Veronique smiled gently at the two cockroaches. "Well, if you two are having fun, I have a job to do here, one which someone else should have been doing". She gave Rosa a playfully disapproving look. "So if you don't mind, I'm going to need you somewhere else so I don't accidentally step on you". Veronique lowered her hands to floor and held them out in front of the cockroaches. "I just need you out of the room for about 15 minutes, that'll be enough to get it clean".
Gloria glanced at Rosa. The male cockroach had already skittered onto Veronique's hands, so Gloria quickly followed suit. It was weird walking with six legs - her cockroach body did it automatically for her, but every time she stopped to think about leg order she got confused. Rosa tapped Gloria's antennae reassuringly. *Buckle up, the adventure's just starting*, he said.
Adventure? What adv- WHOA! Gloria had to restrain herself from scuttling in circles as Veronique's hands rose off the floor, bringing the two roaches up high into the air. Gloria inched as close to Veronique's palm as she dared. It was so high up... She knew that, at her size, a fall from here would mean nothing, but it was still terrifying. She didn't have time to think about it because next thing she knew, she was sinking down to the floor at a dizzying rate. Veronique had lowered her hands to the floor and, before Gloria could get her bearings again, she found herself jumping off along with Rosa onto the floor of the corridor between rooms.
"Alright, you two take care of yourselves", boomed Veronique from a distance as she stood up again. "I'll be done in 15-20 minutes, and you can just scuttle back in under the door. The doors have high ground clearance for a reason, you know. Have fun~!" With that Veronique went back into Gloria's room and closed the door behind her.
*That was... something*, said Gloria, cleaning herself instinctively. She was impressed at how much of the roach's instincts were coming through, and the tidiness of the little insect was a pleasant surprise.
*We're just getting started. Follow me*. With that, Rosa zoomed off. Okay, second big surprise - cockroaches are FAST. Gloria barely registered Rosa's departure when her own legs kicked into overdrive and sent her running after the other cockroach, moving so quickly everything around her turned into a blur. Then suddenly Rosa stopped, and Gloria stopped on a dime right next to him. *See what I see?* he tapped out.
*It looks like... heaven.* It was a fragment of frosted doughnut. It was enormous. It looked like the Holy Grail. Gloria and Rosa immediately tucked into it. To Gloria's surprise she could taste it before it even entered her mouth. Once in it didn't have any taste anymore, but just digging into it was blissful. After munching through their sweet treat, the two roaches backed off and started cleaning themselves again.
*That was amazing*, said Gloria. *I could taste it just by coming close to it*.
*You have taste hairs around your mouth*, said Rosa matter-of-factly. *You can taste things without eating them. That's how roaches avoid dangerous things like poison.*
*Huh. Surprise number 3 I guess.*
*What?*
*Nothing, thinking to myself. How come there's food just lying out here?* said Gloria as she pulled an antenna through her mandibles. To her it felt like she was wringing her hair out after a nice bath.
*We leave them there for the guests. We scatter all sorts of treats in the Animal Wing corridors so that transformed guests always have something to snack on. Veronique will probably be doing that too after she's done.*
*I'd almost forgotten about her. Are we going back?*
*Are you kidding?* Rosa waved his forelegs and antennae dramatically. *You're about to find out one of the perks of being this small. You get to sneak into other guests' rooms. You can have all sorts of fun!*
There was a pause as Gloria thought the idea over. *You've done this before haven't you.*
*Are you kidding? Most of the guests I've met who turned into insects wanted to spy on their fellow guests. Be flies on the wall. So to speak.*
*Haha.* Gloria scuttled in a circle with excitement. *And we can just go anywhere we want? Slide under any door?*
*The tram has compartments for smaller-than-usual passengers too. We can go anywhere in the resort, so long as we keep out of people's feet.*
*Hmm... wonder where we should explore.*