They're EVERYWHERE!

156, 387: 2

47989 gasps and bites 387's ear.

"Ow! What the hole, you little derp?" 387 turns his head at the offending drone lying on his back.

"Pfbfbfbfbf!" 47989 sticks its tongue out.

"I should have left with the queen like 56 and 98..." 387 sighs.

"You mean as an emergency ration?"

"At least that way someone would be carrying me."

"You do realize no one is forcing you to stay with us, right?" 156 still hasn't even opened her eyes.

"Considering that only the two of us are of high enough rank with the personal knowledge to keep up at least some basic hive mind running for the others, the winner of today's dumbest comment iiiiis!" 387 pauses for dramatic effect, "Youuuuu! A round of applause, everyone, if you will."

The drones start cheering, some even add a few whistles. 36658 happily foams at the mouth from overstuffing itself with bark again.

387 walks over to it, grabs it by its neck, and violently punches its stomach several times. 36658 immediately proceeds to throw up all over him.

"Instant karma," comments 156 as 387 rips out a clump of grass from the ground and starts wiping himself off with an expression of utter disgust.

"Hey, it worked!" 36658 clutches its stomach with a groan, "Owwww... almost worked."

"What?" say 156 and 387 simultaneously.

"You made me throw up. That means I can chew all the bark I want and we don't have to risk anyone slipping while jumping on me again."

"You planned this?!" 156 finally breaks her meditation and looks up directly at the swaying drone, incredulity etched on her face.

"Well, yeah. We just need to do some fine tuning on the punching strength but for the first test it went pretty well."

"Congratulations, you've reached levels of stupidity I never thought possible while at the same time still outclassing any plan 156 has put up so far. Bittersweet, really."

"Seriously, high score in assholery incoming, 387."

"Woooo!" cheer the drones, "High score! High score!"

"Don't encourage him..." 156 sighs.

"You know... I feel a lot better all of a sudden," 387 cracks his neck and stretches, "Anyone else wants to give the bark a shot? Punching that moron was pretty therapeutic."

"Sure, but later," 36658 nods, clearly considering the situation a perfectly valid quid pro quo, "I think I've had enough for now."

57999 hesitantly raises its foreleg.

"I'd like to try but with a bit less punch-"

"No!" 156's eye twitches, "Go... go hug a bush or something."

"Woohoo!" the majority of the drones sprint out of the clearing and disappear into the forest.

"Excellent job, oh great leader," 387 facehoofs, "How many do you think will return?"

"I'm sure a clever warrior like you can wrangle nineteen drones. Wait, fifteen. I forgot about 47989 and the three Silents."

47989 nibbles absent-mindedly at 387's head fin and the three motionless drones 157 mentioned don't react whatsoever, sitting still. To her surprise, 387 lets the comment go for once, instead giving the Silents a worried look.

"What are they, anyway?" he asks, "Everything about them just keeps rubbing me the wrong way."

"Oh right, you warriors weren't involved in the queen's project," replies 156, choosing her next words carefully not to upset the already fragile loyalty inside the group of survivors, "If I told you not to worry about them, would it be enough?"