Fantasy Insectopia (Open)

[SilverFlight]

Insectopia

Now here is a tale, gather round. This story is about a band of heroes who are impossibly small. Small they are, but great, though they do not know it yet. Something is coming to the peaceful city of Sunhaven. Something dark. Soon metal will be tested, skills will be honed. Look closely friends, come down to the world of bugs.


14th morning of summer, the year of the moth.

"Not two more weeks to Sunhaven." A moth guard said cheerfully. They had nearly finished the long patrol shift. Three months of scouting the Eastern forests, collecting news and assessing threats. "Our eggs will be hatched by then. Kyra will be waiting for me with five new faces!"
"Shut your face for half a second Breeyr! I think I hear something." The beetle snapped. He held up his spear. The other guards, a little more seasoned than their young moth recruit, kept still.

"You don't think there's any stock in those rumours do you? About the vanishing caravans?" The moth called Breeyr was much quieter now. "Bugs said the carriages were found, but not a trace of any bug anywhere. Even the goods were left."
"I haven't the faintest, why don't you go check over that root. Make sure the way is clear."
It was broad daylight, still Breeyr balked at the thought of going alone.

"Are you a soldier or aren't you?" The wizened scarab teased.
"I am." Breeyr said irritably. The sun dappled the ground, swaying as the gentle breeze rocked the canopy above. Just ahead of him a twig snapped. Breeyr froze, white wings quivering. His captain's words barbed him onward and he flicked an antennae. "Probably just a squirrel..." He kept walking closer.

"Hey, where's Breeyr?" Another soldier asked. "He was right there just a blink ago."
"He's probably over the root."
"But he wasn't even close to it."
The soldier stopped speaking suddenly. He hit the earth.
"What's the matter whethers?" The captain's tone was laughing at first, but she quickly recoiled. There was a wound in the body, she couldn't even begin to describe it. "Weapons up!" The beetle shouted...but it was already too late.
​

 

[SilverFlight]

Senna should have been overjoyed to visit the city. Sunhaven had been a dream since the nurse bees had told her stories in her cradle, but the bitterness of a looming goodbye made the bright bustle and colour of the wonderful place seem a bit dull. Everywhere around her were bugs of every shape and size imaginable, from great hulking beetles to tiny hoverflies, drifting in and out of the stalls by the main road. There were banners, and performers and streamers draped all over, strung between lantern posts and ringing the square. Then there were the scents: barely cakes and mushroom pasties, honeydew and iced nectar, fruits and berries of every description. There were fresh flowers from green houses and brought in special straight from the fields and far away, each woven carefully into garlands, ribbons and clothing.

Senna swallowed her feelings and tried to focus on the task at tarsus: Half the drones had managed to slip away from their caravan just after they entered the city. The prank was harmless enough, the only thing to suffer was a little embarrassment for their carelessness, depending on the type of mischief the princes got up too. Senna took that much more easily than most of her sisters. Still, it was a problem, and because this was the first honey sale of the year, there was a clamour at the stalls to get it, they didn’t have any bees to spare. None…except Senna.

Senna struggled with the map Hensbane had given her, turning it this way and that. She still wasn’t good at navigation yet. Technically, she hadn’t been promoted above nurse, she was only in the city on Mace’s request. And now he was gone! Vanished with the other drones, gallivanting about the place doing who knew what. Oh, when she found them…she would…well…they were going to be in a lot of trouble that was for sure!

One of the things she was told was to try not to draw attention, but that had long been forgotten as she grumbled at the map under her breath, a little golden honey bee looking very, very lost.

EccentricFantasy Hazmat44 AncientBird thinking InTheSea KaigerGalaxy The Plaid Man StrixDesmodus Major_Goofball locked n loaded ZackStop Scatterbrain

 

[EccentricFantasy]

Janan Utuula, Oh Gentle Giant

Bustling streets and lively chatter. The great city of Sunhaven was as alive as it ever was. Shops selling wares and people living out their lives. Trying to make their dreams a reality. Most live their entire lives not knowing a truly honest and genuine person. However, no one whom has met the Hercules Beetle Janan could make that statement.

Today was a rare day off for the Beetle soldier. It wasn't often that they wanted to let him go. He was one of, if not the best defenses they had. A soldier with his capabilities came along once in a lifetime. Size and strength that defied odds and moved mountains with a will only few could claim to possess. He was renounced amongst the people. A truly kind hearted soul. It seemed only right that he be allotted a few days off.

The beloved solder slowly walked through the thoroughfare. Down on all six legs to reduce his presence a bit, but knowing full well that he stood out among the much smaller insects. Upon his back was a cart that had a missing wheel. A small family of spiders, the specific kind he did not know, had broken a wheel just outside the city coming in to sell their wheat. Of course, Janan was much to kind hearted to ignore them.

People smiled and waved at the loving soldier as he walked with the family, cart on his back and a few large wagons of grain following suit. It was astonishing to watch him so easily pull such a massive amount of materials, but one would expect nothing less from his kind. Janan himself was well cared for thanks to his helpful nature. This was merely another day for him. Even upon reaching their destination at the Farmers market, the large Beetle even helped set up their stand. Taking the time to make sure they were properly set up before giving them a bow and accepting their gratitude for the assistance. Of course, he politely declined their offer of grain in exchange for the service

"Please do not waste such delicious grain on a soldier like me. Sell that to provide for your family. I will be fine sir."

The large Beetle turned and was greeted by the smiling faces of those who knew him. Nervously, he began to say hello to all those he knew. He had always found it a bit nerve-wracking to be surrounded by so many. He didn't want to accidentally hurt someone. His overwhelming size made that rather easy. Every interaction he had, was riddled with the underlying intent of being gentle. It was kind of funny. Such a strong and capable body, with such a sweet and fragile soul inside of it.

 

[Hazmat44]

"Boab, you're good. Next!"

Kerr glanced up at the sound, and then back down to his feet once he realized it wasn't for him.

The checkpoint just outside Sunhaven was crowded, much as he'd expected it would be, but there were far more bugs present than he'd expected. A line of spiders, beetles, ants, flies, moths, and bees were in front of him, waiting to be allowed through into the city. This would be the first time he'd been in a city of this size.

"Aal-leen, good to go. Next!"

Well, the first time he'd been in any city, really. There weren't exactly any of them on the Kischkin travel routes, although he'd seen one from a distance forever ago. The memory was long-faded by now, a distant impression of towers and glinting windows from a long way away. Memories were hard to hold onto, even if they were important, and sometimes the young spider wondered if it was possible to forget everything if one simply waited long enough.

"Keveen, move. Next!"

At any rate, the checkpoint would prove to be one of the first interactions outside of the Kischkin he'd had, excluding the quiet cart-driver who'd given him a ride here. Despite Kerr's efforts, the driver hadn't been much for conversation at all, but he felt like he'd left on good terms with the hornet. Granted, the bug's responses had grown shorter and shorter as Kerr asked more questions until she'd stopped answering entirely. Perhaps he'd been too friendly. Land knew his clan had thought so.

"I said next!"

His head snapped up to the irate bumblebee manning the checkpoint, an officer who was clearly tired with the day. "Sorry?"

The official's antennae twitched irritably. "You're next. Are you carrying any weapons?"

Kerr glanced down at the sash around his neck. "Uhh, I'm carrying a few charms, but-"

The official made a quick mark on the sheet beside her. "Noted. Please write your name here." Turning the sheet, the official held a small piece of charcoal out.

Kerr started in surprise. "Oh, okay." Leaning forward, he accepted the proffered charcoal with his pedipalps, scrawling a rather messy 'Kerreschi' on the sheet. It was placed rather shakenly beneath scores of other names, the bugs that came before him. It made Kerr feel oddly connected with those unknowns as he gave the charcoal back.

The official nodded. "Alright, Kurreski, you're good. Next!"

Kerr held a pedipalp up. "Actually, it's pronounced-"

Tilting his head in frustration, the official interrupted, "Kursiky, you're holding up the line."

"But my name's-"

"CRISPY!" The official suddenly bellowed. "MOVE!"

"Sorry!" Kerr yelped, dashing past the official. He only slowed down once he was well past the milling group of insects waiting just beyond the checkpoint, nerves on fire and brain running full tilt. Was the line really that important? And how did that official get his name that wrong?!

He shook his head, focusing on the present. He was here for one reason and one reason only.

Friends!

He'd always heard about them from the rare traveller who the Kischkin clan came across, but he'd never been able to make one of his own. Now he just needed to find some more spiders, and then he could probably...

Kerr's thoughts trailed off as he noticed something out of place. Someone, rather. A short distance before him, a honeybee was distractedly looking at a map, pacing from side to side. She looked rather lost.

You really shouldn't, a voice whispered to Kerr. She's not a spider. She isn't going to talk to you. Nobody will.

Kerr ignored the voice, much the same as he'd been doing for the past seventeen years of his life, and walked over to her. "Is everything okay?" He asked, unconsciously mimicking the question via gestures through his pedipalps. It'd been forever since he'd had a full conversation with someone that wasn't a spider. Or with anyone, really. "You look lost."

SilverFlight

 

[thinking]

Ola,-“big fangs.”

Having grasped at the intangible dream of opening up a pharmaceutical shop in the heart of Sunhaven for over three years, Ola had made her way back into the city. She lived on the outskirts of town in the more perilous and unforgiving area of land in a makeshift home she actually built herself. Situated under the base of a tree trunk, the most extravagant and only outstanding feature was the door. They weren’t in any poverty, however funds ran low due to her struggling addiction with her own potion creation. The tarantula made her way, travelling quite fast on her four legs (each foot comforted in a brown leather boot) and despite her swift movements, she was rather exhausted. This was expected due to how Ola had travelled what seemed like over two miles* to get there. She had left almost four days ago to reach the welcoming gates of Sunhaven, and there was no chance of her stopping now! Using her two front appendages to tighten the grip that her famous yellow hat had on her head. It was undoubtedly busy, busier than usual. Having stopped by Sunhaven a handful of times in her life (usually for supplies and the speciality food), this was the tarantulas first professional business visit.

Ola was a self-proclaimed scientist; a little too at one with her creation. She knew she could not enter Sunhaven with the actual potion itself, due to the heavy restrictions of unknown and unregulated goods. Tucked inside her leather coat pocket, was an average shopping list. Etched on the parchment was basic necessities including aphid juice, crystallised honey and dried oak leaves. Nothing special or suspicious. She had guzzled the correct amount of potion to keep her going for around three days; without the heavy dosage, she wouldn’t have been able function too well. She was planning on spending much more than the three days in Sunhaven, in all honesty she was hoping to set out her rented apartment into a full blown lab by the end of the week. Ingredients should be easy to find, she had brought a substantial amount of tokens too, as well as a collection of web that was folded up in a backpack that was tied to her abdomen. That should be enough currency to get what she wanted. She had stored enough venom in her venom-pouches also, orange baboon tarantula venom was the key to the success.

Reaching the main gate, Ola towered over most city-goers, including the other species of arachnid that seemed to scuttle below her. Baboon tarantulas are heavy bodied people, however are not the largest of species of arachnid, let alone insect. Ola finally reached the front of the queue, greeted by one of the guardians.
"Big fangs," he mumbled under his breath, before giving Ola the green light to enter Sunhaven.

human miles*​

 

[SilverFlight]

"Oh yes, very lost...oh!" Senna only looked over at the last moment and she hadn't expected to see a young spider addressing her. She nearly dropped her map in surprise. This was the first non-bee bug she had addressed since well...ever.

"Sorry, was that rude? That was rude. I mean, yes, I am lost. My name is Senna. Do you know your way around?"
She wondered if she could trust this bug, but, she needed help, and honestly, it might turn out better than going back to her sisters to admit she lost her charges.
"Actually, I've lost someone too, or, rather a few someones. You see, I was responsible for looking after fifteen drones from my colony. And those fluff-heads ditched me the first chance they got. They like music, and theater...art...books. They love books. Do you think you could help me find them?"

Senna began to scan the square. "They can't have gotten very far. I um, I can pay you. Do you like honey?"
Hazmat44
She turned back to look at her new acquaintance, leaning against what she thought was a large, sturdy wall. When it moved she piped* in surprise and promptly fell over.
"Oh great All Queen! That's a bug!" Senna, from her place on the ground was looking up at the biggest beetle she had ever seen.
"Why, you must be the biggest bug in the whole world!"
She picked herself up with a buzz of her wings and brushed the dist from her golden coat.
"Was that rude? That was rude. I'm sorry. Um, hello! I'm Senna."
EccentricFantasy

thinking The Plaid Man KaigerGalaxy StrixDesmodus AncientBird

*Piping is a high-pitched buzz that bees often make when bumped or surprised

 

[The Plaid Man]

Gurunk Fu'lulu:

In a cozy little residence within the outskirts of Sunhaven, Gurunk was finishing up a philosophical set of ideals, in all honesty, to him, it seemed a bit repetitive, he sighed 'Maybe I just need a break from all this' He thought to himself. That must have been it, he just needed some fresh air, he took a step outside, took a deep breath 'Ah, the weather is so nice, maybe I'll go for a bit of a stroll once this whole fiasco is over with' and looked around, Sunhaven was always a bit noisy, but the noise that day gave him the feeling something special was going to happen, or maybe he wasn't accustomed to being in a loud environment and having a large project on his solders. Gurunk steped back inside his house, made himself a quick snack and went back to work. 'I honestly cannot see what is so hard for insectkind to understand about these things, oh well, can't judge them too harshly, I don't know what's going through their heads' Gurunk, after a few sentences of writing, he paused for a long amount of time, looked back out the window, 'Why can't I think?' he got up from his seat and started pacing around the small room, appendages clasped behind his back, antenna twitching at little sounds 'This is most peculiar... I cannot think of what these bugs need.' He grabed a cane and walked outside of the house 'Maybe some time outside will let me know what insectkind needs to hear'

 

[Hazmat44]

Kerr felt a shiver run all the way up and down him. She wasn't ignoring him! Or running away! Or yelling at him! Statistically speaking, she was already in the top three percent of people he'd tried to talk to.

He shook his head in response to her question. "I just got here. I'm just as lost as you are. Maybe a bit more, actually."

When she brought up payment, he started shaking his head. "You don't have to pay me! I'm happy to he-" He froze as she finished talking. "H-honey?! Erm. Yes. That's a good payment. Happily."

He had tasted honey one time and one time only. It'd been years ago, back when he was still in a carrying bag on his mother's back. They'd run into a bee caravan and had traded with them, and in Kerr's opinion the bees had been ripped off, no matter what the Kischkin gave them in return. The honey had been the best thing he'd ever tasted by a long shot, and nothing had come close since.

Kerr started as he realized he hadn't given her his name yet. "Oh, and I'm Kerreschi. You can just call me Kerr, though."

He glanced sideways as she leaned on the wall, and then it moved. He looked up, and then up, and it just kept going up. "Wow." He said blankly, trying to find an adequately descriptive thing to say about the genuinely gargantuan beetle standing before them. He could be creative! This was the opportunity to give Senna and the beetle a good first impression!

"...You're really big."

Dangit, Kerr.

SilverFlight EccentricFantasy

 

[KaigerGalaxy]

Ichus hovered overhead, watching the city from the skies. The peace of the city wasn't always present, the occasional criminal snatching from a stall or sneaking contraband, and with Janan off duty, he was the one to watch this area. Landing on one of the many perches scattered around, Ichus gave his wings a break. He wasn't at all surprised to see the large beetle assisting a group of spiders, the wasp shaking his head with a sigh. Even on his day off, he was still working.

Ichus swiveled his head, keeping his many eyes on the road below when he overheard a conversation of two lost bugs, one of which had mistaken his coworker for a wall, or perhaps a rock. Janan would be able to guide them unless he would be able to deny, then Ichus would lead. However, if he didn't have to, he wouldn't.

 

[ZackStop]

Finx wasn't new to town. He had been arrived in Sunhaven a few weeks ago, and has been acquainting himself with the large city since. Many insects had traveled great distances same as him, making their way to the check points around the boarders and waiting in line to enter. That isn't quite his style though. No, instead of waiting around for his name to be called, he used his great abilities to vault over any watchful eyes that could give him a headache.

After securing a spot in Sunhaven, Finx spent his days leaping and sprinting along to roof tops, doing his best to stay out of trouble. Trouble always seems to find him, but here appears to be an exception, and so far things have been good. Today was no different, and Finx was enjoying the breeze that he helps create. Every quick jump is accompanied by a swift shift in wind that puzzles nearby insects. He had made no efforts to make himself known since being here, and no one has even seen him with his blinding speed.

Once he had made his rounds through Sunhaven, Finx went onto partake in his pass time of relaxing. A few quick leaps above the city came easy when he discovered naturally made routes from the city floor to the higher altitudes that hung above as various platforms For any other flightless bug it would be nearly impossible, but with his attuned body, reaching his rest spot was a piece of grape. A perfect spot in the shade that only he knew about, where no one could bother him. Even better, he could see it all from up here, a real sight when the sun is down and the city lights shine. After a long day of zipping around, Finx took the time to nap. "Hopefully something exciting happens before I skip town." He snickered to himself before falling asleep.

 

[AncientBird]

The day of the trip to Sunhaven for Bramble had arrived. The wooden goods and tools had been crafted for months and they were finally ready to be put on the family’s stand in the city to be sold off. The Merrywedge family group prided themselves over their high quality products and had been selling their wood work for generations. Aside from the usual products to be put on stall, there were many orders of specially made tools to be delivered as well. This was one of the most important trips the family wouldn’t want to mess up.

The party consisted of several family members. Bramble’s eldest aunt, Cedar, would be in charge as the leader of this trading trip. Accompanying her were Stubb, Cedar’s husband and Bramble’s uncle in laws, then there were 2 other uncles in laws and Pith, Bramble’s little brother who had only gone to Sunhaven only once before… And finally, Bramble herself.

Most of the trading trip party consisted of mostly males, since females would more likely want to stay home and continue doing their wood crafting job. Cedar only came to look after the males, who were mostly young and carefree, so that they wouldn’t get into trouble… However, for Bramble, this was an opportunity.... The opportunity to open her eyes and observe the world outside her tree house and flower patches. She always yearns to learn about the leaves, the creatures, the wind and the sun… Thus she always volunteers to come along whenever there’s a trading trip.

The family left the home tree in the morning. Each bee flew with packages tied on their back. Uncle Stubb however, mounted atop of Old Billy, the family prized pygmy parrot who carried a large bundle of larger products with his powerful talons and beaks.

While the trip to the city was rather short. It was enough for Bramble to observe the environment around her and write down whatever she saw and considered interesting. For example, she noticed a large chipmunk down on the ground, gathering acorns and sketched down its gigantic face that was swollen up by the acorns it shoved into its mouth.

The party eventually arrived at Sunhaven and headed straight to the checkpoint for merchants to be permitted into the city by security. Everything went well so far, they got the permission to enter, taking Old Billy to the beast stable to keep him enclosed and relaxed with his own trough full of berries. However, once they finally reached their stall in the market…

“Oh great! Did someone just bump into our stall?!” Cedar growled with frustration as the scene before her revealed a shattered stall sign, falling on to the cracked counter, her wings buzzing rapidly. “As if putting up with Stubb’s rambling along the way wasn’t enough…”

“Aye! My story of how I tricked that ding dang skink to bite its own tail was interesting!” Stubb replied.

“Maybe a big beetle just tripped and fell on our stall?” Bramble spoke as she looked at the damaged stall.

“Whoever did this surely didn’t come around to contact us for the damage payment. If I ever caught who was responsible for this, I am gonna teach them some manners!” Said angrily Cedar.

“It’s ok, Aunt Cedar, I think we can fix this… Not so big of a deal, right?” Replied Bramble, trying to calm her aunt down.

“You are right, Bramble… We aren’t the ultimate wood carver for nothing… Stubb, get me some nails and a hammer, will you?” Said Cedar to her husband.

“Right away, deary!” Said Stubb as he immediately dug into one of the packages for a while, just to emerge with a dreaded expression. “Holy cephalothorax of king crab!” Cried Stubb.

“Don’t invent words without context, Stubb… What is it?” Asked Cedar.

“Cedar deary… Don’t be mad or anything… I think I might have… Ehhhh, I left the dang hammer and nails back home…” Said Stubb with a guilty twitch of his antennae.

“Dang it, Stubb! This is why I told you not to drink honey ale last night before the trip!” Complaint Cedar. “Now how are we gonna fix the stall?” Cedar stopped to process all the unfortunate events that happened. “Errgh… Alright then… Dewey, could you go and purchase some nails and a hammer, please?” Said Cedar to one of the younger uncles in laws. However, before anyone could agree on the task, Pith who had been hovering alongside Bramble barged in.

“Oh, oh! Aunt Cedar! Can I go to buy the supplies instead!” Said the enthusiastic young bee.

“Pith? You?” Asked Cedar.

“Come on, Aunt Cedar! I am a grown bee now and I think it’s time I need to take my place in the family’s work and help out with the tasks and chores. I will embrace my responsibility and-”

“You wanna go see the city, don’t you…”

“...Yeah… I wanna go see the city…” Pith admitted embarrassingly. “I mean, I didn’t even get to explore the city last time…”

Cedar shook her head slowly but after a bit of thought, she nodded. “Fine, Pith… You can go this time, but take Bramble with you. I am still not convinced that you can go 10 minutes without causing troubles, but maybe you can prove me wrong.” Said Cedar as she turned to her niece. “Bramble honey, go with your brother, will you? Make sure he doesn't get lost or cause troubles or something.”

“Will do, Aunt Cedar. We will be back as soon as possible.” Replied Bramble.

“I don’t need a chaperone, I have a great sense of direction, I never get lost…” Pith mumbled in frustration as two siblings flew away from the stall and headed deeper into the city, heading for the blacksmith shop.

“Oh please, Pith… You may be able to predict the destination very accurately, but last time you wandered off alone, you tried to tease a tree frog… We had to pull you out of its mouth, it was horrifying.” Bramble argued. “Finally having wings doesn’t mean you can just go anywhere or do anything.”

“It was just one time!” Said Pith. “Also, you yourself got into a lot of trouble too! Especially when you concentrate on something in the wood. Remember that time you were busy sketching you didn’t see a jay coming?”

Bramble paused and blushed (if a bee could blush). “Fine, you have a point… Then let’s both of us undo our mistake by getting those nails and hammer from the blacksmith without any ruckus, alright?”

“Alright! Let’s go, sis!” Replied Pith cheerfully.

The two siblings turned a corner and entered an area where Pith had never been to… As expected, the young bee’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Oh my! This street is even more awesome than the market!” Said Pith as he rushed away from Bramble’s side and began to dart around excitedly, looking at the large street full of citizens of various species and stalls of many new products.

“Pith! Slow down, you will bump into someone!” Bramble called to her little brother...


(Feel free to have Pith bump into your character, if you want.)

 

[SilverFlight]

Senna blinked, looking over at her new friend Kerr. Her antennae twitched, betraying her mirth and then she laughed.
He wasn't any better than she was!
"I'm sorry, again," she apologized to the beetle.
"Maybe we can find a trace of them down that way." She pointed to what she hoped was the way to the center square.

Senna hadn't moved three wingbeats when someone hurtled right into her ( AncientBird ).
She piped in utter shock and hit the ground for the second time today.
Senna rolled to her feet slowly. "I don't seem to be doing very well so far." She said with a slow but goodnatured chuckle.

For one moment she thought she was looking straight at one of the drones from her colony, but on closer inspection she found that he wasn't even a honey bee.
"Where are you off to in such a rush?" She crossed her front legs over her thorax in what she hoped was an admonishing stance, though her voice was still kind.

AncientBird Hazmat44

KaigerGalaxy thinking EccentricFantasy ZackStop The Plaid Man Major_Goofball

 

[Hazmat44]

Kerr awkwardly laughed along with Senna, wondering what in the world he'd said that she thought was so funny. Maybe if he figured it out, he could build a better sense of humor based on it? He'd always felt that a sense of humor was a good way to make friends, but if he invented one of his own would come off as forced, or was he overthinking it, or was there just a way to act like a totally normal person without changing anything, or maybe Senna had a totally different sense of humor than whatever he could come up with and oh Land what if other bugs didn't like the humor he came up with?! By befriending Senna, he could totally alienate other kinds of bugs!

Thankfully distracting him before he could think himself to death, a bee rammed into Senna. Snapping out of his thoughts, Kerr hastily rushed towards Senna, but she was already back to her feet. Glancing at the other bee before him, he briefly wondered if it was one of the bees she was looking for, but they didn't look quite the same. Sidestepping a little closer to Senna, he muttered under his breath, "Are you okay?"

SilverFlight AncientBird

 

[Major_Goofball]

Konstantin Novik
"Next!"

Konstantin didn't hear the guard yell as he was distracted studying the map of his soon new home, Sunhaven.

"I said next!"

This time someone in the line behind Konstantin pushed the ant forward. He turned around to express his frustration but changed his mind when his eyes met the eyes of an annoyed beetle.

"And you are..."

The wasp guard turned to look at Konstantin.

"...a Formician."

Konstantin knew his kind wasn't often seen near or in Sunhaven and that it had a gruesome history, but he still noted the negative reaction of the wasp. Not wanting to hold up the line any further, he dug out a piece of paper from his bag and gave it to the guard.

"Kons... Konstha... Khonthanteen..." the wasp tried to pronounce Konstantin's foreign name while reading the paper.

"Konstantin," he corrected.

"Whatever. Do you carry any weapons?"

"I don't."

"And your luggage?"

Konstantin gave his bag to the wasp, who friskily searched through the papers and after finding nothing, gave the bag and the paper back to Konstantin.

"Alright, you're free to go."

The guard moved aside and let Konstantin go through the gate to the town. The centre was busy and there were a lot of things to distract Konstantin, but he was determined to do what he had to do, so he unfolded the map and started examining it closer while humming a tune under his breath.

 

[AncientBird]

Just as Bramble feared... Pith suddenly crashed into someone. Both of them fell over and rolled on the ground like fallen berries. Gasping loudly, Bramble burst forward and reached to her little brother first. "Pith are you alright?!" Said the worried bee.

"Ayeee... I'm fineee...." Pith replied, dragging his voice, likely was just dizzy from the impact. Knowing that her brother was not in severe harm, Bramble looked forward to the other victim of the collision. It was another bee, slightly smaller than Bramble and Pith themselves, notably lighter in coloration as well. The bee seemed to be accompanied by a jumping spider who was also checking on it. The stranger bee seemed to have recovered quicker than Pith did and was already on its feet when Bramble approached.

Upon a closer look, Bramble recognized the barring pattern and more gracile shape of this stranger, it was a honey bee! Likely, a worker... Bramble had rather limited experience interacting with honey bees, aside of some visiting and buying from her family stall. (in which her aunts or uncle in laws were the ones attending them and other customers most of the time.) However, Bramble had heard from her grandmother that they live in a much more noble society, very sophisticated and dignified, yet also militarized and may or may not take very kindly to offense...

"Oh, I am so sorry! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Asked Bramble frantically to the honey bee. "My little brother was just young and excited, he didn't mean to... Pith! Come on, you have to apologize to her!" Said Bramble, turning back and forth between the honey bee and her brother who had finally gotten up.

"Owww, but she was blocking my path!..." Moaned Pith.

"You flew into her!"

"She shouldn't be standing right in the middle of the stree-"

"You were flying too fast, dum-dum! Now come here and say sorry or I will tell Aunt Cedar and Gram-gram that you were being rude to this honey bee!"

Pith seemed reluctant, but he eventually dragged himself toward Bramble and the honey bee. "I am so sorry, miss honey bee..." Said Pith in the most monotonic voice ever.

Bramble angrily coughed at Pith's sloppy excuse of apology then looked at the honey bee and her spider companion nervously, hoping that neither of them would take offense in her brother's behavior.

Featuring: SilverFlight Hazmat44

 

[Hazmat44]

Even Kerr was a little surprised at the quality of the bee's - Pith's - insincerity. Back in the Kischkin, he'd heard a few fake apologies, but this one really took the cake!

He paused, suddenly concerned. He hadn't said that out loud, right?

Forging onward, he gave both of the newcomers a friendly little wave. "Hi there! I'm Kerreschi, but you can just call me Kerr. Where are you guys going that you're in so much of a rush?"

AncientBird SilverFlight