[PRP] The Bee Sting [Apibom + Mesnei]

[nepsah]

Mesnei learns what Bees are...

The hard way

 

[nepsah]

The field near Apibom's house was beginning to come into full bloom. This of course meant that their lusii were hard at work, pollinating flowers and then returning to their hives to create honey. While they normally didn't like sitting still and doing nothing, on this particular night they had nothing else to do, so they followed the stream of white bees toward the field to watch them at work. If Fluff had her way, they would do this for the rest of their life. Tend to the hive and provide honey and wax for others to use. That was their lot in life.

The field had one shade tree growing from a slightly elevated hill. They headed for it and set up underneath it on the ground to watch. The hive had grown quite large, it was probably time for some of them to leave and make a new hive somewhere else. Would their queen take in another troll? Api was not sure if they liked the thought of that. As they sat and observed, they noticed that they were not the only troll in the area. Though they couldn't quite make out what the other troll looked like, it was clear that whoever they were, they'd come to enjoy the flowers. Api decided that they would just watch from afar- they weren't really in the mood to talk.

quite uneventful

 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei liked flowers. Ever since buying those flowers from the brown blood, Mesnei had become captivated by their delicate nature and their sweet smell. There were such thing as underwater flowers, but she couldn't smell them like she could now. They got all soggy and ugly when she brought them underwater as well.

So Phelie, deciding to please the sulking child just a little decided to bring her to a flower field. Mesnei had begged her for it, and while Phelie wasn't one to relent, they felt this could be a learning experience. She could get her fill of flowers without having to buy them. Mesnei was positively delighted. While Phelie would usually berate her for enjoying something so trivial and simple, tonight, they let her have fun. They let her enjoy! So Mesnei ran through the field in a rush of unbridled childish energy, loving the ground under her feet and the flowers around her. She ran and ran and twirled and jumped, filled with a childish excitement she hadn't been allowed to have until then. She smelled and picked a few, putting them in her hair and nodding approvingly.

While Mesnei was fairly certain they had only agreed to this because there were no other trolls in the area, Mesnei allowed herself to believe she'd been allowed because Phelie had become a little more accepting. Mesnei plucked some flowers and placed them on Phelie's tentacles, giggling all the while. Phelie seemed unamused. Mesnei shuffled to get more flowers, only to hear a loud, obnoxious buzz next to her fin. She tensed immediately and saw it was a black and yellow insect, buzzing and... What was it doing to the flower?! It was her flower! It couldn't touch her things! She kicked at it in a jealous rage, mouth tightened in anger. "Mine!" She hissed, realizing she hadn't hit it, deciding to use her hands and swat what she could. What she didn't realize was that it had flown straight onto her hand, and she felt the distinct feeling of pain shoot through her hand.

Mesnei shrieked, purple tears bubbling to her eyes as she began to whine and cry, searching everywhere for what did it. There was a large, disgusting welt on her wrist. Mesnei was angry and hurt, but she didn't know what she could do about it, so she just wailed.

 

[nepsah]

Whoever was down there seemed to be having the time of their life. Api felt a little,... weird, watching. It seemed wrong to observe someone having that much fun without them knowing about it. So, they'd at some point decided to try and take a nap. Or something. It wouldn't hurt to take a small one outside of a 'coon, would it? They hadn't really tried before- usually they avoided being so... still.

But the nap did not happen. It had almost happened, but a shrill scream jolted them right before they'd fallen asleep. They sat up, eyes wide and panicked as they looked around for the source. Below, the other troll was looking around frantically. Nearby, swarms of bees began to collect. Oh no. They'd caught the scent of a dead sister that had stung someone. That many bees would be bad news for anyone- Api's lusii were small, but collectively quite dangerous.

They pushed themself to their feet and began to trot down the hill, arms waving a little. "Waaait! Stop!!" They called out- mostly to the building swarm. Hopefully they would listen- the drones always had a harder time understanding spoken word than Fluff did. But they didn't have time to dance instructions to them. As they approached the other troll, they spotted the fins framing their face...
Oh no.
Oh no.

They'd never met a seadweller in person before, and this was NOT how they wanted to do it. Still frantically waving at the swarm, they kept running. "I'm sorry! They're not smart enough to know better!" They hoped the seadweller would buy that and not be exceedingly angry. It seemed their waving had attracted the swarm's attention. The buzzing was quite loud as they hovered nearby, but at least they weren't attacking the other troll or their lusus. "I--I have some o-ointment for that, um- one second please- I have to make them go away." They wanted to get out the ointment first, but... it was better to deal with their angry lusii first. They didn't do a real dance, just a couple of motions they'd managed to teach them. Soon enough, the swarm slowly began to dissipate.



 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei was not used to getting hurt by outside forces. The only thing that could hurt her and get away with it would be Phelie, and that was because they had good reason to do so. She liked to misbehave. But right now, she hadn't been misbehaving, and Phelie hadn't hurt her. The bee stung her, and that hurt. She kept wailing, hiccuping and sniffing and rubbing her eyes under they were swollen and pink. She wanted to kick more things, to hurt something— Her mouth curled into a snarl, eyes opening a little so she could see where she'd scream at— Until she saw a large, threatening shadow on the ground. Her eyes slid up, widening. She let out another loud shriek, putting her hands up defensively as Phelie's tentacles unfurled menacingly, standing their ground and ready to lash out one of their killer tendrils. This was but a minor hiccup.

Both lusus and child were startled at the sound of another troll rushing toward them with flailing arms, yelling something Mesnei could not understand. One thing was clear— They were a yellowblood, and Mesnei had no use for a yellowblood right now. Phelie was about to fight! Mesnei rubbed her eyes more, scrunching up her face and releasing a grumpy huff. Phelie relaxed some as the other explained, but Mesnei wasn't buying it. Mesnei grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms and cradling her sting. "I still think we should cull it...!" Mesnei pouted at Phelie, rubbing at her tear damp eyes in frustration. She watched them move around a little, when something in Mesnei's head clicked. She'd seen this troll before. She hadn't done much in Bloodfest, but she did remember a dancing booth Phelie said she couldn't go to. Too much needless pity, and dancing wasn't important anyways.

Mesnei watched, still sore from getting stung, but definitely in awe over their mastery over the insects. Mesnei stared at the dissipating swarm, eyes wide and interested. Phelie was content. They didn't need to spend any more time there, but Mesnei needed that ointment, and she wanted to know more about this dumb creature. "What is all this?" Mesnei asked, looking wet-eyed and weepy, but trying to compose herself. "Why are those things trying to hurt my flowers? Who are you? What are those?!"

 

[nepsah]

Oh boy. Ohhh boy. The seadweller's lusus had looked about ready to kill them for a moment there- but thankfully things seemed to have calmed down. They began patting themself to figure out which pocket the ointment was in-- after finding it in one of their sweater's pockets, they pulled it out and held it up for both troll and lusus to see. The questions caught them off guard-- what... what were they? Why were they trying to hurt the flowers? Api blinked a couple of times, visibly tripping over the questions before finally springing back to life.

"Oh..! Um, they're bees, uh- and they aren't hurting the flowers- they land on them and gather pollen to take to other flowers so there can be more flowers later 'cause that's their job." They figured that would be the easiest explanation. "I-I'm Apibom- those are my lusii. I'm sorry one of them stung you... Here, may I please see your hand?" They extended one of their own. It felt weird using such polite language, but that was necessary in this situation... right?

"She might have left a stinger in there... so we gotta pull that out first..." Api glanced around at the ground- looking for the bee in question. She was probably dead by now, the question was whether Api should tell the seadweller that or not. "Can I know your name?"



 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei watched them pat themselves all around, feeling a little less panicky but sniffling some at the sight of the ointment. The seadweller pouted a little before looking at the flowers worriedly and huffing. "Their job...?" Asked the seadweller-- She hadn't thought such mindless creatures even had lives, let alone jobs. How quaint. "Your lusi." Mesnei murmured, baffled. She didn't think Phelie was even that strong, but then again, Phelie was something else... She wrinkled her nose and sniffled, rubbing her eye and releasing a shudder as purple drops fell from her eyes uncontrollably. "W-why should I trust you?" Their hand was outstretched and they actually seemed worried, but Mesnei felt that was less because of her being hurt, more because they didn't want Phelie to hurt them. She looked at her hand, seeing a small bump on it and feeling her breath picking up. This had never happened to her before. Phelie had always told her to be careful with small cuts and bruises. They were the most dangerous.

Mesnei wanted to cry more, but Phelie was there, so she needed to be strong. She held her breath and thrusters her hand out before hearing a response from Apibom. This was what lowbloods were for, right? "M-Mesnei." She stuttered, attempting to sound strong again, but only managing to keep the tears in. Her eyes were swollen and she was still sniffling. "D-do it." She stated, mouth scrunched up as she stared at the small bump with slight paranoia. What if her hand fell off? Who knew what weird landdweller things would destroy her?!?

 

[nepsah]

"Yes, their job. They help make more flowers." Api repeated, slowly, unsure if the other kid was going to accept their offer to help or... get them into a load of trouble. "Well, um..." They hadn't expected that question. Why should they be trusted? Before they could reply, the seadweller had held out her hand. Carefully, Api took it and leaned in to examine the swelling wound. "It looks like the stinger is still there..." They frowned, and pocketed the ointment again and then brought out a pair of tweezers - always necessary for lusii like their own.

"I'm sorry Mesnei, um, this will hurt a little but I have to pull it out or it will just go deeper." They gave her a most apologetic look, then carefully began to extract the stinger as quickly as they could. They knew how much it hurt- the swarm was not above stinging them if they misbehaved. Once it was out, they pocketed the tweezers again and then got out the ointment. The uncapped it, then dabbed a little bit of it onto the bump before gently rubbing it in. "I have some band-aids too if you would like one. It will help protect it so nothing gets in." They just hoped Mesnei's patience hadn't come to an end after all that...



 

[quite uneventful]

"Make... More?" Mesnei didn't want to believe them, but why else would they be there? Or maybe-- Maybe they were destroying flowers, with their dumb stingers and their yellow weirdness. Mesnei didn't want to believe they were helping them, mostly because she didn't want to believe she was wrong. She was never wrong, but apparently, landdwellers seemed to always make her wrong. Mesnei hated being wrong! The moment Apibom pulled out the tweezers, Mesnei wanted to run. That was to pull her fins off, wasn't it!! Landwellers were so weird, they wanted to put them in pain!! Didn't they!!!???

Apparently not. Mesnei squeezed her wet eyes shut before she felt the painful grabbing and pulling. She teared up a little more before feeling a cooling sensation on said finger. Mesnei looked up at them with curious eyes, then focused on her finger. It looked... alright? She still had it, and that was what was important. She looked back at Apibom before putting her finger down slowly and looking at the ground, a little embarassed over her own behavior. She looked to the side before murmuring to herself-- "What are bandaids?" It was quiet and small, and Phelie merely looked at Mesnei with disdain. She was conducting herself in such a pathetic manner, it made Phelie sick. They would be leaving soon.

 

[nepsah]

"Yes, make more." Api nodded in response, watching Mesnei carefully to see if they needed to... make a run for it? They probably wouldn't get very far- as athletic as they were, they were sure they couldn't outrun an angry lusus. "They um... they take pollen from one flower and put it on another one, and that helps.. ummm.. that helps the flowers make more flowers." Api hoped that was enough of an explanation- it was very simplified but it was the best way they knew how to explain it.

It seemed that Mesnei was not going to lash out, so they chanced a small smile. "How 'bout I show you?" They pulled out a little box of them, each one had cutesy designs. "These are band-aids.. Umm, I have... bunnies, bees, kittens, and puppies." They held up an example of each one for Mesnei to look at. "Do you want one? We just put it over the sting so its covered."



 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei's mouth scrunched up, trying to make sense of what they said but ultimately not getting it. She lifted her nose a little. "I'm going to have to see how that works!" She huffed, but Phelie's patience was growing thin. Phelie didn't want her hanging around this yellowblood more, she'd grow too soft. Mesnei was still a gullible little wiggler, and Phelie needed to remedy that somehow. Mesnei, however, was not paying attention to Phelie, eyes snapping to the bandaids, eyes widening before becoming soft, eager. "G-gimme that one!!" She pointed at the hopbeasts, but really, the more she looked at the others, the more she wanted them. Her finger then moved to the other ones, and Mesnei frowned a little. She actually.... wanted them all. She looked down at the only injury she had— her finger. She wanted to wear more bandaids, but she wasn't hurt. And Phelie would get mad at her if she got more than one without purpose.

Mesnei considered hurting herself, but then remembered how painful it was to remove the stinger in the first place. She was faced with a sudden dilemma. "I-I... Mmnnhmmnn..." Mesnei's nose scrunched up this time, trying to think of a way to get them all with out Phelie freaking out on her. "U-uuhhhh..."

 

[nepsah]

Api blinked, but nodded, still smiling a little. They were sure that Mesnei could see it- the bees were pretty obvious about rolling around in the flowers before buzzing off to the next one, after all. With their attention on Mesnei, they didn't really seem to notice that Phelie was getting irritated. After all- if the charge was happy, surely the lusus wouldn't lash out... right?

Api started to put the others away, but... Mesnei seemed to have trouble deciding which one to take after she'd announced wanting the hopbeasts. Aha- this was a good opportunity to make up for the sting in the first place. "How about..." They started, as they stacked the other three together, leaving the hopbeasts separate from them. "How about you take all of them, and when this one goes bad, you have others to replace it!" They hoped that sounded good. "Band-aids on fingers wear off really easily so it will be good to have back-ups. At least until it starts to look better. Here- do you want me to put it on?" They held up the hopbeast band-aid, in case Mesnei wanted to do it herself.



 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei wasn't focused on the flowers or the bees enjoying the pollen around them— She was thinking too hard on what strategy she's use to get all options of bandaids. When Apibom began to stack them all one over the other, Mesnei's eyes ripped from the bandaids, confused and a little hurt. Then she realized Apibom was giving them to her. Her eyes went wide, mouth gaping. She wasn't going to reject this, no siree!

Phelie, however, had other plans. They allowed one tentacle to fall directly onto a flower, appearance imposing and dangerous. There were no bees near the flower, but the act in itself was a threat. They didn't appreciate the gift, even though Mesnei was already bouncing up and down and thrusting her hurt finger out at them, nodding excitedly for Apibom to put the hopbeast bandaid on their finger. "I want it!! I want it!!" She beamed happily. While she hadn't forgotten the pain from the sting and still blamed Apibom for ALL OF IT, giving her this was lessening her pain. Sorta.

 

[nepsah]

Api couldn't help but smile a little wider, pleased that Mesnei was reacting so positively to their offer. They did not miss Phelie smooshing a nearby flower, though. Their eyes darted to the tentacle, then up at the lusus for a split second - all with their smile plastered in place - then back to Mesnei. They... well they couldn't very well tell her never mind now could they? Surely this lusus understood... that...? Hopefully? Suddenly they could feel their pusher begin to speed up.

"Hold still, please. Fingers are tricky." They tried not to sound too nervous - though their voice wavered a little as they peeled open the packaging on the hopbeast bandaid. As quickly as possible, they wrapped it around the sting, and then pocketed the wrapper. They then held out the rest of the band-aids for Mesnei to take. "H-here, if the hopbeast one starts to get too loose or dirty you can replace it with these." Again their eyes darted nervously to Phelie, but... really, though. They couldn't just take back a gift, not a gift to a seadweller anyway.



 

[quite uneventful]

Mesnei watched carefully, watching the careful way the bandaid was spread on her finger. It was truly a marvel, watching the small bunnies come to life upon her skin as her eyes widened. It was sticking to her skin! Like a suckworm, but... not sucking anything! Mesnei scratched at it a little before seeing a small bit of it rise up and then quickly smoothing it down and looking back up at Apibom. "This is really..." Mesnei didn't know what word to use. All the articulate words she knew paled in comparison to how cool this was. Wait. "Cool!! Yes!"

Mesnei seemed extremely excited, and looked up at Phelie, showing them her finger and the extra bandaids with a smile before realizing Phelie seemed irritated and unpleased as they began to hum. Mesnei tensed and deflated some, smile fading, remembering who she was and how she was supposed to be acting. She wanted to protest, but a tentacle curled around a flower and choked the life out of it, petals falling helplessly off the delicate being. Mesnei's eyes went blank, unreadable. "Thank you." She said emptily, looking at the flowers around her and reminding herself this visit was more than something to make her happy. It was to remind her that this could all go in seconds.

This was weak.

She needed to be strong.

Mesnei looked longingly at the meadow behind Apibom, opening her mouth and closing it. She pursed her lips, crossing her arms, eyes focusing back on Api. "For the ban-daids. Yes." Mesnei nodded, then looked back at Phelie. They were already leaving. "I think, I have had all the flowers I need for a while. Yes. See you." Mesnei gave them a hasty wave of her hand before turning around and walk-running after her lusus, trying to look dignified while also nervous and anxious.

Mesnei wasn't hatched for the rose or the soft things. She was there to become strong. And strong she would be.