"First things first," Ycthuthrheth faces the crowd of attentive colonists and interlocks the fingers of its floating, robotic hands, "We may have restored essential functions after the recent typhoon -" it untangles its fingers and broadly gestures to the entire base. Visible cracks line across an unignorable number of buildings. Visible is the sunlight reflecting on the spindly fibers of mycelial networks inside are already stretching across the gaps, trying to connect and close them. A large fallen mushroom blocks one of the main roads, and countless smaller, miscellaneous litter remains strewn about. "- But there is a long way to go until we are at a presentable state. Itztli, Zuri, Colgate, Kunzite, Ore, Eary, Deary, Weary, Socks and Antumbra, I need all of you to help with cleaning up the small stuff. The three of you that picks up the most debris gets ice cream. The time starts now."
At the offer of sweets, the whelps race to pick up the nearest trash.
"Dread and Bloe... And who are you? What are you doing here?"
At the sudden attention, Arazias can't help but reflexively coil a bit and slouch his posture. "I uhh, My name is Arazias... I was hunting for insects. And I saw this crowd. I got curious."
Ycthuthrheth apologizes, "Sorry you got us at a hectic time. But if you are willing to help, we can show you our rare insect collection once the cleanup is done. And of course, we'll properly compensate you for your labor."
After being pointed out, Arazias can only notice the many eyes of the gathered colonists staring at him, the outsider. In trying to keep his internal panic from leaking out, his mind failed to process anything after the word 'help'. In an attempt to end the gazes of strangers as soon as possible, he agrees to help.
A metallic clap rings through the square. "Perfect. Thank you so much, you are a great help. Arazias, Dread, Bloe, you three mend the buildings. Everyone else, get that fallen mushroom off the road."
Bloe taps Arazias with the tip of her tail. "Follow me." She slithers away, Arazias right after.
Dread quickly catches up and asks in a soft voice, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Arazias nods. "I just uhh, did not expect to have all that attention on me."
"You handled that well." Dread scratches their neck. "I would have cried if that happened to me."
"I was close," Arazias chuckles.
"Oh, sorry about that. Our researcher means well, but needs more social awareness," sighs Dread.
"If you're gonna flirt, at least do it while helping me with this," Bloe teases while tapping a cracked facade with the claw of her wing.
"I'm not... Well, sorry, I'll help," Dread says, lowering their head in embarrassment and trotting to the supply storage. "I'll get the coating and the supplements."
Arazias turns his head from Dread running off to Bloe, tapping the cracked wall. "So uhh, how to do I help?"
"Anywhere you see damage, the surrounding varnish has to be removed and smoothed out. Once the varnish is removed, we'll need to mend the damage, then we can reapply the varnish after that is done." Bloe uses her sharp beak and her wing claws to get underneath the hard resin exterior to the still sturdy but significantly softer mycelium growing within the living buildings.
Trying to copy what he sees to the best of his abilities as a completely limbless draconic, he begins to carefully try to loosen the varnish with his tail, then getting under the varnish with his beak to lift off. A small sliver of the fungus makes its way into his mouth. He audibly retches in disgust and spits it out.
With a slight chuckle seeping into her voice, Bloe gives a postwarning, "This species tastes really bad. But don't worry; it's not toxic."
Upon returning on the scene, Dread doesn't hide the concern on their face. "Did you taste the mycelium?"
Still desperately trying to rid the taste from his mouth, he can't yet muster a word. He lifts his tail and wags the tip up and down to signal "Yes."
"Sorry I forgot to warn you," Bloe apologizes. "But hey, you're faring way better than I did my first time tasting it," she begins to laugh, "I lost my entire lunch. Horrible when it happened, but it's kinda funny now."
Dread takes a water bottle from the supplies and offers it to Arazias. "Do you want to take a break and rinse that taste out of your mouth?"
He nods and takes the bottle. "Thank you." He gurgles the water and takes in the scene for a short minute. Dragonflies zip and dart through the steamy, humid air. The screams of cicadas permeate the soundscape. He makes a mental note to seek them out later. Those aren't found in the ocean.
Arazias then squints at the buildings Bloe and Dread are working on. Eating at the exposed cracks of the mycelium buildings are some shiny carapiced beetle that he has never seen before. And Dread and Bloe are treating the beetles like common pests, flicking them all away. With the taste still lingering in his mouth, he chugs the remaining water and cuts his break short.
Dread, Bloe, and Arazias fix the buildings throughout the day. And every so often, Arazias gets to hold an insect he has yet to see up close.