Chapter Text
“Tell me, what exactly are you planning to do with my wretched family?” Narinder snorted as Lambert kept a calm, neutral expression. They didn’t reply initially, they were lost in thought. Though it was so quiet as the night dragged on, it felt like they were drowning and nothing could get through to them. Or at the very least that they were about to pass out. The look on their face showed they were undisturbed, but in truth, Lambert was boiling with rage on the inside. Narinder waited for a reply for a minute. But all that could be heard was the sound of their footsteps hitting the soft dirt as they walked towards the temple from the indoctrination stone and the chirping of crickets.
Narinder’s robes dragged across the grass, and his tail lashed behind him. The moon barely provided enough light to illuminate Lambert’s face beyond a frown. Blood dripped down Lambert’s cloak, staining the ground as they took each step and leaving a long trail. They were a mess, with their cloak entirely stained with crimson, bits of bone sticking in their wool, and small cuts lacing their entire body. They didn’t bother with cleanup even when they got back, simply tying up and throwing the bishops in the temple so they could plant some Camellias and Menticide Mushrooms.
“I suppose you’re going to..murder them? Sacrifice them? Damn them for all eternity? I don’t know. Do with them as you please, I certainly don’t care.” Narinder tried to laugh, but it sounded so awkward and forced he might as well not have even bothered.
“..Lamb?”
Narinder tried again. He wasn’t used to them being this quiet. Usually, they’d be introducing a new follower to everyone, giving them a sense of utter tranquility that was hard to find anywhere else these days. Not this time though.
It took Lambert three days to gather all of the bishops. Three days. And those three days would’ve been shorter if the cult hadn’t needed to be taken care of.
Narinder couldn’t tell if it was an act of mercy or a way to get everyone there faster for something even worse.
Lambert slowly opened the temple door, it creaked and the light from outside lit up the area the bishops were currently sitting at. The red crown instantly transformed into a sword as they approached the siblings. Narinder closed the door and leaned against it, folding his arms.
The family sat in the middle of the temple, where rituals were usually performed. All tied up with hands behind their backs and forced on their knees. They were too weak to run so Lambert didn’t bother with tying their ankles. Each sibling was placed next to each other, in order of youngest to eldest. Leshy, Heket, Kallamar, then Shamura.
Leshy was the first to speak.
“Damned Lamb! Let us out of here, you wretched be-” Leshy was swiftly cut off as Lambert put the sword up to his chin and tilted his head upwards. The sword pressed ever so gently into his throat, but not even enough to break the skin. Leshy couldn’t see it but he knew very well they had a smile on their face. Kallamar tensed up visibly but he didn’t dare utter a word.
Narinder watched in silence, his own heart racing as he had no idea what their plan was.
Heket growled at them and tugged at the ropes around her wrists. She was the most protective over Leshy right next to Shamura, She was practically seeing red at the mockery on display.
“Don’t-..touch..” she tiredly wheezed out, then hacking up ichor which splattered on the floor. Kallamar winced and looked at her worriedly, his eyes trailing to the ichor and then back to her.
“You will get your turn to talk, Heket. If you can, that is.” Lambert tutted and waved their finger at her as if she were still a mere tadpole. Her eyes burned with hatred and rage, watching intently as they kept their sword pressed to Leshy’s throat.
“So…Leshy. Youngest of the five. Is that correct?” Lambert knew very well he was, They just wanted to get him talking. Leshy trembled and couldn’t speak for a moment.
“Answer me!’ they screamed, which made even Narinder flinch. It wasn’t often that they raised their voice. Ever. Leshy almost cut his own throat jolting but quickly began speaking.
“Yes-yesyesyes! Shamura found me last!” Leshy’s sentence was forced out with a fast and urgent pace, He breathed heavily while the sword was pulled back. He heard a strange swirling noise, which indicated the red crown transformed into something else. It was now back in crown form.
“Leshy. I know my family were some of the last to die.” Lambert spoke with an almost horrifying amount of neutrality. As if this was something minor. They walked in a circle around the four siblings, Shamura stared at them while they spoke. The spider knew it was all a mask, that lamb was playing a role and was holding it quite well.
Shamura hated that even more than if they were just angry outright.
Lambert stopped again in front of Leshy, he could feel them studying him.
“What was her name?”
Leshy tilted his head back down as if that would make a difference.
“My little sister. Go on. What was her name?” Lambert kneeled down and this time, gripped his chin and forced his head up.
Leshy remained silent, it had almost been three centuries since that day had occurred. The day everything went wrong. He could barely remember.
“You have ten seconds.” They stated firmly, standing back up and holding their hands behind their back. Narinder was tense. What game were they playing?
Leshy jolted as he was suddenly given a time limit, he struggled to breathe as if something were wrapped around his neck and only got tighter as the clock ticked down.
“Ten…”
Her voice was slightly deep for her age.
“Nine…”
She was crying and her footsteps were uneven, she was stumbling.
“Eight…”
Her scent was that of blood, mud, and charcoal.
“Seven…”
She begged.
“Six…”
She screamed for Lambert when she was being dragged out of the holding cell.
“Five…”
Lambert had cried back, screaming for her while they were being restrained.
“Four…”
They called her name. They wailed for her.
“Three…”
She spat at Leshy. He remembered now.
“Two…”
“Elizabeth!” Leshy cried out in absolute terror, being brought back from that memory and back to the abhorrent present. Lambert stopped counting and hummed. “That was her name. I called her Lizzy though.” They shrugged. Leshy choked out something incomprehensible, trying to breathe so heavily and fast he gagged. Lambert was about to make another round of circling but they knew they had to take care of this first. They sighed while rolling their eyes playfully, like a mother about to calm down her child from a nightmare.
They put both their hands under his head, beneath his jaw. Lambert curled their fingers just enough to find where a few twigs bundled up and began to scratch gently. Leshy’s initial cry was cut off, and his once tense and stiff body began to relax.
Heket sneered at them, unsure of what they were doing. They glanced at her direction and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry…I had a partner who was a bushworm. Turns out they all have a sweet spot. It was nice to use when we had a little cuddle session.” Lambert remarked with a chuckle, Leshy made a soft trill as their fingers moved in circles. Shamura felt…embarrassed. They had lived alongside Leshy for thousands of years and even they hadn’t known that. Their eyes trailed to Narinder who stared back. It was a silent plea for help.
Narinder looked down at the floor and closed his eyes.
Leshy let out a whine by pure instinct as Lambert’s hands pulled away, and they turned and walked in a circle around them all yet again. He quietly cursed himself for wanting any more comfort from this…thing.
Lambert, once completing the circle, stopped in front of Heket this time.
They would’ve dropped dead on the ground if looks could kill, Heket was incensed by the treatment of her baby brother. She knew exactly what they were doing and if she could, she would’ve torn out their eyes. She kept her mouth shut though as it still hurt like hell to talk.
Lambert gazed at her, almost longingly so. It put her on edge.
“Heket.”
They started to talk, Lambert didn’t fully turn to face her though. They simply stood there in dead silence aside from crickets chirping. Damn things always got inside the temple.
“I liked fighting you the best.”
Heket’s enraged expression softened ever so slightly. She was puzzled. As Leshy had been tormented with the reminder he had had a hand in genocide, She was..being given a compliment?
“You remind me of a friend I used to have. Temperamental, bold, and…” Lambert trailed off. They fidgeted with their hands.
“Beautiful.” Lambert breathlessly whispered, grasping their fists together tightly.
The silence in the temple only seemed to be amplified by their words. Narinder had shot up and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. His mouth was slightly agape. He stared at Lambert with both frustration and disbelief. Did they just indirectly call his sister beautiful?
Heket blinked. She had many followers tell her she was beautiful, pretty, and even sexy from those exceedingly brave. But hearing that from The Lamb of all people was…a feeling she couldn’t describe. She swallowed hard. The taste of ichor lingered in her mouth.
“She was my very best friend.” Lambert finally turned to look at her, their once neutral expression was now one of a warm smile, that had just a hint of yearning. It looked a little sad even.
They kneeled and cupped her cheek. Her entire body stiffened and her heart rate sped up. Her eyes were wide and baffled.
It seemed like an eternity before they blinked and their eyes seemed to water.
“I miss her.” They finished, their hand falling back to their side while they got up, blood smeared on Heket’s cheek and chin. Their smile faded as well.
A small part of her craved for them to keep their hand on her skin just a little bit longer.
Lambert took only a step forward to Kallamar and in the blink of an eye, grabbed him by the collar of his worn-out shirt, if you could call it that, and brought him so close to their face that Kallamar could make out the tiniest scars on their face that had long since healed. He yelped loudly and shook in their grasp. Lambert scoffed and dropped Kallamar back to the ground with a gasp from him. Lambert dropped to their knees and shook their head.
“Kallamar.” They finger-spelled his name with a laugh, then slowly traced the outline of his face with a finger. The squid pursed his lip and wanted to tear his gaze away from Lambert but since his hearing was incredibly damaged, he had to rely on lip reading and sign language. “I remember when you begged me to kill Shamura instead of you. I can only imagine the audacity! Leaving your sibling who I can only assume raised you from birth...to die.” They both said aloud and signed so he would understand...and so that his siblings would hear the disgusting truth. Their words were slow, the signs with their hands were shaky, they spoke through grit teeth. They held a smile with eyes wide that told Kallamar everything he needed to know about how they felt about his actions.
He froze.
Every sibling stared at him. Almost every sibling. Leshy grits his teeth and shook with disbelief. He didn’t want to believe it even though he could. Heket looked to be on the verge of tears from being so angry, she tugged even harder at her restraints, and Narinder…Narinder’s ears were pinned to the back of his head. He didn’t want to hear any more of this. But he couldn’t look away. He knew it. He saw it through the red crown when Lambert was his vessel. He heard it point blank.
Shamura hung their head low. They knew. They knew already and it hurt. It really, really hurt.
Lambert smiled as they watched his discomforted expression turn to one of regret and anguish. They saw tears slowly form at the corners of his eyes.
“I…I’m sorry, ‘Mura.” Kallamar murmured under his breath as he gazed their way. His voice was weaker than anticipated as he didn't know how loud or quiet he was. That nickname hadn’t been used in so long and that made his apology sting that much more. Lambert looked with him. That smile didn’t leave their face.
Shamura didn’t look back.
They stared at the floor before speaking.
“What do you want with us, Lamb?” The question was hollow, it felt empty as it left their lips. Like the answer, even if given truthfully, wouldn’t be satisfying.
The expression on Lamberts face turned neutral once again.
Lambert stared at the spider blankly, then scooted in front of them, facing Shamura's direction. They sat in front of Shamura, crossing their legs and staring down at the eldest siblings' face.
“Nothing will give me peace for what you all have done.”
Shamura resisted the urge to look up and see what expression painted The Lamb’s face.
“Not even death. If I kill you for good, that will never give me the satisfaction I want.” Lambert grit their teeth. They felt so cold.
Shamura closed their eyes with a slight nod of their head. Their hands clenched into fists behind their back.
“It just isn’t good enough.” They stood back up and stared down at the siblings.
“So,” Lambert walked behind each of them and began to untie them one by one “ I will give you a life you deserve.” They sighed as they finally untied Leshy and looked at Narinder.
“Not as good of a life I gave Narinder but…a life nonetheless.” They wiped their hands on their cloak, walked to the temple door where Narinder stood, and then turned to face the former gods. Shamura was the first to hurriedly get up and step in front of their siblings, their four eyes narrowing at The Lamb.
They could tell The Lamb was hiding something. Something was wrong, so very wrong.
“I will not let you hurt them, I will not let you bring any sort of harm to them, I will protect my family with my life if I have to.” Shamura’s face contorted to bare their fangs, Narinder wrinkled his nose in disgust. His paws gripped into his arms, threatening to tear the fabric of his robes.
Yeah. Shamura would do anything to protect their family.
Their real family, that is.
Lambert shook their head.
“Shamura,” They walked to the eldest sibling slowly, to seem as non-threatening as possible. “I will not hurt your family. I promise. As your leader, I swear to you that all of you will have a life you cannot fathom.” They took Shamura’s hands and gave a gentle squeeze of encouragement.
Shamura was going to hiss but stopped.
Their body was still tense but Shamura gave a curt nod.
Lambert looked to the other siblings, Heket had her arms around Leshy and Kallamar’s shoulders respectively, and cautiously met The Lamb's gaze. She held her siblings close to her, her lip curling to display her sharp teeth.
Narinder scurried to Lambert's side. Lambert let go of Shamura’s hands and turned to him, giving him a comforting smile and grabbing his paw tenderly. Their entire body tensed and they stepped back as Lambert gave their brother’s paw a kiss.
Shamura completely took in his appearance. He wore a robe that enforcers of The Old Faith would wear...Where the hell did The Lamb find that? Narinder noticed his sibling examining him but didn’t say anything.
Four eyes landed on two specific items Narinder wore they hadn’t seen from a distance.
A necklace that had a charm of the red crown. A loyalty necklace. He used those all the time for his own followers to keep them in line.
…And a ring on his finger.
Shamura felt their world crumble down around them for a second time that day.
“Your homes will be built soon, you all will rest here for the night so I can keep an eye on you.” Lambert patted Narinder’s shoulder while ushering him off and out the temple door.
While their other siblings huddled together, Shamura slumped against the south wall. They watched as their family drifted off to sleep. They wouldn’t though. They glared at The Lamb who sat by the temple door. That damn smile on their face. Something was wrong. So very wrong.
…..
“‘Mura?”
They jolted as they heard that nickname and looked around before looking down.
A black kitten with white, clearly oversized robes peered up at them. Three red eyes gazed at them with an innocent expression they knew that they’d never see again. His crown floated above his head, its eye glaring at Shamura.
“Narinder…”
Shamura reached out and patted his head which caused him to shake his head and swat at their hand. The red crown above Narinder spun around but eventually landed back upon his head, snugly between his ears. But he climbed into their lap and pouted. They sighed and settled back into their throne.
“I had a nightmare.”
Shamura gently scratched behind his ear.
“What about? Tell me all about it.” They asked with a gentle tone, they had dealt with the average nightmare talks with Kallamar when he was just a paralarva. It came naturally nowadays.
“You. You being…gone.” Narinder choked out, tears starting to form in his eyes and drip down his cheeks. As if the possibility of his older sibling disappearing was the worst thing in the world. Which it was to him at this age. He buried his face into their chest, his voice now muffled by their clothes. “You just…You were just gone! Disappeared! I looked for you…I called your name, I ran and ran and ran-“
Shamura slowly cupped his cheek and brought his head up to face them. Which made his blubbering stop and turn into soft sniffles. His lip quivered and Shamura rubbed his cheek lightly.
“I promise Narinder, nothing, nothing will ever make me disappear. Nothing will take me away from you. I will always be here.”
They hugged him and pet his head, his tail curled and his body relaxed, his grip on them loosened.
“Always.”
Shamura hummed and Narinder closed his eyes. They hummed a tune they had heard a century ago that was stuck in their head. It would never leave.
“I love you, little brother.”
…..
“‘Muraaaa…” Their nickname was dragged out with a giggle, and they blinked. They were no longer in their old temple. The Lamb stood in front of them. Shamura scowled at them of all people using their nickname. They refused to look at Lambert for a moment, taking in their surroundings first.
The Lamb's temple, their siblings sleeping next to each other, and…darkness. Aside from the moonlight coming in from the window above the podium.
It must've been early in the morning. The spider huffed and finally looked up at The Lamb.
“C’mon, time to get up.”