Beetle Bun Reunion (Lolli & Beets)

Co-Written with the amazing Beets The Beetle (Feenix)

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Lolli watches Beets fly off over the rooftops and not reply back, Her heart feels extremely sad for Beets. She watches her go sadly but notices Beets sways slightly as the last of her message presumably echoes through her mind. Lolli can’t help but feel terrible for making Beets feel so bad. She decides to leave Beet alone for the rest of the day and she’ll try again tomorrow to apologise.

But, Lolli has no luck the next day, or even the day after. Lolli searches every shop and restaurant in DH. She asks every shop owner if they have been a beautiful beetle Barbarian come in but she has no luck. Lolli checks places like Paradise Frost and other cafes in town. And she swings by the Feylight Garden Theatre. Still no luck. Lolli continues to search every day for Beets, with no answers. At this stage Lolli has been looking for Beets for a whole week. She’s getting really worried. On the last day of looking, Lolli suddenly remembers that Beets loves to climb roofs. On her last attempt to find Beets, Lolli decides to pull out her giant lollipop wand and cast ‘Fly’ on herself, so she can get to the roof tops to search for any signs of Beets.

It had been..a buggin’strange time for Beets. Since the aftermath of the battle of the Fort, she felt she had experienced the full extent her emotions. Grief at the death of Qirilia, and the others lost in the fight. Joy at finding a new family in the form of the Daring Heights Rooftop Beetles. Shock at the maniacal kidnapping of Orianna to spite her lover Gerhard. Fear of revealing her feelings to Marto and the dangers that they-that she -could put him in. Rage. Wild, hot, intense fury. Yet not the overwhelming nor blinding rage she had learned to grow used to. But controlled, direct, focused. Driven with all her will at the thing, this Bogar, the supposed source of her beetle powers. Warping her thoughts, scorning her hopes, making her nothing more than it’s mere puppet. Like a parasite latching itself into to a host, making it focus purely on its own selfish desires. Barring it to everything and everyone they hold dear. And yet…Since that day at the pond with Marto. Since both mentally and physically grabbing hold of that ‘being’, and plunging with it into depths of the water there had been... Silence. Strange yet blissful, such wonderfully welcome silence. Beets couldn’t remember the last time her head had been clear of that eternal buzzing droning. Like a second pulsing heartbeat. It had given her a lot of time to think as she’d sat atop rooftops just cloud and star gazing these past few days. Was Bogar truly gone? No, no she didn’t think so somehow. But where did he come from? What was his connection to her- “Beets!” Beets sits up, grasping hold of the tiles on the sheer rooftop either side of her with her fingers, her beetle toes slipping on their smooth surface. “BEETS!” That voice again, she knew that voice…

Lolli smiles happily at finally seeing her friend after many days. But she slowly drops the smile as she flies over towards Beets. She doesn't know where they stand right now. Lolli retains a calm composure for once. She stops a few feet away from Beets and hovers in the air. "I am so sorry Beets, for what I said a few days ago, soooo sorry. I never want to do anything to make you sad. I've been looking for you all week, so I can apologise. Can... we talk? Or would you rather I leave?". Lolli looks to Beets hopeful.

There is a sudden blur of black and orange and 'Vrrp!' of wing beats as Beets surges from rooftop to hug Lolli in a tight embrace, their forms slowly circling as they hover together in midair.

Lolli is shocked at first but as she feels Beets embrace, she immediately lets all the tension in her body go. She hugs her friend back immediately and she gives her a tight squeeze. After a few moments Lolli will eventually speak "Oh Beets, I am so glad I found you. Are you...ok? Have you been here the whole time?"

Beets holds the embrace a few minutes longer before pulling back slightly to wipe the tears from her eyes with her palm and nose with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry, so buggin'sorry Lolli...I-I shouldn't have left you! Y-you did nothing wrong..It was..I..I wasn't...fully myself..." She takes one of Lolli's paws gently in her hand and holds it as she continues. "No-No I went on a job..and Marto was there-Looking really flitt'different with a beard now!-And then we had a talk..and..stuff..happened..." She pulls a slight grimace as her eyes roll skyward, as if trying to spot the right words above her! "B-but wait-have you been looking for me?!" She says, as if trying to pull away from the subject, but also with genuine surprise too.

Lolli gives a small smile “Ohh actually before I forget. I wanted to give you this”. She reaches into her pockets and pulls out a slice of carrot cake wrapped in a napkin “I thought if I did find you, I wanted to give you this piece of cake. It’s one of my grandma’s. Cake always makes me feel better and less sad. But especially my grandma’s because she’s an amazing baker!” She holds it up for Beets to take. “But yes, I have been searching all week because I was so worried I made you sad. I looked in every cafe and restaurant asking anyone if they’d seen you. No one had. I asked so many times in Paradise Frost. I started to get worried. But I suddenly remembered that you liked to fly on roofs. I thought I’d try that today and that's how I found you now”. Lolli smiles and pauses for a moment “But back to you. I had no clue you liked…You know… And I was so excited to talk about it with you but then you just, took off. I was so worried I had said something wrong. But… That wasn’t the reason? I’m sorry I got it mixed up why you were sad….”. Another pause “So, can we talk about it now? Maybe we can start from the beginning and you can tell me what exactly is going on? I promise I won’t judge. I am a good listener!”

Beets takes the cake, and stares at it for a while and then slowly back up to Lolli as the words flow from her mouth in a merry tumble as always, as if dashing like rabbits across a lush green meadow. Little pools of tears form in the corner of Beets eyes as her mouth crumples into a smile. “There’s a lot to tell.” She says, and quietly begins. The cake sits untouched between them as the two friends sit perched on the roof of the bell tower, not purposely forgotten but still serving as an icebreaker nevertheless as Beets fills her friend in on things since her previous fright and flight. The unexpected reunion with Marto, her pitiful efforts at suppressing her emotions, the raging outburst of Bogar in the Yuan-ti temple…His full takeover of her during her talk with Marto. Beets leaves non of it out, giving every last detail to the innocent but deeply caring harengon girl that has sought so hard to find her. She finishes her story with a deep but relieving breath, looking out across the rooftops as the sun starts to stain them beautiful shades of amber and red. “And..that's..what's happened…” she says, looking back to her friend.

Lolli sits listening to everything her fairy friend says. She doesn't say anything the whole time and lets Beets tell her stories about what's been happening with her. At the part when Beets says what happened with Bogar and Marto, Lolli gasps. But then she puts her hands to her mouth to hold back any other noise and remains quiet. When Beets is done, she takes a few moments to process everything she just heard. She leans over and wraps her fairy friend in a big hug. She lets go after a few moments but still holds one of her hands. "Beets, thank you for telling me everything. And I am so sorry. All of that sounds so...Stressful. Ohh, no wonder why you flew off like that. I am sorry I didn't know. Bogar sounds horrible. I didn't know it had a name. Also...I didn't know it was getting so bad like that. I can't believe that happened in front of Marto! Someone you actually have a crush on! Ohhh I would just die! I can only imagine.". Lolli looks to her friend "Beets I'm sorry what you're going through. But you don't have to be alone going through all this. I am right here". She gives her friend a small smile and a hand squeeze. "So, how is everything now with Bogar and you? How are you keeping Bogar under control, if you don't mind me asking?"

“There was so much Lolli…So much noise at times-I-I could barely buggin’think…” She gives a little shuddery breath as she recalls her experiences of the last months. “T-they were always so angry, so ready to…Strike out.” Reflexly she feels her hand try to pull away from Lolli’s, the memories of her previous near misses of her friends flittin’through her mind. But, with enormous effort, she stops herself, stroking her thumb across Lolli’s fur as she looks up at her apologetically, squeezing her hand gently in assurance. “Another thing…” she says, staring at her friend as the quiet of the evening begins to set in around them, the drifts of smoke beginning to rise clearly from the countless chimneys surrounding their roof top view, perhaps being stoked for late evening meals, “Was the endless..hunger.” Beets ends. She looks down at the thick piece of carrot cake between them, something that would have normally been reduced to crumbs by now in her usual vigor, and yet, she suddenly tastes-blood. Thick and sticky, rich and tart. Steaming as it hit her tongue and poured down her throat. Her fangs, her mandibles tearing into a variety of foes, each feed not able to quench, but in fact increasing the hunger that had quelled within her, like fuel to a flame. That too was now gone. Leaving behind the sickening memories of her victims, giving her the sudden urge to retch, which she manages to stop with a struggled swallow. “T-they’re just..gone..Lolli…And now…It just feels…Empty.” She looks down at her chest, as if expecting to see a large gaping void to match this feeling.

Lolli listens carefully while Beets talks. She feels so much concern for her friend. “I’m sorry Beets. That sounds…Scary. When you say you felt hunger, is that only when Boger took over? Or do you feel it regularly? Also wait, are you saying you don’t feel Boger at all now?”

Beets holds her stomach with her free hand, her tongue unconsciously tracing their sharp points behind her closed mouth. "When I say hunger..it was more like..blood lust..Like wanting to consume, to destroy. 'To eat and eat and eat, till there was nothing left. Nothing left behind to give sustenance to any who could..rival me..." She stops suddenly, regaining her from the sudden rasp of her voice, blinking as if coming out of a strange state, shaking her head as if to clear it from whatever dark recesses of her mind these words emerged.

"No.." She says, looking up at Lolli as she continues, "..and if anything..it's..feels kinda worse...I least I knew how it-he..was..feeling inside me. But with all this quiet...This silence." Her eyes drift to the final embers of the setting sun on the horizon, "I'm...Worried." She admits.

“Ohhh Beets”, sadness and sympathy coming out, as she’s unsure what to do for her friend. “So, Bogar being quiet is something you’ve never experienced before?”

Beets stares on at the horizon. “Not Since it-he first..awoke..I’d always felt it there, but then it got worse and now…What should I do Lolli?” She turns and looks to her friend for help, eyes wide, fearful.

Lolli sees the fear in her friend’s eyes. Lolli would love nothing better than to make this whole thing go away for her but this something far beyond Lolli’s knowledge. She thinks for a moment “One thing I’d say Beets, is not to run. You have lots of people who want to help, I am one of them. Maybe that’s what Bogar wants, to make you feel like you’re alone. But remember you’re not alone! We can work this out together. If Bogar isn’t there at the moment, do you think possibly he’s moved off somewhere else…?” Lolli says that with wishful thinking. She knows it too and she sighs “I wish I had more answers for you Beets. I really do. But you don’t have to hide from me. I have some spells I could try. Like I have a spell called ‘Sleep’ which makes you fall instantly asleep… Well..it works like 60% of the time. My point is, I can handle myself if this Bogar turns up. And if you think of anything else I am here to help you too”.

“Thank you Lolli..” Beets responds, squeezing her hand and trying to smile back. Both turn to watch as the final crimson rays of the sunset stream over the rooftops, silhouetting the pair against the skyline. Harengon and beetle fairy, strangers in this land together and friends, as the sun draws another day together in Daring Heights to a close. “…You’re a good friend!”

Lolli smiles towards her friend “Thanks Beets. You’re amazing as well”. She stares at the skyline. Then after a few moments she smiles and turns to Beets “Do you want to sit here for a while or…”, she gives a small grin “…we can fly around together? Oh I can race you to that building…” and she points out to Paradise Frost.

Beets grins at her friend's challenge, "You know I'm always up for a race!" But then, something inside her softens her grin to a smile, wrapping her arm around Lolli and cuddling in close.."But can we just sit here..just a little longer?"

“Sure thing Beets. You say when.” Lolli smiles and sits in closer.

After a few moments as they stare into the horizon Lolli whispers, “I’m so glad I found you today…”

"Me too Fluff-bun," Beets whispers back, "Me too."