Toni busted out of his room, yawning. He walked out of his room and took out some mango necter juice, and poured some in a cup for himself, taking a quick swig as he let the cold but sweet substance settle down his throat. He put it in the sink, running out of his small apartment in the colony. He speed-walked down a section of the colony and into a male worker's locker room. He changed into his outside uniform specially made for his missing left arm, and climbed his way outside of the colony's mound, feeling the cold autumn breeze hit his gentle face as he squinted. He then stood next to a bunch of other ant workers that're older, or the same age as him with a tired but straight posture. Then a drone, probably the colonel flew out of the opening of the hill and landed straight in front of the ant workers with a mighty expression.
"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, READY TO PICK OUT SOME GRUB FOR THE COLONY!?" The drone yelled.
[[Yell, "YEAH!"]] OR [[You Stay Quiet]]
"YEAH," Toni yells out, only to figure out that he was the only one who replied back to the drone.
Toni lowered his head, as the other workers chuckled and snickered at him. Well, besides his best friend Pach who was in the back.
"Well, I like your spirit, soldier! ALRIGHT, EVERYONE GET TO WORK," yelled the drone.
The rest of the workers went to find food for the queen, as some groaned in annoyance.
Toni followed as his friend Pach ran up to him.
"Already got on the colonels good side, eh? Lucky," Pach said as he nudged Toni on the side.
Toni shook his head replying, "Yeah, yeah. lets just find some food already."
[[NEXT PAGE]] Everyone stays quiet, including Toni. The drone sighed, shaking his head.
"Now you just made me look STUPID. Next time I'll hang your butts up on a wall next to the Mona Lisa," the drone yelled.
The workers looked at each other nerviously, looking back at the drone.
"Next time I see you fresh meats, I wanna see you act like you're at a military base going out on a field filled with ant eaters. Technically you are, since they'll suck out your eyes and eat them for jujubies. Now get out there and fetch some slob," the drone boomed in a strict tone.
As soon as the drone finished his sentence, the workers went straight to trying to find food. Toni sighed, following the crowd.
[[NEXT PAGE]] Path and Toni joked together, walking through the humongous herd of loud and sweaty groups of other worker ants. They struggled to stay together as loud thumps of other footsteps trampled the gravel that led them farther away the mound of their colony. The gap between the two friends had gotten larger and larger as the worker ants meaninglessly pushed them in different directions. They had gotten so far away from each other that they didn’t even know where one another was at this point. Toni Pushed against the herd of ants, and on the edge of the forest where the herd wasn’t trampling on.
Toni sighed, walking along a path that lined the edge of the large maze-like forest that was ever so close to his colonies mound. Toni smelt a strong scent that drifted from that forest, following the scent out of curiosity. He strolled down deeper into the forest and ending up at a small opening, only to find out the scent that he was smelling was blood, from a moth that has just left it's pupa. But the moth has injured itself and ripped its wing as well. It wouldn't be able to fly, even if its wings dried.
"O-oh lord... um..." Toni around himself, not seeing anoyone near him. Looks like nobody's around... what will he do?
[[Leave the Moth]]
[[Finish Off the Moth]]
[[Bring the Moth with Him to His Secret Hideout]] Toni looks down at the moth, sighing.
"Sorry, little guy. But I can't help you," Toni muttered.
He walked back to his colony, still thinking about the moth. By the time he got back, the sun was almost done setting as the moon slowly raised in its place. Toni dragged his feet as he strolled up the mound expressionless, regretting the decision he had made for the little moth. He sighed, climbing down the hole of the mound one he had gotten to the top. He climbed down and down, until he reached the flat ground inside of the colony. He walked silently to his dorm, walking into Pach with a thud. Toni stumbled back a bit, rubbing his head.
"Heya! I've been looking everywhere for you! I figured you went back to the colony. Did you find some grub? If not, we can just go to-"
"Not now, Pach. I... I just wanna be alone right now," explained Toni as he walked off without Pach.
"Alright... if you say so," Pach murmured, scratching the back of his neck as he tilt his head in confusion.
[[NEXT PAGE ]] Toni stares down at the moth, sweat dripping down his chin. He looked at how the moth was in pain, still bleeding as it laied there.
//God, this thing is bleeding to death... but I can't just leave it here! It'll just be in pain until it dies out...//
Toni looked around once more, finding a sharp piece of small wood, small enough to be held in his hand. Toni walked over to it, picking it up. He looked at the injured moth, and back at the wooden dagger.
//Well, I guess it's better to have a quick death than have a slow and painful death...//
Toni would walk up to the moth, crouching next to it. He'd take a moment to stare at it, before impaling it right in the chest. It screeched for a moment, Before it was taken away from precious life. Tonis' hand lifted with the dagger, the blood splatting on his hand. He stood up and dropped the wooden dagger on the floor. He felt like he was going to puke.
//It's okay, Toni. It's for the colony, it's for the colony...// Swallowing his saliva, he managed to move his feet, making himself turn and walk away.
[[NEXT PAGE ]] Toni quickly picked up the baby moth, quickly running with no hesitation straight to his secret hide-out that was obviously around his colony. It was somewhere under a tree that he marked with his scent, and put a bunch of his own personal stuff in there. He dropped the moth on a space with a bunch of cotton of the ground.
//Shoot, I'll have to chang the cotton when I'm finished with stopping the bleeding... Eh, I'll do it tomorrow.//
"Alright, bud. I'll be gone for a little while to get you some supplies. But I'll be back in a jiffy, kay bud?
The moth would immitate a soft motor-like purr. But it was more high-pitched. "Alright, be right back."
Toni would hopped out of his hide-out, running straight back to the top of the mound. He tripped here and there, but made it to the top with a heavy breath.
He jumped into the mound, latching onto a rock and climbing down as fast as he could. He then reached the ground, jumping down and running to the emergency room where all of the healing supplies were.
[[NEXT PAGE ]] A while after, Toni forgot about the helpless moth in the forest, And continued his life in the colony with his best friend Pach. Also continued his life as a worker ant. He forgot all about that day, until Pach spoke to him about it while they were off together to find the queen some grub by themself.
"Well, seems like you feel better about that one day," explained Pach. Toni looked to the side at Pach's direction, confused.
"Huh? What're you talking about? What day?"
Pach cocked his head over to face Toni with a questioning face, wondering if Toni remembered about the day when he swalked off without him, and continued that for a few days. But now after a few weeks, he probably forgot about it since he seems like he's feeling better.
"Y'know, a few weeks ago when you went off to find some grub for the queen, you walked off without me. Now do you remember?"
Toni now remembered the images of the injured moth on the damp grass, staining the grass red. It was probably dead by now. If not, the termites will probably take it in to use it spy on other colonies of ants. And maybe even their colony. Toni sighed, turning his gaze to the gound.
"Oh, right... that." Pach then immediantely grabbed Toni by the shoulders, shaking him.
"TELL ME WHHY YOU WERE ACTING ALL DOOM AND GLOOM THAT DAY, YOU SON OF A CHEESEY POOF."
"I LEFT A MOTH TO DIE"
Pach stopped, looking up at Toni. Did Toni just leave a spy to get taken in back by the termites?
"Youuuuu WHAT?! YOU LEFT A SPY IN THE WOODS?! YOU COULD'VE-"
"No! It was a new-born moth..." Pach just stared at him, not believing that Toni would do that. He wasn't that type of ant. Not that Pach knew of at least.
"Hey... that moth would've died anyway if you tried to help it, or it would've been taken in by the termites. You did a good thing," Pach would pat Toni on the back, staring at Toni with a smile. Toni smiled back at him, relieved that nothing bad happened fom this conversation.
"C'mon, lets actually try to find some grub," Pach spoke.
Toni dragged his feet up the mound with a cold, numb, and heavy heart as he climbed down into the mound with his bloody hands, dropping down when he got near the floor. He went to the kitchen where all the food is stored and cooked, walking to the small pond where ants wash their hands.
Toni crouched next to the pond with ease, rinsing off the blood from his hand that he used. Just then, pach walked in. This wasn't a good time for Pach to be seeing his friend, I can tell you that.
"Hey, Toni. How's it hangin'? Took me a while to find you! Did you just get back?"
No response...
Pach scratched the back of his neck, walking closer to Toni. He knew that the ant he was looking at was Toni, since he was the only hand with a missing left arm.
"You mad at me or something? If so, I can treat you for a drink and maybe we can talk- woah! Is that blood!?" Pach felt a freezing chill crawl up his back, gazing at the blood on his friend's hand. Pach stood there with cold feet, not knowing what to do. His mind was racing with questions and assumptions he didn’t want to find out if were true, but he worried for his dear friend. He was like… well, a brother to him really. All he wanted to know if he was okay, because he’s a good friend like that. Pach grabbed Toni by the shoulder to make him look his way.
"Hey, did you get hurt-"
Just then, Toni smacked his hand away from him. Not just the light pat, I mean smacked. smacked hard.
"Aiy!" Pach yelled, rubbing the spot he hit.
"I JUST KILLED A CREATURE, PACH. A HELPLESS, DYING, CREATURE! WHAT KIND OF ANT AM I?!" Toni yelled at Pach, pushing him away.
That got Pach angry, pushing him back in the pond where Toni was rinsing his bloody hand. Toni stumbled on his feet, as he slipped and fell right on his back in the small pond of water. He gasped in surprise as the water splashed from the impact, it came back and submerged his mouth where he breathed from. The water covered his mouth tasting the hint of the familiar iron flavored liquid with a deep red, making his senses jolt awake fully aware of everything as he sat up quickly coughing with struggle.
"O-oh shoot, I-I'm sorry man, I didn't mean-"
Toni raged with pure anger. And for a short term, he was mad. And I mean extremely mad. Pach wasn't even sure if his best friend was there anymore. He was more like... a bull at this point. Toni was on edge as soon as he left that moth. And now he snapped. He took out the wooden dagger he used to kill the moth, And stabbed his friend in the stomach. Pach stopped, coughing as he sank on Toni's left shoulder getting his blood on him. he coughed blood from his mouth as he slowly lacked the balence for walking, gasping for air. Toni stared at his best friend for a few seconds, before realizing what he had just done. He panicked as he quickly laid his friend on the floor, cold tears starting to pour out of his eyes
"O-oh lord, Pach... I-I didn't mean to..." Toni cried.
"It's fine... Just get out of here. And I'm not mad... just go, dude."
"What kind of friend would I be if I just..." Pach was dead.
He killed his own friend. In a kitchen. In his own colony. Toni looked at himself, seeing how his own friend's blood was all over him as blood dripped down his uniform. Toni quickly hugged his friend's corpse, then ran out of the colony's mound. As soon as he got out, his feet damped the moist ground as he ran without any hesitation. His tears flew off as he ran faster and faster every second, falling gracefully on the rich grass that covered the earth like a blanket. Toni trampled into the maze of tall trees, wondering to himself if he'd ever be able to have the guts to face his colony again...
He ran to the emergency room, stopping to a hault to see the colonel was literally right next to the room, snacking on a piece of bread crumb greedily.
//Dang... and right at this moment too...// Toni sighed quietly, rubbing his face in annoyance.
He grabbed a near by rock and threw it far away from the room, distracting him.
"Hey, who goes there?!" the colonel yells, running to that direction.
Toni facepalm's himself, shaking his head. Not actually believing that plan would actually work so well. Toni got up, quickly walking in a speedy pase without a single tap of sound, straight to the emergency room. He grabbed all the supplies for a bleeding open wound, and grabbed a bunch of cob webs that were stored in a jar for wrapping open wounds, and went all the way back without any mistakes. Phew.
[[NEXT PAGE ]]
Toni was in the middle of wrapping the moth's bleeding stomach, after cleaning up the wound and stopping the bleeding a bit.
"Heya bud, it's alright. You're gonna be fine, okay?"
The moth returned the high-pitched, purr-like, motor sound. Toni sighed, shaking his head.
"What am I going to do with you," Toni asked himself. He stared down at the moth, who was slowly falling asleep.
"I should give you a name... what about Angelina?" The moth shoot him a glare, squinting a bit.
"Oh, shoot! Sorry, then what about... uh...Mike..?" The moth sighed, shaking his head. Yeah, the moth was a he. Should of figured that out sooner.
"Mkay... then what about... Neve? It means snow in a language, and I think it fits the color of your fluff," Toni pointed out, looking at how the moth was a platinum white color.
The moth nodded, releasing a high-pitched purr in approval. Toni patted the moth's head, smiling.
"Alrighty then, Neve it is!"