Snippet #2438919

I wake up to somebody yelling in the courtyard. The buildings here are all connected, so there is one large space in the middle. I walk outside, and see Ekarti yelling at a pronghorn for no apparent reason. Then the reason becomes painfully apparent: a rhinoceros beetle girl tied up. As I get closer, I hear whats going on.

"I will NOT deal with this! This is outrageous! Where did you hear I was under orders?? I have never heard of this insect in my life!", so on and so forth. The pronghorn, clearly used to being obeyed, was completely confused. I almost laughed, but stopped myself. Facing my foster father was... challenging, at best. Downright terrifying, most of the time. The rhinoceros beetle sees me, and motions for me to come over. i come over, pull out my knife, and pick the lock (skill I learned from my sort-of older brother). she stands up, looks at me, and attempts to run for her life. I pick up the knife, throw it, and pin her by the shirt to a tree. she looks at me in pure terror, and that's when the two men notice me. By this point, the pronghorn is seething about being screamed at, and Ekarti is really mad about the bug. So when they see me, the pronghorn says (in possibly the most controlled voice I've ever heard) "I did not bring this insect here for target practice, young lady." I draw myself up to my full height (a full 5 inches taller than the pronghorn, i just look shorter because I don't ever stand up straight), and say "if she hadn't been chained up, I wouldn't have let her out and then had to pin her to the tree to stop her from running." he looks... surprised, so I take this as the perfect chance to ask "Who are you, who is she, and what are you doing here, anyway?" his mouth drops open, and Ekarti answers for him. "Aria, this is Shorttail, the second-in-command of the Pronghorn government. Apparently he has been sent here by his leader in order to set a trap for the Dynastinae. The rhinoceros beetle is Vyjallen, sister of one of the higher ranking Dynastinae, and she is the bait." Bait? um. He continues. "Shorttail refuses to tell me all the details, but the Pronghorns hope to lead the Dynastinae to a spot in the forest, and then get the cicadas to kill them, and they will enslave the remaining living. I don't know where I would put Sina, let alone Vyjallen. As it is, the village will need to be expanded." the pronghorn holds up his hand. "Wait, who is Sina?" he asks. "Sina is my apprentice. I rescued her from a public beating in the Pronghorn-Peacock city. Before the cicadas were sighted." He looks confused, then his face sort of lights up. "So that's who you are! one of my females was talking about a fox who traded some bracelets for a rhinoceros beetle. X-47, I believe." I nod and say "Yes, I can also deal with Vyjallen, if you like..." The two men nod in relief, realize they were just arguing with each other, scowl, and walk off in opposite directions. Vyjallen looks at me and starts attempting to rip through the tree. I walk over, pull out the knife, lean over and say "I'm here to help you. Come with me." she nods, and we go back into the building.

((evil person makes cliffhanger! mwahahahahahahahaha!)