Ume was faced with a problem. A rather delicate problem at that. After her returning home from the latest supply run out in the rogue lands she realized that she had returned with well...much mucccch more than she originally intended to bring back. To most having a extra large hull back would be a great gift! A sign of a successful hunting expedition.
For Ume it was a disaster. A disaster she shamefully brought on herself.
The problem was that her den was already near bursting before she left with various trinkets and herbs she kept as a reminder of her worldly travels before settling down or items that served some sort of purpose one way or another. Why most in the Bahari chose to have dens decorated with beautiful shells or nets artfully strung up all Ume cared about was finding better ways to store her mini horde than just random piles cluttering up the place.
There was good reason a reputation was going around to go visit loony Ume if you wanted to find something exotic for a gift or needed perhaps just the right thing-a-bobber to complete your next masterpiece. Luckily Ume wasn't a very possessive or selfish individual. With the exception of a few select items and plants she held a very open policy that if you could find something worthwhile in the mess then it was yours to keep.
But even with people constantly pilfering from her horde it had grown to the point the cramped space was becoming too cluttered and hard to move around in even for her! She had far too many rude wake up calls as of late when she accidentally stepped on something sharp in the middle of the night to be able to stand it any longer. She desperately needed a expansion to her den or to simply relocate to a bigger one all together.
That is why Ume found herself searching up and down the beach coast carefully. Her first attempt to find a solution was to brave the wild construction sites that most of the pride's Bumani were found. Much to her dismay all of the ones she had come across had their paws tied up in one way or another and wouldn't be free to take on anymore work for quite a while. Though one did take pity on her and suggested to seek out a newer member of their rank. He hadn't been seen around recently so there was a good chance that he currently had no projects on his list at this moment.
It sounded almost too good to be true! Annnd sure enough, as the saying goes, it was.
The trouble she found herself stuck in now was finding this male! The Bumani was kind enough to give her a general description, a name, and offered her a suggestion for her to check the shoreline but had little else to offer. Damn it all. A description did her no good! He might as well have told her to go find a specific fish with one missing scale in the ocean. With no one to be her eyes and no scent, nor memory of his voice to go off of Ume was left with little choice but to wonder aimlessly and pray that someone had seen him around.
That had been five hours ago now.
With a disgruntled sigh Ume unceremoniously flopped down onto her back side. She gave a uncharacteristic pout as her pale eyes stared out into the ocean, the cogs in her mind working away at what her next step should be. She had been at this wild goose chase for an entire afternoon now! She had circled the beach so many time by this point she was scared that a permanent trench was going to be made in the sand. Every person she had come across and questioned if they had seen this "Kobe" didn't pan out to be a valid lead and set her back not only in time but energy. It was getting extremely frustrating. How had no one seriously seen this guy? Apparently he was an outsider so it's not like he had a ton of family members that looked like him running about the place. At least she assumed so given that she learned up until recently he was a rogue. Looking for him by foot seemed to as useless as chasing a fart in the wind.
Perhaps it was time she just gave up the ghost for the day and head back home? After all he couldn't hide forever nor would the other builders be occupied forever. Either way if she had a little patience she would be rewarded with what she was seeking in the first place.
Kieko
