bug yuri

[threadsbare]

Continued from here

[Huh..

No really huh???]

That....in fact makes absolutely no sense whatsoever but...if you wish???

[That was so much information all at once, some of which she was choosing to ignore, that Lace wasn't even quite sure if she meant what she just said.]

Are they just down there?

Comments

[threadstorm]

Yes. They are...just down there.

[ Hornet hardly understands it herself, and she can't begin to comprehend what such an existence is like, living in a sea of dark. ...They seemed to be doing quite well, at least? It was a relief that her kin, an old hero, had maintained their individuality. ]

It is hard to explain. They are an individual, yet many at the same time. A lord of sorts. A lord of shade, if you will. [ She shakes her head. ]

You should know that my void kin were destined to be one thing. Yet they became another. Something else, in spite of supposed destiny. I believe you can do this too.

[threadsbare]

A hivemind?

[No, from what Hornet was describing it didn't seem like that, but it was the closest she could think of.

She side eyes Hornet from her position lying down before closing her eyes and shifting uncomfortably. That was a lot to think about. Too much on top of everything else that had been tossed their way today.]

And what destiny was that?

[threadstorm]

Perhaps. I do not know. Sadly, my knowledge ends here.

[ She lies down next to Lace, this time, but several feet away and facing the other direction. So much for leaving the bed to Lace only. ]

To be empty. To be hollow. To have no mind or will. From the very start, it was an impossible request.

[ Hornet frowned. It occurred to her just how much she was telling Lace. Apparently there was a mountain on her shoulders she hadn't been consciously aware of until now. It was not as if Hallownest had therapists -- she'd gone some decades if not centuries without a listening ear like this. Suddenly Hornet felt soft and vulnerable and exposed, as if her shell had an open blow. ]

Enough. I have told you too much. [ As if Lace could even understand what she speaks of at all. It must not be too far off from a fantasy story in a play, a fairy tale. It's nice of Lace to entertain her, nonetheless. She looks over her shoulder, squinting. ] You are being suspiciously patient. I do not trust you to not run your mouth to someone else later on.

[threadsbare]

[Lace turns to her side so she can look at Hornet and softly chuckles.]

You have no need to worry about that, spider. I have no one else to speak to.

[And with that she closed her eyes, now just as mentally exhausted as she was physically. There was a lot she had learned about Hornet this night, and a lot more she still wanted to learn about. She really, truly was a marvelous specimen through and through, and it would be a lie to say Lace didn't enjoy her company whether it be fighting, teasing her, or...even just. Talking.

But Lace still wasn't sure about this or the rest of her life or what she wanted herself. It was...frustrating to even have to think about it when she had been so ready to accept death.

But. She supposes she'll at least give it some thought.

Tomorrow.]

[threadstorm]

Well? What do you think of them?

[ A question posed by Hornet to Lace, who is currently being swarmed by the fleas of the caravan affectionately. Hornet had told her fluffy little crew she would be bringing someone along next time and to give them a warm welcome.

Perhaps a bit too warm for one who, as Hornet understood it, was not used to being around so many others. She snatches a few away from Lace to give her some breathing room and holds them in her arms. Behind her the meat of the Moorwing roasts on its skewer. She would not be eating it, but the fleas found it to be a delicacy. ]

I told you that they would like you. I found them all over Pharloom on my path to the Citadel. They have congregated here together. Delightfully fluffy, and they make good noises. [ To demonstrate, she pats one on the head, earning a soft coo. ] They are fun to toss in the air with a needle or a longpin as well. Good for relieving stress.

[ There is warmth in Hornet's face. She had ingested a not insignificant amount of Flea Brew. To say she was drunk would be inaccurate; the Wyrm in her blood enabled her to consume absurd amounts of poison before intoxication occurred. To say she was sober was also inaccurate. The past few weeks had brought with them the kinds of changes and unfamiliarities that only a light touch of inebriation could fix and Hornet thought that everyone else be damned -- she deserved this for once. A toast to not dying. ]

[threadsbare]

[Lace wasn't sure what she had been expecting when Hornet told her of her flea friends. Really, she had been more fixated on where they would need to go through to reach them and that had been a near solid "ew no."

Now that she was here, however, she has to admit she did not think fleas would be so...fluffy. Or hyper.

Lace is grateful when Hornet pulls some away from her and after some reluctance she awkwardly picks one up. The thing starts to excitedly yip, flapping its wings and kicking its feet to get closer to her but she holds it at arms length.]

An excitable lot.

[She flips it around and it remains as cheery as ever, seeming uncaring of whichever way it is being held, then she flips it back up. Even Lace could admit they were cute but right now she thinks Hornet is being much cuter. Her eyes go from the flea in her hands to the spider in question.

In the past weeks she had learned a lot about her and one of the things that had been the most surprising had been her affinity for fluffy things. More than that, however, it was just endearing to see Hornet so....at peace. Relaxed. Goodness knows she deserved it and if a trek through the Putrefied Ducts to reach this place gave her that it was worth it.]

All over Pharloom? [She looks at the flea again] And just what were you doing away from your caravan? [It responded with a resounding awooo and Lace set it back down.

Her eyes then go over to a stage where she can see several flees and even other bugs gathered.]

Is that the raucous game they were playing earlier?

[threadstorm]

[ Dragging Lace through the ducts had been an experience Hornet had no desire to relive. Her reluctance and fussing had made the trip several times longer than it had needed to be. She was starting to think she would have to find and hire a carriage just to drag her new companion through muck and mire. What a sad shame it was that Loam had found himself victim to the Citadel. Hornet would have paid him a far better wage.

Not that Hornet was eager to take a maggot bath herself. Ah, Pharloom. She'd never looked less like royalty until she'd arrived here.

Hornet is being properly swarmed by fleas now. She seems nothing but content, burying her face in the mounds of soft fur and letting them climb all over her. ]

They were stranded and trapped. All alone, and frightened. Believe it or not, there are bugs in this world who would harm even a flea.

[ She tosses one in the air and lets it bounce off the end of her needle. Its coat was so thick her needle did not harm it nor penetrate its skin. It bounced harmlessly again and again, cooing as it was tossed in the air and back. ]

Indeed. It is known as flea juggle. A prestigious game I am something of a prodigy at, with a high score of one hundred and ten. [ Hornet. What the fuck were you doing instead of saving Pharloom.

She leaned in towards Lace's face and puffed herself out just so, as if courting. ] Are you impressed by my finesse at this game, silk creature?

[threadsbare]

[Life was strange.

No matter how many times Lace went over the past couple months since Hornet first was brought to Pharloom, all the way to her journey up to the citadel, then her defeat of her mother, and her venture to the void it still made little sense to her.

That everything the weaver had done had brought Pharloom to where it was seemed impossible even now after the fact. Even after all this time she hadn't the faintest idea where all that determination and the strength to pull through and actually do it came from.

And now here she was, living with her in a place the spider had deemed a permanent home.

How had she gotten here?

Well. Through the kindness of Hornet, though Lace still thought her a fool for bothering with that.

Lace turned to her side to watch said spider. She was at her work desk, repairing her tools or perhaps creating something new. She had been at it for a while and Lace certainly had nothing to do and it was making her rather antsy. She focused on the back of Hornet's head, trying to will her to look her way but with absolutely no success.

Lace tried hard to not bother Hornet so much, hating how dependent she was on her for so much but.

But she couldn't help but want her attention too and at this point she felt ready to explode. Positive, negative, it didn't really matter to her so finally she pushed herself off the bed and waltzed over to her, leaning over her shoulder.]

And what have you been working at so diligently for such a long time?

[threadstorm]

[ Hornet had been waiting for Lace to snap.

It was only a matter of time with her. She had a seemingly infinite amount of energy and her boredom always coursed through the room like electricity, bright and crackling. Hornet had felt her eyes on the back of her head. But she would not respond until Lace used her voice.

She'd been here in Bellhart for a while now, and though she knew that one day in the far future she would up and leave to journey elsewhere, that day would not be soon. She was comfortable here and wished to rest and see what became of the ruins. Besides that, many bugs still lived here. She wished to offer her protection for a land that still had something of a pulse for once.

Though she did not show it outwardly very well, Hornet had much to process, herself. In a short matter of time she had learned much of her ancestry and what became of her race, the Weavers. Yet most here were killed -- some by her own hand, an unfortunate necessity that she wished had not been the case -- and almost all of those that remained had fled, leaving Hornet cold and empty, picking up the pieces of their story to put back together.

She thought often of her own mother, Herrah, and the life she had given up for her.

But she did have Lace.

She had come to learn a good bit about her...friend? Companion? Date? Pet?

In some ways, she was all of them.

No matter the case, Lace was a part of her life now. Lace had saved her life and Hornet had done the same for her. They could not simply part now as if it had not happened. Even if Lace was a handful, Hornet was still fond of her, and she kept her entertained.

Here at her desk Hornet had both a metal crossbow and some sort of silk contraption. It looked like a large spider's web or net, with metal wire around the opening to keep its shape. ]

A trapping device. It is meant to be used as ammunition for this gun. When I fire it, it launches a silk net at the target to ensnare them. Though it is still a prototype for now. I am considering adding a function for it so snap shut, or perhaps barbs on the inside.

[ The design is clean, yet disturbingly sadistic in its craftmanship. Her words don't help. Well. If the feral bugs here stopped attacking here, Hornet would have no need for such nastiness. ]

[threadsbare]

[Look at that. Lace is grateful Hornet did not have this on hand any of the times they fought. She started to reach out to touch it, then thought better of it and retreated her hand. Last thing she wanted was to accidentally set it off and ensnare herself. Or Hornet.

Well, actually, the latter would be pretty funny.

Instead she just seated herself on a corner of the desk, putting herself directly in Hornet's field of vision.]

You do so love your tools, don't you? Just how many of these do you have?

[threadsbare]

[The trek back home had fortunately been an uneventful one. Lace had taken a brief pause to fashion herself a hasty skirt from some leaves and twine--with her attire in the state it was she felt too exposed, but in the end it had been unnecessary since nearly everyone had retired to their homes.

Now they sat in the bath of Hornet's home, Lace behind her spider, gently running a cloth along her shoulders.

She was enjoying this very much, being able to tend to Hornet for once. For the moment she didn't see the need to break the silence, while they had much to discuss it was nice to take it slow and relax.

The pressed the cloth against her shoulder blade, pressing hard against shell in a massaging motion and leaned in to a press a kiss to the back of her head.]

[threadstorm]

[ Hornet is a very happy spider. It's rare that she does anything like this for herself, and even rarer that she lets someone else do it for her. This time she raised no contest.

She would admit it felt nice. It felt very nice, especially after coming to Pharloom and being stabbed, electrocuted, frozen, kidnapped, implanted with a parasite and -- everything else. Her filthy cloak had been washed and hung to dry and the water of her bath worked away at the mess coating her and soothed the aches and pains of her muscles.

She leaned back against Lace's touch, guiding her to where she wanted it by angling, this time hoping Lace would scratch at her fluffy nape and massage a muscle knot out between her shoulders.

She leaned forward and let the hot water of the faucet pour over her head again. It streamed down her face and her horns as she tilted this way and that. Then when she sat back she felt Lace's kiss to the back of her head and she simply could not help but puff and twitch with enjoyment, flicking little droplets of water everywhere.

If Lace listened, she would hear Hornet was purring. ]

cries at how cute she is

[threadsbare]

[When Hornet leans back, Lace let her guide her hands. She's very thorough and methodical in how she parts Hornet's fur in segments, being sure to pick out any remaining globs of blood or tissue and the scritch away at her, lathering her away with soap.

When her hand comes across the knot she grips her arm tightly with one hand to keep her still, then kneads at it, digging away at it with the ball of her thumb until she feels it loosen up.

She watches quietly as Hornet let the fresh water wash over her, and when she leans back Lace can't help a small laugh. She was purring! Purring!! Her arms gently wrap around Hornet's waist to hold her close.]

You are being unbelievably adorable right now.

nsfw, void tentacles be involved

[threadsbare]

continued from here

Go on then, tell me more.

[At that Lace smiles and continues to massage Hornet in earnest. She begins with strokes, gliding her hands down Hornet's leg roughly ten times, sometimes allowing her fingers to curl and scritch at the fur. Then she began to knead, starting from the bottom of her leg, up till she came back to that knot which she paid particular attention to.

Lace was finding that this was something she enjoyed doing a lot, and as she worked away while listening to Hornet an idea popped into her mind.

Roughly a month back she had found out something about herself. It happened by chance when had been out adventuring on her own: whatever had happened down there in the Abyss, had changed her. Not outwardly, but a beast that had snuck up on her had met its end when that odd, dark matter had come out of her body.

She herself looked the same as ever. It had left no traces on her body and so she had decided to try and figure it out on her own. Admittedly when she had made the chose to surprise Hornet with it, she hadn't exactly imagined this scenario but. Well, it could be fun, no?

She took a small breath in and began to unleash it. The black tendrils spilled from the small of her back and one slid over to give Hornet's tarsi a playful poke, before brushing up against the leg Lace was not massaging.]

[threadstorm]

...The Hive was a kingdom in its own right. It was certainly run and defended as one. There were thousands of bees and not only did they each have their own role, but they obeyed without protest. It was more than following orders. It was as if they hatched knowing their purpose in the colony.

[ Ooohthatfeelssogood. It's actually sinful how much Hornet is enjoying this. She closes her eyes and leans into it. Her legs were long and full of lean muscle and Lace paid such close attention to what she liked. She stretched her spine out all the way down to her claws and--

Poke.

She opened her eyes.

What was that?

Something wet and...

Then she saw it. Black as pitch. Blacker than any black she could describe.

Black as Void.

Hornet stiffened. ]

Lace. Why is that here?

[threadsbare]

[The tendril raises into the air and then the tip flips from side to side as if it were waving.

Until Lace realizes that Hornet's surprise...doesn't seem like the good kind.]

Oh. Well. By chance I discovered I could summon these. I have been practicing. [Two more appear from behind her back but she keeps them there, withdrawing the one that had been playfully poking her.

Had...she done bad?]

[threadsbare]

[What the hell was all that?

Exploring had definitely become something that Lace had come to enjoy ever since she had been freed from her mother, but she wouldn't even think to have come up this way. Granted, she's fairly certain she wouldn't have managed on her own but with no idea if it would even lead anywhere she'd definitely have had reservations.

Thorns, thorns, worms, more thorns, some bugs she had never seen before and more thorns.

Not the best environment for a thing such as herself and that was her excuse for clinging so tightly to Hornet as they ascended. Yup, that was it.]

Goodness, spider, how did you even find this place?

[She craned her head back where she could finally see a hole from which came a faint light and...was that the sound of wind? Just where were they going? Lace was confident she knew Pharloom well even if she hadn't been able to explore much of it. She'd turned over maps in the citadel over and over again and she was certain there was nothing this high up.]

[threadstorm]

I was curious. I had naught else to do. I would also like to find where the remaining Weavers settled after passing from Pharloom.

[ My, Lace, don't you sound a little scared right now? Hornet notes this with great amusement, though she feels it is perfectly reasonable to be intimidated. There is a reason only the most primitive of bugs lived up there, where they were going.

So not Weavers. Probably. Hornet did not write it off. The Weavers were crafty and scheming and settling in a hostile, unapproachable environment was exactly the kind of thing they would do.

She puts on her best handsome yaoi face. Are you not EXTREMELY charmed, Lace. ]

Are you frightened? Fear not. I will protect you.

[threadsbare]

[What. What the hell was that?? Lace stares at Hornet confounded and loosened her grip.

If she fell and got torn up that was fine.]

Oh I have no doubt you will. [She replied dryly.]

No, I am not frightened. [Though perhaps after seeing that face she is] Simply bewildered. I've studied many of the maps of Pharloom and I recall nothing ever seeing a passage this way. Or anything it might lead to.

[threadsbare]

[Another day, another wish.

Lace didn't mind it. In fact she might even be starting to enjoy it. It was good to be able to do something new and different, and it was nice to feel useful. It was especially fun to do them with Hornet. Whether it was fighting something together, playing escort, or tracking down materials it was always a good time.

Today they were delivering some supplies from Belhart to the settlement that was being built where Bonebottom had once been.]

I'm quite certain they were gossiping about us. [As they traveled across Deep Docks Lace began to talk about how suspiciously Frey and Pavo acted whenever she came around. She supposes it's not unexpected. She and Hornet had been living together for quite a while now and sometimes their spats happened in public. All the same she wishes they would mind their own business.

She could see the doorway that led to the Marrow and she jumped down towards it.]

Frey even not so subtly ---

SNAP

[When Lace landed she suddenly went down with a yelp. She rubs her toosh and then stares at her leg. Her broken leg.

...

Yea. Lace wasn't surprised. She knew she had been...negligent as of late. They were old and when the Citadel had been destroyed she had lost access to the storage she usually went to when she needed to swap out. Yet she hadn't been careful. Whenever she and Hornet bathed together she'd been too self conscious to take them off and usually just ended up hiding them by submerging them. Needless to say it had been eroding them.

She stared at her left leg.The prosthetic started at her knee and it ended in a jagged cut just three inches below. She reached over to pick up the other end and sighed.]

Damnit...

[threadstorm]

They are, and not being particularly subtle.

[ ...And it was annoying, but inevitable. You could only spend so long living with someone before gossip arose. Not only that, but the dynamics at hand were delicious. Hornet was the former queen's kidnapping victim, now apparently courting her daughter, if the whispers were to be believed.

Ah well. If freedom from the former lives that had plagued them meant Pharloom's people would gossip about who Hornet was in bed with, she would accept that. ]

And neither are we.

[ SNAP.

Hornet was there at Lace's side in a heartbeat. She hung upside down from the ceiling on a thread of silk and observed the damage.

Ah.

She knew this would happen eventually. Lace was shy about her legs and as such Hornet did not push her about them. But they eroded and decayed and would, one day, break. She thought it might be easier to just let it happen and deal with it then than to try and fuss over her. ]

Are you alright? I would have strengthened them long ago if you had let me.

[threadsbare]

[Lace examined her leg further before dropping it. That was unsalvageable at this point. She looked at the other one.

Not much better but it would last. So long as she didn't make anymore high jumps like that one. She's fairly certain it's a straight shot to Bone Bottom from here.]

I am fine.

[She examined the jagged end of her leg and sighed at Hornet's comment of strengthening them.] You already do so much for me, Hornet. I just ought to have figured a solution out sooner.

[She leaned over and hesitated, before figuring it didn't matter much anymore. She couldn't hide it forever. She pulled up the skirt she wore to the knee and pressed down on her thigh to keep it in place. With the other hand she reached and grabbed at her leg, yanked, and with a loud pop it came clean off.

The leg was attached to a hardened ball of silk that was the perfect size for a hole where her thigh ended. She unclipped the leg from said ball, and added it to the bag she was carrying. Thankfully the supplies were still intact.

She used her pin to pull herself back up then leaned on it like a cane.

This was embarrassing. ]

No need to stop.

[threadsbare]

[Lace wonders what must be going through her Mother's mind.

Had she caught on yet?

Did She know that it was she who had freed the weaver? If She's aware She must be incredibly confused, and that thought delights Lace. Chances are, She does not, for Lace feels that She would have intervened by now, ripped her back up to the Cradle to stay and wait there like an obedient little child.

Does Grand Mother Silk think she is working on Her behalf? Intending to knock this little spider down and bring her back up to Her? That is a possibility, and of course Lace has no such plans. Most likely, however, Lace thinks soberly, is that She doesn't care. She is so preoccupied with puppeting the pilgrims around them to recapture that spider that chances are She has already forgotten about her.

It's a prospect that cares a deep hole into her and she pauses for a moment in her humming, looking up at the silk flies dancing around her.

Lace highly suspected that would be the case. In her time she has seen several weavers dragged back to this kingdom, all people that had met horrid fates at her Mother's commands, all towards the goal of awakening her. Yet this time was different. Mother was close to finally, fully reawakening and the one she brought now was no ordinary weaver.

This one was a Pale Being, or at least part in nature, and oh Lace can just imagine the exultation her Mother must have felt upon hearing about her. She had always been obsessed with the weavers, had always worked towards getting them back as much as She did Her awakening. Now here She was being presented with one of them, blessed with the blood of Her caste...ha. Of course She would now discard her for a new, shiny toy.

That had always been the plan from the start, hadn't it? She and Phantom had only ever been temporary replacements.

Yet Lace wasn't about to sit back and allow that. She had freed the spider for one reason and one reason only: to kill her. Her Mother would not have her, She would not get Her way this time.

Unfortunate for this girl, she had done nothing wrong, but Lace had finally been pushed too far. Anything that would deny her Mother something She wanted was a win in her book. She would prove that she was superior to this creature and perhaps finally her Mother might look at her.

Lace lifted a hand and one of the silk flies landed upon it. She concentrated and it grew in her hands, its wings stretching as far as it could and then on its being an image began to appear---the spider in question. Lace's view was rather limited, the fly could only grow so big after all, but it was enough for her to get an idea of where she was.

Oh!

So close now, so very close. She'd be here any minute. Lace would give her credit--she worked fast.

With a pleased little laugh she returned the silk fly to its normal size and lifted it up so it could return to its brethren.

Then she lifted her pin and returned to conducting them, humming a haunting melody.]

[threadstorm]

[ Could a place hunger? Could a concept, a thing, feel desire?

Hornet did not know how else you could describe Pharloom's craving for her.

She had been trapped between the maws of many living creatures and bitten and stung and had her blood and meat feasted upon and she declared as certainly as she declared the color of the sky or the name she'd been given that Pharloom hungered for her the same way each of those organic flesh-and-blood beasts had.

Not just Pharloom, but whatever grand being stood at the top. Whatever creature.

Was that creature not, in some way, the kingdom itself? Hornet had heard her -- she whispered to her when she dreamt, when she'd hit her head, whispering to her in a spindly long crawling sort of way that was not unlike a spider's leg -- and when that creature pulsed it felt as if the world pulsed too. Hornet felt her thirst, that being at the top.

Her only way was up, but first she had to crawl through hell. Or was this fiery expanse purgatory, limbo? The workers here toiled endlessly in sweat and grimy heat for something unseen and now Hornet too was stained in their soot and blood and muck.

All around her, she saw not a drop of sleep nor rest.

Who at the top was worth this turmoil for?

Yes, it must be hell, as it seemed for the people of Pharloom, if they labored to this extent, that any place without their monarch, any location devoid of their lord's presence, was hell.

As she trotted through the broiling, endless heat, her needle dripping blood, Hornet cleared sweat and steam away from her mask's eye holes to get a better look at the the white form opposite from her on the bridge.

A girl? A woman? She looked young and she hummed a haunting tune Hornet had heard before to a batch of smaller white insects. She donned a fencer's classical gear right down to the shoulder pads. There was a strange hazy scent of silk in the air from her direction, just barely.

In the end, what mattered most was her pin, and it looked as sharp as any. Hornet cared little for the rest. ]

State your name, and your purpose here. If you do not intend to impede my travels, I will pass without altercation.

[threadsbare]

[Lace had not been expecting such a pleasant voice. While she knew there was much more to the weavers given how obsessed her Mother was with them, it was still surprising having heard all the stories that circulated around Pharloom of them.

Then again, this one was not a full weaver, was she? No. She was a tiny little thing compared to them. From her observations the red cloaked bug was strong---she had fought and persevered this long after all. How far would some taunting go to weaken that resolve? It was clear from her words that she'd rather avoid a fight.]

How sad. A little spider has fallen from its cage. So lost. So weak. Poor little morsel.

[Finally she turned to face her, getting her first clear look at her.

Ah.

A morsel indeed. She'd just been saying words to hopefully get under her shell. Observing through the silk flies could only let her see so much. Not quite as small as Lace had first thought, but definitely compared to the rest of the creatures and people that roamed Pharloom.

She was, unfortunately, a very pretty bug. Well, that's definitely one thing that would please Mother. She was quite obsessed with beauty.

Her pin lowered and she stared at the spider for a moment. Her stance spoke clearly that she was a well honed warrior, luck had definitely not brought her this far. How many had Mother sent after her? Lace remembered seeing the entourage depart---huge, too many for her to easily count, and yet only four had returned.

Pity filled her for this creature. If her Mother had her way she would become a slave, a possession for Her to control as she wished. How would Silk alter her body? How would she alter her mind? Lace can only begin to imagine the long, torturous process that would be required to mold the red maiden into a "perfect daughter."

Lace would not try to play as if she were some hero. She was here for her own selfish benefit and the spider meant little to her, but she thinks how much better off she is dead than....that.]

I can save you, little spider. All the trouble you'd face above. All the suffering. It's so simple.

[Her bright eyes crinkled in mirth and she raised her pin, this time now poised for battle]

I'll just skewer you here and now, pluck that flickering life right out of you.