Casey groaned as Robbie joined him on the sidewalk the next morning. The thylacine noticed that the kangaroo wasn't wearing his usual jersey, but rather a polo shirt. In school colors, of course -- white and green.
"Mom's still washing your jersey?"
"Yeah... She wasn't very happy about seeing it scuffed up. Dad was okay, though. Thought we went on an adventure!"
Rpbbie chuckled nervously. "I'm glad we didn't. Tunnels under abandoned buildings are pretty scary, dude. Like, what if it was some cursed aboriginal burial site, or something?"
"Ooooooo!" Casey wiggled his fingers and made a mock ghost voice. "Spooky scary!" His friend responded with a loud guffaw and a friendly clap on the roo's shoulder blade.
"Naw, man! I don't want to be cursed! Girls hate guys with curses!"
Casey shook his head because of course Robbie would fall back on his number one priority in life as reason enough to not be more daring. As he shook his head, however, something caught his eye. Off the sidewalk, there's an opening between buildings that leads to an open field behind their houses. A meadow or a park of some sort. In either case, what caught Casey's eye was a pile of darkened, freshly upturned dirt.
"Yo... Did a family of echids move in down the street?"
Robbie shot him a confused look, before following his gaze towards the dirt pile. "Uhh... Not that I know. It looks more like someone's been digging for something."
"Then where's the hole?" Sure enough, the pile of dirt looked like it came from nowhere, as no hole or burrow could be seen.
"Maybe... they put the dirt over the hole they dug? Echids do that when they burrow."
Casey shrugged it off as they walked onwards to the bus stop. "Ahh, whatever they do, I hope they don't mess with the water pipes."

As they got off the bus downtown, a familiar-looking dairy cow greeted them at the bus stop. Casey couldn't help but notice -- though he daren't say anything about it out loud -- that Helena looked slightly less... full than the day before. In the back of his mind, he explained to himself that that was probably a fact of life for bovines. A draining every morning. He fumbled a little bit as he adjusted his shorts, hoping that his momentary thought wouldn't bring him to excitement, especially not the kind noticeable by either of his traveling companions.
His hopes were dashed with perfect timing.
"Hey, Case... You okay?" Helena addressed the roo under her breath, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Casey blinked as he realized he was looking at Helena's chest, and looked forward, then down. Yup, there was a bulge noticeable. He could feel his face flushing as his put his hands in his pockets, pulling them forward so as to attempt to hide the contour of his chub. Helena exhaled through her nostrils, the slightest hint of a defeated tone to her exhalation, and she shook her head, turning back to the path ahead. "Just because I said..."
"Sorry. Mind... wandering."
"Yo, you two alright?" Robbie had pulled ahead, a bit impatient. "Hurry up, we're gonna miss the bell for home period!"
Casey and Helena increased their pace, the prospect of being marked tardy spurring them onwards.

Thinking back to that at the end of the day, Casey was a bit disappointed that that was the only real highlight of the day. A math exam, a sub for P.E., and, for some reason, about half a dozen or so government agents or something, all wearing dark suits and slacks, at the front office. Besides that, Casey felt the day went by rather quickly. And quietly.





The meadow itself was pretty barebones, with some underbrush scattered with patches of licorice-cane and oak thickets. Casey remembers having explored them and mapped them out when he and Robbie were much younger, after the kangaroos had moved into the area. Their parents would always chide them for bringing home ticks, but relented given that they always seemed less rowdy as a result. Casey would sometimes sneak some walks into the field just for the sake of nostalgia.
From the edge of the backyard, Casey stared out at the field. It was his usual spot for attending to his physical needs. Robbie would sometimes join him from the other side of the fence, though Casey usually wouldn't go out of his way to make sure Robbie was with him during a self-pleasuring session.
For now, he only gave himself gentle tugs, not anything more forceful than that. Eventually tapering to a halt and a satisfied sigh, he pulled up his shorts and watched the sky turn pink and gray to herald the sunset. A little bit of fresh air and a wank, he'd tell himself -- and Robbie would teasingly repeat to him -- does a person good.
As he stood, his eyes were drawn to a dark spot in the field. Something he hadn't noticed before. Only... it looked a bit like something he had seen this morning.
A pile of dark, freshly upturned dirt. This time, next to a small depression in the landscape. One he's definitely never seen before.
With a look back to the waning daylight to judge the amount of time he has, and an additional glance to the house, Casey hopped the fence and hopped across the field to the suspicious mound. Echidnas or no, if something was digging around in the protected "wilderness" of the field, somebody had to report it to the Parks and Recreational Services office. Otherwise, they all could get in trouble. Echidnas weren't exactly known for being good neighbors. Though... If it was a viper instead, they would really be in trouble.
As he got closer to it, Casey could see the side of the depression, where now a hole, like a small doorway, lay open. A cave entrance. Despite Casey's inner voice telling him this would be a bad idea, the feeling from the day before returned to him. That inviting beckon drawing him inside.
This time, Casey blinked once, then got onto his hands and knees and crawled into the chasm.