The air grew thick with tension as both sides watched each other closely, the sound of godseeker's humming the only thing driving away the silence. The back of Ghost's mind was burning as if something was trying to reach the forefront, something important. But they couldn't figure out what.
Grimmchild's scarlet eyes were watching the newcomers curiously now, the noise from earlier grabbing his full attention. It wasn't until Grimmchild noticed the wounded Dung Defender did he fly out of Ghost's grasp. Startled, Ghost instinctively went to grab the child but decided against it at the last second.
Warily, Ghost watched as Grimmchild circled around Ogrim before landing on his uninjured shoulder.
Ogrim was baffled by the sudden welcome from the flying child but did nothing except give him a small smile, keeping at least one eye on the black wyrm in the room. "Oh, it has been a while, my friend, I'm glad to see you're okay."
Grimmchild smiled a toothy smile. "Nya!"
Hornet, on the other hand, watched the exchange with an annoyed grimace, whilst the wyrm and the hollow knight only watched in wary confusion. Quirrel was the only one still unaware of the situation, sleep keeping a steady hold on him.
Not a moment later, the hollow knight appeared to have suddenly realized something as Ogrim's words finally registered in them. With as much strength as they could pull, they lifted their head up and stared out at the end of the room where the black wyrm and the other familiar bug resided. The eyes that stared back—the familiarity, the horror, the guilt—gave their body a surge of adrenaline and, before anyone was aware, they toppled forward and hurriedly limped past Ogrim and Grimmchild.
Hornet followed quickly after while the pale wyrm and Ogrim hesitated. The hollow knight collapsed onto their knees, short of the spring's edge. In reaction to this, the black wyrm suddenly lurched forward, mindful of the occupant that lied next to them, almost as if they were trying to catch the injured knight before they fell.
Hornet's needle was ready, the silk dancing alongside her as she was ready to throw it at the black creature only a few feet from her injured sibling. Ogrim and the pale wyrm shouted for her but she ignored them. Aiming the shot between the eyes, she pulled her arm back and then she-
"I'm…s-sorry."
Hornet froze, her needle still poised but her body stiff and awkward as she forced her momentum to stop midway.
The hollow knight's head was angled against the ground, their breaths labored and their shell shaking, another rough cry escaped them. "I'm…sorry…for hurting…you. Both of…you." Their words felt like sandpaper was being scraped against the air, yet they still continued to murmur the words over and over again.
The hollow knight knew better; they were trained to protect Hallownest, not to slay innocent bugs that had no intention of harm, intimidating appearance or not. Yet they still failed, just as they had with the sealing of the Radiance.
Between getting injured and realizing their father was not dead, the unforgivable act was shoved to the back of their underserved mind. Now, their victims are before them once again, and the hollow knight must make amends, damaged or not.
The black wyrm stared at them, perplexed by the sudden pleas of the injured knight in front of them. The knight's body, the statue in the City of the Tears, Ghost remembers what they had originally come here for. This was no doubt the hollow knight, their sibling.
The burning feeling they felt when they first noticed the group suddenly surged to the forefront of their mind. Back in the City of Tears, when they brought back Quirrel's nail, they were stabbed from the back. Then Quirrel charged them, and they attacked back. That's right, the hollow knight did that, and then Ghost…
Ghost felt their throat tighten as a new heaviness sank into their chest. They remember now.
That's how the City of Tears began to collapse.
Their rage caused that destruction.
They almost killed Ogrim and their sibling; how both of them survived, Ghost didn't know but it must have taken a miracle, nonetheless.
A miracle they were grateful for, fore they don't think they could ever forgive themselves for having such a violent reaction.
Ghost looked at them—really looked at them for the first time since the abyss—and did not feel any rage, only sorrow. Their sibling was badly injured, even back in the bathhouse they were very wounded. Having them attack out of nowhere makes no sense, they had to have a good reason for that.
"Please…my friend thought you were going to hurt someone…!"
They did, and Ghost doesn't blame them for that.
The black wyrm loomed over the hollow knight. It grabbed at the hollow knight's head and raised it above the ground. Void streamed down the knight's face as they stared back at the bug they had stabbed before. Another pair of the black wyrm's arms grabbed at the hollow knight's shoulders.
Hornet, Ogrim, and the pale wyrm gasped. Hornet recomposed herself and quickly threw her nail at the black wyrm.
Ogrim yelled. "Princess no!"
The black wyrm looked up and, using one of the claws holding their sibling's head up, instinctively snatched the needle mid-flight. The group was stunned. Ghost eyed the needle before turning their attention towards their sister, their astonishment quickly turning into a mild form of irritation and disappointment.
Irritated herself, Hornet immediately tried to retract her nail with her silk, only for the black wyrm to continue holding onto the needle with an iron grip. The black wyrm shook its head, its mannerism reminiscent of a tired parent scolding an energetic toddler. Hornet scowled, but the black creature remained undeterred. Hornet was about to rush in with her silk when her gaze fell on her sibling. The hollow knight turned their head enough so they could look at their sister. They slowly shook their head, void still pouring from their eyes. Hornet halted her attempt, her body suddenly becoming very heavy, and begrudgingly let the silk attached to her needle fall from her lead-filled hands.
The black wyrm looked at Hornet before shifting their gaze to Ogrim and the pale wyrm.
The pale wyrm…no, Ghost isn't going to focus on that right now. Their sibling is injured, and so is Ogrim; that takes priority. They can't afford to focus on anything else right now.
Knowing that they (probably) weren't going to be attacked again, they gently placed Hornet's needle onto the ground and focused back on their sibling. They carefully gripped their sibling's shoulders and slowly dragged them into the spring water.
The warm water flooded the hollow knight's senses as they finally felt their weight and their pain ebb away, consciousness waning as the euphoria took hold of them. The black wyrm carefully maneuvered the limp knight against the edge of the spring in a similar fashion to Quirrel, hoping that this would prevent them from falling under the water.
Ogrim watched, completely baffled by the black wyrm's care for the knight who stabbed them for the wrong reasons. He was expecting them to become enraged again—best case scenario, refusing them the spring they were currently occupying perhaps—yet here they treated the hollow knight like an injured friend in dire need of help.
Ghost lowered themselves in front of the half-lucid knight and gently pressed their forehead against their sibling's together. Siblingsibling Itsokay You'reokay I'mokay
The sudden connection felt like cold water being splashed against their face. The hollow knight tensed, staring at the black wyrm in befuddlement. What "What…?"
The black wyrm gently patted the hollow knight, urging it back into a relaxed position to heal properly. The hollow knight complied, albeit with hesitation, and laid back against the rim of the spring. Their eyes continued to watch the black wyrm as it 'stood' back up to look towards the group.
When the four pairs of eyes landed on Ogrim, he winced. Those eyes, he remembered those eyes being full of rage; eight spotlights blazing down on him and the unconscious hollow knight. Frozen, defenseless, unable to move a muscle let alone speak a single word.
No! He can't be afraid now! Even when he is no longer the white defender, no longer fit to properly fight with how injured he was, he is still the dung defender. He can't lose composure, not again! Not when the princess and the king are here as well.
Ogrim looked directly back at the black wyrm, feeling a newfound fire burn in his chest. Despite this, his body was unable to remain unshaken from the heavy gaze that bore into him. So focused was he that he didn't notice the black wyrm extending one of its claws towards him, their palm upward in a welcoming gesture, for a full minute.
Ogrim hesitated, unsure if he should stay on guard or accept the help from the former foe before them.
A sudden push from behind caused Ogrim to stumble closer to the spring. He turned to find Grimmchild hovering behind him, an encouraging (and mischievous) smile on its face. Ogrim blinked. That's right, the child was there too, he saw what the black wyrm did. If Grimmchild believes Ogrim will be fine, surely, he could trust in his companion's companion?
Ogrim looked back at the black wyrm, their claw still raised towards him. Ogrim felt another, gentler nudge from behind again, this time with several affirmative nyas. He sighed. He was finally convinced.
Turning back to the black wyrm, he slowly walked and accepted the claw. He lowered his head in apology. "I'm, I'm sorry for my inaction. I failed to protect you and your friend."
Ghost softly squeezed Ogrim's claw in response. There were no hard feelings. In fact, they were just as apologetic, if not more for how they reacted. They grabbed Ogrim's uninjured shoulder and softly squeezed it as well to indicate that.
Ogrim looked up at them and smiled. "Thank you."
Ghost helped Ogrim into the spring, careful of their sibling and Quirrel, and laid the dung beetle beside the hollow knight.
Hornet sighed, still uncertain if she should be relieved or cautious still. She looked at her needle several feet away and then at the black wyrm helping the occupants in the spring. For the most part, it appears the creature is not malicious. For now.
Hornet meticulously walked to her needle and reabsorbed the silk attached to it. The black wyrm eyed her for a moment but it didn't do or say anything else. She turned around only to be face to face with a nervous pale wyrm, almost headbutting him in the process.
"What are you doing?" Hornet huffed.
The pale wyrm slithered beside her and pointed at the big, golden bug staring at them; no, him. The bug still made the odd humming sound ever since they walked into the room. Hornet looked between the former king and the golden bug.
"She's been staring at me, and she won't stop humming." The pale wyrm harshly whispered, very disturbed by the strange bugs' mannerisms.
Hornet agreed the golden bug gave off an uncomfortable aura, but not a dangerous one. The bug was too big to properly move around in combat, let alone use a weapon. The only danger Hornet sees would be if you were too close and the bug fell on top of you; you would be crushed, but other than that she didn't pose a threat.
"Ignore her," Hornet said, sheathing her needle. She turned back to the pale wyrm, as the cogs spun in her head. Now that the knights were being properly treated in the spring, it was just her and her father in the group. Granted, the weird bug and the Grimmchild were still in the vicinity, but with the Grimmchild hovering over by the black wyrm and the golden bug…standing there, she figured now would be a good time as any to spend some 'quality time with her father.'
She turned and looked at him. Noticing the movement out of the corner of his eye, the pale wyrm turned and looked back at her.
"W-what?" He asked.
Before the pale wyrm could even react, she grabbed him by the scruff of his torn robe and pulled him towards the nearby bench. "While the two are healing, let's have a chat."
"N-no thank you!" The pale wyrm said as he wriggled in her grasp.
"It wasn't a suggestion."
The pale wyrm grunted as he was, practically, thrown onto the bench while Hornet casually grabbed the spot beside him. It was a miracle the bench wasn't thrown aside from the pale wyrm's momentum and weight, but something told him that she probably had lots of experience doing this.
The hollow knight looked ready to jump out of the water at the sound of their father's voice, but Ghost was quick to shut that down. Ogrim was too lost in the euphoria of the spring's water to notice.
Godseeker finally stopped humming, but she refused to look away from the pale wyrm. His light still shone brightly, a beacon to all who are attuned to it. But, seeing it up close now, she could tell this was no longer the original pale light she sensed when she first came here. No, it was heavily transfigured, giving off a much darker hue and a noticeable sense of emptiness that once gave others free will.
It appears the void made itself another home in the body of the former king; a thought she's sure would please her shade lord.