Well, There Was An Attempt...

Yunnan was out on her own this time. She had offered to patrol the Scrubland territory at the break of dawn, since Cloud wasn’t feeling too well. She didn’t mind it though - she was itching to get out and see some new scenery anyways. She paused on a decently sized protruding rock, her vibrant, electrify yellow eyes piercing the nearly endless field around her.

She didn’t see anything unusual yet - the scrubs shifted with every strong gust from the shoreline, dancing and swaying in the wind. The crickets sang ever so loudly.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the slightest of disturbance. The large shrubs shivered, twigs snapping. Something was in there, and she wasn’t too fond of someone being in their territory. She let out a quick huff, narrowing her eyes. Between the greenery, she could see vibrant pink and blue feathers. That was really odd, considering most birds were deep browns and grays to blend in with the environment here.

The Cryolophosaurus pointed her snout up high, taking deep inhales to try to catch the scent of whatever this was. Strangely, she really couldn’t make out what it was. The scent was very strong, and oddly sweet… She could nearly taste it on her tongue. That was even more suspicious, and she quickly hopped down and crouched low to the floor, slowly creeping towards the scent. She didn’t want to be seen first, she wanted to be the one to catch them off guard.

She scraped her belly against the dry grass below, making her advance on the strange creature. She lifted her head a little more to peer over at the pink feathers again. This time, she could much more clearly see them. Her eyes narrowed. What was a Utahraptor doing here? They had another territory farther south. To be this far up was peculiar, let alone the fact they stood out so much.

The Utahraptor was behaving in a peculiar way though, rolling on the ground with low grumbles. Nonetheless, this would not deter Yunnan. This was an intruder through and through, and they could be a spy for all she know.

She leaped forward, shoving her whole weight to land on the raptor. Her talons poked and dug into them. She barred her teeth.

“What are you doing here, in my territory?” She sneered.

Her tail lashed behind her, and her eyes did not let off. They only softened the slightest bit as she analyzed their appearance. They were a bright, bubblegum pink that interwove into a a baby blue across their soft feathers. Their flashy magenta eyes stared with surprised back at her. Admittedly, she found herself staring a bit too long before she was snapped back into reality by a frustrating buzzing.

Only now had she noticed this persistent, annoying song around him. She couldn’t place what it was at first, but quickly realized the little specks darting around were bugs. She scrunched her nose.

Sugarsweet huffed at her, wriggling before kicking his legs upwards into her midriff to get her off him. “I’m trying to get rid of these bugs!” He whined. “I figured there would be something here to help get rid of them.”

Yunnan yelped, quickly recovering her balance as she get off him. He leapt to his feet, shaking any debris off his feathers.

“I don’t know if there would be much here to help you with that.” Yunnan responded, keeping a tails length between her and them. She watched him shudder every time the bugs would land on him.

“Well, do you have any ideas? I’m at a loss. I just want these annoying pest gone!” He exclaimed dramatically. Yunnan tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. Well, he did smell really good. If that smell persist, she wasn’t sure how well she’d be able keep the bugs away. Usually, she wouldn’t be too fond of a stranger in her territory. Obviously, they were distressed though and she couldn’t just leave them like this.

“What if we doused you in honey?” She piped up. “They’d get stuck, and want to stay away from you. The bugs would let out warning pheromones, so the others would stay away.” It made sense in her head, anyway.

Sugarsweet thought for a moment. “I mean, it sounds like you know what you’re saying. Why not. How will we get the honey?” He inquired. Yunnan piped up excitedly. “We have a bee hive nearby! We can break into it and get the honey from there.” She would shoot past him quickly, her tail wrangling him to face the Cryolophosaurus direction. He ran beside her, keeping a steady pace with ease. Her feet dug and broke the cracked, muddy earth below her.

Just up ahead, she could see the outline of the busy hive hanging on the trunk of a eucalyptus tree. There it was! She picked up pace, before skidding to a halt just beneath the canopy. “If you have thin skin, I recommend stepping away. The stings will hurt.” She warned, not wasting another second to thrust her forelimb upwards to tug down the hive. It came crashing down with a thud, cracking directly in half. Bees buzzed angrily, swarming her and trying to break skin. It didn’t really phase her though. Her skin was thick, and it would take a lot more to hurt her.

She scooped up a big dollop of honey, before walking over to Sugarsweet. He would narrow his eyes suspiciously. “Are you sure this will work?” He said, doubt ringing in his voice. Yunnan would laugh, shrugging. “I think so! Only one way to find out.” She tossed the honey right into his fur, and started spreading it loosely over him. It was a bit difficult as it clung to his fur - but she already could see it working! The bugs were stuck in his fur! They wouldn’t want to come near him now!

“Does this have to stay on me?! It’s so sticky… and what about the bees!” Sugarsweet cried.

She hadn’t considered the bees.

Yunnan gulped. “I’m sure it’ll wash out alright, and they’ll learn not to come to you anymore!” she said, her voice held only the slightest of hesitance and shake.

“I guess it was only a temporary fix though. You can’t have the honey on you forever. Let’s go wash it off and try again.” Yunnan suggested, trying to calm the raptor.

Just as she urged Sugarsweet over in the direction of the coast line, she could hear faint, distant buzzing… It kept growing closer, and closer… until it was all around them. Bees! So many bees! They were trying to get Sugarsweet! It looks like she only made the problem worse…

“You need to run for the water! I’m SO sorry! I thought it would work!” Yunnan yelped, shoving at him to start for a dead sprint. The raptor wasted no second, lunging forward into a gallop and making his way for the water.

He threw himself into it, the bees buzzing angrily above the surface.

Yunnan stood at the shoreline sheepishly. “Well… I can say I tried! Maybe if I bring you to my colony, they’ll have a better idea…” She offered, giving a shy smile. Sugarsweet huffed, narrowing his eyes at her. “Sure. At this point, nothing can be worse than this.” He sighed.