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Sumire had stopped with her run, slowly to a jog, then a walk until she came to a full stop. She stuck her noise her in the air, sniffing for the unusual, like a grub. All she smelt was smell of wet grass and nearby Trast. Nothing too interesting. Her hearing had been concentrated on something else rather than the approaching Trast, her noise doing much the same, this time stuck in the ground. Walking forward for a few feet, trying to pick up different scent she brought her head up, a sigh escaping. It was barely a couple minutes in and she was getting antsy about not finding a grub. Patience was a virtue, but she hated being patient, especially when what she was looking for could literately be right under her nose.

A blade of grass and a few crumbs of dirt stuck to her nose. With a lift of her hoof she again removed the dirt off her wet nose. The stranger’s voice had caught her off guard, his presence hadn’t been detected, her mind previously immersed in finding a grub of her own. She had jumped, only a little, or so she led herself to believe. “Oh I’m sorry,” she said softly. Despite having done nothing wrong, she still felt the need to apologize to him. It was an unfamiliar face and pack. Those she had encountered were often from her own, Calypso being one of the ones she saw on a more regular basis. His words were just as cryptic as he was. Watching him for a moment, she continued to listen to the odd, blue and orange Trast, taking in his message. He was without a clue like she was, so now she didn’t feel so threatened that he would snag a Grub from under her nose.

“Well, I know nothing more than you do.” Like heck she was going to tell him anything! He seemed like he was a crafty fella. Though, she could use him to help her, because she wasn’t the most patient of Trast. “So is there anything specific you may want? Food? Maybe a Grub? I’m Sumire by the way, and you would be?” She watched him carefully, taking in his movements.

The grubs have been hidden.
Please remember to post the grub here with the location of it.
If you are the first to find it, wait for a crew member to OK it.
Once it is OK, you may go ahead and roleplay your trast finding it.

Remember to look everywhere.
Good luck!

Ahicandra, restless and eccentric as he tended to be, began to snuffle around along the ground once more, but did not stray so far that he couldn't hear the lady trast respond. Being very keen in his ability to read others, he could immediately sense a certain weariness in her voice. As if he had the intent of using her or something. It was a very far cry from the truth considering he didn't have a malicious bone in his colorful body. "Ehh? What do I want?" He looked at her curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly to display his curiosity. Tapping his chin with a hoof he looked briefly at the sky before offering her a curious grin.

"Well, a nap would be nice. And I suppose one of these grubs too. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here, would I?" He replied in his usual laid-back manner, the last sentence not really intending to be sarcastic. Again taking to snuffling around the ground he made a circle around the female before coming across a peculiar hole. Sticking his nose down it he continued sniffing, detecting the faint trace of a mole that had been through recently. "These little beasts sure are elusive!" He exclaimed, pulling his snout from the hole, and casting his gaze around rather lazily.

"OH, but where are my manners..? Sumire, it is a pleasure. I am Ahicandra. Or Ahi, since the rest is a bit of a mouthful."

Watching him carefully, Sumire felt a small scowl come to her face. This male was a strange one alright...and she couldn't figure out if it was for better or for worse. "Well Ahi, I suppose it would be more beneficial to us if we had less conversation, and did a little more work." She quipped lightly, standing and taking up his practice of walking and sniffing at the ground. Conversation was rather useless at the moment anyway, even if she had put off the male with her somewhat short response. She didn't, however, wander very far from him, if only because she felt that she could benefit from his presence as well.

Testing the ground with her hoof, she found a particularly soft patch, and tentatively began to dig. Obviously if she wasn't having any luck above ground, it was only logical to start digging. At first she found nothing but rocks, but eventually a poor mole found its way into the open air after being rudely uncovered by her digging. Luckily she saw the quivering bundle of fur before she could do it any harm and let it quickly dig itself an escape route. Hopefully she wouldn't find anymore of the useless hairballs...she wanted a grub!

Quartz had her snout up to her eyes in the hole and sniffed deeply, pulling back to paw at the earth again. Something moved, and she leaped over to the other side to try and head it off. She dug down a little before sniffing again. That's when it happened. She felt claws and teeth bite her lip and with a startled squeal, pulled out of the hole, only to shake a ground squirrel from her face before stumbling and falling back on her side in a start. She stared at the rodent as it twitched it's tail at her. A growl rose up in her throat and sent the thing scampering back into the ground.

Quartz sighed. So it really was useless. The thought that this had been for naught was distressing. But had it been? She did get to see Dach again, and rather enjoyed his company... Even if he was a big lug. Big lug, huh? Almost sounds like I'm calling him a bug. that idea sent her to chuckle slightly at herself and lay her head between her paws. Even if I don't find a little grubby bug, I'll just call Dach my squishy friend. She mused.

Her thoughts were quickly disturbed as she felt something wiggling under her chin, and heard the faintest of gurgling noises followed by soft chatter. Probably another damn ground squirrel. She thought disdainfully and sat up. She decided rather then leaving it alone, she would take out her frustrations and toy with the thing a little, and very quickly dug through the top layer of earth, ready to snap up the bushy tail before it could dive into a tunnel of it's own.

But snout met with a squishy, faintly cool body, and another series of clicks. Wide-eyed, Quartz slowly laid down, nose still against the fleshy pink thing as it wiggled and squirmed until soft little hooked feet touched her nose. Quartz's breathing quickened as she stared at the little bug that was clinging to her nose. "H... hello little one." She said, trying not to blow the fat grub away with her breathing. The grub gurgled at her and Quartz timidly licked it, which made the thing seem to laugh and it squirmed up her nose and laid across her snout. She smiled.

"How about you come with me?" she was going a little cross eyed, trying to stare at the grub as it sprawled across her muzzle, so she tilted her head up a little to try and coax it to the top of her head. "Come on little one..." It tumbled into her eyes before scampering up between her ears. With a grin, she stood up. "Want to come see the Brute with me? We might need to cheer him on." As she started trotting off, following Dach's scent, a thought hit her. "What am I going to call you?" She had no idea just yet, but maybe after she calmed down...

It wasn't long before she caught sight of Dach's big green butt. She had to stop and look away to keep herself from laughing as it wiggled with his digging. She had half a mind to go over and n** on his tail and tug on it playfully. But then, he did look like he was onto something.

On the other hand...

With an impish grin, she slowly trot towards him, wondering how she could get close to him without getting pelted by dirt as he dug. "Phuuh." She sighed and sat back on her haunches instead, and watched him dig. Must really be hot onto something. Opting for the nice approach, Quartz let out an encouraging howl for Dach, cheering him on even though he had stopped digging. She didn't notice the squishy grub climb up Dach's leg, opposite the side she was sitting at. As he took a few steps, she decided to speak.

"Giving up already?" Her head tilted and the grub on her head clung to her mane for dear life with a suddenly startled little scree. The piercing sound so close to her ears made Quartz's head snap upright so the thing would just stop. "Or did you pull something while digging? You're walking a little funny."

"Heh, well sorry. I didn't think I'd have a motion sick little grub on my head." She snorted. "I only came to cheer you on, just in case you hadn't gotten one." She would have snubbed him, her nose in the air, but she didn't want to tilt her head and have the grub scream at her again. So instead, she kept her head level. "And, I'm sorry little one. Didn't mean to wake you." She said to Dach's grub before her golden eyes returned to Dach, and she grinned.

"So, brute, what are you thinking of calling your new little'un?" She thought maybe hearing what Dach thought would help her name hers. Maybe a mineral or stone like her name. Or perhaps something more imposing, like Boulder. Though that might be a stupid name for the pudgy squirmy mass between her ears as the grub flailed a couple nubby little arms at Dach as if saying hello.