Fantasy ~ FableWood

[zCrookedz]

[QUOTE="Aldur Forgehammer]I'm completely desensitized by this point.

[/QUOTE]
lucky you. some of use are not completely there yet and would like to keep out sanity xD lol

 

[Aldur]

lucky you. some of use are not completely there yet and would like to keep out sanity xD lol

Are you implying that I am insane, dear Crooked? Which on it's own may not be an untrue statement after all.

 

[Lioness075]

[QUOTE="Aldur Forgehammer]Are you implying that I am insane, dear Crooked? Which on it's own may not be an untrue statement after all.

[/QUOTE]
Technically, in order to be insane, you have to be doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. At least, that's how I typically define it. *shrugs*

 

[Aldur]

Technically, in order to be insane, you have to be doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. At least, that's how I typically define it. *shrugs*

"Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?"


:^)

 

[DawnAntalios]

 
Besides, I am bored. I need to entertain you somehow.

 

[Lioness075]

 
Besides, I am bored. I need to entertain you somehow.

...Um, trust me. I've got plenty of other methods of entertaining myself. O.o

 

[DawnAntalios]

I did not say that I will ask your permission to be entertained.


You will take my entertainment and you will love it.

 

[SilverFlight]

Brent weeks? I like him lol I cant remember what trilogy I read of his. Which is the light bringer trilogy tho?

The one where mages manifest colour into physical form, also dude!

Spoiler

He'd been building up the most badass villain for a book and a half (a BOOk and a HALF) and then just goes and shoots him before he gets to do anything....just like that..gone. I was so disappointed...

Sigh, I won't get to post again tonight...I've been working pretty much solidly for 14 hours...I'm ready to collapse...but I get to do it again tomorrow...yay...


 

I think it falls under young adult fiction
 
The series I read of his was the night angel trilogy, I liked it. My friend is reading the light bringer series too. My fav. series is the sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind. I must have read all 8 books at least twice lol

Lols, this one is definitely adult.


 

@The Suspicious Eye[/URL] Nicely done ^^

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

@The Suspicious Eye Nicely done ^^

Thank you (o'v'o)

 

[DawnAntalios]

Do not overwork yourself. We are patient.


We are one.

 

[Baconhands]

14 hour days? I don't envy you, overtime must be difficult

 

[andujarprime]

oh yay. this will be another day in which I only have time for Ooc chatter here and there T_T see you on the other side @SilverFlight lol since it looks like were both facing the same type of days.

 

[SilverFlight]

14 hour days? I don't envy you, overtime must be difficult

Life of a researcher.


 

oh yay. this will be another day in which I only have time for Ooc chatter here and there T_T see you on the other side @SilverFlight lol since it looks like were both facing the same type of days.

yipee.

 

[DawnAntalios]

We are One.


We are eternal.


We are patient.


We are ready.


We are poised to strike.

 

[Baconhands]

Life of a researcher.
 



yipee.

I'll tell my sister, she wants to research sharks when she's older.

 

[SilverFlight]

I'll tell my sister, she wants to research sharks when she's older.

That is a noble goal, but prone to as many long hours...and slightly less funded than agricultural research.

 

[DawnAntalios]

 

[Lioness075]

I personally plan on mostly working in a lab and such once I graduate from college lol. I want to be a forensics analyst for the FBI. Well, for my civilian job at least. I'm torn between being a photographer or a musician for the military once I graduate. Both sound like tons of fun. >.<

 

[SilverFlight]

I personally plan on mostly working in a lab and such once I graduate from college lol. I want to be a forensics analyst for the FBI. Well, for my civilian job at least. I'm torn between being a photographer or a musician for the military once I graduate. Both sound like tons of fun. >.<

That is insanely cool.

 

[Lioness075]

That is insanely cool.

Thanks. ^^ But I don't get to play with cute, little fluffy bees like you get to. :3 I love animals and sadly neither of my jobs will really give me that kind of option. Well, the forensics one has a canine unit that I could possibly get into. If that worked out then I could be helping in training dogs to sniff stuff out and all. Then I could be around dogs a lot. ^^

 

[SilverFlight]

Man do I have a story for you. I never thought I would find anything interesting to relate from this trip, everything was as normal and boring as it could be, just goes to show that the best stories can happen anywhere. There is drama, suspense, comedy and all the necessary elements of a great story...I think anyway...it is long though, just warning you.

Spoiler

So...this particular tale begins with despair.


My project was not going well. Inexperience, ill-advice and plain old bad luck were wolves snapping at the heels of my work. The realization was slow and painful, as I spent hours sifting through the samples the fact that I was not going to pull anything usable was carefully clamping its fanged jaws on my hopes. There is nothing worse than watching the sun set on a plan half a year in the making, yet there still being that slim chance that the samples will yield the tiniest bit of information and prevent all effort from being a total waste. I kept working, warring inwardly with pressing on from dawn until dusk or just giving up and leaving with nothing.


It was on the first day of this grueling endeavour, when I brought the box of honey comb frames back from the field that a tiny stow-away poked her furry head out from between the wooden bars. Bees were everywhere in my work, this one wasn't special. I took the frames and let her fly, thinking it would probably be more humane to kill her rather than let her die of thirst or starvation in the lab, but at the same time not really having the heart to crush her underfoot. On the first day I began by looking into the brood cells of a frame. The pupating bees I had carefully slipped into their treatment colonies had died not long after I put them there. They were supposed to be almost fully formed, with fur and glossy wings, some should even have been waking up, ready to begin their lives as adults. These bees were ghostly white, still in their juvenile stages, frozen in time when they had died. Still, perhaps there was a chance that the DNA I needed was still intact? So I began the work. One cell at a time. After taking the material I started the next frame, realizing the same thing, the bees had died before they could tell me what I wanted to know. The next frame was identical, and the next...and the next. The little worker that I hadn't killed buzzed around noisily, floating over my head, to and fro across the room. Halfway into that day she decided that landing on me was a good idea and came to perch on my chest. My initial response was to swat her away, if she crawled into my clothing there was a good chance I would crush her and then she would sting me as she died. I raised my hand to brush her off but paused. My imagination got the better of me because I could have sworn she was looking straight at me. She clung to the red S of my superman t-shirt, antennae quivering, flicking her head back and forth ever so slightly, as if it gave her a more clear picture of this strange giant that had brought her to a stranger place. At a second look I noticed she was quite beautiful. So many of the bees here, the 'Norwegian brown bees' are a dull black-grey with slim bands of faded yellow the colour of straw smoke. This bee had deep black fur tinged with a dusty gold on her face and thorax. Her legs were ebony, matching the last half of her abdomen, On the front half, two bands of golden amber lay proudly just under a pair of broad, iridescent and perfect wings. Here large eyes were tear-drop shaped, bright and glossy and she moved with an alertness that I envied.


This was all very nice, but I had work to do, however unpleasant. I found a spare piece of comb with some honey still sitting in the cells and placed it on the table across the room. I took the bee gently on one finger and allowed her to climb onto the comb. That would keep her busy I thought. For about 2 hours all was quiet. I worked in silence, completely absorbed in the task at hand, yet slowly losing motivation as the frames continued to be full of dead brood. Not long after I had noticed the time then a familiar buzz reached my ears. It grew louder and louder until it was right against my ear. I turned just in time to see the little bee land straight back onto my shirt. I sighed. She turned slightly then and spread her perfect wings, beating them so quickly they were lost from my sight. She raised her abdomen high and I had to smile, I had seen that stance before, at the entrance to a colony where bees were gathered to cool their home down after a long and hot day. She was fanning me in the same way. I couldn't help but be touched by this instinctual reaction to my body heat. Despite it being completely natural, I took it personally and grew a little attached to the tiny creature. Two more days of grueling work and each of those days, when I would sift through hundreds of dead brood cells and be about ready to collapse back in my chair and scrap the whole thing she would come out, from wherever she rested when I wasn't around and alight on my person. Sometimes she would perch on my shoulder and groom herself, taking her front leg like a cat over her head, her antennae snapping back upward after her foot had pushed it flat. To show off she then repeated the process with her second pair of legs as well, her last hind leg caught firmly in the fabric of my clothing. Sometimes she would come up unseen and I would only know she landed when her vivacious hum came to an abrupt stop. I would freeze then, knowing she had landed close by and suddenly I would feel a tickle on my arm and twist it round to see her glancing at me coyly from my elbow.


On the final day of my grave-digger's task she had kept me company through the long hours by sitting on my laptop, sometimes glancing at me and sometimes glancing at the film I had playing. Eventually she must have grown board of sword fights and adventure because she flew up to my shoulder and busied herself with trying to crawl up my sleeve. I took her away twice, placing her back on the fabric and told her firmly to stay put and let me finish my work. She was quiet after that, sitting exactly where I had put her, regarding me with those glossy teardrop eyes.


As the sun finally began to touch the edge of the trees I realized that my bee friend, without a colony would surely die, and soon. Being the steadfast companion she was (and possibly helped by the fact that she had been the one buoy of bright thoughts in a lake of disappointment) I decided I could not let it happen, but I had no idea which apiary she was from, let alone which colony to approach if I did know. Taking her to a new colony was risky, if the guard bees at the entrance smelled her foreign scent and deemed her a threat she would be killed instantly, without hesitation. So I was stuck, if she stayed in the lab her fate was sealed, yet there was a chance a new colony could accept her. I decided to try. Taking a small plastic test tube I butchered its top with holes (a worthwhile sacrifice) and offered it to my furry companion, who was still resting peacefully on my shoulder. She gave it a quick comb with her antennae and turned away. Not a chance. Several more times I tried to coax her to walk in and each time she would turn away or scramble over the entrance. A little vexed I sat down in my chair again and regarded her sternly.


"I don't want you to die." I said and we both had a pause. I tried again, this time for whatever reason she did not fight as hard. I was able to slip the container over her tiny body and shut it tight.


The next task was driving back to the colonies. I placed the tiny tube in the cup holder under the radio dial and started the car. The drive was mostly uneventful, until I began to worry if she had enough air. I lifted the tube carefully and drew it up so I could watch the road and look at her. To my utter horror her behaviour had changed: Her movements were sluggish my heart clenched as she lost her balance against the wall and tumbled back when he hit a speed bump. I hadn't made the holes big enough and the tube was tiny. She was running out of oxygen. The leisurely drive then became a race. I sailed around turns probably a little faster than was advised and gunned it down stretches of straight, empty asphalt. Every now and then I glanced at my little companion as her flailing grew weaker. Finally I turned off down the dirt road, where just at the end lay the colonies. I parked quickly, not bothering to straighten out and snatched the tub from its cupholder, tearing it open and letting fresh air flow in. I held my breath for a moment, letting it go only when she began to kick with a normal strength. She wasn't at all interested in flying away, instead she casually walked out onto my finger and sat there. I carried her to the entrance of a colony I knew was big and healthy.


Now came the moment of truth. I held my breath again and lowered her to the landing board. She gave it a good sniff before stepping tentatively onto it. Nervous of the new scents, yet drawn forward by the familiarity of a hive. Out of nowhere then jumped three guard bees, they had been hiding in the entrance, out of sight from both of us. We both jumped and then she froze, rocked back on her legs like a cowering dog. She didn't so much as twitch a wing while the guards pinned her for inspection.


I bit my lip, waiting in utter suspense. It was only then I realized just how much I had come to care for the little bee. Whether it was through projecting onto her during my time of emotional fragility or perhaps she was in truth attached to me was moot all in that moment. I could not watch her die. The guards continued their inspection and she continued to stay, still as a statue. Just then another bee came bustling out of the entrance. She jostled the guards aside and came straight up to my little bee’s face. This new bee stroked her once with glossy, black antennae and then to my utter delight her orange tongue jutted out and offered a thick, sweet honey. My bee accepted the gift gratefully and suddenly the guards joined too, volunteering their own rations to feed my intrepid friend. Then the grooming began, vigorous and friendly, bees suddenly coming from all corners, encircling my little bee like a queen, feeding her and nibbling her fur. I could see her begin to move, slowly at first but her steps becoming more relaxed and confident, soon she was meandering about them, stroking antennae and returning the thorough grooming and even some of the food she had been gifted. She moved slowly up to the colony entrance and I craned my neck to see her go inside, still surrounded by her new family.


The grin on my face as I got up and walked back to my car was wide. It had been a good day after all.


And another thing: a picture of our heroine I took yesterday.

 

[Lioness075]

Man do I have a story for you. I never thought I would find anything interesting to relate from this trip, everything was as normal and boring as it could be, just goes to show that the best stories can happen anywhere. There is drama, suspense, comedy and all the necessary elements of a great story...I think anyway...it is long though, just warning you.
And another thing: a picture of our heroine I took yesterday.

Spoiler

I haven't read the story yet, but that picture you took is amazing! It looks professional, in my opinion at least. :3


 
The little guy is absolutely adorable, too.

 

[Aldur]

He saw a parrot, its plumage a striking iridescent blue and thought of Vinter with a grin.

I hereby pronounce the parrot as Vinter's. There will be no arguing. That or a giant parrot. Silver plz.


Also, that bee is indeed adorable.

 

[Lioness075]

Okay, @SilverFlight, I absolutely love your bee story. What amazes me the most though, beyond your brave rescue of your bee companion, is how you wrote the story in such an intricate manner. Like, I literally felt like I was living the story you were telling. And it was a great story to live out, even if it was just inside of my head and thanks to my immense imagination.

 

[Aldur]