[PRP] It actually is my Beeswax (Nanogg and Apibom)

[DraconicFeline]

Hey --

Let's do some bees-nis.

 

[DraconicFeline]

Mari chirped with relief as Nanogg left the main New Hemisect City proper, with it's overstimulating lights and constant noises.

"Y-yeah." Nanogg said, still reeling from the alien strangeness of New Hemisect city. "At least it's not Civisect city." City life was strange -- high pace, hemoconcious, and far too isolated for his comfort. How people could be so crowded together, but also not interacting with each other in a meaningful way, was beyond Nanogg's understanding. That, and how blood color made every interaction that much stranger. People assumed things about other people, just from that. Even for him, a midblood, the way total strangers treated him... it was odd. He had started to get used to the greater society of Alternia as he'd travelled through the cities and traded for crafts, but he was not used to it. He wasn't sure if he would ever be -- it was so infuriating.

The suburbs were much better.

As he meandered around the pleasant -- and less pleasant -- little hiveblocks, he felt Mari cringe, hiding behind his neck. He didn't have to ask -- he could hear it: the sound of bees. Mari... Didn't have good experiences with bees.

Something else, however, did catch his gaze -- a storefront. It was small, but it radiated an artisanal charm. And it was yellow -- honey gold, to be precise. Hefting his bag of trading goods over his shoulder, Nanogg decided to approach, ignoring his lusus' protests...  

[nepsah]

Api had seen a slight influx of business since the Superstar Authority contest- it was enough to allow them to make their storefront a little more obvious and professional. All in all, it was pretty good... if that was all they wanted in life. Fluff was certainly pleased, at least. Her many drones had plenty to do, they needed to supply Api with honey to jar and wax to craft with after all.

They were currently trying to fix up one of the signs that needed repainting when the sound of an approaching troll brought them out of their concentration. Turning a little to look over their shoulder, their eyes landed on a kid. A... tealblooded kid? They stood, setting their paintbrush aside as they put a smile on their face. "Ah, hello! Can I help you?" Teal was pretty good, not super high but better than their own caste anyway. They'd do well to treat this kid nicely and maybe it'd pay off in the future.

A few of the bee drones buzzed about them lazily, none seemed too interested in Nanogg or his own lusus for the time being.

DraconicFeline

 

[DraconicFeline]

Mari flinched at the buzzing, grabbing her child for protection. Nanogg ignored the tiny talons that increasingly dug into his neck -- it wasn't really a problem. He grinned a sincere sort of grin at the proprietor -- an older troll and a yellowblood to boot. Clearly a troll that knew how to work towards a goal.

"Yeah! I'm lookin' to buy and trade!" he said amiably, "Gimme a moment... this stuff is real nice." It was -- there was an appealing smoothness to beeswax... aside from it being, of course, useful to him in his work, it also felt nice. He admired the candles, the figures, the more practical melting wax... The honey was also a draw, too. Such a lovely color -- it was a little too sweet for Nanogg's own taste, but he knew Mari liked it. It was, she'd admitted to him once, why she was scared of bees.

Comb honey got an almost mesmerized stare. "Whoa. Bees really make their honey in these tiny little things, huh?" Nanogg picked up a container and turned it over in his hands. They were such small bugs -- sure, some lusii bees were big, but normal honey bees, Nanogg knew, were pretty dang small. How did you get all of this from such a small bug?

"That's pretty cool, right? How long does it take for a bee to make this stuff?"

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Buy and trade? Api raised one brow, maintaining the smile on their face. "Of course, take your time." They shifted a little to keep working on their sign while still being able to look after the kid. They'd learned a while back not to take their eyes off of customers for too long, no matter what color they were. The drones had gotten pretty good at watching for sticky fingers too, though. That allowed them to focus more on the sign.

"Yep! They make the combs and fill them with honey to store them for later." They looked over to... shoot, they hadn't asked for the kid's name. "Mmm, its never just one bee. The whole colony works together, you know?" They dabbed a finishing bit of paint into the sign, then started rinsing the brush out. "It takes a few weeks to make a jar's worth of honey for bees the size of my lusus." Speaking of... a few of the palm sized bees buzzed around their head as they spoke.

"I'm Apibom, by the way. Its nice to meet you."

DraconicFeline

 

[DraconicFeline]

"Wow." Nanogg breathed.

Awe.

"They really work all together, huh. For a week. Just to make... to make this... That's... so..."

Nanogg felt only awe, and a swell of emotions that somehow mixed pride, amazement, joy, and respect into one bizarre and overwhelming whole. His eyes were wide and watering with it, as he looked at the comb honey afresh. He struggled to find the word he was looking for. "Busy." was what he settled for, though it was completely, hopelessly, utterly inadequate.

"I'm Nanogg. It's nice to meet you, too." He looked at the yellowblood earnestly, "What are they like? Bees? Do they fight each other? Do they... what do they do?" Even Nanogg wasn't sure what he was asking, but it felt important. Anything that worked that hard? Was important to him.

Important enough to almost forget why he was there.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

Api couldn't help but smile a little at the kid's expression. It was kind of cute, really. They were just so used to the way honey making worked that it was refreshing to see someone else be in awe at the amount of work that went into it. "Oh, no, they don't fight each other at all." Api shook their head. "The hive is controlled by the queen, my lusus, who uses pheromones. She stays deep in the hive and lays eggs, which are cared for by some of the workers. There are workers that stay inside, and workers that collect pollen. Most of them are girls! Everyone has their job, and they tend to it without complaint. Bees talk by dancing, so they communicate with each other where the good flowers are that way... I guess the only time they really get angry is when they're threatened." They hummed, thinking over the best ways to describe things. "They're most docile when they're moving hives. Until the queen settles, they just pile up on things... it can be a little intimidating to see thousands of them just crawling or buzzing all over a fixed point but they're not aggressive in that state." Api giggled, remembering the last time they had to help their own hives move homes.

DraconicFeline