'Cricket' is a female HiveWing dragonet and the main
protagonist of The Hive Queen. She resides in the LeafSilk Kingdom with
her parents Katydid and Malachite. She is currently in a relationship
with Blue and was one of the few HiveWings immune to Queen Wasp's
Othermind|mind control before she was overthrown.

## Description

Cricket has buttercup yellow and orange-gold scales, described as
similar to the color of the sun, that are speckled with black scales
that look like tiny inkblots. She has golden-yellow talons,
golden-orange-black wings, warm, dark brown eyes, and a long neck. She
is slightly smaller than Blue, with small, sharp claws similar to a
leopard's and an open, curious face. She wears octagonal, gold-rimmed
spectacles and a bag tied sideways across her chest. Blue noted that she
smells like books, apples, and cinnamon. Scarab noted that Cricket looks
healthy, and her eyes make Blue think of owls and tree hollows. Her
wings are often kept in beautiful, smooth folds.

## Personality

Cricket wants the world to fit together and make sense, and she is very
fond of nonfiction Literature|novels; she is obsessed with books. She is
often full of questions, and when she feels simultaneous fear and
curiosity, curiosity often wins; Sundew described her as a wide-open
encyclopedia. She is hopeful, rebellious, excitable, curious, impulsive,
stubborn, thoughtful, intelligent, avid, patient, and clever.

Cricket refuses to harm innocent dragons, and wants to know many things
about the world around her, especially when it comes to humans. She
sometimes feels awkward and out of step with others, and finds
conversation to be difficult, as she understands science more than she
understands emotion. She cannot read facial expressions very well, and
dislikes socializing, although she cares about others.

She is not a fighter, too easily distracted, and is usually the first
dragon to ask questions; additionally, she is often anxious and prefers
planning before acting. She is not very organized.  Despite Sundew's
protests, Cricket was insistent that they help Earwig and several other
HiveWings find their way back to Pantala, reasoning that it was Wasp's
choice to drag them out to sea, not their own. Additionally, she
strongly believes that good HiveWings exist, despite the actions of the
tribe as a whole.

She is prone to being enormously open about her feelings, so much to the
point where she sometimes overshares and spills her worries and fears in
front of dragons she barely knows. She is often frustrated when there
are things barring her from learning about what she wants to know.
However, she becomes so excited that she practically bounces on her
talons whenever she is on the verge of experiencing something new. In
addition, she is often discouraged by how difficult it is to learn new
things. While she is unselfconscious in some scenarios, she immediately apologized and became quieter when Bullfrog implied she
was being noisy. Her talons were gentle as she extricated a violet from
the ground, and she was sympathetic towards the flower after moving it.

## Biography

### The Lost Continent Prophecy

left The Lost Continent

Cricket was first introduced when she helped Blue, a young
SilkWing, by pulling him into a shed that was hidden from the eyes of
the pursuing HiveWings. After being asked by a rather confused and
scared Blue, Cricket admitted that, for an unknown reason, she could not
be mind-controlled by Queen Wasp like the rest of her tribe was.

After escaping through tunnels located under the HiveWing school,
Cricket brought Blue to an empty low-level library, where he began to
feel dizzy. Cricket speculated that the HiveWings had probably injected
him with a barb covered in sleeping toxin within his armband, most
likely implemented to make him easier to capture. After Cricket burned
off Blue's armband with a strand of flamesilk belonging to one of the
library's lamps, he fell into a woozy sleep.

He woke up to Cricket's talons shaking him awake and voices echoing
nearby. Cricket and Blue hid in the tunnels once again while three
mind-controlled HiveWings searched the area; one of them was Cricket's
mother, Katydid, and another was an arrogant dragon named Bombardier,
who falsely believed that Cricket was madly in love with him. After the
HiveWing trio had cleared the library, Cricket and Blue emerged into the
light once more, where Cricket pulled a book off of a high shelf. From
the book, they learned that if a SilkWing had one flamesilk parent, then
they had a fifty percent chance of becoming a flamesilk as well.

Leaving the library, Cricket led Blue through the school — she showed
him her terrarium, where a little tree was growing in the middle. She
explained that she had found its seed on one of her school gathering
trips and that she had not known what it was until it started growing.
Cricket then told Blue that Earthworm|Professor Earthworm, a teacher at
the school, wanted her to uproot it and throw it away. Next, Cricket
took Blue into an art room, where she began to paint him with a mixture
of dull browns, reds, and dark blues to hide his vibrant and
recognizable scales. They bonded a little in a moment where Cricket told
Blue about how Lubber|Principal Lubber scolded her for her chaotic yet
beautiful art. "Cricket, why can't you just draw a normal blue blueberry
like all the other dragonets?" Blue imitated Principal Lubber, making
Cricket laugh, saying: "That's exactly what she sounds like!"

Once they were out of the school, Cricket agreed to help rescue Blue's
friend Swordtail from Cicada Hive#Misbehaver's Way|Misbehaver's Way.
They found him frozen to his pedestal in an angry position, as if he was
trying to fight his way out of being paralyzed, but in vain. Cricket
held a bubbling, green vial under Swordtail's nose to combat the
HiveWing paralysis toxin, but the mixture also turned Swordtail's eyes
and silk green, gave him extra strength, and made him a little loopy.
After Swordtail smashed one of the rule tablets straight through the
Hive's treestuff, Cricket decided it was time to go. Wrapping Blue's
shoulders in a few strands of silk, Swordtail grabbed him and lifted
off. They flew for most of the night, and by dawn, they were almost at
the border of Wasp Hive. Eventually, they stopped and hid in a massive
divot in the ground, flying to the bottom and down a tunnel, where they
discovered a small pool of cold water. At the other end of the pool,
they spotted a small campfire and a tiny, book-reading creature that
resembled a monkey, presumably similar to Pyrrhia's scavengers. After
the monkey creature was scared away by Cricket's voice, they lost
interest, and Swordtail passed out near the fire, leaving Blue to take
the first watch while Cricket slept. When night fell again, Swordtail
tried to lift Blue but failed because the stimulant had worn off and
there was none left. Cricket eventually came up with the idea for Blue
to climb up the chasm with Swordtail's silk wrapped around him in case
he slipped and fell. Near the top of the divot, Cricket and Blue
eventually found a small cave, where they curled up together and Blue
got some much-needed rest while Swordtail returned to the bottom of the
divot. After the HiveWing parties had stopped searching near the hole,
Swordtail flew on ahead while Cricket and Blue crawled through the
savanna's tall grass.

When they finally crept into Wasp Hive, they hid in one of the queen's
greenhouses. Unexpectedly, they were soon captured by three strange
dragons, who terrifyingly, turned out to be LeafWings, the supposedly
cruel and deadly enemies of the HiveWings. The LeafWings introduced
themselves as Sundew, Belladonna, and Hemlock. They explained that if
Cricket, Blue, and Swordtail wanted to live, they would steal the Book
of Clearsight and return it to them. Cricket's impulse was to leave once
the LeafWings had let them go, but Belladonna sent Sundew with them to
ensure the job got done. Disguising Sundew as a SilkWing, Hemlock rubbed
flower juice on her scales to add more color. Belladonna also tied two
makeshift wings made of leaves to Sundew's back, instructing her to keep
her real ones folded to make them appear more realistic. While Swordtail
stayed with Belladonna and Hemlock, Cricket, Blue, and Sundew went out
into the Hive to finish their task. Sundew gave Cricket a large flower,
instructing her not to crush any part of it until she was close enough
to the guards. Cricket held it under the noses of the two HiveWings
guarding the entrance to Wasp Hive, leaving them unconscious but alive.
Entering through two heavy wooden doors, they walked down a series of
hallways until they were standing at the foot of the Temple.

Once inside, Blue and Sundew acted as Cricket's servants until Sundew
got close enough to the guards to paralyze them. In the final room,
Sundew was confronted by a dark voice, which turned out to be the
Librarian's. After she ripped off her dark veil, Cricket realized the
HiveWing's eyes were fully white — the unmistakable symbol of the
queen's mind control. Sundew attacked the Librarian from her side, and
the two fought while Blue picked up the bookcase key the Librarian had
dropped and unlocked the container to steal the Book. After Sundew had
broken the Librarian's arm, she speculated that enough pain would make
the queen desert the HiveWing's mind for a while, because the queen felt
everything that a dragon felt when she mind-controlled them. Sundew then
directed Cricket to open a jar and shake a pair of bullet ants onto the
Librarian's scales. After they bit her, the queen abandoned her control,
and the Librarian's mind was her own for the first time in years.
However, hundreds of brainwashed HiveWings were now surrounding the
Temple with the intent to kill Cricket and Sundew and imprison Blue. The
Librarian attempted to help them escape, but Wasp invaded her mind
again, causing her to turn against her new companions. Cricket and
Sundew were unable to help Blue as he fell into the waiting talons of
the HiveWings and fled once Blue had thrown the Book of Clearsight into
Cricket's talons.

After a few days trapped in the flamesilk factory, Blue felt talons
brush him through a hole in the building's wall. These were Cricket's
talons, and she appeared, accompanied by Sundew and Swordtail. After
grabbing Luna — who had emerged from her cocoon — and trying to convince
his father, Admiral, to go with them, Blue attempted to leave. However,
Admiral refused to escape and tried to alert the watching HiveWing
guards. Fortunately, Danaid, another of the imprisoned flamesilks,
helped them by starting an argument that covered the noise of Admiral's
warning. Knocking down the loose stones around the hole, Blue and Luna
escaped with Cricket and the others down a series of tunnels. These led
to another set of tunnels, built by the LeafWings, and took them all the
way to the sea. When they emerged and saw the ocean, Cricket was
ecstatic and began to express a hope at finding the Distant Kingdoms
(the Pantalan name for Pyrrhia). Afterward, she showed the others what
was written in the Book of Clearsight, including the fact that the last
vision recorded took place over a thousand years before, proving that
Queen Wasp lied to everyone.

Luna and Swordtail then decided to go for a flight, and Cricket stayed
with Blue, discussing his metamorphosis and assuring him that it will be
fine. Meanwhile, Luna and Swordtail were discovered by some HiveWing
soldiers, and a fight started. As Sundew rushed to help, Cricket was
left with Blue, who was about to start his metamorphosis. She guided him
to a cave she found to hide in while he changed and stayed with him
while he began to spin his cocoon, promising him that she would be right
there "the whole time" and would be next to him when he woke up, which
she did.

Left
The Hive Queen
Cricket stood in the
cave next to Blue in his cocoon, thinking about books and what her life
was like before she met Blue. Sundew then entered the cave, dragging
Swordtail with her. Cricket recalled Sundew's bravery and ferocity,
along with the fact that she had insisted that they rescued Blue and
Luna. She wondered if this was a form of kindness Sundew had hidden deep
in her soul.

Cricket revived Swordtail with a plant Sundew gave her, and Swordtail
immediately asked where Luna was. Both Cricket and Sundew had no idea,
and they all seemed to wish she was there with them. When Swordtail
noticed that Blue was a flamesilk, Sundew noted that Blue would be
useful to burn down the Hives. Swordtail seemed to like the idea, but
Cricket was firmly against this, and she knew Blue would be as well.
Cricket argued that even HiveWings could be on their side, but none of
them seemed to agree with this idea. Swordtail then revealed the
Chrysalis, a secret organization of SilkWings who fought for freedom.

Cricket insisted on finding information before jumping into action, so
they flew toward Jewel Hive to find out more about the Chrysalis and
Queen Wasp's hive mind. First, however, they visited the Glitterbazaar
to disguise themselves, making it easier to get into the Hive. They met
up with three members of the Chrysalis, but they did not seem to know
much about taking down Queen Wasp quite like Sundew, Cricket, and
Swordtail had hoped. But they did learn about how there was said to be a
place full of dragons in Tsetse Hive that were immune to Wasp's mind
control.

However, Cricket met up with her sister, Katydid, who questioned her
about her theft of the Book of Clearsight. Katydid did not seem to
follow what she was saying, though she did reveal that she was in fact
not Cricket's sister, and Scarab later said that her father was a
HiveWing named Malachite, who, according to Lady Scarab, was "brilliant,
talented, made excellent coffee, full of exciting ideas." Queen Wasp
found out that Scarab was fond of him, so she had him "promoted" to work
at her Hive, and he was probably forever condemned to her mind control.
Scarab explained that she attempts to pretend she does not care so that
one day Malachite would be free from the mind control. After Malachite's
disappearance, Katydid crept Cricket's egg into the hatchery with a
forged identity as Katydid's sister. Cricket also gets many answers on
why her "mother", Cadelle (who was her grandmother) hated her, and why
Katydid was the one who always took care of her.

Cricket, Sundew, and Swordtail borrowed one of Lady Scarab's
paintbrushes to create posters about Wasp and how she was lying to
everyone. A lot of dragons seemed intrigued, and some of them seemed to
believe the posters, but in the middle of her attempt, Cricket got
caught by HiveWing guards. She was paralyzed, unable to say another word
against the queen. The guards put her into a prison cell, where Lady Scarab and Jewel (THQ)|Lady Jewel found her. Jewel confirmed the theory
that she is immune to Wasp's mind control, but once saw Wasp make other
dragons submit to her control. Lady Jewel and Lady Scarab were fighting
a lot, but it was revealed that the purpose Lady Jewel has a library is
because of Queen Wasp's terrible school curriculum. Cricket heard that
Queen Wasp was going into the hatchery that night, and Cricket decided
to follow her to find the truth about her mind control.

Cricket escaped from the cell by utilizing the flamesilk and burning a
hole in the ceiling. Tau and Cinnabar help her escape (members of the
Chrysalis she had met in the library). It is uncovered that Tau has a
crush on a HiveWing who is Lady Jewel's treasurer, and by distracting
him, Cinnabar helped Cricket escape moments before Queen Wasp arrived.
After that, she crept into the hatchery and noticed an orphaned egg she
sympathized with, and took it with her as she hid in the rafters. She
watched as Queen Wasp entered and proceeded to stab each egg with her
tail stinger, marking each egg afterward. When Queen Wasp left, Cricket
took the egg with her and rendezvoused with Blue, Swordtail, and Sundew.
She camped with them outside Jewel Hive and in the morning, the egg
hatched to a female dragonet, who Cricket named Bumblebee. On the shell
of the egg was an odorous green substance that Sundew said belonged to a
plant in the greenhouse where she and Cricket first met — Queen Wasp's
private greenhouse. They decided to go burn the greenhouse down, but as
they did, they noticed Bloodworm Hive burning as well. Cricket convinced
the others that the HiveWings were too busy with the destruction to
worry about the greenhouse, so Blue used his flamesilk to burn it down.
Once the greenhouse was burning, Blue, Swordtail, and Cricket left with
Sundew to go to the Poison Jungle, home of the LeafWings.

left The Poison Jungle

Cricket had arrived along with Blue, Swordtail, Bumblebee,
and Sundew at the Poison Jungle, where Sundew takes them to the
PoisonWing village. On the way there, Cricket encounters many of the
dangerous plants, and witnesses Sundew's leafspeak as she tries to stop
a fire caused by Blue's flamesilk when he tried to save Swordtail from a
dragon-trap. Cricket was said to be the only one who realized what
Sundew was doing.

She also discovered that Mandrake, son of Wolfsbane and brother of
Nettle, was Sundew's "one true love." When Cricket arrived at the
village, she was defined as Sundew's 'prisoner' as someone with
information about Queen Wasp's mind control.

Soon, Cricket met Queen Sequoia in the SapWing village and was sent on a
mission with Sundew, Willow, Mandrake, Nettle, and Bumblebee to find
Hawthorn, the LeafWing that guarded the mind-control plant. After saving
Sundew from being a plant's lunch they arrived at the Den of Vipers,
which was full of very still dragonbite vipers. Then the group met
Hawthorn, who invited them for tea at his little hut. Then they found
out that Hawthorn discovered the "breath of evil" vine and had been
experimenting on the snakes. Then he told them that he had given the
vine to Queen Wasp at a peace summit and had slipped it in her food, but
he had the cure that could save the HiveWings and Katydid. They tested
it out on a HiveWing named Inchworm, and it seemingly worked. She then
left the Eye of the jungle to check on Blue.

Sundew later found the "antidote" was the breath of evil itself, and
Hawthorn, possessed by the plant, tried to use his leafspeak to strangle
Cricket to death. Sundew fought him with her leafspeak, and Willow ended
up killing him with a giant thorn, freeing Cricket.

Cricket was later seen in the throne room, preparing for the journey to
Pyrrhia with the free LeafWings and SilkWings.

left
The Dangerous Gift
Swordtail
mentioned Cricket a few times in the prologue, hoping that she and the
other dragons who were not near the fire escaped before the breath of
evil got them.

In the Ice Kingdom, she came over to calm Bumblebee down after Bumblebee
started to cry. Cricket saw Snowfall and wondered if Snowfall was made
of ice.

Cricket was among the dragons flying to Sanctuary along with the other
Pantalan tribes. She appeared interested in many features of Pyrrhia,
like the scavengers and animus magic. Snowfall found her annoying and
nosy. When Snowfall fainted from her vision of Blue, Cricket arrived as
one of the dragons watching her when she woke up. Cricket stuttered that
Snowfall's expression was weirdly familiar, referring to Blue. She
examined Snowfall's jewelry and said that Blue would have loved the
interesting magic, until Snowfall boldly told her the events of the
vision. Cricket cried and was extremely concerned for Blue's condition,
and Lynx stomped on Snowfall's tail to prevent her from hurting
Cricket's feelings any more. Cricket responded that it is okay and she
needed to know the truth anyways.

Cricket was later shown to be one of the eleven chosen representatives
flying to Pantala.

left
The Flames of Hope
Cricket is first
seen with Tsunami, after having tried to contact Blue with a
dreamvisitor, but could not due to him having a nightmare. When the
stealth team were attacked by a group of mind-controlled HiveWings,
Cricket, Luna, Sundew, Bullfrog, Lynx, Sky and Wren all stayed hidden
with the IceWing gifts|gift of stealth. After Moonwatcher, Qibli,
Tsunami, and Pineapple were all taken back to the Hives, the remaining
stealth team decided to create two groups. Sundew and Lynx went off to
save their friends while Luna, Cricket, Bullfrog, Sky and Wren waited
for them on Pantala. Before they left, Cricket had an argument with
Sundew about whether or not they should give the unconscious HiveWings
part of the map to return home with. They ultimately decided to make a
copy of the map which led back to Pantala with Earwig. While Luna's
group waited for Sundew's group to arrive, Luna and Cricket talked about
their feelings. Soon after, Wren calls the stealth team together to show
them a burnt out matchstick she found in the caverns. Later in the
cavern, they spot their first Pantalan human, Axolotl, who was trying to
read a dragon book. Cricket was astounded by the sight of the human.
When they visited Axolotl in secret for the third time, the gift of
stealth had turned them all visible again. Axolotl got scared and tried
to flee before they got trapped under Bullfrog's talons. After Wren asks
him to let go of them, they are able to have a chat with Wren. Cricket
was very eager to know what Axolotl was saying. After four days of
waiting, Luna's group decided to go look for the abyss. Cricket and Luna
formulated a plan for Sundew and the others to know where to look for
them. Axolotl brought Ocelot, another human, as a backup to make sure
that Sundew and the others get the message. They all head down into the
cavern.

On their way to the cavern, Luna and Cricket had a conversation about
the dragon book that Axolotl was trying to read. It contained
information from all the way to the Scorching. Luna and Cricket had
never heard about the Scorching and Bullfrog joined into the
conversation to explain what the Scorching was, though quite hesitantly.
Luna and Cricket continued to joke around as they headed on their way to
the abyss. Suddenly, a LeafWing emerged from the tunnels and pinned
Cricket down to the ground. After confirming to the LeafWing that they
were on the same side and friends with Sundew, the LeafWing, who turned
out to be Pokeweed, offered to lead them towards the SilkWing refugee
camp. After they arrived at the SilkWing refugee camp, Cricket greeted
and embraced Tau, who was equally as happy to see her and defended her
against the hostility of the other SilkWings. She later explained,
alongside Luna, the story of what had happened in the Poison Jungle and
the Distant Kingdoms to Hemlock, Grayling, Tau, Bryony and Lady Jewel.
She, along with Tau, Bryony, Luna, Dusky, Sky and the humans, ventured
towards the human colony near the abyss the next day. After a human had
suddenly bolted out of a crack in the wall, the team hesitated on
whether or not they wanted to follow the human. Cricket suggested that
they should at least inspect what was on the other side, before waiting
for the rest of the stealth team to arrive. Luna offered to go with her,
leaving the others behind. As Luna and Cricket trekked on, they
discovered murals on the sides of the wall, which depicted scenes of the
Scorching. After Vole had kidnapped Dusky and brought him to the abyss,
Luna chased after him where she was captured by Cottonmouth. Cricket and
Bryony ran after Luna and tried to call her from the other side of the
throne room she was trapped in. Cottonmouth possessed Luna for a second,
using her voice to trick Cricket into searching for Sundew and
ultimately falling into Cottonmouth's trap.

While Luna was still in the Mindspace, Cricket and Bullfrog were seen at
Lake Scorpion being dragged down by several mind-controlled LeafWings
and HiveWings. Pineapple revealed himself to them and Cricket gasped,
realizing that Pineapple had fallen under the control of the othermind.
Sundew and the rest of the team suddenly appeared and a fight then
ensued between the stealth team and the mind-controlled dragons. During
this, Cricket had been injected with the breath of evil and was briefly
under the othermind's control. After Luna managed to destroy the
othermind and free everyone from its control, Luna had a happy reunion
with Cricket. They all then headed to Cicada Hive to greet Swordtail and
the rest of Luna's family. There Luna introduced Cricket to Luna's moms,
who were initially hesitant on Cricket, before eventually accepting her
as a member of their family.

In the epilogue, Cricket had gone to live in the LeafSilk Kingdom with
her two parents. She discussed plans on writing stories about the
Scorching and Freedom's and Cottonmouth's history. Cricket was letting
Axolotl stay with her for a while, to help them continue to study
Dragon.

-----

### Field Guides

left
A Guide to the Dragon World
Cricket
was featured in the guide at the beginning of the Pantala section where
she wrote a letter to Starflight about including material from Pantala
in the guide and including Pantalan students at Jade Mountain Academy in
the future.

In the HiveWing chapter, she wrote about the HiveWing curriculum and
provided a list of potential HiveWing abilities to Willow. She later
wrote an introductory note to Starflight about the Book of Clearsight.

In the LeafWing chapter of the guide, Cricket wrote Surviving in the
Poison Jungle using information provided to her by Hazel.

## Relationships

### Axolotl

Cricket helped Axolotl learn the language of Dragon by looking at their
book with them each night, and Luna thought that Cricket might almost be
a dragon version of Axolotl. They also stayed with Cricket for a while
after the team had defeated the breath of evil in order to continue
studying Dragon.

### Blue

Even after escaping Cicada Hive and becoming a fugitive with Blue,
Cricket knew that she had no regrets about what she had done. She is
instinctively protective of him, and trusts him to always do the right
thing. She thinks he is beautiful, and is fond of his kindness, sense of
humor, thoughtfulness, and empathy. She adores him, and they are quite
affectionate towards one another. He is a great source of comfort for
her, and does not push her to talk about her problems.

Blue's smile takes up a lot of space in her heart, and while she cares
for him romantically, she is unsure if he feels the same, and chastises
herself for feeling so affectionate towards him. She likes to laugh and
talk with him, and wishes she could tell their society that she thinks
he is wonderful, important, interesting, and valuable. He understands
Cricket, and wants to go with her wherever she goes. She would choose
Blue over the HiveWings and even over her family in a heartbeat, and
once stated that he is her favorite dragon in all the world.

Before meeting him, Cricket did not know that dragons like Blue existed,
and she had to constantly try not to cry when he was captured by Wasp.
She described the feeling of him being gone as having her wings cut off.
Despite her emotions, Cricket was determined to keep going and to not
let anything else terrible happen to him. Luna speculated that Blue
might have found his someone with Cricket, and later realized that
Cricket had left behind her entire tribe and risked her biggest secret
to help Blue when she had barely known him. They give one another little
starry-eyed nudges.

### Bombardier

Bombardier believed Cricket had a crush on him, making comments such as
"Cricket, I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way." Cricket never had
any romantic feelings for him, and she describes him as awful, arrogant,
smug, and the opposite of Blue. She also comments that there is not much
difference between his normal self and his "brain-dead," mind-controlled
self.

Cricket does say that if she had the power to save the HiveWings from
Queen Wasp's mind control, she would save Bombardier, but perhaps last,
after all the others, demonstrating her hate for him. The first time she
saw the HiveWings being mind-controlled, while she wondered why they
were acting strange, and she thought maybe it was because she was too
young. She soon realized that it could not be that since Bombardier was
her age and was being mind-controlled too.

### Bullfrog

Bullfrog implied that Cricket was being noisy whilst thinking, to which
she apologized and became quieter. When she excitedly asked about his
knowledge of the Scorching, he replied "not much," but after he sensed
Cricket's disapproval, he explained it further. When she continued to
ask him questions, he stated that he was not her walking history book
and hurried away from her. He was, however, willing to protect her from
Pokeweed.

### Bumblebee

Bumblebee hatched from the egg Cricket rescued from Queen Wasp's poisons
in the hatchery, so she and Bumblebee have a naturally close
relationship. Cricket is almost like an adoptive mother towards
Bumblebee. Bumblebee adores Cricket, and it seems like Bumblebee has
slightly imprinted on Cricket, as she was the first dragon she had met.
Cricket feels responsible for Bumblebee. She currently does not know if
Bumblebee is immune to Queen Wasp's mind control but Cricket infers that
Bumblebee cannot be controlled by Queen Wasp. She hugged Cricket's leg
after the team had defeated the breath of evil, and her wings vibrated
happily.

### Cadelle

Cadelle is often annoyed with Cricket. When she still lived with Cricket
and Katydid, Cadelle would force them to be completely silent until
noon, when she was finished working. Cadelle often did not seem to pay
much attention or care to where Cricket was or if she was safe, and
largely ignored her. When Cricket thinks about Cadelle, she feels a
familiar twist like thorns around her heart. Cadelle does not want to
interact with her, and considers Cricket to be useless and irritating,
despite Cricket wanting Cadelle to love and care about her. She once
cried herself to sleep, wondering why Cadelle had taken Katydid to
dinner and left Cricket behind. Cadelle would often remark that Cricket
was 'no daughter of mine,' and according to Scarab, Cadelle wanted to
destroy Cricket's egg as soon as she discovered that Katydid had a
daughter. After discovering that Cadelle and her husband were not her
true parents, Cricket understood that because her own existence was
against Pantalan law, and because she represented Katydid's lie, that
Cadelle must have only seen danger, crime, disorder, and lies that could
ruin her life every time she looked at Cricket. Cadelle was surprised
when Cricket argued with her, as she was usually compliant and had never
tried to push Cadelle away.

### Dusky

Cricket offered one of her talons to Dusky when he was scared, and he
touched his nose to it. Cricket told him that it was all right to be
scared, and that he could always talk to her or Luna whenever he felt
that way.

### Jewel

Jewel and Cricket met briefly when Cricket was captured by HiveWings
under Wasp's control. Jewel freed Cricket from her prison, in exchange
for spying on Wasp. Jewel most likely found out what Wasp was doing with
the eggs from Tau and tried to stop Wasp. Scarab also believed that
Jewel would protect Cricket and Katydid from Wasp.

### Katydid

Katydid is Cricket's mother and they tell each other almost everything,
and she is Cricket's primary caregiver. She made sure Cricket was fed
and was brought to school on time, and who took her to an eye doctor for
glasses. She was the only dragon that Cricket loved before she escaped
Cicada Hive with Blue. Katydid is kind to her, and Cricket's heart
lights up when they see one another. They are very physically
affectionate, and Katydid kept Cricket's secret immunity to the Hivemind
a secret for four years to keep her safe. She missed her mother
desperately after escaping Cicada Hive, and Katydid simultaneously
worried about her daughter while she was missing. Katydid is often
exasperated with Cricket's curiosity, as she wants Cricket to be safe.

### Luna

When Tsunami explained that Cricket had been the first one to use the
dreamvisitor, she felt mutinous and thought of Cricket as one of the bad
guys. Her tone was sharp when Luna realized that Cricket had talked to
Blue via the dreamvisitor; she felt protective over Blue and felt that
she should be the one worrying over him. Whilst flying towards Pantala,
Cricket seemed as though she wanted to talk to Luna, but she would
always find a reason to fly with someone else instead. Later, when
Cricket approached Luna, she considered staying quiet so that she would
not have to muster the energy to have a conversation with Cricket, and,
more specifically, to pretend that she trusted her; she also felt bitter
about the fact that Cricket was safe while Blue and Swordtail were in
danger. However, after remembering the way Blue looked at her, Luna
could not bring herself to hurt Cricket's feelings. She was reluctant to
admit that Cricket's emotions about being invisible matched Luna's own,
but Cricket then admitted that Luna felt the most real to her. Luna
admitted to herself that Cricket's voice was easier to talk to than
Cricket's HiveWing face, but it was still not exactly comforting.
Cricket laughed at one of Luna's jokes, and they then began to converse
more normally. Cricket wants to be on Luna's side, and despite Luna
knowing that Cricket never did anything to help the SilkWings before
meeting Blue, she admitted to herself that Cricket is only a dragonet,
and that perhaps this had been her first chance; Luna speculated that
maybe Cricket, like herself, wanted to change things but did not know
how. After Cricket told Luna openly about the way she felt about Blue,
Luna wanted to erase the conversation so that they could act normal and
deny the fact that they were distressed; she felt enormous relief when a
noise distracted them from their conversation. Her instinctual reaction
upon seeing Cricket is fear and dislike because of her tribe, but
Cricket startled her into laughing, and they then bonded over their
feelings towards the HiveWings and the breath of evil; Cricket's
thoughts were so similar to one of Luna's own that she reaches out and
grabbed Cricket's arm. Cricket is concerned for Luna's well-being, and
hid a smile after one of Cricket's jokes, admitting to herself that she
saw what Blue liked about Cricket after all. After speaking with her,
Luna felt her sadness clearing, as though little cracks of sunlit hope
were pushing through her brain. She later realized that, somewhere along
the way, Cricket had become her own individual dragon in Luna's mind,
and not a representation of her entire cruel tribe; Luna had not thought
anything angrily towards Cricket in a while. She believes in Cricket
fully and trusted her to rescue Luna from the abyss. When they saw one
another again after Luna escaped the abyss, Cricket threw her wings
around Luna, and Luna hugged her back, smiling. She took Cricket's talon
in hers before telling her mothers that Cricket was part of their family
now.

### Malachite

Malachite patted Cricket's head tentatively, like he was still figuring
out the gestures that went with the idea of being a father. They are
both authors, and Cricket lit up at the prospect of writing with him.

### Scarab

Scarab first comes up in a conversation between Blue and Cricket. She
turns out to be deeply woven into Cricket's history. In The Hive Queen,
it is revealed that Scarab helped cover for Cricket's egg. Scarab often
scolds Cricket, but it is unlikely that she actually has ill will toward
her. In The Hive Queen, she tells Cricket useful information, discussing
the HiveWing bloodline and reasons why they both were immune to Wasp's
mind control.

### Sundew

Cricket worries about Sundew when she is in danger, and is fond of her.
Sundew did not hesitate to fight several HiveWing guards in order to
protect Cricket and her friends, and they often laugh and smile with one
another. She liked how Sundew stood up for herself, despite her parents'
disapproval, which was something that she had never seen with the other
HiveWings. Cricket wished she was more like Sundew, whom she believed
was a dragon who already knew the answers to all her questions. Sundew
believes that Cricket is quite unlike the rest of the HiveWing tribe and
is fond of her for it.

### Swordtail

Swordtail makes Cricket slightly nervous, and she believed that he was
not very fond of her after meeting him. However, after Swordtail
expressed that she was one of the few good HiveWings, she began to
believe he did not completely hate her after all. He was relieved to see
her after she escaped from Lady Jewel's prison.

### Tau

Tau was one of the members of the Jewel Hive Chrysalis, during her
meeting with Morpho and Cinnabar, Cricket went on a mission to find the
Chrysalis. When they found their meeting spot, Tau tried to hide her
face. But when in further interactions, Tau became more friendly to
Cricket.

## Quotes

Really? Why don't you know your father? Is that normal for
SilkWings? Don't you live with your parents? Or, I'm sorry, is that a
question I'm not supposed to ask? I ask a lot of questions I'm not
supposed to ask, apparently, according to most of my teachers — also my
parents — actually, according to pretty much every grown-up HiveWing.
Too many questions, Cricket! Don't you know what happens to nosy little
HiveWings? They lose those noses! Which is silly; I've never seen a
dragonet without a nose and I'm sure I can't be the first one with this
many questions. What's your name? Oh, that's another question. Sorry.
I'm Cricket.
to Blue, upon meeting him
The Lost Continent
67

-----

Let's think. Flamesilk orders go out all the time because each
thread only burns for about one cycle of the smallest moon before it
fades. Which means someone has to get the flamesilk from the dragons
producing it, to fill the orders. So whose job is it? And someone must
keep them fed and taken care of … And of course, Queen Wasp knows. So
there must be a way to trace the flamesilk back to wherever the dragons
are. This is a solvable mystery.
to Blue, about where all the
flamesilks are The Lost Continent

90

-----

I usually think of rules as things that get in the way of all
the stuff I really want to know. I mean, how can don't ask questions
ever be a good rule? Or only borrow one book at a time from the library.
That's just ludicrous. No one ever sensibly explains rules like that.
But don't hurt other dragons — that's a rule I think everyone believes
in, right? So … I guess I believe in some rules, and I think rules, in
general, can be useful, but I also think it's all right to stop and
question some of the rules sometimes, if they feel wrong to you.

to Blue The Lost Continent

97

-----

What if I'm not the only one who's different? Or what about the
littlest dragonets? It's been so long since the Tree Wars. So many
HiveWings weren't even alive back then. Or what about the ones who
refused to fight? There were protestors, I know there were; I read about
them. There were HiveWings who tried to say no to Queen Wasp. There were
some who wanted to help the LeafWings and save the trees. What about
them?
to Sundew, about the Tree Wars
The Hive Queen

35

-----

I know. But I have to do something. It's no use knowing the
truth if everyone else still believes the lies. My tribe needs to know
that Queen Wasp is lying to them. Maybe I can't set them free from the
mind control yet, but knowing the truth about the book … I think knowing
the truth is the first step towards their freedom. I hope.
to
Sundew and Swordtail
The Hive Queen
200

-----

I know. But you can understand what I'm feeling, right? You can
imagine how important this is to me and … and how important you are to
me.
to Blue, after he tells Cricket he doesn't want to leave
her
The Hive Queen
203

-----

I am a scientist. [...] Sometimes risks are
nessesary.
Cricket, about keeping Bumblebee
The Hive
Queen
254

-----

Oh my gosh. Oh ― oh my gosh. Do you see that? What is
happening? Who is that? Why is she amazing and blue and look at her
wings are those webbed talons? Are they for swimming? Is she a water
dragon? What is she and where did she come from and OH MY GOSH SHE'S
FROM THE DISTANT KINGDOMS ISN'T SHE?
to Sundew, upon seeing
Tsunami The Poison Jungle
133

-----

I mean, can yours read? Or are they more like regular monkeys?
The one I saw was holding something that looked just like a book, can
you imagine? Monkeys who can read must also be able to write, don't you
think? Don't you wonder what they'd write about? Monkey stories! Can
you think of anything more fascinating?
to Snowfall, about
humans
The Dangerous Gift
234

-----

Isn't it weird being invisible for this long? When it's quiet,
I have these moments where I suddenly feel all alone, as though everyone
else is gone and I'm a ghost floating around with nobody. Sometimes, I
close my eyes and try to focus on what I can feel. Like, my claws feel
wet sand shifting around them. My wings lift in the wind from the sea.
I'm still here, I really exist, I'm in this dragon body in this world.
Does that make sense?
to Luna
The Flames of Hope

65-66

-----

You're right. I mean, I know exactly how you feel, Luna. I
didn't think I'd have to do any decision making or fighting while we had
Sundew and Tsunami and Moon with us. I wouldn't send me to save the
world. We have no idea what we're going to find down there, and it's
completely terrifying.
to Luna
The Flames of Hope

98

-----

It's all right to be scared, too. Everyone gets scared
sometimes. Or sad, or worried. That thing scared me, too, Dusky. You can
always talk to one of us about it, whenever you feel that way.
to Dusky
The Flames of Hope
138

-----

Yes, they should, but that's what I'm here for. I'll do that
for you, Luna. I feel like that's my responsibility, and something I can
do. I'll make sure dragons know the truth, and that we record history in
our books the way it really was — about Cottonmouth and the Scorching,
about the real Book of Clearsight, and about what humans are like now.

to Luna
The Flames of Hope
327

## Trivia

  - Cricket is featured on the Barnes and Noble exclusive version of The
    Lost Continent.
      - Cricket's depiction on The Hive Queen cover was more accurate
        than her depiction on the Barnes and Noble The Lost Continent
        cover, due to Joy Ang having more time to add detail to her.
  - According to Blue, Cricket's breath smells of apples.
  - Though trees no longer are widespread on Pantala, Cricket somehow
    managed to grow a small tree in her terrarium in her botany class,
    having found the seed on a gathering trip, and not having known what
    it was until it started growing.
  - On the cover of The Hive Queen, Cricket's glasses have no
    earpiece.[1] However, Cricket fiddles with the earpiece of her
    glasses.
  - Cricket is not much use in combat.
  - Cricket is one of Tui's favorite dragons.
  - Before becoming a fugitive, Cricket dreamed of being a published
    scientist.
  - When she was young, Cricket had recurring nightmares about her
    teachers growing moss on her brain.
  - Cricket's favorite library is the one located in Jewel Hive.
  - Out of Blue, Sundew, and Swordtail, Cricket is the fastest writer.
  - Tui was originally going to have Cricket to be a reporter or a
    journalist.
  - If Cricket had to choose one place to haunt, it would be a library.
  - When Principal Lubber shredded Cricket's painting, Cricket had
    dreams of birds finding the scraps and putting them in their nests.