Nipper & Poison Bite. I imagine these spirit beasts being more sexually dimorphic than humans; the males are larger and more muscular and the females are smaller but more agile. Nipper is young, he hasn't earned scars yet. The other males look like grizzled war veterans. 

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This is great! Poison Bite thought as she scoffed down another clawfull of honey. She was having a good night. Their raid on the grassy domains hadn’t gone as planned, but earlier she’d got to climb a tree! And now, they’d found honey! She looked around at her team’s gleeful faces as they partook of the unexpected bounty. And what a bounty it was! From the looks of it, this whole bamboo stalk was filled with honey bees. Was each section a new hive? She didn’t know! But there was more than enough here to fill the bellies of her brothers and sisters back at the burrow, and that was what mattered.

She noted that Nipper, their new recruit, was hanging back. Nipper. Lately, she’d caught him giving her that look. Worse, Grimclaw had noticed it too, and made some not-so-subtle insinuations that she might “Teach the lad more than just raiding”. She would have to set the boy straight when they returned. He was just… Well, he wasn’t her type. It was better a little pain now than to let him continue digging in the wrong direction and be crushed later.

“Hey, kid. Come get some, there's plenty to go around!" Grimclaw gestured the boy over.

The honeycomb was so good. Poison Bite took another mouthful, enjoying the squish of larvae and that sweet sweet honey. She chewed until all that was left was a small ball of wax, and spat it to the side, ready for another bite.

“...Run!” her attention was snapped back to her surroundings at a shout from Nipper. A light hum filled the air. It was difficult to see in the darkness, but Poison Bite could make out the flitting forms of insects as they passed in front of the bamboo. By the time she heard the warning click of the hornets, it was too late.

They bit and stung, burrowing their way past her thick fur to the soft skin beneath. She scratched at them ineffectually with her claws, but there were too many. In seconds she was overwhelmed “Get them off! Get them off!” She dropped to the ground, rolling and hissing in pain as more and more found her flesh.

////

Nipper was already backing up as he saw the swarm descend onto Poison Bite. “No…” he whispered. A moment of indecision, and then he was running into the swarm. I won’t let you have her.

The other raiders were by his side.

He and Five-claws swatted and bit at the insects covering Poison Bite’s body, and Silverfur and Grimclaw tried to drag her away.

But she was thrashing too much,

and they were stinging him now too,

and it was all happening so fast,

and…

“Run!” Silverfur ordered him with a nip to his tail. Nipper jumped back, and then Grimclaw and Five-Claws were at his side, shouldering and jostling him away, leaving the old raider and Poison-Bite behind.

“No!” he shouted again, trying to turn back, but bodies to either side shunted him onwards through the grove.

“But, Poison–!” his words were lost among the buzz of insects and screams of his companions. He let himself be led away into the night.

“Keep running!” Five-Claws yelled, turning back, and then it was just him and Grimclaw fleeing for safety.

####

Silverfur was not afraid to die. He had continued to raid long after the rest of his generation had retired to their burrows. Death on a raid was an honourable, clean way to go. It was growing old and becoming a burden to the younger generation that he feared. But, death this night would not fill his hungry clanmate’s bellies. If he could, he wanted to live. “Nnnngr” he gritted his teeth as another stinger unloaded into him, but continued to stuff his cheeks with the precious honeycomb. The majority of the swarm were still on Poison Bite, her still form beside him a stark reminder of the risk he took. He only needed a few seconds, and it would mean the difference between returning home with something or nothing.

When he could carry no more he turned to leave. One foreleg spasmed and he fell to the ground. The pain was too much. He tried to rise, and fell again. “huh?’ he thought through the pain. ‘Not as strong as I used to be, eh–!’  The clacking of hornets grew louder, finally turning their attention to him. ‘This is it, huh…' Silverfur felt regret. Regret he would not deliver home this final bounty. Regret he could not be useful to his family one last time. Regret he would not live to see his grand cubs first raid and start families of their own. '...greedy damned fool.’.

Then Five-Claws was there, “Get up old man!” he yelled, gripping Silverfur’s forepaw by the mouth and trying to drag him away.

“ai-ont..” his companion growled between heaves “et-oo-ai-eer!”

And he was up.

He staggered, hobbled, and then limp-ran, his body supported against Five-Claws' own as the two made a hasty retreat from the grove.

////

My soldiers descend on the interlopers, a cacophony of clicks fills the air as their mandibles beat to the rhythm of war.

The first movement brings pain, for a price. Barbed stingers pump out a complex mix of proteins, peptides, and phospholipids that target pain receptors, inducing agony despite the low toxicity of the sting. The stinger remains, a lingering note, along with a portion of the bee's organs and nervous system. Should the bee escape being crushed, it may yet survive to serve a few days longer.

The first defiler drops to the ground, hissing a mournful lament. It’s lithe body rolls and thrashes and I feel as scores of my warriors end their lives squished between skin and stone.

The others attempt to save their comrade, but my swarm is all around them. There is no escape.

The second movement brings a deadly crescendo. The bees naturally retreat as their ancestral enemy takes to the front. The hornet’s stingers are smooth, able to strike their incapacitated target again and again, the toxins less painful, but more lethal.

I feel as a trickle of power leaves the first defiler. While its body still writhes on the ground, its movements become erratic; the reflexive spasms of the recently departed.

Qi is wasted on such beasts. They remain mere echoes of their forebears, slaves to their primal instincts. Whatever small wisdom they amass throughout their fleeting existence is fated to perish, and must be taught anew to the next generation.

One beast bites another, and three flee into the night, perhaps having noticed their comrades' subtle change of state.

I descend on the remaining beast as it greedily stuffs its mouth. It too falls, and I anticipate another warm trickle of Qi.

Then, something unexpected occurs. Another of the interlopers that had successfully escaped my swarm returns to aid its fallen ally. I pause my assault and watch in deep thought as together they rise and flee into the night.

////

Nipper and Grimclaw found themselves locked in a heated argument when Silverfur and Five-Claws trudged back to the thorn patch.

"...That's why I'm telling you, we can't just give up, we have to go back!" Nipper insisted.

"And do what, lad? Rush headfirst to our deaths? You're just a pup who hasn’t even earned a real name yet. This raid is under my command, and I won't let your disobedience cost us another life tonight. Is that understood?”

Nipper hissed in frustration and started to scuff at the ground with one foreclaw as he paced the open space.

"Listen, lad," Grimclaw softened his voice, "I get that you had a soft spot for Poison Bite, but trust me-"

“I didn’t!” Nipper immediately denied “I mean…” his voice lowered to a whisper “...You’re speaking like she’s already dead..."

The crush of leaves. The snap of twigs. Nipper looked up as Silverfur and Five-Claws pushed into the clearing.

“You’re back!” Nipper exclaimed, “Poison Bite is…?” he watched the gap in the thorns that they had entered from. No further sounds came. Five-Claws simply shook his head.

Nipper looked back to his comrades. Silverfur’s cheeks bulged with stolen Honeycomb, but he was barely keeping himself standing.

“You need to rest, or we keep moving?” Grimclaw questioned the older raider, who gestured onwards with his snout.

“...” Nipper followed them back to the den in silence 'Poison Bite…’

////

‘People’ the word resounds unbidden in my consciousness, pregnant with meaning I’ve yet to unravel. The beast's behavior troubled me. I replay our encounter, reframing the memories in a new key; The disappointment I had recognized on the defiler’s face when it found the empty nest. The joy they had shared on finding my hives. The determination shown when the Five-Clawed one returned for his ally.

My Qi envelops the corpse of the small creature, gently cradling and preserving it. Meanwhile, a complex network of investigative roots weave their way toward it. I must learn more.

Surely no mere quirk of instinct could produce such emotion? These small beasts are like me, then; ‘Sapient’ a familiar part of my mind provides; it is the same part that tells me the name of all things. It is the part that tells me of Qi, and photosynthesis, and that the bees, plants, and beasts of the forest are not sapient; It is the part of my mind that tells me I am alone. But perhaps, this once, it is wrong.

In that case, have I inadvertently murdered another sapient? Another being with thoughts and feelings, an architect of its own fate; A person, like me?

The thought strikes a chord of terror, but I feel something else as well; Relief? Excitement? I am not sure.

I am not sure, but a part of me yearns to see the small creatures again.

I must communicate with them. But how? I sensed the pheromones they excreted but it was crude; unlike my insects, this was not their primary method.

Sound, then. My culms vibrate as I mentally replay their yips and growls, hisses and whines, seeking meaning.

When they returned, I would be ready, and things would unfold to a different tune. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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Love to see your comments so I know it's not just skimmer bots reading! 

Up next we have an interlude from the human POV, and then we'll be back into the action with Nipper & Little Bamboo!