Characters: The Pale King/The White Lady, The Pure Vessel, Grimmchild, Herrah the Beast
Word Count: 6.482
Summary: Pendry takes a small break before he leaves for Deepnest with Hollow, eager to see what Herrah wants to show him.
(Author's note: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I always like to get into Herrah's head and call Pendry's bullshit out directly and let him react to it. This chapter also got written a lot faster than I thought, lately I am on a roll when it comes to this fic.
I am not too sure if this chapter needs warnings outside of the usual self-hatred and self-loathing Pendry goes through. Also there is kinda self-harm, but not really? You will see once you are there.
Lately, I have gotten a lot of, mostly guest reviews voicing concerns that I would abandon the fic. I don't know where you got the idea, but this fic isn't going anywhere. I know I don't update it weekly, but that has do to with me juggling multiple fics for multiple fandoms. I need a bit of a breather between projects and have to focus my mind on something else for a while. I will finish this fic, don't worry. Also, if you want to have more updates about my writing, feel free to follow my tumblr of the same name as this account here.)
Pendry sighed as he sank deeper into the water of his own personal hot spring. Today had been harsh. First he had found out that definitely at least one of his children was still alive, said child had some personal vendetta with Hollow, then he had to face Ogrim and Isma about his crimes, went to face his inner turmoil by visiting the Abyss and on top of that now Herrah wanted to see him.
All of this stress resulted in him nursing a headache and developing a stiff tension in his neck and shoulder area. He loosely rubbed over the affected area with one of his arms to no avail, all it did was intensifying the pain. He hissed as he felt his headache throb. Hopefully the spring water would help loosen all his stiff muscles and joints up.
"It wasn't the easiest day for you, hmm, my Wyrm?", Rydellia said, suddenly emerging behind him from the water, several of her vines exploring his body. Pendry wasn't even astounded about it anymore. She had a tendency to hide in the bathtub to surprise him. As a plant based higher being, it was easy for her to not need any air for a long time.
"It was.", he confirmed and leaned against her bark. It was wet and shiny, but still sturdy, emanating a light glow. Not as harsh as his kingslight, his queen had always been a bit more subtle about her glow. She also could control it better, much unlike him, who started to grow as bright as a cluster of lumaflies when upset and dimmed when sad or exhausted.
At least he wouldn't have to take a lumafly lantern with him when he had to get up in the night, Monomon had joked about it once. Little did she know how right she was about this joke. Right at this moment, Pendry didn't have any reason to glow harder though, so his own light just intermingled with that of his wife.
"You are all tense, Pendry.", Rydellia said, her vines having finished the exploration of his body. He was just glad that the hot spring already had healed the minor cuts he had gotten from clenching his fists too hard in the Abyss. Rydellia wouldn't have liked to see him hurting himself like that.
"Who can blame me?", he replied. "A lot happened today. And tomorrow it will just continue." He leaned into Rydellia's embrace with a sigh. He hoped that whatever Herrah wanted to show him wasn't too bad. It wouldn't even surprise him if she had only asked him over to show him that Hornet had learned to make silk or something. That would be very much like Herrah. He doubted it though, the letter looked too serious to be a prank or something.
Maybe Herrah had found something that would help battling the infection? It was a possibility...
"I am not blaming you.", Rydellia said and her vines laid down on his shoulders and neck. "But you tried to shoulder everything on your own again. No wonder that you are so tense. Let me take care of that."
Right after Rydellia had stopped talking, her vines started to massage the cramped areas, a back and forth enriched with some soul. While Pendry just wanted to melt away in his wife's care, his tension was so bad that he couldn't suppress several pained noises and hisses.
"You haven't been this tense in a long while.", Rydellia said, all while continuing her care, rubbing along his upper back, which had its fair share of tension too. Pendry even spread his wings of his own accord to allow her easier access. "The last time I have seen you so tense was when the infection first sprung up. And then, it got a little better when we decided on the plan and then..."
She fell silent while she massaged out tension and popped joints back into place. There had been a time they barely talked with each other. Shortly after the ascension of the Pure Vessel. It had been too painful for them to think about the children that had died, too painful to treat the one that had remained as an animate object.
At least these times were over and a solution for the infection was almost found. If only Pendry would be able to find another vessel that was alive and willing and able to help...
Rydellia didn't initiate conversation again. She knew about his feelings at this exact moment anyway. He hadn't closed their connection through the kingssoul. That probably was also the reason why she had waited for him in the bathroom.
After a good while she retracted her vines, leaving Pendry with much more loose shoulders and a much less throbbing headache. It would only go away after a good night's sleep though.
"How are you feeling?", she asked, a pointless question really.
"You know.", he answered.
"Yes, but I want to hear it from you.", Rydellia embraced him with three of her branches, making it impossible for him to escape her, building a cage of wood around him. One that felt very loving and nurturing though.
"Fine.", he huffed, "I am exhausted, confused and... afraid. I fear what Herrah might show me. I fear that we won't manage to get rid of the infection. I fear that I'll rely on my foresight again and take all the wrong paths to the future I saw."
"Doesn't it feel better to admit to your worries?", Rydellia gave him a little kiss on his prongs and then released him from her embrace. "I will watch over Thorn with the knights tomorrow, you will go to Herrah and show her that you are a Higher Being. I mean, you already tamed her in a very different way..." Rydellia ended her sentence with a chuckle, all while Pendry's face flushed in a bright blue colour.
"Root! That was for a bargain!"
"It still happened.", she said and lifted Pendry out of the bathtub, wrapping him into a towel. Pendry just did let it happen, if Rydellia decided to baby him, then there was no use in resisting. "Now get some rest. You will need a clear head tomorrow."
Pendry had to agree with Rydellia. After she had dried him and he had put on some fresh robes, he left the bathroom, but didn't go to his chambers right away. His feet carried him toward Hollow's room. They also didn't have the best day and they were supposed to accompany him tomorrow. He wanted to make sure that they were alright.
"Hollow, I am coming in.", he announced with the usual knock and was already in the process of opening the door without waiting for their sign, he didn't expect for them to do anything other than sleeping or loafing around in their bed with a book, so he was kind of surprised to see that he entered into a scene where they just had attached the charm of Grimm to themselves, freezing and standing rigid when they noticed him in the doorway.
Pendry just watched with a sigh, feeling his headache intensify again when the Grimmchild formed from a ball of fire, a little worm-like creature with wings that couldn't even talk yet, just flying around and being a nuisance.
The moment the child had been fully formed, it laid its eyes on him and let out a high pitched scream, diving at him, having a fireball ready to spit at him. Of course, as a soon to be higher being, there would be a rivalry going on between them. With a sigh, Pendry erected a shield around him and said: "Hollow, couldn't that have waited for a day longer?". Hollow's shoulder drooped and they signed a quick "Sorry." In the meantime, the Grimmchild continued to attack Pendry's shield. In its current state, it wasn't very strong, so Pendry only held the shield up loosely.
"Well, this is what Grimm calls the Grimmchild.", Pendry said. "It will be nurtured with the flames that you should be able to feel now and turn into the next Grimm once the ritual is complete. Just be aware that-" He interrupted himself and gasped when the Grimmchild suddenly succeeded to find a hole in his shield and dashed towards him, gnawing at one of his horns, being far too close for Pendry's comfort.
"Hollow, get this nuisance off me in an instant!", he said, eye twitching and claw shaking in suppressed annoyance. It wasn't Hollow's fault that this child was such a little pest. No, he only had to blame Grimm for it.
Hollow, moving a bit panicked, came closer and tried to grab the child, only for it to fly out of their reach. Hollow jumped up in an attempt to catch it, but before they could reach it, their horns pulled them downwards and they landed on the ground. The Grimmchild shrieked when Hollow was on their feet again and gracefully dodged another attempt of them catching it. This continued for a minute or so until the Grimmchild spit out a fireball to stop Hollow, Hollow dodged it and instead a shelf caught on fire.
Hollow just stared from the fire to Father and signed a frantic: "What do we do?!"
Pendry sighed and flew over, stifling the fire with a blanket he had grabbed from Hollow's bed. "You have existed for maybe five minutes and already you set something on fire.", he scolded the Grimmchild. The Grimmchild responded by snickering at him, which only fuelled Pendry's anger. "Now there, child, you might be the next god of nightmares, but that doesn't mean that you can just do whatever you want, you little pest. Come here so that I can contain you!" Pendry attempted to grab the child, but after his outburst, it suddenly did a 180 degree and fled into Hollow's arms, chirping as if they had done nothing wrong and hiding in their robes. Hollow held them away from their body, unsure what to do with them.
"Oh that little.", Pendry balled his fists and then took a deep breath, trying to unclench. He had just been massaged by Rydellia, he couldn't crawl back to her and ask for the same treatment right away. He would just worry her about what he was now stressing about.
Hollow looked at the Grimmchild with a stern look (well, they always looked stern) and then they released it and signed to it. "I will take care of you, but you have to behave around Father.", they signed. "Or otherwise I have to restrain you."
Pendry considered translating, but to his surprise, the Grimmchild nodded to Hollow and then sat itself on their shoulder, chirping a little bit. He guessed that Grimm made sure that the Grimmchild would understand as many languages as possible.
"Everything's fine now.", Hollow signed and sat down on their bed. Pendry joined them.
"So, before we got so rudely interrupted.", he said. "Completing the ritual also means that you have to fight against Grimm and the Nightmare King. Both of them are formidable foes. I should train you for it..."
"Oh, are we doing it in the dream realm?", Hollow asked. "Lately I tried to fight the knights in their dreams, but they are really strong. Even stronger than here."
"You sure are fond of wandering around late at night lately.", Pendry scolded Hollow which made them fold in itself. "Yes, training in the dream realm would be the best, but not today. We have to see what Herrah wants first. Oh and also... don't bring the Grimmchild to Herrah please. Leave the charm here."
The Grimmchild chirped in protest but Pendry ignored it. "But what if a flame is at Deepnest?", Hollow asked.
"Well, you should be able to feel them. Where does it draw you?"
Hollow cocked their head and then pointed up.
"Like I thought... they are not down below, they are up. I will come with you once you collect the flames. For now, let's concentrate on our trip to Deepnest tomorrow and nothing else."
"I look forward to seeing my sister again.", Hollow signed and then looked at him. "Why have you come here though, Father? Do you need to talk?"
"I, um, actually wanted to see if you were doing alright.", Pendry sat himself down on Hollow's bed and curled his tail loosely around his feet. "But it seems like I don't have to worry about you. You seem to be fine."
Hollow looked at him for a few seconds and then signed: "I have to be. For the kingdom. I can't mope forever. I still have a task to fulfil."
"Oh Hollow.", Pendry gave his child a firm hug at their words. "I am very glad to hear how much you care, but Rydellia said it to me earlier. That I try to solve everything on my own. Don't become like me. Please ask for help if you must."
Hollow reciprocated the hug and then nodded, and Pendry knew that they would ask for help. They wouldn't let themselves fall back into the dependency they once had exhibited. It was amazing how much they had grown in these few weeks. Or months. Pendry hadn't really counted the time that had passed since the faithful day.
"Now go to sleep, we will have a long day tomorrow.", Pendry said, giving their horns a rub.
"You too.", Hollow signed. "You need your rest as well. Don't stay awake the whole night."
"That's what I get for letting you be around when I worked the whole night in my workshop...", Pendry sighed and stood up. "Good night, Hollow."
"Good night, Father.", Hollow signed and made themselves ready for bed once Pendry had left the room.
The next day Pendry and Hollow said their goodbye to Rydellia and left for Deepnest right away. The tram ride there was quiet as usual. Pendry thought for a brief moment about maybe sparing Hollow traversing Deepnest again, but his stomach revolted at the mere thought of riding on one of the stags and before he knew it, Hollow already had dragged him towards the tram station.
The tram was empty as usual. It was just very rare for bugs to ride to or from Deepnest to the Palace. If only the second tram would have been able to be finished, but Herrah had made it clear that she wasn't fine with the arrangement, which cost Pendry quite a few workers. He knew better than to send replacements, he would just send more workers into a senseless death.
Maybe after the infection was gone and with Herrah and him now having a bond by sharing a daughter, he could convince her to build the tram anyway? Probably not, it had been hard enough to convince her about the stag station. Also, whatever it was that Herrah wanted to show him, Pendry was sure that today wasn't the right day talking about methods of transport from and to Deepnest.
It just distracted him wonderfully from the fact that he was anxious about what Herrah wanted to show him. The ride with the tram was over far too soon and he stepped out, waiting for Hollow who followed him after they made sure to attach a lumafly lantern to their nail.
The moment they had stepped out and looked at Deepnest, they came closer to him and searched for his claw. Pendry embraced their ice cold hand in his own, warm one, feeling a tiny bit glad that his child still did depend on him a tiny little bit.
Luckily, this time the trip through Deepnest was much more smooth. Hollow was lot more confident with their balance and their training with the knights really had paid off, because they fought any predator dumb enough trying to assault them with ease. Pendry didn't even have to channel a drip of soul. They made their position as one of his knights nothing but honour, even though they returned to take his hand after each fight. He would make sure to reward them once they were back in the palace.
Far too soon they stood in front of Herrah's den. While Pendry was kind of relieved that Deepnest was behind them and that he finally would know just what Herrah wanted to show him, the familiar anxiety crept into him as well as his tail crept up his leg. He took a deep breath before he could bruise himself again, forcing his tail to release his leg and swish on the ground instead.
"Alright, let's get this over with.", Pendry said as Hollow stored the Lumafly lantern somewhere in their robe. It was bright enough in Herrah's den to not need it and Pendry himself surely was bright enough as well. In fact, he knew they only had used the lantern in case they got separated again.
"Herrah, show yourself.", Pendry shouted in front of her den, which still wasn't loud, he just couldn't talk very loud. "We have come as soon as possible as you requested."
Soon, the tall and imposing form of Herrah appeared in the doorway, but before she could even say a single word, a red little bundle zoomed past her and headed towards Hollow, all while squealing: "Holly!"
Hollow awaited their sister with open arms and swirled her around once she had jumped into them, letting the toddler giggle in delight. Behind the scene, Herrah came into view.
"It's good to see that little Hornet is as chipper as ever.", Pendry said in an attempt at a greeting. In response, Herrah folded her top legs.
"You could come see her more often, Wyrm. Her conception might have been political, but you are still her father."
Pendry deflated a bit at her scolding. It was true that he wanted to invite Hornet into the White Palace more often, but with everything going on the opportunity hadn't arisen.
"We were busy.", he started an attempt to defend himself, but got interrupted by Herrah right away.
"Busy abandoning your children?"
Pendry's blood turned cold into his veins, his wings flared and his light flickered while his tail squeezed his leg to the point of pain. "How do you know?", he gasped, emotion overturning logic in his mind. Herrah wasn't supposed to know about the Abyss. None of the dreamers knew about it. Lurien and Monomon knew parts about it, but about the pit in which a majority of his dead children laid, outside of him, only Rydellia and Hollow knew. Rydellia because she had been a part of the plan and Hollow because they had hatched there.
Pendry looked to Hollow who hadn't heard what Herrah had said, too busy playing with little Hornet. Pendry cleared his throat and did his best to regain his composure. "Elaborate on this, Herrah. We are not here to take your claims without reason."
"You already admitted to it, Wyrm.", Herrah said, voice a dangerously low growl. "But I will play at your rules and tell you the story from the beginning. Come inside."
Even as the being which gave mind to others and could pull them into his thrall simply by existing, Pendry couldn't resist Herrah and he felt himself automatically walking inside of her den. It was clear for him that this was her realm and she wouldn't give it up without dying fighting. She surely had been one of the best positions for a dreamer, with willpower beyond belief.
Herrah led Pendry to a small table and sat down at the opposite end of it. Pendry noticed a pillow on the ground and sat himself on it, folding his hands, trying desperately not to fidget with his claws. He knew he could win a fight against Herrah should it come to it, but the political balance was much more important, so he couldn't slip up here.
He regretted that he hadn't asked Rydellia to come along.
"Get us some brew, please.", Herrah said to a weaver and then simply loafed around until it arrived. Pendry always had asked himself what was in the Deepnest brew. It was warm and tasted hearty, but also like prey. It probably was made out of meat, if he thought about it. Deepnest was full of predators.
He took a sip from his mug and then locked his gaze on Herrah. "You have let us wait long enough.", he said. "It's time that you finally tell us why we had to come here as soon as possible."
"Let's start at the beginning.", Herrah said, "You remember that you have slain the Nosk, one of the apex predators of Deepnest?"
"That was Hollow, not us.", Pendry replied instantly, "We have to admit in shame that we nearly have left the creature impale us."
"That your child is more competent as you isn't exactly a secret.", Herrah murmured, making Pendry choke on his brew, but he was too anxious to find a quip for Herrah's insult. Luckily, she continued with her story right away. "Well, recently I found some time to venture to the den of the Nosk and clean up there. It's always a possibility that an apex predator gets replaced by another or that they left offspring. As a queen it is my duty to see that my position doesn't get challenged."
Herrah talked about it so casually as if she would just polish her needle. Pendry got it though, as Higher Being he had to make sure that nobody challenged his reign. In a sense, it was rather rare that he and Rydellia had formed a bond in marriage and decided to share the reign.
"So I went there and do you know what I have found?", Herrah's eyes started to glow as her voice dropped to a dangerous level.
"No?", Pendry asked, unsure if she wanted him to answer or not.
"I found...", Herrah bent down and picked something up from beneath the table, "this."
Pendry's breath hitched in his throat when he saw what Herrah was carrying. These were vessels. Two of them! Not the size of Thorn or Hollow, more the size of the newly hatched ones. Both of them had short curved horns, one of them had them curved upwards, the other downwards.
"Now did you swallow your tongue, Wyrm? These two look far too similar to Hollow for it to be a coincidence. They even feel the same with their ice cold body and none of them can talk. Tell me, Wyrm.", Herrah put the two vessels down on the ground, where they scurried away and hid behind her. "How many 'Pure Vessels' did you create?"
"I...", Pendry dropped the royal pronouns, knowing that it was of no use. Herrah had found out. In the worst way possible. "Most of them died..."
"This doesn't make your case sound remotely ibetter/i.", Herrah hissed. "Wasn't it bad enough that you tortured one of them, traumatized them even? How many more are there, Wyrm? How many more little children do I find wandering around, alone, scared, barely surviving on the leftover prey in the Nosk Den? There was a third one there, already killed, having strung up as decoration. If I hadn't found these two, they probably would have died here in Deepnest!"
"I have no excuse.", Pendry said, defeated, each word of Herrah like a stab in his shell. "I was desperate and convinced that I had to do anything to fight the infection..."
"There is something like a line that shouldn't be crossed, Wyrm.", Herrah said and if not for her mask, Pendry was sure that at least two or three of her eyes would twitch.
"Do what you must.", Pendry sighed. He knew that Herrah needed to take these emotions somewhere and he had to admit himself... he felt that he deserved it.
"Not in front of the children.", Herrah said and turned around. "Nox, Lux, leave the room for a moment would you? I'll call you later."
Names.. they had names... that was all what Pendry thought as he looked how the vessels, no, the children, tapped away, holding their little paws together. It was all he could think before pain exploded into his body when Herrah gave him the hit of the century and he found himself slammed into the wall, lying down on the ground in defeat.
"Come on, Wyrm, I know a hit like this can't kill you.", Herrah said, pulling him up. Pendry felt himself bleeding from a few lacerations and was sure that quite a few bruises formed on his shell already. "You just heal yourself with your neat little spells."
"Are you satisfied already?", Pendry asked, sputtering out a bit of blood, he must have bitten his tongue, which, with teeth as sharp as his, was rather painful.
"Oh? Didn't think you were so much for pain.", Herrah grinned and she gave him a second hit, though this one was a lot milder. She then dropped him to the ground. "There, now I am satisfied."
Pendry himself didn't feel satisfied though. He felt that he deserved a hundred more of this and even then he wouldn't have atoned for his crimes. He slowly pulled himself up, starting to channel the soul to heal his wounds, when Hollow entered the den with a squirmy Hornet in their arms.
Hollow was at Pendry's side in an instant while Herrah was taking the squirming toddler. "Seems like you are in need of a diaper change, sweetie.", Herrah said as she left the room to tend to her daughter.
"I am fine, Hollow.", Pendry said as his child attempted to help him up. "I will heal myself in a second." Why did they have to come in exactly at that moment? Pendry didn't want Hollow to see him like this. Especially not after he had encouraged Herrah to harm him even more and would have gladly stayed on the ground while she stomped on him again and again.
"What happened, Father?", Hollow signed, their signs frantic and wide, clearly they were a bit afraid and of course worried.
"Let's just say I said something to Herrah that I shouldn't have.", Pendry decided on the lie in an instant. He finally focused some soul and felt how all the lacerations and bruises closed or vanished. The pain still lingered on though. Good, Pendry didn't want to have it any other way.
"What have you and Herrah talked about?", Hollow asked once Pendry sat himself down on the pillow and sipped on the brew to replenish the lost soul. They didn't sit down but stood next to the table, one hand on their nail, the other one on their robe, ready to get rid of it for more mobility at any time.
"Hm, how do I put this...", Pendry searched for words when Herrah returned with a freshly changed and giggling Hornet. The moment the toddler laid her eyes on Hollow, she pretty much hopped out of Herrah's arms and zoomed over to them. Hollow relaxed their stance a tiny bit and allowed their sister to climb on their head, where Hornet stayed with wide eyes, looking at the world from a new angle.
"It's perfect that you are here now, child, because there is someone here that you should meet.", Herrah clapped a few of her legs together, "Several someones to be precise. But first, have a seat and have some brew and some treats."
Hollow shook their head, careful so that Hornet wouldn't slide down. Then they signed to Herrah, because she couldn't know what they just had denied. "They won't sit down.", Pendry translated. "They would like something to drink though."
"You heard that?", Herrah looked at her servants and they scurried away only to return shortly with a new cup of brew and a plate with treats, both being put down on the table in front of Hollow. Pendry studied the treats shortly, of course it was dried meat, some of them coated with honey. Deepnest and the Hive always did have a good relationship.
Hollow picked up one of the treats and snapped it in half, giving one of the halves to Hornet who started to munch on it right away, leaving crumbs all over Hollow's head and then slowly eating their own, making sure to not show their method of eating too clearly.
In the meantime, Pendry finished his own brew, not only because he needed to replenish soul, but also because he had become nervous. He still hadn't worked through the fact that some more vessels had been picked up by Herrah. He didn't even know yet how they would react to him. Or Hollow.
"Are you comfortable, dear?", Herrah asked Hollow. They stopped eating and gave her a slight nod, holding Hornet with their left hand because the toddler was far too engrossed in eating her snack to hold onto their horns. "Good.", Herrah said, "Lux. Nox. You can come in now."
Pendry heard the tiny pitter-patter of the vessel's feet as they returned into the room. He didn't get the best look on them earlier, so now he looked closer. The first thing he again noticed were their similar small horns, just that one of them had them curved upwards and the other curved downwards. They were as small as Hollow as a hatchling, so they hadn't undergone any transformation growth yet. The both of them also held their hands, moving more as a unit than individuals.
The moment Hollow saw them, they dropped their snack to the ground. Then they removed Hornet from their head and handed her to Pendry. Hornet, still far too interested in devouring the snack, didn't mind at all and Pendry balanced her on his lap while Hollow went towards their siblings with shaking steps.
They stopped in front of them, looking back at Pendry, then shortly at Herrah. They fidgeted with their hands, a common sign of anxiety that Pendry knew of himself. After their first meeting with Thorn, Pendry could understand that they were unsure.
Luckily, the vessels with the names of Lux and Nox made the first move. They walked up to Hollow and pretty much hugged their legs, both of them. Hollow let themselves be dragged to the ground and sat in front of them, with Lux and Nox sitting down opposite of them. Pendry got up, cradling Hornet in his arms and moved closer.
"Can they communicate?", he asked Herrah. Hollow had told him they couldn't talk with Thorn through some kind of void speech or anything, but he also knew that they kinda felt like one. Maybe sitting like this was enough for them to communicate with each other.
"We taught them weaving.", Herrah replied, "They latched onto it surprisingly well for beings that don't produce their own silk. They can communicate by weaving symbols."
"How long ago have you found them?", Pendry asked.
"Two weeks ago.", Herrah replied in an instant.
"And you only told us to come here – OW!", Pendry's question got interrupted by Hornet having finished her snack and while searching for more gnawing on Pendry's arm. "Hornet please, your venom can't hurt me, but that hurts...", Pendry pleaded with the toddler, only to be met with silence.
"You are as bad with children as ever.", Herrah said and simply plucked Hornet from Pendry's arm, which hurt quite a bit when her little fangs got yanked out from his arm, muttering to her child and rocking her back and forth a bit.
"I first needed them to settle in, Wyrm.", Herrah said as if the interruption had never happened at all. "These two were scared out of their minds when I found them. Not that you ever thought about them having a mind anyway... at first they only were hiding. I needed three days for them to come out and even then those two never want to get separated. They do everything together. Eating, sleeping, bathing, training, playing... If you try to separate them, the other one will throw a heavy fit. Believe me, I have learned the hard way."
Herrah sighed as Hornet, blissfully unaware of the situation, giggled about being rocked. Pendry's gaze fell on Hollow and the other two, who have sat in silence for a few minutes now. As Hollow noticed, they turned to him and signed: "Siblings! Not dead!"
"I have noticed, Hollow...", Pendry said. "Do you want for Herrah to tell you where they came from?"
"No need. They showed me.", Hollow said, confirming Pendry's theory that the vessels could share memories somehow. Not that Thorn had done that with Hollow, they probably were far too uncomfortable with letting anyone else share their head after the whole infection disaster.
"They have names.", Pendry said after a short amount of silence. "Did you name them?" The question was of course directed at Herrah. Hollow and the twins, Pendry thought that described them the best, had stopped sitting in silence and were playfully sparring with each other. It didn't surprise Pendry that they wielded nails. The vessels all had been programmed to pick up nails and fight.
"They have chosen their own names as is Deepnest tradition.", Herrah said and when Pendry gave a questioning look towards Hornet, she continued, "Royalty is an exception. They receive a name upon birth, but it can be more called a nickname. Once she is of age, little Hornet will be allowed to choose her own name as well as her preferred pronouns. Of course if she is comfortable with either, she can choose to go by her birth name."
"Why do I have the feeling that you don't go by your birth name...", Pendry said, dropping his royal pronouns again, feeling like it was no use around Herrah.
"Oh, Wyrm, it seems you have some brain in that fork of your head after all.", Herrah snickered. "Nox and Lux... the dark and the light. Old words of ancient Deepnest. The one with the upwards horns is Lux. The one with the downward horns is Nox."
Pendry looked at both of them, currently in the process of parrying a nail strike of Hollow, both of them at once. He watched the scene a little longer, impressed by how well the twins worked together. It was as if they read each other's thoughts.
Maybe that really was the case, when he thought about it.
At the same time, he had to think about how they were clearly not good candidates for a pure vessel. They relied too much on each other. The Radiance would have used their care for each other against them in an instant.
What a good thing this plan was behind him.
The three children finished their sparring session and all of them bowed to honour their opponent, Hollow in the way of the palace, the twins in the way of Deepnest. Hollow then came back to Pendry and signed: "Father... do you think they might help us?"
"Oh, you are right!", Pendry hadn't even thought about their problem of needing at least one vessel for their plan to work. Herrah was right, his child was more competent than him. "Herrah, is there a chance that we could take them with us for a while?"
Before he even had finished his sentence, Herrah had stepped in front of the children. "No way, Wyrm. You are not taking these children ANYWHERE. I have found them in my realm and they are my responsibility now and there is NO WAY that I give them into your care for even a single SECOND."
Pendry lowered his head in defeat. It was clear that Herrah wouldn't want to listen to him. "If not for our sake, then for Hollow's.", he said. "They thought that all of their siblings had died. Besides, they could help us fight off the infection."
"Hollow can visit them here anytime they want.", Herrah said, still in front of the twins, so both of them were hugging a leg and peeking out from behind it. "But letting you using them again, after they clearly were not good again the first time? No, Wyrm, not in a million years and I know you can live that long. Besides, they are far too sensitive to light now. Removing them from Deepnest would only harm them. The children stay here and this is the last thing I will have to say about this matter."
"We... understand.", Pendry said, letting out a sigh, "Please take good care of them, because we failed them as their father." The twins hadn't even acknowledged him. Maybe they hadn't recognized him. Not every of the vessels had gotten a good look at him. He was just glad that they were on good terms with Hollow.
"Do we have to leave now?", Hollow signed, looking from Hornet to the twins, then to Herrah and Pendry.
"Oh, you can feel free to play a bit more.", Herrah was quick to reassure them. "Your father, on the other hand, probably should go outside and think about his actions."
"There isn't a single night where I don't.", Pendry murmured, but left, knowing that his presence wasn't wished for anymore. He sat himself at one of the cliffs and let the events of the past days pass anew in his head. It had been a lot. He felt ripe for a vacation. He should see if he could manage a day or two off once he returned to the palace.
After a good while had passed, Hollow came and sat down next to him. "Did you have fun?", Pendry asked and stroked their horns. They nodded and then stood up right away.
"Let's go home.", they signed.
"Alright.", Pendry got up as well, "Just one question... were Nox or Lux the vessel you have seen?"
Hollow shook their head and then pointed at their horns again. "Different.", they signed. "Similar to mine, but not quite."
"Well... thanks, Hollow.", Pendry said as Hollow took his hand, ready to venture through Deepnest on their way back. "Let's just hope we find them somewhere..."
Without a vessel their plan would fail... and then they also needed to fulfil the ritual for Grimm or he wouldn't help.
Pendry groaned internally. He really really needed this day off.
(Author's note: Oh look at this, it isn't a cliffhanger for once!
This chapter was a lot of fun to write! I don't have much to say about it though, just that my favourite parts were Rydellia massaging Pendry and Herrah giving Pendry the hit of the century.
I can hardly believe that this fic will soon be over. There aren't many plot points to explore anymore. Thanks so much to everyone who supported it so far. Please continue to tell me your thoughts in the comments ^^ )