A week had passed since the Great Burning (dubbed by Haecilly), and the remaining bee colony needed a suitable place to erect their hive. As of now, the size of each bee differs from their earthly counterparts.
Haecilly as the Queen bee is no smaller than a brown bear, her sisters who were normal working bees without being fed royal jelly, are smaller than her, though the size difference is very insignificant.
That is why, the place they need to stay is something that should accommodate not only her but the entire colony that is to come. Haecilly suddenly remembered the past colony, a giant hollow tree which made her nostalgic.
For a week, Haecilly and her four sisters ventured deep into the forest, searching for the perfect location to rebuild their colony. Their journey led them through a myriad of breathtaking sights—a sprawling field of vibrant flowers, a cascading waterfall whose mist shimmered in the sunlight, and even a tense encounter with a predator. Yet, none of these compared to their most extraordinary discovery.
As they followed the river’s winding path, Haecilly’s sharp eyes caught sight of something unusual—a massive, ancient trunk rising from the earth. It towered dozens of meters into the sky before abruptly ending, as if nature itself had decided to leave it unfinished. Intrigued, they approached the colossal structure.
Up close, Haecilly noticed several entrances carved into the trunk, though only a few were large enough to accommodate her size. Once inside, she was struck by the vast hollow space within. The interior was spacious, with enough room for Haecilly and her sisters to spread out comfortably. It was perfect—a natural sanctuary, ready to become their new home.
“It's large…” Haecilly uttered in awe.
After assessing the room within the hollow trunk, she could see the potential of the hollow tree, she could already envision multiple designated rooms for the colony.
“I declare this place… the Hollow Bark…”
Haecilly felt giddy about her new home, though she felt a bit sad when she remembered that her sisters could understand what she was excited about. They at least knew of her excitement through the pheromones she released as she was trapped in a nuzzle-fest from her sisters.
Sometimes, the ability to think and be unable to share her interests made her occasionally think that her new Soul Card was a curse. Of course, the thought vanished before it could root itself in her mind, being able to think and judge was better than being not.
What the current hive needs to get the Colony back to its feet is a capable queen and she couldn't be that if she was just an ordinary queen bee, which acts instinctually. What she can do is to plan which she could only do with her new soul card.
She sighed, instead of just drawling around she decided to be useful, commanding her sisters to gather fruits so the making of wax and honey making could be started.
By her instincts, she could tell that the next season was up, the precise date, however, is something she was unsure of. Winter was near and by then they needed to have enough food stockpiled to last the four of them or else doom was certain.
Once the command was received, her sisters immediately acted. For a few hours, with the abundant trees around, they had gathered enough fruit to start honeymaking. On the other hand, Haecilly was already making wax under her belly.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Haecilly was already envisioning the future—a network of honeycomb chambers, some dedicated to new colony members, others reserved for food storage. Lost in her plans, she was startled by the sound of rustling behind her. Assuming it was one of her sisters returning, she turned—only to find herself face-to-face with a mountain lion.
She froze, her thoughts raced. Then instinct took over. Buzzing her wings to appear larger and more imposing, she stomped her front legs forcefully, issuing a clear warning to the predator in her midst
The mountain lion bared its fangs towards Haecilly, but it kept its distance studying her. Haecilly started thinking of scenarios that would allow her to win against the mountain Lion, she noted that the Mountain Lion was Injured.
The beast's backside was scarred with burns, covered in scabs—a clear sign it had survived the Great Burning. Haecilly quickly deduced its origins. The lion growled low and menacingly, circling her with measured steps, its piercing gaze studying her every move.
Haecilly continued stomping her front legs, a firm warning for the predator to retreat. Yet, the lion showed no signs of backing down, its intent unwavering. A few moments of tension lingered in the air, a moment of decision was all that was needed, it could spell life or death for her and the beast.
It growled again, Haecilly buzzed her wings, stomping on the ground. Hoping that the lion to go away, hoping that it isn't that desperate for food. But her hopes were stomped on as the mountain Lion pounced.
It roared as it lunged at her, Haecilly spread her wings and flew upward, the Mountain Lion landed on nothing but scratched the soil beneath.
The best course of action was to retreat, trying to fight something like that would spell death or extreme injury if contested. Haecilly could tell that the beast was desperate for food, leaving it alone to starve more would be for the better and it could leave to find another prey.
But she couldn't, just as she flew upwards to cling to the wooden surface of her newfound home, her sister came back with fruits under her second set of legs.
Haecilly’s worry spiked through the roof when the lion removed its focus from her and went for her sister. It ran towards the vulnerable bee and Haecilly saw death and flashing images of her previous colony’s destruction.
Rage overwhelmed her reason, and she flew towards the mountain lion, her speed was accelerated by gravity thanks to her weight and her wings pushed her speed further. Before the lion could even reach her sister, Haecilly stabbed her stinger to the mountain lion's back, making it roar and stop in its tracks.
The mountain lion whimpered and growled as it shook its body trying to shake Hecilly off. She was thrown away soon making her tumble away in a loud thud.
The mountain lion roared trying to shake off Haecilly, she was soon thrown away making her tumble away with a loud thud. By then, her sister realized the gravity of the situation, so she released the fruits and snapped at the mountain lion.
The beast which was reeling in pain was bitten in the neck, making it unable to move its head. It whimpered and Haecilly didn't miss her chance. She stood up with a stagger and dashed to the lion, her wings boosting her momentum, her stinger prepared to stab.
The mountain lion tried to resist more, its claws digging into her sister, Haecilly was outraged, and seeing her family get hurt overwhelmed her ability to think, she stabbed again and again to the mountain lion's neck but couldn't escape the bee's grasp.
Under normal circumstances, the mountain lion would have easily snatched the bee with a swift motion of its neck. However, its injuries—particularly the limp in one of its hind legs—robbed it of its usual agility.
Haecilly seized the opportunity and made one final, desperate stab. Her stinger met brief resistance, a fleeting obstruction, before piercing cleanly through the other side of the mountain lion's neck.
Soon the lion went limp, her sister let go of the lion but collapsed as soon as the threat was gone. Haecilly worriedly limped towards her sister.
“No… No No No…!”
Haecilly swiftly inspected her sister, assessing her injuries, Haecilly knew some medical techniques that could assist her thanks to Devon's memories, the problem was that those techniques were meant to be used for humans.
Haecilly was in distress, she didn't want to lose her sister but the way she bled was alarming. Haecilly soon found an idea that could work. She started to regurgitate the food she had eaten earlier, it hadn't become honey yet but hopefully, it was enough to close her wounds.
Haecilly spat the pseudo-honey over her sister's multiple wounds over her thorax. She went for the deep wounds, hoping the small wounds would be a small issue. The honey managed to patch the large wounds, stopping them from bleeding.
But she couldn't efficiently smear it due to her lack of hands. Haecilly was a bit frustrated, but thankfully, her sister is still alive and that's all that matters.
Haecilly took a breather and let herself calm down. Soon her sisters started to come in and worry over the injured sister.
Haecilly was getting annoyed at how she could only describe them as her sister, soon she would name them.