I lift my brow at the horror I had not even considered, but I take the stick, deciding not to show fear.
Sucking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly, readying the bag I brought with me to collect the bugs.
You can do this,I tell myself, willing myself to poke forward.
I jab into a black hole, expecting it to overflow with bugs. But none stir. I stab again. Still, nothing.
On the third jab, I take a step forward, pressing the stick in as deep as it will go.
Then, they come.
At least a hundred yellow bugs flee from the burrow, scrambling swiftly in all directions. I take a step back, but several rush across my bare feet, some crawling up my legs.
I yelp, slapping them away, but there are too many, and they swarm everywhere.
I fall, continuing to slap my legs until I slam against the earth.
I hear a rumble from Ramsey’s direction and catch him grinning, but a sharp scowl straightens his lips.
When the bugs have finally cleared, and all that’s left are corpses, I tell Ramsey, “These are different from the ones Nori had.”
“You requested I take you to a grensir burrow.”
“Yes, but these are yellow, and the others were blue.”
He shrugs. “How was I to know whether the bugs in that burrow would be blue, yellow, purple, or red?”
“Do you mean to tell me they come in different colors?”
He nods.
A part of me wants to curse, but I can’t help but wonder if this is a gift, because the dyes from such bugs will be gorgeous.
“I guess I’ll have to continue bug hunting, then.”
Before I can get up, a small creature that looks like a badger comes waddling over to sniff me. Its brown body rotund, with a spike of black hair running down its back. What’s even odder is the fact that his eyes are wide, sitting on its cheeks.
I scratch its head, and it makes a purring sound.
Ramsey growls, raising his axe and taking three steps forward to close the distance between us.
I lunge, covering the creature. “Don’t hurt it!”
“Have you lost your head? That is a felleck! Not only do they smell, but they have a taste for flesh.”
“According to you, I smell.” I ease back, look at the creature he called a felleck, and smile. “And I like the taste of flesh, too.”
“Do you mean to eat the felleck? As he will taste most rancid,” Ramsey snarls.
“No!” I look at the felleck again. “I’m sorry if I did not make that clear.”
“Unbelievable,” Ramsey huffs.
“Animals have always liked me,” I tell Ramsey. “All different kinds.”
The felleck wiggles, having me scratch him all over before sauntering away.
“Hurry and collect your bugs, as I do not want to risk seeing you approach an endergulf,” Ramsey grinds through clenched teeth.
