Submission (#634) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 2
Act Type: Bravery
Word Count: 1444
Adult Elnin Present: Ruelle [ELN315] [friend's Elnin that benefits Cyprus for Resonance Questing]

I will not be claiming AP for this entry! (Edited the act type as well.) I thought I had to claim Resonance while submitting the single Acts but I guess that's only in the actual claim itself when I submit for it.

Cyprus was considered a very shy and reclusive Kittom, at least when he first came to live with his foster mum Ruelle. He was quiet and didn’t like being near strangers, clammed up near groups of Kittoms he didn’t know, was terrified of the dark unless he had his nightlight, but most of all...He was afraid of the most heinous creature in all existence. Bees.

Tiny yellow and black monstrosities with stingers on their rear ends that made a horrific buzzing sound that often set Cyprus on edge. His fur would stand on end whenever he caught the telltale buzz of bees, flinch when he’d see one, and run if one were to land near him.

Ruelle remembers the time a bee flew into the candy shop portion of their home and Cyprus about had a fit, the poor Kittom was wailing and shrieking to get away from it that he ended up toppling her recently made display, crashing into the back room, and breaking a bunch of jars. The poor little guy didn’t mean to cause such a mess so Ruelle let him off easy.

After that incident she made sure no bees would ever come near her son. She couldn’t afford another disaster like that again. Cyprus never really liked thinking about that event because it was also incredibly embarrassing. The other Kittoms laughed at his fear of bees and he shied away from everyone but Ruelle at this point.

Ruelle knew that she couldn’t cure Cyprus’ fear of bees. This was something he had to handle on his own...But she did keep vigil. Especially during the warmer months when spring became summer.

It was in spring when Cyprus was outside with the other Kittoms he lived with, casually staying on the sidelines and just enjoying the nice breeze coming in from the ocean, coupled with warm sunshine. The scent of fresh blooms were also in the air and he was currently just wandering along, minding his own business.

He spotted a particularly colorful flower that was so beautiful that he had to blink twice, to make sure it was real. Purple with a pink center. Where on earth did it come from?! The petals were all soft and delicate...Too many to count. It was also quite a large flower, especially to a small thing like him. All he could think of in that moment was Ruelle’s witch hat. It was the same shade of purple. He wondered if she would like this flower as a centerpiece.

Cyprus took a step towards the flower and found himself freezing, his blue eyes dilating to the size of pinpricks as his fur stood up on end. A bee landed on the flower, because of course one would. It always had to be those wretched BEES! They ruined everything! Yes, he knew they were important. No, he did not care. Not at ALL.

‘Get out of here, you!’ Cyprus tried to say, but what came out was a strangled squeak as he backed off from the yellow and black devil.

The bee paid no mind to the catatonic Kittom, busily pollinating the flower and just doing its job. Cyprus couldn’t bring himself to move.

...The bee lifted up and then came toward him, drawn in by his coloration and stillness.

Cyprus screamed, taking off quickly back inside his tree-like home and running straight into Ruelle’s arms, babbling about ‘scary little striped demons.’

--

Ruelle nearly dropped the contents of a bag she was carrying when Cyprus came rushing in. She quickly set to comfort her foster son, shushing him and checking him over. He was just frightened and didn’t have any stings, but one would think he had shadows baying for his life.

“Hon you’re okay! There’s nothing to worry about. The bees won't harm you unless you stir them up.” She told him, reaching out to smooth his messed up fur.

“B-But this one came RIGHT AT ME!” Cyprus stressed, looking towards the door and then back at his foster mum, eyes wide and spooked.

Ruelle sighed, but put on a warm smile as she comforted her little helper. “Cyprus, you can’t spend your entire life being afraid of bees. Sooner or later you’re going to be a big boy and I won’t be able to pack you around! You’ll have to learn to fight your own battles.”

“I know…” Cyprus miserably replied, letting out a sigh.

Darn it, she was right. He couldn’t keep screaming like a baby every time a bee came near him! He had to do something about this if he was going to get anywhere in life, especially if he wanted to get that bizarre flower. He just had to. That and what if he wanted to visit Kyendi and there was nothing but bees there too?! He couldn’t let that stop him!

That night, Cyprus went to bed devising a plan and gearing himself up for Operation Flower Snatcher.

--

The very next day brought brilliant sunshine, the sound of waves, and glorious Palu’au island living.

As well as the sound of buzzing bees.

By some horrible karma, Cyprus was met with a swarm of them near the area he saw that purple flower. Unlucky for him, he found the nest high up in the branches that stemmed off from his own house! How horrific! But today this Kittom was on a mission and he was going to face his fears and finally grab that flower. He was doing this for Ruelle, but mostly for himself.

She gave him a good talking to about overcoming fears and all the facts she knew about bees. Cyprus didn’t have any smoke at his disposal but he just had to stop ‘freaking out’ as the others put it, when he got close to one. So...As he stood facing his mortal enemy, he held his head high and proceeded on shaky legs.

Cautiously, Cyprus crept through the bedding of grass and local island flora, one step at a time. The horrific buzzing in his ears from the bees really made his skin crawl but the sooner he got this over with, the better. So he pressed on, determined. He chanted to himself ‘one foot in front of the other’ and eventually, he was inches from the flower.

A bee was on it but he waited patiently, still as a statue, sweating bullets and fighting his urge to run. A few other bees around him went about their business, sometimes they would get up and fly curiously towards him before going on to the next flower. He hated it when they were way too close to the tips of his ears. He often wondered what sort of deity created such awful creatures.

Soon...The purple flower was free of infestation. Cyprus took a deep breath and quickly dove in, snatching the flower, and then hightailing as fast as he could out of that patch of grass.

He only stopped until he was at the steps to his home, looking back. No bees chased him or stung him for taking the flower. The awful buzzing was gone and all that was left was him and his prized catch.

...That was it. Nothing happened at all. All his worst fears did not come true.

Cyprus suddenly set down the flower and let out a huge breath, having a nervous chuckle to himself. “I-I did it...That...That wasn’t so bad..?” He didn’t know if he wanted to do this again, but at least he could surprise Ruelle with this beautiful flower.

--

Ruelle was quite proud of her son for conquering his crippling fear of bees to bring her something truly special. She put the flower in a vase for all to see and offered to celebrate Cyprus’ little victory over the ‘little striped devils’ with a treat. (It was his favorite, that being a chocolate orange.)

After the festivities, Cyprus went to bed that night with peaceful dreams, free of bees.

The very next day and the day after that, Cyprus got bolder about going into patches of flowers with bees present. His fear grew less and he didn’t allow the noise to bother him so much. Sure, he still felt a sliver of his old “flight or fight” response in the tips of his toes, but he did not run.

He was always careful about the bees but at least he could finally take a walk without screaming back to Ruelle. Her candy jars thank him!