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Wild Honey (Survivor00 & Chokuro)

Elliot Slater crept quietly down the stairs to his familyâ??s bakery, like had been doing once a week for the last few months. Being careful to not wake his folks, he slipped on a thin jacket; just enough to keep him warm in the chill of the morning air. It was dark outside, with only the edges of the horizon painted in hues of crimson and gold, but it was enough for him to navigate without needing a lantern. He was sure that nobody would approve of him doing this, but he had not been caught yet, so heâ??d keep doing it. He gathered a few empty glass jars from the cupboards, placing their caps on so they wouldnâ??t come loose, and placed them in a shoulder bag. Quietly, he slipped out the back door of the bakery, closing the door behind him.

Elliot stopped briefly at the small flower garden he had been tending, kneeling down to look at the plants. His parents thought it was such an â??adorableâ?? hobby. He rolled his eyes; it was for something much more important than that. Finally though, the flowers were fully grown and he carefully plucked them, brushing any dirt from the stems. Placing the picked flowers in his bag, he hopped over the wooden fence onto the dirt road heading out into the countryside. His familyâ??s bakery was fortunately located at the outskirts of the small, rural town, so there was little chance of him being caught.

He walked for several miles down the long road, looking out at the endless fields that surrounded the nearby hills. The air was thick with pollen, and he was thankful he didnâ??t have an allergy, or else this would be impossible. As he crested the hill, his eyes fell upon the Hive that rested in the center of the field. It was massive â?? larger than any house in the village. He was sure the entire town could live within it and then some. Right now it was still, but with the rising of the sun it would quickly become a flurry of activity. Heâ??d rather be safely away when it did â?? this was the beesâ?? territorial grounds, and he was technically trespassing.

There was sort of an â??agreementâ?? going on between the humans and the bees â?? â??You leave us alone, weâ??ll leave you alone.â? This agreement was held rather strictly, as nobody wanted to risk angering the bees, but it also meant that wild bee honey was an incredibly rare come by. Most of the time, people settled for honey made by domesticated bees, but it was always of poorer quality and taste than the real stuff. And since his familyâ??s livelihood depended on the quality of their baked goods, he wanted to make sure they had the best available goods to sell.

So for the past few months, he had been meeting with one of the bees in secret, and she would give him a few jars of honey. He didnâ??t know why she had agreed to it, she could have easily driven him off their land, she could have even stung him â?? something he really didnâ??t want to go through, since being stung could easily cripple you. The flowers he had picked today were a â??thank youâ?? gift to her. He thought it was kind of silly, since they collected hundreds of flowers every day; it was like a drop in the bucket. But he couldnâ??t think of anything else to give her in thanks.

He walked off the main road into the field of flowers, watching his step as he crept along. The Hive loomed before him, and he couldnâ??t help the chill that slithered up his spine. He headed towards their usual meeting spot â?? a small cluster of trees in the middle of the field. â??Juniper.â? He whispered, looking around for her. â??Are you here?â?
 
How long has she been doing this? No. That is not the true question here. Why. Why was she doing this? That should be the first thing to come to mind. To be honest, she was not one-hundred percent sure as to why she was doing this. Juniper could have easily sent the human off her land; told him to never come back without risk of injury, like she was supposed to do. She was told to make anyone who dared to come within range of the Hive leave, yet she did not. She did not want to when the time came for her to have the opportunity to force someone to leave. There was something about the human that came wandering near the hive the one day that just got her curious. Maybe because she had never truly seen a human so close, that was why she did not tell him to leave. She wanted to learn more about him. She had only known select phrases in English when he came. After meeting him, she wished to learn more and so she asked one of the few bees who knew the language to teach her. By now, she could almost perfectly speak the language. Some words were hard to get to in her mind, and she did not know the whole language, but she knew enough to converse with Elliot and to know what he spoke about, and that was enough for her.

Leaving the hive before anyone could notice definitely was not an easy task. Juniper had to swerve through so many other bees and she truly found it to be a miracle how she could manage to leave without causing anyone to notice. Possibly since the hive was so busy with others that she truly did not matter all that much. It was true. She was just another face for the bees to make do this or that and she had known that from the very beginning. No one questioned where one little worker went off to. And considering that the human only needed a small amount of the honey that they produced, there were no inquiries about where the honey she used went to. She was glad about that too. All seemed to go very well, actually. There was no one to ask where she had went. Why she was not working? She liked that. It gave her time to see the human and to talk with him. She wished to know so much more about him and his people and the human species truly did fascinate her.

Hiding up in the trees, Juniper made sure she would have every angle of the forest to ensure that she did not miss where Elliot may go. Her sights traveled along the trees and any movement whatsoever she would look over. Somehow, she was excited whenever he came near. Like right now. Hearing him call to her made her wings flutter and she looked down at the male and she could not wait to speak with him. Lifting up from the branch she rested upon, she gracefully glided to the base of the tree she had been perched upon. Coming into the view of the other, she spoke a simple â??I am here, Elliotâ? before walking toward him. Her wings fluttering behind her for a few brief moments before they settled against her form once more, looking at the other and focusing so intently upon the man.​
 
Elliot looked up as he heard the close buzzing of a beeâ??s wings, smiling softly when he saw Juniperâ??s slim, yellow and black form gliding down from the trees before him. He was greatly relieved to see that it was her and not another bee that had stumbled across their meeting site. If they had found the jars of honey, they would have likely killed him or worse â?? taken him into the Hive to face whatever punishment their Queen saw fit. Juniper hardly made a sound when she touched the ground, her gossamer wings rustling softly as they fluttered behind her. Her voice was soft and sweet, and he couldnâ??t help but smile at her. Elliot carefully set his pack on the ground beside him, the empty jars clinking softly inside their fabric confines. Soon, they would be replaced with jars full of rich, sweet honey. â??Have you been okay?â? He asked her, knowing she took an enormous risk by doing this for him.

He walked a little closer to her delicate body, sitting down in the shade of the tree, hidden from sight by the tall flowers around them. He reached over and pulled his pack over to him. He opened up one of the pouches and pulls out a small fabric bundle. Unwrapping it, he offered it to her, one of his familyâ??s classic sweet rolls, still warm to the touch. â??I know how much you like these.â? He chuckled softly, lifting out another one for himself. They were wonderful with wild honey on top, and he knew that there was some to use now. The two of them often shared breakfast once a week, when he came to pick up the filled jars. They always used a little honey on the rolls first, to help crave Juniperâ??s sweet tooth. He was sure if his entire diet consisted mainly of honey that he would have a sweet tooth as well. He was surprised that she was as fit as she was, but considering how active they were, it wasnâ??t all that surprising that she burned off the calories.​
 
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