The summer was about ready to begin and it was already unbearable when the river began to dry faster than we anticipated. Flitter watched over her sleeping young one night. I was nearby, watching them too. Something was stirring within me, either it was worry, fear… whatever it was, but it made me glad to see her feel safe. Even though I was hardly near her as her chicks grew, Molt and I wouldn't have gotten this chance. I wasn't the same nymph anymore. I usually kept my thoughts to myself, but there was still that same thing I knew Molt couldn't stand. I was rough, I enjoyed being alone much of the time. Getting the know them made me change my mind and doubt that all a grasshopper could do was live for themselves, even with the hope of not working a day in their lives. There was more to it than that. So much more.

We've spent our entire nymph days with them and now we were both full grown. Molt's last words to me still stung. I didn't think I deserved it, but I deeply wanted him to at least forgive me. I didn't know why. He didn't have to, of course. The least I wanted for him was to get killed somehow. I barely felt guilty about these things… but now I did.

Flitter may have been to blame. She was always there to get us out of trouble, and then I would fly into it again. I flew to her perch, landing gently when I saw that she was half way in torpor. She slightly turned her head to my sounds and fluttered her wings a little. I had some good news to give her.

"Hopper. There you are, you almost scared the feathers off me…" she spoke.

"Don't I always, mam?" I chuckled, leaning casually against a small branch nearest to me.

"How I know it! So, how have you been? I know Emerald has been a little … difficult lately."

"He's difficult?" I smirked and she laughed. "Partially that can be my fault."

"Don't take too much credit, Hop." she chuckled as she stretched.

"I've been okay." I finally answered her inquiry, unnerved.

"Just okay?"

"Emerald and I had a little talk earlier."

"Did you…?"

I found it hard to get the words out. I scanned my claw for a moment before gazing away. I was trying to find a way to talk to her.

"Hopper…" her voice broke in, softly. "I've watched you and your brother grow. I can tell if something is wrong. You can tell me…. Anything."

Oh, what was I to say to the only real mother in our lives? I never had anyone else say that to me. Only from her. I sighed.

"I've been promoted to Soldier. And I know what that means."

"Oh, Hopper! Didn't I say that he would finally see?"

"Pretty big, I know." I tried to sound happy but deeply I wasn't. "… but something has been bothering me."

"You feel it too…"

I furrowed at her. "What? You too…?"

"Change is in the air and it is really sharp this season." she said as she began to preen a little. "Which makes me thankful that my mothering days are over. I can never thank you both enough. I just hope they last another season…" she sadly said as she looked out ahead.

I didn't want her to feel that way, though I knew there was nothing I could do but to maybe… encourage her?

"Come on, you can't talk like that. They will. I'll make sure of that, Flitter."

She sweetly blinked and ruffled up a little at my promise.

"I trust you, Hopper."

My heart wanted to break with hers. Soon I sat next to her.

"You birds worry too much. Now it's starting to rub off on me."

She playfully nibbled at one of my antennae.

"Hey!" I hopped back up, but I managed a smile. "I still blame you!"

I always hated it when she did that. It gave me shivers through out my body.

"Of course you do, soldier." she warmly replied. "I am really proud of you."

"Hm…" I turned solemn again. The sunrise was pretty though. "Kinda wished Molt thought the same way. I don't think he's gonna talk to me any time soon."

"Don't say that, dear…. He will. He talks about you all the time."

I chuckled, shaking my head. Down below though, I was able to see my brother come out from one of the tree holes, cautiously before hopping out a little wobbly legged. He spotted us on the branch and he waved. I could tell that he had that uncomfortable look on his face before he flew off to forage, I was guessing.

"Seriously. Okay. What did he say?" I challenged Flitter a tiny bit.

I guessed it was something unpleasant.

"Hm… He worries about you."

What? I thought. I looked at her, quizzically.

"He is not fond of talking about you without you knowing, so…"

I rolled my eyes. "It's fine, Flitter. I already promised I'd protect him so…." I urged her to go on.

"All right." she smirked. "Well, I am certain that he trusts you. He has faith in you."

"How can he…?" I questioned, completely baffled.

"If there was damage done before you came to us, then… you might want to give him some time still." Flitter advised. "The one reason why he never speaks to you can be that he's still confused. Neither of you had a mother with you…. He is a little frightened."

"I'd be scared too."

She was about to speak before a sharp sound of beating wings zipped through the leaves of the tree. Flaps and Speckles nearly fell but they began to fly under the wings of their mother. I ducked down and held onto the branch as it shook. Suddenly, we all heard Emerald bellow.

"All soldiers! Follow my lead!" were Emerald's words that tore through the sudden chaos.

Molt had to return the moment he heard their calls and wings. What he saw made him want to freeze up. It was a swarm… of wasps! That was what it looked like! He saw me with Flitter and tried to get up to us.

It was on the brink of dawn when birds started to abandon their perches. The fledglings were hidden first among the leaves as the soldiers tore out to fend them off. These wasps were half the size of grasshoppers, with golden legs armed with sharp points. Golden and crimson, they shot down at them, harassing the poor nurses. Flitter was too stubborn to leave the fledglings, Flaps and Speckles, even against my wishes. But she had no choice. These golden wasps were everywhere and there were so many that some had gotten through to the nurses.

"Hopper!"

I was shocked that it was Emerald himself calling my name. "I said ALL soldiers!"

"No!" was Molt's counter, who dared to speak against the Prime's orders.

This was a tough decision to make, so I looked at both of them.

"Molt! Get them to the burrow!" I bellowed among the sharp buzzing before I was confronted by this strange attacker.

"Hop! What about you!?" Molt cried.

"Forget about me!" I roared back before punching the wasp behind me. "GO!"

It looked like a kind of fire ant! It wasn't a bee either! I threw him off, watching them flee. As soon as they were safe, I ventured out.

"Hop! No! Please!" I heard Molt's cries as I managed to avoid getting stabbed.

"It'll be okay, Molt…" Flitter tried to remain steadfast.

I remember the looks on their faces. They were worried for me…. With that as more motivation, I fluttered backwards before kicking this abdomen away from my chest. It looked like it had a red thorn firmly attached to it. It only frightened me when I saw this bug's face for the first time. He had deep sun gold eyes with dark amber staring back into mine.

"The hell are you!?" I barked, already angry to begin with.

They shot that thorn back at me again and I rolled aside, falling off the limb and started my wings.

"Another coward!" they suddenly spoke. "I always wanted to try more grasshopper!"

The voice sounded like scraping on dry rock.

"Bite me!" I snarled before dive bombing down at his small ant-like head.

He dodged me but I happened to grab another one. With my left claw, I gripped their right wing and threw him off while trying to rip the wing right off. One down. The birds were zig-zagging at staggering rates, but none fell. Not to my knowledge. I made a direct jump to join the rest. One after the other, I kicked and ripped to keep as many of my team fighting. What were these things? I, for one, have never seen them before in my life. Wasps? I've seen wasps…. These guys were so different and hard to distract. This time, I stayed hidden against the tree before snagging another one. I had them by the leg and I forcefully through them down to the dirt.

I had to put my flying lessons to the test because these guys were faster than most of us. How was that possible? I shot out into the air and snagged another in my claws. I swung him against the tree, head first. The one I faced not long ago was too close to Flitter and Molt, so I had to be quick by yanking a berry right off the tree, making it drop and hit a couple below me. He and an entire slew of them came flying towards me and I took off again with an idea in mind.

Emerald, during mid flight and battle, looked on shocked as did the others as about half of the number of wasps took after me.

There was just a little bit of water left down the way, along the drying river. Seeing that I had a bunch on my tail, I began to twist about through the dry cracks of the river bed.

"Yes! Yes!" I kept cheering to myself, knowing they had false hope of catching me.

That was before I felt pure, excruciating pain hit me in my right eye! The whole right side of my face started to burn and feel wet. I struck the dirt wall and fell to the bottom of the bed, hard.

As I tried to recover, I could hear and smell them all around me.

"Brave one." spoke that scraping voice again. "Pretty admirable even from the likes of you, grasshopper."

"Guh! Get off me!" I barked, swinging my arm, striking one his soldiers full in the mouth when he stepped on my wing.

My head was pounding and I couldn't see through my right eye. But with my other I was able to get a good look at these guys. They took about half of my size but they were not wasps. Their abdomens, legs, heads and arms were a bright and sharp yellow and their torsos and antennae were a terrible blood red. But this leader's thorn stinger looked even darker, even to me with an injured eye.

"What gave you the idea to come here!?" I growled, finally up on my feet.

I noticed where I landed and instantly I knew the water wasn't far. I just had to unlatch it. Soon I was able to open my blurred and weak eye. My head still hurt, but I wasn't finished.

"You just happened to live in our tree. That's all, mate." the leader stepped forth.

"Yours!? No one said that tree belonged to anyone! You chose a bad time to pick a fight with me, first off. Also, you're no wasp…."

"No, friend. We're hornets. And the pleasure's all mine." this Leader took a bow before launching at me.

I gave my all in this leap and charged towards the wall! When one of them tried to catch up, he got his stinger trapped in the thin wall. I was in mid air, keeping an eye (quite literally) on them. When the hornet pulled his stinger out, the dirt began to crack. Their leader and two others managed to escape, but the five left behind could not escape the veil of water that came crashing down on them.

"Blade! Look out!" I heard one cry as I took the opportunity to catch him and tear his wings off but the remaining two almost stabbed me. The last thing I saw was them retreating to the field.

I didn't know what was going on with the flock, so I had to go back and find them. There were so many, I had to try and drown them.

At least a few….

I had to go near water to clear my eye… and it hurt so much to do it! The moment when I saw my reflection, the cut took the top of my brow and there was a scratch all the way down to the bottom of it. I couldn't blink, it hurt so much….

One of those killers were actually dumb enough to blurt out their leader's name….

Blade….