Chapter Text
Hornet was stood high up on Mount fay, looking across the land below cold wind blowing against her short fuzz, mandibles twitching no matter how warm the down her cloak had kept her, roots wrapped around her abdomen and practically merged into her shell, no matter how ‘good’ of a doctor Yarnaby was, not even she could remove the imprints Greyroot and the twisted bud left on her shell.
A particularly strong wind started to blow, snow coating her face and cloak, the wind only seemed to pick up however, the slick icy ground beneath her making it hard to keep her ground. Attempting to jump up for some distance away from the ledge her attempts proved fruitless, wind catching the fabric of the cloak and lifting her higher into the thinner air. Gasping she threw her needle in an attempt to latch onto any ground but it quickly came back to her with a tug, and the wind wasn’t dying down and she could tell in some way it was getting more dangerous for whatever remnants of the bud that were left started twining itself around hornets own core.
She gasped for air but it was getting too thin, the only feeling that she was getting any air at all was the frost and snow that hit the back of her throat. Resigning herself to whatever fate she may befall as of current she ducked her head into her arms as she saw a large chunk of ice hurtling itself towards her. The sharp frozen liquid pierced into her chitin and her hemolymph freezing as it met the cold air, the sting was sharp and cold and the wind did not let up as ice crystals started sticking to her mask.
Before she could even think another chunk of ice flew towards her, far closer to her mask, scraping just the top of it and causing a minor scrape on her shell, but it was far from over, she saw one last chunk hurtling towards her in the wind, she had no time to dodge as it drove into the centre of her mask and nearly got into the eye hole, cold bleeding into the pain as her consciousness started slipping, a small crack in her mask forming.
-
When she awoke she was in a field of dry brown and new sprouting green, pain shooting through her head as the light around her was far brighter than any Hallownest or Pharloom harboured, the sky above was a striking blue as white puffs passed across the sky, reminiscent of the white puffs of water vapour that blew below her when she stood on mount fay.
She looked around, a settlement somewhat reminiscent of dirt mouth lay in the distance, however weakened she may be, she slowly made her way towards the town in the distance, pain surging under her shell with every step as she felt the roots that settled around her organs loosen their grip, ever so slightly the pain lessened as she continued, hemolymph hardly noticed as it spilled into the grass below.
It took her a much longer time in her weaker state to get there, the place didn’t seem as small as a place like Dirtmouth or Bellhart, but it also was nowhere near the scale of the Citadel, the bright fiery ball in the sky had already set below the horizon where she could see the outline of Mount Fay hard against the oranges, reds and pinks of the sky that was fading to a deep blue.
She walked along the hard rock flooring as she spotted bugs without masks and fleshy faces, akin to the grubs of Hallownest, she noted filtered into buildings that seemed to be made of similar material to the floors with large panes to look out of, she continued walking until she found a dark corner with spots of melted snow and half formed ice, a large green box of metal that had a stench that reminded her the faintest bit about the cursed land that was bilewater but it was a far cry.
Opening the lid there seemed to be one black bag that was the source of the stench, the rest a stained green but nothing seemed questionable about it. Taking a glance around and noting no bugs were there she went into the box and curled into herself and covered herself with the cloak.
-
This is what she had been doing for the last five rises and sets of the flaming ball, she had deduced these bugs called their species ‘humans’ and less formally ‘people’ the language was difficult to understand but she'd also seen it inscribed many years ago, what practically felt like another life, where she had taught herself what she could see, so she grasped onto what she heard fast, learning the tongue the people spoke with in only three rises and sets of the flaming ball, which she believed was referred to as the sun.
Another thing she deduced was where she was currently seemed abandoned, large machines and people cleaning the boxes and silver, smaller round containers on a semi often basis, however the one she stayed in was left alone.
However today she had noticed something had changed, the people that walked past without a thought had crowded someplace close and were yelling obscenities at something she could not see. Pulling herself out of the box she dusted her cloak off, rubbing the stink out with a bit of silk, which she promptly threw into a puddle, she continued to look for what could have caused the ruckus, when she spotted exactly what she was looking for, a male human that resembled some of those in Creiges place, yelling and hitting what seemed to be a performer.
Before she even could fully make the decision she found herself standing in front of the performer, standing a bit shorter than the aggressor, however the horns of her mask made up for that.
The humans yelling continued.
“YOU- YOUR ONE OF THOSE FREAKS, THEY'VE BEEN KIDNAPPING EVERYONE AROUND HERE, THEY GOT MY SISTER AN-”
“Sir I would recommend you to not escalate this interaction, i do not wish to escalate this” she spoke, tongue heavy with the accent of her kind, his face contorted in disgust, but he backed off after seeing that she was not joking.
Hornet breathed after, bringing a hand out from under her cloak and brushing past the feathery fluff that lines it and offering it the performer clad in red, yellow and small bells.
His hand accepted hers after a moment and she pulled him up, he towered over her by a good margin, but not even reaching close to Shakras stature.
“I’m sorry performer, that is truly unfortunate, however i may be able to offer something to aid you in healing” she gestured for the performer to lean down, which was quickly obliged, reaching a hand into the down of her cloak, she gathered some silk in her hands, sticker than her average one for binding, and applied it to the performers mask like face, she could not tell what it was but she chose not to bother, instead applying the silk to the injury.
“That should keep it covered, however if it does not help I would recommend you go see a professional.” The language still felt odd on her tongue but the performer understood, with a quick nod she began walking, there would be no harm in exploring this place afterall.
Hours faded like minutes as she explored the place, aware of the eyes that watched her from behind buildings and in the dark, the eyes reminded her unpleasantly of those she found in Bilewater, the more she thought however the more her thoughts turned to a part of blue water that filled her with dread, one covered in wooded roots of grey as a small squirming bud writhed and cried.
Taking a sharp breath in she reminded herself that she was long rid of the bud, the roots encircling her organs however told a far different story.
As she continued walking she found herself at a stop that reminded herself of the stagways, a man standing there waiting for something when he noticed her, immediately she felt his piercing stare, a smile too calculated and perfectly plastered on his smooth skin.
“Hello there.” his words were put together and sophisticated, far more formal than she’s used to others speaking to her.
“Hello to you as well” her reply was on a close level to his formality.
“What brings you here, you don’t seem like a local”
“I have simply come here on a whim, what are you waiting for, sir?” She kept her reply simple and proper.
“I’m leaving town, however I have a ticket for the circus that I do not wish to waste, would you care to take it?”
Hornet stalled for a second, the breeze of the cold night air made her cloak flow and hood flap slightly. She had never been to a circus before but had heard from other bigs that it was enjoyable.
“I’ll take your offer good sir, thank you”
The man in the blue suit handed her a ticket lined in pink with words that seemed to say something about the circus being of freaks. She turned it over, mandibles twitching under her mask ever so slightly, she squinted at it one last time, and put it into the fluff of her cloak, holding surprisingly well like everything she kept in her cloak, likely the excess bits of silk that were caught on the down.
She did her best to smile, or offer the man a kind look before continuing on her walk, she felt his eyes follow her but after a moment he looks away, noting how now she didn’t feel the other pair of eyes that had been following her for the past couple hours, she didn’t dwell however and simply continued on her way.
Her steps were even and measured as she looked and mentally mapped every building and turn, when suddenly the performer wearing red appeared from what seemed to be nowhere, under a flickering light. She paused her exploration, nerves slightly appearing as the roots around her organs tightened, her heart rate spiking ever so slightly before calming herself. Approaching cautiously, her hand reached to where her needle would normally lay, however she had left it behind when going out on the adventure.
his eyes immediately sparked with joy at her approach, a hand clad in a sleek black material grabbed hers when she was within reach with little hesitation, leading her into a dark crevice, the tall performer crouching down to hear height , still holding her hand, blood dripping down the mask like face, his hand reached behind him, pulling out a paper rose with a coppery scent, much like the hemolymph the humans bled and offering it to her. She took it from his hand after a moment of thinking it over. His smile grew, glowing eyes dilating.
“Thank you kindly performer.” She spoke with a hint of gratitude in her voice.
“My dear you have no need to call me that” his response sounded almost sad.
“What may I call you then, sir?” She stood waiting for his answer calmly, paw shifting against the slightly dampened and cold walkway below her.
“The Pierrot my dear!” his behaviours reminded her a bit of the large bug who offered silkeaters to her, Styx, but she would not let the familiarity lower her guard.
“Hello Pierrot, my name is Hornet, you can call me as such.” Her thoughts lingered on Styx, Pierrot has not started calling himself a slave to her which is a good sign, but for a moment she heard him whisper ‘i know’ as the wind blew around her.
“Yes my dear Hornet… I must ask, do you intend on coming to the circus?”
She thought of what she could answer, truthfully it seemed compelling but she saw no reason to.
“I might, I was offered a ticket already after all” his eyes widened at the revelation and suspicion roused in her.
“My lady that is counterfeit! You wouldn’t be able to enter the circus with it!” He put the hand that wasn’t holding hers out to her, assuming it was for the ticket she placed it in his hand, not wishing to hold onto the fake one.
Taking it from her claw in a split second the pink turned to red in a slightly impressive trick, her mandibles twitched under her mask as she grabbed the ticket back, his happiness only seeming to grow at her acceptance.
Offering a sign of gratitude, she curtseyed slightly, cloak dipping past her knee before she pulled up, mandibles tapping again before she was off, a small wave as she walked back to the alley she had made herself comfortable. Opting to sleep behind the bin tonight, after all the air was clear and a few twinkling dots could be seen above.
When she arrived at the bin she pulled her needle out, hooking it into the closest wall and pulling herself up carefully before she stuck to it, there she fully climbed up.
On top of the roof she got a far better view of the few twinkling… stars, she believed they were called, and a larger one, the moon, she did remember that one, were bright, shining above her brilliantly, mandibles twitching as she stared up, paws curled under her when she felt something climb onto her claw. Breaking her attention from the sky, on her claw was a small weaver, one that was far smaller than her even in her newly hatched form, raised in this harsher land.
She hissed in her own tongue to it “Little weaver, I am fond to meet you.” The small weavers hisses were quiet and difficult to make out, much to her disappointment but she pieced it together.
The conversation went deeper into the night, speaking to the weaver in quiet hisses about Hallownest and how she hopes she can bring the weaver back to her homeland once she can return. Stories of grassy outreaches and weavers like its own having a home deep in that land, how when she could bring, weaving ideas of soft stretches of silk for it to nest in, how it could rest after such a long life of struggles, resting the small weaver on her cloak as it began to drift off.
Her mandibles twitched again as she sat on the top of the building, unwilling to disturb the small weavers rest and allowing herself to trace the stars in the sky, connecting them with stories that had no true linear thought pattern, hissing soft stories to the weaver as she did.
She did this until the sun began to peak past the horizon that signaled a new day, and she watched clouds drift until the small weaver would awaken. When it did she let it secure itself to her mask as she delicately slid down the building, when she was on solid ground again the let the weaver onto her claw, allowing it a spot to rest on her shoulder, hidden by the hood she had added to her cloak only a few days before she had ended up here.
Looking around it seemed to be midday as she explored in the direction opposite to the one she had last night, almost immediately knocking into a green performer that annoyed her slightly, hardly getting a rise from her fur though. She's learned how to be calm after all.
His appearance was strikingly similar to that of Pierrots, however he seemed far more… unpleasant and the sharpness of his green was far brighter than everyone else in the crowd. Wiping her cloak off she apologised to the tall green clown that stood in front of her.
“I am quite sorry, it was not my intention to barge into you.” She kept it formal and simple-
“Oh no need to apologize love” It was now glaringly obvious what he was like.
“Say… have a flyer, you should come to the circus” she stared before breathing, she could stay collected.
“No thank you sir, I already have a ticket.” She attempted to dismiss him but he continued to pester her.
“Tell my dear, is it a black one, pink perhaps?” Taking a deep breath she responded.
“No sir, it’s a red ticket.” And suddenly the green clown was right next to her, hand on her shoulder.
“Pierrot's ticket, he’s never given that out before.” He was still far too close, so she decided the best course of action was to not raise too much attention.
“I must go now sir.” She kept her voice flat.
“Oh, but how about you take my ticket, it could be a much more fun time.” Apparently he could not take the hint to the fact she no longer wished to talk to him, so she quickly, and much more gently that she normally would, as she didn’t want to cause a scene, stomped her paw against his foot.
From the corner of her eye she could see his expression contort into one of slight pain and shock, she quickly began her walk again.
“Goodbye sir” she wanted to add a sour comment at the end but decided against it. She did not see that Pierrot had practically appeared after she began walking away.