Woodland always felt a sense of unease in the dry lands of Issiq. It was quite different from her home, since the land was sandy and nearly empty of vegetation. She had never liked how the sand shifted under her weight, always feeling as if she'd loose her grip any moment. Still, Bloo had insisted she take some of the whelps to see the region, claiming it was an important part of their education. Woodland, unfortunately, found herself agreeing with that.

 

The whelps she had brought along, two belemoids called Judge and Guide, were mostly well-behaved. This was partially due to the other adult who had decided to tag along who was surprisingly intimidating. Woodland couldn't say she had talked to Reward much before this, the black Tsabhua mainly sticking to herself.

 

Judge and Guide seemed almost glued to each others side, spending most of the trip chatting to each other. Both seemed to enjoy running trough the sand and were hard on their way to having to be hosed off when they got back home, as they were both already covered head to toe.

 

Occasionally, she or Reward would spot something interesting in the sand and tell the whelps about whatever they had found. Mostly they were succulents or cacti that Woodland had set out to gather and each time, Woodland would launch into an excited ramble about the plant trying to get the whelps excited about it, but neither whelp seemed interested in the slightest. 

 

"So what does it *do* then?" one would asked, clearly already bored.

"Well, it doesn't do anything by itself but-"

"So then why bother? There's gotta be cool things somewhere around here. Not just lame plants."

 

Woodland couldn't help but feel a bit hurt at that even though she knew that the whelps didn't mean any harm. Their interests likely just laid elsewhere.

 

"Ah, well-" Woodland started, but was quickly stopped by a frowning Reward.

"Be nice!" the other Tsabhua scolded. "Woodland is trying her best to teach you something." 

 

The Tsabhua had a scowl on her face, and both whelps yelped out an apology.

 

"We just thought maybe we could go visit the mines." Judge said shyly, with guide nodding enthusiastically behind him. "Finn and Crown have been telling us all about them!" 

 

Woodland sighed. Of course her sister would. Crown spent a lot of time in other regions, mining for rare stones not found at home. When she came back, she'd always bring some pretty stones for the whelps in the colony. The stones were always worthless, but the whelps loved Crown for it, crowding around her every time she got home from a long trip. Woodland had tried doing the same, once, but the muddy pebbles she found in L'hatzif hadn't been nearly as impressive.

 

Woodland sighed "Well, you're a bit too young to go into the mines" the whelps opened their mouths to complain, but couldn't get much of a word out before Woodland continued. "But we can probably take a look nearby when we've finished gathering these succulents." The whelps squealed in excitement at that, but Reward on the other hand gave Woodland a sceptical look.

 

Woodland had already observed that she herself was way more lenient with the whelps than Reward was, so she suspected that the other wasn't happy with Woodland letting the whelps take the reigns even the slightest. In Woodland's opinion if the whelps wanted to go see the mines, there was no reason to keep them from doing so. There was no reason learning shouldn't be fun, after all. 

 

The promise of getting to see the mines had the two whelps all hyped up, and the two had turned getting the succulents into a game, trying to see who could gather the most. Woodland had explained how to harvest leaves off of the plants before, and it seemed like that had not gone unnoticed, but she'd still have to double-check that everything was wrapped up and stored away as it was supposed to be later. She had already accepted the fact that most work done by the whelps would have to be redone, but consoled herself with the hope that at least they'd learn from the whole experience.

 

Woodland was pretty sure the whelps would be pretty disappointed by the mines, especially since she wouldn't be taking them much further than the entrance. After all, she had not failed to notice her one sister always coming back with scraps and bruises, and the other always complaining about other injuries from the mines.

 

The whelps bounded back up to her after a while, but with a bag filled with cuttings and saps of succulents. "Can we go see the mines now?" Judge, the onyx whelp asked excited.

 

Woodland hummed. "Ill have to make sure everything is packaged right, first." she reminded the two. "But maybe Reward wants to tell you a story while I do so?" Woodland already knew that Reward didn't- but alas. Someone would have to keep the whelps occupied, after all.