After meeting while gathering poppies, Fog and Fallow had decided to meet more with the colony 'over the mountains' as they put it. It seemed that Skyward had a good few caves with nice ore deposits nearby, and their inhabitants were happy to share with Fog and Fallow.

Inky lead them towards the tunnel entrance, with Waveform talking to Fog and Fallow behind. They each carried some tools to measure the ore in the walls, except for Inky who instead had some mapping tools with them. They weren't all that interested in smacking rocks into walls or whatnot. They were more interested in what lived down here and where the tunnels lead…

"Don't start poking at the rock if there's any moss or such growing on it," Inky reminded the others, wiggling their bag a little further down their back. "Let me look at it."

"Yes, mom," Waveform rolled xir eyes.

Inky sniffed. "You don't see me out here mocking your rocks, huh?"

"We'll be sure to tell you," Fallow assured them, while Fog looked at the tunnel entrance with no small dislike.

"I thought it would be… wider."

Inky eyed the aerobics with a mischievous gleam. "Tunnels don't usually come in flying creature size. Follow me."

The tunnel was a narrow sinkhole in the ground, where rainwater had hollowed out a vein of limestone in the otherwise immutable granite. Grass leaned over the edge as Inky slithered down into it, dirt on the floor and the top layer of the ceiling briefly before fading into the familiar stone of the mountains. Though the ever-present bones lent an eerie glow, enough to see, Waveform clicked on a flashlight, illuminating the grey walls of the tunnel.

"Creepy," Fallow muttered, following behind them, while Fog looked around with a flashlight.

Water plinked in the distance as they followed the tunnel as it wound deeper into the earth, opening up into a cavern, much to the relief of the aerobics.

Waveform stretched briefly before going to examine the wall of the cave, where a vein of quartz ran through the granite. Fog and Fallow pulled out their prospecting tools, and began a slow circuit of the cavern, taking measurements. Inky, meanwhile, started examining some lichen on a nearby stalagmite with interest.

Water plinked quietly as the aerobics discussed, their conversation muted by the all-encompassing quiet of the cavern. It seemed… wrong to disturb it, like they were the interloper. Still, they had rocks to gather and tasks to get done, so they got down to it.

Fallow and Fog began to take samples, scratching pieces of the wall off into small vials that they tucked away into their bags. Waveform set up their own equipment to take readings of the stability of the cavern - it didn't matter how rich in ores it was if it collapsed on their heads, after all. Inky, meanwhile, was cataloging the mosses and lichens. Ostensibly it was to make sure none of them were toxic, but who knew if it was the home of some rare moss…

They were squinting at a particularly difficult to categorize lichen when Waveform made a surprised noise. Inky, Fog, and Fallow looked up at them, and Waveform pointed to where a small crack lead off into the wall. It was too small for any of them to fit through, and dark.

"Something moved in there!"

Fog wandered over, curious, while Fallow finished up bottling a sample.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure - something alive."

"Well, it's not surprising that there's things living down here…"

"Still, creeps me out. I've got what I need, how about you?"

Fog, Fallow, and Inky looked at each other and shrugged.

"More would be better, but yes, we have enough for now."

"Then let's go before whatever it was brings friends…"

"You're a little paranoid, you know that? For all you know you just startled a lizard."

"But what if it's not…"

Seeing that Waveform was ready to go, Inky shrugged and began packing up, as did Fog and Fallow. Really, some people were not meant to be underground… they started imagining ghosts and jumping at small noises. Sure enough, Waveform sighed with relief once they reached the surface again, spreading their wings.

Tasks done, Waveform and Inky bid Fallow and Fog goodbye, and they all went their separate ways.