While they brought it up in the first place, I’m too occupied with conversing with the king and Lady Carina about our culture to be able to eat anything.
One thing I learned in my manners training was that you don’t stuff your mouth if you intend to say something.
Eventually, I run out of topics I deem to be safe to tell and so the talk slowly concludes.
Finally, I get to try one of the smaller pastries served on the next table.
It looks scrumptious.
Truly, the eye eats as well, and whoever made this concentrated a fair bit of their expertise around how to arrange the icing into the symbols of Tarsona.
I first give it a slight sniff and then, after a small bite, relish in the taste.
The nectar is heavily diluted but perfectly accentuated.
I miss a little that it isn't as sweet as pure nectar, but this might be good as otherwise there'd be a certain overweight factor to consider for everyone who eats this.
This and that my craving for the sweetness might be a pure Formicea thing.
Anyway, aside from this one factor, in terms of consistency and looks it certainly wins.
"Kyska, why don't you try one as well?" (E)
I'm still trying to prove to Kyska that humans can make quite a lot of interesting things and although a pastry isn't the greatest invention ever, I wouldn't mind having them in the hive.
Yet maybe with a bit more nectar.
"If you wish so, princess." (K)
She takes the one I'm holding towards her and separates a small partition with her mandibles.
"I need to admit, that the way these humans incorporate the nectar is ingenious." (K)
"You said it. As long as we don't sell ourselves too short I'm sure the swarm can profit from this ingenuity." (E)
"If you say so." (K)
It's actually quite the challenge to get a real taste of all the sweets in front of me without looking bad as the one who clears the plate.
The nobles here would certainly have no sympathy for the fact that I have to fuel all the eggs in my body.
So I have to inconspicuously take one after the other if I want to enjoy them.
After I'm somewhat sated, I look around the hall for the others in my group.
Be it to assure myself that the girls are alright or that Honiu isn't going around stinging the guests, it's certainly better to check up on them.
Reassuringly, I find them all somewhere on the sidewall, not too far away from the guard.
The girls as well as my mum are supposed to attend Honiu, so they're not going to move too far away from her.
Also, the former have no intention of bravely mingling with the nobles.
It seems that Lady Carina chose her as her next victim and has already engaged in a full-blown conversation.
Though, she does seem to do most of the talking.
Honiu meanwhile is surprisingly listening, but from what I see and receive from her, not because of the wish to be a good conversational partner, but rather with the same morbid scientific interest with which Toris used to observe small insects.
While it does still seem peaceful, I should go to ensure that it stays that way since I know that it could take a sudden turn.
"Lady Carina, I see that you're getting acquainted with Princess Honiu." (E)
"Princess Erys! I'm having a great time. Princess Honiu is such a pleasant partner to talk to." (C)
Well, nice for you but occasionally it might be an idea to let the other party say something.
"It's fascinating. She claims one thing after the other about me but won't wait for me to confirm a single one of them." (H)
"Ohohoh! Then please enlighten me. I'm curious about so many things. Are you truly the leaders of this whole nation? You came here with all these troops. Do you command all of them, just like the ancient warrior princesses?" (C)
"We princesses have formal control over our respective partitions, but the true power lies with the queen. Even most of our escort troops were provided by her." (H)
"The queen? Certainly a special individual. So if there's a queen, is there also a king to this?" (C)
"No, males aren't really a thing in the swarm." (E)
"Really? But what about those?" (C)
She points at my royal guards.
It's understandable that those huge warriors with all the extra muscles may confuse the unintroduced observer.
"Drones don't have a gender. Aside from the queen and the princesses, there are no beings with a gender." (E)
"This isn't entirely true. In the ancient days there were males among our kind." (H)
Really? Now she chooses to speak solely to disprove me?
"So there were?!" (C)
"Naturally. And they served an essential function. They would wander around and scout the underworld for suitable locations for the princesses of that time so they could place their offspring. And then return to them to prepare for the act." (E)
"The act, huh? Now we get to the juicy part." (C)
"Honiu, I don't think that's a suitable topic." (E)
It wasn't particularly mentioned but I'm rather sure that insect mating is none of the topics one should talk about with nobles.
"Why not? It's an important part of our history. If she's interested in us then our origins are of importance." (H)
"Okay, okay, but what happened when the male would return to the female?" (C)
"The female would consume the male. Through this process, she was not only able to extract the information regarding necessary adaptation to the encountered creatures and environment, but she would also gain the necessary strength for the coming act of breeding." (H)
I have no idea what to say here.
Lady Carina is the first to regain her composure.
"Well, this was not what I expected, but I certainly can't say that the answer was below my expectations." (C)
"When we manage to establish a steady exchange, I'm sure there will be many more fascinating things to show." (E)
"Absolutely! I can't wait for it to happen. Times will become a lot more entertaining." (C)
Since she looks content I excuse myself to look for the girls.
I can already feel how nervous they are from here.
"Hey, are you two alright?" (E)
"Alrieght? Sure, ief you don't count my bodiely stAte, all thee weeird stares I gEt, and that I have no ideea why wee are eeven heere, thEn we're peerfEctly fine." (Alea)
"I mieght be able to give an answer to the latter." (F)
"Reeeally? I'm all eears." (A)
"Honiu inteends to have you perform in your roles. Millie, she wants you as her pErsonal nurse. As such you'll inevietably get caught up in her antics. So it's bEtter to get used to this. And you, Alea, are supposed to be a mEssEnger. And the point of having a human mEssenger is that you're best-suieted to interact with humans. As such, thies kind of event is a great traiening for both of you." (F)
When mum addressed her I noticed that the nurse-girl grew increasingly uncomfortable.
"Is everything okay? You can tell me." (E)
"Mmy tonshh feelsh a bit nnumbh and my thhroath ish shhore! B-but itsh okay." (M)
That doesn't sound like it's okay!
I should try helping her.
Or rather I call one of the servants over to do so.
"Excuse me, would it be possible to bring some juice for the young lady?" (E)
I hope this might help her throat a little.
While the man looks a bit surprised at me and the girl, who looks not a bit like all the nobles here, he immediately obeys.
I guess none of the servants would dare risk offending us.
Since he's for this reason fairly motivated, it only takes a moment for him to return with a full glass.
"Is this fine for you?" (E)
I have a bit of a soft spot for these young children and want them to have a somewhat nice time.
"I-it shmellsh nish and shweet." (M)
She starts to sip and from the way she leans the glass more and more toward her I'd say she enjoys it.
"Slurpshh"
Suddenly there's a loud slurping sound coming from the girl like you'd get it when you pull far more air than liquid inside.
Quite a number of people start looking in our direction, but the one who's the most appalled is the girl herself, now clawing at her throat.
(M)
It seems insect speech is still working.
But what did she say?
With her tongue?
That would mean she could draw the liquid with it, which means it's hollow, like a, like a...
Oh my god, I get really disturbing flashbacks!
(A)
While they brought it up in the first place, I’m too occupied with conversing with the king and Lady Carina about our culture to be able to eat anything.
One thing I learned in my manners training was that you don’t stuff your mouth if you intend to say something.
Eventually, I run out of topics I deem to be safe to tell and so the talk slowly concludes.
Finally, I get to try one of the smaller pastries served on the next table.
It looks scrumptious.
Truly, the eye eats as well, and whoever made this concentrated a fair bit of their expertise around how to arrange the icing into the symbols of Tarsona.
I first give it a slight sniff and then, after a small bite, relish in the taste.
The nectar is heavily diluted but perfectly accentuated.
I miss a little that it isn't as sweet as pure nectar, but this might be good as otherwise there'd be a certain overweight factor to consider for everyone who eats this.
This and that my craving for the sweetness might be a pure Formicea thing.
Anyway, aside from this one factor, in terms of consistency and looks it certainly wins.
"Kyska, why don't you try one as well?" (E)
I'm still trying to prove to Kyska that humans can make quite a lot of interesting things and although a pastry isn't the greatest invention ever, I wouldn't mind having them in the hive.
Yet maybe with a bit more nectar.
"If you wish so, princess." (K)
She takes the one I'm holding towards her and separates a small partition with her mandibles.
"I need to admit, that the way these humans incorporate the nectar is ingenious." (K)
"You said it. As long as we don't sell ourselves too short I'm sure the swarm can profit from this ingenuity." (E)
"If you say so." (K)
It's actually quite the challenge to get a real taste of all the sweets in front of me without looking bad as the one who clears the plate.
The nobles here would certainly have no sympathy for the fact that I have to fuel all the eggs in my body.
So I have to inconspicuously take one after the other if I want to enjoy them.
After I'm somewhat sated, I look around the hall for the others in my group.
Be it to assure myself that the girls are alright or that Honiu isn't going around stinging the guests, it's certainly better to check up on them.
Reassuringly, I find them all somewhere on the sidewall, not too far away from the guard.
The girls as well as my mum are supposed to attend Honiu, so they're not going to move too far away from her.
Also, the former have no intention of bravely mingling with the nobles.
It seems that Lady Carina chose her as her next victim and has already engaged in a full-blown conversation.
Though, she does seem to do most of the talking.
Honiu meanwhile is surprisingly listening, but from what I see and receive from her, not because of the wish to be a good conversational partner, but rather with the same morbid scientific interest with which Toris used to observe small insects.
While it does still seem peaceful, I should go to ensure that it stays that way since I know that it could take a sudden turn.
"Lady Carina, I see that you're getting acquainted with Princess Honiu." (E)
"Princess Erys! I'm having a great time. Princess Honiu is such a pleasant partner to talk to." (C)
Well, nice for you but occasionally it might be an idea to let the other party say something.
"It's fascinating. She claims one thing after the other about me but won't wait for me to confirm a single one of them." (H)
"Ohohoh! Then please enlighten me. I'm curious about so many things. Are you truly the leaders of this whole nation? You came here with all these troops. Do you command all of them, just like the ancient warrior princesses?" (C)
"We princesses have formal control over our respective partitions, but the true power lies with the queen. Even most of our escort troops were provided by her." (H)
"The queen? Certainly a special individual. So if there's a queen, is there also a king to this?" (C)
"No, males aren't really a thing in the swarm." (E)
"Really? But what about those?" (C)
She points at my royal guards.
It's understandable that those huge warriors with all the extra muscles may confuse the unintroduced observer.
"Drones don't have a gender. Aside from the queen and the princesses, there are no beings with a gender." (E)
"This isn't entirely true. In the ancient days there were males among our kind." (H)
Really? Now she chooses to speak solely to disprove me?
"So there were?!" (C)
"Naturally. And they served an essential function. They would wander around and scout the underworld for suitable locations for the princesses of that time so they could place their offspring. And then return to them to prepare for the act." (E)
"The act, huh? Now we get to the juicy part." (C)
"Honiu, I don't think that's a suitable topic." (E)
It wasn't particularly mentioned but I'm rather sure that insect mating is none of the topics one should talk about with nobles.
"Why not? It's an important part of our history. If she's interested in us then our origins are of importance." (H)
"Okay, okay, but what happened when the male would return to the female?" (C)
"The female would consume the male. Through this process, she was not only able to extract the information regarding necessary adaptation to the encountered creatures and environment, but she would also gain the necessary strength for the coming act of breeding." (H)
I have no idea what to say here.
Lady Carina is the first to regain her composure.
"Well, this was not what I expected, but I certainly can't say that the answer was below my expectations." (C)
"When we manage to establish a steady exchange, I'm sure there will be many more fascinating things to show." (E)
"Absolutely! I can't wait for it to happen. Times will become a lot more entertaining." (C)
Since she looks content I excuse myself to look for the girls.
I can already feel how nervous they are from here.
"Hey, are you two alright?" (E)
"Alrieght? Sure, ief you don't count my bodiely stAte, all thee weeird stares I gEt, and that I have no ideea why wee are eeven heere, thEn we're peerfEctly fine." (Alea)
"I mieght be able to give an answer to the latter." (F)
"Reeeally? I'm all eears." (A)
"Honiu inteends to have you perform in your roles. Millie, she wants you as her pErsonal nurse. As such you'll inevietably get caught up in her antics. So it's bEtter to get used to this. And you, Alea, are supposed to be a mEssEnger. And the point of having a human mEssenger is that you're best-suieted to interact with humans. As such, thies kind of event is a great traiening for both of you." (F)
When mum addressed her I noticed that the nurse-girl grew increasingly uncomfortable.
"Is everything okay? You can tell me." (E)
"Mmy tonshh feelsh a bit nnumbh and my thhroath ish shhore! B-but itsh okay." (M)
That doesn't sound like it's okay!
I should try helping her.
Or rather I call one of the servants over to do so.
"Excuse me, would it be possible to bring some juice for the young lady?" (E)
I hope this might help her throat a little.
While the man looks a bit surprised at me and the girl, who looks not a bit like all the nobles here, he immediately obeys.
I guess none of the servants would dare risk offending us.
Since he's for this reason fairly motivated, it only takes a moment for him to return with a full glass.
"Is this fine for you?" (E)
I have a bit of a soft spot for these young children and want them to have a somewhat nice time.
"I-it shmellsh nish and shweet." (M)
She starts to sip and from the way she leans the glass more and more toward her I'd say she enjoys it.
"Slurpshh"
Suddenly there's a loud slurping sound coming from the girl like you'd get it when you pull far more air than liquid inside.
Quite a number of people start looking in our direction, but the one who's the most appalled is the girl herself, now clawing at her throat.
(M)
It seems insect speech is still working.
But what did she say?
With her tongue?
That would mean she could draw the liquid with it, which means it's hollow, like a, like a...
Oh my god, I get really disturbing flashbacks!
(A)
