Yes. We’re anthropomorphized critters, so get over it already. There are things that are just not-that-worth fussing over, and this happens to be one of those. In the cramped quarters between what you know, what we know, and what — dammit — just might not be knowable, there is a little room for flexibility on everyone’s part.

Major Players

Telo

Telo, the main character and primary protagonist of the story is a four-armed ant-like critter who’s set off seeking adventure and a little distance from the cramped quarters of his destiny back home where his fate and (lack of) fortune were long since determined before he was ever born.

As the so-called narrator of this here existential endeavor, Telo’s collected his thoughts on a variety of metaphysical ponderings and has been musing through a little — did I say little? I should say, a rather extensive — adventure, lost here in this mess of wilderness that lies beyond home, what they called the Valley of the Processors, or something as equally romantic as all that. He’s an ant. Woulda, coulda, shoulda been a social bug. An innocent and naive kind of bug. But he was sick of the stories and fables and the ranting traditions of whateverness, and generally not knowing what to make of the vague answers to his bothersome questions about things beyond home. Thus, he decided to leave. Grim followed. And they set off. What more can I tell, really?

Grim

Grim is a slug. And a quiet one at that. He’s got some endearing qualities (and possibly a good heart) but he’s got into the poor habit of taking poor advice from otherwise well-meaning pals, though one might warn that, as is said: “still currents charge deep.”

Now one might be so inclined to ask just why, back in this romantic village where Telo and Grim call home there might be ants and slugs living in perceptual harmony. Ants and slugs don’t get along, one might suggest. And if one happened to suggest such a incongruity in the story, one might nearly be correct. But back in the Valley of the Processors it is not so much as the ants and the slugs ‘get along’ as it were. Rather, the friction of their coexistence could rather be explored rather extensively in other stories set in a more Shakespearean, Verona-esque modality. Needless to say, that Grim and Telo’s acquaintance is shrouded in a history of social ambiguity and general intolerance. I’d get away from that kind of stigma at the first chance, too.

Stan

Though he might not be worth the bother, the eternally pessimistic and irksome fly has his uses. Grim and Telo don’t so much let him stay, as tolerate his presence, particularly since he joined their ranks as a guide-for-hire — and then, only because Stan was looking for a quick way out of his own tangled dealings back in the slum-like town of Dimmnaut and offered his services on discount.

It should be noted that Stan might not be the most trustworthy of bugs. Such a note does give away a little of the plot, true, but then anytime one acquires a shady companion in a place like Dimmnaut, AND that companion is also most clearly a fly, there is some serious consideration that should be given to the decision-making ability of the bug proposing such a relationship, business or otherwise. There is another relevant saying that applies here: “you get what you pay for…”

Phido

Phido is Stan’s loyal pet aphid, adopted shortly after their departure from the Valley. Phido was found wandering alone and hungry, and Stan tugged him along hoping that the critter might be of some assistance — or at least company — for he and Grim.

For the most part, aphids tend to make poor pets. They are slow. They eat nearly anything they can wrap their proboscis around, edible or otherwise. And being flocking critters, they tend to be quite skittish when left on their own in the company of non-aphid bugs. They also make one helluva mess — if you know what I mean.

Minor Players

Paps

Telo’s father is a pillar of the community-left-behind, and also the source of a lot of legend and stories about the whole of the mezzaverse upon which Telo was weaned. It’s really a love-hate relationship, and given that Telo is only vaguely optimistic of ever returning home… well… there’s some daddy issues there.

Quin

Another ant, leader of the Valley, and only ever vaguely referenced as the domineering authority she is perceived to be by Telo and Grim. Uninterested in much beyond the strict and orderly operation of the colony living in the Valley, Telo equally fears and respects her.