When Ogrim finally stirred from his nap and unfurled himself into a sitting position he was met with quite a cute sight; the pale king being cradled by the hollow knight's single arm and pulled close to their side as the large knight slept on its stomach.
Although the sight was very heartwarming to the knight, the pain from his body and the inability to feel his right arm reminded him of how serious the situation was.
When he hobbled over to the sleeping bugs, he lightly nudged the bigger knight carefully. The hollow knight's response was to only tighten their hold on the smaller bug and curl into themselves tighter.
"Hey, we need to move. I don't know how long our bodies can handle themselves without proper medical treatment." Ogrim reasoned in a whisper.
It wasn't until about a half a moment later did the hollow knight reluctantly stir itself awake, but all they could do was slowly shift their head to glance at the former white defender. Their body used up the last bit of adrenaline it had searching for their father, now their body felt too heavy to move, let alone sit up.
"I…can't…move" They replied hoarsely.
"What? Are you in pain?"
They shook their head weakly. "No…just…too weak…too heavy…"
This was when the former Pale King finally stirred from his slumber to glance up at the round knight.
"What's wrong?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.
Ogrim shifted his gaze to the small king. "The hollow knight can't move. I think traveling down here took a toll on their body."
"Hollow Knight?" This was the first time he heard such a title. He turned to get a better look at the bigger knight that was holding him to notice how slow and ragged their breathing was and their face seemed to be stricken with pain. "Will they be alright?"
The hollow knight turns to look at their father and, although very weakly, gave him what seem to be a small smile. "Do not…worry…father. I'm…just tired…"
The pale king frowned. This wasn't caused by what they were doing when he was relearning how to walk again, right?
The pale king turned to look at Ogrim. "Is there something I can do?"
Ogrim put a claw to his head in thought. "Well, we were planning to head back up for medical assistance. Unfortunately, with the City of Tears being wiped out, and I haven't left the waterways in so long, I don't even know where to begin to look for a place that would help us."
Much of what Ogrim said to the pale wyrm eluded him, but he did understand how injured they both were and the urgency of seeking help.
He remembered back when the hollow knight healed his hand, couldn't they do the same to their body?
"They healed themselves before, can't they do it again?" The pale wyrm asked.
Ogrim was taken aback by the question, wondering if the king remembered his past if not at least a piece of it, but the hollow knight shook their head. "I…don't have…enough soul."
"Can't we find more of this…'soul' then?"
Ogrim deflated. "I don't remember this area very well. The best place to harness soul would be at a hot spring, but the only one I know of is in the City of Tears and I'm pretty sure it was destroyed."
Hollow knight's eyes widened for a moment, remembering the hot spring close to the black egg at the crossroads their sister took them to. He slowly shifted their head to the far end of the cavern, remembering the small stag station their father implemented for easy travel for his subjects and servants. Would there still be stags working now?
They looked back to Ogrim. "The stags…"
Ogrim's eyes widened. "The stags…" He echoed. "That's right! There's a stag station at the end of this cavern, it might still be in service!"
"Stags?" The wyrm questioned.
"Transportation." Ogrim clarified. "I forgot the palace had their own station here. If it still works, it'll be much easier for us to get from one place to another."
"There's a…hot spring in…crossroads…" The hollow knight huffed, lowering their head back to the floor.
"Hot spring in the crossroads…" Ogrim echoed. "You mean, the roads close to the surface?"
"You said you didn't know of any other springs, perhaps that's our best option for now?" The pale wyrm reasoned, losing patience as he starts to get more worried for the bigger knight.
"It might be our only option for now." Ogrim muttered. "Alright, let's try and head to the station."
"Alright then, we must move." The pale wyrm said as he carefully slithered out from the hollow knight's grasp and back into an upright position. "How do we get them there?"
"You let me worry about that." Ogrim replied, his bravado starting to shine once more. "Why don't you scout ahead to make sure there isn't anything hazardous waiting for us."
"Sounds like a plan." The pale wyrm reflected, raising his head a little in confidence as he turned towards the far end of the cavern the hollow knight gestured to and went on his way.
He didn't get too far before he fell headfirst into the gravel.
Ogrim jumped, his old years of knighthood instinctively wanting to run over and check on his former king when the pale wyrm immediately stood back up again. Unbeknownst to Ogrim, the pale wyrm could feel his face burn and hands shake as he forced himself to not look back, as if doing so would lessen Ogrim's view on him.
"Are you al-"
"Yes. Yes. I am fine!" He replied hotly as he shuffled faster (albeit more carefully this time) towards the end of the cavern, feeling his face burn ever brighter he might start illuminating.
Ogrim sighed in relief. Although, the pale wyrm's remark felt a little nostalgic to the old knight, remembering the rare times his king would become heated and lash out on his poor servants who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, was quite refreshing. He never did anything wrong when he was mad it was just…comical to watch. It made him more…real as a bug than a higher being.
Although it would sometimes be literally hard to watch considering every time he was worked up, his body would illuminate very brightly and cause everyone around him to become blind for a while.
While Ogrim proceeded to carefully hoist the hollow knight on their uninjured shoulder, the pale wyrm slithered into the small entrance of the cavern, revealing a hidden stag station devoid of any life. While the silence was deafening compared to the echoey chamber they were just in, he marveled at the intricate design of the walls and floors. Noting the small divots and illuminate shine that reflected off the stone. Such a contrast to the last chamber they were in.
When he continued inside, he noticed a bell hanging from one of the stands. It was roughly his height, if not a little taller than him; it was a curious little thing. He gazed at the golden bell a little longer, itching to ring it when Ogrim's voice called him back to reality.
"Is it safe?" He called.
"Yes," the pale wyrm turned and slithered back to the entrance, "the room is vacant."
Answering the call, Ogrim slowly walked in, the Hollow Knight leaning against him heavily. Their breathing wasn't any better, and the complexion on their face seemed even worse than before, although they seemed to be doing their best to remain stoic and unexpressive.
The pale wyrm knew they were only getting worse.
"Okay," Ogrim huffed, straining from the weight, "I need you to ring that bell."
The pale wyrm didn't need to wait for any further clarification, he immediately turned and slithered further inside, fueled by the growing anxiety inside him.
He hit the bell with his hand and looked back. "Now what?"
"W-well, if the stags are still here, then one of them would-"
Suddenly, a small quake took hold of the room as a figure is seen running towards the station. Caught off guard by the shake, the pale wyrm held onto the bell staff while the combined weight and balance of the hollow knight kept Ogrim in check.
Then a large, older stag appeared through the entranceway of the track, and stopped beside the bell staff. Startled, the pale wyrm shuffled back towards Ogrim without sparing a glance away from the large creature.
Meanwhile, Ogrim muttered a thankful prayer and walked towards the stag. The pale wyrm, noticing the relief in Ogrim's posture, quickly composed himself and went to walk alongside him and the hollow knight, but not without still being wary of the new occupant.
The stag turned to look at the new travelers, surprised to see quite a colorful group in such a remote part of the kingdom. But the one that interested him the most was the small one, noting the very familiar crown that made up his head.
"Hmm, it's nice to see more bugs using the stagways. Although, something tells me you are no ordinary bugs." He spoke, watching the little one curiously.
Noticing the stag weyeing him, the pale wyrm took shelter behind Ogrim and the hollow knight, though not without peaking from the round knight's back.
"Heh, that would be quite the understatement." Ogrim replied. "But unfortunately, we are running short on time. We need to reach the springs up in the crossroads, could you take us there?"
The stag eyed the round knight and the much bigger knight leaning against him, now noticing the grievous wounds and dried blood both share. The stag nodded his head. "I can take you there, but I am only limited to the stagways, I can't take you directly to the springs unfortunately."
Ogrim nodded in understanding. "That's fine. Do you think you can handle taking all of us at once?"
The older stag chuckled. "I may be old, but I can handle the weight."
Ogrim grinned at the willing stag and nodded his thanks. Carefully, Ogrim helped the hollow knight climb onto the front seat—following the stag's added advice that their horns might hit the ceiling if they were in the back—and then helped the pale wyrm climb onto the back seat. Though not without quietly voicing his concerns in his regards if this was a good idea anymore or not. Ogrim constantly reassured him it would be fine.
Then, once everyone was settled, the stag took off. Upon the kickoff, the wyrm immediately clutched onto Ogrim while the round knight kept his uninjured claw on the hollow knight's shoulder in case they lost their balance.
As they the stag continued his journey, silence befell the three on his back. After a while, The pale wyrm noticed how limp and unresponsive the hollow knight was and quickly prodded Ogrim if they were alright.
Ogrim smiled. "Don't worry, I think they just dozed off. They tended to do that when they rode the stags before."
The pale wyrm sighed in relief, but there was still bit of doubt persisting despite the assurance. He looked back to the hollow knight, remembering the last hours he had spent with them stemming from now to the time he crawled out of his egg; remembering their distraught face when they saw him, when they hugged him and apologized, calling them father…
"Um, round bug…" The pale wyrm began quietly. "I don't know your name…"
"Oh! It's Ogrim." He replied.
The pale wyrm nodded. "Ogrim, I have a lot of questions."
Ogrim's face fell. He had a feeling at some point that he was going to have a discussion with the amnesiac king but he was hoping that they could discuss it at least until they found treatment first. "I know."
"But I understand now might not be a good time to do it." The pale wyrm continued.
Ogrim raised a brow, wondering if he was reading his mind. There have been many times his knights reminded him that he was quite easy to read sometimes, especially for the pale king, but for it to happen in this case? He started to wonder if pieces of the pale king pasts are starting to resurface now.
"But I do have one question that I want answered now."
Ogrim nodded, he could at least give him that. "Of course."
The pale wyrm placed a hand on the hollow knight's horns. "Why do they call me 'Father'?"
Ogrim was taken aback, he wasn't expecting that question. He assumed he would say 'who am i?' or 'why do you act like you know me when I just hatched?', not 'why does this bug call me father?'.
Ogrim looked to the hollow knight in thought, even he didn't know the answer to that. But that didn't mean the pale wyrm's question would go unanswered.
"I'm afraid I'm not the one who has the answers for that, but I'm sure you know who does. They would be the one you would ask."
The pale wyrm didn't glance away from the hollow knight, their shell leaning into the wyrm's touch. He slowly nodded, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he opted to continue petting the tired hollow knight's head.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence.