The colony had received a non-urgent help signal from all the way over in Rekes a few days ago. A tunnel in the local mines had collapsed, blocking access to the colonies and tribes making use of it. While at first, Bloo was prepared to tell the sender of the signal that his colony couldn't help, being way busy with other stuff, he had changed his mind when he noticed finn and Crimson Crown gaining a sudden interest in mining. The two had started hanging around the makeshift mines that used to be Finn and Twinkle's cave, inspecting the rocks they could find there. Both of them were always cautious, so he supposed that's why nobody had really said anything despite Bloo having made it clear that nobody was allowed in the caves until Bloo could get someone with more relevant skills to check out the stability of the whole thing.

 

As it was, however, Bloo send back a signal saying that he had two willing, but unexperienced colonists available to help, and that they'd be on their way soon. When he broke the news to Finn and Crown, the two seemed excited, despite Finn mentioning he wasn't too sure on his whelp-sitting skills.

 

When the two arrived, a pink Tsabhua was waiting for them at the docks. Crown was the first to run up to her- probably way more excited than anyone could've reasonably expected a whelp to be over a simple yet tedious mining expedition. Finn hadn't had the heart to tell Crown that she probably wouldn't be allowed to do much more than watch and help in the less dangerous parts of the cave, and as such he hoped that the whelp wouldn't throw too much of a fuss after learning what her tasks would be.

 

The Tsab introduced herself as Nathalia, and briefly explained about the issue about the collapsed tunnel. "We have a bunch of mines here in Rekes, so it's not *too* big a deal- but an inconvenience nonetheless." Finn nodded thoughtfully at her explanation- "And of course, many hands make light work." he finished for her.

 

It was a short hike from the docks to the collapsed tunnel. "Like I said," Nathalia started "Plenty of other mines around, so don't try n rush it. Know your limits." she said this specifically to Crown, who was already trying to pick up the biggest tools she could find.

 

Finn awkwardly glanced at Nathalia, hoping she had a solution to the problem of the whelp wanting to do actual mining, which she obviously wouldn't be allowed.

 

Nathalia cleared her throat "And you," she started "can have the most important job of all!" Crown gasped in excitement, instantly dropping whatever she had picked up. "You'll get to help me find out what kind of rocks are in this mine!" the whelp drooped down in disappointment, so Nathalia continued "you see, there's many different kind of rocks, and it's very important that we find out which rocks and ores are in this mine, so we know what we can find here, and how strong the rocks are." Nathalia winked at Finn, who understood that this knowledge, obviously, would've already been readily available.

 

She then looked over to Finn "You seem plenty strong, so Im sure you can help getting rid of the blockage." Finn nodded, picking up some tools that Nathalia had pointed out to him. "Ill be right here with Crown keeping an eye on you, so if anything seems wrong just let me know, alright?" Finn nodded, excited to get to work.

 

 

As it turns out, Finn and Crown had arrived in the very last stages of clearing the blockage, most of it already having been dealt with. As he approached the small group of Xunari, one of them spotted him and gave him a gentle pat on the back "Thanks for the help. Almost done here." he gestured to the rock walls "we're just mining out some space for some additional supports, so this section doesn't collapse again." Finn nodded politely, and fumbled with the tools he was holding "Alright, so you're gonna wanna strike it like this-" the stranger explained, showing it "alright? You've got this, kid."