"Wanna play it again?"
Meimei, still half-asleep, blinked. "Huh? Play? At midnight? Leader, why do you suddenly want to play instead of sleep? We're not kids anymore. You're old n—" she yawned mid-sentence.
Smack!
Miaomiao hit the back of her head. "Hey! If leader wants to play, we're playing! And what are you saying, calling her old? Open your sleepy eyes she's still a child!"
Maihima shot a sharp glare.
"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Miaomiao stuttered, Maihima Leaned back against the railing, flicked her fan open and said with a sly grin,
"Just do as I say… this is going to be fun. Now come on follow me."
Without another word, the two followed behind her, while meimei rubbed her head.
————-
"Arisu, seriously, how far is this place? We've been walking for two hours! You said it was close! Look around there aren't even any houses left. We left the house. We left the city. Are we leaving the planet next?"
Arisu walked ahead with Chipi perched on her head, and above them floated a glowing sphere, casting just enough light to guide their path. "Just a little more. I heard it's on the north side, near the hot springs. We'll know we're close when we see the flower field. And weren't you the one who wanted the honey so badly?"
They continued on, with Astra mumbling complaints every few steps. Meanwhile, without their knowledge, three sneaky figures were following them from a distance, darting between trees and bushes.
One of them Meimei, stifling a yawn, "Leader… where exactly are they going? And why are we following them instead of being in bed like normal people do at night?My pillow's crying for me, leader."
Maihima, eyes sharp, whispered back, "Shh! I thought they were sneaking out to rob someone, but they've come this far out of the city heading towards the forest…Something big's going down. Just keep moving."
Meimei sighed. "Why do I feel like we're the ones getting robbed…..of sleep?"
They walked for another 30 minutes until Arisu suddenly stopped, eyes lighting up with excitement. "Astra, look! Our struggle finally paid off, we're about to be blessed with honey! Look at the flower field!"
Astra, who was nearly sleepwalking by now, snapped her eyes open at Arisu's words. Arisu then pointed toward the glowing orb above her head. The orb grew larger and floated ahead, casting a wider light across the area.
And there it was.
An endless field of flowers in full bloom, glowing under the light.
Astra gasped at the sight before her. Without wasting a second, she dashed toward the field. A soft breeze rolled through, making the flowers sway like they were dancing to the rhythm.
"Tell me this isn't a dream… No, wait—" she spun slowly, taking it all in, "even dreams don't look this beautiful."
All around her, vibrant petals of flowers she'd never seen before, shimmered under the light. Arisu couldn't help but smile and ran after her doing the same spinning slowly in the middle of the flowers.
Watching the two spin and laugh in the field, the other three stayed hidden behind the trees.
"I wanna be there too… It looks magical. They're having the time of their lives!" Meimei sighed dreamily and Miaomiao rolled her eyes.
"What are you yapping about? Magical? More like madness. Who walks for hours just to roll in flowers? Childish."
Maihima squinting at the field,"I don't think they risked all this just to frolic in flowers. Arisu's been a fool since a child, and Astra…..well, as far as I know her she's a walking disaster. But walking miles just for petals? she isn't that dumb. Something's up. Let's wait and see a little longer."
After a while of spinning and laughing, both of them finally slowed down, catching their breath. Astra inhaled deeply and suddenly snapped back to focus. "Alright, playtime's over. Let's find that honeycomb."
Arisu nodded in agreement. "Honeybees don't build their hives in open fields like this. We need to head a little further."
She pointed toward the cluster of tall trees in the distance, their thick branches swaying gently in the moonlight. "They usually nest high up in trees with lots of cover. That's where we should look."
Astra nodded, and the two of them started walking toward the cluster of towering trees. The glowing light sphere followed closely, casting a soft hue on the path ahead. The path grew denser with every step thick branches crisscrossing above like a woven ceiling, leaves rustling softly in the midnight breeze. In the distance, they could hear the faint, calming sound of the hot spring.
Meanwhile, the three girls kept tailing them through the shadows.
"Where are they even going now? That's the forest border," Miaomiao whispered, clearly baffled. "What could they possibly be up to?"
"I don't think we should go further," Meimei said nervously. "It's really late… what if someone finds out we're not home? Leader, your father might—"
"Don't worry, Meimei," Maihima cut in, "Just a little more. We're too close to turn back now. Look they're pointing up at that tree. Come on, let's move closer."
Ahead, Arisu pointed to a massive tree far larger than the rest. Its thick, branches stretched out leaving no room for the trees around it to grow as tall.
"There!" Arisu whispered with excitement, eyes sparkling. "Astra, look we found one. The hive's up there!"
Astra followed her gaze and grinned wide. "Not just that. Look at the size of it we hit the jackpot. It's huge! Looks like the heavens heard our cravings after all."
"we just need a way to get that honey without getting stung to death," Arisu said, scanning the towering tree. "Arisu, start gathering some dry leaves and sticks we'll light a small fire. The smoke should drive the bees away." Without wasting time, the two began collecting whatever they could find on the ground.
From behind the nearby bushes, Maihima and her two tails listened with wide eyes and twitching expressions.
"They came all the way out here… to steal honey? Are they out of their minds? They could've just bought some at the store!"
Meimei sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "We followed them through the entire night for this? Just honey?Leader… there's not going to be any wildfire if they steal some honey from the bees."
Maihima shot her a sharp glare, clearly annoyed stomping her foot, "This is not how it ends. I didn't come all this way just to watch them roll around in flowers and snatch a beehive. Don't you remember that day how those two made me look like a fool, and I promised I'd make them regret it for messing with me. I'm not accepting defeat this easily."
She began fanning herself rapidly, thinking hard….until her eyes gleamed with a sudden idea.
"Miaomiao," she said, lowering her fan, "find me a big rock. Something heavy."
Miaomiao scanned the ground in the dim moonlight until her eyes landed on a good-sized rock. She quickly picked it up and handed it to Maihima.
Meimei blinked in confusion. "Leader… are you going to throw that at them? wait don't—
Miaomiao rolled her eyes and smacked her tightly on the head. "You walnut brain, she's not going to hit them instead—"
"Instead," Maihima interrupted, a sly grin forming as she took aim, "I'm going to throw it at the hive. Let them enjoy a sweet little taste… of a bee's sting."
Maihima stepped back, aimed the rock like a pro, and threw it straight at the hive.
THUMP. CRACK. THUD.
The entire hive fell straight down dropping right in front of Astra. "Did… something just fall?" She blinked.
"Yeah… like our luck." Arisu muttered, eyes widening. And then came the sound. A loud, angry buzzing filled the air as Hundreds of bees began swarming out in all directions.
Astra's eyes darted up, "Uh-oh. That's not good. That's very not good."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the distance. "What are you two looking at! Run unless you want your faces to puff up!" She screamed and ran off, laughing, with her two tails scrambling behind her.
Arisu shrieked, "ASTRA! RUN!! THEY'RE COMING FOR US! DONT LET THEM STING YOU!"
Panic took over. The two split up and bolted in opposite directions, running blindly in panic. Darting behind trees, stumbling over roots, they desperately tried to shake off the swarm of furious bees chasing them screaming in terror while that glowing orb disappeared leaving nothing behind but darkness.
"WHAT DO WE DOOO?! I CANT SEE!" Astra wailed.
"HAHA ASTRA! KEEP RUNNING DON'T GET STUNG!! IF YOU GET STUNG THEN HAHA—AHHH!!"
Did you get STUNG???
"I GOT STUNG!!" Arisu shrieked from behind a tree.
"WHAT? WHERE?!"
"ON MY BUTT!!"
"WHY WERE YOU SHOWING YOUR BUTT TO THE BEES?!"
"I WAS RUNNING!!"
"RUN SMARTER!! .....DOES IT HURTS?"
"OR WHAT? IT HURTS!! BUT ALSO HAHA IT'S WEIRD??"
"Stop your hahah-ing! And what do you mean weird?!" Astra yelled, ducking behind a tree, peeking out only to see bees swarming closer. "They're following me….oh no, oh no…they're actually following me!"she started bolting off again.
"Tell them to follow someone else!!" Arisu cackled mid-run and then BAM she tripped over a root and hit the ground, still laughing.
"ARISU! GET UP AND RUN!" Astra yelled, nearly tripping over her own feet. "Seriously, you've got to work on that awful habit of 'laughing while in danger' as soon as POSSIBLE! Wait Where's your Chipi?!"
Arisu raised her head from the grass, giggling uncontrollably. "I don't knooow! It stopped following me once we entered the forest—AHHH!"
"....AGAIN??"
"Yes!!!"
"Where??"
"On my right butt! HAHA! Astra, don't stop keep running!!" Arisu howled with laughter. "They're not ordinary bees! I realized something… if they sting you, it's like getting drunk without drinking!!"
"What does that even mean?!"
"I mean they've got a special venom in their stingers! It won't kill you but one hit and boom! you lose your senses for hours!"
"What?! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"
"I remembered after I got stung!"
Astra glanced back, eyes wide. "You got stung twice! Are you gonna be okay??"
"Yesssss HAHA the power's in me now! I feel invincible! Also a bit dizzy. Also kinda craving spicy food… BUT I'M FINE!"
Astra dodged a branch and shouted, "Arisu, this is not the time for weird cravings!"
"Listen to me now! There's a hot spring nearby. Find it fast! To escape If we both lose sense, we're doomed!"
"Got it! Don't get stung again, okay?! I'll be back soooon! try not to pass out!"
"BYE! Wait—I can see you coming… or is that a bee? Oh no.