Ahh, the vast, wondrous land of Bugaria. This is but a peaceful and prosperous place where many adventurous bugs gather. However, it wasn't always that way.
Lured by the promise of riches and lush fields, a young Queen visited these lands many moons ago. Together with her daughters and fellow ant servants, she established Bugaria's modest first settlement. Her people were happy, and the Ant Kingdom flourished.
And yet, the Queen's dream had still not been fulfilled, for she had heard of an ancient people who safeguarded a treasure of unbelievable power. It was none other than the Everlasting Sapling! A plant that would grant unending youth and strength to any who ate even one of its leaves!
She searched, searched, and searched, despite all her efforts and the hardships of losing what was most valuable to her. Alas, she never found it. She entrusted all her dreams to the princess before falling into a hard-earned sleep.
Determined to succeed where her mother did not, the new Queen rallied the people together under her cause. Opening the kingdom's doors to bugs of all shapes and kinds, she attracted ambitious, skilled adventurers!
Her decree was loud and clear: "Find me the Everlasting Sapling, and you shall know wealth like no other bug ever has!" With this, The Explorers' Association was founded, with its many members searching the kingdom for clues and treasure.
Even though, to this day, the sapling has not been found. But every bug dreams of one day claiming it for themselves…
"…Or at least, those were the stories I was told in my land." Kabbu allowed himself to exhale in the aftermath of his perhaps rambling story, hoping that the anxiety bubbling inside him was not evident. It was an adequate explanation, he supposed - sure, he didn't talk about every little aspect of the legend, but hopefully, it was enough. This was not the time and place to make people bored, even if he thought the chronicles of Bugaria were fascinating. The 24-year-old rainbow scarab beetle was in the middle of the Explorer's Association's H.Q. located in the verdant periphery of Ant Kingdom City. If he was honest with himself, it was a lot smaller than what he was expecting - in his mind's eye when Kabbu first learned of the E.A., he had seen a headquarters that rose into the sky and impressed everyone who saw it with pomp and poise.
But Kabbu could not complain - even if it did not fit the romantic, grandiose image he had in his head, it was more than enough to suit him and his soon-to-be (hopefully) comrades. The rainbow beetle was mainly decked out in dark yellowish green like a fern, with a pale green torso the color of ash and a pair of wings that he used as a kelp-toned cape. Kabbu's shoulders were ornamented with two ivory pincers while his forehead held a similarly sharp protrusion, his horn in vivid green.
"And despite many unfortunate incidents, tales of your people helped me keep my adventuring spirit alive." Kabbu hastened to mention. A delicate distortion of the whole truth - it wasn't just his spirit that had to be saved. Maki, the looming mantis before him, stared Kabbu down, having patiently listened to the beetle's story. Knight of Queen Elizant II and keeper of the title of Royal Blade the soil-colored swordsman in gray armor using his crimson wings the same way as Kabbu was known far and wide. It was hard not to be intimidated by the teal sword he carried with him, especially in Kabbu's position since the blade was nearly as long as he was tall.
"Rest assured, Kabbu. They are not mere legends, but real history." Maki had a ghost of a smile on his stoic features. "This Explorers' Association, and all the explorers who risk their wings for glory, are proof of that."
"Then, Sir Maki, would you consider my...earlier...offer...?" Kabbu trailed off in the middle of his query as he saw someone walk into the E.A. behind Maki. The knight was undoubtedly more important, and he scolded himself internally for losing sight of what truly mattered, but it was impossible not to notice someone so, eh, healthy looking. Especially when every footfall she took sent heavy vibrations through the floor. Oddly enough, it was a bee who possessed a plushy, stocky body that was more fit and flexible than those of less encumbered girls. She had all of the typical facets that made a bee look like a bee, her body mainly colored in light yellow with thin black stripes horizontally circling her, but those black lines were the only thin things about her.
She had a confident, assured grin on her chubby visage as she strode through the room faster than Kabbu expected someone of her circumference to travel, the bouncy quality of her movements doing nothing to impede her mobility. The bee's plump, grinning face was above a firmly held neck with fluff coming out as thick as a life ring, flanked by liberally filled-out shoulders that kept her upright. Her arms were well-exercised and nimble but also doughy in texture, with a chest characterized by plentiful padding and an enviably-sized bosom. Those two ches orbs rested comfortably atop the belly of someone who has been eating well, plump and undoubtedly soft to the touch yet firm from the exercised muscles hidden behind the flab. Kabbu could not help but stare; this was the third bee he had ever witnessed, the first being the jolly baker in Defiant Root and the second being a portly, energetic girl on her way to the Golden Lands - were all bees this way?
The visitor ventured further in, allowing the rainbow scarab beetle to catch sight of her steady back adorned with vast, iridescent wings. However, the beetle had to wonder if they could lift that heft. Below, small folds appear where it meets the curve of her toned, chubby hips that are given much of their volume by their generous padding, curving into her adequately developed but still fatty posterior. Even the stinger above the bee's rear end held deposits of fat. She walked with an effortless voluptuous swagger, the robust legs carrying her confidently as she walked, despite her pudgy calves and sizable thighs lightly rubbing together.
The sound of a cleared throat made the flustered Kabbu revert his attention to the matter at hand, Maki above him looking impatient yet sympathetic. "Kabbu, I respect your passion. But I take missions of the greatest danger. An unproven warrior is not fit to accompany my team."
"Unproven!?" Maki's words held a polite tone, but that did nothing to stop them from being as hurtful as a load of bricks to the head. "Maki, I've bested many hardships in the north!" Kabbu did not want to discuss what had occurred in the Wild Swamplands, but if it was the only way to explain how determined he was to the cause...
"Or so you say," Maki cooly retorted. "I understand, Kabbu. Your passion for our culture and exploring is as true as my blade's edge." Maki then shook his head. "But, I would ask you not to press the issue - this is not the place to cause a scene."
"Ngh…" Kabbu grunted in frustration, realizing that it was becoming a futile effort to change Maki's position on the matter. Now what was he to do? He was not going back north, at least not yet - he had sacrificed far too -
"WHAT?!" The floor shook lightly underneath Kabbu and Maki as a feminine voice rang out in shrill, boisterous anger from the other side of the room. "Care to say that AGAIN?!" Kabbu was distracted from his plight by the impossible-to-ignore shouting, and turning his gaze toward where the voice was coming from revealed the bee's voice, the confident smirk on her face replaced with a petulant scowl. That frown was directed at Eetl, a purplish blue stag beetle by the quest board, steadfast in his opposition toward the bee taller than him by a head.
"As I sa-said, we c-cannot allow children to explore!" Eetl stuttered, his stalwart persona cracking under the bee's acerbic stare. "Much less Snakemouth Den!"
"I'M NOT A KID!" The bee screamed loud enough that people outside the E.A. could hear her, stomping a leg down in supreme frustration to the floor, some of the fibers in the wooden floor snapping from the impact. Maki rubbed the side of his head in a slow circle, and Kabbu couldn't blame him; her voice was like an ice pick to the brain.
"So much for that..." The knight muttered under his breath. "Would you like to accompany me, Kabbu? I must investigate."
"Hm? Well, if you insist...but may I ask you a question before we do so?" Kabby cautiously ventured, ignoring the painful ringing in his head as the bee's arguing relentlessly attacked everyone in the Explorers' Association. "Forgive me; I am a stranger to Bugaria despite all that I have heard about it, and I would hate to let my ignorance get the better of me, yet..."
"Yes, Kabbu?" Maki tilted his head in confusion, noticing that the rainbow scarab beetle was getting agitated. Kabby tapped his chitinous fingers together and briefly glanced over to the bee, to which Maki did the same in response. "...oh, you're trying to broach the subject of her size."
"Well, yes...but not just this bee, Sir Maki." Kabbu clarified, trying to word himself as delicately as possible. "I've met two other Bugarian bees in my travels, and they were also...her size. Is that seen as normal around these parts?"
Choice 1: "Hmm? Oh, no, not at all. I assure you that the Bee Kingdom's subjects are usually less...heavy."
Choice 2: "...well, I would be remiss to tell you that bees like to sample their honey occasionally. But this one seems to have been doing more than mere sampling..."
Choice 3: "Yes, of course. Ample proportions are common amongst all bees; I'm a little surprised you didin't know."
Choice 4: "...no, they're...normally...bigger. This one is either a runt or is trying to diet."
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