Epic of Bee

Oh boy, I was going to have to get used to this, but hearing a plant talk for the first time is a bit disconcerting. I was really going to have to stick to a honey-only diet no matter which way I spun.

I couldn't very well listen to the dying screams of my salad as I ate it, and now I was going to get stress out just watching others!

"Ashia, are you okay?" Messia asked from beside me.

"Hmmm? Oh yes, just great. Did you know that I can talk with the world now? Plants included!" I complained, with all my thoughts of great food varieties drifting away.

"This little thing is a freak of nature and should take many more years before you Plant Speech should be able to detect thought in a tree. Small things like grass and vines have no mind to use, so your ability will have no effect on them," Hilda explained as she buzzed the now trembling plant that was still growing.

"Okay, and animals and monsters will be a no-go on eating, right?" I asked with a sigh, already guessing the answer.

"It wouldn't go over well with your stomach, but I can see fruits and salads in your future," Hilda buzzed hopefully.

That was something, and I looked forward to teeth and chewing things again. I had to take my small wins and my future lunch, not screaming in agony as I ate it was a win.

"Okay, so this is good; many Skunk Folk can help with farming and helping the special flowers that we need to get. Next question, what happens if I animate this plant?" I asked, not really sure if this is the one that I wanted to do or how it really worked.

"Bee careful of the plant you choose to animate. Once you choose one, they will bond with you until death, just like your pets, and they will grow with you as you do. You Plant Pets will provide you with defensive capabilities and different kinds of healing attributes," Hilda explained to me.

"Good point; I will wait then before I start picking plants. Do you think that I will get any more Plant Pet slots?" I asked.

"Not very likely, so heed my words and pick your pets wisely," Hilda said, and I nodded to her and then turned to the others that were split between watching the moving plant and me.

"This is a good thing for my people, and if I can show them this, they will be that much more likely to want to join," Miasma said, coming over to me and taking one of my arms and cuddling close to me.

Messia said she was going to go check on the others below, and I dragged Miasma over to the clear spot to see outside. I couldn't really call it a window; it was just a considerable section of the wall that was transparent.

"This is so crazy to think that just yesterday, we were making plans to invade the Weasel village. Now, they are all subjects with the Ferret people, and now hopefully your people soon as well," I said to Miasma as she leaned into me.

"I agree, and I don't think you will have to worry too much about my people, but I think that we should go help the Snake Folk after this. The SugaBees are fine for now, but we forced the snakes out of their homes, and now they are being hunted when they leave their village," Miasma explained to me.

"Really? Why didn't you bring this up before?" I asked, turning to face her.

"They don't have to leave their village normally because they produce special medicines that help with mysterious ailments, so they get a lot of traffic. Lately, I have been hearing about the hunters spreading out. They have been picking off races that stray too far from their villages, alone or in small groups. Before, something like this would have been too dangerous," Miasma said with a severe face, and I understood.

If she had told me about this before, I would have wanted to do something about it. There was an excellent chance that I would have gotten all of us killed, but now things were different.

"Okay, we will do that after we go see the raccoon for the seeds. What do you know about the Hunters? What race are they?" I asked, and I reached forward and took her by the waist, pulling her towards me with my bottom arms.

"They are Predator Races that have joined together, and they all wear strange white hooded cloaks with swirling red designs. If they have a village, I have never heard of it, and most of the people that see them don't come back to talk about it," Miasma said and then cuddled her face into one of my upper hands that I had put up.

I pulled her into a kiss, feeling and enjoying the soft press of her body on mine. I could see the village coming up, so I wanted to savor this moment while I could.

Things were about to get busy again, but we could load the people up and bring them back home after that. I was hoping that Pixie had made some progress with the hexagonal chambers she had talked about.

There was also the need for furniture and other things like that. So many different things to do; where was I ever going to find time to breathe?

'You won't have to worry about repurposing the chambers; the Royal Hive Flying Fortress System will ask you for the designation as they are being installed. You just need to provide the base shapes,' Hilda explained in my mind.

That was a huge help and would make taking people in that much easier. Building the hive was going to be a journey all on its own, and I groaned slightly from all the meetings I would have to be a part of to decide how it was going to go.

"Well, my Pretty smelling dear, are you ready to go?" I asked Miasma as I looked into her Bee-autiful sparkling amethyst eyes with her smiling warmly back at me.