The flowers that acted as the staircase leading up to the Explorers' Association elevated off the ground creaked as the person who had grabbed the attention of everyone inside with her shrill, high-pitched yell climbed up them. Maki groaned, just audible enough for Vi & Kabbu to hear, the usual stoicism on his face vanishing, replaced with a look of tired trepidation. Coming into the building was a cherry-pink-colored mantis with antennae curling into the shape of a heart on her head, and when compared with Maki, she was quite the sight to behold. While the Royal Blade was a tall, slender mantis of impassive rigidity, the other mantis coming in appeared to be his complete opposite. She held a superbly well-fed constitution, with every part of her body well-padded.
However, like Vi, there was evidence that muscle mass lay hidden underneath the pliant surface of fatty tissue, such as with her lively pace in her every action. She had an alert face with robust cheeks below her red, compound eyes and a toned yet chubby neck underneath her magenta scarf that flowed from her collarbone to her chin. The female mantis' shoulders were plump yet firm, swelling under her deep pink hide, supporting pudgy arms exercised enough to negate the challenges imposed by her soft blubber. The weight inflicted by her generously fleshed, pale red chest and taunt round belly jutting out a good deal from her torso was balanced by her plump back, keeping her straight. Generously fat hips betray musculature development deep down, rolling into soft heavy buttocks that jiggle lightly with every step.
Despite the baggage, her red legs were tolerably trained underneath fatty thighs and firm, chubby calves, though all of that fleshiness rubbed together as she strode her way to Maki. "Seriously, brother!" The female mantis clasped her stocky claws together as they rested above her dome of an abdomen. Her bright smile made her chubby cheeks appear more prominent, which would have indicated cheerfulness if not for her voice's intonation, which was agitated and churlish. "How long are you going to keep me waiting!?"
"My apologies, Kina," Maki said in a placating tone, an awkward smile creeping onto his face. The rainbow beetle and bee's confused faces were in his peripheral vision, so he turned to address them. "Vi, Kabbu, this is my team member and sister, Kina. She...has her heart in the right place." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that more than anyone else in the room.
"I-It's very good to meet you, Kina." Kabbu politely greeted, a little stunned by how big she was. The beetle didn't mean to appear rude; it was just that in the North, where he came from, such stores of excess energy were utterly unheard of. They weren't looked down on, not at all - quite the opposite. 'Excess' pudge in a harsh land where you had to fight for almost every meal was a testament to might and resourcefulness. But while it was rare to find back home, Bulgaria looked to be a land of plenty. "Please f-forgive us, it was not our intention to hold up your brother's time, and I hope we can get better acquainted later as fellow explorers." Kabby winced underneath his helmet, playing the words back in his mind and realizing they could have been chosen better. Kina, for her part, briefly glanced down at Kabbu in response, her smile momentarily morphic into something genuine before lapsing back into her impatient grin. However, when the cherry-pink mantis glanced at Vi, her eyes widened.
"Hmph! What are you looking at?" Vi scoffed, trying to make it known that she wasn't in the mood for more of her screaming. Which was hypocritical, of course, considering the hissy fit she threw earlier, but that was waaaaay different. Obviously. Suddenly, though, Kina no longer looked like she wanted to drag Maki into doing who knows what; Vi had her full attention. "...uhhh...are you okay? You're just looking at me, and it's starting to freak me out."
"Hmm? Oh, so sorry...Vi, was it?" The female mantis flashed the most natural-looking smile yet since entering the association. "I just...was not expecting to see a bee within our ranks today. Especially not one so large."
"Yeah, I'm large. And I'm a bee. So what?" Vi crossed her arms across her bountiful chest, immediately leaping to the assumption that this haughty bug was trying to look down on her for a bee. And 'large,' really? Sure, she was definitely a bit...hungrier than most of the other bees in the hive, but this girl was in no place to judge her! This mantis was just as she was, if not more!
"So what?" Kina giggled, taking a step forward and actually pushing her brother aside. The floor underneath the two overfed bugs moaned under their combined weights, and Eetl, who had been patiently observing the scene play out from afar, sighed, knowing he would have to fix that later. "Well, it's very nice to see that the Explorers' Association has let in another adventurer who appreciates the simple pleasures in life." She patted her round stomach with no small ounce of pride in her voice. Vi's glare melted off her face as frank confusion settled on her cherubic features.
"...what?" The portly bee eventually asked, unsure how to handle this random mantis lady's sudden dispersal of positive feedback.
"As long as you don't lay a finger on my brother..." Some acid spilled into her voice before she reverted to an almost maternal friendliness. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Us larger-than-life girls must stick together against the stick bugs in the mud around here."
"...!...?" Vi made a noise that only a bee could make, wholly flustered and unsure of what to do. "I, u-um..."
"Vi, I believe Miss Kina here is asking to be your friend," Kabbu explained gently, a smile hidden underneath his helmet as he observed his new partner settle into the Explorers' Association so quickly.
"O-oh!" Vi blinked rapidly, a shaky, uncertain, but nevertheless real grin coming onto her chubby visage. "Y-yeah, uhm...sure! I mean, er...so, you don't think I'm too big?"
"If I thought that, I would have to think that I'm too big, as well. Which clearly, I am not. If anything, I'm too small~." Kina's protruding gut let out a deep brassy growl, and in an instant, Maki found that his right claw was locked in his sister's vice grip. "Which reminds me of why I'm here - someone forgot to feed his big sister breakfast this morning and left her waiting outside for an hour after telling her he'll break for lunch soon." Kina's tone was syrupy sweet and cold as ice. The Royal Blade, the strongest adventurer the Ant Kingdom had to offer, looked downright afraid as his eyes darted around the room for anyone to help him out of his predicament. Eetl (wisely) secluded himself behind the Quest Board, and Kabbu, for as much respect he had for his new superior, recognized that some forces of nature, like hunger, were out of his control.
"I did feed you breakfast, Kina..." From his intonation, Maki sounded like this was the 100th time this conversation had been discussed.
"A single Aphid Shake?" Kina rolled her eyes before walking assuredly out of the E.A. with her brother reluctantly following her, his arm never leaving her grip. "It was very nice to meet you, Vi! Make sure to look after your partner like I do, and you'll go far here!" The mantis momentarily got stuck in the doorway as her hips plugged up the sides of the frame, though she didin't seem too perturbed, wiggling her girth around until she was free to exit properly.
"...I think I like her." Vi smiled after a period of silence.
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