Colony's Hope

Escape

Skye looked at the screen again, just to be sure they had read correctly. Mentally cursing, they quickly headed towards where their sisters were gathering. The pheromones were one of fear and excitement. Clearly, a scout had picked up the trail of the enemy long before it reached the nest. The colony was preparing for war, as swords and spears were passed out to everyone...everyone but Skye.

"Go see the Queen, she has specifically asked for you," the eldest of their sisters said, turning away from them afterward. Skye shivered but did as ordered, heading towards the Queen's quarters. Why was she calling for them, especially when war was just around the corner? They had no answer for that, so they simply had to follow orders at that point.

The monarch was currently handing what appeared to be the last egg in the chamber to one of the nurse ants. Her abdomen had stopped its constant movement, as she was no longer in the process of laying. Skye didn't know that queen ants could do that, make themselves not lay eggs. Apparently, though, they didn't know everything there was to know about ants. Any further train of thought was halted, though, when she looked up to see them at the tunnel mouth.

"My Different One...come here, child," she crooned, holding a hand out. Skye moved down to take it, looking up at her in awe and fear. The fear was soothed, though, as she gently caressed their face, clicking her mandibles softly. She murmured, "I had hoped, my dear one, that you could've grown more in the safety of the colony. But our enemies are in overwhelming numbers...and bigger than us as well. So, you must leave.

Do not argue with me, child! Leave, find someplace you can feed and grow. Carry on my genes...the genes of the family. Even if you choose a path other than this one, the family will survive in you. Now go!" The Queen pointed insistently at a tunnel at the far end of her chambers. Skye nodded, and ran to it, looking back once to take in their mother's form one last time. She was picking up a halberd, her bearing one of a warrior. It was to that fearsome sight that Skye left his home colony forever.

*

Skye poked their antennae out of the tunnel before looking, checking to see if there was any threat. Cautiously they stepped out into the open for the first time since hatching. Their gathering jobs had all been from the in-nest storage rooms. Only the eldest sisters got to go outside. They could understand why, too, as they felt overwhelmed. Everything was so big and open in comparison, and it made them nervous.

They noticed, though, that flowers were the same size as they had been for them in their prior body. That, at least, was a relief; it would've been hard enough to survive as an ant without being the size of one. Their thoughts were interrupted when the red exclamation point at the edge of their vision became more insistant.

*Update on Quest: Siege*

You have survived the siege, but are now alone. Stats have been activated as you are outside the nest.

HP: 8

Mana: N/A

Str: 3

Dex: 10

Con: 6

Skills: Bite lvl 1, Wall climb lvl 1

Evolution tree: locked

Skye blinked and rubbed at an antennae in confusion. This just became a lot more complicated than they thought it was going to be. First things first, though, they needed to find shelter and food and quickly. From the position of the sun, night was on its way, and it wouldn't be wise to be out in the open when the insect hunters came out. Thus, they started walking, being careful of where they were treading...you never knew when an antlion or other ambush predator was going to ruin an ant's day.

They eventually spotted a hollow in a tree about twelve feet off the ground. They started climbing to it, tapping the trunk with their antennae to double check they were alone. As there were no pheromones around, Skye assumed it was reasonably safe. It also was a relief to squeeze themselves into the hollow, which was bigger on the inside than it looked. A bit of chewing here and there, and it would make a good base for the forseeable future.

Once the matter of shelter was figured out, they started looking around for food, glad that it wasn't approaching winter time. There were a few fruit on the tree, though the taste was a bit odd. It was somewhat edible, though, and it would do for the moment. Taking their dubious prize back to the shelter, they settled down for the night. It was to a restless sleep that they finally drifted, as nightmares plagued them through the night.