A
companion piece to Don't Worry.
It's almost a silent partnership, and it's achingly, frustratingly necessary.
Because the king's just plain stupid.
Because the horse isn't going to die just yet.
Because they're running out of time.
The hollow is willing to admit that it only saw a fool the first time. A mewing, yelping toy, with no sense, no cleverness and no purpose. But Kon knows the smell and touch of death, and there's a glint in his eyes that appeals to the hollow, reaching beyond hunger. So they will fight together, because the king's still a child, and doesn't understand that some things are needed.
The horse is not just hungry for souls, it's ravenous, it's rapacious, it will eat them all alive- but not yet. And truly, it's not sure whether it will ever have that chance. But to look through the King's eyes, to see the ribbons and the hollows and the greedy monstrous disintegration…it's enough. And without its King, it will never have that choice again. So it will bide. So it will watch and plan whilst others devour.
The King is becoming stronger, but not quickly enough. The hollow sees Kon's gaze and knows that he understands. They have to be fast, faster than everyone else, if they're to survive this, and the time is disappearing. So the hollow fights. So the hollow torments and tortures and consumes, because otherwise, the King and his horse and all of his soldiers will be torn and rent and-
Oh, the hollow understands this world all too well. And it knows that in this strange, strange world, there is only one thing that matters.Hunger.