Frelper
“Try it again.”
Yursen obliged and crawled under the dark mass, only his legs sticking out now. He grunted, did something and the beetle vibrated a couple of times, its shell starting to unfold, the delicate wings under briefly appearing. Then it suddenly stopped.
“It started fine yesterday, but this morning nothing.”
The beetle turned its head towards Deks, its compound eyes glinting in the green light. It appeared almost apologetic. It turned back, one foreleg reaching up to bend down an antenna, which it proceeded to groom.
“Did you check the tubules?”
Yursen’s muffled voice muttered from under, “Of course I checked the tubules, one of the first things I did.”
“Spiracles?”
The voice now held a contained but growing frustration, each word now spoken slowly, “Yes, I also checked the spiracles.”
Yursen wriggled out from under the animal, wiping his hands on an already dirty cloth. “Can’t understand it, beast has always been temperamental but this is something else. I’ll have to bring it to Clofrin and…”
A high pitched droning caught their attention, cutting into Yursen’s words. A similar beetle had appeared over the edge of the branch, hovering. It executed a series of mid-air flips and turns, vibrating like a mad toy, spurted a foul-smelling yellowish cloud in their direction and then darted off at speed.
Yursen’s beetle had turned towards the new arrival, and now stirred excitedly. It buzzed once, unfolded its wings in an instant and took off in a blast of air.
Yursen stood stiffly as the dust settled around and on him. His eye twitched.
Deks watched the creatures disappear behind a mushroom.
“I’ll go get my ladybug, shall I?”
—
Turning away back towards his shed, he threw his cloth haphazardly behind him. It snagged on the grooming beetle’s antenna, which startled it. It buzzed once, turned, unfolded its wings in an instant and took off in a blast of air.
