- username; f1owercrown
name; Scarlett
gender; Male
kamper/roll call form; <3
prompt;
Dale promised he wouldn't go too far; he just had to know what lay in the swamp. It was almost sundown and he said he'd be back before nightfall. Heavy, wet paws trudged the swamp after he crossed the lake as he took the atmosphere in. The swamp seemed deserted, except for a multitude of trees and the humming of the insects.
By some distance he spotted a creature, white and red in appearance, staring at a puddle surrounded by gravel and sand. The creature was mindlessly picking on the soil with what seemed to be a twig. Curious, Dale approached the creature.
"Stop that."
The Kalon instinctively turned around, startled by Dale's presence.
"What?"
"Don't play with sand like that. You're destroying the insects' traps. You aren't the only one hiding here, y'know."
The Kalon directed its attention towards the soil at the edge of the pond, where a few small pitfall traps lay. Most were either buried in sand or ruined by the twig. Dale crouched down, gestured the Kalon to do so as well, and pointed at an undisturbed pitfall trap. Dale lightly tapped the edge of the pitfall, a few grains of sand rubble falling to the bottom. Soon, an insect at the bottom flicked the sand, disturbing the pitfall trap but ultimately not destroying it. The Kalon gaped in awe; he had never seen anything like that.
"They're called antlions because they prey on ants that stumble into their trap," explained Dale. "Once they sense movement in their traps, they flick the sand, allowing their prey to fall deeper. The antlion's toothed mouth await at the bottom for a feisty meal, and I can't believe I've said more things about antlions that myself. I'm Dale, and I swear I'm fun at parties. People usually like the trivia I spurt out."
The Kalon whispered. "I'm Scarlett..."
"Ohh, a red-colored name! Interesting. You do remind me of an assassin bug."
Scarlett looked awfully confused.
"Right, right. They're assassins for a reason, so I wouldn't expect you'd know. Assassin bugs look primarily black, but they have red markings such as yours. They prey on a lot of insects, but they don't wait like the antlion does. They just... go up to their prey."
"That's amazing."
"Sorry about the facts, I... read a lot of entomology books." Dale said, "Anyway, what are you doing here? Not part of the Kamp?"
With a huff, the Kalon shook his head, seemingly down after mentioning the event.
"Hey," Dale said, "If you want to join, I believe it's fine. You'd be lonely here, after all, and you can either wait for company like the antlion waits for its prey, or you can go out and up to others, as the assassin bug does." Dale paused. "T- Terrible analogy, but you get my point, right?"
Scarlett nodded, amused with Dale and his ramblings.
"It'll be fine, I swear." Dale reassured. "I'll accompany you." He said with a smile, gesturing the other to follow.
[500/500]
(even if I don't win, watch the videos I put in the links! NatGeo certified, these insects are such cool creatures.)
