Running From the Bugs
Andy was putting a bow in one of her rocks, when she heard a commotion in the streets. She straightened the tie of her rock and took a moment to admire her work. "You look wonderful, Bob," she said, then putting Bob with her other rocks. She exited her home, following the mothcats who crowded around another mothcat that tried to draw everyone's attention.
"Hey, everyone! Pay attention!" the mothcat started, waving their arms. "We need your help, there is a bug infestation killing a important tree in Aldora and we need help to exterminate them and save our home!" he said, getting shouts of agreement from the crowd.
"I have some cool swords back home that we can use to kill them!" someone said.
"I can donate some food for the helpers!" a pink mothcat offered.
"Do we really need to kill them?" a cream and brown mothcat retorted.
More mothcats inquired and offered help and likewise the mothcat who asked for help continued to speak, giving directions to where they should go, but Andy could not hear any of it amid the turmoil of people. Some mothcats followed the pointed direction, and Andy followed them. They spoke excited about how they would fight and defeat these insects. Some carried weapons, especially knives and swords, others intended to fight with their own paws. As they continued talking, Andy felt infected with such enthusiasm.
When they arrived near the tree, everyone split up, each one going after a group of bugs. Andy also attempted to do this, excited with the speech of her companions, she moved confidently toward the bugs, beginning her well-known narrative.
"Warrior Andy can feel the wind in her mane while she runs towards the danger, towards her enemy. The bugs don't know what wait for them: death by the paws of the mighty Warrior Andy, the one who never lost a battle in her life. The one who is feared in every place she goes. Warrior Andy approaches her enemy, giving her best roar, even louder than a mothlion's roar!" With it Andy gave her best roar, which could well have been only a soft meowing, but obviously no one would tell her that. "Warrior Andy let her enemy approach her even more and strikes her most powerful attack!"
Andy closed her eyes and waved her arms, trying to scare away the bugs. "Take that, you filthy bug!" she yelled, still waving her arms. Until she felt something touch her right paw, she immediately froze. She closed her eyes even more tight. "Tell me it's not a bug, please." she whispered to herself.
"Oh, please, tell me it's not a bug." Andy could feel tears forming in her eyes. "It's a bug, isn't it?" She careful opened her eyes to see a big bug looking at her, landed exactly on her paw. "Oh, no," she cried. She was terrified of bugs, she knew this well. So why had she tried to help? Why she let be carried away by what others were talking, for their enthusiasm? It was an awful idea, she should have stayed at home, helping Bob get dressed.
Really, what a bad idea, from start to end. What was she even thinking to do it? She wasn't thinking, that was the true. She was Warrior Andy, and Warrior Andy had no fear in this world, she could do anything. And until them, Andy believed in it, believed she was Warrior Andy. But she wasn't and reality had caught her and she had now to deal with that big mistake, that huge bug that touched her.
"Go away, bug!" Andy screamed, soon running away, forcing the bug to fly off her paw. She ran as fast as she could, still with tears running down her face. She ran until she saw two familiar mothcats: one green and one dirt brown and cream. Tib, the green one, was analyzing the soil, with their face close to the dirt, while Sam, the dirt one, was playing with a purple thing, that Andy refused to recognize as a part of one of the insects.
The two mothcats stopped their activities when they saw the pink mothcat approaching so fast. Andy stopped in front of Tib, earning a confused gaze from the friendly mothcat. She didn't think twice before hugging them, what Tib promptly returned. Andy tried to talk about what happened, but her voice was drowned out by her position and her voice choked with tears. Few words were clear: she spoke something about "bugs" and "awful" and many and many tears and sobs. Tib patted and hugged the poor mothcat until the tears ceased and Andy could talk again.
"Thank you, I'm feeling better now," Andy said, sniffing a little. Tib touched Andy with their head, not so sure about their friend well-being. "Don't worry, I'm alright. I just need to stay away from these bugs. So I think I'll just go home."
Tib nodded negatively to Andy, insisting that she stayed, soon leading her to where the mothcats who weren't fighting or capturing insects stayed. "I guess I'll stay a little more then," Andy said, receiving an approving nod from her friend. "Thank you! And good luck getting these bugs, Tib!"
Tib gave her a goodbye, returning to help Sam. Meanwhile, Andy began to explore this space that she never knew existed until two seconds ago. She noticed a mothcat sitting on top of a box. He was a lot like her friend Sam, with the same shade of dirt brown and cream. She approached him, noticing how much he talked.
The mothcat talked with long and difficult words, some that Andy had never heard before. She couldn't really understand everything he said, but she could grasp the main idea. He talked about how unnecessary it was to hurt the bugs and how everyone could help without fighting them. He talked about only catching them and helping these bugs, but Andy wasn't interested in this part. She was more interested in the part that he talked about helping with food and clothes an armor and medical care. Andy listened amused about how she didn't need to get closer to a bug to help and she let a smile ran across her face.
"And where is this place we go to help? This medical center?" Andy interrupted, too much interested. The mothcat, that introduced himself as Tisias, pointed her to the medical center, not far from there, and congratulated her in not fighting the bugs. She let go a small and confused thanks, soon heading to this new place, so perfect for her fear of bugs.
And the place had too many people and too many areas to help. And Andy looked amazed to everything, until she bumped in a magpie mothcat. She said sorry and so did them. And Andy said, "Hi, aren't you Noor, Tib's friend?" Noor agreed, recognizing Andy too, and questioned if she needed any help or if she was there to help, and where Andy wanted to help.
"I want to help with food and with clothes and anything without bugs!" she answered, a little shiver running down her spine when she remembers the bugs and the touching and how awful everything was.
"Another one with fear of bugs?" Andy hesitantly nodded, not sure if Noor was going to mock her fear like many others had. "Don't worry, I have the right place for you. Come with me!" Noor said, pacifying Andy's concerns. Andy gladly followed the magpie cat, ready to help, far far away from the bugs.