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Dirt Digging

Assembling An Expedition

It was late in the afternoon and two figures were climbing a rocky outcropping in the middle of a river valley. Most of the land around them was flat and the wide river was swiftly running through as birds and other beasts of nature made their presence known to the duo. The area was alive with life and as the two near the top of the rocks they seemed more like outsiders to the scene than participants.

The larger one was a mare, she was tall, muscular and climbing the rocks with ease. Her stride helped her clear difficult obstacles with ease. She wore some short khaki pants, a well used brown tank top, a khaki vest, boots, and wide brimmed brown fedora, a token from her childhood fascination with daring adventure novels and noir.

The smaller one was a welsh corgi, short, lithe and very feisty. She struggled up the rocks, scrambling over them. At times she looked like a determined rock climber and at others as if she was surrounded by lava, barely wanting to touch the rocks as she scrambled. She wore khaki shorts cut a little too short, a white tube top showing too much midriff, and boots. Over all she looked like she was there to show off her body and not there to climb.

"Maggie! Slow the fuck down! Not all of us are giants!" Celeste yipped as she scrambled up a rock chasing after her professor, still unable to keep with the long legged Mare. The professor had outpaced her smaller canine student as usual and climbed to the top of the large rock cropping looking over the river valley below. She looked back and held back laughter as she watched the canine struggle to climb the loose rocks.

"I thought you were a 'country girl' isn't this stuff like a stroll through the fields?" Her deeper voice boomed down at the corgi as she spoke. The amused smile on her muzzle let her student know just how much her plight was seen to the professor. Needless to say the corgi was not amused.

"Fields were flat Dr. Pint. I stayed away from rocks out of principle. You know how many snakes live in rocks like these, where I'm from all the kinds that can kill you. Oh did I mention I grew up down the freaking road?" The corgi barked out as she clambered up to a rock just below her mentor. The Mare offered her a hoof and pulled the smaller canine up on to the ridge with her.

What greeted the duo was an amazing view of the small river valley as the sun set just on the edge of the valley. It was a scene torn from a romantic novel. The golden brown and red hue of the light, the green, blue and brown of the ground, trees and water and the feel of the fresh wind beating against them. It was like a vision of paradise. The moment was ruined by the loud mouthed corgi in a brief comment, "Why the hell did we come up here again?"

The mare rolled her eyes and resisted her urge to smack her apprentice. "We are looking for the Hippae capital city."

The Corgi nodded with a critical expression as she looked up to the mare, "Duh, I mean why did we have to climb this natural disaster to do that? You never said anything other than 'follow me!' and then started doing your mountain goat impression."

Maggie stared blankly for a moment before having her own realization. She hadn't told her young student because she thought it might be a teachable moment for her pupil. "Well we know where Tangunto is and we have some writings that mention the land forms around the capital Hippae. What were they?"

The Corgi looked out over the vista and tried to remember what she had translated from the tablet her professor unearthed during her last dig. It was the reason she was there in the first place, opening her big mouth about how she could translate the thing. Maybe if she hadn't said anything she could have been out with her friends partying and getting laid, but _no_she had to be chosen to spend her spring break a hop skip and a jump away from her parents farm where she was either related to or disgusted by all the males in a 100 kilometer radius.

The mare smacked the back of her pupils head as she saw her gaze change from intellectual and thoughtful to lost in her own odd little world. "Focus Celeste, the tablets..."

The smack was painful but fleeting and did its job well. The corgi rubbed her head for a moment before focusing on the task at hand. She remembered there being a mention of a river, a bluff and a place they called 'jagged failure' which was the remains of an unfinished temple and used as a trash dump. "That's it!" The corgi shouted excitedly as she pointed at the ground. "This is Jagged Failure!"

Maggie smirked as the corgi came to the same conclusion she did. "The last dog crosses the finish line." Celeste scowled at her mentor and rolled her eyes before turning back to gaze over the valley and find the other land marks. It was said that from jagged failure the city was just across the river under a large 'miracle bluff' which was a mesa in the middle of the mostly flat lands of the surrounding area. She saw the river but couldn't find the 'miracle bluff' that was mentioned.

"You are having a tough time finding the bluff too huh?" The mare said absently, reading the young canines mind. "I looked at records for this area and discovered that there was a Mesa here about a hundred years ago, but it was destroyed when rumor got out that a seam of gold resided in the center, some old native legend passed down from generation to generation." With that the mare pointed to a strange depression in the land, about a kilometer from the river. "That is what is left of it."

"So you think that the native legend wasn't that the mesa had gold in it but was referring to the 'miracle bluff' or the city itself?" Celeste thought out loud as she tried to focus on the area around the depression. "Wouldn't the miners have destroyed any remains of the city though?"

Maggie squatted down to pick through some of the rocks carefully as she spoke. "Maybe, but they could have also just buried the city further down while tearing down the mesa. Besides you have to remember you Anthropology 101 Cele. Where do you find the most out from a culture?" The mare finally found what she was hoping to find at the top of the mound of rubble and carefully picked it up to show it off to the corgi. It was a small fragment of pottery, not as old as the Hippae civilization which supposedly existed there, but old enough to make her point.

The corgi rolled her eyes again and sat down in a huff, her arms crossed over her well endowed chest. "I know, I know, trash piles. Great I spend my spring break digging and picking through trash like some environmentalist hippy..." Celest growled as she grumbled her fate, being dragged away by her professor to this find of a life time. Sure Cele knew that after this discovery she could probably be set for life, books, research grants, speaking tours, the works. But she was a practical dog, at least she thought she was, knowing that comfort is great but not worth sacrificing happiness.

Maggie looked over her pupil and shook her head, if it weren't for her problem solving skills and insane knowledge of languages she was sure she would have never been as close to the dog as she was. In truth she knew that the corgi girl was probably destined to become a better Archeologist than she was, though she would never tell the canine that.

The mare sighed and stood back up, dusting her hooves off after carefully placing the pottery shard back onto the rocks. "Well let's make sure this is Hippae, if it is we will need a lot of help excavating this site. Maybe even some 'cute boy' volunteers looking for some extra credit..." She pitched her voice up when saying 'cute boys' the way the corgi did for emphasis and to rib the disappointed canine some, even in her attempt to cheer the dog up.

Celeste perked up and looked up at her mentor as she spoke. Giving a half smile, the dog also stood up and sighed. "I guess you are right, after all this could be the find that puts both of us on the map, no one knows more about the Hippas civilization than you and no one knows more Hippae language than me. It was meant to be...besides I hear the beach is more fun with money anyways." The corgi gave a grin and wagged her stub tail for emphasis as she narrowed her eyes to slits as she looked up to the professor.

Maggie laughed out loud and gave a hardy pat on the corgi's back. The sun was almost totally set and she knew that if they waited too long they would be climbing down in the dark. "I know it's more fun with money, now come on, let's get back to the jeep before night and set up camp. We can push for the city site in the morning." With that the mare started her way down the steep and rocky slope back towards the car they had parked at the end of a nearby service road.

"Slow down professor, I'm not going to be the last one down this snake infested death trap!" The corgi hurried after her mentor, knowing full well the kinds of snakes that might call the trash heap home. In her hurry the corgi managed to overtake the mare but in a rather unsafe way. She slipped and slid almost the entire way down, but never fell fully until she reached the bottom where upon she hit a rock and flew forward, face planting into the softer ground with her paws out in front and her rear in the air, sliding a few feet before stopping with a groaned "Ow..."

The mare chuckled as she reached the ground and approached her pupil, getting almost there when a flashlight illuminated them both and a deep voice called out, "What are y'all doing here? This is federal land, not open to outsiders." The voice wasn't familiar to the corgi and the accent, though genuine, didn't fit with the area. As the corgi peaked up from her compromised position she noticed the figure of the creature holding the flash light, one of another canine, probably a German Sheppard of some kind, and definitely a male.

"We've got permission to look through the area. I'm Margret Pint, a professor at Elysium University and this poor pup is my research assistant Celeste Wales." Maggie explained calmly as she picked up the corgi and helped her on her feet again. "We have the permit in our jeep at the end of the service road over there." The mare gestured in the direction their jeep was, noticing he had just come from the same direction.

After hearing the professor's explanation, the figure turned off the flashlight. The two females got a better look at him. He was dressed in a ranger uniform, green short sleeve uniform shirt, grey striped slacks, utility belt with all sorts of accoutrements, and a stiff wide brimmed ranger's cap which carefully sat on his head between his ears. He was young, fit, good looking, and very much knew it by the way he gripped his belt with one paw and leaned on one foot in a contrapposto pose. The canine looked as if he licked his lips examining the two females before finally responding to the mare.

"Dr. Pint? You are Dr. Pint? Well I'm sorry about that, I was supposed to meet you at the ranger station but I was called away to deal with some druggies passing through the reserve." The german sheppard extended his paw towards the mare with a noticeable smile on his muzzle. "The name is Richard Young, Officer Richard Young. I'm here to make sure you don't kill any endangered creatures or get killed by them. I noticed your jeep up there and heard your voices, thought you might be more druggies. Glad I found you when I did though...is your assistant alright?"

The mare took the paw with a firm shake and a smile "Well her condition probably depends on two things, if you are related to her and your current marital status." The corgi squirmed out of Maggie's grasp and gave a glare at her before trying to give a sheepish smile at the tall, handsome and young ranger before her.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern Ranger Young." Her voice was defensive at first, still glaring at the mare for ruining the first impression with the other canine. She cleared her throat, recalled her accent and tried to flash a pretty smile as she addressed the ranger. "You see I'm from the area. Welsh Farms is owned by my brothers and used to be owned by my parents. I've often told the professor here that there wasn't a male in the county that wasn't either related or an asshole. But then again that was 5 years ago..."

The male canine chuckled and shook his head tilting his wide brimmed hat up and placing a paw on his hip. "I understand what you mean. I have a sister who moved with me in high school and I get an ear full of it nightly. It's not the most welcoming place for those with different ideas. Well then where are we gonna set up camp? I got a tent and gear back in the truck next to your jeep." Richard gestured back to the end of the service road as he put away the flashlight, starting to walk in that direction.

---

The two females followed the confident male back to the road to retrieve their gear, Maggie filling Richard in while they did. When they reached their vehicles they started to gather supplies, preparing to head back to the base of the trash pile to set up camp. After a few moments however the professor had a call from the department about some internal forms she had misfiled and as the dusk turned to night she remained chatting on the phone a short distance away from the parked cars.

As the two canines gathered their supplies the corgi noticed the german sheppard checking her out, being subtle at first and at times rather brash. Deciding to play with the younger canine some she gave him reciprocating glances, even shaking her tail some when she caught him looking at her butt. Richard was taking notice of her own flirting back but they both remained quiet while they gave each other knowing glances and even a wink or two from the coy corgi.

The casual flirting was something she did with any willing and available canine male, it was her way of 'staying canine' as her mother called it. It was a way to keep the roots of the species as a pack, making sure males knew they were respected and wanted by the females of the pack. Her mother felt if she did it to every canine male she met, before she had met her father of course, it would brighten their day and keep them from suspecting her motives, being a ruthless sales person in her youth. Celeste found it worked to keep the canine males, and non canine males, happy when she was around and also had the by product in college of getting a lot of attention from inebriated males.

Finally as the corgi finished assembling the professor's stuff she felt a quick but gentle grope of her rear and the sounds of the gruff voice of the canine male in her ear. "So you looking to explore your wild side with a real dog huh?" As he spoke his paw's groping became more rough and traveling to the corgi's stub tail. "I can tell you're into me, don't pretend you didn't shake that tail because you knew I was looking..."

The corgi bit her lip and gave out a moan after she got over the initial shock, playing along with his 'alpha male' routine. "Mmm...You saw that did you? Well know that I like what I see with you Mr. Young. But you might just be a bit forward..."

The male canine chuckled as he leaned closer to the corgi, pressing his crotch to her rear as he spoke in the rich voice he had put on since he made his move. "I'm forward, you're the one wearing that outfit and shaking your ass like a rattle snake..."

The corgi looked back and bit her lip, eyes lidded as she giggled. "No, it's a bit forward to be so close with such contact when my boss is right behind you. She stopped talking about a minute after you grabbed my ass. I wonder what sexual harassment lawsuits pay these days..." Her voice low and sultry the entire time, punctuating the big reveal with another short giggle and shaking her rear as the larger male still held his paw there.

The sheppard turned around to indeed see an unamused mare staring at him. The canine audibly gulped as he removed his paw and stepped away from the corgi. "Um...welcome back professor!" He said nervously, adjusting his belt and pants to try and not show his rather embarrassing bulge. Maggie sighed and shook her head as she placed a hoof over her face in disappointment, all the while Celeste had turned around, leaning on the Jeep in a casual relaxed pose, and was laughing hardily.

"You aren't the first male to fall for her tricks. Just know there is a difference between her showing interest and her ready to go. Unless you want to be perpetually in sexual agony this entire expedition you'd be wise to remember that." The mare collected herself, trying to prevent her own stern face to break into laughter like her assistant and approached the jeep to grab her things. Richard sheepishly walked over to his truck to grab his pack, not daring to look up as the corgi continued to laugh.

Celeste collected herself enough to glace over at the professor with a shit eating grin on her muzzle. "He was too easy, must be from the country. I've found good old boys are the ones for either shy courtship or no nonsense, they are also about as smart as a bag of hammers. This is going to be a fun trip after all!" The corgi tossed her pack on as the mare finally broke her stern face with a smile as she slung hers on as well.

The mare tried to temper the corgi's enthusiasm to tease the humbled ranger. "Don't tease the poor boy too much he may be around the same age as you but he has obviously hasn't met a tease of your caliber. Oh and lay off the empty threats, you know that you'll sleep with him eventually, just like every male assistant I've ever had."

Celeste looked shocked and hurt, placing a paw on her chest after strapping the large backpack to her frame. "No I haven't! I haven't slept with James, Kenneza, or Ralph!"

Maggie rolled her eyes at her assistant as she adjusted the pack the mare had strapped to her back. "That's because Kenneza tried to trick you into marrying him, James is gay, and Ralph spends more time at the library than librarians."

Celeste gestured a paw at her mentor in a fervent 'I told you so' manner. "Yeah, see! I haven't slept with all of them! I'm not a total slut, I have standards"

"You are right, you do have standards, just not very high ones. You have slept with all of the male assistant I've had that are close to normal." The mare shook her head and finished adjusting her pack, a look of unamusement returning to her muzzle as the corgi tried to justify her wanton sexual conquests of the professor's staff.

The canine crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave a huff, looking indignant. "Still have standards..."

The mare rolled her eyes and shook her head once more as she gave a friendly pat on the back of her assistant as a sign that they should get moving. "Humble pie ranger, follow cele and I to the base of the trash mound, where you found us earlier. We'll get a fire started and set up base camp there. In the morning we will make a push to the main site."

Richard cleared his throat and dared to look up once more, still wearing a very embarrassed look on his once cocky muzzle. "I brought some food that will go bad if we don't eat it soon. You ladies...have dinner yet?"

Celeste winked and flashed a devious smile to Richard and in response said "It would be some big old slabs of meat would it, because that is just what I am in the mood for..." She giggled at the end, not even able to keep her flirty façade up long enough for his answer.

Seeing the corgi teasing him the german sheppard seemed to get his second wind. He took a deep breath and flashed another cocky smile back at the female. "Well actually it is. Big old slabs of meat from Welsh Farms, the quality is rather low but it was cheap." The rangers smile grew as he picked up the cooler and winked at his fellow canine

Maggie burst out laughing as the ranger made a quick recovery and a cutting reply to her often overly flirtatious canine companion. Cele's own cocky flirtatious expression was shattered by the innuendo the sheppard had laid on her, changing to narrowed eyes and a scowl as he approached the two females. Maggie continued laughing as she started back towards the mound, followed by the ranger and lastly the still slightly stunned corgi. "That wasn't that funny!" The canine remarked as she struggled to keep up with the two taller creatures walking into the night.