Tough pebbles crunched under Erist’s feet, slicked from recent snowmelt. The sky was colorless and overcast, the foreboding sense of oncoming rainfall hanging in the air. He looked ahead along the trail at his party: Veldet seemed enraptured playing “eye spy” with Nepeto, who was enjoying a free ride on the draconic tark’ees head, then ahead of them was Deidra. The onyx belemoid was the eldest of the four, she seldom travelled far from the colony, but this mission was an unusual exception. Erist himself brought up the rear, ensuring that nobody fell behind…or followed behind, unwanted.

               Erist cast a glance behind him, squinting down the path filled only with his compatriot’s tracks. The idle chatter ahead of him faded as he listened for the moment, ears pricked, then right as he was going to turn around—crack. The granite belemoid’s ears shot up again as he whipped around, eyes flitting through the underbrush around them. Yet his companions were none the wiser.

               “Ssst!” He hissed; his ears pinned now—he couldn’t seem to identify whatever was following them by scent, only an overpowering smell of damp earth filled his nostrils.

               Deidra had the entire group stopped by now, although Veldet and Nepeto didn’t stop chittering until she shot them a furious look.

               “Erist?”

               “I heard something.”

               Veldet chortled a little, “Again? Is it another huldah?”

               “Veldet could you please-” Erist started before being interrupted by a louder, more audible rustle in the bushes. All four of them were on edge now, staring directly into the undergrowth, until a familiar shimmering salmon pelt emerged. An audible sigh of relief left the whole group, except for Deidra, who cast a curious—yet cautious—look at the newcomer.

               “Geez, Nathalia, you can’t be doing that to me.” Erist rasped, clutching his chest.

               “I’ve got to keep you colonists on your toes somehow, right?” She laughed, approaching closer to the group of colonists. “Though, I can’t believe you didn’t detect me sooner, Erist.” Nepeto and Veldet giggled at this remark, even Deidra let a small laugh slip.

               “Well, I—well if you must know, I was onto you half a kilometre back!” Erist retorted, tipping his chin up indignantly. Nathalia smiled and rolled her eyes at this remark.

               “Now, Erist, lets be kind.” Deidra spoke, approaching the salmon tsabhua and extending a bow in greeting. “Deidra, colony mechanic. I see you’ve met my fellows before?”

               Nathalia returned the bow in kind. “Yes, I accompanied them on one of their gathering excursions once. They are all quite rambunctious!”

               “And the time you climbed over the fence around our colony and scraped up your paws?” Veldet cawed, earning a resplendent cacophony of laughter from Nepeto. Deidra and Erist cast Nathalia a quizzical look.

               “Aha—there was that too, yes…” She shuffled her front feet, “I just wanted a closer look, is all…and I couldn’t use the front gate.” Deidra found the explanation…a possibility, but given the less than favorable opinion on colony activity from the local Xunari in Rekes, she wasn’t so sure if curiosity alone was the tsabhua’s only motivator.

               “Anywho! What’s brought you all so far from your colony this time?”

               Erist answered her as the group began moving down the trail in their original direction, “Oh, mainly just going out to a settlement nearby to get some mechanical parts. Something with the engine on our boat. Ark asked us to fetch him some seeds from the market, as well.” Nathalia fell into step with Erist and Deidra at the rear of the group, nodding along as the granite belemoid spoke, with Veldet and Nepeto ahead of them resuming their usual chatter.

               “Specifically, the alternator belt has worn out.” Deidra chimed in, “Without it, its difficult to move the boat without the engine stalling. You can basically forget about using it for anything useful until its fixed.” Nathalia nodded, although she understood little about the intricacies of mechanics; same for Erist, who seemed even less interested in Deidra’s technical explanations.

               Their conversation was cut short by a light sprinkling of rain on each of their heads, the five of them gazing upwards almost in unison. A quiet rumble could be heard in the distance, towards the sea, making each of them feel uneasy.

               “Should we find shelter?” Nepeto asked from his perch on Veldet’s head, who was now looking back at the group. The rain was light, but they could all hear the thunder.

               “I’d recommend it. You wouldn’t want to be caught off guard by a storm in Rekes—Geshem brings with it the…second worst storms I’ve seen.” Nathalia spoke as she looked around the immediate area for somewhere ideal to set up a temporary camp. The rest of the party decided to split up and search, although careful not to stray too far from each other’s sight. Nepeto was even searching, too, although he remained close to Deidra.

               “What about over here?” Veldet crowed from a little farther down the trail, Erist being the first to his side. The snowy tark’ee had found a small cave situated above a small pile of boulders, etched into the mountainside. Nathalia sauntered up behind the two Xunari, followed closely by Deidra and Nepeto.

               “Oh, yes, that will work.” Nathalia commented as she approached the cavern to inspect it more closely. “It looks stable enough, and is risen off the ground in case this area was to flood.” Satisfied with her assessment, Nathalia climbed up the boulders into the cavern, assisting the colonists as they each followed suit. Deidra had some difficulty on the slick rocks, but all the Xunari were able to make it into the cave before the storm really started to pick up in intensity. Nathalia entertained Nepeto by playing a children’s card game with him, meanwhile Erist and Nepeto set up a small encampment and Deidra rested her travel-weary joints.

               With everything set up, Erist gazed outwards from the mouth of the cave as his fellow Xunari chattered behind him. Nepeto and Nathalia were listening intently to Deidra explain more about the intricacies of vehicle engines. Veldet's furred tail stuck out of his tent, the tark'ee already having fully fallen asleep. The rain obscured almost everything now, although he could still make out the sturdy Rekke trees through the haze, standing tall against storm; the crystalline ‘ribs’ of Rekes loomed over even them, shimmering with a soft blue glow which remained visible even through the rain. Erist set his chin down on his paws, content to watch the rain fall and the treetops sway in the wind, for now.