In the Shade (Soldier Beetle)

Tags:
Soldier Beetle, No Smut, 2nd Person Perspective, Apples and Hugs

-------------------------------------

Despite the shelter provided by the forest surrounding you, the late summer breeze made is presence known, cooling you off as you ventured further along the trail and silently thanking the relief it offered from the otherwise hot day. It had only been a short while since you had begun your hike, but already your shirt was soaked and you had completely drained one of your water bottles.

Coming around a bend in the familiar path through the forest, you decided that it was just about time to take a break, relax for a little somewhere cool before setting off on your journey again. Thankfully, you knew just where to go.

Instead of continuing onwards along the path, you took a sharp left off the beaten trail and into the forest, stepping over fallen trees and navigating through the dense clusters of growth before finally breaking through the treeline, finding yourself standing in a mostly empty field.

Surrounded by long grass blowing in the breeze was a tall apple tree, the one you tended to take breaks beneath whenever you came for a hike along this trail. It was a nice and quiet place, removed enough from the forest so you didn’t have to deal with any other hikers, and the lack of mosquitoes that were so common in the cool shade of the forest was one of the bigger perks. Of course, the sweet apples that grew from its branches were nice, too.

Leaving a trail of flattened grass as you cut through the field, you spotted movement beneath the canopy of the tree, causing you to shield your eyes from the sun for a better look.

As you neared, you could make out a shape hopping around the base of the tree, almost as if they were attempting to reach up and latch onto one of the branches, which was far too high for them to do so. Why they didn’t just climb the tree and shake one of the branches to get the apples to drop, you didn’t know, but you felt a sudden compulsion to help them achieve their goal regardless.

Coming nearer to the apple tree, you called out to them. “Excuse me?” You asked, raising your voice so that they would be able to hear you. This startled them, causing them to turn around in fright to face you.

Now you were able to finally see who this person was. The young girl’s violet hair waved in the breeze as she stared back at you with dark insect-like eyes, a brown chitinous exterior covering most of her, as if she had donned a set of complex armour. Behind her, a large body resembling that of a beetle was supported by four legs, two more small ones resting at her front but not reaching the ground.

Her expression was stiff as you approached, her eyes following your every movement as you made your way through the long grass. When you got close enough, she began to back up at a similar pace, moving the scissor-like ending of her right arm in front of her, bowing her head to point her horns at you.

Noticing this, you stopped in place, carefully holding up a hand to try to appease her. “I just wa-“

Before you could even finish, the insect girl had disappeared around the thick base of the tree in a flash, backpedaling on her four legs until you could just see her peering at you from around the trunk, her scissor still pointed at you.

“I just want to help.” You gently repeated yourself, getting to finish this time. Stepping onto the shorter grass that had been trampled down, probably by the beetle girl moving around the tree, you gently set down your backpack spotting a large, mostly-empty bowl of apples resting by base of the tree.

Looking around, you noticed that the young beetle girl had picked up every last apple that had fallen from the branches, confirming your suspicions. “Here,” you said, reaching out to grab the bowl and move it away from the tree. “I’ll try to-“

She interrupted you again, this time by charging towards you from behind the tree with her scissor snapping furiously, causing you to drop the bowl to the ground in a clatter, spilling a few apples as you stumbled backwards.

Stopping just short of where you were, the beetle girl turned her attention to the bowl instead, using her scissor to push the fallen apples back into the bowl, before scooping it up and carrying it with her as she fled around the tree again, still peering at you with an unchanging stare.

Chuckling to yourself, you moved towards the tree once more. “Alright, fair enough. That stuff’s yours.” Grabbing hold of one of the forks in the tree, you hoisted yourself up with a grunt, using your feet to climb up the side of the tree and rest them at the base of the fork. Pulling yourself up into a standing position, you looked down at the beetle girl with a smile, her scissor opening and closing slowly as she stared quizzically back at you.

Turning towards the many branches, you spotted one within reach that still had most of its fruit left, compelling you to reach out a begin shaking it to cause a few apples to fall free towards the ground.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted the girl moving cautiously to where a few apples had fallen, carefully picking them up with her large scissor and placing them in her bowl, her expression unchanging. You stopped shaking the branch as she moved beneath it, letting her fetch the fruit and back up before giving it a few more good shakes.

The two of you repeated this process a few more times, shuffling around the base of the tree until her bowl was overflowing with the red apples. It took longer than you had expected, though, with the beetle girl taking the time to inspect each and every apple, placing the ones she deemed worthy into her bowl and throwing the rejects away into the tall grass.

Finally satisfied, the girl scurried away just a little bit, giving you enough room to jump back onto the ground. “Did you find enough good ones?” You asked in sincerity, satisfied with having helped the young girl out.

She only replied with a single, sharp nod, leaning down to set the bowl on the ground before sitting down herself, her legs lowering her large body until it rested on the grass, wiggling about a little until she was comfortable. Setting down both her scissor and shield, she began to pick through the bowl with her hands, leaving you to turn and pick up your bag, preparing to leave her alone.

A few sharp clicks caught your attention, and as you looked back towards the girl, you saw that she had picked up her scissor again and pointed at you, clicking it open and closed a few more times. To your bewilderment, however, she gently began to pat the ground in front of her, as if asking you to take a seat.

Setting down your bag again, you followed her orders and sat on the other side of the bowl, staying silent while she resumed sorting through the apples. Eventually, the beetle girl seemed to find what she was looking for, picking a particularly large and ripe looking apple from the pile carefully with her scissor, and holding it out towards you.

Her deep purple eyes stared back at you as you tentatively reached out to grab the apple, having to pull slightly hard to dislodge it from her. “Thank you.” You said quietly, turning the apple over in your hand to study it before taking a bite.

The beetle girl had no reply for you, instead turning back to her haul and beginning to sort through it once more, almost randomly puling apples from the bowl and setting them on the ground as you continued to eat. Now that you had finally gotten close to her, you were able to study her features more easily.

Her exoskeleton shimmered slightly despite her being in the shade, causing it to take on varying shades of brown across it. The tips of her body, especially her horns and the bottoms of her legs, were far darker than the rest of her, while her somewhat unprotected torso was a much lighter brown, still a stark contrast to her lightly coloured hair and pale face.

Her scissor and shield were discarded on the grass nearby, and as she continued to sort, you carefully picked up the scissor with your hand, grabbing onto the handle and supporting the bottom with your other hand. She stopped briefly to stare at you, causing you to pause. “Can I pick this up?” You asked, knowing that it was a little late for that.

To your surprise, she nodded once, turning back to her apples as you admired her scissor. The chitin was very cool to the touch, and almost feather-light. The handle had two parts to it, one you deemed was for support, and the other seemed to open and close the two blades, something you confirmed when the scissor snapped shut at your prodding.

Clicking the scissor like she did a few more times, you set it back down and turned towards her shield, it being a little less impressive than its counterpart, but still interesting nevertheless. It had a handle as well for you to hold onto, but apart from that you weren’t able to do much with it, it was a shield after all.

A prodding on your leg caught your attention as you set her shield down, the young beetle girl tapping your thigh with one of her fingers. With her other hand, she pushed a small pile of apples towards you, retreating back and picking up an apple herself.

You couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture, unzipping your bag to put the gift into.

“Thank you.”

Her voice caught you off guard, the airy, childlike tone not what you had expected from her. The beetle girl took a bite from one of her apples, her eyes still boring into you as you closed your bag. “You’re welcome. Thank you for the gift…?” You trailed off, trying to get her to tell you her name.

“Agatha.” She replied, taking another bite from her apple.

“Well it was very nice meeting you, Agatha.” You replied, standing up and slinging your backpack on, not wanting to disturb the girl any further. “Enjoy your apples, I’ll be on my way.”

You turned to leave, beginning to march your way back from where you came and taking a few bites from your own apple, but a sudden embrace from behind made you stop. Agatha had donned her scissor and shield once more and wrapped you in a hug from behind, holding you in place as she embraced you.

In an instant, the hug was over, and turning around revealed the beetle girl moving back towards her bowl, scooping it up and continuing onward in the other direction.

You could only shake your head and smile as she walked away through the field, leaving you with a half eaten apple in hand.