POBee 68.1 - To Infinity...and Bee-yond!
The Second Queen of the First Dynasty of the Second Spawner, the first of her line, was about to take her turn at command when she caught sight of the King. The Conduit then came to her.
“King greeting others, come watch?”
The Second of the Second danced her salute and gave orders to the army. They formed up around her as she flew over the King.
She did not like the outsiders. They were from the beyond, where death and destruction came from. They were not born of the King, nor did they follow after his commands. They could not be trusted.
And worse, something about them rubbed the Second of the Second the wrong way. Their appearance set her on guard, stirring up instincts inherited from her mundane ancestors. They warned her of snouts and claws that could shatter the walls of hives, and of fur so thick stingers couldn’t pierce it. A monster so large and powerful an entire colony would be helpless before it as it consumed their winter stores and their young.
Fortunately, the King’s hives were not so weak, and these outsiders not so strong…for the most part. They were not as large as her instinctual warnings seemed to imply, and they had numerous gaps in their fur that could be targeted. Even if they hadn’t had those weak spots, the King’s hives were defended by soldiers far larger than any mundane bee…and with equally large stingers. There was the one who could apparently create flames as large as the King’s fire chasms who would be a threat, but the Second of the Second believed the army could bring her down with acceptable losses if they needed to.
Still, she treated them with wariness, particularly as the King began to speak with them. There was one who was particularly aggressive towards him, and it was only the King’s command that stayed the army’s hand. She did not know why the King exposed himself to such dangerous beings. They could not even speak! The sounds from their mouth lacked the warm mana of the King and so could not convey any sort of meaning.
The King, though, seemed to understand such things, so great was his wisdom and insight. So, as always, the Second of the Second deferred to him, and kept an eye out for danger. She could, however, at least understand the King’s responses, and so gathered that some sort of conversation was occurring.
“Sure, that’d be great. Anything with flowers, especially.”