Kids are notoriously hard to wake from a sound sleep. Even Cricket, who has no siblings himself, is well aware of that. He's not entirely shocked when the boy doesn't stir, and he's inclined to take the contented murmur and snuggling as a sign that he is not, in fact, sick in any way. There's even a little smile on Cricket's face for a moment, until something crawls out of the kid's mouth.
Then he freezes, horrified, body tensing. It's to his credit as a generally kind human being that he doesn't let go of Hugh or make any panicked sounds, or god forbid swat at the bug, but his immediate thoughts are of demons and possession and flies--
That's not a fly, though. That's very clearly a honeybee, now that he looks twice.
Cricket's only ever been stung by stepping on flowers being visited by such creatures. Bees are livestock to the farmers in the valley, boons to orchards and gardens in the hills, and valuable. Flies might well be evil omens, but he doesn't think bees could be. They're benign at worst, a godsend at best.
Of course, the buzzing inside the boy would seem to suggest there's more where that one came from. It's unnerving, and he's frightened, but he watches the bee quietly for a long moment. If the child's a living beehive, he supposes, that would be a good reason for him to be running away from people. It's weird as hell, and not everyone takes that kind of thing in stride.
Slowly, Cricket's panic heartbeat slows, and he tilts his head to give the boy a light kiss on the top of his head. "Hugh, I'mma need you to wake up now," he says a little more firmly. "'Cause I got some questions."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2019-04-25 02:45 am (UTC)Then he freezes, horrified, body tensing. It's to his credit as a generally kind human being that he doesn't let go of Hugh or make any panicked sounds, or god forbid swat at the bug, but his immediate thoughts are of demons and possession and flies--
That's not a fly, though. That's very clearly a honeybee, now that he looks twice.
Cricket's only ever been stung by stepping on flowers being visited by such creatures. Bees are livestock to the farmers in the valley, boons to orchards and gardens in the hills, and valuable. Flies might well be evil omens, but he doesn't think bees could be. They're benign at worst, a godsend at best.
Of course, the buzzing inside the boy would seem to suggest there's more where that one came from. It's unnerving, and he's frightened, but he watches the bee quietly for a long moment. If the child's a living beehive, he supposes, that would be a good reason for him to be running away from people. It's weird as hell, and not everyone takes that kind of thing in stride.
Slowly, Cricket's panic heartbeat slows, and he tilts his head to give the boy a light kiss on the top of his head. "Hugh, I'mma need you to wake up now," he says a little more firmly. "'Cause I got some questions."