Just Breathe – Beets The Beetle – 06/07/2022
Jul 11, 2022 0:04:28 GMT
Velania Kalugina, Derthaad, and 4 more like this
Post by Beets The Beetle (Feenix) on Jul 11, 2022 0:04:28 GMT
Deep breaths Beets, deep breaths, just like Kavel showed you.
How much can change in a day. To begin with the re-surfaced deep weight of sadness in your gut, to then feeling such overwhelming warmth and affection from others you feel like you’re gonna buggin’burst.
To finally be left feeling…shocked..angry..and scared.
———
Getting away from Fort Ettin for a trip to Daring Heights as Gerhard suggested-Gosh he’s so buggin’caring-was just I needed. There was a very sad..vibe, hanging about the place, and to be honest I didn’t think I could handle many more looks of sympathy from folk. The journey to Daring’ was a much quieter than usual. We’d both been defending the West Fort wall together from the dragon attacks-Gert had the bandages and burn-tan to prove it. We’d both been there when she..fell. So…We both kinda silently agreed to just, appreciate, the quiet for a bit.
Daring Heights looked a little like Gerhard, bit singed and scorched in places, a slight smell of burnt hair and sweat-well it was a hot day. But other than that, it looked pretty good-much better that my village did after it’s own attack anyway. Most buggin’important of all, Paradise Frost was still standing! I don’t know what I’d of flittin’done without my sweet trea-I mean, I don’t know what the ‘townsfolk’ would of done without their supply of fresh bread…And cake.
I hadn’t felt so buggin’good in days! I’d come to Daring to check in on the Rooftop Squad to see if they were okay, and if there was anything I could do to help’em. Who’d’ve buggin’known they’d be the ones helpin’me. Diana-that sooty eye mask look seemed awfully familiar. Gary-Who’d of flitt’n know you could still do a gutter flutter with a leg missing! And Jeremy-gosh he looked…Well buggin’buff, and what an awesome face scar!! All the gang were still flittin’and kickin’, and not too worse for wear…All except Dave. He apparently went down in a blaze of glory..and by that I mean, a dragon flittin’torched him!…Rest easy Wavey-Davey.
The gang surprised me not just only their new base, not only that they’d been hired by Fort Daring as potential ‘Runners’ for the town, performing supply roof top runs and message drops. But that they’d buggin’only gone and rebranded themselves as…*Sniff* The Rooftop Beetles-And they’d chosen me as their leader!…I’ll admit I may have…shed a tear or two……Alright I was a buggin’mess!…If only Papa could’ve been here…*Sniff*
Well..anyway! It was very buggin’sweet! But I told them I couldn’t-Not yet anyway! I had things to do! More places to see-more monsters to fight-important people..to find…Thinking that, I gave the team-with Jeremy as newly appointed 2nd-in-Command- their first ‘on the fly’ mission, to keep an eye out for Marto. I mean who better to spot the missing in axe’in clanker himself than your own group of gifted rooftop runners! BUG-KOUR! BUG-KOUR!
———
I met up with Gert again later for some lunch, after doing a couple of supply runs with the Roof’beets! I did ask if he wanted to come along for the fly, but he seemed a little..distracted, if only then I’d known why.
I should’ve buggin’guessed it right a flittin’way! Walking up hand in together, both completely smitten, followed by their rather scraggy if kinda cute kitten.
Orianna looked prettier, much more at ease than I’d last seen her. Though she had been screaming at me, stating that if I had a ‘death-wish’ from fightin’ that yanki-general’s dragon, then she wanted no part of it.
Talking of partaking, who ended up turnin’up to ‘partake’ in some lunch-time cake outside The Three-Headed-Dragon but the dragon sergeant himself, old Derthad. Soon followed by little Laurel, and the equally curly haired Poppy the goat. It was nice..Really flittin nice. Not even cake’chewin River-the weird new talking tree outside the ‘Triple’dragon’- could throw off the mood, as Orianna placed her hand gently on mine. Her kind smile as she said, “I hope the home you’ve made here is better, Beets. The people here… they are good.” Before a sudden icy chill. Like being struck by the razor claws of that yanki-dragon again, froze us all solid.
———
I couldn’t buggin’think, could barely buggin’breathe! One minute Orianna has been right flittin'there, the next..she was stolen away by that-that Mister’fella, leaving Gert screaming like a wounded animal, ranting and raging to the air before falling silent, broken…Just like..I had been when Qir…
My inner beast spoke to me. It sounded wiser, smarter than before. Twisting its own monstrous voice as it spiralled my thoughts into a sing-song, mocking imitation of my own. “Well ‘buggin’ well! Looky what happened here. Seem dear Gerty got a bit ‘flirty’ with wittle Orianna and she got…Ah..flitted’away. Leaving him hurt…Vulnerable..WEAK!” The final word returning with it’s more original beasteal snarl. “I did warn you. Wasting ‘affection’ on others only comes back to-BITE-you in the end. You should focus on what actually matters..On making yourself stronger…On feeding our..-HUNGER!”
The voice retreats with snarl back into my head as white cleansing light cuts through my blinded vision, my eyes coming to focus on my self grappled hand, the last wisps of the dark black claws receding into my finger tips. Mere inches from Poppy’s sweet..scared, quivering face. What had I almost done? It-it was just like with Marto all over again-I could of…
———
Derthaad led me away after that, he said Gert needed some time alone to figure things out.
Then he questioned me, almost out of the blue.. “Beets... care to share something? Need help? I'm... here to listen.” It took me by surprise. I looked up at him, tall and dark in the shadows, that badge of his-his town-watch badge gleaming in the sun light. And suddenly his shadowed face rippled, changing into the face of the Mayor back home in the village that finale day. Accusing. Judgmental. The badge morphing into his own obnoxious gleaming medallion “What do you have to say for yourself the gi-girl? Hmm?! His voice faltering on the word girl, just as the villagers gathered around him echoin’ the word he really meant to say! ‘Monster.’
The face morphs back into Dert’s as he turns his head to glance around, before leaning in closer to talk to me more quietly, ”Wanna go somewhere else? Somewhere with less people?” Before again it morphs again, this time into accusing faces of the villagers. “LOCK HER UP! Put her in chains and drag her to the cells! She should never see the light of day for what she and her kind have done today!”
“NO!” I scream, and the white flash of light cleanses these dark visions from my eyes, showing Dert below me as I flutter above. Confused? Mistrustful? Afraid?
I make light and get the flit out of there. He’d already seen what I almost did to Poppy. What would happened if I nearly did it to him too? Or worse. I’d just gotten used to the idea of maybe..Just maybe..I’d found a new home..and now I was on the verge of losing it all again.
———
I didn’t stop flying till I was far away. Till my wings started to burn from the effort and I had to stop. Flittin’down into what I then realised was the slightly scorched canopy of the Feylight Theatre. Why here? After a few minutes of panting, I found myself reaching into the new delivery satchel the squad has presented me when at the end of my first ‘run’ with them this morning, and pulled out one of the hand-drawn flyers Axel'cat has made copies of. It was a crude drawing yes, especially with my buggin’bumbling description. Yet the jovial pose, big clunky breastplate and..soft easy smile brought memories of his face, of his merry laugh..of his kind voice, flooding into my mind. Along with the return of that deep internal droning that matched the beat of my heart.
I crumpled the flyer in my hand and pressed my balled up fists against my eyes, desperate to stop a fresh wave of emotion that yearned to burst out. I sat taking deep shuddering breaths till I’d swallowed the flow, before casting my stinging sight skyward, towards to painfully beautiful setting sun. My final image of the departing Marto, the last time I’d seen him, slowly fading with the setting sun, as I voiced his own words to me aloud.Quiet…Resolute.
“I know what I gotta do.”
How much can change in a day. To begin with the re-surfaced deep weight of sadness in your gut, to then feeling such overwhelming warmth and affection from others you feel like you’re gonna buggin’burst.
To finally be left feeling…shocked..angry..and scared.
———
Getting away from Fort Ettin for a trip to Daring Heights as Gerhard suggested-Gosh he’s so buggin’caring-was just I needed. There was a very sad..vibe, hanging about the place, and to be honest I didn’t think I could handle many more looks of sympathy from folk. The journey to Daring’ was a much quieter than usual. We’d both been defending the West Fort wall together from the dragon attacks-Gert had the bandages and burn-tan to prove it. We’d both been there when she..fell. So…We both kinda silently agreed to just, appreciate, the quiet for a bit.
Daring Heights looked a little like Gerhard, bit singed and scorched in places, a slight smell of burnt hair and sweat-well it was a hot day. But other than that, it looked pretty good-much better that my village did after it’s own attack anyway. Most buggin’important of all, Paradise Frost was still standing! I don’t know what I’d of flittin’done without my sweet trea-I mean, I don’t know what the ‘townsfolk’ would of done without their supply of fresh bread…And cake.
I hadn’t felt so buggin’good in days! I’d come to Daring to check in on the Rooftop Squad to see if they were okay, and if there was anything I could do to help’em. Who’d’ve buggin’known they’d be the ones helpin’me. Diana-that sooty eye mask look seemed awfully familiar. Gary-Who’d of flitt’n know you could still do a gutter flutter with a leg missing! And Jeremy-gosh he looked…Well buggin’buff, and what an awesome face scar!! All the gang were still flittin’and kickin’, and not too worse for wear…All except Dave. He apparently went down in a blaze of glory..and by that I mean, a dragon flittin’torched him!…Rest easy Wavey-Davey.
The gang surprised me not just only their new base, not only that they’d been hired by Fort Daring as potential ‘Runners’ for the town, performing supply roof top runs and message drops. But that they’d buggin’only gone and rebranded themselves as…*Sniff* The Rooftop Beetles-And they’d chosen me as their leader!…I’ll admit I may have…shed a tear or two……Alright I was a buggin’mess!…If only Papa could’ve been here…*Sniff*
Well..anyway! It was very buggin’sweet! But I told them I couldn’t-Not yet anyway! I had things to do! More places to see-more monsters to fight-important people..to find…Thinking that, I gave the team-with Jeremy as newly appointed 2nd-in-Command- their first ‘on the fly’ mission, to keep an eye out for Marto. I mean who better to spot the missing in axe’in clanker himself than your own group of gifted rooftop runners! BUG-KOUR! BUG-KOUR!
———
I met up with Gert again later for some lunch, after doing a couple of supply runs with the Roof’beets! I did ask if he wanted to come along for the fly, but he seemed a little..distracted, if only then I’d known why.
I should’ve buggin’guessed it right a flittin’way! Walking up hand in together, both completely smitten, followed by their rather scraggy if kinda cute kitten.
Orianna looked prettier, much more at ease than I’d last seen her. Though she had been screaming at me, stating that if I had a ‘death-wish’ from fightin’ that yanki-general’s dragon, then she wanted no part of it.
Talking of partaking, who ended up turnin’up to ‘partake’ in some lunch-time cake outside The Three-Headed-Dragon but the dragon sergeant himself, old Derthad. Soon followed by little Laurel, and the equally curly haired Poppy the goat. It was nice..Really flittin nice. Not even cake’chewin River-the weird new talking tree outside the ‘Triple’dragon’- could throw off the mood, as Orianna placed her hand gently on mine. Her kind smile as she said, “I hope the home you’ve made here is better, Beets. The people here… they are good.” Before a sudden icy chill. Like being struck by the razor claws of that yanki-dragon again, froze us all solid.
———
I couldn’t buggin’think, could barely buggin’breathe! One minute Orianna has been right flittin'there, the next..she was stolen away by that-that Mister’fella, leaving Gert screaming like a wounded animal, ranting and raging to the air before falling silent, broken…Just like..I had been when Qir…
My inner beast spoke to me. It sounded wiser, smarter than before. Twisting its own monstrous voice as it spiralled my thoughts into a sing-song, mocking imitation of my own. “Well ‘buggin’ well! Looky what happened here. Seem dear Gerty got a bit ‘flirty’ with wittle Orianna and she got…Ah..flitted’away. Leaving him hurt…Vulnerable..WEAK!” The final word returning with it’s more original beasteal snarl. “I did warn you. Wasting ‘affection’ on others only comes back to-BITE-you in the end. You should focus on what actually matters..On making yourself stronger…On feeding our..-HUNGER!”
The voice retreats with snarl back into my head as white cleansing light cuts through my blinded vision, my eyes coming to focus on my self grappled hand, the last wisps of the dark black claws receding into my finger tips. Mere inches from Poppy’s sweet..scared, quivering face. What had I almost done? It-it was just like with Marto all over again-I could of…
———
Derthaad led me away after that, he said Gert needed some time alone to figure things out.
Then he questioned me, almost out of the blue.. “Beets... care to share something? Need help? I'm... here to listen.” It took me by surprise. I looked up at him, tall and dark in the shadows, that badge of his-his town-watch badge gleaming in the sun light. And suddenly his shadowed face rippled, changing into the face of the Mayor back home in the village that finale day. Accusing. Judgmental. The badge morphing into his own obnoxious gleaming medallion “What do you have to say for yourself the gi-girl? Hmm?! His voice faltering on the word girl, just as the villagers gathered around him echoin’ the word he really meant to say! ‘Monster.’
The face morphs back into Dert’s as he turns his head to glance around, before leaning in closer to talk to me more quietly, ”Wanna go somewhere else? Somewhere with less people?” Before again it morphs again, this time into accusing faces of the villagers. “LOCK HER UP! Put her in chains and drag her to the cells! She should never see the light of day for what she and her kind have done today!”
“NO!” I scream, and the white flash of light cleanses these dark visions from my eyes, showing Dert below me as I flutter above. Confused? Mistrustful? Afraid?
I make light and get the flit out of there. He’d already seen what I almost did to Poppy. What would happened if I nearly did it to him too? Or worse. I’d just gotten used to the idea of maybe..Just maybe..I’d found a new home..and now I was on the verge of losing it all again.
———
I didn’t stop flying till I was far away. Till my wings started to burn from the effort and I had to stop. Flittin’down into what I then realised was the slightly scorched canopy of the Feylight Theatre. Why here? After a few minutes of panting, I found myself reaching into the new delivery satchel the squad has presented me when at the end of my first ‘run’ with them this morning, and pulled out one of the hand-drawn flyers Axel'cat has made copies of. It was a crude drawing yes, especially with my buggin’bumbling description. Yet the jovial pose, big clunky breastplate and..soft easy smile brought memories of his face, of his merry laugh..of his kind voice, flooding into my mind. Along with the return of that deep internal droning that matched the beat of my heart.
I crumpled the flyer in my hand and pressed my balled up fists against my eyes, desperate to stop a fresh wave of emotion that yearned to burst out. I sat taking deep shuddering breaths till I’d swallowed the flow, before casting my stinging sight skyward, towards to painfully beautiful setting sun. My final image of the departing Marto, the last time I’d seen him, slowly fading with the setting sun, as I voiced his own words to me aloud.Quiet…Resolute.
“I know what I gotta do.”