Children of Alana, 3.11 a gift
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Amy sits alone in her room on a hot day. She can’t help but think back to her friend this past month as they study and eat together.
Most of them still try to be friendly with her but Amy can tell in the way they look at her or even when Calamity asked about a place where we ant goes in old age, there was a subtle sting directed at her.
It could just be her imagination and Calamity didn’t mean anything but Amy feels it all the same. Just like how other treat her with caution with she was with Biscuit as if she would hurt her again.
She hates it. For Ant to not be accepted as part of group is painful to her, an ante like her should be a leader and command other although Amy do accept she might be the cause of these rift to begin with when she choose team victory over Biscuit but she still hate that her friend distrust her over this.
Yet she won’t notice that many don’t like her from the start long before because of her attitude.
Colony comes first but now her little colony in school here hate her so what must she do to make the group like her again?
For workers who can’t talk this wasn’t much of an issue. For other ante, they knew enough to put on courtesy and stay out of each other way even if they hate each other but Amy doesn’t just want them to stay out of her way. If they going to study together for the next few year then she must find a way to make them like her.
‘A gift. Everyone likes a gift.’
Trying to make them like her with her leadership didn’t work so this is what Amy come up with.
Josh, what would he like? Book? But I don’t know what he likes to read maybe something simple like a flower? This is what other races offer to friends right? I can excuse this as a thank you gift for when he let me ride him when we glide down from Nikki.
Bill, give him money? Is this too much? Should I be more subtle or not subtle with him? Wait is this bribery? No this is just being tact and diplomacy. I didn’t even get anything from him how can this be bribery. And isn’t Eirian did something similar anyway.
Calamity...let’s skip him for now.
Eirian, arrogant Amiel what would he like? A gift properly won’t work with him. Oh, that right I’ll cook with Biscuit later maybe I’ll gift him what I make and Calamity like sweet too, so this is perfect.
Biscuit, she still likes me, right? I’ve already told her how sorry I am, and she forgives me. Still, maybe I’ll buy her something later.
Amy checks all the money she got from her colony and takes a few hundred notes out for Bill and a few more hundred to buy gifts for others.
After a lengthy class about MAM tool Amy finds a chance to pull Bill out to speak alone, “Thank you, Bill. I don’t know much about MAM so you prepared these tools for our team is very convenient.”
“Think nothing of it I’m glad to help” said Bill holding all the tools that were now used up. He plans to sell them to try get some of his money back.
“It wasn’t too expensive, is it?”
“Don’t worry, you know me my family got a whole factory full of boxes and tools like these” Bill laughs.
“Well, I would like to thank you for helping us, so I got this for you” Amy grabs several banknotes pack from her bag.
Seeing the pile of banknotes in Amy’s jaw Bill drops all the tools in his hand on the floor. He was trying to do it slowly but the fire in his eyes make Amy feel like he’s just a step away from throwing all the tool before kneeling and bow down before her.
“You really shouldn’t Amy. I don’t know if I can accept this.” Bill’s hand half in Amy’s jaw.
Amy releases her jaw and the money left her “Think nothing of it, we’re good friends, right? Friends must look out for each other.”
“Of course, if you need any MAM related help in the future just ask me anytime. I’ll make anything you want better than most cheap stuff they sold out there.”
“Thank you. I’m glad I have a friend I can rely on like you, Bill.”
Bill blinks before smiling and nods.
Bill seems happy although Amy wasn’t sure if he understood her intention but it’s fine for now.
Next is Josh, Amy walks around the market for a while before deciding on a bouquet of red roses.
The florist goat lady who is selling a flower smiles at Amy “I don’t have many ants buying roses before may I ask who this is for?”
“Just a gift for a friend.”
“I see.” said the florist “Was he a handsome ant? I don’t get to see a lot of male ants around here. I heard ant like to gift diamond, never got any ant customer before.”
“Oh no, he was a crow.”
“Ah, so this is for your rival huh.”
“What?”
Seeing Amy confused the florist explains “For birds they consider giving a rose mean calling you a liar. Don’t ask me why, just what it’s mean for them.”
“Oh, then maybe I should give him other flowers.”
Amy ponders for a moment if it would be funny to give Josh a rose “What flower should someone give to a crow as a gift.”
“That depends, is this a courtship?” the florist whispers to Amy.
“What? No! I hate that idiotic bird.”
“Then why are you giving him flowers?”
“We study in the same group I just need him to like me more.”
“Hmm, this is a tough one,” the florist says to herself.
“What about those” Amy starts to point at random flowers after the florist spend too long thinking.
“A white tulip symbolizes forgiveness. Did you do something wrong and want to ask him to forgive you?”
“Well...I don’t think what I did was that wrong, my friend seems to think so but I don’t think asking for forgiveness is the right one.”
“Hmm, how about daisies then it’s could also mean a new beginning.”
“A new beginning, that could work alright I’ll take this one.”
“Tell me first is this crow good looking?”
“He looks just like any crow”
“Surely there must be something special you noticed about him” the florist insists.
Amy thinks back to a time Josh carried her on his back as they flew together “I guess his wing is very beautiful I suppose.”
“I see. Is he smart?”
“Most guys are idiots, but I guess he’s properly the smartest guy I know so far. He’s still a stupid bird though”
“I see I see” The florist then looks around before heading inside her shop to bring out more flowers “How about these red daisies? They color red like you so this could be you asking for a new beginning with him.”
“Sure, as long as it’s not too expensive.”
“Got it. As one of my few ant customers, I’m giving you a discount,” as they kept talking the florist seemed to be adding more flowers but Amy wasn’t sure why.
Finding Josh doesn’t prove too difficult since he seems to spend a lot of time in the library. He got his own comer he always sits on the fifth floor next to a window where no people frequent.
He was so focused in the world of book that he didn’t noticed Amy walking up right next to him, only when she pull a chair out to sit at the same table did he look up to meet her eyes.
"Amy?” Josh is surprised but gave her a smile “I don’t think I ever see you in a library alone before. Quick question, I rarely saw an ant in library at all do you guy don’t like to read?”
Quickly Shifting focus from the book to his newly arrived friend, Josh seems to miss a bouquet of red daisies in front of him.
“No, I’m not sure we keep many books at all really. No one has time for it and to read you need a light which is not something easy to make underground. We do have a library for young ante like me to study but few have access to it.”
“That's unfortunate,” said Josh just as he noticed a daisies on the table.
“Your snack?”
“Well, it's for you really. You can eat it if you want to.” Amy remember crow do eat plant.
“me?”
Josh tilts his head and point at himself.
“I want to thank you for letting me ride on your back when we were in Nikki.”
“Oh, think nothing of it really.” Josh puts a book down and accept a daisies from Amy “Do you know this flower mean a new beginning?”
“Yes, the florist told me. I was going to get you a rose you know.”
Josh laughed “Ah yes, a liar rose.” Josh brushes the daisies with his wing “This is the first time someone gave me a daisies.”
“Were you popular back home?”
‘If he got flowers often, I should have gifted him something else.’
“Nah, the handsome one was Blake. I was just getting flowers because those girls from a big family wanted to get closer to my father's influence via me. He already got flowers from some girl here I think.”
“I don’t think you look too bad for a crow.”
“My, good to know if I’m ever desperate I could try an ant market.” Josh takes a bite of daisies.
“Ha, you would have to find your way underground without losing all your feathers first” Josh and Amy laugh.
“What this about rose being liar anyway?”
“Just an old story from some love bird who got trapped in a thorn of roses after trying to impress a girl. The story never makes sense to me anyhow but it’s stick for us I suppose. A vine that traps and cuts you so you can never fly up again is scary for us. A rose is just an unlucky flower to get picked in our story.”
Amy then wonders as Josh chews “Have you ever eaten rose before?”
“I like daisies better, here want to try?”
Amy accepts and eats a daisies with Josh. Good thing there are so many of them.
“Do you think our friend can ever like me again?” Amy speaks as they sit together for a while.
“Why do you think we didn’t like you?”
“Please, you guys are not that subtle. I know I chose wrong but...” Amy's voice trails off.
“Do you think what you done is wrong?”
“Our team won.”
“That is true,” Josh put an empty bouquet down “but it's also true that you lose all our friend trust a little when you abandon Biscuit.”
“Even if I can go back I would properly choose the same.” Amy thinks of her colony “The colony come first that's how we ant are and all of you should respect that aspect of our people just like I try to respect and not judge any of your guy's weird culture.”
“Still...” Josh was silent for a moment “There is something all of us must find, something we all value if we are to be a team. And right now you are not part of that.”
“Must I ask for forgiveness? I already did.”
“It’s not that simple,” Josh looks away.
“Will they ever forgive me?"
Josh looks at her and knows he can’t answer for others.
“I don’t know.”