Berry, Mustard, and Pepper

Over the sound of falling rain, a familiar voice called out, “Well, look who it is! That flippin’ bee again!”

Berry wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or afraid as she saw Pepper and Mustard careen into the mouth of the cave and crash land in a heap before her. Between them, a mysterious, crinkly rectangle came flying out, and Berry had to jump to keep it from knocking her over. Pepper righted herself quickly and set about wiping the water off her wings while Mustard lay, dazed on the floor.

“Good seeing you again,” Berry said politely.

“Ah-huh. Could’ve been a nicer day, though, eh?” Pepper said, “First that ol’ black flower turns Mustard into a Fireball and now this!”

“A black flower?” Berry asked.

“Me and the sisters took to calling it Firenectar. Vile stuff! One sip of that Fiery nonsense and Mustard was trying to sting everything in sight!”

“Oh! I know what you mean,” Berry said, “We call that rotleaf, but it makes us bees ill when we drink it.”

“Ah-huh, I can see it, I can see it.” Pepper cleared herself of the last drops of water and turned to Mustard. “Anyhow,” she said, “Mustard is all tuckered out. Seems she burnt through all that rage fast. Heheh, burnt.”

Berry would have rolled her eyes if she could. She settled for shaking her head. “As long as she doesn’t try stinging us to death. What’s that thing there?”

“Oh, the sauce pouch? That’s dinner.”

“Sauce pouch,” Berry repeated. She thought back to the delicious honey banquets laid out at home, to the honey sauce laid over top loaves of bread, and her mouth watered. Knowing the wasps, the rectangle would likely be filled with some unpalatable meat soup. Still, she asked, “What’s it made of?”

“Oh, you’d like it, bee,” Pepper said, “No meat in that, just good and tasty plantstuff. I’m gonna see if I can’t get Mustard talking and moving again with it.” With that, Pepper grabbed the crinkly sauce pouch and tore the corner off it with her jaws.

The aroma was equal parts repelling and pleasant. The sweet juice of tomato mingled with the reek of onions and a strange, almost spicy tang. The wasps must have found the contrast appealing, but as a bee, she desired sweet more than sour.

“Hey,” Pepper waved the pouch in Berry’s direction, “help me squeeze a drop out and I’ll let you have a taste.”

Wanting to be polite and thinking it best not to get on the bad side of a carnivore, she stepped up to help, putting her weight on the back half of the pouch so that a bit of the bright red tomato sauce came out the corner. Pepper gathered up two globs, one in each forefoot, and handed one to Berry. The other, she waved in front of Mustard’s antennae.

Berry found the sauce tasted just as she suspected it would. The tomato was okay, but the onion and spice burnt her mouth as it went down. She resisted the urge to hack and cough as Mustard began to waken. Pepper pressed a dollop of ketchup on Mustard's mouth and the sleepy wasp sprang to life. She snatched the burning sauce and wolfed it down like her life depended on it, then attempted to stand up, wings flared as if she intended to take off.

"Mustard, you fleabrain! You're gonna make yourself sick if you keep that up!" Pepper scolded.

Sure enough, Mustard was wobbly on her feet and sat down after a few moments of trying to steady herself. "We aren't home?" she said, uncharacteristically miserable, "Ugh, and it's raining out!"

"We would've been home if you hadn't gone off trying to pinch nectar from that flippin' black flower! We may as well sit back and enjoy the ketchup while we wait for it to pass."

"How was I s'posed to know it was a rotten demon Fireflower? What I wouldn't give for a regular drink of nectar right now!"

Pepper ignored the groaning and turned to Berry. "You want another drop?"

Berry was torn between accepting (who knew how long the rain would last, when she would get to eat again?) and declining for the terrible taste. "Uhm, just another drop will do fine. You should save the rest for yourselves," she said.

"Awful nice of you," Pepper said, "Alright, let's get another squeeze out!"