Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/27835498.

Notes:

This fic was and still is separated into 3 different stories on Ao3 but I decided to connect them together here as they do move in a story but there are huge time jumps in between. Just so you don't think you're missing anything.

I thought I knew who made the cover image, turns out I don't, I spent a while looking through images and couldn't find anything (even reverse google searched), but it looks ery' nice so if anyone knows let me know so I can give proper credit

Curiosity

Wait a minute… Her brain lurched to a halt just a few meters past the bronzed opening. Turning back to the frame she once more peered into the room she had glazed over, though more importantly, on the site that had stopped her to begin with.

A scholar, or a scientist (the name seemed to vary on who you spoke to it was all very confusing), stood staring into the bubbling column of acid, idly taking notes. She had passed a hundred other rooms like it, all filled with bugs quietly frisking away at their clipboards.

But none of them had a nail at their side. An outlier, an anomaly, it piqued her interest.

The room was rather small in space but tall in size. Bottles of void knows what stretched upward against the wall, all plastered with a white note covered in a dialect that made her head spin.

The bug didn't seem to notice her, or if he did he didn't show it. He wore the same white garment as many of the others though he had a red badge adorning one of the cuffs. A sign of rank perhaps? He had a simple oval mask with two eye holes and a distinct blue hood that covered the rest of his head.

Then, of course, the blade he carried. Upon further inspection, this wasn't just any run of the mill blade. It was engraved, markings of delicate blooming plants with the Hollownest crest adorning its hilt, though the symbol was an older variant. Light glistened off the blade, it was obviously well maintained.

Indeed, this seemed like just the kind of bug she'd like to meet. Though it was rather annoying that he hadn't even given her a glance yet. Why do you care? The question came just as quickly as it left.

It seems she would have to make the first move. Simple really, she just needed something thought provoking. Something shocking and miraculous but also unique. The notes to a thousand words opened up before her, it was as simple as choosing the right ones…

"Have you ever used these pools to melt other bugs?"

She went off instinct, sure, but as the words came she realised maybe language was best left to the cognitive side of her brain. Though, at the moment that side was screaming in agony. Why had she said that? What on earth was she thinking?

She stood rigid in place, not daring to look over at the other bug. Even so, she could feel his head turn and his eyes lay on her for the first time. Never in her life had she wanted to simply disappear from existence and have her whole life cease to be. She was never one to care so much about what others think, had she a clear head she might have asked why this bug was so special.

She might have sprinted out of the room had the other bug not spoken. "No, couldn't if we wanted to, at least not with this batch. It looks proper but really its acidity is well below that of melting." He said, casually, before looking back down at the noteboard and scribbling down a few more words.

The accent caught her off guard. Everyone here talked with high class formality, bugs you'd usually find in the wealthier parts of the kingdom. This was inner city, she had only visited a few times (usually when mom let her out of sight for more than two minutes) but she recognised it immediately. This only intrigued her more, it's a shame she blew it.

"Besides." He continued on, "Even if it could it'd saturate the acid, making it useless to test on. And then we'd have to clean out the bones or bury it, it'd be more of a hassle than it's worth." He finished before he looked back up.

"I mean acid tests are more of an R&D thing, but they don't use live bugs, or any bug for-for that but we, I mean of course we would, ah, never do that. The whole morality of it would stop us… Stop me, also as well, I mean, but I wouldn't do-think bout' it to begin with." He quickly stammered out. Their eyes met there for a second, hers a look of surprise (as it seems was often the case through this ordeal) and his a sort of pleading look. He turned away and mumbled something like shit under his breath.

There was an awkward pause. She had to do something but she was at a loss on what to say. From what she could grasp about the concept of language he should follow up with a question of his own, like the circle of life for proper speech etiquette. Without that they would flounder and remain mutually unknown to each other.

Lucky he did understand the rules and hastened a follow up. "I don't get a lot of visitors here, or any really, what brings you up here?" He asked. She would have liked to avoid telling him the truth, that her mother brought her as punishment for disobeying her and exploring too far away from her home. The question was vague enough for her to get around it.

"I noticed your nail while I was walking by. It's garnished and plated with an older mark, your nail is quite old. I was simply surprised to find a scholar who knows how to take care of a nail let alone open carry around the workplace." Which is why you asked about the acid melting bugs first you dunce she mentally slapped herself again.

The other bug's composure seemed to change, he stood a little taller and was obviously pleased that someone noticed. "Ah, this old thing." He said, grabbing the hilt, "this is a family heirloom. Wouldn't know what to do with myself without it. It's lineage can be tracked down to every major conflict fought under its banner." He said flashing it a bit to the side. He was obviously quite proud of it.

"You must be quite the nail artist."

"Ah, well, not that good, but I get by. Judging by your standard" He gestured at the nail on her back. "I'd bet you could best me in a duel." He said, this was a lie. She could tell just from his body language that he was not a novice. It was an arora of danger that she had felt from few others.

From everything she had extrapolated from their few quips had only intrigued her more to the strange bug. She had never felt like this before, it was rather hard to say what it was that drove her. Maybe it was his savoir flair mixed with the attitudes of the lower society and just a pinch of ambiguous morality, the whole set seemed to trigger something inside of her. And yet…

"You know, I still don't know your name."

"Oh, ah, Quirrel, pleasure to have your acquaintance miss…" He said, putting forth his claw in a formal handshake.

"Hornet."

A look of skepticism passed over his face. "I've heard that name before, I think..." He said. For some reason that she couldn't fully explain this angered her immensely and presented her displeasure in her facial complexion which Quirrel seemed to pick up on.

"Hornet, that's a lovely name." He said. As the words left his mouth he seemed to turn a bit towards the acid. Ah, stupid. He mumbled to himself before quickly turning back to her,regaining his posture, and continued.

"I assume you, er, didn't come h-here just to meet me did you?" You'd be surprised. Said a small voice in the back of her head, a new one but a rather annoying one all the same. On the flip side, she had a distinct feeling that was supposed to be far more… Impressive? Intimidating? Well, far cooler than he played it off to be.

It took her a minute to properly find the words and the excuse. "I thought it'd be interesting, the scientific heartland of the empire must have something in it worth seeing."

"Well, if you wanted something interesting I wouldn't check up here. Nothing but old vats up here for some unspecified project. What you want is R&D." He said rather matter of factly.

"R&D?"

"You know, research and development, down on floor 8." He said. She responded with an inquisitive look.

"By God, you don't know." A smile graced his face. "All the propper gadgets get made down there. I heard, recently, they were working on a new ordinance. Called it a cannon. Can tear down any wall they say." He said.

It seemed rather obvious that he was the one to show her around but he didn't seem to grasp this idea. As much as he seemed to convey a sort of strength and a mind perhaps unmatched by few he quite lacked in the confidence department. Confidence! That's the word she was looking for. She had a feeling he'd fall in place if she asked, really that's all she had to do. Just ask.

She stood there, what felt like hours. Suddenly Quirrel seemed a lot farther away than before. It was so simple… Then why was it so hard? Just ask. Just. Ask.

"I, umm…" She began. No going back now, full throttle ahead. "Maybe… You could show me around." She said. She was about to follow up with an apology of the sorts to his person for putting him in such a position, a fraze she wouldn't have dreamed up a few minutes ago. But he seemed to jump on the request and a burden was lifted from her soul.

"I'd, I'd love to." He said, quite more enthusiastically than he'd meant to convey, but the message was received nonetheless.

As they went down she was quite surprised by his knowledge, how he seemed to have a weird fact or story for every floor and hallway they passed, and even more surprising was how attentive she was to it. Sharing in the various chuckles and laughs.

Finally, they reached the 8th floor, which did not disappoint. They experimented on all sorts of objects and ideas. From new cooling mechanisms to keep food fresher for longer to better tracks for irrigation and plumbing, new power sources (something to do with lightning, she wasn't quite sure what they were talking about but she pretended to be invested). Even mundane things like wineries and chiefs worked to produce new types of ale and condiments.

This was all set aside for the final part of their journey, the arsenal. They had reserved bows, pikes and poleaxes, long swords and morning stars, and all blends in between. This, of course, wasn't the main attraction. In the middle of the great space was a huge, bronze 17-foot cylinder, engraved with various carvings and hollowed out in the middle.

"Got these plans from a traveling merchant." One of the staff told them. "The Ottomans call it the Dardanelles Gun. See this bad boy, supposedly, throws a full iron ball at such a rate that it can crack any wall or defense, it uses black powder..."

"Black powder?"

"Yeah, it's this fine mix of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur all mixed together. Some vagabond from the east brought it over or something, not important. It causes a massive expulsion of fire…"

Quirrel was a bit disappointed he couldn't encapsulate her in such knowledge, though he obviously didn't know himself, it just seemed to make him disgruntled when he wasn't the one speaking.

She had arrived here early in the day, as her mother had "urgent things to speak of" with Monomon, it was about 9 am, but by the time the pair had traversed back up to the top floor it was nearing 8 pm. Of course, the guards had been looking for her as it turns out she hadn't learned much from the last time she'd run off without telling anyone, all of which was rather embarrassing.

But it seemed Monomon and Quirrel were a team, she doubted there was any family they couldn't sway with their charm. It was all a show, of course, Quirrel was an entirely different person. He dropped the accent and raised his formality.

She wasn't one to complain though, whatever punishment she would receive was severely slackened thanks to those two. Maybe just enough so she might come back again and talk to that strange scholar once more.

Her thoughts were filled with memories she had made and carried her all the way home.

The two watched as the lights of the carriage disappeared past the murky shadows of Fog Canion before they started cleaning up. It mostly consisted of the top floor, making sure there were no leaks and the power was properly shut down for the night.

"I suppose you had a fine day today, away from your post." She said in a teasing manner.

"Yeah, sorry bout' that, lost track of time is all. Won't happen again." He replied, not meeting her gaze.

"Hmm…" She said, walking beside the scholar. "It's fine, you know, I'm just surprised is all." She continued, taking in every moment of Quirrel's discomfort. It was a rarity to find him outside his comfort zone and she wasn't about to let this go "unteased."

"If I recall, the last royal family to visit asked to see that same section of the building and you told them to, and I quote, 'piss off.'" Frankly, it was one of her favorite memories, perhaps ever and she vowed to never let him live that down.

"Ah, this was different. She didn't want to waste hundreds on a useless monorail." He said in a cynical tone. It was the truth, technically, but still avoiding the general point.

"I'm only teasing, I'm just glad you finally found someone you fancy." She said, still teasing.

"I don't fancy anyone, I'm much too busy for the sort, I just thought she'd like a look at what we've got is all."

"If you say so." She said as she locked up the gate.

It was always a decent way to the City of Tears, but for the entire length of the trip, he couldn't stop thinking of Hornet.

End Notes

Thanks for reading, you're a real champ for making it to the end. I know it's not very good and frankly, I don't really care. It's a catalyst for what's to come which I hope to be a bit better. Cheers.

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