There had been a large number of bees about as of late. Resin was stung twice the day before as she did her patrols. Stepping on flowers as she walked was turning into dangerous business. Not only did she get stung, but the winged, yellow puffballs died immediately after. She rather liked bees, so this was an issue. Where were they all coming from? Iolaire had recently mentioned that the hive she collected from had gone missing. Relocated elsewhere as bees sometimes do. Resin wondered if she might follow the flying creatures back to their home so that she might alert her daughter of their whereabouts.

It was difficult to follow a single bee. Especially with one eye. So the woman did her best to see where they were going and where they were coming from. That made it a little easier to track them. The flying insects led her out of Armada lands and onto foreign soil. More than once she lost track and had to sit patiently while she waited for another trail of pollen collecters to buzz past. Eventually, she ended up in some strange place where the trees were all in lines. Flowers littered the ground between the rows of trees. This seemed as though it would be paradise for a bee.

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More than once Moonshine showed up with a sting that he or Lucretia needed to see to. The bees were really taking their toll, and he wondered if he could find the hive to keep his children away from it. Not that Bourbon could keep little Moonshine away from anything. That girl couldn’t be contained and that fact stressed even the happiest go luckiest dad.

Iolaire had recently taught him how to collect honey too, though he wasn’t quite sure how well he would do on his own he knew the number one rule to keep the hive alive was not to take too much. The pollinators were valuable, and he didn’t want to cause undue harm. Eventually the long haired dog found himself in an orchard, the apples were coming into season and if he were not so focused on his honey the dog might have returned with a bushel of apples. The pups would certainly enjoy those.

What he didn’t expect was the scent of the Armada, he’d never met Resin but she was obviously of the pack. With a wag of his tail he approached, curious if she’d had the same idea. ”Hive hunting?” He asked curiously, knowing the chances were slim. ”I’m Bourbon, you’re part of the Armada correct?”

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As the woman looked her her quarry, a small voice piped up. Turning her head, the woman's lone eye fell upon the form of a little dog. Black ears flicked forward and she arched the scarred brow above that missing eye. He asked whether she was hunting hives, then introduced himself. "Yes, hunting hives." Her damaged vocal chords brought her words out in growls. "Good to meet you, Bourbon. I am Resin, and yes, I call the Armada home for now." Though she was a member of said Armada, it wouldn't be a permanent thing. She could already feel the irritation of having another above her. The woman needed to be her own ruler.

Casting her singular gaze back to the grove, she continued to speak. "There's been a steady influx of bees as of late. It's strange for there to be so many. I came to investigate. My daughter has been wanting to refill her stores." Thankfully the bees in question weren't the swarming ones that other lands had. She'd heard tell of wolves dying by being attacked by massive hoards of bees. "I assume you're doing the same?" It would only make sense since he had questioned her so succinctly.

As she waited, several bees buzzed past her and into the depths of the orchard. Since the pair were on the same quest, she motioned with the pull of one scarred shoulder for the dog to follow.

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The old warrior gave him a raised brow, obviously not expecting the small dog to appear. Bourbon just smiled as Resin affirmed his assumption, the bees were very obvious though and honey was quite the commodity. ”Good to meet you.” He replied with a quick nod of his head, the smile on his features didn’t fall. He wondered if her daughter happened to be Iolaire.

”Less concerned about stores, though I’m sure my mate would appreciate it…” He started, wondering how much they would have to share. If there was he’d offer some to Luce otherwise… ”I’m most interested in bringing back a surprise treat for my three young pups.” He explained, his grin broadening as he talked about his kids. He was so proud of him, the dog could have gone on and on about them and their adorable antics. ”They’ve never had honey before.”

Bourbon couldn’t suppress the grin that took over his features, thinking about their first encounter with the sticky sweet substance brought him great joy. Bourbon wasn’t about to argue with moving on either, he could walk and talk at the same time. His eyes were sharp and he followed the buzzing insects with care. With the Autumn season brought the fall harvest, fruit was everywhere. Bending branches with the weight of them and falling to the ground to ferment.

It wasn’t long before he could see the entrance of the hive, the colony was based in the trunk of a huge tree. multiple entrances peeked out of the hollow body where bees came and went with business on their minds. ”I think that’s the one.” He chuckled nervously. This was a big project.

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Ah, so the dog wanted to bring honey back to his children. It was a sweet gesture. He seemed like a nice pup, and so she would do her best to help him. As the pair moved towards the buzzing, the hive was very evidently lodged within one tree. Some time in the past, the tree had split. Perhaps it had been struck by lightning or some sort of parasite had eaten it from the inside. Either way, it seemed like the perfect place for bees to call home.

The giant woman folded her haunches, bringing herself to a seated position. She honestly had no idea where to go from here. She had found the source of the bees and that was as far as her plan went. Casting her singular gaze towards the smaller canine, she questioned him. "Do you have any ideas on how to go about this? I'd rather not spend my day getting stung by a whole hive."

If Iolaire were here, she would build a fire at the base of the tree and smoke the bees out of the hive. It would be easy then to collect honey and honeycomb. Resin remembered her daughter having mentioned something similar. She, however, was incapable of making fire, and thus was useless in such an endeavor.

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Bourbon was excited to bring some honey home with him for the young puppies that were growing exponentially. He had a hunch that they would remain smaller like he was, but they still had a bit of growth to go before they even reached his height. Still there was quite a bit of struggle before he could see through his efforts. His bright eyes took in the tree and the pair of them grew quiet for a long moment as they took in the split tree and the giant hive. The bees had such a great defensive fortress, Bourbon was unsure how they were going to harvest it all. Thankfully he’d brought a bag with him, inside he had little receptacles for the honey.

The real problem was gathering the golden liquid. Resin took a seat, just as perplexed as he was. ”Well,” he started slowly, feeling the same sentiments about skipping a ridiculous amount of stings. This hive was much too big for them to harvest the entirety, he wondered… ”Maybe we can find a storage chamber that no one is guarding. A hive this size surely they can share a bit.” He offered as he found his own feet and snuck forward carefully. He’d leave a wide berth to the tree but he’d take in every angle.

”I’ve heard smoke is helpful, but I think I found a hollow branch.” He started, gesturing towards his chosen place. ”If we break off the branch and high tail it out of here, maybe we can get out with minimal stings.” He chuckled, unable to remove the smile from his features.

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Bourbon suggested that they grab a weak, hollow branch and run. The woman wrinkled her nose slightly and looked at the mass amounts of bees that littered the area. The low, vibrating hum of their buzzing was beginning to give her a headache. Giving her head a little shake, she looked to the dog. "If we're going to do it, we'd better do it now. The honey is encased in wax, right?" She shot him a glance, then, without a second look, the woman latched her teeth into the branch, pulled with all of her might, and took off running as fast as she could with the awkward thing between her jaws.

A violently angry swarm of bees instantly began to follow right on their heels. More than once Resin felt the angry sting to her muzzle and ears. She had a destination in mind, however. There was a pond nearby. Putting on a burst of speed, the giantess leaped into the pond, releasing the branch as she did so. The branch would float, but she would not. Down into the water she went, swimming as long as she could beneath the liquid before popping up for air. The bees stayed with their floating branch while the wolf swam to the bank. Her muzzle and ears throbbed from the stings and she would have some nasty welts to show for it. Eyes cast around for Bourbon. Their best course of action would be to wait for the bees to retreat. They wouldn't stay with a waterlogged branch.

It took about an hour for the flying warriors to give up and go back to their larger hive. Wading back into the water, Resin took up the branch between her teeth once more. Back to the bank, she gave it to Bourbon. "I've lost my taste for honey. There won't be much in the branch, so take it back to your children." With a nod and a grumble as she went, Resin made her way back to her packlands, her face already swelling.

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Resin was dont talking, and she’d say so in not so many words. Bourbon wasn’t thrilled with his plan, it had an uncomfortable night written all over it. ”Alright… Yes.” He said with a sigh, not hiding his lack of confidence in his plan. Bourbon had half hoped she would have a better solution. The huge warrior woman plucked the branch and all hell broke loose. With widened eyes Bourbon raced forward, trying not to get too far ahead of Resin so she didn’t take the full force of the swarm alone. She had the brilliant idea of jumping in the pond and Bourbon happily followed after her.

The swim was short enough and when he couldn’t hold his breath any longer he made his way to the shore with Resin and they lingered until the bee’s were gone. What a mess, hopefully the children would enjoy their treat and it was worth the pain. Resin dragged the log to him, and confessed her turn of emotions.

”You’re too kind, Resin. Thank you.” He offered with a smile and a low bow. ”My mate could help your stings, if you’d like.” Bourbon was an okay healer, but Luce was much better.