Note: Okay, before anyone kills me, I am a shipper of Dolorosa X Psionic as moirails only. So, there is no flushed feelings between them. Also, the headcanon here is that Dolorosa and Signless lived in the forest, near a market (that will be explained in he chapter after the next) ;).
Pallum stirred. Her ears twitched, picking up the sound of purring and soft hiccups.
She blinked her eyes open, finding herself lying on her side on the cold stone floor. A haze surrounded her mind. Not really thinking, she pulled herself to her feet and started walking.
As she followed the sounds, the haze slowly starting to clear. And when it did, the girl found herself standing on the other side of the cave.
Cislec crouched before her, yellow tears slowly trickling down his face. Her grub perched on his shoulder, purring soothing as he rubbed against the older troll's cheek.
"Cislec, what's wrong?" She asked, kneeling down beside him.
"I-I had a-a nightmare." He hiccupped.
"Oh, honey." She cooed sympathetically, papping his face gently. "Don't cry, it wasn't real. It was only a dream."
He relaxed slightly, and then suddenly hugged her, burying his face in her chest.
She blinked, a little surprised. Then she returned the hug, rubbing his back and patting the back of his head. As he gasped and hiccupped, she shooshed him, the grub adding its own comforting purr.
Finally, he stopped sobbing and sagged against her, his breathing deepening and calming.
She smiled softly.
He'd fallen asleep.
The grub crawled from the male's shoulder and up to her's before snuggling against her neck.
Supporting Cislec's limp body, the jadeblood slowly turned and pressed her back against the wall of the cave. Then she slowly lowered the other troll so only his head rested on her lap.
He turned over his sleep and curled up before settling down.
She sighed in softly, smiling as she, too, drifted off.
~000~
"Cislec, wake up." She cooed, gently shaking him awake.
It was a few hours after twilight. She stood over him, grub perched on her shoulder and satchel strapped against her back.
The jadeblood had woken a few moments ago. She had slid out from under her companion and fetched her bag.
"Huh?" He blinked awake. "'Lum? Why are you thtill here?"
"Up and at 'em." She grinned, offering her hand. "You're coming with us."
"What?" He blinked again, shocked. "Why?"
"If you think I'm leaving you in these caves to rot, you've got another thing coming." She stated, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. "Now, let's get moving. We gotta find another cave before sunrise."
He stood firmly and held onto her hand, stopping her as she headed toward the entrance.
"Actually, there'th thome tunnelth in the back that leadth to a foretht." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Really?" She blinked at him, and then grinned. "Great! Lead the way!"
~000~
She reached out and caught him as he stumbled. They must have been at this for about half the night. Not that they could tell, being deep underground. But that's how it felt to her.
Since starting out, Cislec's oversized suit had proven to be rather difficult to work with in this environment. Pallum often found herself catching the slightly shorter troll after every few steps or so. She was beginning to wonder how many bruises and cuts he had gotten from coming through these tunnels the first time.
"Careful." She cautioned.
"How can you carry all that and walk like your on flat ground?" He grumbled, crawling under a fallen stalagmite after standing up and shrugging her off.
"You forget I lived in caves most my life." She slid over the stalagmite and strode after him.
The grub clicked happily, showing his odd, flat teeth.
"Oh, yeah…" Cislec paused. "Tho, mind telling me why you left the Cavernth? I mean, I thought only rainbow-drinkerth were banithhed. And you are obviouthly not a rainbow-drinker."
"You're right." She walked past him, readjusting the strap of her satchel. "I ran away."
He hurried after her. Suddenly, she halted, and he ran into her and fell backwards, landing on his butt. As he rubbed it, the other troll stared at her, baffled by her sudden stop.
"Just like you." She glanced back at him and smirked a little.
He paled and shrank back. "H-how'd you know?"
"Come on, Cislec." She turned back to him and pulled him to his feet. "How could I not know? I mean, I've seen your tears and you're obviously a yellowblood, whom even jadebloods' know are strong telekinesis. And you had to run away to get way out here."
"Oh…" The psionic blinked and hung his head. "Guethth you're gonna turn me in, huh?"
She started laughed softly, hiding her smile behind her hand. He looked up at her and frowned.
"What'th tho funny?"
"Cislec, you brainy simpleton." She giggled, removing her hand and grinning. "I won't turn you in! How can I when I've got a 'freak of nature' riding on my shoulder?"
He stared at her for a moment, watching her pet the grub, then chuckled. "I guethth tho."
"Now, shall we continue?" She gestured to the tunnel before them.
"Yeth, we thhall." He answered, offering his elbow.
She chuckled, linking arms with him as they marched off.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
~000~
"Here we are." Cislec pushed some greenery aside from the entrance and gestured to the scene before them.
Pallum stared in surprise as the grub on her shoulder shrieked joyously and waved his tiny legs at the landscape.
They stood at the top of a hill, surrounded by an ocean of trees. Green plants rose into view for miles in any direction. The only gap in this sea of vegetation was the one before them, which was a small clearing. Mountains rose in the distance, the gentle moon peeking at the two from around the top of the highest.
"Wow…" She whispered, eyes widening. Taking her grub from her shoulder, she cradled him gently and looked at her friend.
He smiled happily. "Guethth we got a lot of building to do, huh?"
She smiled softly, taking his hand and squeezing it firmly. "Yeah, I guess we do."
After all, we need a hive to live in.
