Woodland had always thought of Mireh being a wonderful place for an afternoon stroll. The region was lush and Woodland loved the feeling of the sun on her fur, something she didn't often get the opportunity to feel due to the mushrooms in the fungal forest blocking the sun. She strolled around lazily trough the tall grass- she had seen a small group of Xunari east of where she had been, and had been curious about them, silently hoping they could perhaps share some knowledge of the region. The small group, consisting of two tark'ee and a belemoid, noticed her quickly as she approached. They didn't seem too intimidated, although some confusion did cross their faces. That was quickly replaced by the sounds of arguing as Woodland got closer though. as she approached, the smaller blue of the tark'ee noticed her, and their eyes widened with excitement before they disappeared into the grass. "I'm just saying, why would we still go foraging if you forgot-" "I didn't forget, you didn't tell me I had to!" "Ugh! Obviously you had to grab extra bags, at the very least, when you go foraging!" Woodland stilled in her approach- maybe now wasn't quite

the best time- unfortunately for her, though, she didn't get much time to reconsider as a small blue face popped up in front of her, appearing out of the tall blades of grass she had previously been hidden in. She let out a startled noise, which didn't seem to deter the small blue Tark'ee. "Hello! I'm Rocco. Who are you?" Woodland hesitated to answer- she felt it would be polite to introduce herself to the adults first, but the two adults still seemed busy arguing. "Oh- ah, my name is Woodland. I'm foraging here, but I live in L'hatzif. Do you guys- need a hand?" Rocco let out an exaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Sinokyo and Raucer are arguing again because they forgot to pack extra bags, and now we can't forage a lot because our bags are full already." At that, the two adults suddenly stopped mid-argument, realizing Woodland was there. They exchanged an embarrassed glance before turning toward her, clearly flustered. "Uh, yeah," Sinokyo, the Tark'ee, stammered. "We already filled up all of our current bags, and when I asked Raucer for more, well, she said she didn’t pack any." "I didn’t know I was supposed to,"

Raucer muttered, still clearly annoyed. Woodland chuckled softly, the tension in the air beginning to dissipate as she stepped closer. "Well, I have some extra baskets with me if that helps." Rocco’s face lit up at the offer, but Sinokyo and Raucer exchanged unsure looks. "We wouldn’t want to impose," Sinokyo said, though his tone suggested that they could actually really use the help. "No imposing at all," Woodland said, already unhooking the two sturdy baskets slung over her shoulder. "I’ve already done some foraging myself, and I can always come back later for more. Besides, I wouldn’t mind some company. Always good to help a friend in need." "See?" Rocco said, excited. "Problem solved!" Raucer shook her head with a faint smile. "Thanks, Woodland. We appreciate it. We’ve been out here all morning, and honestly, I’m ready to be done arguing about bags." Sinokyo let out a relieved laugh, taking the baskets from Woodland. "You’re a lifesaver. I’m Sinokyo, by the way, and this is Raucer. We don’t usually forage this far out, but we’ve been running low on supplies." "I’m glad I could help," Woodland said. She was genuinely relieved to break the tension and saw this as

a chance to learn more about the area. "What have you been collecting so far?" "Mostly herbs and roots, some berries to make jam with," Raucer answered, gesturing to one of the bulging bags at her feet. "There’s a lot out here that we don’t get closer to home, especially the medicinal plants." Woodland nodded. "I’ve heard that this region has some unique species that don't grow in L'hatzif. I’ve been looking for a particular type of moss myself, but no luck so far." Rocco piped up again. "We saw some weird moss earlier! Right, Raucer? It was near the rocks by the river!" "That’s right," Raucer confirmed, glancing toward the north. "It was a strange blue-green color, not something I see often." Woodland’s eyes lit up. "That might be exactly what I’m looking for! Do you think you could show me?" Rocco immediately darted forward, eager to lead the way. "Come on! I’ll show you!"