“You really couldn’t have been a little gentler?” Dorien groaned when he woke up.
I shrugged in response to him. “Hey, it’s not my fault. I was in a rush.”
The two of us stood right outside of the bastion bee hive, adjacent to my restaurant. Inside, the baby bastion bees were waiting for us. I had brought the [Druid] out here to let him wake up, then recover, before we went to figure out what was going on.
Bucky was waiting inside with the baby queen bastion bee. When I stepped inside the cavern-like room, dimly-illuminated by the glowing honey, I saw the swarm of baby bastion bees waiting there for .
The nursing bees were present too. They exchanged hesitant glances.
That made dread what was to co. I hoped it was nothing too major. After all, I was starting to get into my stride, especially having dealt with Edlyn’s fear of . For the most part, at least.
Bucky and the baby queen bastion bee moved forward. Dorien raised a curious brow, before facing .
“They look… upset. What did you do?” he asked.
“Beats ,” I said with a shrug. “That’s why I brought you here.”
“Right.”
The [Druid] went down on one knee, looking between the baby queen bastion bee and Bucky. The chicken started clucking angrily imdiately. I watched as she waved her wings at , squawking and hissing and making all sorts of noises that I didn’t think chickens were supposed to make.
Eventually, the baby queen bastion bee flitted forward, buzzing and interrupting Bucky. Dorien turned his attention to the baby queen bastion bee as she moved her mandibles like she was talking. I heard nothing but soft squeaks— almost like chirps.
And behind the baby queen bastion bee, Bucky harrumphed.
I waited as both Bucky and the baby queen bastion bee took turns talking to Dorien. Well, it was more like the baby queen bastion bee was in the middle of telling Dorien sothing, then Bucky would interrupt angrily. But the anger wasn’t directed at either the baby queen bastion bee or Dorien.
I could sense the enmity coming from the chicken, even from here.
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This continued for five more minutes. It was almost cute to watch. Especially when Bucky eventually got tired and sat down, refusing to face . And the baby queen bastion bee finished, before Dorien finally drew back from them.
“I… I think I understand now,” the [Druid] sighed, rubbing his temples.
I approached him with pursed lips. “So what is it they want?”
“It’s… a bit difficult to explain,” Dorien said, turning to . “But simply put— they want you to be more responsible.”
I paused, hearing that. I gave the [Druid] a flat stare. “I, uh, could tell that much.”
“Right, too simplistic of an explanation.” He rubbed his chin as he tilted his head back in thought. “So… basically…”
“Yes?” I asked, leaning forward.
“The baby bastion bees trust you, but they do not know if they can rely on you. They do not even know if you’re dedicated to protecting them. They feel like you… don’t actually care about them. Like they’re stuck with you, and you’re only doing this because you have to, not because you want to.”
Dorien shook his head, speaking in a low voice. I scratched the back of my head.
“That’s not exactly wrong,” I admitted, rembering how I was forced to look after them because of their mother.
And Bucky perked up, before clucking and pointing at . Like I was proving her point. She turned to the baby queen bastion bee, who tried to shush the chicken.
“Not only that—” Dorien said emphatically, shooting a glare. “But the baby bastion bees do not want you to feel that way. They want you to understand that they do not desire to leave their nest. However, they do not know how to keep you there.”
“That’s going to be hard,” I said as I drew my lips into a thin line. “Trust , I feel the sa way as they do. But things… happen.”
In the background, Bucky snorted. Like she was expecting that response from . I rolled my eyes back at her as I crossed my arms.
“Co on, you know as well as I do that I attract trouble more than spilled food attracts you.”
The chicken began to protest, before pausing. She lowered her head, acquiescing my point.
I looked towards the baby bastion bees. They were gathered behind their queen. And unlike before, they looked small.
It was clear they were babies right now.
I started to feel bad. Unlike before, they seed like monsters. Because they acted like monsters, attacking everything they saw. However, right now, they weren’t acting in any way like they did before. They were acting like babies.
And I sighed, “Look, I can’t make any promises about staying by their side at all tis. But I know they’d prefer to be closer to , even when I’m busy cooking. So… I have an idea.”
“What is it?” Dorien asked, tilting his head at .
Bucky also peered my way, curious about what I wanted to say. I shrugged as I threw out a random suggestion I ca up with.
“What about moving their hive to the inside of the restaurant?” I said, glancing at the walls surrounding us.
“You want to… what?” Dorien asked, eyes growing wide. “Do you know how long that’ll take? The bastion bees will have to disassemble and reassemble—”
“I can do it in under a minute,” I cut him off.
Dorien opened his mouth. “That’s—”
I gave him a flat stare. Bucky gave him a flat stare. The nursing bees too, gave him a flat stare.
And the baby bastion bees, wanting to join in even if they didn’t fully understand what was going on, gave the [Druid] a flat stare.
He blinked, then lowered his head. “Point.”
And I began to get to work.
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