Find Your Wings

Enjoy

(Hopper's Narrative)
I thought I told him to stay with the flock. It made no sense to me that he could be all the way out here. As far as I know, anything could happen out here. Molt may have been timid but we always knew he wasn't stupid enough to just stray away. Why would he stray away in the first place? The moment I felt my blood boil, I instantly laid my aim on those hornets who started all this chaos. Back to that widow, I remembered exactly where she was supposed to be... because I needed a sticky net to make my idea work. I hardly felt bad about using her though, simply because she was going to get something out of this as much as I would. A grasshopper didn't have much when it came to natural defenses, but some intellect was just as nice as having stingers or fangs.

I flew with stealth through the grass, keeping an eye out and looking out for those red jackets. My sight in my right eye may not have been as good as my left, but I picked up on some movement with it. Right when I saw it, I ducked down under the shade of the grass, but carefully poked out. It was nothing more than a yellow, red hornet zooming through towards this one specific tree in the distance. At the sight of this guy and also to the sound of those wings, I instantly filled with hatred. Quietly, I moved out from hiding as he passed by. I was instantly on his tail. It took a strain on my wings a little, but those fledgling races were a big help in this situation. I saw him look back and I took a jolting flight over him before I used a single-legged leap fueled kick down onto his back. I got him low and he tried to rise up again, but his legs hit the top of the grass. Before I could get the lead, he avoided me and slid aside before I landed roughly. There it was, another one of those monsters. Those sharp yellow eyes locked onto mine, and he dared to rise to his feet.

"Either you're really stupid or really desperate..."

"As if I didn't hear that one before."

I had a schedule to keep. I needed some more information. He made the first move and shot at me. I delivered my jump and flew off. The widow I've met before was waiting at her moved spot where she had just finished knitting her web between two weed branches, hanging high above the ground. When she heard wings, she went low to hide herself. This idiot took the bait almost too easily, but he was quick, to say the least. I darted from side to side before making a direct dive up towards this web. Going too fast to just stop and turn all the way, the hornet got his leg snagged into the web. I kept flying a little higher, which made him get pulled back down by the trap and get even more tangled in it. It got his back, his legs and gladly, his wings were restrained. He gave a cry when little miss sass came out and hungrily grinned at him. I stood at the top of the weed, just to watch this little interaction for a little bit.

"Wait, wait! Come on! I'll cut you a deal!" the hornet began to beg the widow.

"Sorry, dear. I already made one. You're my reward."

"No! What!? No, no!"

I softly cut in, passively smirking at both of them. It was a little pleasing to see him struggle.

"Ah, ah, ah ... sorry, spazzy. She's with me." I let him in on the secret.

The hornet twisted his head towards me, in shock.

"With you!?"

"I guess you do keep promises..." the Widow smiled.

"I sure do, sweetheart." I chuckled, sharing the same satisfaction of the moment.

"You! You piece of bird fodder! I'll get you!" the hornet growled.

"Yeah. Keep trying, genius. You're not going anywhere. And since you're stuck there, maybe you can include me in on a few things." I spoke, walking along the top branch.

"Grasshopper. May I...?" the widow asked, with her stomach roaring.

"Just a sec, sweety." I grouchily told her.

"No way, grasshopper! My business isn't — ... wait," the hornet spoke, looking at my scarred face. "I- I know you..."

"Of course you know me." I darkly replied. I glared him down, that anger beginning to prickle at my features.

The hornet began to look afraid. His stinger was trapped in the dirt wall and when he pulled it out, that was when the water spewed out to strike his fellows down in one moment. He cried out his Captain's name, which was now one of his top regrets he was living with now. That scratched eye was his Captain's gift to this grasshopper. He knew now that he was done for. He was this widow's lunch.

Now I was able to see it. He was there, that morning. I remained passive, and slowly knelt low to be level with him, merely smiling.

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it?" I softly asked.

"N-now - now, let's not get hasty! I-I can explain —"

"Why?" I bluntly asked, standing back up. "There's nothing to explain. You are one of those who swarmed into a territory that clearly wasn't yours to take —"

"Please!"

"Shut up. At least let me finish what I have to say. That's the very least you could do!"

The hornet scout shrunk even more, at my voice and the fact that the black widow was now inching closer to him.

"... answer me this." I continued. "What is it exactly are you guys looking for? Who gave you the idea to come there, uninvited?"

"I won't tell you!"

"Oh yes, you will." I growled under my breath as I hovered in front of him to grip one of his trapped wings. "Where is he going!?" I hissed, determined.

"No, please!" he cried when I pulled harder.

"I will pull both wings off if you don't spill, buddy. Take it or leave it. Not like you're going to need them anymore."

To my surprise, he started laughing through that well-deserved pain.

"Now I remember.... There were two of you. Ain't that right? Wasn't he with her?"

Anger flowed through me.

"Saw a bird get one of you. Could've been him..."

Alongside the torture of having to remember Flitter lying there in pain and the fact that he dared to mention Molt, I let my hatred inspire my next decision. I yanked that wing right out of the socket! He gave an agonized scream before I shut him up by gripping my claw around his throat.

"You just proved just how stupid you all really are!" I hissed, with impassioned rage. "Like I said... you're not going anywhere. You're going to tell me where he is headed. Now."

The hornet knew that he was going to die. His gold eyes went from the widow and then to me. Slowly, he smiled tiredly. I remedied that and pulled his other wing.

"You win, grasshopper. A-ah! You win, you win! There's this tree our Queen has eyes on, that stands up pretty high... in the middle of a creak crossing through. "About twenty yards west from here.... Gah!" he yelped when I released his other wing.

I stared coldly down at him as I flew back and stood on the opposite branch. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

The scout hung his head as the widow took a look at me with an impressed grin. I was not smiling back, but it was clear that I wasn't the type to do favors for just anybody. As promised, she got something to tide her over. That was it. I nodded to her, giving her a somewhat decent farewell.

"Enjoy." I told her, straightforwardly, as I coldly looked at that sorry morsel for the last time.

The color left the scout's face before I jumped away and flew.