Misfortune danced around the Gardens happily so she could show Verde that she could perform to at their big debut. Maybe she should have been paying a bit more attention to where she was going though... An outstretched arm caught Nymph directly on his head, causing him to tumble over backwards and land with an awkward thump on his leg.
"Are you ok!?" she asked concerned. Nymph grunted and tried to get up. He winced from the pain the leg he seemed to have fallen on and replied, "Fine just busted up my right leg a little. It'll be fine in a couple of days."
"A couple of days!"
"Yeh?"
"That's when Verde's performance is!"
"Yeh, I might be fine then if mother helps me out... Go get her for me will you"
Misfortune pranced off and found the white lady tending to the flowers in the area to start making the gardens nice again. Most of them were blue or turquoise but one stook out with bright purple petals similar to her scarf.
"Mother, can you go help Nymph I accidentally triipped him up and now he's hurt his leg but he needs to be better for Verde's performance!"
"Ok dear I'll go tend to him" With that the higher being glided off down the path.
So what do I do now? She questioned herself. "Who cares, you can do what you want!" a voice came from a black figure.
"But that's not fair on Nymph"
"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine"
"If you say so..."
"Why don't we go exploring!"
"But we could get hurt!"
"WE got here so what could possibly hurt us! We're practically invincible!"
"We got here wth Nymph's help"
"So now we know the way!"
"Well it would be more interesting than this..." Misfortune grabbed the 'shade's' hand and they started to toddle off together. Misfortune's misguided happiness started to vanish at the sight of one of the dreaded pits of thorns...
"How are we going to get over that?" she asked.
"Like this!" it smiled. The 'shade' then glided over, phasing through anything in its way.
"See, easy" they praised themself.
"Uhhh, I'm not sure I can do it"
"Sre you can! You can do whatever you want!"
"No, I mean I can't float over ther, I'm not a shade"
"Oh just do the platforming then, it can't be that hard" Misfortune tried to go along with the unstable little balconies but found herself in the thorns below a few times. In the end she had to resort to harming a few mossflies for some soul to warp with.
"Look, I told you that you could do it!" the 'shade' laughed.
"yeh..."
They kept wondering for a bit until the pair came across yet more thorns. The 'shade' once again just glided over them, leaving Misfortune stuck on the other shore.
"That's it! This is ridiculous!" she yelled.
"What is?" it cocked its head sideways.
"This! You just assume I can do everything you can and expect me to keep up!"
"But you can do everything"
"No! I'm not perfect, no one is!" she sobbed.
"But I really thought you could..." it said its voice wavering while floating back to Misfortune. The real vessel looked it dead in the eye and spoke in a soothing voice, "Look I know its easy to just see the best in everything and that way nothing can hurt you, but sometimes you need to look past that. Like with Nymph. He could need our help right now but I've left with you!"
"H-he'll b-be fine r-r-right?"
"Maybe..."
"Oh..."
"Look we don't have to be pesimistic abou it just don't always assume everything is great. At least that's what I think I'm supposed to learn from this" She then gestured for them to come to her and wrapped them in a large hug. She felt them dissolve after a bright white light filled her vision. Now she just had to get back... At least she'd gotten some soul from it...
Once Misfortune was back safe and sound with her family she told them the whole tale. Maybe she exaggerated on some parts but that hadn't been the lesson! As she was curled up into a hug with a groaning Nymph by her mother, she noticed the purple flower from before embedded into her mother's cloak.
"Grace its only two days until the performance!" Verde wailed.
"Nervous aren't you..." she laughed.
"Nervous!? Oh I'm beyond that! I've never performed before!"
"Hey, calm down everyone here's gone through thisbefore. And they are all fine! Even if it does go wrong, the audience is mainly your family- they're not going to judge you."
"I s'pose"
"Look if your really worried, go talk to Scarlet!"
"Yeh, yeh I think I will..." The vessel wondered out into the dimly lit hallways. Grace smiled and hoped that Scarlet could help them. She herself hasd other plans for the evening.
Grace too left down the hallways, pushing through the rich cozy air and thick, draping cutains. Her legs daintily stepped on the soft red carpet as she saw the opening of her destination just ahead. It was a large open hall decorated with a pair of spotlights able to cast a brilliant scarlet light. Over to the side was a rack containing all costumes and props for the performers.
She glided over there and collected her belongings. Grace slipped the cloak like dress on and strapped her ribbon to her back. Then she strode over to a mirror in a small room off to the side and examined dress was a striking pink with a scarlet stripe running down her left side. The sleeves were neatly settled in a triangular shape covering half of her arm. She fanned her wings and saw them glisten from the light in the hall. It was perfect for her act.
The young butterfly then launched into the air and pirched on a beam overlooking he space. She took a deep breath before diving down and rolling forward twice to land elegantly on the tips of her feet. Grace looked up to her imaginary crowd and spread her arms out wide while waiting for the ribbon to settle down on her back. Then she sprung into a twirl to her to right letting the ribbon and her feathery trail of fluff around her neck dance swiftly behind her. Her hand then met the floor and let her bounce back into the air where her wings spread wide. She slid the ribbon into her hand and twirled it high above her head. After, she started to take dainty steps as if she was walking on air. Grace let her body take over as the routine came into its second half. Each trick flowed seamlessly into the next until she was once again on the ground on the tips of her feet. This time she didn't continue moving but took a deep bow.
She was ready.
-
Lili wandered shyly up to Spider's room and knocked gently on the door. The vessel was feeling lonely and knew that Thorn was busy learning to weve with Hornet. So, they'd decided to help out Spider. They heard the skuttling footsteps of Spider approaching the door and looked upwards shyly. The weaver came through the doorway and smiled at them.
"Hi there Lili, what can I do for you?" she greeted.
"Well uhm a-actually I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with?" she replied quietly.
"Oh! Well as a matter of fact there is! You can help me set up my shop. If you want to.."
"Sure! What should I do?"
"Well can you take these boxes down for me? I hope they're no too heavy" Lili smiled and took the boxes. They were heavy but she had a solution. Concentrating hard, Lili focused the soul in the air to push up the boxes. They sighed in relief once they were safely levitating in the air. They then set off down to the location marked on the top of one of the boxes for the shop.
They hopped through the silk balconies outside each bulding. The correct location was even esier to find than expecting as it stated in bold letters 'Spider convinience' on a sign.
Inside, it was cozy and warm. Shelves were stocked with all kinds of items ranging from coloured silk to crates of fruit. Inside Lili's boxes were sheets of paper embroided with black silk. They brung them over to a shelf marked 'stationary' and set them down. They stacked them in neat and tidy piles and put the empty boxes behind the counter with the mess of others.
It was then that the weaver owner of the shop found her way in and saw the job Lili had done.
"Wow Lili! This is amazing! I could never make things so tidy myself!" she praised.
"Thanks.." they mumbled.
"Would you mind tidying uo the rest of them?"
"Of course I'll do it" they said a bit more brightly.
So Lili spent the rest of their afternoon restacking the shelves neatly. They were quite pleased with their work actually! The buliding looked pristine and ready for opening which Lili had been informed was the day after Verde's show with the Grimm Troupe. "What do you think Spider? I'm done" they called. "Wow! How can I thank you Lili?This is incredible!" "I d-don't need payment. Its a favour. Friends do that for each other"
"You're right" The beaming weaver approached Lili and pulled them into a tight embrace.
"Just thank you then"
A blue form glided gracefully down to meet Rim who was sitting quietly reading. It was a novel by a bug named Bretta called 'Deception in the darkness'.
"Hi Rim, can you come with me?" the figure -who turned out to be Lost- asked. "For what?" they mumbled in response.
"I want to see the corpse of father's original form. To see the true form of a creature able to rival the strength of the being who saved me."
"So you want me to travel with you why?"
"Because I want to spend time with you too"
"Oh ok... sure I guess."
"Great I'll meet you here in ten minutes ok?"
"Sure" Lost then departed spreading their large blue wings wide to gain distance into the air.
They knew Lost was only trying to be kind but realistically what could they possibly need a rather incapable vessel like themself for? "Exactly!" a sneering voice called to them, "plus its far to dangerous for your likes out there." Rim swiveled and saw a shade like creature floating in the air leaving a trail of pitch black particles leading directly to their pale mask. "W-who are you?" Rim asked scared.
"You of course I'm only here to protect you!"
"I —don't need some ridiculously overprotective clone to watch out for me while I'm already too cautious myself!"
"Yeh but you don't get the danger!"
"Stop treating me like a child!"
"Oh no are you angry at me? I'm terrified... Look you're too ignorant to get that you are putting yourself at risk so just listen to me and tell Lost you don't feel well or somethin'"
"But that's lying!"
"Eh so what? Your existence is just an elaborate lie that good old daddy told himself."
"Please just be quiet and let me live my own life"
"Sure I'll do that..." The 'shade' then seemed to vanish. Or at leat that's what Rim thought until a claw prodded them hard in the back.
They whirled around scissors raised and eye buzzing with anicipation only to find thye 'shade' still there.
"Think you could get rid of me that easily? No. I'll always be here. No matter how hard you try I'll always be once step ahead ready to protect you from anyone and everyone. Its us against the world." it spoke.
"No! We can trust"
"Keep living your silly fantasy fantasy if you want but everyone here is ready to stab you in the back in the blink of an eye. One false move and they'll betray before you can even say 'help!'. Do I need to elaborate?"
"No" they said cooly.
"Good cause I have a job to do"
"Because my mind is already made up" They heard Lost gently padding in a reached for the fellow vessel's hand.
"I will remain with my family. They can keep me safe. I can trust them" The 'shade's' eyes widened in shock and fear. Lost's hand met Rim's and united they stared down the imposter. It shreiked and curled inwards before turning pure white and floating over to Rim like a guardian angle. It then promptly dissolved and was absorbed by Rim, leaving them feeling at peace.
With that, the pair of vessels left. Lost began explaining to them how they were going to go to Kingdom's edge to find the wyrm corpse. The siblings clambered side by side onto the seat on the tram after Lost pushed the glowing white button on their left.
Once the tram had slowed to a halt, they paced out into a world with a whistling wind carrying shining flakes of crumbling ash. Each glowed as it landed on Rim's mask before fading into their being throuh the void. The floor was unlike anything they'd seen before in the Basin or Abyss. It was paved roughly at its base but overun with glowing ferns entwined deep in it all covered with a blanket of ash. The ash itself seemed similar to a phenomon on the surface called 'snow'. Apparently ice fell from the sky and settled down on the ground without melting! What a weird and wonderful world! Rim hoped to see it one day.
They continued on until Lost decided it would be quicker to fly the pair of them up. They felt safe and warm again the cold wind in Lost's arms. Many hivelings waved at them during their ascent. They passed many platforms and even a section of land overgrown with deep evergreen vines. Lost's steady wingbeat continued until they were far above a pool of sickly green acid. Rim caught sight of a protruding spike that looked suspisioucly like their fathers crown and that it was made of bone. They alerted Lost and soon they were jumpinhg off to a new path.
Their journet was interupted however by a small winged bug with a sack of acid on its back drooping down and a pointed mask with four eye holes. It saw them and charged. Nothing was goin to stand in its way of them so it ejected burning drops of acid at them. Rim sprung out the way using their caution and anxious habits as a sort of six sense to dodge through the projectiles. They saw Lost doing the same out of the corner of their eye but their attempts were becoming futile as a swarm of the creaure began arriving. Lost fought against them ferouciously slashing them down and dancing between them with each wound reforming shell from lifeblood as quick as it was inflicted. It would never work though- lifeblood creatures were not aggressive nor offensive beings so not much damage could be left on the foes. Rim could not just stand by and watch this happen however.
They leapt into the air and drew their scissors. The twin blades were opened wide and Rim prepared to propel forward with soul but something else strange happened. The soul mixed with something else turning a honey colour and flowing down their back. Their chest filled with a warmth akin to that of a calming flame to sit by on a cold day as new flaps of skin formed around their cloak. Soft pale feathers with streaks of the honey colour settled on them and the new appendages started flapping. Rim soared towards the aspids with their newfound wings and dealt devastating blows to them with a new reinvigorated strength. They felt like their past self had reunited with this newer battered form as one.
Their blades dug deep into the shells of each beast's shell as Lost played defensively covering them and healing their ailments. In the end, the flying nuisenses were no match for the vessel team. "Liking the new wings Rim! Were'd they come from?" Lost praised,
"No idea but they sure are handy!" Rim laughed.
"Oh well who cares anyway!"
Both flew seamlessly down the path following the trail of bone protrusions to... a large blockade of ash.
"We can't get through.." Rim started sadly.
"Oh well" Lost shrugged.
"But we came here for this!"
"Maybe, but hey look what we found along the way. I'd say the power of our copanionship as siblings and your wings of course, more than make up for it! We had fun and that's all that matters" Rim hesitated before running up to lost amd wrapping their wings around their sibling.
"Thank you so much for taking me on this trip!"
"No problem"