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 Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 7:00 am
Quote: Insidious Insects (18 ) : In the first week of July, the area around the tree is just buzzing. The call of the cicadas is loud and droning, and it’s constant. You start to hear it all over town, too. All sorts of insects seem attracted to the strange pods, and it’s not uncommon to find nearly any species curiously investigating. If you listen closely, you notice something else strange–it’s not just the bugs that you see making the familiar call of the cicada. It seems like it’s coming from inside the pods, too. Any pod that wasn’t leaking sap suddenly begins to snap open, and giant cicadas, crawl out. Their full wingspan can reach up to a foot and they’re hungry–and angry. It seems like the pods that were leaking sap were slowly rotting, but the ones that didn’t leak were being eaten from the inside out–and now that the cicadas have run out of food, they’re out for anything they can find. Though there are several notable differences between these insects and the common cicadas, their low, chirping wail makes them easy to find–as well as the fact that they spit acid. These bugs are incredibly hostile and will attack indiscriminately, powered or unpowered, human or alien, day or night. They have a protective shell that makes them easy to crush but they’re hardly the most menacing foe you’ve faced–but if they reproduce, you could be in some real trouble. Better to crush them now before they become Destiny City’s next invasive species…
Summer meant bugs, sure, but it wasn’t supposed to mean this many. There was a loud, obnoxious droning sound and Belmont could not shake the sensation of hot breath on his neck. Realistically, he knew he was alone out here. There hadn’t been an energy signature in over ten minutes–unless you counted the aura of a Squire that he’d just happened upon, but he was still heading in that direction so he knew they weren’t responsible for this overwhelming, suffocating sensation.
Usually, he liked summer. For some reason, tonight was miserable.
He felt like bugs were crawling all over his skin and he was certain that he kept hearing rustling in the trees and bushes–so much so that he thought it was just about guaranteed that something was going to jump out at him.
He definitely saw things moving in the shadows, and while he liked a good adrenaline spike, this was starting to just feel dangerous.
It was better to be safe than sorry, so he’d bee-lined for the Squire he felt.
Thankfully, he found her before trouble found him.
Even more thankfully, he already knew her.
Belmont saw her and immediately waved as he trotted over. “Oh! Connie, hey. What are you doing out here, is everything okay?”
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 12:15 pm
Trouble might not have found Belmont first, but it found her first. And she was incredibly grateful that he was there, because she did not want this bug on her.
“Help, help!” she sobbed when he called out to her, and she practically threw herself on him with absolute faith that he would catch her while she tried keeping her balance as she aggressively shook the bottom of her dress.
“It’s trying to crawl up! It won’t let go, and it’s big, and I was only looking at it but it was so angry and just attacked me!” she sobbed, in clear distress as she once again shook the skirt, and then shrieked as it buzzed angrily back at her.
The giant cicada was stuck between the layers of her outfit and she had no idea how to get it off without powering down, which she thought she might end up having to do at this rate. But that was okay, because she knew Belmont and he was great and he helped her before!
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2023 6:28 pm
Oh, crap, that didn’t look good. What had Connie gotten into out here?
He didn’t waste time trying to figure that out; as soon as he realized she was in trouble, he rushed towards her. He held his arms open and caught her immediately. “I’ve got you,” he said, but he had no idea what she was talking about.
All he knew was that she was asking for help and crying about something crawling up and–
“I’m sorry, don’t be mad,” he said; it was all the warning he could give before he tried to rapidly pat down her legs–until he found it.
A giant, hard shelled, lumpy, wing-flapping something.
He almost recoiled in disgust but she needed help and he wasn’t going to condemn her to some perverted bug.
He yanked the top layer of her dress up and did as much as he could to secure her modesty but he saw legs and knew that he could get this thing off of her.
He wished he had full gloves, but he wasn’t scared of a bug–no matter how big it was. He just had to pretend it was a turtle or something. Scurrying across the middle of the road, just a little critter who needed a little boost. Or something.
It sounded mad, though.
He gripped its body with both hands and yanked as hard as he could.
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:54 am
Belmont found the bug, and Connie was eternally grateful! But the bug was pissed and buzzed with even more aggression than before, and Connie shrieked as she felt it clawing through the fabric -- did bugs have claws?? They had those big pincers, right? Did this one? She didn’t want to know! She just wanted it off!
She couldn’t possibly be mad at him for helping her, and although the creature managed to tear at her dress, she quickly scurried behind Belmont once she felt it be ripped free.
“Thank you, thank you!” she sobbed, quickly reaching for his arm to cling to and try to pull him away from wherever he threw the bug.
It didn’t seem like the bug was done with them yet, though. It seemed to right itself as it was thrown, and although a bit dizzy, and with scraps of Connie’s clothes in its creepy buggy feet, it seemed to know exactly which way to start buzzing and spitting at them.
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2023 5:55 pm
“What the–” Belmont had his weapon in his hand and stood between the bug and Connie as best he could. He swung at it and though he missed the first time, it was enough to send the bug in a different direction–at least temporarily. “Where did you find this thing?” He wasn’t afraid of it, but what bug spit–was that acid? Why was it burning? It only got on his hand, but it was still enough to make him flinch. He hadn’t even realized it had hit him until it was circling back around. The stinging sensation wasn’t enough to do more than annoy him for now, but he was worried about how corrosive it was so he wanted to get it off of him as soon as possible. There was a part of him that might have considered letting the bug go until it made it very apparent that it wasn’t going to rest any time soon. He was still getting used to the weight of the ball at the end of his flail, but certainly it was enough to hurt a bug, no matter how big it was. Still, it wasn’t exactly easy to hit a moving object, so after the second attempt, he decided he needed a new approach. He swore under his breath and said, “Stay close to me.” He’d give up on hitting the bug, for now, and hit the ground, instead. He had magic, after all. The sound of faint, magical thunder echoed around them–a surefire sign that he’d made contact–and a fierce storm erupted around him. He was safe, and Connie was, too, but the wind whipped around them with such force that it could have knocked a full size person to their feet. What chance did a bug have? The rain was cold, and thunder rumbled around them for as long as he channeled the storm. At the very least, it brought them a brief reprieve. A best case scenario would be the winds flinging the bug into a tree with enough force to disintegrate it. He wasn’t hopeful but he could dream. For now, at least, it gave him a second to scrub his burning hand. The fabric was nearly falling off and his skin was red and agitated already.
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2023 8:09 am
“I was looking for fireflies!” Connie sobbed as she hid behind Belmont and let him use his really effective and cool magic. Her leg hurt from where the bug was trying to climb up it, but she didn’t have to worry about it while Belmont was fighting off the mean, scary bug for them.
She felt a little silly, needing help against a bug, but she was super thankful that he showed up when he did.
But she also felt horrible that he got hurt from helping her.
“Oh no, that looks bad, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed again in distress, watching as the bug was thrown far away from them by the storm. Quickly, she pulled out her own weapon to channel her magic, building up a barrier of plants between them and where the bug had been thrown.
“Should we try to run?” Normally she would have suggested trying to beat it, but it wasn’t a youma, it was just… strange. Maybe it was a real bug? She didn’t like that idea at all.
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 8:06 am
“What?” he glanced at his hand briefly. “Oh, it’s fine.” It hurt, but he had too much adrenaline pumping through him right now, he could deal with it later.
“It’s just a bug,” Belmont tried to justify. They didn’t have to run from a bug! They could handle it! And would Connie even ever get to sleep again if she knew this thing was still out there?
So far as he knew, it wasn’t like they’d come into its nest or anything–it had just gone wild and started attacking. “If we don’t get it might just go after someone else. It’ll be okay, just stay behind me. There’s no way it’s got much fight left in it after this.”
…Bug or not, though, he was so glad for a brief reprieve.
“I won’t let it get you again. We’ll just squish it, and then get out of here. It’ll be okay. Did it hurt you? I’ve got a first aid box we can use after this.”
He didn’t know how long her magic was going to last, but he had his eyes on the bug, and as soon as her shield went down, he was going to crush it.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:33 am
Oh, that was a good point. If they didn’t beat this bug, it might just go after someone else. And that would be bad. She definitely didn’t want that to happen.
She glanced down at her leg where her dress was torn. It looked a bit scratched up, but she couldn’t tell how much damage the bug had done.
“I think I’m okay,” she said, despite her expression being uncertain. She didn’t know how badly it had hurt her without pulling her dress up more, but she also thought Belmont would probably feel more comfortable if she took care of any injuries she had, herself.
“Ready to squish?” she asked after a moment, feeling the magic starting to dwindle. It wasn’t until he indicated that he was ready before letting her magic fade, and then did her best to brace herself against the angry, screaming bug coming at them.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2023 10:47 pm
Belmont was ready to squish. He nodded firmly when Connie asked, but he did not want to distract her or himself by speaking.
They needed to get rid of this monster bug, and as soon as her shield began to slip away, he was ready. Predictably, as soon as the shield was lowered, it shot towards them.
It didn’t zig or zag or fluctuate in height, it came right towards them--which meant that it was very easy to aim for, and very easy to hit.
Belmont brought his weapon down on it when it was within arm’s reach, and with as much force as he could find, he slammed it into the ground.
He felt the crunch of his weapon against its shell, and it made the same noise again when it hit the ground. It twitched, once. Twice.
It didn’t move, but Belmont raised his heel and stomped it into the ground again for good measure.
The droning buzz was gone, and the trees and bushes around them seemed still and quiet enough that Belmont didn’t even worry about a second attack. He turned to Connie as he rubbed his hand. “No more hiding anywhere else, right?”
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 5:45 pm
Even though Connie had every faith in Belmont that he would be able to completely obliterate the scary bug, she still shrieked in terror when it flew at them. She did her best not to hinder Belmont’s squishing, but still held tightly to the back of his tunic when he first crushed it and then stomped on it and--
“Is it dead?” she whimpered, peeking from behind Belmont to make sure it didn’t suddenly jump up and--
Oh… oh, no, it looked very dead.
But as for any hiding…
Connie made a horrified face and took a step back so she could lift up the robe part of her dress, where the other one had been stuck between. She felt around her legs a bit, but other than where it had scraped up her thigh, she seemed to be bug and injury free.
“I don’t think there’s any more. But we should look at your hand,” she made another face as she peered over at it, hoping Belmont wasn’t too injured. She would feel horrible if he was maimed because of her!
“Thank you for saving me. That was horrible,” she sobbed, and then jumped a little when an animal or something broke a branch nearby.
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Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 12:07 pm
Belmont’s eyes snapped to the noise in the bushes, but there was no loud, angry buzzing. His hand stung but it wasn’t so awful that he thought he was in any danger. Still…
He moved closer to her, just to make sure she knew she was safe from any bug, or any creature in the bushes. “My hand’s fine,” he insisted. “Feels like I had a bad chem lab. Or a bad sunburn.” His skin felt hot and too warm when he made a fist and released it. He could feel how tight it was.
“I should probably go rinse it off or something. I’ll just head to the nearest restaurant or something–do you want to go get cleaned up too? We can grab a bite to eat, or I can walk you home or something. To somewhere better lit and less likely to be swarming with bugs, even. Just in case.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2023 12:31 pm
“Somewhere better lit and less bugs sounds like a wonderful idea,” Connie agreed with a small grimace as she looked around again and took just a tiny step closer to Belmont.
She definitely wanted to make sure his hand was okay, so stopping by a restaurant sounded like a good idea. Oh, but… oh. No. He was just asking her to go with him to be polite. Even if her heart gave a little flutter but. No, she made sure she smiled up at him even as she let out an anxious little laugh.
“I would appreciate it. A lot.” She could probably make it home on her own just fine, but she was happy for the excuse to spend some more time with him.
“Maybe next time we run into each other, we won’t be fighting or running from something! Charlie, by the way,” she introduced. He didn’t want him to feel obligated to reveal who he was. She just thought it would be easier to go into a restaurant while not being powered.
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Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2023 10:23 pm
“Charlie? Oh, that’s a fun name. I think that suits you. I’m Aiden. We should power down when we get closer to the edge of the forest. Just in case there’s anything else out there.”
He clenched his hand and unclenched it but it didn’t ease the pain. He didn’t want to rush to the nearest restaurant, but he was definitely very eager to get out of here.
The exchange of names seemed to be indication enough for him that she was comfortable swapping identities, and that made it easier to actually go in to some civilized location. He didn’t want to show up for a meal in full costume and have to try and explain what was going on. The less suspicious they were, the better.
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