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 Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 3:20 pm
Alouette
~~~
"There we go, Allarian; you might be easily provoked, but at least you don't pout. I've never been able to stand pouting, it is such childish and annoying behavior." Smiling, Louie started down the path at Allarian's side, heading in the exact opposite of the beehive. It was nice that the hive had left them alone while they were having their earlier conversation, but Louie was done tempting fate. There were few things as unpleasant as being attacked by a swarm of agitated bees; he's take getting kicked in the face by an irate Soquili any day.
Though he was pretty sure that danger had passed, as least as far as Allarian was concerned. Larry had always been like a fire; quick to flare up, and quick to calm down. It was that combination that kept bringing Louie back whenever he felt the need to bait family; Larry could always be counted on to satisfy Louie's need to bait. "So, then, why bees?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:56 pm
Allarian
~~~
Allarian fell into step beside his father, sighing as he did so. He knew he loved his father; sometimes, he even liked him. But dang, Louie could be the most exasperating creature! It was amusingly ironic, the way Louie called pouting childish when he went about provoking others for fun. Pot calling the kettle black much? Still, Allarian was willing to be generous; he knew his father well enough to know that Louie was sincere when he said he was going to behave for a bit.
So, he was willing to fall in with Louie's olive branch. "Because bees are fascinating. They have such an intricate social hierarchy, they're incredibly skilled when it comes to navigation, they make delicious honey...they're very unique, fascinating creatures. Have you ever watched a bee do its waggle dance? They're pretty interesting to watch."
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 2:47 pm
Alouette
~~~
"Waggle dance, huh?" It was hard for Louie to keep a straight face after a comment like that, but he did his best. As he'd already told his son, he was trying to be on his best non-provoking behavior; that meant resisting, even when offered such tempting bait. After all, waggle dance? There was no way anything with a name that screwy and comical could be something to study, particularly not with the focus that his son gave all of his insect friends.
Unless Larry was yanking his chain, of course; that was a scenario Louie could get behind, and one that even his somewhat warped sense of mischief could approve of. It would be only fair; Louie had had his chance to bait Larry, now it was Larry's turn to...well, to turn the tables! And honestly, Louie didn't know anything about bugs, so whether there was any truth to this 'waggle dance' nonsense or not, he could hardly say! So if it was a prank, then it was a well executed one, other than the fact that the name was so ridiculous. Really, Larry ought to be a bit more creative when it came to naming things; it made his pranks a little less believable. He had the genes, and it was possible he had the instincts; it was only natural to think that he also had the creativity!
Unless...
Louie paused, biting thoughtfully at a lip and studying his son with a sideways glance. Really, Larry might be painfully gullible in a lot of ways, but he wasn't stupid. If he had decided to play off of Louie's (feigned) interest, then surely he would have taken the time to figure out a term that was less goofy. So by that token, the silly name had to be a real, serious thing. Unless Larry had known that Louie would give him more credit and had made up that nonsensical name on purpose just to throw Louie off the trail...
Really, this was getting ridiculous, Louie realized with a slight shake of his head. If he kept up his cyclical musings at this rate, he would tie his mind up in a pretzel; as it was, he was in danger of missing what it was that Larry was explaining. It was typical of Allarian not to notice when his audience was drifting; once that boy got into a lecture mode, then there was no stopping him short of tipping him into a pool of water! Once again trying to school his expression back into something serious, he looked over at his son as he said, "I'm sorry, Larry; I think I missed what you were just explaining there, would you mind starting over? Give your old dad and his bad ears a break?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:43 pm
Allarian
~~~
The stifled laughter in Louie's tone might have been obvious to most Soquili, but it floated by his son without notice. Allarian had always been that way; once he'd gotten focused in on the topic of bugs, insects, and things that crawled, there was little else that would hold his attention. It was this character trait that had always made him an easy target for Louie's teasing, as well as that of his brothers while they were all growing up. But for the most part, Allarian didn't care; they could tease all they wanted, it was he that got to enjoy the beauty and fascination of the insect world!
As long as they didn't interfere, of course. As Louie had just admirably demonstrated, there was nothing quite so guaranteed to provoke Allarian's temper as disruptions. But Louie had done an admirable job of settling his son back down with his interest in the bees, and Allarian was now in his educational zone. Any subtle laughter or sarcasm in his father's tone was lost on him as he launched right into the topic at hand. After all, bees were so interesting, why wouldn't his father want to know more? He himself obviously wanted to know more, or he wouldn't be staking out a beehive!
He had been engaged in a lengthy explanation of the social habits of bees when his father's voice once again broke in, interrupting Allarian's discourse on the importance of pheromones in bee communications. As a rule, Allarian didn't like interruptions; however, he could understand how a subject of this complexity could be a lot for a novice to take in. So he gave Louie a nod, backing up and starting his explanation again. He had a great deal of sympathy for the worker bees; they did so much for the hive, and ultimately got so little out of it. Ditto for the queen bee; she was waited on hand and foot, yes, but she also had to eat constantly, never really had the chance to move, and had to constantly lay new eggs! No freedom, no flexibility, no days off...
Really, the drone bees had it best, although Allarian thought he himself would be more inclined to be a worker. Drones might not have much to do outside of mate with the queen, but they were also the ones kicked out of the hive when things got rough! Workers might be little more than slave labor, but at least many of them were able to see the world beyond the hive. He often wondered whether the insects he encountered were studying him; who knew what interests they had outside of their daily chores and responsibilities? Perhaps some of them were also budding naturalists, and they were making a study of Soquili!
So with obvious enthusiasm, Allarian dove back into his explanation.
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