Two by two… Broken nail… lady… pale…?
The words to Myla's nursery songs were etched into her mind through weeks of singing as she worked, but for some reason she'd forgotten and had recently been struggling to bring it back. It seemed as if she passed out for quite a while and woke up with only a blurred recollection of lethargy and confusion, frustratingly.
Maybe it was the self-enforced lack of sleep? Oh well. She had bigger problems at the moment.
For within all her living memory, she had been raised in the walls and caverns of the Crystal Peaks, but now the solitude this rich area imposed on her was beginning to feel oppressive. The dull ache began soon after she awoke from her unplanned nap and only grew and grew the more she attempted to quash it.
Where was the delight in swinging her pickaxe? Picking the nicest crystals? Listening to the crystals sing? She didn't understand and it scared her a bit, but not for too long.
She was going through her normal, repetitive routine when a tap on her shoulder startled her into vigilance. Whipping around, she spotted her friend (she hoped they were friends, at least) standing stock still in front of her and relaxed.
"Oh! H-hello there! I didn't expect to see you. Strange to see me not s-s-singing? Silly old me forgot enough that I can't sing at all right now, maybe I should make my own song?" the words poured out easily and was simply small talk, but the knight continued to stare straight into her eyes with a bemusing intensity. Was there something on her face?
Without any warning, they threw their arms around her body with a near chokehold strength. Wow, way more power than she thought their tiny build could hold, but all she could concentrate on was the hug part of it all. Had it truly been so long since the last time she was shown genuine affection?
It seemed to help fill a gap in her heart she didn't notice was empty till now. A bit of a cliche, but the comparison was probably the easiest way to express it. All she could do was wrap her stout arms around and return the gesture. Finally, the knight withdrew and left Myla with some slightly aching spots in exchange for a lightened feeling in her chest.
She spent a few seconds deliberating over her next words, but merely ended up stuttering out a simple "W-what was that for?"
"The ghost appears to have been under the impression that you were dead."
Myla shot up in shock as the unfamiliar sound echoed in the narrow tunnel. Why was she so easily surprised today? Even with her eyes darting everywhere, she still was not privy to the location of the speaker.
"Who a-a-are, I mean, where are you?" she called to the disembodied voice.
A figure draped in red showed her two-pronged horns from behind a wooden shaft, stern face unrelenting even to Myla's nervous demeanor. Even then, she thought that she seemed rather cool with that long, wickedly sharp needle glinting on her back.
Myla shook her head and looked between the two visitors. "Nobody visits me very often, so I never see m-more than one bug at once. Why did you all come here?"
"I am the protector of Hollownest, and they," she gestured at the knight, "are a vital component of what's left of it. I'd be quite the incompetent guard if I did not watch over them after a recent injury."
"Injury?" Myla tilted her neck to get a closer look at the knight. "They don't l-look like they're hurt."
The mystery bug closed her eyes for an short moment and turned to them. "It does appear to be so, but I am not sure. They have a habit of disguising whatever ails them until they cannot anymore, and as a result, I have designated myself for the task at hand."
"That seems awfully nice of y-you, miss…?"
"Hornet"
Myla's eyes widened as she asked, "Like one of those hive bugs?"
Hornet's focus suddenly honed in on her. "Hive? Where did you come by that information? It is within my knowledge that much information on it was withheld from the kingdom by royal decree even before its fall."
"Huh? I guess its because my gram used to tell me old stories and that was in one of them. Are you from there?" She answered and asked within the same breath, hand on her chin.
"Not quite. I do have links to it though, but I'm under no law to divulge my tale."
"O-o-oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
"No, it is only natural that you'd question strange things, but it would do you well to be more cautious of what you're wading into."
At this point, the knight, who had been content watching the exchange, began to tug on Myla's hand.
"Ah. Myla, the ghost wishes for you to return to Dirtmouth with us."
"Eh? That would be n-nice, but the crystals-" she paused before finishing.
"What of them?"
What of them? She'd surrounded herself with them all this time, expecting to live and die and be buried among them all this time but maybe, just maybe it was finally time to take a breather and come back later? It's not like it would run away like a skittering spider.
"Will you let me come back again if I d-d-don't want to stay?" Myla asked.
The knight looked at her and after a while, nodded. Was it just her, but did they appear to be pouting somewhat?
"Okay! Let me just grab some stuff and we can go."
Packing was easy. She only had a bag of her favorite crystals and her pickaxe. Her lumafly headlight didn't count since she was already wearing it.
She strung the bag on her back and walked over to signal that she was ready. What she was not ready for, however, was suddenly being whisked into the air alongside her friend. The knight waved their hands in the breeze.
"I hope using me as a convenient mode of transport does not become a habit for either of you," Hornet lectured sternly, but with no real bite. The knight ignored her shamelessly.