Where the Small Creatures Go

Speech: #a38b3e Date: April 15th 2026 Time: 8:00pm Weather: Slightly chilly, light rain, gentle breeze Mentions: @Scarlet Payne

Sunset began to darken the grounds slowly, quickened by the cloud cover overhead. A light rain drizzled down, but Campion paid no mind to it. The boy, stubbornly refusing to wear his winter cloak in the weather, crouched near the edge of one of the many paths twisting through the grounds. His hair clung to his face, damp, and he had to regularly brush wet strands from his face. Clearly, he had been outside for some time to be so water-logged. He stayed dry enough under the cover of his robes, but chose not to put the hood up so he could feel the rain on his scalp.

It was coming time for the creepy-crawlies to come out of hiding. Campion gently lifted a rock with one hand, revealing a beetle. He recognized the beetle to be a Bloody-Nosed Beetle, common in Scotland and just starting to come into adulthood this time of year having overwintered in their juvenile pupal state. The beetle didn't react to the rock being lifted, so Campion took his leisure to watch it slowly begin to wake. The beetle wiggled its legs in waking and slowly emerged from under the rock. Once clear, Campion set the rock back down and gently laid his hand palm-up in front of the beetle. It hesitated for a moment, wondering what this suddenly-appearing obstacle was, then climbed onto Campion's fingers. He held it there, in his palm, observing it as he crouched on the side of the pathway.