It must've been quite funny to see Retreat and Woodland wander around the colony, opening boxes and peeking behind rocks and bushes as they wandered around. They weren't surprised at all when they heard some chuckles coming from the visitor area. They both jumped up, startled, and eyed the stranger who had made the noise with mild annoyance. The visitor, a red-and-white tsabhua, had come over from Snip's Pinnacle Point, likely for something to do with those bunker doors. Woodland hadn't gotten the chance to be caught up to speeds about that yet, but she knew that their colony had offered to host anyone who might be able to help with opening the doors.

 

Scale had crossed her arms, eyeing the stranger with annoyance. "What's so funny?" she asked him. She had not had a good day at all, and had had chuckles following her all day as she looked around for a Bokbok that was honestly hardly worth taking up space in her already busy schedule. Honestly, Scale was not sure how she got roped into this to begin with.

 

Dire looked at her, a small amused smile on his face. "Are you ah, looking for something?"

 

Scale snorted, annoyed. "Yea- some of the Bokboks got loose. We've been trying to find them to put them back in their pen."

 

Dire started to laugh again, and Scale rolled her eyes at him. "Listen, if you're not going to help us, please just keep to yourself. I know it sounds silly to turn over every stone in the colony, but these two Bokboks are important to the whelps of the colony. So many tears will be shed if we can't find them."

 

Dire pointed at her mane, still chuckling slightly. "You've ah- got a little something there." Scale reached up, confused, only to be met with an upset squawk from Chukoo, who had somehow climbed up there and hapilly nested in her mane. She groaned, looking at Woodland with annoyance. "Why didn't you say anything? People've been laughing at me all day!" Woodland sighed "Remember what you told me earlier today? 'It's a waste of my time to look for some stupid chicken'?" the older Xunari shrugged while Scale sighed "I suppose it's my own fault... We still have to find his wife, though."

 

Chuckling, Dire stood up from his seat. "Well, I suppose I can help you two out some, in return for the entertainment."

 

Scale made a grateful noise, a tad too embarrassed to really speak up anymore. How did she not notice a Bokbok just- sitting on her head? It had been windy today, she supposed, so she had probably assumed the movement was just the wind. Still, the silly creature was probably better off safely in her arms where he couldn't fall off.

 

"Since she's a Bokbok I can't imagine she has gone too far up... But maybe she has made a nest somewhere?"

 

Woodland nodded "That'd make a lot of sense, honestly. I'm still not sure where she would've gone, though."

 

Dire thought it over for a bit. "Didn't you guys have those thick brambles around the clearing? She'd probably feel quite safe under those, are there any near your coop?"

 

Scale groaned in annoyance "Why didn't *we* think of that?"

 

Woodland shrugged. "Best go check it out, I suppose. You can put Chukoo back right away, too."

 

---

 

When they arrived at the coop, the trio pretty much immediately heard small noises coming from the brambles. Both Scale and Woodland felt a bit silly as they walked to the brambles under the giant mushrooms, and pretty much immediately spotted Chukoo's wife sitting on a small nest hidden away under the brambles. She seemed quite comfortable there, making no effort to move when she noticed Scale and Woodland approach, content to just sit on the pile of sticks that she seemed to have deemed nest-worthy.

 

Woodland sighed, mumbling to the small critter "It took ages to find you... At least the kids won't be upset, I suppose." She reached under the brambles, easily scooping up Chukoo's wife as she knelt down. The small bird tried to peck at her hands, but Woodland didn't seem to care much. She smiled at Dire, "Thank you so much for helping us find her, I can't believe we didn't think of that, it seems so obvious now."

 

Dire nodded. "Any time! I'm glad you found the little guy, he seemed important to you."

 

The trio had walked back to the coop, reuniting Chuckoo with his wife, luckily the two didn't seem to mind that much that their escape prompts were foiled and were happily pecking at some seed now. The three stuck around for a while longer, chatting a little more until Dire left to go back to his own colony later that day.