“No, Mrsha! You can’t have it. No, you can’t—don’t lick it! See how bad it tasted? Now, give it to me—no, no, you can’t put it with Apista. She’s in a shell and I don’t think she wants company. Just give it to—just throw it outside in the snow, far away, okay? There’s a good girl.”
Erin turned her head and saw Mrsha scampering out of the inn. She also saw Lyonette carefully arranging a large bowl set in the middle of a table in the far corner of the inn. She was tending to Apista, her pet, making sure the bowl was filled with royal jelly and warm enough.
Erin could appreciate Apista, although she hated wriggling things in general. Technically, the bee larvae that Lyonette had adopted as a pet was also a maggot, but at least this one was…bigger? Well, it was part of the inn now, and that meant it was as good as family. Even if it was butt ugly.
But Apista had grown on Erin—literally. After the few days since she’d returned to her inn, the larvae had begun metamorphosing into a hardened shell, at first just an indistinct blob, but which was taking on the appearance of a bee day by day. It would hatch soon, Erin felt, and then…
Well, Lyonette had the [Beast Tamer] class, and so she’d be able to control it. Or so Erin desperately hoped. But in truth, Erin had no idea what Apista the Ashfire Bee would be like when she finally emerged from her pupal state.
Apista. Now there was a good name. In truth, Erin had been holding out for Beeyonce, or Pudge, but Lyonette had settled on Apista, and Erin had to admit it made sense. Not that anyone besides Ryoka would recognize the Latin name, though.
Apista. Now there was a good name. In truth, Erin had been holding out for Beeyonce, or Pudge, but Lyonette had settled on Apista, and Erin had to admit it made sense. Not that anyone besides Ryoka would recognize the Latin name, though.
Erin grinned at Lyon as the girl’s face went red. It was remarkable how much she’d changed from the haughty, angry girl that Erin had first saved from freezing to death in the snow. Erin glanced at the windows as Lyonette busied herself with Apista’s bowl, still blushing furiously.
That was the thing about Erin’s inn. Ryoka could order a steak Erin had seared to perfection five days ago and have it fresh and hot in moments. The hot, warm muffins with a side of honey and milk made the clouds around Ryoka lift for a bit. Then Lyonette came back and showed her Apista.
Ryoka recoiled in her chair as she came face to face with two black, fragmented eyes and a massive, furry insect’s head. She backed up and realized it was only massive for a bee. Apista the bee was a bee twice the size of Ryoka’s hand, clinging quietly to Lyonette’s arm and fanning its wings.
After Apista was gone, Ryoka looked around and found Mrsha was busy harassing Zel Shivertail before he left the inn. He was always in the city doing something. The Gnoll was trying to pin down his tail and having no luck. Zel could lift Mrsha’s entire body up with his muscular tail. For some reason, seeing Mrsha enjoying herself with someone else annoyed Ryoka.
But while Ryoka could tell what was coming, she could never realize when the snap was coming, when the bile rose up and came out of her mouth. When Lyonette gave her a muffin sans bee, Ryoka glanced around to look where it had gone. Apista was calmly eating from a bowl on a table, watched warily by some of the regular customers and hungrily by Bird.
