How in the name of The Queen did the grub get up there?!
Demetant looked up, appalled, at the grub who clung to the ceiling with nothing more than its tiny mandibles. Tenacious beyond all reason, it had somehow managed to scale the wall while she wasn't looking, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Triumphantly, it wiggled and writhed in anticipation of what was to come.
Knowing exactly what was about to happen, Demetant dashed to be in position. The grub released its grip, growing still as the sensation of rushing air temporarily soothed its spirit.
Dive! Worried she might hurt the grub if she caught it in her mandibles, Demetant did her best to get beneath it and cushion the landing with her body. Although the grub was still a small thing and quite light, the impact was heavier than she would have liked. Worried sick, the Tender flipped over to inspect the grub and see if it was well.
"What happened over there?" Doonant asked, confused.
"She climbed up to the ceiling and let go!" Demetant said, despairing.
Doonant looked at the grub, writhing happily on the ground, then up to the ceiling of the chamber.
"How…?" she asked.
"I have no idea!" Demetant wailed. "Is she alright?"
A grub was a fragile existence, blind, without antennae, barely able to sense the world around them. They depended on the care of others for survival entirely, a transitional state of being between egg and ant that only existed so they might grow larger and gain mass. Despite the drop being only a few metres, it was enough to cause injury to such a defenseless being.
Doonant inspected the still joyful little grub, running her eyes and antennae over it carefully.
"Yes, there are some minor injuries, I believe. We will need to bring in a healer to look after her. I'll talk to the guards. Can you keep an eye on them all while I'm gone?"
At times Demetant was so overwhelmed looking after this one troublemaker that she forgot there were another nineteen larvae in this group to take care of. And what wonderful little grubs they were. Full of curiosity and fun, they would wiggle about, happily eating their Biomass and sleeping so adorably. Only this one caused any problems, and it never seemed to end.
"Yes, of course. I don't think this one will be going anywhere for a little while anyway."
Doonant laughed softly as she left the chamber to look for help, leaving Demetant standing over the injured grub, starting to right itself. Yes, she could see it now, slight bruises developing on the soft flesh of the grub as a result of the fall.
She wondered if it even noticed that it had been hurt. As soon as it was finished soaking up the triumph of its adventure, the grub began to do the most predictable thing imaginable. It started to crawl back towards the wall.
"No you don't," Demetant said, determined not to allow any more hijinks.
She picked up the grub, who instantly began to protest by writhing violently and clacking its little mandibles, but she held firm and moved it to the centre of the chamber.
Placing it on the ground, she carefully placed a leg onto the grub and pressed down. Not hard enough to cause injury or pain, obviously, but enough to keep it in place. If it managed to escape, she would be instantly alerted. She might have tolerated this little misadventure to a certain extent, but now that the grub had hurt itself, that could no longer be allowed.
"You're not going anywhere, little miss," she said to the grub.
She swore it was looking up at her with pleading eyes, wrenching at her heart, but dismissed the thought without mercy. No, she would not let one of her first batch of grubs hurt itself any more than this.
Lovingly, she looked out over the rest of the group. Munching, sleeping, wiggling, they were the perfect little grubs, growing stronger every day under the attentive care of the Brood Tenders. From her position in the centre of the chamber, she did her best to check on each of them and ensure that their condition was as optimal as it could be.
There were limits to what she could do while keeping a leg pressed on the troublesome grub, but she continued to do her work while waiting for Doonant to return. Fortunately, a few minutes later, she came back with a grumpy-looking healer in tow.
"A grub managed to hurt itself? How is that even possible?" the healer muttered, shuffling into the chamber.
"Some grubs are a little more adventurous than others," Doonant said patiently, "and this one is more adventurous than most."
"She's right here, healer," Demetant said, finally lifting her leg off the offending grub. "Please take a look at her."
"Of course I will, that's what I came for."
With the patient in sight, the healer wasted no time getting to business. She carefully inspected the grub, who was busy trying to make an escape, but the healer was not shy about grabbing it with her mandibles and dragging it back to the centre of the chamber.
"No problem, just a minor contusion caused by a light impact. I can heal this, no problem."
With careful application of healing fluid, massaged into the grub using her antennae, the healer completed her work before turning to the two Tenders.
"How on Pangera did she get injured? Looks like a fall."
"She climbed up to the roof and dropped off," Demetant sighed, watching as the little grub, finally free, made another break for the wall.
"She did what?" the healer said, disbelieving.
Wordlessly, Demetant pointed with an antenna, and the healer turned to see the grub grip the wall with her mandibles and start to lever herself upwards.
With a sigh, the Tender went and collected the escapee, depositing her back in the centre of the chamber.
"Well, that's got to be a Champion, right?" the healer said.
Demetant froze.
"I mean… that can't be normal, right?" the healer went on.
"There's… there's no way… it couldn't possibly… I-I-I…" Demetant stuttered.
A Champion? In her first group of grubs? That was impossible, surely! She turned to Doonant, looking for support. The more experienced Tender sighed.
"We weren't going to tell you because we thought it might cause you unnecessary stress," she said gently. "But yes, we think this one is a Champion."
Overwhelmed, Demetant froze on the spot, staring, while the others watched her, concerned.
Which meant she was the only one to see another grub wiggle her way over to her injured sister, raise up slightly, and deliver a diminutive thwack.