Find Your Wings

Underestimated

Underestimated
Blade's Hive
He was out doing his rounds, making sure his own men returned with both wings and all four appendages intact. The work he was responsible for, in order to please his Queen, lost lives to birds, reptiles, poison and even other 'leaf sucking' insects. That one morning with those birds was constantly on his mind. He stood with pride and strength as he saw his scouts return with more captives for the Queen. By the looks of their flight pattern, it looked like they were bearing bad news. His crimson eyes narrowed as one of them came his way and bowed.

"Your flight is weak. Speak of what happened." he demanded his scout.

"Captain Blade, we have brought more meals for Her Highness, but we suffered a problem."

"What problem?"

"Sir, he came back...."

"Who came back?"

"That scarred grasshopper... He took on Flighter who almost had the Princess."

"What!? He came all the way out here?"

"We would have swarmed, but we had the captives..."

"She hungers hourly so pay no mind to that. You've done well bringing more, but I fear mere ants won't suit her for long. Also as to how this grasshopper flew all the way there."

"He has to be looking for something... Do you suppose, sir, that he's tracking us?"

"Could be. But maybe we can use some grasshopper hide. He may be able to take on one of us, but can he handle a swarm?"

"No one can."

"There you go, scout." Blade smiled at him. "Yet again, he pulled that water nonsense so it is best to watch him before any more attacks. For now, scout. Am I clear...?"

"As clear as water, sir."

"We will take care of this... locust problem. In due time. Take our quickest and go and spy the tree. Make sure no one sees you."

This swarm of hornets lived at the heart of a dying tree and it grew hollow over time they had stayed there. There was a flaky, but firm dark gray hive that hung at its center, and deeper inside the trunk there was a gathering of hornets, dragging the ants in. One of them happened to be the chief of harvest and one of the council members of Ant Island, Thorny. He believed that he and his fellow ants were going to meet their end... and they were brought far away from the island. For them, this had to be a three day hike back. Thorny looked around as they were flown closer and into this dry trunk. Underneath the entrance to the hive, they were flown into the heart of the tree into a series of tunnels. Beside him, flew two other hornets who held a forager in their sharp claws. One was a female who was in hysterics as she mothered two children back at the Island, whereas the male other was trying to fight to get free. Thorny witnessed Atta getting snagged but he couldn't find sight of her. Their captors were so much larger in scale then them, so it was smart not to patronize them. Not now anyway...

Through these tunnels, they came upon a section dug into the wood and they were all thrown into it. Inside was a eaten hole as if a termite had once lived in here. Within was not only ants, but other collected insects just waiting for their death. There were ants like them, some black and others blue. There were a couple wood white butterflies, hiding in the far corner. There was a june bug, one small cricket. Mostly, there were ants, even some foragers who were lost at the last attack. Thorny tried to look around as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. He took the weeping female worker's hand.

"To the walls, quickly!" he barked as his fellow colony members followed.

"Oh no, it will never end!" wept one of the wood whites. "They're going to come back and eat all of us!"

"There's no way out..."

"No way out?" asked one of the workers.

"You sure?" Thorny bravely pressed. "Ya gotta think. There has to be a way. A tunnel. Anything." he said, inspecting the walls.

"It's no use, ant!" the cricket poked him. "We've tried already. All of them are dead ends."

"Ain't stoppin' this guy, pal." Thorny glared before he started to climb the wall up to this one hole.

"None of us can fit..." the wood whites mentioned.

Trusting this chief harvester, his fellow members began to climb up with him.

"We'll see about that..." one of the new ants spoke before they all heard someone coming.

"Down, down! All of you down!" Thorny barked as they all dropped down.

It was a guard hornet who shot his head right in. He scanned all of them until he saw the scattering june bug.

"You. Come with me."

"No, please! Please, don't! I have a whole family!"

The ants all backed up, shocked as this hornet forced himself inside. He grabbed the hapless june bug and proceeded to drag him out. The june bug tried to reach out for them. Some ants tried to pull him back but they were whacked away by the guard's strength. They were locked inside once again, in darkness. Soon enough, there was weeping and sounds of digging. The female worker beside Thorny cried out of hopelessness.

"Thorny... How are we going to get out of this?"

Thorny was silent, frightened too.

"Others leave and they don't come back."

"We're their queen's meals, that's what!" the cricket chimed in.

"We're in some really deep dirt." Thorny shook his head, grieved of what was going to come.

They were prisoners now waiting for the word of the one Queen Hornet of this hive. She was the largest of all of her soldiers. She was blood red and sharp gold, and her wings were longer and wider than her subjects. She was a brute in strength and very lethal alone. As Blade was strong, she was stronger than he was and stood taller above him and his fellows. Blade had entered her quarters where she was managing one of her nurses. He entered, slow, as she was talking, having been called earlier after his soldier's return.

"Ah, Blade, there you are."

"Forgive me, your Grace." Blade bowed. "My ranks have returned with more food of your choice. But we have lost two scouts during our recent raids."

"Hrm... One is not worth mentioning. But two?" she spoke again, walking and talking down to her Captain. Her voice was slick, deep and it scratched slightly on the edges. "Just make sure that Island is bare for our arrival."

"I am, your Grace. I assure that I will not fail you." he replied, even though he had worried thoughts of his own. "... but, there has been ... an issue, your Grace."

"Oh? And what is this issue, Captain?"

"This is only to mention. This is a growing issue. When your order to raid the hummer berry bush rang out, there was a incident at the riverbed. It was all due to a locust, whom I thought was no problem but... this one happened to have found your desired tree, your Grace."

"A locust? Caused the catastrophe that murdered my soldiers?" she asked as she glanced back. "...and this one happened on my Island?"

"It seems so."

"A locust hardly fights back."

"I know. My men have accounted of one missing scout who met their fate with a black widow spider. They were able to learn that she was bribed by this same locust... with a scar I gave him, I'm afraid. The second account is a fight between him and Flighter, who also hasn't returned."

"One grasshopper, seven dead hornets." she seemed to think out loud. "Quite a record this one has. You've done well to mark him, yet this is also a failure of yours." she turned to him, becoming more harsh as he wings fluttered out of impatience. "In order to avenge my soldiers, you need to bring him to me and give word that my tree is cleared. Fail again, there will be an opening for a new Captain."

"Yes, your Grace." Blade nodded, not showing any sign of weakness in his tone.

"Find the locust, kill him, bring back his scar. If what you say is completely true, then I'll consider keeping you. Alive, that is."