I moaned. I didn't know what was going on but I felt somebody touching my chest. They were wrapping something smooth around me. I gasped in pain when something around my torso tightened and crushed my purple area.

I opened my eyes and saw the Orange wrapping a rope around me. I never saw her before and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Whuh... what are you doing" I mumbled. She looked at me in sadness and whispered"I'm so sorry" then she finished the last knot and ran away.

It didn't take me long to realize that this wasn't right. Something was wrong. That Orange had tied me to a huge flower with red berries growing on it and had used braided blades of grass as a rope. She braided them very well like she's done it several times before. I knew that struggling wouldn't help. I considered using my claws but my hands were tied too.

Seeing no other way, I called out for help. I didn't see any of my bug friends so I didn't know what to expect. Bigger bugs would probably rather eat me than help me, so all I had to rely on was a bug with a good heart. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.

Something was rustling around in the grass nearby. But was it friend or foe? The funniest-looking bug crawled out of the grass and gave me a funny look. His squishy body was yellow and his head was orange. He had little black eyes and whiskers on his face that looked like a mustache.

"Well well well, somebody tied to mah flower? What'cha doin' there, darlin'"

"Oh please, Mister Bug, untie me! My, um... friend tied me here as a prank and I can't get out of these ropes."

He clicked his tongue and looked me over.

"Well, I dunno... how do I know you're not after mah berries? Maybe I should just leave you there..."

"Oh no, Mister Bug, I'm not! Please, help me and I'll get those berries down for you. I won't take any"

His eyes lit up.

"Well, okay. I know a good deal when I hear one."

He crawled over to me and inspected the rope. The he took it into his mouth and snapped through it easily. I was free! It was a great relief to get that pressure off of my sore chest. I knew I was too weak to go climbing flowers in my condition so I ran over to some grass and began to pull it up.

"Hey, what'cha doin'? I kept mah end of the bargin', you keep yours"

I strained and finally pulled up a tough clump of grass. Nectar gushed out of the ground and nearly formed a small pond. I saw the effects nectar had on my friend Tauri, but I figured it might do a better job if I drank it this time. I dipped my finger into the sweet goo and tasted it. It was like the entire world suddenly just lit up! It was sooo good! I quickly lost control and began to drink it like it was going out of style or something. But I was too greedy and soon found that I could barely move anymore. I fell back on the grass, my belly full. The bug stood over me and tsk-tsked.

"Now lookit what you've done, you won't be able to walk fer days like that"

Then I felt really weird. My entire body began to tingle and I felt warm all over. The bug gaped at me and took several steps back.

"Whuh-what the"

I felt like I was lifting into the air and everything really did get brighter. My leaf felt almost like it exploded then the strange feelings went away.

I blinked in confusion and sat up. All of my cuts and my purple ring were gone now. And I had more energy than ever before! That nectar is really powerful. I wondered what happened to my leaf and pulled it down to inspect it. I couldn't believe it.

"A... a... flower"

I couldn't believe my eyes. A perfect, beautiful white flower had replaced my leaf. According to the flower Pink back home, that would mean I had matured. I was all grown up.

"Well, would you look at that..."

The bug crawled over to me and smiled.

"Right pretty flower ya got thar, Missy."

I felt unimaginable joy in that moment. I jumped up quickly and ran toward that flower. My new bug friend barely even saw me, I was so fast! I climbed up the flower with ease and knocked down those berries in seconds. I jumped down and smiled back, my blue eyes sparkling. He crawled over to the berries and licked his lips.

"Oh, how I've been lookin' forward to this! Thank ya, Miss, it saves me a lot of trouble"

I bowed to him, gracefully swishing around my new flower. I stood up straight and tilted my head at him.

"What is your name anyways, Mister..."

"Kip" he said to me between mouthfuls of berry. Kip. It was a cute name I thought, simple yet different. "And you, Missy? Do you have a name yerself" I shook my head. "No, Sir."

I then remembered the Orange from earlier. Why did she tie me up and what was she sorry for? That really troubled me. I had to find out where she ran off to.

"I have to go now, Kip. My... friend, I have to find her and make sure she didn't get lost or something."

He nodded and looked at me.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Miss. Perhaps we shall meet again, eh"

I thanked him again and ran off to find the Orange. I doubt she got that far, especially with so many hungry bugs around. The thought of her being caught and eaten twisted my stomach into a knot. I hoped she was okay.