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She had discovered a weakness.

Swarm had always enjoyed sweeter meals. Brother and Sister would often seek out honey for her, fighting past the horde of bees that rose to protect their hive. But now there was something else to tempt her. A fruit almost sickly sweet that hung in the high branches of the trees, growing plump and ripe in the strong sunlight.

She had discovered it by accident. A foxbun had been eating one of the fallen fruits just before she swooped in, ending its life in one quick strike. As Brother and Sister feasted, she had taste-tested the squishy fruit, instantly craving more.

She had been waiting days for the growing fruit to reach its perfect ripeness and she stood now beneath the tree, perfectly still with her head craned towards the canopy above. To a casual observer, she was just a lone doe staring upwards.

Above her the branches rustled.

The voice reached her and the doe shivered a ripple that traveled visibly along her spine. While the rest of her body remained exactly in place, her head turned sideways so that she could stare curiously at the intruding creature. For a long silent moment she studied the other Kimeti with no emotion, other than that slight inquisitive sheen. Eventually even her curiosity disappeared and her head moved back into its former position.

“Yes,” she replied and then clucked her tongue.

The branches rustled violently above and a large insect emerged, climbing down the trunk. It looked first at Swarm below and then towards the unknown doe. The sudden thrum of its wings was a clear warning; a sound cut off almost instantly when Swarm merely flicked an ear.

The wasp flew the last of the way down from the tree and hovered in front of Swarm, offering the doe the ripe fruit clutched in its front legs. The striped doe accepted it with a soft thank you, hardly bruising the flesh as she placed her prize on the ground between her hooves.

Her head turned, in the same manner as before, to look once again at the other doe. Well, since she was still here… “Do you want one?”