She scuttled out of her tunnel holding a wax comb of honey and berries, giggling softly to herself. Oh she couldn't wait to feed some gullible adventurer with these amazing berries. After unfortunately succumbing to their affects, she'd realized that they could make the perfect prank for someone who didn't know her (or who did, like poor Marshmallow).

The Queen had on her white cloak, brushed down to hide the seams, wearing her dress, mask, and wreath of antlers, forgoing her normal bone and tooth crown for one make of flowers. She wanted to look friendly, after all, like the royalty she was. Pegasus would be the perfect place to wander, with its vast fields, green forests, and gembound spending their days in the golden light from above.

It was perfect.

"Oh hello~!", she called out, "Would anyone come join me? I've some honey that I cannot finish myself, it's free to anyone who wishes to join me~!"

@Talys @Yellow

Note for any other joining Gembound! The honey and berries contain a mild paralytic (and can cause rashes and indigestion to gembound who don't have a natural diet of berries) that will cause those who ingest it to stumble around as if drunk, and make them slightly high.

She'd been enjoying her time high up in the boughs of a tree -- her claw was almost totally repaired by now, and she guessed that it would take about another cycle, just for it to sharpen back up. The reminder of her fight with Comet and her easy defeat was nearing its end. Then, a call disturbed her from her thoughts.

Kitty peered down at the stranger and her array. She couldn't identify what it was, but it was big. Kitty squinted. She was also dressed to the nines. Feeling a little naked in only her black spectacles and a red ribbon tied neatly around her tail, she watched the Queen for a little bit longer before taking her glasses carefully in her mouth (so they didn't fall) and walking down the side of the tree.

Once firmly on the ground, Kitty stood up on her hind legs to put her glasses back on (they didn't have lenses, she just rather liked them) and approached the creature cautiously. "... Hi." She had a closer look now -- antennae, and a calm, pale face. Hands, too, and wow, those clothes really did cover a lot! Caves, this thing was huge. Kitty could've climbed her if she'd really wanted to.

She sat down and curled her tail neatly around her paws. "Who are you?"

Notably, she did not take any honey yet.


@arwen

Zhusha was in flight, surveying the things below with a critical eye. Now that he was bigger and stronger and his wounds healed over, the little crane took it upon himself to travel and see the rest of what the caves had to offer. This cave was tamer than the snow-cave, though not as much as the one before it had been (and oh, the architecture there was to die for!). An immense white creature emerged from the tunnel, and he heard their muffled voice.

He descended as elegantly as a lanky brown juvenile could, flapping his wings as he drew closer. There was a red one already there, much smaller than the white one--was he late to this conversation? No, it seemed these two didn't know each other. He hadn't heard her invitation to share in the honey, and the food wasn't what interested him about her anyway. But they were so beautiful--

Zhusha leaned forward to get a better look at the white cloak, giving no thought for either his own safety (this was a complete stranger, after all, and you'd think he'd have learned after the encounter with the crane fly) or whether the action would be rude. "This is gorgeous," he told the white one, moving around in a circle and craning his neck to get a better look at the tall creature. "Your antlers too, and the flowers--how did you make them? Will you teach me?" I want to make pretty things too.

@Arwen

The Queen was delighted that she'd lured in two unsuspecting (or not, in Kitty's case) into her trap.

"I'm known as 'the Queen'," she said to the red panda, "I made this snack for my fellows, but unfortunately I've made too much. I didn't want it to go to waste..."

She passed a hand over the comb and showed it to the two, revealing blue berries floating suspended in the liquid, their juices turning the honey pink-ish.

"I could teach you how to make pretty things," she said to Zhusha, "Only if you give me some of your molted feathers as an exchange, they're very pretty."

She set the honey on the ground and clasped her hands together, "It's very sticky, so if there's a stream nearby, I suggest you wash off in it afterwards, lest you get things caught in your fur or feathers."

@Kitty @Zhusha

"The Queen," she repeated, mostly to herself. The creature looked nonthreatening enough, she supposed, but was still... large. She inclined her head slightly as the Queen continued, asking for shed feathers. That didn't strike Kitty as odd, of course -- she had done the same, once. What struck her as odd was that the honey had berries suspended in it.

She had seen honey before, and had even tasted it, sometimes. The Bumblebugs made too much of it, and it would drip down the trees far enough that someone who was able to climb could get it without getting stung. But this... was discolored by the berries. The berries being within it in the first place confused her. Kitty sniffed at the honey, inspecting them closely.

But ultimately, the berries didn't strike a chord with her. She cast a glance up at the Queen, who was strange but didn't seem insincere, and took some. Not much, because too much sugar wasn't the best for her, but certainly enough to feel the effects. They didn't hit right away, though -- at least, not in their full force. Kitty blinked a few times -- was the Queen... taller?


@zhusha @arwen

Oh! He was speaking to a Queen? Zhusha dipped his head respectfully. His neck being as long as it was, it was quite a deep bow, but he wanted to show how sincere his gratitude was. "Of course, Queen. I will bring you all the feathers you want, when I molt." He himself did not think they were anything special, but if they were what the Queen wanted, he would give them up gladly.

"I have never had 'honey' before," he noted, dipping his beak into one of the hexagonal cells curiously. It was sticky, and sugary, and distinct from any fish he'd ever tasted. "Thank you for this. It is very... sweet." His tongue did feel a little numb after tasting it... perhaps 'honey' was not supposed to be part of his natural diet. But it was a delicious snack.

"I will go to clean my beak, as you suggested," he told the Queen, and lifted off into the air. The ground below seemed to sway slightly as he pushed off, and his flight was wobblier than usual. Perhaps he was dehydrated... that wouldn't do at all. Zhusha dipped his beak into the stream, cleaning off the honey residue with his feet and gulping down the cool, fresh water. That seemed to help clear his head, though the path he took back to the Queen was not entirely straight.

"Will you teach me now?" he asked, feeling positively giddy with... excitement. Yes, that must be it.

@Arwen

The Queen was practically giddy, both at the fact that Zhusha had bowed, treating her as a Queen ought to be treated, and that both gembound were trusting enough to eat her drugged honey. Oh how hilarious this would be.

"Later you can meet me in my tunnel," she said, pointing just behind her, "In there. Just call out my title and I will join you."

She smiled down at the both of them and giggled charmingly, "I made it myself! The honey and the berries are a very nice flavor, as the slight bitterness of the berries helps mellow out the sweetness."

She watched the crane start to stagger around, a massive grin forming under her mask, though she made sure to keep her shoulders still as she resisted the urge to burst out laughing.

"Oh not right now," she said, slightly concerned that if she were to teach Zhusha right now, they might injure themselves.

"How do you like it?", she asked the two, "And... how are you feeling?"

@Zhusha @Kitty

The Queen looked almost... far away now. Kitty began to sway slightly, blinking as her pupils dilated. Huh. She felt... strange. Kitty giggled and got to her paws, swaying a bit. "I should-- heh-- g-get home, I don't--" She laughed harder. "I feel... weird. Need t'lay down, I think."

She started to stumble away, stiff-legged and struggling to coordinate herself -- which made her laugh harder. That was so funny! Her legs weren't working right and it was -- "Hah." Kitty shook herself out and blinked a few times. She swayed again and fell over, dissolving into giggles. She wasn't even sure why this was so funny, it just... was.


@arwen @zhusha

Ah, yes. Tunnels... Zhusha blinked. Why did the world seem to be becoming a tunnel? He swayed slightly. Was... was the water perhaps not working to combat the dehydration? He had never failed to take care of himself so much... Pegasus was warmer than Ursa. Yes, that must be why... he had simply failed to take that into account, and not drunk enough to make up for it.

"...Yes," he agreed with Kitty, his tongue feeling strangely heavy in his mouth. "Lying down... it is good for... good for..." He frowned, a slight suspicion snaking into his mind past the honeyed fog. What were the chances that they were both... No, the Queen was nice. She had agreed to teach him to make pretty things.

"...I have to go, Queen," he managed, stumbling toward he-had-no-idea-where. His legs were reluctant to move, though, and it was as if there was an invisible ladder rung he had missed when he stepped forward. Zhusha tripped, fell on his face, and oh god everything was spinning maybe he should take a nap...

@Arwen

The Queen held the comb, head tilted as she watched the two stumble around. She peered into the honey and hummed, wondering if she'd put in too many of the berries.

"Why don't we sit down?", she said, watching the crane fall flat on his face with a snort.

She put the honey aside and patted down a section of grass, gently lifting Zhusha up and tutting gently, "Oh dear, you both seem to be having a reaction to the berries! Had I known, I would have never offered it, will you ever forgive me?"

She batted her eyelashes and offered a hand to Kitty, head slightly tilted.

@Kitty @Zhusha