And they'd find us in a week, when the weather gets hot · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · Serpentberry

[Maggotkit]

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MAGGOTKIT
AFTER THE INSECT HAVE MADE THEIR CLAIM, I'D BE HOME WITH YOU

Maggotkit was too distracted to notice they were in a dream, though even if they weren't focused on other things, they probably would not have realised. The young kitten had no concept of what dreams and reality was, all they knew was what was in front of them.

And right now it was beetles, all shapes and sizes, crawling around the stone floor and flying around their head. Maggotkit pawed at one playfully, though gently enough not to bat it out of the air. The whirring of their wings calmed the child down more than any other noise could, their eyes slowly drooping and fur laying flat.

That was, until one of the beetles crawled up to its paws and spoke. "Uhhh...huh?" Maggotkit made a surprised noise. Then, feeling silly for not replying with words when the beetle had been so kind as to speak words Maggotkit could understand, they added "You....talk?" Maggotkit's vocabulary was limited. they prefered not to talk, but if beetles spoke at them, why wouldn't they reply back?

OOC: Receiving a power from @serpentberry.

 

[serpentberry serpentberry]

To find herself unfolding in the mind of a child - no, an infant... is near insulting. She's drawn to the starlit wind's path, aching to follow it wherever it leads. More often than not, she finds Thornstar drifting through the fields, a freshly caught rabbit in his jaws. Sometimes she'll chance upon the mind of a leader or medicine cat, lying in wait for something, or completely inaccessible. Serpentberry doesn't always ignore them (she quite likes intruding on Loonstar's dreams,) but she tends to let them pass unless something tugs her closer. This time, that tether pulled on her, and she listened. Only to end up in the dream of a kitten, eagerly chasing bugs.

Hmph. She's hear for a reason, no doubt. And it's not as if she doesn't know who the little tot is. Cicadabuzz has accrued a new bunch of paws to obey bug's every command, though they're much too young to brainwash now. This one is... Maggotkit. Rotten name, to be sure, but at least they aren't Deathberrykit. Oh, what effect she had on bug's life that it had to take the poisonous name twice over. Perhaps she is here to return that favor, somehow. She does feel a swell of warmth in her paws, as if she can grace the child with the singing feeling and gift them something new. But what? Eyes that can peer through the deepest of shadows? Perhaps the right to see spirits of all kinds, and thus she could visit them more often. So many options...

She lifts a paw, and unbeknownst to her, a beetle follows her glow. It clasps in her paw as she tilts forward, pressing the warmth into the ground in a slow stride. The beetle moves in kind, and when she arrives in front of Maggotkit, the beetle acts similarly, appearing to address the russet-furred child. "Hello, sweetling..." she starts, but Maggotkit doesn't tilt their gaze towards you. They are fascinated... by the bug.

Perhaps brainwashing wasn't off the table anymore.

If only she could manifest as a snake instead, and not something so humiliating. It seems like the child cannot see her at all! Frustrated, she pauses momentarily, before shifting gears. She can still twist this into something fun for her. Her ears twitch back and she lifts the beetle-drawn paw, pressing it to the kitten's nose. "We do talk, little one," she continues, offering her voice to the beetle as it twitches and fidgets on Maggotkit's nose. "And when you wake again, you will hear us. Every scuttle and hiss, you will not only hear, but you will listen. Not only will you listen, but our tongue will become yours. Find us, darkling kit," she croons, "Find us, and speak with us...!"

And with that, the warmth from her paw drives itself down Maggotkit's nose, drenching their voicebox with the intense heat for all of a few seconds. The beetles all buzz in unison, surprise or cheering, and Serpentberry provides Maggotkit with a surely coveted gift; they are now a polyglot, able to speak with the beetles around them.

 

[Maggotkit]

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MAGGOTKIT

The child listened as the beetle spoke, inviting them to speak with it. No, more like... commanding? Maggotkit couldn't fully comprehend what was going on, but it listened to the beetle talk with wide eyes, lowering its body to the ground to see the creature better. Yet it was not meant to be, as the beetle climbed on their nose and the kitten couldn't see much but a blurry form anyway.

Something warm spread through their body, starting at their nose and seeping through their throat. The child didn't understand, couldn't understand, not yet at least, and whined a little in surprise and fear. Though the warmth was no painful and rather comforting, Maggotkit still didn't like the new sensation. But just as quickly as it had come, it left, leaving only a little mark in the child's body, one the kitten could barely notice.

Find us and speak with us...!

That was the last thing the beetle had said and Maggotkit murmured a simple "Okay..." as their response, though they felt a little lost. The beetles slowly started to fade and soon Maggotkit woke up in its nest, curled against its mother and siblings. Everything seemed normal, the way its always been... for now. Soon the child would learn of their gift.

OOC: n/a