[The heat and humidity this month have made Balthus’ go-to of taking on tasks that involve physical labor a little more trying than usual, but at least this one is mostly indoors— sort of. Given the state of the warehouse, he’s not sure it really counts as indoors, but there’s enough of it left to shield those digging through the remains and trying to clean things up from the rain that’s broken through. Fortunately, the rain has helped to break some of the humidity, as well, making this task a little less unpleasant than it might have been otherwise.

Of course, who is he to complain? He’s been living in a sewer for years.

He wipes some sweat from his brow as he draws up to his full height, having just rummaged through what had turned out to be nothing more than a pile of bricks.]

Nothing worth salvaging from this one, either— just rubble to clean up. Be nice if we could ‘dream’ this stuff away.

[Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. At least there might be some things worth keeping among all the debris.]

Did find a pretty sweet watch earlier! How about you?

[Rumors of new wildlife were enough to get his interest in their own right, and with the heat the way it’s been, a trip to the lake out in the Wildlands seems like a great way to spend the afternoon, especially with the skies as clear as they are. What Balthus finds upon arriving, however— well the rumors definitely hadn’t done these little guys justice.

Paying no mind to anyone else who might have had the same idea and may be milling about, he approaches a capybara that appears to be drifting in and out of dozing in the shade not far from the shore, bending down on one knee as he holds a hand out towards it tentatively.]

Hey there, little fella… or miss?

[It’s hard to tell. Regardless, the capybara responds by yawning, which earns a grin from him in reply.]

You’re pretty cute, huh? Where’d you guys even come from?

[The starfish that need collecting are so small that they’re easy to accidentally overlook, but with some effort, Balthus thinks he’s gotten reasonably good at spotting them— which is why he can be found laying on his stomach on the ground just outside the residential area with a jar of saltwater in one hand, the bottom of it already filled with what looks like tiny star-shaped rocks.]

Come on… it would be real helpful if you guys could call out or something…

[Of course they can’t, but the reminder that these are living things makes him unhappy about the idea of leaving too many of them behind. Naturally, it’s impossible to ensure that all of them are found, but if he can at least collect a jar full— well, they’re small, so that adds up to a whole lot of tiny starfish, right?

Good thing he doesn’t mind making a fool of himself while doing it.]

Let’s see, there’s gotta be— yeah, got another one! Come on, buddy, into the jar!