling voices and work being done. They frequently had to step out of the way of carts laden with stone being pushed past, and the lights on the walls glowed at full brightness.

Soon, they came to the tunnel that had nearly collapsed - the struts along the walls that helped to hold up the ceiling had buckled, and where the tunnel should've lead was only a broken heap of sandstone. The old supports had been reinforced so that the risk of cave-in was mitigated, and many people were working on clearing the rubble to open the tunnel again.

Depths and Ambergris joined in the clearing of material, and Parhelion scampered around, generally being a nuisance. Norm sat with Whiteout who watched with wide eyes, flinching at loud noises and nearly jumping out of their skin when a large rock fell to the ground with a crash.

"PARHELION," Ambergris yelled as the youngster scampered away, cackling, apparently having tripped someone holding it.

Ae and Depths began to move the rock, but it split in half to reveal… a skeleton?

"Oh!" Norm exclaimed, slithering over to examine it as Ambergris and Depths bent their head towards the fine. "A fossil! I was expecting to find some in these hills, but nothing this big or well-preserved!"

"A fossil? Of what?" Depths asked, curiously reaching out to touch it and then pausing.

"Of some ancient sea creature, it looks like…" Norm continued talking as Waveform edged closer to peek at it. The swirls of the creature were mesmerising, and they stared at it for quite some time as the adults discussed what to do with it.

Whatever they decided, they hoped they could look at it from time to time.