Deep breath in, deep breath out. It's repeating in Rattleheart's head as they lead Curlewnose and Bunnypounce forward, towards the latest progress that had been made on the tunneling expansion. The scent of Windclan was thick on the air, almost suffocating from just how many tunnelers had been working recently to continue the tunnels towards Riverclan. It was a comfort to Rattle - and they had to imagine for their companions as well - but they did have to wonder if any other clans would catch on to what was happening. They shoved that to the back of their mind for now, knowing full well that they didn't need anything else to plague them with worries right now. Not when they were simply focused on the task that Sootstar had given them, and not disappointing her. It was flattering to have been chosen as a patrol lead - and just as terrifying.
It didn't take too long before they arrived at where the tunneling had last left off, faced with a wall of sand that didn't seem to take well to actual tunneling. Rattleheart's muzzle turned down in frustration as they scooped out a pawful of sand, watching as more fell almost immediately into the space that had been left behind. It wasn't as sturdy as the packed dirt they were all used to, which was useful for building walls and easy to reinforce. Instead it fell and fell, too slippery and yielding to be built into something solid. The sigh that left them could be heard echoing off what had already been dug out of the tunnels, and they twisted so that they could face Curlewnose and Bunnypounce even in the darkness. "This is a problem... there's no way we'll be able to make a tunnel out of this in its current state, it'll just end up collapsing on itself." It was a danger not only to the entire bridge tunnel as a whole, but to any tunnelers that might try and risk it. The last thing they needed was for someone to make some progress only for it to collapse on them.
Looking down towards their paws - or where the monochrome feline could feel them in the darkness - Rattleheart wracked their mind for a possible solution. After all, Sootstar had trusted them to be able to conquer this obstacle. "We'll either have to dig down deep enough that we hit dirt again instead of sand, or find some way to reinforce it. Sand seems to be stronger when it's wet, but it's not as if we can keep these tunnels wet all the time... any ideas, you two?" Their gaze flicked back up to their two companions, hoping that maybe the three of them could get work back underway without issue.
( @curlewnose @BUNNYPOUNCE. )
[ PENNED BY EO ]
