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Cricket hummed to herself in the cupboard. She had no reason to sit in there, as told by Sundew, Willow, Luna and a very concerned Blue.
Old habits die hard, I guess. She thought as she flicked a page of her book.
The noise in the house was welcome, for once. Sun and Sword were fighting over how Bumblebee managed to get stuck in the branches of Bee Jr. Luna and Willow were giggling—Willow was giggling. Luna was cackling—at the pointless argument.
Cricket flicked another page. The HiveWing author was one of the few who didn't rant and grovel about the now ex-Queen Wasp.
Instead, he ranted about his passion, which Cricket respected deeply.
Contrary to popular belief, you absolutely do not place your glassblowing creations on a shelf immediately after making them. Glass is temperature sensitive and will shatter if you suddenly switch it to a cold environment, as proven by the Mantis Hive scientists and Tsetse scientific engineers.
Blue wouldn't like glassblowing, would he? That was more of a Swordtail thing. Cricket smiled to herself, imagining Luna and Swordtail running a tapestry and glassblowing shop together.
She turned another page and that was when she noticed the quiet.
She stilled. Had everyone left? No...they wouldn't have without telling her. Sun and Sword hadn't stopped fighting, since they took ages to calm down, and Bumble was never quiet.
There was only one set of years in her childhood when she heard this silence, and it was one she had wished to never rehear.
Cricket tried to make herself smaller. Wasp was gone. She tried to ground herself.
Wasp is gone. Wasp is gone. Wasp is gone. She tried to keep that in her head.
Wasp is gone. She's in jail. She won't be coming back. The Breath of Evil is gone. It was burned up. Cottonmouth is gone.
They won't come back.
They won't come back.
They are coming back.
What if she escaped? What if she's found it again? Maybe Cottonmouth is still alive? Maybe they'll team up again and if, no, when they do, Luna and Blue are dea—
CRASH.
Cricket stilled again, holding her breath. Usually, Wasp wasn't so careless, but maybe..?
"Swordtail you IDIOT." That was Sundew. Not Wasp. Cricket sighed in relief.
"I TOLD you not to put it the glass on the shelf RIGHT AFTER you've made it!" She muttered something about incompetent larvae.
"Well I'm so SORRY for not having one of those special ovens at hand!" Swordtail shot back.
The tension in Cricket's shoulders eased a little, as Luna and Willow joined in the conversation.
Maybe they were fine for now. Maybe Wasp was still in prison.
But for now, she was staying in her cupboard.