It wasn't common to see Mira out and about, especially considering her more recent reclusive nature. After all, she needed to take a break after falling into that pile of mud. She needed to take a long break after that, especially considering how much she freaked out. After all, mud was pretty gross. There was also the risk of running into that situation again, but the serval decided to take her chances. After all, it was healthy to stay cooped up inside forever.

After being out for awhile, she found herself at the canopy, observing her surroundings. Lots of trees, and probably lots of risks of danger awaited her. Birds especially; they carried so many diseases, and she just hoped that she wouldn't have any kind of run-in with birds. The girl paced around the trees for awhile, stopping every once in awhile to cough. Yeah, this cough was getting pretty tiresome, but she couldn't exactly link it to anything. In other words, it was something that she didn't bother worrying about.

Though, there was one thing for certain that did worry her. A small, green line seemed to be floating a few inches above her. Wait, wait - no. That was a bug, wasn't it? Before she could react and move away, the small bug dropped square on her nose. Without even thinking, the girl let out a loud, distressed scream. Her scream was followed by a quieter shout of Oh no. No, someone heard her- they had to. Mira started shaking, as the bug refused to move from her face. "Get off, get off, get off-" her shaky voice kept repeating quietly, though she remained far too scared to do anything. So, there Mira stood, shaking and on the verge of tears over a small insect landing on her nose.

//yes, mira is even afraid of inchworms, shhh

Hughes hadn't exactly been out much himself, either. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so reclusive, since he was always so upbeat and hearty, but a lot of things had changed. It was only natural he would change along with them. He only wished these changes had been positive rather than him being too afraid to leave his quarters because his death could be repeated at any point. The thought of having to go through dying again was frightening as hell. If he could avoid having it become a reality, then he would do his best to do so--even if that meant isolating himself for the most part.

Usually, when he heard random screams, he'd rush to see what was wrong. But now, he paused before jumping into action. What if something was really, really wrong? What if he got himself in danger, too? Still, despite all these thoughts, he knew he had to do something. The lab rushed in the direction of the noise, though there was still hesitance in his steps. Eventually he caught sight of Mirabella and stopped, glancing around frantically for what had caused the distress. He didn't see anything, but the female was shaking her head wildly, staring down towards her nose.

"Uh, are you alright, miss?" he asks as he steps forward. He squints, trying to see what she was so concerned about. Then she pauses her shaking and stands as still as a statue, the small green thing crawling about her muzzle suddenly obvious, a grin forming on his face at the sight. Hughes knew some people were afraid of bugs, but inchworms, of all things? "Do you need help with that there?" he's trying to stifle his laughter if only to try and be polite.

"SPEECH"