Dragoon was on the hunt in an area of the forest where the roots were further apart, the dense thicket thinning out. She kept herself low to the ground, relying on her ability to sense soul to find the bugs and beasts hidden from sight. Her attention focused squarely ahead of her, she failed to hear the skittering of many legs coming from behind her. Something roared and crashed into her from behind jaws clacking shut over where she was moments prior.
She scrambled to dart away from the weight that was crushing her wings, she turned around to see a giant dark brown centipede looming over her. The beast's antennae twitched as it roared again and dove after her. On reflex, she grabbed the creature's jaws in her hands, straining against its larger size and ignoring the venom that now coated her hands and trickled down her arms.
She dug her feet into the dirt, sliding to a stop as the centipede continued its assault. The two struggled in a stalemate, Dragoon's leverage against the bugs raw strength. With a grunt, the dragonfly began to twist to her attacker's head, her grip on its mandibles ironclad as she slowly gained the upper hand. She turned the beasts head in increments, and it began to thrash and bellow in pain as she turned it toward an unnatural angle.
Chitin broke and her victory was sounded with the snap. The larger predator fell silent as its body went limp, head cocked unsettlingly far to the right. Dragoon let go and stumbled back, her arms shook from the strain, and she was starting to feel ill as she wiped the venom off her arms and hands with a nearby leaf.
Her legs almost gave out beneath her, her wings felt like crumpled sheets of paper as she hefted the carcass onto her back and began the walk back to Grimm's tent.
As the gaps between roots thinned, Dragoon hefted her kill onto the ground and scanned her surroundings. The larger bugs wouldn't find her, and she hoped the sight of the dead centipede at her feet would ward off any smaller predators that would seek to take advantage of her weakened state. With no sign of any immediate danger, she focused her attention inward and drew upon her reserves of Soul.
Her body was bathed in a faint white glow and she felt the phantom touch of water washing over her chitin. The venom in her body was broken down, rendered harmless by the cleansing spell she had cast. A glance back at her wings showed they weren't as rumpled as they felt, but it would be another cycle's rest before she could heal them.
A pair of red, glowing eyes appeared in her mind's eye, concern not her own danced through her mind.
"I wasn't aware you were telepathic." She said softly and she could hear Grimm's voice just as clearly as if he were right beside her.
"I sensed you gather your focus, are you wounded?"
She sent him her memories of the fight and the image of her damaged wings. A streak of something, ancient and primal, seeped from The Troupe Master. She would call it protectiveness were it not for the sheer intensity of it blurring it beyond recognition.
"Wait there." Grimm commanded.
Dragoon was stunned as he appeared in a burst of flame accompanied by several of his servants, the floating Grimmkin.
He directed them to the carcass still lying in the dirt. "Take it to be processed for consumption."
The strange apparitions obeyed, gathering up the centipede and teleporting away in a burst of red fire. Grimm himself walked over to her, red gaze assessing her injuries.
Dragoon couldn't tell if he was displeased with her, or the creature that attacked her in the first place. To her surprise, Grim crouched down, expression melting into one of worry as he inspected her wings up close.
"Have you removed the venom from your system?" he asked softly.
"Yes, some food and rest will be all I need to replenish my soul reserves enough to heal my wings." She replied and Grimm shook his head.
"That is not good enough, I know of a place nearby that can aid in your recovery, a Soul Spring" he explained, stood up and offered her a hand. "May I bring you there?"
A Soul Spring? Dragon has sensed one was somewhere within this maze of roots, but navigation beyond tracking prey was outside her skillset, and she had not bothered to look for it. But he was right in that it would help her heal much faster.
"That sounds like a better idea." She said and squeaked as the taller bug scooped her up into his arms, mindful of her wings. Grimm radiated warmth, a kind of heat that sunk into her weary limbs and eased aches she didn't know she had.
She was blinded by the flash of red that accompanied his teleport. Biting back an annoyed hiss, she held her hand over her functioning eye and waited for her vision to clear.
When it did, she was greeted with a large spring that faintly glowed white with Soul. The forest that surrounded it had bioluminescent plants growing from the ground, the roots and even beneath the water. She could sense bugs scurrying beneath the dirt, organisms living in the spring itself, and the unseen hive of activity in the gloom beyond the well-lit slice of paradise she was now witness to.
Grimm eased her into the water, skittering away from the water's edge and wrapping his cloak tighter around himself as soon as she was free from his hold.
Dragoon glanced over at him as the cool, soul infused waters went to work healing her wings. "Not a fan of water?"
"Not cold water." he said tensely, eyeing the water with a level of caution she'd never seen from a bug before.
She rolled onto her back, floating lazily. "What about hot springs?"
He perked up, smiling fondly. "I enjoy a nice long soak in a hot spring from time to time, I find the heat far more enjoyable."
She hummed. "There's something we could do together one day, go to a hot spring together," a thought came to her. "I wonder how compatible we truly are? A being of water and a being of fire…"
"I am an approximation of what a bug is, a bug born of nightmares and fear," Grimm stated. "I have the freedom to decide what traits I do and do not have and change in accordance with my mate's needs."
"As in internal things? Like diet and genitals?" Dragoon asked and he nodded, looking pleased. She waved a hand. "Doesn't sound too different to what Soul Bearers do. We often have mates outside of our species, we make ourselves viable partners through a spell, and the resulting offspring have a chance of being either our species or our partners."
She motioned at him. "Can you have children outside of The Ritual?"
Grimm nodded. "Though none of my mates have asked it of me."
"Would you like to?" she asked.
Grimm narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you planning little drahka?" he asked, fondness creeping into his voice.
"I, my friend, am not even thirty Seasons old. Yet I have hundreds more ahead of me. And… I'm getting ahead if myself," she said and chuckled. "Look at me, planning for things yet to be when we're still in the dilemma of how to restore your Ritual to what it should be."
"Oh?" Grimm was intrigued. "Care to share your plans?"
"They're stupid," she replied but did so anyway. "I had an idea, that regardless of whether we succeed or not, you could point me in the direction of the next kingdom you are going to cleanse, and I could settle there ahead of you… We could rebuild it together…"
She shook her head. "Nothing more than fanciful daydreams."
"Hallownest." Grimm stated.
"Pardon?"
He smirked. "The kingdom I am to head to next is Hallownest, the very place The Radiance now commands," his smile slipped from his place. "She is defiling the natural order, and if we are to revert the ritual back to what it was then my sister must be removed from power… I've given such a thing plenty of thought over these last few cycles."
"So, what takes precedent, stopping your sister or The Ritual?" Dragoon asked.
"…The Radiance must be slain," Grimm decided, fury in his gaze. "I have tried for many an age to go on without her or her dreams and…"
He faltered. "The thought of killing her never occurred to me, I thought she would regain her senses on her own with time. But the Kingdom she hates has been dead for more than an age and now she traps innocent bugs in her rays of fury, the travellers and fortune seekers that head to Hallownest become ensnared in her light, never to return as long as she draws breath."
Grimm fell silent, lost in his own thoughts and maw twisted into a frown.
Dragoon used the lull in the conversation to dive beneath the surface. Small white crustaceans swam about and she darted forward to catch one in her jaws and a second in her hands. Returning to the surface, she shook the excess water off the one in her hands before paddling to the edge of the spring to hand it to Grimm.
He blinked, but carefully walked over to her and accepted her gift. They ate in companionable silence.
With her meal finished, Dragoon pulled herself out of the water, wings weighed down with water, but fully healed. The chill of leaving the spring hit her in force and she did her best shake the water off her chitin. She was unceremoniously grabbed by Grimm, the higher being unfazed as he held her in his arms and wrapped his cloak around them both.
"You don't need to coddle me Grimm, I can dry off on my own." She sighed.
"I'd rather you be warm and content than dripping water all through my tent," Grimm said and smiled gratefully. "Thank you for the catch, I haven't had the pleasure if eating aquatic prey for quite some time."
"It was only fair, given how much of your time you're putting towards me. You have duties and such after all."
"I do," he said with a mischievous grin. "And if proving my worth as a prospective mate, ritual or no, is a duty I choose to give myself, then you and I are the only ones that need to know."
"The Nightmare King is a romantic sap," Dragoon said, mouth parts stretching into her own grin. "That is absolutely adorable."
The two of them chuckled.
Once Dragoon was dry, Grimm teleported them back to the nestroom, Dragoon's room according to Grimm, and settled down in the pile of blankets, the dragonfly still wrapped up in his cloak.
"Feeling better?" Grimm asked.
"Much better, there are things we need to discuss though, you're not the only one who's been thinking about all of this," she replied, looking up at him from where she was snuggled up against his chest and covered in his cloak. Only her head was visible. "I have a few questions about The Ritual, as it stands now."
"I've told you what it entails, but I will answer nonetheless."
Dragoon took a breath. "The child, what becomes of it after the ritual is completed? Is there a mind, a spirit that will be erased to make way for your own? Is it a truly sapient being or more of a creature to impose your will upon?"
"All of the Grimmchildren are copies of myself, they are born aware of what they are, what their purpose is, and what they will be," Grimm said softly. "Your purpose in this part of the ritual is to provide the organic material needed for my imprint to properly manifest. The Grimmchild will have no will, no spirit beyond what is needed for the ritual."
"And would you be interested in having young outside of the ritual? After the Grimmchild is born but before you… transfer the flames to them?"
He looked down at her in curiosity. "Is that what it will take for you to give your aid in this?"
"No," she emphatically stated. "I merely ask because I wish to be your mate beyond the scope of the ritual, a true partnership between us."
"You say this, knowing full well what would become of me if we are to proceed with things as they currently stand?" Grimm asked. "You, who have not gazed upon my full might, nor stepped foot in my realm?"
"Then show me and let me be the judge of my own fate," she countered. "Drahka's rarely get to choose our mates, only skilled huntresses and those of noble birth have the opportunity due to the large number of suitors they have vying for their attention. I'm as plain and as common as one can be and a Soul Bearer. At the end of my long journey, once the land is made rich and fertile with new life, I am to break the seals on my reproductive cycle and find a mate."
Loneliness crawled up out of the depths of her mind. "So forgive me, Your Majesty, for wanting something more long term…"
Grimm looked to be at a loss for words, the age old being staring down at her in wonder. After a moment, just when she was about to apologize for being so blunt, he found his voice. "You beautiful creature… I will show you all that I encompass, and if you still find me desirable after that… Then I would be delighted to stand by your side as long as you'll have me."
"Sleep," he commanded. "And you will gaze upon me all my terrifying glory…"
The casting of the spell did not escape her notice and as it dragged her into the depths of sleep, Dragoon rested her head against Grimm's chest, warm and content.