- Location
- Madison, AL
Oh no, I hope this isn't dead!
Pale Queen (Worm/Hollow Knight)
- Thread starter Jeckparadox
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Nowhere and Everywhere
- Pronouns
- He/Him
No, it isn't dead. I asked the author and the author told me that they had a killer migraine for a couple of days so the new chapter is delayed.
- Location
- Earth, Sol System
I wonder how the Bugs with Rachel will develop? Be an interesting discovery for Taylor and Rachel when they discover them.
Caravan 2.1
- Location
- Minnesota
"Okay, everyone ready?"
"I think so!"
"All the little ones rounded up?"
"For the moment!"
"Good!" the Leader of the group of fleas announced, "Then I think it's about time we got back to a more mobile lifestyle!" he turned around, and walked to the edge of the shelf, looking down at the floor far below.
The Leader hesitated, however. This entire situation was truly very strange. According to his memories, he had been a normal flea riding on the back of a dog. Then, one day a pale white light flashed past and he went into a cocoon.
And upon breaking out of that cocoon a changed being, he found himself in a strange space. No longer on a dog at all, and surrounded by other fleas just as changed as he was.
There had been a small degree of panic, but apparently he had a good head on his brand-new shoulders, and took charge of the situation. Getting his fellow fleas to calm down and focus on a direction to go in. Namely, off of the shelf.
But as he came close to the edge, instincts he had never had before pushed into his mind and made him feel nervous about the distance. He remembered jumping farther distances as an ordinary flea. There had been no instincts revolving around heights at all. But now there were. Maybe it had something to do with being bipedal.
But he was the leader! He wouldn't give into fear so early in their first journey into a new world with their new bodies. He leaped off the edge, and sailed through the air, landing on the floor so far below without any trouble at all.
"Come on down!" he called back up, "You'll be fine!"
Some of the others seem to share the same hesitance he had, but soon enough they all start jumping down as well. Once the entire crowd was on the floor, he began leading them towards the doorway. Shoving himself underneath, he poked his head out into the colder air, and looked around.
Sure enough, there were dogs. Dogs as far as the eye could see. Dozens and dozens of them, barking, playing, rolling around, chasing each other. It was paradise. A smile pulled at his new face, and he pushed himself the rest of the way through. Part of him wanted to take a bounding leap towards the closest one and bite down, drink in that delicious warm nectar pumping through every single one of those adorable beasts. But he was the leader, and he couldn't just leave the others behind.
"Come on everyone," he said, helping fleas squeeze through under the door. As the others took in the same sight he saw he heard gasps of awe, and had to stop a few others from jumping off without them.
But eventually, all of them were free.
"Now, I know how tempting this is, but we do not know anything about our current situation," he said, "We need to look at this situation carefully and-"
"Look!"
He turned his head towards one flea on the outskirts of their little group, and followed where her hand was pointing. Then, he saw it.
The human.
The dogs flocked to her as soon as she appeared, barking and jumping and dancing and begging. She nudged them gently out of her way as she made a beeline for the fleas position.
"Everyone, to the side of the shed! Find a place to hide!" the leader ordered.
Everyone scrambled after him as he led them away from the doorway and to the side of the building, hiding behind a cluster of foul-smelling buckets and shovels as they watched the human come closer. She reaches the door without looking down, and disappears inside the shed. A few of the dogs seem to put together a kind of perimeter in order to keep her from being mobbed as she walks back out with a huge bag.
Then, she crosses part of the yard again, and starts pouring kibble into various bowls. The dogs attack the food in a rush, and the Leader watched with interest as the human looked on.
She was in charge here, that much was clear. She fed the dogs, they listened to her, respected her.
She led them, and the shed that he and his fellow lice had woken up inside of was her property. Did she bring them there?
He looked out over the rest of the fleas, and put on as calming a smile as he could, "Okay, everyone, I have a plan. For now, stay here. I'm going to try and make contact and secure permission."
"Permission for what?"
"To feed," the Leader said, looking out over the dogs. He waited until the human had finished pouring out the last of the bag, before coming out of his hiding spot and jumping up towards the human. One bound took him about halfway across the yard to her position. Another bound had him landing on the surface of her jacket. He climbed up to her shoulder, then, and cleared his throat, "Attention, great Lord of the Dogs, I am-"
Something impacted with his chest, and he was sent flying. He bounced off the ground without any real damage, but he was startled all the same. He looked up, and saw the human looking down at him with wide eyes.
"Um. Hello! I-"
She stepped forwards then, and snatched him from the ground, squishing his limbs to the sides of his body so he couldn't escape.
This was a mistake!
"I mean you no ill will, I simply wish to- to-" he stammered, before he found himself being brought close to the human's face. She stared into his face, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"What are you doing here?" she growled.
"I... don't know?"
"Who made you?" she asked, "This is my territory. Everyone knows to stay away."
"I don't know!" the Leader protested, "Me and my fellows woke up inside the shed, on the top shelf!"
She frowned at that, confused, before something seemed to occur to her. Recognition flashed in her eyes, "Why were you on those dogs in the sewer?"
"To... drink their blood?" the Leader said.
She sneered, "Get out. Go back to wherever you came from," she began walking across the yard, coming to fence, "I won't have anything biting my dogs. Especially not whatever you are."
"We came from the shed! We don't have anywhere else to go!"
"You're not from my shed. I'm not stupid. You're a parahuman thing," she said, before getting to the fence and dropping him on the other side of it, "Just get out. If you come back, I'll squish you."
He turned behind him, and looked at the long expanse of snow-covered gray roads and gray buildings. Not a dog in sight. Already, he was starting to shiver despite his fur. He and his band were lucky enough to hatch into a kind of animal oasis in an apparently dark, cold, otherwise dog-less world.
"Can't we come up with some kind of deal?" he asked desperately before she could walk more than a few feet away.
"A deal?" she asked, turning, "For what?"
"This place- it's paradise! We don't know why we're not ordinary fleas any more. But we aren't, and we were brought here by... by you, right? There's no dogs out there. We'll starve or we'll freeze!"
"That's not my problem," she said coldly, "I don't like my dogs having fleas."
"Look, isn't there anything we could do for you to let us stay?"
"No. Go away."
She turned away, only to stop and sigh as she moved around a piece of poop she was about to step on.
An idea popped into the Leader's head, although he didn't much like it.
He jumped back through the fence, and darted between her legs, picking up the thankfully dried-out piece of poop as big as he was, he lifted it effortlessly over his head, "We can help you clean!"
She considered him coldly for a few seconds, "I don't want you to bite my dogs."
"We won't drink much! I promise we'll be cleaner than ordinary fleas!" he said, "We can help keep the ground clean, and help feed them, and we can even pick away ordinary fleas like we used to be! Just let us stay!"
She narrowed her eyes down at him, "If any of my dogs get sick because of you, I'm squishing you," she threatened.
He gulped.
"Throw that in the trash," she ordered, pointing at a silvery large can in one of the lot's corners.
He jumped forwards, making it there in just a few bounds, before leaping up to its lid. He dropped the poop inside, and then made his way back to the human, "What next?"
"...Where's the rest of you?" she asked.
The Leader hesitated once again, but ignored his fear just as he did on the shelf, leading her back to the shed, and clearing his throat, "Fleas!" he announced, "The commander of the dogs has agreed to allow us to stay in her domain, for as long as we assist her!"
The human went wide-eyed again as the fleas started moving forwards. She considered the group for a bit, before glaring back down towards the Leader, "You can start by cleaning the yard. If the dogs give you any trouble, shout and I'll come over. If any of them hurt a dog, I'll squish them."
She walked off then, and whistled, gathering the horde of dogs towards her as she moved across the yard.
The Leader let out a sigh of relief, "Okay! Then, let's start. We'll begin by picking up poop and bringing it to that container over there and then-"
"Why are we 'assisting' her?" one of the fleas interrupted, "What's going on?"
"...I don't know what happened to us, my brethren," the Leader began, "I don't know why we were brought here. All I know is that this is where the dogs are, this is the only place we know of where we can actually build a livelihood. And that human commands the dogs," the Leader shrugged, "It seems to me that for now, our path is obvious. We help the human, the human allows us access to the dogs, and possibly information."
"I think so!"
"All the little ones rounded up?"
"For the moment!"
"Good!" the Leader of the group of fleas announced, "Then I think it's about time we got back to a more mobile lifestyle!" he turned around, and walked to the edge of the shelf, looking down at the floor far below.
The Leader hesitated, however. This entire situation was truly very strange. According to his memories, he had been a normal flea riding on the back of a dog. Then, one day a pale white light flashed past and he went into a cocoon.
And upon breaking out of that cocoon a changed being, he found himself in a strange space. No longer on a dog at all, and surrounded by other fleas just as changed as he was.
There had been a small degree of panic, but apparently he had a good head on his brand-new shoulders, and took charge of the situation. Getting his fellow fleas to calm down and focus on a direction to go in. Namely, off of the shelf.
But as he came close to the edge, instincts he had never had before pushed into his mind and made him feel nervous about the distance. He remembered jumping farther distances as an ordinary flea. There had been no instincts revolving around heights at all. But now there were. Maybe it had something to do with being bipedal.
But he was the leader! He wouldn't give into fear so early in their first journey into a new world with their new bodies. He leaped off the edge, and sailed through the air, landing on the floor so far below without any trouble at all.
"Come on down!" he called back up, "You'll be fine!"
Some of the others seem to share the same hesitance he had, but soon enough they all start jumping down as well. Once the entire crowd was on the floor, he began leading them towards the doorway. Shoving himself underneath, he poked his head out into the colder air, and looked around.
Sure enough, there were dogs. Dogs as far as the eye could see. Dozens and dozens of them, barking, playing, rolling around, chasing each other. It was paradise. A smile pulled at his new face, and he pushed himself the rest of the way through. Part of him wanted to take a bounding leap towards the closest one and bite down, drink in that delicious warm nectar pumping through every single one of those adorable beasts. But he was the leader, and he couldn't just leave the others behind.
"Come on everyone," he said, helping fleas squeeze through under the door. As the others took in the same sight he saw he heard gasps of awe, and had to stop a few others from jumping off without them.
But eventually, all of them were free.
"Now, I know how tempting this is, but we do not know anything about our current situation," he said, "We need to look at this situation carefully and-"
"Look!"
He turned his head towards one flea on the outskirts of their little group, and followed where her hand was pointing. Then, he saw it.
The human.
The dogs flocked to her as soon as she appeared, barking and jumping and dancing and begging. She nudged them gently out of her way as she made a beeline for the fleas position.
"Everyone, to the side of the shed! Find a place to hide!" the leader ordered.
Everyone scrambled after him as he led them away from the doorway and to the side of the building, hiding behind a cluster of foul-smelling buckets and shovels as they watched the human come closer. She reaches the door without looking down, and disappears inside the shed. A few of the dogs seem to put together a kind of perimeter in order to keep her from being mobbed as she walks back out with a huge bag.
Then, she crosses part of the yard again, and starts pouring kibble into various bowls. The dogs attack the food in a rush, and the Leader watched with interest as the human looked on.
She was in charge here, that much was clear. She fed the dogs, they listened to her, respected her.
She led them, and the shed that he and his fellow lice had woken up inside of was her property. Did she bring them there?
He looked out over the rest of the fleas, and put on as calming a smile as he could, "Okay, everyone, I have a plan. For now, stay here. I'm going to try and make contact and secure permission."
"Permission for what?"
"To feed," the Leader said, looking out over the dogs. He waited until the human had finished pouring out the last of the bag, before coming out of his hiding spot and jumping up towards the human. One bound took him about halfway across the yard to her position. Another bound had him landing on the surface of her jacket. He climbed up to her shoulder, then, and cleared his throat, "Attention, great Lord of the Dogs, I am-"
Something impacted with his chest, and he was sent flying. He bounced off the ground without any real damage, but he was startled all the same. He looked up, and saw the human looking down at him with wide eyes.
"Um. Hello! I-"
She stepped forwards then, and snatched him from the ground, squishing his limbs to the sides of his body so he couldn't escape.
This was a mistake!
"I mean you no ill will, I simply wish to- to-" he stammered, before he found himself being brought close to the human's face. She stared into his face, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"What are you doing here?" she growled.
"I... don't know?"
"Who made you?" she asked, "This is my territory. Everyone knows to stay away."
"I don't know!" the Leader protested, "Me and my fellows woke up inside the shed, on the top shelf!"
She frowned at that, confused, before something seemed to occur to her. Recognition flashed in her eyes, "Why were you on those dogs in the sewer?"
"To... drink their blood?" the Leader said.
She sneered, "Get out. Go back to wherever you came from," she began walking across the yard, coming to fence, "I won't have anything biting my dogs. Especially not whatever you are."
"We came from the shed! We don't have anywhere else to go!"
"You're not from my shed. I'm not stupid. You're a parahuman thing," she said, before getting to the fence and dropping him on the other side of it, "Just get out. If you come back, I'll squish you."
He turned behind him, and looked at the long expanse of snow-covered gray roads and gray buildings. Not a dog in sight. Already, he was starting to shiver despite his fur. He and his band were lucky enough to hatch into a kind of animal oasis in an apparently dark, cold, otherwise dog-less world.
"Can't we come up with some kind of deal?" he asked desperately before she could walk more than a few feet away.
"A deal?" she asked, turning, "For what?"
"This place- it's paradise! We don't know why we're not ordinary fleas any more. But we aren't, and we were brought here by... by you, right? There's no dogs out there. We'll starve or we'll freeze!"
"That's not my problem," she said coldly, "I don't like my dogs having fleas."
"Look, isn't there anything we could do for you to let us stay?"
"No. Go away."
She turned away, only to stop and sigh as she moved around a piece of poop she was about to step on.
An idea popped into the Leader's head, although he didn't much like it.
He jumped back through the fence, and darted between her legs, picking up the thankfully dried-out piece of poop as big as he was, he lifted it effortlessly over his head, "We can help you clean!"
She considered him coldly for a few seconds, "I don't want you to bite my dogs."
"We won't drink much! I promise we'll be cleaner than ordinary fleas!" he said, "We can help keep the ground clean, and help feed them, and we can even pick away ordinary fleas like we used to be! Just let us stay!"
She narrowed her eyes down at him, "If any of my dogs get sick because of you, I'm squishing you," she threatened.
He gulped.
"Throw that in the trash," she ordered, pointing at a silvery large can in one of the lot's corners.
He jumped forwards, making it there in just a few bounds, before leaping up to its lid. He dropped the poop inside, and then made his way back to the human, "What next?"
"...Where's the rest of you?" she asked.
The Leader hesitated once again, but ignored his fear just as he did on the shelf, leading her back to the shed, and clearing his throat, "Fleas!" he announced, "The commander of the dogs has agreed to allow us to stay in her domain, for as long as we assist her!"
The human went wide-eyed again as the fleas started moving forwards. She considered the group for a bit, before glaring back down towards the Leader, "You can start by cleaning the yard. If the dogs give you any trouble, shout and I'll come over. If any of them hurt a dog, I'll squish them."
She walked off then, and whistled, gathering the horde of dogs towards her as she moved across the yard.
The Leader let out a sigh of relief, "Okay! Then, let's start. We'll begin by picking up poop and bringing it to that container over there and then-"
"Why are we 'assisting' her?" one of the fleas interrupted, "What's going on?"
"...I don't know what happened to us, my brethren," the Leader began, "I don't know why we were brought here. All I know is that this is where the dogs are, this is the only place we know of where we can actually build a livelihood. And that human commands the dogs," the Leader shrugged, "It seems to me that for now, our path is obvious. We help the human, the human allows us access to the dogs, and possibly information."
- Location
- Nowhere and Everywhere
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is hilarious, also what size are the insects, and do they still retain their relative strength if they are bigger?
- Location
- Minnesota
Insects vary from being about an inch tall to being three inches tall. Their strength depends on species. They are all able to lift several times their own body weight, but while maggots aren't able to lift more than a few ounces, others are able to handle up to a few pounds.
- Location
- Nowhere and Everywhere
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh also will there be stag beetles that they can use as beasts of burden?
- Location
- New England
Honestly, I think this is the best case scenario for bug-human interactions at this point. Rachel is the least likely to actually care about them being, you know, a potential biotinker threat. She'd also be likely to keep this to herself due to not wanting to ask for help with her dogs, though I think the fact she doesn't will cause tension since she could just as easily buy a few rats for them to feed on and make the fleas work for her to care for them. Fleas aren't generally picky about the blood they drink, IIRC. Not like lice.
...Lice are a terrifying thought with this scenario. As are bot flies.
But yea, this is probably the best result for future possibilities. Especially if Rachel actually takes a shine to these things after a while.
...Lice are a terrifying thought with this scenario. As are bot flies.
But yea, this is probably the best result for future possibilities. Especially if Rachel actually takes a shine to these things after a while.
- Location
- Madison, AL
I love it! I also love the song you chose! I watch that show!
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- Location
- Nowhere and Everywhere
- Pronouns
- He/Him
They're 1 to 3 inches tall, also they can only talk when in close proximity, the flea was on Rachel's shoulder at first, and then she was leaning in to hear the flea.
...While I cant help but love the feels and the rather dire situation the Fleas find themselves in, I cant help but have a feeling of trepidation. Because this is Worm...even if the Fleas manage to have a peaceful coexistance with Bitch/Rachael (and Tattletale doesnt figure somethings unexpected going on), things will potentially end tragically if the Empire (i.e. Hookwolf) assaults the dog sanctuary or Bakuda makes her usual cannon shinanigens. misunderstandings over Bitch having bug monster minions would be nasty!
...on the other hand, I love the mental image of some Flea children following Bitch around out of curiosity and then fleeing whenever she turns to look at them...only to follow again and try to mimic her actions...as curious children sometimes do.
Love it! Though am still expecting the tragedy for the innocents ;_;
...on the other hand, I love the mental image of some Flea children following Bitch around out of curiosity and then fleeing whenever she turns to look at them...only to follow again and try to mimic her actions...as curious children sometimes do.
Love it! Though am still expecting the tragedy for the innocents ;_;
Caravan 2.2
- Location
- Minnesota
Rachel watched them work with the kind of caution she felt was due the situation. She knew that most people- normal people -would probably be freaking out. But the way she saw it, either the talking bugs were telling the truth, or they were lying. And if she found out they were lying, she would squish them.
In the meantime, if they were telling the truth, she appreciated the help.
And they really were helping. There were a little over two hundred of them, and even if they couldn't carry much individually, together they made the yard cleaner in two hours than it had been since she first came to Brockton Bay. They didn't stop at just poop, grabbing pieces of glass she had never noticed. They also found and threw away nails and screws and even fallen leaves.
After that, she filled up one of the little kid pools she normally used to give baths, and filled with with a thin layer of warm water and some soap.
"Go ahead and clean up," Rachel ordered, "I don't want you touching the dogs if you've got poop on you."
Speaking of the dogs, the way that they interacted with them was another reason she wasn't too suspicious of the fleas. The bug-people knew their way around dogs almost the same way Rachel knew them. They didn't shout, they didn't cringe away, they couldn't exactly stand their ground, considering the size difference, but they handled them well. Handled them with respect. The fleas feared Rachel, she could tell, but they weren't afraid of the dogs, even though they could squish the fleas just as easily. They just seemed fond.
Part of that, Rachel knew, was because they saw the dogs as a source of food.
Which... she didn't like. But she already had an idea about that.
Once the fleas were all clean, she had them begin to clear her dogs of parasites. A few flea-people were assigned to each dog that she knew had a problem, and got to work hunting down their non-Tinkered brethren. She was worried that the dogs would mind the flea-people crawling around on them, but for the most part they ignored them, and the few that didn't.
After that, she returned to the rest of her chores, leaving them to it.
The day passed, and as her usual lunch break approached, Rachel realized that she might as well try out her idea for feeding them. "Hey, fleas," she shouted, "Come here for a second," as they started to gather near her feet, she looked out across the yard, and picked on one of her most reliable dogs, "Brutus!"
As the rottweiler trotted over, she looked over the group of fleas, trying to pick out the one she talked to that morning, but she still had trouble telling them apart. Maybe she could get them to wear colored hats or something?
"We are gathered!" one of them announced, stepping forwards, the voice was similar enough, it was probably the same flea-person.
She looked at Brutus, and made the motion for him to sit. Brutus dropped, and then she reached down and placed her hand on him. Immediately, Brutus began to grow in size, his flesh twisting and warping to make room for new muscle, new bone. She could grow him to massive size if she wanted, but for now she stopped once he was about twice as big as he started.
"...You can drink," she said.
The fleas looked at Brutus in amazement, before the leader of the group stepped forwards and looked her way, "Is it safe?" they asked.
"Probably."
The flea hesitated a few more seconds, and Brutus began to fidget. When she got new dogs she used her power on them a bit, so that the regeneration that came with it might help them with their health problems a little. But besides those times, usually she only used her powers when she was training them, or getting ready for a fight.
It wasn't often she used her power and then had one of them sit still.
"Well? Hurry up! Do you want blood or not?"
The leader shrunk back at her demand, and she felt a spark of irritation.
"...Of course. Thank you," the flea said, finally, and jumped up onto Brutus. Then, it leaned down and bit him.
Brutus had, and likely would continue, to shrug off bullets. If the bite hurt him, she couldn't tell. He turned his head to look at her and opened his mouth slightly, letting his tongue hang in front of her. She reached out and rubbed his snout, the stump of his tail wagging.
The flea pulled away after a few seconds, and Rachel saw the bite mark and frowned. She could barely see it. The only evidence at all were a few tiny red beads of blood.
The flea hopped down, and then turned to their people and threw both arms into the air, "I declare this blood- delicious!"
Rachel flinched as the tiny horde of fuzzballs swarmed up Brutus. She held him in place as he tried to back away, and kept him calm when he tried to scratch. He was perfectly fine with just one, but he didn't like two hundred.
But after a few seconds, they peeled away. Brutus shook himself, and scratched a bit at his skin, but after another moment's use of her powers, all the tiny bite marks vanished entirely.
She looked over the group, "Are you satisfied for now?"
"Yes! We've all drunk our fill, right?" the leader asked, addressing the rest of the group.
The fleas gave various affirmatives, while a handful more jumped back onto Brutus for seconds, but they were back down within a few seconds.
"Tell me when you're hungry again," she ordered, "Don't drink from any of the dogs if I'm not present, understand? Otherwise I can't heal them afterwards."
"We understand," the lead flea said, "Now, what would you have us do next?"
"Exercise," she said simply, stepping into the shed and grabbing an armful of toys, "How fast can you throw something?"
"I guess, it would depend on how big the thing is?" one of the other fleas volunteered, jumping up close to her.
She dropped a tennis ball. The flea caught it with some effort, but was having trouble keeping it balanced. Another flea jumped over to help, and with two of them they held the ball up without shaking. The dogs in the yard went quiet as they turned their attention to the ball.
The fleas kicked off the ground simultaneously, using their powerful leap to propel themselves, and the ball, high into the air. Then, they let go, sending it sailing across the yard.
There was a stampede of barking and yapping as dogs rushed after it.
She dropped the rest of the toys in front of the other other fleas, "Play with them until they start getting tired, then lead them over to the water bowls. I'm going to work on training a few of them while you keep the others distracted."
Leaving them at it, Rachel gave a short whistle, the dogs with the most level of training broke off from the pack, ambling up to her and the slowly-shrinking Brutus. As she led them to the usual corner she used for dogs she was training for potential conflicts, she watched as the rest of the dogs were led around back and forth.
She was starting to have a good feeling about this arrangement.
Rachel began to cycle through whistles and commands, giving out treats for prompt and correct obedience. But about a half hour into the session, she noticed a handful of fleas coming closer. One of them hopped onto Angelica's back, climbing onto her neck.
Then, the flea gave a whistle.
Angelica sat.
"Oh!" the flea squeaked.
Rachel narrowed her eyes, giving a different whistle. Angelica shot back up, looking to Rachel for a target. "Go!" she commanded, pointing towards the fence.
Angelica rushed forwards and the flea let out a scream of fear, before letting out a whistle of its own. She couldn't hear the command, but Angelica turned back around and head back to Rachel.
Rachel put a hand on her hip, considering, "...Huh."
In the meantime, if they were telling the truth, she appreciated the help.
And they really were helping. There were a little over two hundred of them, and even if they couldn't carry much individually, together they made the yard cleaner in two hours than it had been since she first came to Brockton Bay. They didn't stop at just poop, grabbing pieces of glass she had never noticed. They also found and threw away nails and screws and even fallen leaves.
After that, she filled up one of the little kid pools she normally used to give baths, and filled with with a thin layer of warm water and some soap.
"Go ahead and clean up," Rachel ordered, "I don't want you touching the dogs if you've got poop on you."
Speaking of the dogs, the way that they interacted with them was another reason she wasn't too suspicious of the fleas. The bug-people knew their way around dogs almost the same way Rachel knew them. They didn't shout, they didn't cringe away, they couldn't exactly stand their ground, considering the size difference, but they handled them well. Handled them with respect. The fleas feared Rachel, she could tell, but they weren't afraid of the dogs, even though they could squish the fleas just as easily. They just seemed fond.
Part of that, Rachel knew, was because they saw the dogs as a source of food.
Which... she didn't like. But she already had an idea about that.
Once the fleas were all clean, she had them begin to clear her dogs of parasites. A few flea-people were assigned to each dog that she knew had a problem, and got to work hunting down their non-Tinkered brethren. She was worried that the dogs would mind the flea-people crawling around on them, but for the most part they ignored them, and the few that didn't.
After that, she returned to the rest of her chores, leaving them to it.
The day passed, and as her usual lunch break approached, Rachel realized that she might as well try out her idea for feeding them. "Hey, fleas," she shouted, "Come here for a second," as they started to gather near her feet, she looked out across the yard, and picked on one of her most reliable dogs, "Brutus!"
As the rottweiler trotted over, she looked over the group of fleas, trying to pick out the one she talked to that morning, but she still had trouble telling them apart. Maybe she could get them to wear colored hats or something?
"We are gathered!" one of them announced, stepping forwards, the voice was similar enough, it was probably the same flea-person.
She looked at Brutus, and made the motion for him to sit. Brutus dropped, and then she reached down and placed her hand on him. Immediately, Brutus began to grow in size, his flesh twisting and warping to make room for new muscle, new bone. She could grow him to massive size if she wanted, but for now she stopped once he was about twice as big as he started.
"...You can drink," she said.
The fleas looked at Brutus in amazement, before the leader of the group stepped forwards and looked her way, "Is it safe?" they asked.
"Probably."
The flea hesitated a few more seconds, and Brutus began to fidget. When she got new dogs she used her power on them a bit, so that the regeneration that came with it might help them with their health problems a little. But besides those times, usually she only used her powers when she was training them, or getting ready for a fight.
It wasn't often she used her power and then had one of them sit still.
"Well? Hurry up! Do you want blood or not?"
The leader shrunk back at her demand, and she felt a spark of irritation.
"...Of course. Thank you," the flea said, finally, and jumped up onto Brutus. Then, it leaned down and bit him.
Brutus had, and likely would continue, to shrug off bullets. If the bite hurt him, she couldn't tell. He turned his head to look at her and opened his mouth slightly, letting his tongue hang in front of her. She reached out and rubbed his snout, the stump of his tail wagging.
The flea pulled away after a few seconds, and Rachel saw the bite mark and frowned. She could barely see it. The only evidence at all were a few tiny red beads of blood.
The flea hopped down, and then turned to their people and threw both arms into the air, "I declare this blood- delicious!"
Rachel flinched as the tiny horde of fuzzballs swarmed up Brutus. She held him in place as he tried to back away, and kept him calm when he tried to scratch. He was perfectly fine with just one, but he didn't like two hundred.
But after a few seconds, they peeled away. Brutus shook himself, and scratched a bit at his skin, but after another moment's use of her powers, all the tiny bite marks vanished entirely.
She looked over the group, "Are you satisfied for now?"
"Yes! We've all drunk our fill, right?" the leader asked, addressing the rest of the group.
The fleas gave various affirmatives, while a handful more jumped back onto Brutus for seconds, but they were back down within a few seconds.
"Tell me when you're hungry again," she ordered, "Don't drink from any of the dogs if I'm not present, understand? Otherwise I can't heal them afterwards."
"We understand," the lead flea said, "Now, what would you have us do next?"
"Exercise," she said simply, stepping into the shed and grabbing an armful of toys, "How fast can you throw something?"
"I guess, it would depend on how big the thing is?" one of the other fleas volunteered, jumping up close to her.
She dropped a tennis ball. The flea caught it with some effort, but was having trouble keeping it balanced. Another flea jumped over to help, and with two of them they held the ball up without shaking. The dogs in the yard went quiet as they turned their attention to the ball.
The fleas kicked off the ground simultaneously, using their powerful leap to propel themselves, and the ball, high into the air. Then, they let go, sending it sailing across the yard.
There was a stampede of barking and yapping as dogs rushed after it.
She dropped the rest of the toys in front of the other other fleas, "Play with them until they start getting tired, then lead them over to the water bowls. I'm going to work on training a few of them while you keep the others distracted."
Leaving them at it, Rachel gave a short whistle, the dogs with the most level of training broke off from the pack, ambling up to her and the slowly-shrinking Brutus. As she led them to the usual corner she used for dogs she was training for potential conflicts, she watched as the rest of the dogs were led around back and forth.
She was starting to have a good feeling about this arrangement.
Rachel began to cycle through whistles and commands, giving out treats for prompt and correct obedience. But about a half hour into the session, she noticed a handful of fleas coming closer. One of them hopped onto Angelica's back, climbing onto her neck.
Then, the flea gave a whistle.
Angelica sat.
"Oh!" the flea squeaked.
Rachel narrowed her eyes, giving a different whistle. Angelica shot back up, looking to Rachel for a target. "Go!" she commanded, pointing towards the fence.
Angelica rushed forwards and the flea let out a scream of fear, before letting out a whistle of its own. She couldn't hear the command, but Angelica turned back around and head back to Rachel.
Rachel put a hand on her hip, considering, "...Huh."
- Location
- Madison, AL
Nice, I am very happy.
- Location
- USA
Oh god. Rachel is THINKING.
The imminent force multiplication will be a thing of beauty.
The imminent force multiplication will be a thing of beauty.
Aurora Raven
(Verified Bird)
- Location
- Surrey, UK
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This is adorable.
I too look forward to the WTF reaction of the Undersiders whilst Rachel is so accepting.
I too look forward to the WTF reaction of the Undersiders whilst Rachel is so accepting.