If I forced myself to be still any harder, my body would turn into stone. Yes, that would've been nice. It would've saved from the mouse.
As it was, I waited with bated breath as the sound of its claws hitting wood grew closer and closer. A glowing red silhouette closed the entrance to my hollow, and I bated my breath as it tried to reach inside with one of its long, sharp claws. It touched the wood just centitres away from , but couldn't get in farther and, after several seconds of probing, retracted. Then the light hit the entrance to the hollow again.
My body sagged in relief. I was safe. Safe. Not dood to fail for one last ti because of so stupid bad luck. Next ti I will be extrely careful with any weird animals I might find—
Sound of chipping wood put on alert again. I lifted my gaze to see the mouse chewing through the sides of my hollow with its incisors like it was barely harder than one of its favourite grains. It was only a matter of ti until it will widen the hollow enough to get to , and I couldn't do anything. I was trapped.
Only two choices lay in front of . To wait in despair for my imminent death—search in defiance for an opportunity to escape again. And for , despair was never an option.
For a mont, I watched as the mouse's pink, animated nose poked into the hollow as it continued to chew through it. I only had so much ti before it will widen the entrance enough to reach for with its claw, and this… this looked like my best opportunity.
Instead of staying away from the mouse, I crawled towards it. Closer and closer I approached, my stinger ready, as the mouse kept chewing. Too busy to notice , or too busy to react. Its mistake.
I raised my stinger and buried it to the very base into the mouse's vulnerable nose, pumping it full of my poison. I had no illusion that this will be even close enough to kill it, so I imdiately pulled the stinger out.
The mouse recoiled with a furious squeak, montarily opening the way out of the hollow—and I imdiately flew out. I dashed like an arrow, and then dropped to the ground like a stone when the mouse jumped after .
It missed just narrowly, but then fell right into brambles again with another loud squeak. As I held no illusions by now that this will stop it, I used the ti I got to put so distance between us. The chase continued.
There was just nothing else left for but to fly, fly, fly away. The noise and the magic emanating from the mouse scared away anything else that might've wanted to eat , but it was a small consolidation.
I grew tired. My wings felt leaden. My tiny beetle body wasn't built for flying on hours on end. I knew that if I won't rest soon, I will start burn through my free EXP to not drop with exhaustion.
A sharp sll of at hit my antennas, and I made a ninety degrees turn towards its source before I even realised what I was doing. Since the direction of flight made little difference to , as long as it was away from the creature on my tail, I kept on.
My antennas brought to a small adow, where lay a huge carcass of so animal. A few birds already were picking at it with enthusiasm, but there was still enough left to sate my present hunger. To give enough EXP to transform into a bird… If not into a horned mouse, just like the one that chased .
The creature barrelled to the adow a couple second later, scaring the birds—and —away. Tears would've sprung to my eyes if I had tear ducts. All that free EXP, just lying there, and I couldn't stop to get and eat it!..
'Why are you so unfair to , world? Why?' I scread inwardly, cursing the existence and the mouse intent on killing . It was a mistake.
A drop of water fell next to , almost brushing my wings, but I was too busy flying to think twice about. Then another passed dangerously close to my flying path. Then another hit straight on my head, sending plumting for half a second before I straightened my flight.
I felt with my antennas as the amount of moisture in the air increased. I heard with my ears as the insects quietened, each finding so nook or cranny to hide in. Even the birds quietened their songs and calls.
In minutes, the rain began to fall in earnest, rciless droplets threatening to bring down, to smash into the ground, to leave on the rcy of my pursuer. I knew from my previous experiences during the days, weeks, spent as an insect, that I couldn't fly during rain. But I had to.
I stuck closer to the trees, hiding shelter in their canopy, and for a short while, I had it—but it was an unreliable one. In growing panic, I thought about what else I could do. I knew I won't run away from the mouse on my legs, but maybe, maybe there was sothing else to do—
A flash of blue between the trees was my answer. I strained my wings against air and water and flew there, towards the lake I saw. My new hope, as mice couldn't breathe underwater.
The problem was, neither could I.
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