Dragoncrest Cliffs Security!

val hadn't known what to make of the cicadas as they woke him. he'd been sleeping outside the den, curled around an empty conch he planned to present to the puppies come mid-morning. the drone of bugs pulled him from a dreaming realm of sharp yellow eyes and the roar of an approaching wave -- when he came to it was to see a marvel.

thousands of insects stirring around the den. they were on everything; every branch hummed to life with their six-legged explorations; their broad eyes lit up against the darkening bark. he recognized them as largely harmless, but all the same pulled himself towards the den's mouth.

within, he saw two puppies were awake. tousaint was pressed against sobeille, a look of horror on his face. sobeille seemed half-awake, or really, gradually coming to.

its okay, tousaint. val called into the den, crawling through the horde with his nose to the boy to reassure him. beyond them, sobeille crunched through legions of exoskeletons like the hungry hippo. they don't bite, see? one landed near him and val crushed it between his paws. he lifted his arm up to show the cracked exoskeleton, with little limbs twitching.