Isra jumped over a fallen log to climb up a tree, but slipped and landed on a moss bed at its base. Instead of getting back up, she stayed still, looking up at hundreds of dangling vines; sun rays shimmered in between, painting her pale face a subtle yellow and illuminating her grey eyes as her mind wandered far away, seeking its own logical explanation of everything that had happened to them.
They had reported everything back to the hive, and Queen Golden would send help in the coming hours. But deep down, she felt restless. The anxiety once again dominating her thoughts.
She raised her arm up against the sunlight to see if lightning still rushed through her veins. Back then, on top of Qatan, she had felt an inexplicable power somewhere deep in her core. But it looked totally normal. She sighed and sat back against the stump.
'But I can't leave him to die when he's saved me twice now.' She thought to herself, and this frustrated her even more. She got up and started climbing again on the tree.
After scaling its height almost to the mid, she absent-mindedly looked to the west while still lost in her thoughts as her eyes widened. There, between the shrubs, on a cozy bed of moss rested a beautiful bird that looked extremely strong and begged to be lured into a maniac evil scheme of hers. Her eyes suddenly lit up.
'I should get Khadija,' she thought to herself.
*************
#212 had changed back to his bee form since he could not sustain being a bird of prey for too long. It was already a miracle that he had not switched midflight and had resisted until they were all safe. He truly knew no bounds.
Currently, he was resting inside a huge white flower that had its petal curled inwards, and a group of medic bees hovered above him, administering his state. They really had outdone themselves with #212, even going to the extent of growing his severed leg back.
Khadija sat nearby, watching the whole scene, and her heart felt warm inside despite everything. She felt grateful. She closed her eyes, and dim sunlight illuminated her eyelids. She did not regret a single thing that had happened to them. The bees were starting to feel like her family now, even though she had known them the shortest. Sure, they had gone through a lot, but Isra and her felt grateful for everything, and she felt safe in the grove.
She also worried about Isra; recent experiences had started to change her in a unique way. She felt like Isra would be more responsible and mature after what happened to her. And that made her feel at peace as well.
She looked within and found sparks of mischievousness rising somewhere deep as well. It wasn't like such noble emotions of gratitude were going to keep her at bay. No. Instead, she felt like rushing off and exploring every single thing that was happening in the grove. Her nerdy side demanded its own chaos.
'I should probably get Isra and look around,' she thought to herself, getting up but then sat back down. It didn't feel quite right for her to leave #212's side right now.