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Another adventure with Misty and her brother Martin as she discovers yet another fascinating object.
In a colony of more than thirty thousand ants, nearly any time of day one will find the tunnels of West River colony congested with ants so that they are nearly bumping into either each other or the walls of the tunnels they travel though. All of this activity can make traveling difficult at best, particularly if one of the many individuals is in a rush to get someplace. Such as it is with Misty Summeroak.
An extremely broad smile adorned her face, accompanied by widened, azure blue eyes that help to accentuate this very lively state of mind.
"Hi! Coming through! Beep-beep!"
A warm yet urging tone in her voice beaconed out to the varying sizes and tints of ants blocking her way down the main corridor which connects the anthill's entrance, to the Main Cavern: the central area of the colony, then down the North Stairwell to her destination. Most of the ants don't really pay that much attention to the excited young adult ant as she scurries her way to her destination, but some do manage to notice what she has rolled up under her right arm.
At first some think it's a twig from an aspen tree, being white, long and round, but others notice that it's not a solid mass, but a hollow or rolled up... something; a white leaf maybe? But then most of the colonists are far too concerned with getting to their next destination, or whatever random thought that's crossing their minds to really trouble themselves with what it really could be, so those who can, move aside allowing Misty to continue on her rapid pace.
In contrast to all of the excitement and hustle-bustle of the colony, a younger ant of just a couple years younger, rests quietly on a twig and leaf hewn couch in one of the colony's family chambers. Actually... he's very much asleep, which apart from hanging out with friends, and his usual work, many would consider this to be his favorite pass time as of late.
Soft, shallow breathing from this male ant named Martin along with a slow and repeated rising and falling of his thorax indicates he's deeply sleeping, and for some time now-- and since it's not from heavy work or exercise that's causes this temporary catatonic state, any sudden awakening won't exactly be welcomed. But then Martin isn't often fond of his rest being interrupted.
The sudden echoing of swift footfalls began to echo from outside, and very quickly reached the reddish orange leaf door before it became thrust aside, and Misty swiftly raced through the doorway, allowing the door to return to its usual position. While coming to a swift stop a few steps from the couch along the northern wall of the living room, Misty took a couple deep breaths but before calling out, her eyes rolled slightly as she'd been seeing her brother napping quite a bit lately.
"MartinMartin! Wake up!"
Nothing.
"Maaaartin," called out the female ant. "Wake up!" She then proceeded to bend over and nudge her brother's left shoulder a couple times before standing erect again
A very soft inhale was made by the younger sibling as he became aware of someone standing over him, making an attempt to drag him out of his sleep. Without so much as opening an eye, he inhaled slightly and simply stated in a rather groggy tone, "Go away."
Misty folded her arms and a mild look of irritation crossed her face. She's also very tempted to begin tapping her foot, but this reminds her a little too much of her mom, so she refrains from such a outward display.
"No! Seriously Martin. I've-"
This time a very sharp and quick inhale was followed as the younger brother pushed himself up into a seated position. Hazel eyes make direct contact with his sister's azure tinted ones and he adopted a similar stance. "Don't tell me, let me guess," he begas with more than a little sarcasm in his voice. "You've /found/ something. Right?"
"But Martin, I really-"
"No, Misty. How many times do we have to go through with this?
The older sibling does not respond.
"Seriously. I've had it with these little adventures of yours. You /drag/ me all over this colony for all of these /amazing/ things that never seem to materialize"
"I can't help it if you don't see what I do?"
Martin rolled his eyes a bit and held out an index finger toward his sister. "Right. Like the grain /you/ saw in the grain bin that looked /just/ like your aphid."
"Okay... fine. So I /thought/ it did..."
"Then there was the time we spent over two, /two/ hours looking for that four leaf clover. Misty, they don't 'make' four leaf clovers."
"I'm telling you--" The female ant attempted to defend, but is quickly cut off again.
"Or how about the night the moon suddenly disappeared? Oh, but not all at once, you see, it was like this big round shape was progressively covering the moon." The younger sibling holds up his hands to demonstrate the round shape he's referring to. "But when /we/ got out there, it turned out to be nowhere in site."
The female sibling merely shifted her weight from one foot to the other, keeping her arms folded the entire time.
"Look, I'm impressed that you have a mind of your own. Many people in this colony couldn't gain one if it was given to them in a leaf wrapped gift. But, I'm not joining you on any more 'wild aphid' chases!
Misty scowled a bit more as Martin laid back down onto the couch, and closed his eyes, but made one last comment before ending the discussion. "...and there is /no/ way you're gonna make me change my mind."
Misty's jaw firmed up then relaxed as her brother began to nod off again. 'No chance, eh,' she thinks to herself as she picks up the rolled up item she carried with her into the colony. After unraveling it, she held both sides of it in each hand and snapped it into a open, flat position toward her brother with enough sound to gain his attention.
This exact sound not only caused Martin's antenna to twitch, and his right eye to open, but after a double take, both eyes sprung open about as wide as berry buds, and he returned to a seated position with his mouth wide open. It took several seconds before he was able to say anything, especially since whatever this thing his sister is holding, is nothing like he's ever seen before.
On one side of the foreign material, which was much like a smooth surfaced leaf, was covered with colors of gold, orange and white-White lettering in an orange rectangular box with a white line around the orange area, and a gold border around that.
"So... what do you think," beamed Misty brightly.
"W-w-wow. You're /really/ found... something."
"Yeah, I sure did."
"What does... 'It us at' and 'tacUSA.com' mean," asked Martin as he read the words on the colored side.
"Beats me."
Slowly the male sibling got to his feet, and with an outstretched hand, gently placed the tips of his fingers against the smooth texture of the strange material before looking at his sister again "Lets... go check it out."
It took about fifteen minutes at a good pace to reach the area where the mysterious object was first discovered. So, considering Misty's excitement, it took just over ten for she and Martin to reach the object. Clearly having seen this object before, Misty very quickly took to climbing inside, crawling on all fours with her antenna occasionally bumping lightly on the top, since the height of the object wasn't tall enough for her to stand upright. Meanwhile, Martin stood motionless and simply stared at the strange object for several minutes.
"What... what /is/ it," inquired Martin rather incredulously, as he looked through the transparent material at his sister who was examining the interior. "It's... It's clear like water, but it's not wet."
The muffled sound of Misty's voice returned in reply. "I dunno, but it's really cool!"
"What? I couldn't hear what you said very well."
"I said 'It's really cool!'"
Martin nodded in response as his sister yelled out to him. He then proceeded to the open end of the object, which wasn't clear, but white, with what seemed to him to be a door of some sort. "Maybe it's some strange chamber or sorts."
Misty glanced toward her brother with a bit of an eyeroll.
"Just an idea."
After a few more minutes of the two inspecting this strange object, including the significant amount of writing located on the top of the object, Misty climbed back down to where her brother was inspecting some strange indentations on the end opposite from the opening. "So... now that you've found it, what do you want to do about it?"
Misty placed a hand thoughtfully to her chin. "Well, it's too big to take with us... darn!"
"And too heavy, I don't doubt. We'd need at least a dozen ants, and..." Suddenly Martin's voice trained off as his sister darted toward the opening of the box, and saw her push aside a leaf to reveal yet another strange object; this one much smaller, and orange in tint.
"We'll take /this/ with us!"
"Wow," Martin stated evenly. "You're just finding all sorts of things, today."
The object of interest had a smooth texture to it; a solid color of orange, with rounded tips and length which would be up to about the average ant's shoulder if stood on end. In case you're still confused, the object is an orange Tic Tac.
"We obviously can't take it in now, but we can tonight after everyone's asleep.
"What about the two guards at the entrance?"
Misty mused on this for a few seconds, then a smile came across her face. "Leave that to me. Just meet me at my chamber tonight after everyone goes to sleep."
It was well after sunset and everyone else, minus the small handful of guards watching the colony were sleeping when Martin quietly slipped out of his own home, and down the tunnel a few doors to his sister's place. Three very quiet taps were delivered to the reddish orange leaf door before it was moved enough aside so he could quickly slip in.
"Thanks for coming," whispered Misty as she smiled brightly to her younger sibling.
"No problem," the younger of the two whispered in return. "Not missing this for anything. So... What's the big plan?"
Misty's face brightened as she walked over to a leaf-covered closet, and removed two shovels.
"Ooooh. Tunnel out. Good idea, they won't find us that way. It /will/ take about two months," stated the male ant sarcastically.
Misty's eyes lifted to the ceiling then back to her brother again. "Duh. We're gonna break through one of the old entrances."
A blank stare is all she receives. "The ones the colony used to have..."
Nope, no new response. "...Then plugged up to keep the colony safe?
Still nothing. "Sheesh, Martin. Didn't you listen to anything in History class?"
"Of course not! Why? Did you," asks the younger sibling sincerely, his face screwing up at the very idea.
Again, Misty's eyes roll, answering her brother's comment.
At that moment, Ember, Misty's pet aphid sprung out of the bedroom and yipped sleepily yet happily at the visiting ant. Martin looked down with a bit of irritation. "You're not gonna bring her along, are you?"
"Of course not. She'd wake people up, and that's the /last/ thing we need. I'll put a vine collar and vine fiber on her in my chamber. Be right back."
During a period of quieter peace, West River colony had more than just the two current exits; the main one, and a 'back door' of sorts that's far less often used since access to the most often needed areas outside the colony are a closer walk from the front. But back then many of the tunnels weren't as large nor could they accommodate as many ants, so a rather creative thinking ant in the Council, a younger ant named Sycamore suggested the idea of multiple exits, to be placed at the more populated areas until at least the tunnels needing expansion could be enlarged, but due to popular use, they remained open for at least a couple of decades until East River began attacks anew.
In the rush to protect the colony, all but the original two entrances to the colony were blocked, some done in a rather hasty manner.
"So... that's the big idea. I know where one of the old entrances are located, and its wall is thin enough so we can dig our way out in less than an hour."
Martin, after listening to the little tid bit of history from Misty, then figuring out how it all connects, nods his head and accepts the shovel. "Let's get digging," he responded and made a direct line for the door, with Misty quickly behind.
Three levels down, and after a bend in the North West tunnel, the two ants quickly arrived and stoped before a rather aged looking leaf. Misty was the first one to arrive, so as she stoped, her brother Martin awaited to see what she's up to. Without so much as a moment of pause, the female ant pushed aside the leaf and quickly entered. Having up to this point assumed this was someone's residence, Martin's eyes grew to rather large proportions before his sister's hand poked out, grabed hold of his writ, and yanked him inside with a pretty firm jolt.
"Sorry, but I didn't want anyone to see us out there. This place isn't what nearly everyone things it is."
Martin's eyes fail to loose most of their sizeable dimensions as he manages to take a glance at his female sibling, then around the room a little. "I thought... eh. Never mind."
"What?"
A moment's hesitation occurse before Martin speaks his mind while rubbing the back of the lower portion of his left antenna anxiously. "I thought this was a person's chamber."
"And you thought I'd just barge in? Martin... I'm not /that/ overbearing." A short pause ensued before her voice adopted a slow, soft stance. "Am I?"
It took several seconds before Martin choose to answer, in part to tease his sister, which showed on her face in the form of ever increasing concern. "No... You're not. But... what do we need from here?" Before he can allow his sister the chance to answer, he saw a rather shriveled phosphorescent mushroom in the corner of the room. "Aha! Of course, some light."
Misty looked slightly inquisitive to her brother then glanced at the sickly glowing fungi on the right wall. "Oh, the poor thing." She reached up to touch the wilted mushroom gently. "Must have been overlooked. Okay... we'll use this one until we get back into the colony, then after we put that orange thing in my chamber, I'll come back for it.
"Misty, I'm not sure that's such a good idea..."
"I'm not leaving it here to die."
"But there is the arboretum. They'll take care of it," suggested the male ant.
"And how do I go about explaining how I got it? Hands are held in balls and rest akimbo.
"Right, right. Sorry. My mistake."
Without another word concerning the sickly 'shroom, Misty gently dug in the wall until the glowing mushroom was released from the wall, picked up the shovel and walked to a concave portion of the room. Almost exactly opposite of the leaf door, Misty inspected the rocks closely. "This is going to be easier than I figured. Look!"
A few rocks tumbled from the wall, and a beam of moonlight entered the room. "Gimmie a hand."
Martin proceeded to walk over next to his sister, and in a matter of a few minutes, there was enough of a hole for them and the object Misty desired to bring home to get through.
From this point of view, not only did the moon light show, but a pretty good look of the nearby pond-- the colonies water supply-- with the light of the moon reflected off of the surface.
"Pretty," Mused Misty deeply. But night won't last forever, so we'd better get going. "
Nothing particularly eventful happened as Misty and Martin located the object and after a little debate on whether anyone might see them carrying this item in the chamber, a leaf was found and wrapped around the object tightly, and carried back to the colony. With the extra space in the faux storage room, the two set the strange object aside, and before long, the old exit was filled with rocks, perhaps a little better than the way they found it.
After poking their heads out from behind the door, the two ants picked up the orange 'thing' and exited into the tunnel. Walking very quietly, they managed to give off a surprising lack of sound, and got to the stairwell before anyone saw either them or the tightly wrapped package. But as luck would have it, the two ants that Misty and Martin ran into were guards.
The two security guards were in the middle of a most engaging conversation when the 'brother and sister team' reached the level's stairwell landing. Misty and Martin looked widened eyed at each other as their hearts raced and panic set in, however before either were able to make any type of an escape, Martin grabbed his end of the object firmly and began heading toward the downward steps to the leavel below them --The exact opposite direction of their home tunnel.
"So... what's really concerning me at this moment, is the total lack of trust you have in my abilities and-Oh! Hello," states the taller of the two guards, name of 'Blueberry Grainbearer' and his companion, Crystal Moonshadow, as they saw Misty and Martin, but the female guard cut in before he could say more.
"Would the two of you like to explain what you're doing out at this time of night," firmly questioned Captain Moonshadow. " I'm sure even at your ages you know very well that it's against colony rules for anyone to be outside their homes at this time of night, unless it's a medical, or other form of emergency." She then eyed the leaf wrapped package they're carrying. "And unless you're carrying a sick person in there, you'd better start explaining yourselves."
Corporal Grainbearer tried to make a comment, but as soon as he did no more than open his mouth, Moonshadow gave him a look that he could not mistaken as a warning to keep it shut. A simple nod showed his understanding.
"Good," the female guard stated in a rather sharp tone to her companion before re-addressing Misty and Martin. "Well?"
It's at times like that Martin is usually the one who's left without an idea in his head, the poor ant. Certainly got him into trouble with his parents, but this time, inspiration struck.
"Actually, it's very simple. The contents of the leaves, these leaves being a special type of oak leaf that grows about half a day's journey West of here contains a special type of fungus." The male ant takes in a quick, steady breath before continuing. "A fungus that grows in sunless rock caverns is used in making some of Dr Fairweather's cures for the more severe winter colds we tend to see here."
Misty, is on the verge of having her chin effectively strike the floor at the story her brother has just concocted, but manages to stay calm and nod confidently in response. 'Heck,' she thinks to herself. If Blueberry (Whom she remembers as a kid from school some years back) and the other guard with him believe us, we're home free.'
Sargeant Moonshadow nods in a very believing expression, but then turns very condescending in a most rapid fashion. "Why didn't we see you then? We've been out at the main entrance since sun down and we didn't see abdomen or antenna of either of you!" She then gets a very deep sinking feeling inside. "Unless..." A most critical eye is passed to Corporal Grainbearer. "You fell asleep AGAIN, didn't YOU!?"
Blueberry raised his hands in defense toward his superior. "No! Not this time, I really don't know how--"
"Don't LIE to me! I can't stand that. Of COURSE you lied to me. How else do you suppose these two got out and then back in again with /this,/" she shouted while pointing to the leaf. "I too recognize that leaf, and it's not one we use inside the colony."
Right now Blueberry would just assume climb into one of the very small cracks along the walls of the stairwell. "I'm /not/ lying. I simply have no explanation for how..."
Crystal Moonshadow, more commonly known as 'Chrys' (pronounced 'Chris' by her family and friends) held up a hand again to silence Blueberry. "Let's... Just forget how and why, and figure out a way to deal with this situation.
And this is very common way that Crystal handles things. Crystal was a very ambitious child from the age of six, and somehow despite the difficult teenaged years managed to keep it that way. Her smaller than usual stature helped to reinforce that desired personality trait in her which began in school athletics, but became even more developed in the military. It became an instrument in helping her get to the position she has now acquired, particularly at a younger than usual age.
Both Martin and Misty had been watching the argument with a mixture of awe and anxiety, particularly when the female guard points toward the leaf. They both nod in unison as she talks about solving the problem, though they themselves not knowing how it'll get resolved.
"If word of this gets to our superiors that I left for a drink and /you/ fell asleep, we're both as good as sent to the grain fields. So here's what I suggest. This never happened, we were never here, and we speak noting of this." With that, she grabed Corporal Grainbearer by the left arm and pulled him into a neighboring tunnel, quickly out of site of the two sibling ants.
In near perfect unison, both Martin and Misty exhaled deeply as soon as the two others were out of the area. "That was close,' exclaimed the younger ant, who's response was met with a broad smile. "'A fungus that grows in sunless rock caverns'? Marin... that was /incredible/! I'm so impressed!"
Martin chuckled softly. "I have absolutely no idea where that come from, but... thanks."
" Now... what say we get this thing back to my chamber before anyone else comes by."
"I'm with you."
The next morning as Misty awoke from her twig and leaf bed, she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes before pushing her broad-leafed blanket aside. She always slept better under a leaf regardless of the ambient temperature of the colony. A warm smile crossed her face as she walked over and touched the smooth surface of the newly acquired object. If the young adult female ant had moved her hand a little lower, she would have felt a rather moist and sticky area that her pet aphid had been licking the night before.
"Ember? Sweetie?"
Misty by now had already noticed that 'all too quiet' nature of her living space to figure out that her pet had managed to make her way out of the chamber and into another part of the colony. No doubt in one of the neighbor's homes where the kids loved the hyper little bug and were more than happy to feed said hyper bug.
A sudden knock at the leaf door reached Misty's antenna and upon pushing the leaf aside, there was her beloved pet held by in the next-door neighbor's arms.
"Guess who's decided to pay another visit," Ember's momentary 'caretaker' spoke up in a warm smile.
"Oh dear. Thanks for watching her /again/ Mrs. Rockwielder." Misty held out her hands to accept the errant aphid.
"Oh, no problem. The kids love to spend time with her, and it gives me a chance to get things going and organized again. Besides," states the older female ant as she hands over the energetic green bug. "I think you lucked out with her; such a pretty little thing. Sooner or later I'm gonna try to talk Steven into letting us get one."
Misty took a hold of Ember, rubbing her on the head. "Keep trying. Just be sure it's another female. Don't want to wind up like the Bladehills. How many did they wind up with?"
"I think they lost count after two dozen."
"Two dozen! Boy that's quite the little 'family'.
"No doubt," stated Mrs. Rockweilder. Mrs. Rockweilder, first name of Elizabeth and really only about five years older than Misty herself, who has been a good friend of the Summeroak family for many years. "Well... I have to run, but if you see your mom, please ask her to get a hold of me. Looks like that allotment of raspberries will be coming any time now, and we need to get together to make that jam we've talked about."
"I'll be happy to," replied Misty as she set Ember down so the little bug ccould have her breakfast and Misty could make and eat hers before heading for work. "I'm looking forward to getting my share of the stuff myself. Yummy."
"Okay, then. I'll catch you later," and Mrs. Rockwielder departed for her home to get her kids ready for school. In the meantime, Misty went over to put a drop of dew from a larger container to an overturned acorn cap that's used for Ember's water dish with another placed next to it for her food. Before getting far in breakfast's preparation, a very rapid and persistent lapping echoed around the corner. Misty half chuckled to herself at the sound, then out of curiosity looked and discovered that Ember was not drinking from her water dish.
A perplexed expression showed on the female ants face as she followed the sound into her bedroom, and saw the little green bug licking the strange orange object she and her brother brought into the colony the night before.
"Ember? Ember, don't lick that. You don't know what it is or where it's been." The female ant walked over to the hyper little aphid, picked her up and carried her back to the water dish. "I'll have your food for you in a moment." Misty waked over to where some crushed grain was kept in a hollowed out nut shell, but when she turned to put the food into the dish, Ember wasn't where Misty expected her to be, but the same rapid licking sound came from where it did the time before.
"Ember! Would you stop licking that thing?! What's the matter with you?" Misty quickly reached down and picked up her pet aphid again. "I'm just gonna have to do this the difficult way." After exiting her bedroom again, she pulled out a twig big enough to block the leaf bedroom door to keep the excited aphid in the main room. Ember whimpered, but Misty was determined to keep the excited little bug out of her bedroom and away from her newly acquired possession.
Breakfast was soon consumed and as Misty was about to depart for work, curiosity got the best of her. She pushed the twig away from the leaf leading to her bedroom just enough to allow her to go inside, and pushed it back in the way of her pet. For a minute or so, Misty looked down at this strange orange thing, then placed the tip of her index finger to her tongue, ran the moistened digit along this object, then touched her finger to her tongue again. "Huh," she stated out loud, left her bedroom, moving and replacing the twig once more, then out the door of her chamber for another day of grain picking in the harvest fields.
Arriving at home that evening, Misty warily pushed the leaf door to her chamber aside, then brushed a small drop of perspiration from her forehead. A drop of dew was taken from the nearby container, and drunk down quickly, followed by another. A smile crossed her face as she saw Ember resting comfortably on her little leaf pad she so commonly slept on. However, the next sight caught her eye and caused some considerable concern. The twig she'd placed to block the leaf door of her bedroom was placed at an angle against the wall next to the doorway. Misty quickly went over and after pushing the leaf aside and saw that the strange orange thing was gone.
Misty half glanced at Ember, shook her head and quickly went into her bedroom to confirm that the object wasn't just moved or rolled. Nope, it was gone, and there was not to be found so much as a note to explain its disappearance. This was vital, because she knew that Martin would leave a note with his special mark to let her know he'd come to borrow anything while she was at work.
The bewildered ant returned to the kitchen and as she attempted to figure how and why the orange object was missing, a knock at the door echoed throughout her chamber. She walked over and pushed it aside, finding two ants standing before her.
"Hello, are you Misty Summeroaks?" asked the one on the right, a rather tall and slender male ant.
Misty nodded a little numbly, not recognizing either individual, then decided to correct him on the mistake with his pronunciation with her last name. "Actually, it's 'Summeroak.' Singular, but yeah, I'm Misty. Um... can I help you guys? She inquired.
"Perhaps so. My name is Mulberry, and this is my partner Sandy," the male ant indicated to the female ant to his right, who then offered a casual smile and nodded. The female ant spoke next. "We're from the Queen's Special Services," and upon this announcement, both ants produced a smooth, palm sized pebble.
Both pebbles had an offset hole and a strand of vine fiber tied at one end to help in carrying the polished stone. Upon the center of the stone were a few marks; two horizontal scratch marks crossing another one placed at a slant. These were created to prove the authenticity of the membership of the 'Queens Special Services' and anyone presenting them selves as such and not belonging to the organization would be subject to severe penalties.
The female ant continued, '...and we were wondering if we could come in and speak to you."
More surprised than anything, Misty nodded numbly and showed them the way in. At this point, Ember became excited and began to yip at the two visitors, particularly in hopes that they might offer up some attention or maybe even a snack.
"Ember! Shhh. We have guests," the younger female ant called out in hopes to calm down the excited bug. "I'm sorry, she can be pretty hyper when it comes to new visitors. Oh, but please," she offered an extended hand toward her twig and leaf hewn couch. "Have a seat." She then picked up Ember, and sat down at another chair sitting along an opposing wall from the couch.
Both Sandy and Mulberry took a seat on the couch, both smiling at the antics of the aphid. "She's quite the cutie," stated the female investigator ant with a broad smile.
"Thanks," was the reply from Ember's owner.
"Miss Summeroak," began Mulberry, "We understand that you and your brother found and brought into the colony some sort of strange object. We were wondering if you would care to tell us about it."
Misty's heart sank deeply as the male ant spoke about the now missing object. 'Darn! Those two guards must have said something, but how did they know what we brought it? They didn't look at it. "I'm sorry, I really don't know what you're talking about," she stated as innocently as possible.
"Miss Summeroak," Sandy then spoke out in a calming tone, with hands held outward. "I know that our being here must be rather unnerving, but we both want to assure you that you're in no kind of trouble. So if there is any information you can give us, we'd appreciate it.
"Nope. Sorry," Misty replied rather flatly. "Would you two care for some dew? It's fresh from the last rain."
"I'm fine," Responded both Mulberry and Sandy in near unison. "Um... do you mind if I have a little look around," asked Mulberry"
Misty shrugged her shoulders. "Go ahead."
Now that the object was gone, what was there to tip them off? Mulberry got up from the couch, and began to glance around the room.
Sandy sat back in a slightly more comfortable position before her eyes came upon Ember who was now resting on her leaf cushion again. "So, how long have you had her for," the older female asked indicating the little green bug.
"Ember is five now, and was two when I got her." Misty clapped her hands to get her pet's attention. "Ember! Here girl!" She then clicked her tongue a couple times, and Ember's big, dark red eyes popped open, and she hopped up from the cushion and quickly walked over to Misty, eyed Sandy momentarily then walked over to the female newcomer.
"Hi Ember," the older female ant reached out a hand to pet the aphid on the head who showed no resistance to the friendly contact.
Mulberry in the meantime looked around the food preparation area, not finding anything more than what the average ant keeps in their home. The chamber was rather on the small side, so before long he came to the doorway to the bedroom. A slight shake of the head and a small smile came from the male ants face as he watched his partner pet the aphid. Never could figure out the desire to keep pets in a person's home. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I take a look around in here," inquired Mulberry with an outstretched thumb toward the bedroom.
"Go ahead," Misty responded.
Misty spoke to Sandy about Ember, particularly about the darkish red tint of her pet's eyes; which was how the name came about, when Mulberry returned with a shriveled phosphorescent mushroom planted in a deep acorn cap in hand. "Been doing a little home botany, Miss Summeroak?"
Both Sandy and Misty shifted attention from Ember to Mulberry and Misty exhaled louder than she intended.
"You do realize that we have an arboretum that's expertly trained in helping the very occasional sick mushroom back to health," Mulberry stated evenly. "Care to tell us where you found it?"
Over the next few minutes Misty told Mulberry and Sandy about the large clear object she found a week or so back, then the smaller orange one she and her brother found and how they got it into her chamber. "But when I got back from work this evening, it was gone."
Mulberry looked to Sandy with a rather grim look. "Looks like they got to it before we could." With that, Sandy got to her feet, and both faced Misty. "We want to thank you for your time and the information you've given us." Both ants walked over to the leaf door, ready to depart. "If you can give us any more information, it would be very appreciative." An even smaller pebble, polished on one side was handed from Sandy to Misty. "This will help you make contact with us."
"Okay. I'm sorry I don't know more or who took it. Oh, but there was one other thing. It..." Misty paused momentarily. "It has an interesting taste to it."
"You /tasted/ it?" Mulberry's interest was piqued. "What was it like?"
"Sweet, but... kinda bitter--no. I'm not sure what it was like. Sorry."
Mulberry worked up a good smile. "Thanks again."
The leaf-door shifted back into place to cover the entryway of Misty Summeroak's home.
Both Mulberry and Sandy made several steps down the tunnel before either made any comment.
"You've got that look again, Mulberry," commented Sandy as she looked up to her partner's expression. "I sincerely hope you don't think that was anything more than just an incident of a member of the colony hording food."
"You heard what she said about it. Smooth, with perfectly rounded ends. Nature doesn't produce such items, it's never that exact."
"I've seen nature do some fairly interesting things, like snow flakes two days after it's been warm, but that's not my point, Mulberry."
"Then what /is/ your point? That the long, smooth and bright orange thing that she said had a tart yet sweet taste to it?"
Sandy paused momentarily. "I know that Mulberry."
Mulberry stopped along side Sandy, and simply nodded.
The female ant looked up to her partner for a moment, and shrugged it off as she began walking again. "Nonsense. That just proves it was some sort of grain or seed."
"You just don't want to admit it, do you Sandy?"
"That this object Miss Summeroak found was created by humans, these /humongous/ creatures one fourth the height of a tree, these unproven creatures made it? That's crazy, Mulberry."
Mulberry stood looking at the other ant for a few more seconds before beginning to walk again. "Clearly it's not made by an ant..."
"That I'll agree with, but Mulberry, but she had no proof, just a creative story. I don't know if you're familiar with Miss Summeroak, but she's quite the adventurous individual and I don't doubt able to create good stories too."
"But the mushroom! What about the mushroom? We've been to where the mushroom was located and you and I both know that the seal has recently been broken and refilled."
Sandy looked up at her partner again. "Okay, so she found the mushroom, and she even made her way out of the exit, that's certainly possible, but tell me this: If she found this object, then where is it? Misty Summeroak is a collector and she'd not get rid of such an item so quickly."
Another broad smile, one with a slight tint if irony crossed the male ant's face. "They got it."
"But /why/? What difference would it make?"
"Are you kidding? If word got out, it could create a panic throughout the colony worse than all of the conflicts the colony has ever seen. Sandy, you know as well as I do that the average ant can't handle such ideas. We're lucky to have written text if you ask me."
Sandy could only nod as she looked at a healthy phosphorescent mushroom attached to the wall of the tunnel as they passed. "So, if such an item really does exist, what do you suppose happened to it?"
"Simply, Sandy. It's been buried, but with all of the open terrain, well... Good luck finding it," exhaled Mulberry softly. "Besides, if I know their leader, they'll find a way to bury it so deep it'll never be found and by the time it /can/ be found, it won't be around anymore."
"Decomposed."
"Exactly," stated Mulberry as they reached the end of the residential tunnel and began to walk up the stairwell."
"Well, if we ever do meet these 'humans' I'd like to talk to one. Maybe they have a way to get around a little better than all these steps," lamented the female ant as they began their hike.
About a quarter of a day's walk from the colony, a group of ants with digging tools were located at the bottom of a fairly deep hole while the orange object sat near the edge. Two ants stood along side, watching the digging going on. A tall, dark blue tinted ant plucked a drop of dew off of a grass blade, held in his right hand and a rolled up leaf containing some sort of dark ground up material in the other. The dewdrop was held up to the sunlight with the rolled leaf to the ant's mouth and a reflected beam of sunlight was focused to the other end of the rolled leaf through the drop of dew. Smoke began to curl up from the lighted tip, and the ant drew in air on the other end. The ant stood quietly watching the work going on, and then expelled smoke out of his mouth in an anxious manner.
"You'd better not do that," warned the shorter, dark beige ant beside him. "You know the queen's rule, and while I'm far from an alertist, I'm also not taking the blame."
The taller ant with the 'cigarette' doused the tip into the same drop of dew, and tossed both off to the side. "Make sure they bury this thing deep. I do not ever want to see it again," demanded the ant as he watched a group of ants carry in mushroom to be planted on top of the buried object.
The other ant simply nodded, then motioned to two ants standing at the ready to push the object into the ground. "One more depth and that'll be enough."
The 'cigarette-smoking' ant nodded to the affirmative then headed off toward the colony without muttering a word.
Two days later, Martin and Misty went out looking for the orange object.
"Dang, and that's it? Just asked why you had that mushroom and left?"
"Pretty much."
"Sheesh. Well, I guess that's it then." Martin raised his hand to forehead level as a make shift visor to block the rays of the rising sun. "Any idea what happened to it?"
Misty looked onward for a moment then pointed toward a cluster of mushrooms. "It's under those! Gotta be!"
Martin looked toward the mushroom cluster and nodded slightly. "Makes sense. Those mushrooms haven't been there before, and the soil sure looks fresh for this far out from the colony. Want to dig it up?"
"Nah. Let's just leave it."
"Are you kidding? Misty, are you feeling alright?"
The female ant turned around and gave her brother a bit of a glare. "What's the point? They'll just find it again then bury it once more, and good luck finding the location. We're probably lucky to find it this time."
"Okay, okay," the male ant, responded in protest. "Are you going to tell those two ants with the Queen's Special Services'?"
"And run the risk of getting into trouble with the queen--or worse; Princess Anise? No."
"You're loosing your touch, Misty," Martin grinned deeply.
"Oh, and if so, then why does that blade of grass over there look just like aunt Gale?"
Martin's eyes grew wide, then he turned abdomen and began running back to the colony. "Not this time, Misty! Forget it!"
Misty giggled as her brother quickly scampered back toward home. "Well, at least I got him to get some exercise. Not a total loss then."
[The End]
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