NJ89111105

November 11 2005

Okay. Back to Cyeatea. So we walked and walked and walked. And walked. I figure it's because there are so
many winged beings and also most folks have more than two legs. So we stretched our legs pretty good. I
figure we walked for a good half an hour. But we took our time, looking around. I saw SO many different
beings!

Let's see. I'm not really sure what they all were, but this is my guess.

Cockroaches. You've GOT to see these guys! Huge! I'm guessing they're like pack animals but sentient.
Huge long backs that can be ridden on or things transported and carried from one place to another. Big things.
Heavy things.

Really cool. Johnathon is going to draw some for me. I don't think I could do them justice.

Caterpillars. I think. Some fuzzy. Some with weird protuberances from their backs and shoulders.
Very...colorful.

I didn't see any butterflies, though.

Honeybees, of course.

Oh, while I'm talking about them, I have to say, Fleur and I were not the only ones gawking. Well, not
gawking. The honeybees were too darned friendly to be called gawking. They were smiling, nodding. Those I
think were in their middle years - teenagers followed us, whispering and giggling as most teens are want to do.
I kept expecting to see cell phones in their hands as they talked among themselves - like at home. Then I
realized that maybe their antennae do a similar service for them. *grin*

They were all, bar none, very sweet.

Oh. There were flies, too. No one like Bahoogie, though. I miss him.

Twice I saw a critter that made me shudder and yet, they seemed simply intent on getting from one place to
another.

They were mantis'. One was bright green, like praying mantis' I've seen on the Grey Side. The other was
being escorted by something like four scarab beetles, beautifully colored in metallic opalescent blues. But
*that* mantis was blood red with black and bright orange designs on it's carapace. It seemed...dangerous. It
had wicked blades along the length of its folded arms and long bent legs. I doubt they were just for decoration.

Then there were different types of spiders. Not a lot but just enough to make me wonder. We went through so
many different turns and twists in that place that I could never find my own way back out but I wasn't worried.
The place was so wide open that you just couldn't feel trapped.

At one point I asked Theta about the Great Game and all the different predators and prey there. He explained
things briefly.

"Truce remains here in the main areas of the hive. No one needs fear for themselves unless they travel down
the living or educational quarters where life is much as it is outside the hive."

I ruminated on that a while as we walked. Truce. I'll have to remember that. I recall Bahoogie saying
something along those lines and Sue Mac saying she'd declared Truce because her larvae had already been
placed within a "suitable host." That still gives me the creeps even though they say there's no pain involved.

So, we were walking. And being watched.

And walking. And being watched.

And walking. (Starting to sound like a D&D game!) *giggle* And still being watched, by excited honeybee
eyes.