Bright Ideas

It was a beautiful day, too lovely to waste underground.

Having some spare time before he had to check on the fake bird, Flik took it upon himself to stroll along the edge of the island. His antennae twitched at the pleasant smell of morning dew carried in the breeze, and he smiled at the majesty of the riverbed canyon below. Even the chirping of the bird sounded pleasant this day, though he of course made sure to stay near the clover leaves if it sounded too close.

It was during one of those duckings that he spotted it: the dried remains of a coiled blade of grass.

Otherwise known as a telescope.

He picked it up, curious as to how it got all the way out here, and instantly realized it wasn't one he made. No, this blade wasn't as securely made as one of his own. It was actually on its way to unraveling, only managing to hold on because the grass was bent. It was probably someone's first, maybe Dot's? Well, Flik would be happy to give her pointers on how to make a more stable one.

"There you are, Flik!" a voice cut through the calm.

Startled, he turned and searched the sky. "Oh, hey, Princess Atta," he greeted when he spotted her, "what brings you here?"

She landed in front of him. "I hadn't seen you at breakfast, so I went to look for you," she said, not quite meeting his eyes. "That is, I have to make sure every member of my colony is accounted for."

"Breakfast already? I must've lost track of time, what with it being such a nice day." He glanced upwards, trying to find the sun.

It shined so brilliantly along the vibrant blue, watching over the clouds like a shepherd. When he looked at Princess Atta, lightly haloed by the rays through the gaps in the grass, he felt his face heat up. She was like a purple blossom against the green, her translucent wings accenting her in elegance. Somehow, she completed the morning in a way Flik couldn't have imagined before, and now he couldn't fathom it without her.

An idea popped up in his mind, and right out before he could stop it. "Wanna walk back to the anthill with me?" Just as soon as it left, the mortification set in. He couldn't believe he said that!

But it had nothing on his shock when she, with a shy smile, answered: "That sounds lovely."

His mind blanked, so his mouth ran wild. "G-great! Let's go, then! Back—together—um—" He somehow found enough sense to shake his head back in order. And not a moment too soon, or else he would have descended into nervous giggles. "Sorry, I'll just…" He forced himself to take the first few steps back home.

Mercifully, Princess Atta didn't comment on his embarrassing display. She actually didn't say anything more, graciously giving him time to wind down. For a little while, they simply strolled comfortably side by side. Flik could almost think that they enjoyed each other's company. He certainly enjoyed hers.

"Um…" Princess Atta once again broke the quiet, and gestured to the telescope. "Is that…?"

"This isn't mine. I found it out here," Flik said quickly, suddenly self-conscious. All the same, he cradled the telescope, smiling with fondness. "I think Dot made this one, but it's not bad for what it is."

"You really think so?" asked Princess Atta, only for her to cough. "I-I mean, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear that. She really looks up to you, you know."

"Well, she'd be the first," Flik chuckled, but he felt proud. Was this what being an older sibling felt like? "Oh, but I'm sure there are better people for that. Like you, for instance."

"Ha, yeah right," the Princess scoffed.

"What? You're a great sister!"

But instead of being assured, she looked down and paused. "I wouldn't be so sure. Who's the one who saved her from that bird again?"

"Aw, you don't have to face a bird to be—"

"I was right there, you know," she interrupted, letting her wings flare a bit. "I can fly; I could have helped. I could have been there to save my sister." Her voice wavered at that last word. "Instead, I just stayed in the safety of the cliff."

"Princess, who can blame you?" Flik would have grasped her hands to comfort her, but he was occupied with the telescope. He could only shake his head. "You were scared, anyone would be."

"Then how did you do it?" asked Princess Atta. "You and the warriors, I didn't see any of you hesitate. I guess it makes sense for them, but you… how?" She gave him such a pleading look that he wished he had an answer for her, some magic method for instant bravery.

But he just didn't have one. "To be honest, I don't know. I just knew I had to do something." Flik chuckled wryly. "It's a miracle that my plan worked. We could have easily…" He shuffled his feet, shuddering at the memory of the bird's breath.

More clear than that, however, were Dot's terrified screams, her crying out his name. Flik could almost feel her weight instead of the telescope's as he recalled hugging her tightly, trying to comfort her all the while, even when the bird nearly got them. Not once had he thought about saving himself.

"I think," he said, his mind flashing to what could have happened to Dot, the idea breaking his heart, "I was more scared of losing her than anything else. I may not be able to fly, make a net, or get the bird away; but there were bugs who could and I had a plan. If that gave her a shot at making it home, I had to take it."

He'd been so caught up in his answer that feeling Princess Atta's hand on his cheek startled him. When he caught her eyes, he didn't know what to make of how she looked at him.

But she was smiling. "See, that's why she likes you so much. You did everything you could for her," she said. "Me? I just watched from a telescope."

Flustered, not used to such praise, Flik scrambled for something for her. "H-hey, you should give yourself some credit! At least you stayed to make sure she was okay," he said before the rest of her sentence hit him. "Hold on, did you say you used a telescope?"

Princess Atta recoiled. "W-well, I couldn't see otherwise!"

"You actually used one of my ideas." Excitement began to bubble up, sending fire through his body. He looked down at the telescope in his arms. "Wait, did you make this o—"

She moved her hand to cover his mouth. "It was a good idea at the time!" she cried, looking like she'd just got caught stealing grain. Shutting her eyes and breathing deeply to calm down, she continued more slowly: "It was… very helpful. Thank you for sharing it with me." With that, she let him go and stepped back, not meeting his eyes when she opened hers. "Um… I should get going. Have to oversee that bird and all. I'll see you later, okay?"

"S-sure," was all Flik managed before Princess Atta left him in quite a hurry.

Now all alone, yet still giddy from what he'd just learned, he glanced down at the dried telescope and smiled widely. He was definitely going to keep this one.

Am I possibly reading too deeply into Atta and how she learns from Flik? Yes, yes I am, and I LOVE IT!