The weather had quite quickly turned hot and unbearable. In theory, the sun wasn't *bad* on it's own, mostly blocked out by the tall mushrooms of the Fungal Forest, but in the colony's clearing, unprotected from the sun, it was scalding. Needless to say, Seal, Reward, and Finn were more than just unhappy to be working under these conditions, but it was something that had to be done as honestly, the task at hand was something that was long overdue regardless.

 

Seal and Reward had been in the colony for a while now, and had taken notice to the problem. The clearing on the hill was nice, but without the Fungal trees blocking out the sun there was little other way to escape, and as the season went on, the sun grew more and more relentless. The two had discussed with Bloo for a bit, but the situation grew more urgent as time went on, especially after one of the whelps had gotten so sunburnt that they had to go see Matter in the medical centre.

 

Eventually, the two agreed that the best solution would be to install some netting between the fungal trees, covering the clearing in some artificial shade and blocking the worst of the sun's rays. The netting, however, would be incredibly expensive, having to be imported from a tribe in Issiq who'd have to put it together by hand to make sure that it would be sturdy enough to last a couple of years at least.

 

Seal hummed, looking at the crates that had been brought in. The nets were quite bulky, and therefore heavy. He considered himself lucky that one of the colonist's miners, Finn, had agreed to help him install the darned things, while Reward would supervise. Reward had squinted, looking at the small group gathered. "So we just need to install the netting onto the rails we installed yesterday. It mostly involves climbing up, attaching some pully systems to haul the netting up, and then attaching the nets in the right ways." Seal nodded, although the miner looked confused. "So," seal started his explanation "the net is nice in summer, but during other seasons it would block out much-needed light." Finn nodded, seemingly catching up. "So we installed these railings yesterday." Seal gestured at the railings lining some of the trees "and if everything goes according to Reward's plan, we'll be able to pull in the netting during the seasons we won't need it."

 

Finn seemed amazed "That's so smart! Will the trees be able to hold the weight?" Reward perked up from the back "Should do!" the Tsab then went on a bit of a ramble, showing Finn the schematics. As the two chatted, Seal was caught up in his own thoughts. He had been wanting to start a conversation with the miner for a while now, but had never been quite sure how.

 

"- right, Seal?" snapping out of his thoughts, Seal looked over at Reward and Finn, who looked at him expectantly. Seal nodded, "We uh, should gest started." He said, walking off trying his best not to trip over his own paws, hearing soft chuckles behind him.

 

---

 

It took the trio a couple of days to properly install the netting. Finn especially had had to take a few breaks between hauling the heavy nets up the monoliths. During which, Seal and Finn had started talking, while Reward sat in the shade, planning the next move to make the operation go down smoothly.

 

Seal had been quite happy to talk to Finn during the breaks. He had always been interested by the other reef belemoid, and was more than happy to find a friend who, in a way, was just like him. It had been a bit of a struggle to find a place to live, Seal having gotten a bit of a reputation as a troublemaker and therefore not a lot of Xunari wanting him close, but Finn- and the rest of the colony, is he had to be honest- hadn't seemed to mind at all.

 

When the netting was up, he happily gave Finn a pat on the back, congratulating her. "Great work!" he praised, which was followed by some mumbling of Finn about how they did all the hard work while she was just muscle. Seal shook his head, "Nope! You did just as much as us two." Reward joined in now "Nono! You did so much work, there's no need to put youself down like that, Finn!" Finn blushed, accepting her fate. "Hey I know!" Reward pipped up, "Let's all go get some fancy dinner tonight, together, to celebrate!" Seal perked up excitedly "Oh! I heard Woodland caught this HUGE fish a few days ago. Maybe we can ask if we can have it?"