Loccy crouched beside the nearest gold seam before Juna could finish surveying the plateau.
Hajin saw the curious finger stretch out before Juna snagged its owner's collar and hauled her backward across the seam. He stepped past the exposed gold with empty hands, letting their host see that an invitation granted no mining rights.
'Guests, not scavengers, and that smug bastard can start by watching us know the difference.'
"Permission first, you little magpie," Juna growled, ears pinned flat, collar still bunched in her fist, "you swore your paws would stay off anything that lives up here."
"Paws?"
Loccy held up the offending finger like a sworn witness to her innocence, "I only wanted to hear it chime, Master, I wasn't going to take it."
Vella settled beside Loccy without allowing a second experiment anywhere near that seam.
"Our host is already watching," she said, tipping her chin toward the far edge, "so give him something better to remember than the first missing pebble."
