Word Count: 1036Something felt...
Off.
Apini had woken up that morning feeling just... wrong. He couldn't quite figure out what it was though. Just kind of a gut feeling - he wasn't a seer like Ms. Asha was, but he couldn't help but feel... something strange? He frowned as he worked through his morning routine. He washed his paws and wove new flowers into his mane as gently as he could.
Then he went to go find his friend, Nanaa.
Nanaa was Ms. Asha's niece, so maybe she would know where the seer was to ask. She also knew the pride's Matron, so there was that. He didn't want to bring a gut feeling to the actual leader of the pride though. Maybe Nanaa could help... The feeling didn't go away as he searched out his friend.
He found his friend towards the large tree at the center of the pride. She spent her mornings there helping out in teaching the apprentices before moving out into the field to do her job. He was thankful that he caught her in time.
"Nanaa," He greeted, stepping closer to her.
He wasn't sure if he'd just been extra quiet this morning or if he sounded weird when he spoke, but the pink leotah jumped when he spoke. She looked a bit startled, glancing back towards the apprentices for a moment and dismissing them. She focused her attention on Apini.
"What brings you around this morning, Honeybee," She asked, her brow furrowed in concern. She could feel something wasn't quite right. She studied her friend for a moment before listening to his words.
"Something's wrong," He told her, not willing to wait any longer. He felt anxious, worried. "I don't know what it is, but it's something," Apini said, firm in his convictions. He paced around Nanaa, as he spoke. "I woke up this morning and everything felt off. I don't know how else to explain it."
Nanaa followed his movement, trying not to focus on him too much to avoid dizziness. She could agree that there was something wrong, she couldn't quite place it though. It just felt.... Quiet, almost. Too quiet.
Like when you suddenly couldn't hear cubs playing anymore, it certainly meant trouble. It dawned on her, something clicked in her mind. "I don't hear anything, do you?"
Apini stopped, giving her a confused look. What could she mean by that. He tilted his head to listen, it sounded the same as always... except. The buzzing was quiet. Normally after he wove in several flowers, three or four bees would hover around him. He always had at least a few.
There was one, the buzzing was quiet, only coming from the one bee who bumbled around, landing in his mane that morning and staying nestled there for most of the morning so far. Fear seized his heart. "Something happened to my bees!" The Cheeton raced away, towards where the growing hive was.
It'd started as a small little thing, barely the size of his paw, but he'd nurtured it for months, over a year now, and it had grown quite admirably in that time.
He reached the location of the bee hive, nestled in a more secluded part of the pride. A thicket of trees fairly far away from the normal hustle and bustle of the pride. The bees liked the quiet and startled easily. He encouraged the growth here, so none of the bees would attack a pride member.
What he found was what could only be described as devastation. The honeycombs appeared ripped and in tatters and barely any of the bees remained at the hive. Everything he had worked for was destroyed in a single night. The bee-colored cheeton's breath hitched as he tried not to sob.
Nanaa followed behind him, a little bit more sedate. She stopped next to her friend before looking at the destruction before her. "Oh my," she said softly, her breath catching her her throat a bit. She watched as the small insect in Apini's mane flapped its little wings and took off towards the hive.
Apini was shaking, trying to fight back the hurt. He walked closer to the hive, surveying the damage. If the queen has been compromised, the next would cease to exist. If he could find the queen, everything would be fine.
A few of the bees migrated towards Apini, settling in the flowers around his head and in his mane. It was a welcome and comforting sound. A few of the bees even drifted towards Nanaa, perhaps hoping her pink coat was even more flowers. Fortunately the bees didn't begrudge her when they found that her coat was not, in fact, a giant flower.
"The queen is alive," Apini stated, a breath of relief for him. His shoulders sagged with the weight lifted. "They can rebuild, it'll be fine."
The sight was still an absolute mess though, and he didn't know what could have caused this mess. There weren't many creatures willing to break into a beehive, but the sweet honey inside was very tempting to many. Whoever did this had to be brave, apathetic, or stupid. Still, the hive would not be able to take another beating as it had.
He wasn't sure it was strong enough, and if the queen was taken out with the next attack, he wasn't sure if his bees would survive.
Nanaa approached him slowly, in an effort not to jostle the few bees that had landed on her. She didn't want to be stung, after all. "How long do you think it will take?" She asked. Honey was used in some of their salves, but only in the small amounts that Apini was willing to take from the hive as it was. It would take ages to retrieve it now, with the hive so devastated.
The cheeton frowned, shrugging one shoulder. "I don't know." He answered honestly. He didn't know what to do. Something would have to be done though.
"We need to go see Ms. Kilua, she'll know what to do," Nanaa said, coaxing Apini away from the bee hive. He sighed, glancing back at the hive before following Nanaa to the pride's Matron and Leader.