Flying termites, seen as pests by the people housed in wooded walls, are creatures transfixed in their position since birth. They are gentle things, simply following their nature. It is not their sin to do what they do. This is what they were groomed for after all. They swarm at night hoping to find something that attracts them. Foolish little things attracted to the light from flames that could burn them. As they are done mating, they lose their wings and lose their chance to touch the sky they tasted when they were at the cusp of their youth. They lose the wings as soon as they find what they sought.

Some might wonder if the termite yearns for their wings and yearn to taste the breeze then burn once again like many others of their kind did. Some wonder that maybe they feared the light that that called to them so they shed when they were seeded with life. Either way countless numbers of them have done this irreversible thing. Some may wonder if they wished to be something more.

But what happened cannot be taken back, ones wings cannot simply grow back after all. No spawn can be left unbirthed. After all time only moves in one direction.

For Kathzka Fonso, she was termite queen of her little kingdom, the termite mound inn. She was like any old human woman, just passing day to day in order to survive with her children. She was grateful for her family, even if she has lost the one she built it with, untimely as it was. Died in his sleep, even now she mourns.

Five children, two boys and three girls with an unborn one on the way. She baked bread and brewed liquor. Her two sons manned the kitchen and two of her daughters learning to be medics. Her current youngest was still growing and learning, assisting her in what they could.

Much as she loved her children, she also secretly envied what they possessed. The thing which was no longer hers, time. She has lost her voice, unused to hone her craft. She has lost her flame, that which used to burn her words with emotion. They were everything she could have been. But she was also scared that they would only be limited to be like her, all that they could ever be. And so she reigns as the tiny termite queen of the mound.

She wasn’t always the owner of an inn that catered to travelers, she used to be a bard, one that traveled and sung songs with heroes. She might seem young for her age, but every time she passes by mirrors, polished cutlery, or pools of water she sees glimpses of the passage of time manifest.

She hates mirrors now. And she avoids water, much like how winged termites would drown in the rain. The same rain that pitter pattered outside her little mound, her inn, her home.

As she ruminates and cleans the plates behind a counter, the door swings open and sees two strangers enter the inn.

“Aww dangit, my coats wet” The small ratkin spoke. The boy looked like a scholar covered in strange plants. Probably a druid based on his attire. Unassuming and harmless, he looked more likely to heal than hurt a fly.

“Gotcha covered” A confident armored knight spoke behind a helmet. Basing on the voice it was a woman. She touched the ratkin and the surrounding air warped as if a heathaze draped the robed druid. His clothes dried as the water evaporated from the floorboards around him. Hot enough to dry up the cloth, but gentle enough to not harm the plants or flesh.

The woman seemed to be a magical knight, armed with sword, donned in armor, and versed in spellcraft.

Another set of travelers that she welcomes to her inn.

“Welcome! Welcome! Please come in” She smiles warmly at the two. A skill sharpened through years of mercantile prowess. “Can I get you two a room, any drink you’d like?” That’s it, lather them up.

The two walk up to her. The ratkin next to the counter she manned, and the knight perused the shelf of drinks in the bar.

“Hello, could we get two rooms” He pulls out a small pouch filled with silver and copper coins. And with Kathzka’s nose for money, she spots a black glinting stone, a spirit stone.

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Jackpot!

“We’d like to stay for two weeks please” The longer they stay, the more chances she has to suck them dry hihihi. Now time to put her charms to work.

“Hmm, well if you’re staying for that long how ‘bout I throw in a discount. I’ll shave off a silver and eight copper, just for you how’s that sound” She gave a warm smile hiding her devious intentions.

The key to reel in moneybags was to make them feel special by giving ‘special’ discounts and ‘freebies’ after jacking up the initial cost just a bit. So they’d be operating at a ‘loss’. She garnered a reputation for being kind and charitable to most who arrive here, because of that they come in everytime and basically buy her whole stock of booze and empty her pantry. Say what you will about her, but she’s never had money problems ever since she put up the inn.

“Really?! Waow I’ll take it!” With the first bait set she gave the dark furred ratkin boy two keys which he quickly gave one to his companion.

“Judith, I’ll be goin up for a bit. You comin? I can help you move you’re stuff”

The woman knight, Judith responded. “Nah I’m gonna check what they got, maybe later”

“Okay, suit yourself. I’ll be napping the whole night.” And with that the ratkin went up the polished wooden stairs with barely a creek. She smirked inward.

Perfect, now the prey is all vulnerable

“Anything you like?” She smiled like the sun, hoping to use the same wiles at the woman.

“Hmmm, sorry I don’t know which one to pick. It’s been so long since I had any of the stuff I used to drink. I’m not really familiar with the stuff here.” She said still wearing the helmet.

Kathzka checked below the bar for a moment and took out a a blue bottle with a white piece of paper pasted on it’s front with ornate patterns forming forming a lemon shaped logo. Red lettering which said ‘Fortune’ in a strange script was outlined in black borders, all written in bent cursive.

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She took out a shot glass and made a show of flipping the glass, catching it, then tumbling bottle fith her hands. She poured a generous amount out of the bottle which showed miniature coins appearing and disappearing in a cloud of yellow.

“On the house” She said with a wink, sliding the bottle down.

“Hah! I won’t say no to that.” The knight woman took off her helmet. What she saw was a woman with fiery eyes filled with passion and recklessness, but a hidden gentleness to it. Bronze unblemished features, immaculate if Kathzka was concerned. The woman smirked like a fox as if a mischief was second nature to her. What decorated her was a blazing head of hair wild and free. She looked like a flame given the wish to be a person. One so alluring that one couldn’t help but stare at it.

So, that’s exactly what Kathzka did.

The woman rubbed her hands and licked her lips before downing the shot in one gulp. “Phew!” The woman closed her eyes as if to savor the lemony aroma of the liquor. “Haah I’ve missed this”

The woman held out the glass. “Got any more?”

“Oh umm yeah just a second” She hit her cheeks while below the bar counter. Calm yourself Kathz, focus!

She pulled out a thick mug and turned to the barrels just behind her. She poured a generous amount of honeyed ale from the tap and put it in front of the knight.

Just as the knight was about to take the mug, Kathzka pulled it away wagging her finger. “Not so fast, you gotta pay up first” She did her best to give her most charming smile, trying to ignore the heat in her chest.

The red-haired knight pulled out a coin purse that was pressed under the breast of her armor. “Deal!” The woman recklessly placed the hot cloth pouch of metal containing coins on the innkeepers hand, brushing against her fingers ever so gently. Then the woman took the mug sipping with a bit of it accumulating above her lip.

She licked her lips, red and puffy. Kathzka swallowed, still fixated on the warm coin purse.

“H-Hey you can’t just give me all of this. What if someone pilfers it’s contents!”

The woman gave her a smile that seemed like sunshine in the rain. “I trust you hehe. You wouldn’t do that to little old me now would you?” The woman posed sheepishly, playfully intoning the way she said those words.

Kathzka’s chest was beating hard.

“C’mon, what else you got there?”

“Oh umm yeah” Kathzka pocketed the purse and looked for more drinks she could show.

This went on for the whole night. As rain hit the walls carved from wood, and danced in the tiled roofs, Kathzka forgot her yearning for adventure. She forgot the thing that stayed in the back of her mind. The knight shared stories of moments and unbelievable occurrences, most of which she suspects were tall tales. It’s okay though, she smiled, she laughed, she forgot. She felt happy in moments like these, listening to tales and serving ale.

So the termite saw another flame, one that kept her warm. One that stayed beside her in the rain, if only for a moment.