1

Dawbie arrived at the meeting spot, chest heaving as his lungs struggled to expand fully. The Baphomet slowed, wiping a hand across his forehead as he clutched his bag to his chest. Qasim had gone on ahead to try and catch the bugs for their project while Dawbie scuttled back to his dorm to collect his colouring gear. Now that he had all his pencils and sketchbook, he felt like he could properly fulfill his half of the project.

Glancing around, Dawbie tried to find his partner. He could hear somebody huffing and the sound of grass rustling, but the baphomet didn't see anybody in the immediate area.

Taking in as deep of a breath as possible, Dawbie slowed his pace to a leisurely walking speed, keeping his eyes peeled for the hallowed child.

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Qasim couldn't hear Dawbie approaching. His focus was too tightly controlled. He had found plenty of bugs, sure. But he wanted to find cool ones for the project. Ones that would stand out against the other kids' specimens.

"HIYAAAH!" Qasim shouted as he leaped at a particularly fascinating bug. Its wings fluttered as it tried to dodge Qasim's grip, just narrowly escaping. Qasim's jagged mouth split open as he growled ferociously, a scene painted vividly across his vision as he imagined himself as a predator stalking its prey.

It would have its prey. Qasim would capture it and reign supreme.

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2

Dawbie froze suddenly. There was a loud 'hiyaaah' that had come from somewhere incredibly close by that had spooked him. Was it Qasim? Was he much closer then Dawbie had originally perceived? The Baphomet's head swiveled around sharply, trying to find the source of the sound. As he turned his head to the right, he spotted a flash of colour and the sight of four eyes as Qasim leapt out of the tall grass.

It had started Dawbie, but at least now he knew where Qasim was.

"Any luck?" The Baphomet called, wading through the stomach-high grass to join Qasim.
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The litch huffed angrily as one of the bugs he had been chasing fluttered off as Dawbie came pushing through the grass. He didn't lash out, however, and instead straightened himself out. He too was puffing, sweat beads dripping down from his hair line and trickling down the sides of his cheeks. It was hot. Way hotter then the boy cared for, and while the initial idea of hunting for bugs had been quite thrilling, Qasim secretly wished they had just been allowed to google images of the insects instead. Drawing them from a source that stood still seemed way easier then having to catch them themselves, in retrospect.

"You scared it off ... " Qasim huffed, scratching at his wet, matted hair as he grumbled.

3

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Dawbie pouted slightly at the boy's near scolding. That was the kind of behavior that Dawbie would have expected from a caretaker or an adult, but not from a peer. The baphomet rolled his shoulders slightly, giving a soft exhale through his nose as he watched Qasim quietly for a moment. They boy seemed flustered. It was Dawbie's guess that he hadn't caught a single bug in the hour that Dawbie had been locating his things and transporting them. It looked as though the other freshling's patience was running thin.

"Anything at all yet ... ?" Dawbie asked, a hint of cautiousness in his voice.

--

Qasim didn't think to look Dawbie in the eye, and at the Baphomet's question, the litch gestered to a rather large rock peeking through the blades of grass, the container sitting in plain sight. Inside there looked to be something movie. Two somethings, in fact. One rapidly fluttering about, while the other looks far slower, if it was even moving at all. "Take a look for yourself." Qasim panted as he turned to head deeper in to the grass. He just needed to catch one more ... then his part was done. Qasim just hoped that Dawbie would be able to get the drawings done in time. Luckily they had a couple of days to get it done, but the sooner the boys got the project done, the sooner they could just enjoy whatever they wanted.

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4

Dawbie watched as the boy disappeared in to the thicker grass, eyes drifting over to the bug cage. If he had to guess, the fast moving one had to be some sort of fast moving dragonfly, while the other ... a snail ... or perhaps a beetle? It was hard to tell from the present distance.

Dawbie shrugged to himself and made his way towards the rock. It would be the perfect spot to sit and draw the specimens that Qasim had collected thus far. All things considered, the day was quite beautiful, although a bit warm. It was the perfect kind of day for just ... sitting around and sketching.

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He had no idea how much time had passed now, bit Qasim was exhausted. Bug after bug, it felt like each insect and arachnid was purposefully toying with him, trying to avoid his sharp bone claws, or just ... avoiding capture period. Finally, at long last, Qasim had cornered a rather peculiar looking beetle that had two different sets of horns. He had never seen anything like it before!

Acting swiftly, Qasim jumped forward as silently as he could, clamping his hands down around the beetle.

"AHA!" Qasim cried victoriously as he got to his feet and bolted back towards Dawbie.

5

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Dawbie lifted his head from his spot on the rock, setting his pencil down as he heard the victory cry of his friend. He lifted his eyes just in time to see Qasim running over to him, hands held about his head with a grin across his face. Clearly, the boy had caught their last insect needed for the project. Dawbie grabbed for the cage, pulling it on to his lap just as Qasim closed the distance.

Carefully, Dawbie opened it, mindful that the flyer didn't attempt to take off as Qasim stuffed the other creature in to the cage.

"Well done!" Dawbie congratulated, setting the cage back down beside him.

--

Qasim couldn't keep himself from grinning from ear to ear. He had done it. He had finally caught the three bugs they needed. Now all that was left to do was to sit down, and maybe have some water. Oh, and wait for Dawbie to finish sketching and colouring everything.

Dawbie went back to his artbook as Qasim lifted himself on to rock, scooping the cage in to his lap. He lifted the cage to his four eyes, examining it. Yes. All three of them were quite distinct from one another. Proud of his work, Qasim sat the cage in his lap and leaned over Dawbie's shoulder to watch him draw.

The two made a good team.