Killdeer had ended up being so interested in Glow and Nova's stories about Rekes that they had followed them there. But, Killdeer being the sneaky creature they were, they didn't know it until they had gone out on a foraging trip and turned around to find Clay standing nose to nose with a familiar face.

"Killdeer?" Nova inquired, as if the aerobic could be anyone else with their dramatic brown and black striping.

"Yeah?"

Glow tilted her head and frowned. "Why are you staring at Clay?"

"Asserting dominance!"

Nova and Glow shared a glance, and then they both reached down and plucked a youngster into the air, breaking the staring contest in a tie much to the youngster's protests.

"But I was about to win -"

"They were about to blink -"

"Yes, of course," Nova said placatingly, shoving Clay's basket back into their grasp. "But remember: we're not here to stare, we're here to gather some snacks, yes?"

Killdeer perked up in Glow's grip. "Snacks?"

Glow and Nova eyed the youngster. "If you help us, yes."

Killdeer went limp, staring at them with wide, pleading eyes.

Knowing full well it was a tactic, Glow sighed and put the youngster down. "If you help," she reiterated firmly, and handed them her basket.

Considering the way Clay and Killdeer stared at each other, Nova didn't think there would be a problem with that. He moved over to gather next to Glow, proffering his basket to share, as the two youngsters started a competition of who could find the most - and the weirdest - fruit.

"Well," Nova observed, plucking an apple off a nearby tree, "I don't think we can put those cats back in the bag."

Glow sighed, delicately setting some greenberries in the basket. "I don't think so either. Have to make sure they don't pick something poisonous by mistake, though."

"After they stop moving."

"After."

The two adults gathered in silence for a while, listening to the youngsters yell insults at each other. The weather was fair that day - why they had gone out, to be honest - with the usual afternoon clouds building, but not yet threatening rain in the periwinkle sky. Snow dotted the mountains around them, splashed white against the dark granite peaks, and nearby a crystal spire glowed eerily in the daylight. Wildlife rustled and chirped in the bushes and trees around them, and butterflies fluttered from flower to flower. It was an idyllic scene, so of course, something had to happen.

"Glow! Nova!" Clay wailed, and the two exchanged looks. "Killdeer bit me!!!"

"I did NOT!"

The two started bickering, and once again, Glow and Nova had to step in to break things up.

"Look," Glow said flatly, holding a squirming Killdeer by their scruff, "how about we check to see if you got anything poisonous by mistake and calm down?"

"I don't have anything poisonous," Clay started smugly, but Nova pulled out a mushroom from their basket and showed it to them.

"Oh." They deflated, and both Glow and Nova sighed.

The group spent some time sorting through the baskets, discarding anything deemed poisonous or of uncertain toxicity. Killdeer and Clay learned some very important lessons that day: if you were not absolutely, positively sure of what it was you were picking, you did not touch it. For all you knew, it could be something poisonous, and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The two were much subdued as they began to head back to Skyward, Killdeer perking up at the prospect of seeing another colony, and Clay taking the opportunity to lord over them with stories. Glow and Nova exchanged amused glances at the wildly exaggerated tales of what went on there, but didn't interrupt. Trying to one up each other with stories was better than biting each other.

Eventually, the welcoming signs of the colony showed up around them, and Killdeer and Clay foisted their baskets on Nova and Glow to run ahead.

"Should we warn them…?"

Glow considered, then broke into a rare mischievous smile. "Nah. They can deal with these two goblins themselves."

Nova laughed, and the two continued on in companionable silence, eager to set down and sort their hauls.