Avaricious Apian Assault! [OPEN]

Jeanne had been the one to suggest she go out more often, even if it was by herself. It was something about getting used to being around people after a large change- a hint she had learned some decades prior after moving to the States. People were more outwardly friendly, she had said, but it was hollow, and that hollowness was something Edain could benefit from getting used to, seeing how in her head she tended to get about these things.

She... may have taken that advice a little too well.

Edain couldn't remember the last time she had been in her apartment alone. Most days were spent wandering around Pittsburgh to collect insects and see sights, and most nights were spent in whatever parks were still open to... collect insects and see sights. The only times she ever returned to the complex was to talk to Jeanne, who seemed to be getting more and more worried about her as time wore on.

But that didn't matter, did it? She was going outside- and going outside was basically socialising! And socialising was basically being a person! See? Edain was a person! She was a person! She wanted to grab the person sitting next to her at that crowded Wendy's, shake her vigorously by the shoulders and yell 'I'm a person! I'm a person!' as many times as her voice would allow! Fuck! She needed to get another Frosty!

She slowly rose from her seat, awkwardly excusing her way past the crowd as she drifted towards the counter- eyes averted, posture tense, hands crawling as far up her too-short sleeves as her arm length would allow.

"Oh, hi- me again." She said, sheepishly, "I'll just have another, uh- another vanilla, um... sorry, do you want to go in front of me? Did I- sorry, sorry for line-jumping, I just- sorry."

The woman behind her shoved her way back to the front of the line, and Edain shuffled her way back to her seat. She'd just have to wait- which was fine. It was fine. She could wait- she loved waiting, actually. The more time she spent waiting, the less time she spent talking to people- and, hey, that was something! She was antsy. Talking to people made her feel less like a person. Talking to people-

Wait, hang on, are those...

"Western honey bees." She said, nudging the person sitting next to her, but keeping her eyes on the insects, "Apis mellifera, if you want the fancy Latin name. Y'know, they're actually an invasive species in North America- yeah, they're not naturally found here, they were brought over from Europe some time during-"

She was getting a weird look. Was she wrong? No, they were definitely mellifera- those markings were impossible to mistake. Edain cleared her throat.

"Anyway, they were actually listed as extinct somewhat recently, which- like, they're uncommon nowadays, I'm sure you've been informed, but I wouldn't call them- like, that's gotta be some marketing campaign, right? Save the bees? They're definitely not extinct- I can see several of them..."

Over there...

"Uh..."

Swarming...

"Ummm..."

By that guy.

"Ah."

Fuck. Edain turned back towards her conversation partner and smiled half-heartedly.

"Hey, don't worry- they're very unlikely to, like, kill you- it would take several hundred stings, maybe even a thousand for the venom of a honeybee to really... like, unless you're allergic- are you allergic? I'm not allergic. Hey- oh, hey where is he... going..."

Without thinking, she stood up and followed him out of the building.

"Uh, hey! Wh- um, where did you..."

God, she didn't have the chops for superheroism, did she?

"Where did you get all those bees? They're an endangered species, you know! Listed as extinct, actually- as of 2019, on the IUCN Red List..."

"Oh. You're a beekeeper. Of course."

Edain was not a beekeeper. Though she kept bees, she would never consider herself a beekeeper, god- no, she was a scientist. This guy clearly wasn't. He didn't sound like he knew a damn thing about the insects he was piloting, aside from the fact that over one in ten American adults were self-reportedly terrified of them. She had no doubt that number would go up the more bees you added to the equation. She had no doubt he knew that, as well.

She sighed, short and sharp, her tone becoming uncharacteristically annoyed.

"I don't want to visit your tourist trap, thanks. I have my own hive at home."

And her bees didn't rob people.

"Sorry, follow-up question, how are you able to do... that? She gestured to the swarm, "What, is it movement? Surgical alterations? Some sort of pheromone? I'm not- I'm not trying to steal your research, I- I don't sabotage people like that, despite what you may hear- I'm very above-board, especially nowadays. I'm just curious how this whole thing..."

Then, in a flurry of puns and threats, the intruder came to remind Edain that this man had just attempted to rob a Wendy's, and was about to make it off scot-free. She stepped back a little, aiming to get out of the way of the ensuing battle- it was hard to hide her compound biology when she was injured, and she did not want a beekeeper to be the first stranger to know. She piped up to add in her own grievances, though they didn't seem quite as grave as the ones prior.

"Also, this really isn't good PR." She said, "Not for you, not for your bees. You know, over one in ten American adults are self-reportedly terrified of bees- and that data was taken before they started robbing fast food places. People already hate the little bastards enough, this really isn't... helping... their image..."