Cadet Arcadia looked down at the pint-sized puffball at her paws, offering her an exhausted smile. With the extra hunting and training she had been doing over the last moon, the formerly mischievous she-cat had somewhere along the way become more responsible and level-headed. She might have said yes to Briar-tyke back then, but now with the fate of the Regime hanging over all of their heads... As she opened her mouth to say no, however, and ask where the Raisers that were supposed to be watching her were, she caught herself. Since when had she been the buzzkill? As a tyke and young cadet she would have said yes in a heartbeat! She wouldn't let her new-found stress rub off on the tyke. They would have an adventure!

"We can't leave that mystery unsolved," she drawled, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she drew out the yes she would inevitably give. "After all, what if the crystals are actually spirits of old Regime cats, trapped and stuck there forever without the Blind Protector?" She hummed under her breath, the very image of contemplation, before winking down at Briar. "I suppose we have to check it out. It's our duty, after all!"

"Southeast, eh?" Cadet Arcadia chuckled at the she-kit's knowledge of the tunnels, wondering if the raisers knew how closely Briar was listening to their conversations. Not her problem. "If they're trapped down there, I'm sure they'll be willing to wait a little longer. The first thing you need to know is that mouse-brained plans end in pain and punishment here. You'll thank me for the lesson later." She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the pure darkness of her mind's eye to help her focus. Finally, she opened her eyes and gazed down the tunnel. "We should be able to get to the Outlands if we head down one of the tunnels to the east," she mewed, having reviewed her mental map of their territory. "It's an old tunnel that isn't patrolled that runs parallel to the main tunnel, so we should be able to get by unseen. If you can promise to stay quiet?" She added the last part with a critical look at Briar-tyke, silently challenging her to act older than her age.

"Sealed, huh?" chuckled Cadet Arcadia, rolling her eyes. What did she expect, taking a tyke with her? Well, it was done now and her plan actually wasn't too bad. If the tunnels were still in working condition, they would be in the outlands and back in time for Briar-tyke's nap. "Actually...no," mewed Arcadia with a grin. "The other way." She motioned with her paw to the right, walking a few paces forwards until a small side-tunnel came into view, barely big enough for a full-grown cat to fit through. "This'll take us to the parallel tunnel if we follow it. Remember, you need to stay quiet, and stay near me, okay?"

"Briar-tyke!" Cadet Arcadia's frantic whisper wasn't enough to catch the tyke before she slipped ahead, leaving the scout cadet to growl under her breath and hurry behind her into the darkness. Fortunately for Regime-born cats, their eyes were quite adept at navigating through the inky blackness of the tunnels and Arcadia was no exception. She easily made out Briar-tyke's form ahead of her and pushed to catch up, nabbing the tyke's tail in her mouth none too gently.

"Briar-tyke, you stop right now," she mewed through the mouthful of tail she had, anger flickering in her eyes. "I thought you promised to listen to me!" Her voice was still quiet, but the close dirt walls helped to muffle their sounds quite effectively. "I ought to take you back to Post Kilo right now and tell the Raisers I found you. They'll believe me more than you, anyway. Is that what you want?"