Soap and Swapped Stories
They watched as the fleet of dirty laundry slowly drifted past, carried by the breeze pushing the stagnant water along.
“Geeze, that’s, uh, that’s a lotta work there, kid.” Molt scratched himself
“Yup.” Dot agreed, being dragged back to reality by the weight of the work ahead of her.
The pair watched the armada of multi-armed shirts for a moment, neither wanting to get up.
“You, uh… you want some help with all this, kid?” Molt asked, turning to her.
And Dot met his look with the second smile she had had all week.
***
“..."So Hoppah's kickin' and screamin' going all 'Molt get me oudda heah oh my gosh!'”
Molt flapped his upper arms like a pair of wings, while his lower pair flailed around wildly in mock panic.
“Okay, he didn't really say 'oh my gosh' but what he did say ain't really appropriate for you ta hear, kid. Anyways, Hop’s freakin’ out, we’re freakin’ out, the bluejay’s freakin’ out. I mean Hop’s kicking it in the face as he’s half-way down its throat. Loco flies up and starts punchin’ the bird in the head, literally punchin’ it! Lotta the other guys are pulling on the feathers trying to keep it from flying off, even Thump’s trying to bite its legs!"
Dot rolled on the ground, laughing her little head off. Molt was right, it WAS a great story! She could barely contain herself, and more than once did Molt have to reach out and stop her from rolling off the rock and into the lake.
By ‘help’, Molt had meant ‘pretty much do all the work for her’. She felt bad at first, but Molt didn’t seem to mind as he hovered over the lake, grabbing armfulls of soaked laundry and dropping them on the huge, flat, sunbaked rock to dry.
They had begun to swap stories. Dot had told him of the time Flik lost her big sister’s crown and their attempt to replace it with one made from hastily-woven together reeds and a painted stone. Molt told her about the time two of the guys, Axel and Loco, had stolen what they thought was a huge haul of grain, only for it to be nothing but a sack full of rocks. Dot shared the time she and her troop of Blueberry scouts had tried to put on a parade, only for the local boys to keep ruining it… that was until they had dropped the bucket of berry juice they had been planning to dump on Dot and her friends on themselves, outing themselves as the culprits.
But this last story of Molt’s absolutely took the cake. During one of Hopper’s “tours” of his little empire, a bird had spotted the grasshoppers and went straight for the biggest one in the swarm: Hopper.
“So finally I gets the bright idea to try and pull him out, yeah?” Molt continued after Dot had caught her breath again. “I catch one a Hop’s legs, and I’m pullin, and pullin’ and yelling to the other guys to come help me. So it’s me, Loco, Barnes, and Slappy, and we’re all grabbing onto my brudda’s legs or each other, and we pull, and we pull. But there’s a problem, see?”
Molt curved one of his lower hands, making it look like a hook before grabbing the collar of his shirt with it.
“See, this blue’s beak has got this curve, and the back a Hop’s vest is caught on it. Now he’s yellin’ at us, but we think he’s still just scared, so we’re ignoring it. I’m telling everybody to keep pulling, while Hop’s yelling ‘wait, you idiots, stop!’... Okay, so he didn’t say ‘idiots’ either, but ya know. Anyways, he’s tellin’ us to stop, I’m telling us to go, and we pull him out! Now the bluejay, oh, he’s just MAD at this point, but he’s done with us, and flies off. Axel nearly got carried off with the bird since he was still punching it when it started flying away.”
Dot held her breath, knowing the story was about to reach its climax. Molt was grinning too, eager to tell it.
“Now you think my brudda was happy to be outta there? I mean we just saved his life, right?” Molt asked. Dot didn’t dare answer, her snickers already starting to slip out. Molt shook his head.
“Oh-ho no. Not at all, kid. See, Hop’s vest wasn’t the only thing that got caught. So as we’re pulling, the beak’s just tearing along him. Now he’s fine, he’s a tough ol’ bug, but his clothes… They’re just split riiiiiight down the middle, all the way down the back! It’s like he’s wearing one of those, uh, what do call ‘em, hospital gowns. Yeah.”
That broke Dot right there, and she fell over, kicking her legs in the air and she absolutely lost it, howling with laughter. Her people’s greatest enemy, the monster who had kidnapped her from her home and had made her life a nightmare ever since…
“You know he knows, and now we know, and he is MAD, I mean he is REALLY steamed at us all, kid. He says we’re ending the tour and we’re all flying home. Now a course Hopper’s leading from the front, and we’re all behind him. It ain’t a pretty ride back, kid, not at all.”
…And he had been forced to run back home because his butt was hanging out. That was entirely too funny for the little princess, and suddenly Hopper, the tyrant, the monster, the gang leader? Well, her captor was just that little bit less scary now. Any time she’d see him, she could imagine him clutching his hands over his backside, trying to hide it.
Hopper was a monster, but he was a person too, just like any other bug.
And you can laugh at people.
“Anyways, that was the second time Hop ran into a bird.” Molt finished, watching the little princess finally get a hold of herself.
Dot pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking at the grasshopper, a huge smile still on her face.
“What was the first time?” She asked eagerlySwapp.
“Ahh.”Molt’s face fell. “That, uh, that story ain’t as funny, kid. You don’t wanna hear it. Come on, let’s get this junk loaded up. The guys are probl’y startin’ to get up by now.”
With that, the pair began shoving the mostly-dry laundry back into the sack, ready to haul it back to the sombrero, and to its hungover owners.
***
Working on a second part of that Go Ahead, Take Her fanfic. Things are going a little better for Dot now, when her morning "chores" (As Hopper insists she's got to "earn her keep") are interrupted by the one grasshopper who's actually somewhat decent to her. Soon enough, the two bugs at the bottom of the pecking order in Hopper's little hideout hit it off, and are swapping stories and forming a very odd - but very welcome - friendship
Writing this story is making me like Molt. Help.
“Geeze, that’s, uh, that’s a lotta work there, kid.” Molt scratched himself
“Yup.” Dot agreed, being dragged back to reality by the weight of the work ahead of her.
The pair watched the armada of multi-armed shirts for a moment, neither wanting to get up.
“You, uh… you want some help with all this, kid?” Molt asked, turning to her.
And Dot met his look with the second smile she had had all week.
***
“..."So Hoppah's kickin' and screamin' going all 'Molt get me oudda heah oh my gosh!'”
Molt flapped his upper arms like a pair of wings, while his lower pair flailed around wildly in mock panic.
“Okay, he didn't really say 'oh my gosh' but what he did say ain't really appropriate for you ta hear, kid. Anyways, Hop’s freakin’ out, we’re freakin’ out, the bluejay’s freakin’ out. I mean Hop’s kicking it in the face as he’s half-way down its throat. Loco flies up and starts punchin’ the bird in the head, literally punchin’ it! Lotta the other guys are pulling on the feathers trying to keep it from flying off, even Thump’s trying to bite its legs!"
Dot rolled on the ground, laughing her little head off. Molt was right, it WAS a great story! She could barely contain herself, and more than once did Molt have to reach out and stop her from rolling off the rock and into the lake.
By ‘help’, Molt had meant ‘pretty much do all the work for her’. She felt bad at first, but Molt didn’t seem to mind as he hovered over the lake, grabbing armfulls of soaked laundry and dropping them on the huge, flat, sunbaked rock to dry.
They had begun to swap stories. Dot had told him of the time Flik lost her big sister’s crown and their attempt to replace it with one made from hastily-woven together reeds and a painted stone. Molt told her about the time two of the guys, Axel and Loco, had stolen what they thought was a huge haul of grain, only for it to be nothing but a sack full of rocks. Dot shared the time she and her troop of Blueberry scouts had tried to put on a parade, only for the local boys to keep ruining it… that was until they had dropped the bucket of berry juice they had been planning to dump on Dot and her friends on themselves, outing themselves as the culprits.
But this last story of Molt’s absolutely took the cake. During one of Hopper’s “tours” of his little empire, a bird had spotted the grasshoppers and went straight for the biggest one in the swarm: Hopper.
“So finally I gets the bright idea to try and pull him out, yeah?” Molt continued after Dot had caught her breath again. “I catch one a Hop’s legs, and I’m pullin, and pullin’ and yelling to the other guys to come help me. So it’s me, Loco, Barnes, and Slappy, and we’re all grabbing onto my brudda’s legs or each other, and we pull, and we pull. But there’s a problem, see?”
Molt curved one of his lower hands, making it look like a hook before grabbing the collar of his shirt with it.
“See, this blue’s beak has got this curve, and the back a Hop’s vest is caught on it. Now he’s yellin’ at us, but we think he’s still just scared, so we’re ignoring it. I’m telling everybody to keep pulling, while Hop’s yelling ‘wait, you idiots, stop!’... Okay, so he didn’t say ‘idiots’ either, but ya know. Anyways, he’s tellin’ us to stop, I’m telling us to go, and we pull him out! Now the bluejay, oh, he’s just MAD at this point, but he’s done with us, and flies off. Axel nearly got carried off with the bird since he was still punching it when it started flying away.”
Dot held her breath, knowing the story was about to reach its climax. Molt was grinning too, eager to tell it.
“Now you think my brudda was happy to be outta there? I mean we just saved his life, right?” Molt asked. Dot didn’t dare answer, her snickers already starting to slip out. Molt shook his head.
“Oh-ho no. Not at all, kid. See, Hop’s vest wasn’t the only thing that got caught. So as we’re pulling, the beak’s just tearing along him. Now he’s fine, he’s a tough ol’ bug, but his clothes… They’re just split riiiiiight down the middle, all the way down the back! It’s like he’s wearing one of those, uh, what do call ‘em, hospital gowns. Yeah.”
That broke Dot right there, and she fell over, kicking her legs in the air and she absolutely lost it, howling with laughter. Her people’s greatest enemy, the monster who had kidnapped her from her home and had made her life a nightmare ever since…
“You know he knows, and now we know, and he is MAD, I mean he is REALLY steamed at us all, kid. He says we’re ending the tour and we’re all flying home. Now a course Hopper’s leading from the front, and we’re all behind him. It ain’t a pretty ride back, kid, not at all.”
…And he had been forced to run back home because his butt was hanging out. That was entirely too funny for the little princess, and suddenly Hopper, the tyrant, the monster, the gang leader? Well, her captor was just that little bit less scary now. Any time she’d see him, she could imagine him clutching his hands over his backside, trying to hide it.
Hopper was a monster, but he was a person too, just like any other bug.
And you can laugh at people.
“Anyways, that was the second time Hop ran into a bird.” Molt finished, watching the little princess finally get a hold of herself.
Dot pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking at the grasshopper, a huge smile still on her face.
“What was the first time?” She asked eagerlySwapp.
“Ahh.”Molt’s face fell. “That, uh, that story ain’t as funny, kid. You don’t wanna hear it. Come on, let’s get this junk loaded up. The guys are probl’y startin’ to get up by now.”
With that, the pair began shoving the mostly-dry laundry back into the sack, ready to haul it back to the sombrero, and to its hungover owners.
***
Working on a second part of that Go Ahead, Take Her fanfic. Things are going a little better for Dot now, when her morning "chores" (As Hopper insists she's got to "earn her keep") are interrupted by the one grasshopper who's actually somewhat decent to her. Soon enough, the two bugs at the bottom of the pecking order in Hopper's little hideout hit it off, and are swapping stories and forming a very odd - but very welcome - friendship
Writing this story is making me like Molt. Help.
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fanart
Species Insect (Other)
Gender Male
Size 1919 x 1919px
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