The wasp had been following her for three days now and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. At first she’d just thought it was angry- maybe she’d wandered into its territory or something. First she’d backed away slowly, then faster- but fleeing hadn’t done a thing. The wasp had still followed her. She’d spent most of the first day hiding underwater from it. The second day, the wasp kept getting closer and closer. She’d tried to shake it off, but it was a persistent insect. She’d tried shouting at it, glaring at it, and insulting it- but still the wasp stayed. Today she’d woken up to find it staring at her, perched on a tree branch. As she grazed, she kept looking warily at the wasp. It- was it waving at her? Or just wiggling its antennae? Could a creature like that wave? She didn’t understand wasps.A splash told her that the creature she did understand had caught its breakfast. Weird Dog was quite adept at fishing. She was proud of her caiman, despite it not accomplishing anything outside its natural instincts. As a filly, she’d always admired caimans. Their odd, bitey ways were very much in line with her own. And you had to like a creature that tough- both mentally and physically. Their mindset was admirable. So when she was well-settled, she’d gone out hunting for a friend. The swamp, she knew, was full of free caimans- she just had to find the right one. She found Weird Dog basking on a log. The caiman was very small, probably only a few weeks old, and she was such a lovely color, Half Truth just knew she had to have this one. The baby caiman had the brightest eyes she’d ever seen. Like tiny black beetles edged with gold. They stared at her, unblinking and quiet in their tiny fury. She respected the combination of cute and dangerous; it was a model she strove to emulate. Be adorable, but strong and deadly as well. Smile wide, always showing your teeth. They could be friends, even if the caiman didn’t know it yet. So, before the creature could dart away, she grabbed it and carried it home in her jaws. It wasn’t an easy task; the little caiman had flailed wildly, probably thinking that Half Truth was going to eat it. That tail, tiny as it was, had been just as sharp and whippy as it was today. Once it’d given up flailing and trying to roll away, it’d gone completely limp and Half Truth was worried it’d given itself a heart attack or something awful. But no, it was just sulking. Once Half Truth had the feral little monster home, she just began to sit with it, talk to it, and feed it. It wasn’t allowed to eat anything unless Half Truth killed it in front of her, ripped it up, and then fed it to the caiman piece by piece. The little monster wanted to hunt. She wasn’t going to let it, though, not yet. First it had to learn to accept her, and the easiest way to a creature’s heart was through its stomach. Besides, it was kind of nice, tending to another creature like that. It didn’t take long for Weird Dog to tame down; by the time the caiman was big enough to be a threat, she was perfectly loyal to her kimeti companion. They even slept together, with Half Truth resting her head against the caiman’s side or on her back.
She glanced over at the caiman, whose eyes were peeking out just above the waterline. Weird Dog didn’t seem to be bothered by the wasp’s presence. Then again, what could a wasp do to a caiman? Honestly, the thing probably couldn’t really hurt her too much- but she found herself not wanting to harm it. There was a grace to the creature, and almost a sense of… innocence? In a wasp? She shook her head- she was getting sentimental, ascribing that sort of feeling to an insect.
As she went about her day, the wasp followed. She went for a run, galloping for the sheer fun of it- the wasp was there, though she lapped it about a dozen times. She went hunting- the wasp was there. She took a nap in the water meadow- the wasp watched her. She thought about visiting a friend, but didn’t want this stray wasp to scare off one of the few kin who didn’t mind a repeat visit. She went for a swim- the wasp stayed on the bank.
By sunset, she’d accepted that the wasp wasn’t going anywhere. As she lay on a rock, watching the sun sink through the mangroves, she asked it. “You’re not going anywhere, are you?” she said, shaking her head. The wasp buzzed and edged a little closer in response. “I’m stuck with you, aren’t I?” The scritching of tiny insect feet, the hum of wings as the wasp shifted. “I see what you’re trying to do. You might as well just do it.” With a thrum, the wasp landed on her back. She craned her head back to look at it- it really was a gorgeous wasp up close. The patterns on its carapace were elegant, and its wings were such a lovely shade of gold. Delicate. Refined. She wasn’t sure why this wasp was trying to befriend her, but maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “All right. You’re here, I’m here. I’m Half Truth.” She saw nothing crazy about talking to a wasp; after all, you talked to your friends, and this animal was definitely trying very hard to be her friend. The least she could do is give it a chance?
“So… what do I call you?”