Apis

cartographer, just happy to work. enjoys tending to a small garden when back from his expeditions, but doesn’t look up often enough from his maps to realise that he’s falling for his closest friend, and her for him.

Returning home with a frozen Tide was not how Apis had pictured his evening going. But finding an Onyx Cobra deep within the Leviathan Trench was also not something he had expected to encounter on this expedition. He struggled to take a deep breath. Focus! He had to bring Tide back –

‘Apis?’ A familiar voice called out. ‘What’s wrong? Is that Tide!’ Pearwillow cried, alarmed. She raced over to the duo and scooped Tide out of Apis’s trembling arms. ‘What happened? No, nevermind that, I’ll take him back to my clinic at once!’

She rushed off, with Apis close behind. Already, he could feel his brain shutting down. He, he wasn’t here to take care of others. He was here to work. All he wanted was to work. But he had to persevere. Tide had no one else in this world. And so,

They stopped short at the entrance of the clinic, and entering, the cool air within embraced them. It slowed Apis’s racing brain down for a second and he took a gasp of fresh air. He entered Pearwillow’s room with her, and watched as Tide was gently lain down on the inspecting table. Already, his wings and body were starting to go translucent in patches.

Pearwillow was standing at her table, flicking through a book of which Apis could not figure out the title. He felt awkward standing there, dripping onto the floor, the cuts they had endured from the onyx cobra still splashing blood on the clean white tiles.

‘What can I do?’ He asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Pearwillow finally looked at him properly and squinted at him, looking over his body. ‘Give me a second,’ she said, slamming her tome shut. She picked through her cabinets, and evidently finding the right needle, withdrew it, and moved over to Tide. Seeing the savage wound on his arm, she gestured at Apis, and then the box of gauze sitting on her table, not bothering to look up.

‘Please get the gauze for me.’ She said softly. ‘I must close the wound first.’ She paused, waiting for it. ‘Thank you.’ As she made quick work of the bandages, Apis stared as the first opalescent skin emerged from below Tide’s feet scales, and he sucked in a breath and stared at the ceiling, trying not to panic. It would be ok. He had done the right thing.

He whipped his head back around as Tide groaned, clearly being conscious enough to feel the needle sticking into his arm.

Pearwillow murmured, ‘It’s the only thing that will hopefully stop the Gembond from forming wholly. I have to try at least this.’

The desperation in her voice finally got to Apis, and he rushed out of the room, choking back tears.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, curiosity genuine.
"You made me like you," the other hissed. "What do you think?".



Pollen Gatherers, or the ‘Gardeners’ as some Drones like to call them, produce the pollen that goes into the honey Honey Bees make. Pollen Gatherers, while still living in the hive, often live away from other Drones. These parts of the hives where the Pollen Gatherers live are filled with nature. Plants and flowers are abundant wherever these Drones live, thus they live away from other Drones to keep those parts of the hive less cluttered. Pollen Gatherers have a close bond with nature that many other Drones don’t understand, almost all of said Pollen Gatherers have a natural green-thumb. While Pollen Gatherers are the most distant of the Drones, they still feel the need to socialize with other Drones every once and in a while.