o̷̢̪͈͇̲̭͉̩̳̘̰̗͋͐̒̏̂̍̾͆̅̿̓̂͜͝͠w̸̯̳̙͎͔̑̇̄.̵̤̳̲̟͇͋̉̑̎̃̏ ̶̗̞̩̈́̏̊͛̒̌ ̸̨̛̮̝̇̅̓̒̾͑̕͘͘͝ẗ̴̡̹̣̘͖̭͈̬̹̖̦̟͈̞́͑̑̄͘h̷̛̹̦̟̮̹̣͙̦͉̺͚̖̮̦̝̅̐̀͛͐̿̄̒͊̚i̶̪̤͑͋̄̒̍͊͐̆͗́̈́͑̚͘̕r̸̛̠͇̩̹̫͈̐̌̂s̶̢̨̬̻̮̠̥̙̉̿̏̈̓͂̈́͘͜t̶̨̨̯͙̳̔̓ý̵̛̙͎̗̘̥̖̱̀͊̒̓̌̓̎̏͑̕͠͝.̸̧̧͉̝̮̥̦͖̘̜̊̀̾͋͂̉̄̾͛̋̍͠ ̶̨̡̨̛͖̤͖͚͇̦̲͍͔̺̽̒͒̒͌̒̂̀͑̿̽̃̀͊ͅͅ ̸̡̨͖̤̹̼͚͈̰̯̞̔̅̆̀͂́̇͑̈͆͗̈́͋͘͝f̵̗̦̓̀̓̄̃͆̐̇́̚ă̶̛͎̼̺̅̓̽̆̋͂͠͝î̶̢̢̨̼̝͓͕̥̗̲̜̰̘̽̀̍̾͊͌̄̚ḽ̴̄̓̐͌̄͛̚i̸͙̕n̷͙̥̈̈́ģ̶̼͚̹́͒̚.̵̢̯͎̹͇͕͇̤̖̎͌̓́͜͜.̸͉̻͍̼͍̣͓̗̹̻͛̄͛̓͛̍͠ͅ.̷̙̪̱̤̤̻͖̙̆̀̊̑̆̓͝
̷̛̹̳̲͍̝͑́̀̈̄̓̍̌͌̊̀̚͘͜͠
̷͕̫̻̝͙͓̟͖͖̲͕͔̼͍̒̆́̐͆̒̂̓̚ņ̶̨̥̥͖̞̯̤̙̰͍͖̬̽̒͆̉̂̐̒̅̓̒̔͠͝é̴̢̨̬͍͉̻̜͜e̴͇̫̮̙̜̝̞͔͔̬͑̇́̏̎̈́̎́̐͑́͜͜͝d̶̡͔̱͈̹̮͇͇̬̤̮̦̀̃̃̒̈͒́̐͑̿̌̕͠͝ ̶͇̜͈͉̫̹͇̦̊͛͛̎̒̄̀͘͘͜͝d̴̡̡̛̩̗̅͋̍́̅̇̐͂̍̃̃̄̄͠r̷̨̟̫̼̣͑̇̎́̔̾̈́̚ȉ̷̢̫̬͙̹̆͆͑͗̀̒̒̊̈́͘͠͝ͅn̸̼͂͊͋ḳ̵̢̨̧̧͚̫̘̹͇̯͊͜ͅ

"I think so.  It - wants?  It definitely wants.  Wanting is an emotion, right?"

"Arguably. What... does it want."

"Uh, uh, uh - it's - it's something it's not getting - I could make guesses, right, but that would be me filling in stuff, not what's there, not what I can tell that's there -"

"Right - is it helpful for me to ask more questions or will it contaminate your information - is this expensive enough that instead of talking I should kiss you -"

"Uh, it's - do you know whether they're planning to let this one go?"

"- it'd surprise me, they seem excited about the wood but something has to be absolutely incredible before they'll even consider it. They come back meaner and not necessarily anywhere that any of the decisionmakers can profit off a second harvest."

"Aaaaaa.  Well, that's probably a safer direction of paranoia because I'll be worried for the dungeon's welfare and not about myself??  Actually wait I don't think that's the safer one.  If I start trying to convince anyone to save the dungeon you should probably drag me out."

"Noted. Do you have any communication the other way - or, uh, can you tell if it knows when people are touching the core, could we go pat it in, not Morse code, that wants an alphabet, but some informative way -"

"Can you ask them to try?  Primes or fibonacci or something.  - Uh, for your actual questions, I think so far what you've been asking has been sufficiently non-leading, and it's hard enough to interpret that it's hard to talk about it out loud without something to bounce off of - can you maybe take notes or start recording me or something -"  What's the dungeon thinkinnnnnnng.

ț̷̛̊̌͋h̷̺̥̬̟̭̗͒̽̐̈͒͌͆̕i̴̢̙̝̟̟̼̬̳͋̐͑͘̚͠r̵̨̪̗͙̻̝̼̦̥̲̮̭̯̋̄̉̈́s̵̟̗̦̃̈́͝ͅt̶̨̮̯̬͚̦̠̙̮̫͈̱̫̒͑̃̒͒͛̊y̵̭͕̟͚̒̆͗͗ ̷̧̨̺̱͈̝̻͇͑͑̐̈́͆̄͊̈͝f̶̨̝̮̳̳̞͚͎̍͛͒̍̔͝o̷̳̠̩̤̘̺̝͈͂̂͗͊͆͂̀̓̕͝r̴͍̤̾̒̐̌ ̴̨̡̛̰̖͍̌̉͑̃̆̈̃͗̆̆̎̓t̷͈̿͑͐͆͗͊̈́͘͘̕h̸̨̰̙̩̥͍͔͂̾e̸̢͇̱͙͖͇̘̬̥̙͕͕͎͋̇̋̒̐̏̌͐̽̓̑̊͛͜ ̸̧̦̼̙̞̠̖̫͙̽͐̀͋̽̏̌͝t̶͍͍̯̠̮͇̫͙̺̺̹͔̮̖́͑̇̿̑̈́͋͒̄͆̃̂͘͝h̸͖͚̞̥͎̯̲̪͇̖̼̟̤͊̈́͂̓̓̋̃̽̊͒̂̊̎̕ͅi̵̡̠͌̈̑́́́̀n̷͔͓̼͒̔̒̑̓͌̐́̓͝͝͠g̷̣̮̽̌͂̓̾̇͆͘
̵̣͇͉͓͒̾̓͑̅̈́̀͗̎̊͑͝͠͝
̵̼̠̒͑̿̄̚͠͝m̸̳̙̗̞͚̈̅̓̃̎̈́́́̈́̅͘͠a̵̞͓̙͑̌̌̀̄͂͌͐̒̇̽͋̏̓̚k̷̡̧͚̱̘̤͇͉̥͓̯̲̹͋̌̋͐̒́̈́̍̈̏̍̚͜e̴̢̙͉͓͊̌́̋̚ ̶̗̼͚̣̙͕̰͔̯͌̎̎͛̍̀͑́̏̋͘͠a̸̤̖͒̒̅͝ ̶̡̩͙͔̪̟̜̯̝̓̀̄̈́̑͐̉̊̇͜b̸͕͓͉͓̠̦̦̊̈́ị̷̢̙̮̯̠̤́̓̍̽́̀̌͒r̵̨͓̻̝̯͕̫̝͖̘̺͛̌͌̆̽̔̿͊̑͒͆̚͠ͅd̵͚̝̞̯̻̭͙͊̋͒͊̎̀̈̃͆͝ ̷̡͈̗̤͖͎̰̰͚̤͑̋͊͗̑̾̐͝ͅͅm̷̨͎̗̘̖͌̈͑̆̈́͘a̸̢̩̩̬̙̳̰̝̋͆̿̑́͌̐̆́̎̚͘ỵ̴̡̞̦̟̝̙͓͇͓͎̘̩͓̕̕b̶̛̤̟͍̯̏̾̑͂́͛̎̋̉̍̕͠͝e̴̡̨̢̗̤̣̼̮̱̜̭̦͒̊̂
̴͕̩͚͕̦̫͓̖̹͈̪̙̼̂̑̊̀̎̓͛͠͝
̶̧̰͚͕͈͍͖̯̣̝͆̒̉̃͆͑̃̇̆ṱ̷̑i̸̧͉̤̭͒͐͌͌̆̓̍̿͘͠ŗ̷̛͉̠̞̻̙̹͈͔͍͙̒̀̏͛ę̶̢̨̻̳̬̭̞̫̫͔̟̚d̴̢̙̗̮͍̥̜̭̤̯͎̽̀͝

"Adding another communicative step seems nonideal, I bet they'll let me hold the core - unless you think you'd try to grab it and run off with it?" Phone recording on. "Recording now. Does it want something it has never had, something that it had and stopped having...?"

"I - I don't know....  To either.  It might be trying to make a new monster, a, a - something with - orange?  With sharp on it, but not everywhere - soft in other places?  Sleek?  Maneuverability?  - Do we have any way to restrain me that doesn't prove a huge danger if we need to get out of here while I'm still sane enough to want to?"

"...I have more practice with maneuvering while possessed of esper athleticism than you but it's, uh, not great to rely on. I have paracord in my truck if we should go get that. Would it help to see one of the monster corpses or a picture of one to correlate with the thought impression you got?"

"Paracord sounds - on the other hand I think one of the worst things that can happen is that I become scared of you - I will try really hard to notice being tempted to snatch the core and convey that externally."

"You wouldn't get far with it, anyway. I can get a picture of one of the monsters from the intradungeon comms, if you want to see it?"

"Yeah.  Descriptions might also work, but I assume they're about as easy as each other since you also have to get the information."  Does the dungeon seem like it's likely to make an orange thing soon??

ṯ̴̲̫̙̪̞̗̞͖̀̊̓̄̿́̄̀͗͛̀̕͝ị̷̢͓̤͍̪̗̜̏̊͑̌̎̈́̚ŕ̸̪̗̠̞̫͙͊̊̐̆̂̇̔̀̐̑͠e̷͖̖͖̠̖̩̠͕͈͖͠d̴̢̝̭̖͍̳̞̩̭̺͉̈́͗̈͝.̸̨̢͕̲͍̞̗̤̘̦̮̜̹͒̑̔͋̾͐͌̉͐̆́͘͠͝ͅ ̸̟̜͖̳̙̣͊͋̍͂́̃̚ ̷̛̛̣̞̻̻̰̣͎͎̥̰̫̤͋̉́̄̐͒́̋́̿͘o̵͖̣͙͗̈́̋̌̍͐͝ẉ̴̽̔̈́́́̇̚̕̚͘.̸̢͖̞͚̤̽͋͊͆̀͆͑̌͌̅̾̆͌̈́͝ ̸̨͖̖̲̺̪̩̻̹͈̝̬̹̲̽ͅ ̶͈̥̯̖̫̫̟͗͋̀̕t̵̬͑́̅̑̍̂́̾̌͝i̴̧̨̛̜̖͇̟̠̞͚̘͛̏̎̽̓͊̕͝r̶͈͇͍̟̲̝̀̍͠ȩ̴̢̡̗̖͕̜̞̯͍͌̆̔̃̓́̊̓̂͆͗̍͆͘͜d̶̡̖̫͓̳͓̹̲͈̜̒́̊̔̎̅̐̈́̍͒̀.̶̛̪̒̆̔̀͌̾̾̐͆̊̈́̓̇̚

Haru pulls up a picture of the bird monsters that the dungeon had before they were all slain. It's got a lot of colors on it, actually, not just orange. A bird like a sunset. "If it makes a new live one I'm - actually I'm going to stick my phone out the portal long enough to send Paula a message and order a cage for one, it's absolutely tragic that live capture isn't pushed more and it's gorgeous, it'd pay for itself in a zoo, though probably they're going to take all the feathers off the dead ones already -" Text text, arm through portal.

"Yeah, it's that, it's that one - that makes me feel better.  And I'll see whether they're separate minds or what."

n̷̛̛̼̖̩͇̙͇͈͉̈́̽̾̋͋͐̒͂̓̓̉ở̷͙̝̼̞̱̞͖̜̣̟͎̭́̔̽̊̾̎ṱ̴̜̣͉̮̮̯̬̿͌̐̀̓̽̈́̄̀̿́͜h̶͍̞͋̓͒̑̉̈̂͘͠į̸̮̈́̅̃̿͐́̎̽̍̄͛̚̚͘͝n̵̢̢̹̰͖̬͉̻̗̬͕̼͓̘̿̽́̿̎̆̔̾͒͌͒͊͗͗͝g̸̛͉͈̪̰̗͔̘̹ ̵̛̭̯͂̈́̑̅̆͒̄͛̿̍̀̐́t̵̨͚̱̲̩̭̲͎̜͙̆͜o̴̢̧͈͕͍̣̞̤̝̲͓̐͑̈͜͠ ̵̨͎̱̩͖̻͓̞̬̤̬͔̄̄̃̒͌̒͜͝ḏ̸̣͊̾r̶̖̣̼͚̅̒͐̾̏͌͘i̵̫̯͕͎̼̻͉̥̳͔̝̐̊̎̉̊͆͑̑̋͠͝͝͝ͅn̸̜͚͛̋̓̓̈͊͆͆͛̈̌k̴̯̫̖͚̗̗͖͈̞̆̊͐͐͋̇̐̈̎̈̚̚̕͠͠
̷̻̞̯͖͇̭͖͈̀͠
̸̯́͗̐́̿͊͑̽̇̌̊̈̌̐̕b̶͖̠̖̙̮̙̩̠̤̟̺̯͎̣̝̃̈́͊̔͑ȋ̷̧̜̥̞͚͉̠̮̘̥̦̮̾͑̎͛̃͆̾̀̿̽̊͜͝r̵̨̛̥̣̫͜͠ḑ̴̻̤̲̖͉̱͉̆͛̀̈́͒̉́͑̉́̓͋̀͝͝ ̸̤͔̃̊́̌͒̀̉̔̉̕w̸̡̫̠̭͇͖̙̳͗ͅḭ̴̻̇͊̏̏͗̋̕͘ĺ̵̨̨̛͍̗̙͕̲̪͉̙̪̩͕̳̔̓́̊͠l̵̨͉͖̟̤̺͍͒ ̷̜̗̼̦͇̼̹̊̈́͂͌̾̕ṁ̸͍͚̗̠͙͇̟̞̩͖̖̣͍̞̯̽̈́̊͆͆͗̾̎ạ̷́͌͗̊̋͊͘͠k̸̛͚̞̲̰̠͌́̀̈ȇ̵̮̅͂̈̆̎̏̉̽͝ ̶̧̡͖͓̘̥̮̪̠͚͑̐͒̆͌̐͆͛͠͠t̵̫̫̤̣̪͓̰̜̻̞̪̬̀͋͑̇̑͑͌͑̽̎̃̏͂̕̚͜ī̷͈̲̪̹͖̒̊͘͘͠r̷̹̱̯̯͎̰̮͕̣̰͙̻̺̬̳͑e̴̩̮͎͍̜͛̄͛̂̚͘̚͝d̵̛̠̮̳̑̓̏́̇́́͂̋̈́̀͘͠ ̴͕͎̟̅̎̈́͒͆̆͋̏͌̋͠m̷̛͈̹̀͛̐͂͒̅̎͛̕͘͝õ̸͍͇͔̘͓͍̦͕̱̤ͅr̶̛̥̻͙͕̙̝̦̈͆̊͐͝e̶̡̗͗͛̑̀̓̌͂͐̈̌̓͘
w̵̡̮̥̝̒̍́̎̅̈́i̷̲͚̝͓̠̯͎̞̘͆̐̈́̈̊̌͒̀͛́́͜͠l̷̤͍̹̝͚̜̏͂̀͜l̴̛̯̝̩̖͇͕̺̺͇̘̱̄̇̔̃̋́̈́͊̏͐̐̊͂͝ͅͅ ̶͉̺̊̀͒̈́̄̿b̷̬͈̠̬̟͉̠͂̂͋ĩ̵̤̰̠͖̬͚́́́r̴̘̼̒͋͊̈́̔̊̑̽͆̃͘͠ͅd̷͇̬͉͇̬̄̂̈́͂͌̽ ̴̢̙̲͇̜̥̲̦̳̩̤̝̣̬͉͛̍̂̐̽͠͝h̴̢̲̠̫̳̜̯̬̪͙̯̫̮͉͒̈́͌̓̑̉e̷̘̯̟̺̺̙̜̰̮̬̤̱̎́̋͑͒͂ͅl̴̙͗̈́̉̐̈́̀̓̇̂̄͌͑͠p̷̣͖̠̜̩͇͓͚̩̫͍̦̥̀͐̔ ̵̡̪̦̝̦͈̋̾̎̏̐̉̇́̈́̑̅̇w̷̡͇͕̲̦̠͌̂̃̓͒̅̐͒̄̕̕͝i̶̧̼̰͈̼͎͎̙̦̳͇̻̳̞̍̓̇͐̄̏̇͐̽͊̽͘͘t̵͕͖̯̒̌̆̅͘͠ḩ̶͔̠̟̪̬̳͕̠̗̾̀̋̌̔̂̿̿̿͠͝ ̸̙͙̰̂̈̋̉́͋̆̀̿́͒͒̕ő̶̩̤̋͑̇̌͆̇̆̊̆͛͜͝w̴̮̲̩̼̖͈͂̑͋̃̒̈́͊̀͆͛͑̕ͅͅ

Haru makes for the knot of core-guarders, starts trying to talk them into letting him pat the core.

"I don't know whether it'll manage another bird monster...."

"Whether it'll manage? Like it's difficult for it to do or it's too - hungry or something? - yes we're doing research, I have a dungeon blog you can look at if you want with other dungeon research on it," he tells a core guard, "I just want to be able to poke and prod the core a little, I will not destroy it prematurely, I have handled cores before -"

"....Maybe something like that.  It's... low energy?  Constrained on something?  Which - I think is probably related to the thing it wants -"