voicetest the voiceless

[focusedvoid]

They're not dead.

Less dead than they'd felt, at least. Their shell doesn't normally take so long to reform.

Then again. Their shell doesn't usually break of their own violation as they ascended in a boiling rage, ate at least one realm, a god, and all the Godseekers.

(That last point is debatable, actually. There's some odd sense, deep under their...shell? Void? Wherever they once stored things like Isma's Tear, much deeper now...that the sea-mind is still there, sluggish and held in a stasis. They're already adjusting enough, and they don't seem to be dying or trying to kill them, so that problem is neatly sorted as 'for later'.)

They push their body to stand. Their horn clangs uncomfortably loudly against the grate they've apparently woken up beneath. They're somewhere in the Royal Waterways. A quick check of the map--or, not so quick, as it takes time to locate where it had been--shows they've risen about halfway through, closer to the City of Tears than the White Palace. They'll go to the Stag Station in the City Storerooms next.

So they think. Complications arise on the way.

The Infection is gone, leaving dead Flukes, Pilflips, and Hwurmps in piles enough it takes time to force their way past. Their body seems too small. No, their body is fine--there's something wrong with perception itself. That will take time to adjust to.

Then, they discover the Monarch Wings now stretch and warp when used, twisting around the nearest pipes after landing before the Knight forcibly calls them back. Shade Wings, they decide to call these.

Once they're high enough to hear the rain above, they realize a noise they'd ascribed to water running in the distance is, in fact, something swirling behind their mask. Many somethings. All the fragments of Siblings with enough self left, staring out from their eyes. It's disconcerting.

By the time they actually get out of the Waterways, they're using their Shade Wings to grip ledges and drag themselves up, with those holding onto things better than their own arms are with the Mantis Claw. 

The Knight faceplants awkwardly onto the floor of the building Lemm's shop is in. If the City is the same as below, there's little left to try killing them in the area.

They'll just take a moment here, thanks.

Comments

[focusedvoid]

He has been shrinking down, and they've slowly been leaning forward at a slightly faster rate, prepared to--catch him, they suppose, with their Shade Wings, if he fully passes out and falls off.

The Knight hops down as soon as Lemm's on Station ground, hovering somewhat around his elbow. Perhaps they were right about his suffering from motionsickness. Look, they're the perfect height to set a hand on if steadying is required.

Looking to Lemm too much to turn and bow (and not realizing the Stag isn't looking their way) they wave an arm back his direction.

[capitalcurator]

He would love to turn and scold the Knight for hovering so close, or try to salvage the situation by saying, well anything, something, to the one who just carried him this far, but his whole body still registers the tremble of the Stagways and he does not want to make this fact public, so he is eerily silent as he leans front and determinedly marches his way out of the Station and out of view of the Old Stag.

(Who, in his long experience, is perhaps not too hurt to see another perfectly ordinary case of first-time rider. Lemm is less subtle than he thinks he is.)

He is doing better on solid ground. A hand fumbles for the edge of the exit, and he grounds himself by holding on and peering around at the tunnels to familiarise himself like he's the only one there.

...Having the Knight virtually magnetised to his side is not a negative.

[focusedvoid]

Hallownest is hardly the only part of the world with rough rides (or even machines that serve the same function). The Knight's seen things like this before, and are fairly convinced Lemm might be about to get sick or pass out completely, so they're not about to move away any time soon.

The way up is open. The way down is open, too, where the Infection had been clogging it up. Most of it's gone but some vine-like shapes that cling tightly to stone, nearly invisible--no longer the rancid burning orange of the Radiance, but their own Void.

The Knight is distracted from this by Lemm and the mildly startling sight of a tiktik crawling up the wall across the way. The never would've suspected something so fragile to survive.

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The feeling fades quickly - or rather is chased off - and is replaced by an ugly wave of embarrassment. Lemm hurries to smooth over it as soon as he's sure his voice won't shake.

"The air really is clearer." He forces himself to take his hand away from the wall, and he is careful that it does not find its way to the Knight instead. He's fine.

His gaze fixes on the tiktik, too.

He will be totally normal in just a second! Trouble is he doesn't reckon he's very good at small talk when it's not about relics, so bridging that second is a non-starter. Lemm just sort of awkwardly stands there staring at the little crawler and willing himself to move before the moment can stretch on any more obviously than it already - he should have said something to the Stag, he's still at the platform -

Lemm takes a sudden step forwards. "Shall we, then?"

[focusedvoid]

It is. They killed the source that sickened it so dead as to never exist again.

The Knight, naturally, has no such problems with letting the silence stretch, nor do they with partly matching his step forward to make absolutely sure. Their step is smaller in size, however. If he's well enough for talking, he's less likely to be getting sick.

Nod. Of course. They'll be following his decision unless it's in a direction too screamingly dangerous, of which there aren't many they can recall in either direction nearby.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm likely isn't the only bug the Knight has met to appreciate the comfortable silence that comes with their inability to speak. But he is one of very few who now understands there is an option for pen and paper - and it's appreciated very much that they do not go to pull any out.

There is a barely-perceptible sigh, and Lemm casually tucks the end of his beard over the bag and tugs the strap a little further back out of the way. His knee bends, and he makes a confident little leap across a gap and grabs the broken end of a decorative metal post as he touches down. It is remarkably unremarkable, but he's clearly a bit more nimble than he looks.

The Crossroads are not exactly in the best shape, but the path is clear enough. Lemm will be moving onwards and upwards without saying anything. He may be trying to clear his head a bit, first.

[focusedvoid]

The Knight follows, relaxing at the easy show of movement. Lemm's recovered from the ride just fine.

They keep pace. The fact that they're unused to travelling with others, particularly others that have reverence for relics, comes up immediately when they have to smother the urge to act on habit--thoughtlessly destroying the various symbols of the King and other such scenery. They catch their Nail's hilt in their paw multiple times and hastily redirect. There are a few scraggly plants that didn't fully wither in the meantime, stained orange on the stalks and nearly black by the roots, that fall to their blade easily. They don't look at Lemm as they do.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm is hardly paying that much attention at first. He's travelled with others if happened to be going the same way counts, but for now he's not really sure what the difference is between that and... actively going together.

But the Knight's little random acts of lawnmowing are a little too audible, quick, and obvious for Lemm not to notice. He catches himself squinting over at them.

Maybe he's not going fast enough? Is it frustration, or are they agitated about something else-? Ah, maybe they're uncomfortable with this whole thing. He is. None of each other's business, then, and it'd be a silly trap to bring it up!

He falls into the easy pattern of the Crossroads and instinctively tilts his head up to check the switch when they near it. The way is already open, as it was the last time he was here. Lemm directs his gaze at the Knight, suddenly curious.

"It was you, was it? Opening all the gates. I can't imagine anyone else wanting to bother."

[focusedvoid]

Despite walking almost directly beside him, being here for him, Lemm's abrupt speaking up is nearly startling. They're...really not used to this. The rare times they played guide didn't have questions directed their way often, allies either trusting them to show the way or clients wandering somewhere when their size or silence was considered untrustworthy.

All this to say they pause for slightly too long before they answer with a nod and gesture in a wide circle, indicating all Hallownest. Many gates that nobody cared to bother with, as he said, or were skilled enough to manage.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm makes a vaguely thoughtful noise and glances back at the switch as they pass. Keys, they'd said. Geo or keys. So much of Hallownest was locked down. And the Brand on them like that...

"Will you keep them that way?" he asks. "It'd be up to you, I think." The main gate is still closed. He's no longer sure how he feels about that.

At the top Lemm takes a second to watch how the Knight navigates. They've always seemed so small (except recently when they haven't) and it's admittedly kind of impressive to see them moving around with such ease, as opposed to his usual view of peering down at them from behind a counter.

[focusedvoid]

They deliberately turn and tilt their head. It's an unnatural movement for them, but Lemm is worth the effort of expressing confusion. They don't understand why they wouldn't.

The Knight is agile in movement. They're avoiding too much reliance on the Shade Wings, as they doubt Lemm's hiding anything like that under his shell and don't want to leave him behind even when they take initiative to go ahead. The Mantis Claw still catches on walls, and they dart between platforms in a shadowy blur, only sometimes literally so through dash.

When they reach the crumbling start of the way to Crystal Peak, the Knight...pauses. Just for a moment.

No miracle walks through the shellwood frame, as they held no expectations for.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm is reluctant to explain. He's been spurred to think about a few things lately, and he's still not quite capable of articulating those thoughts even to himself. Still, he makes some small attempt:

"Used to be a lot harder to get from one place to another. Now there're open roads and Stag transport." He hasn't decided whether to be negative or positive about it yet. It just sits somewhere inconveniently in between, picking at him. "Dirtmouth's got a fair few residents now, according to you. Might be more inclined to wander with no gates in the way."

He almost keeps walking, even though he saw them stop, because these things are subtle and Lemm doesn't usually read subtlety well. But he is slowly getting used to the Knight's mannerisms, and maybe a bit fascinated by their freedom of movement, and so he's watching more closely than normal and he decides there's something off about seeing them falter here.

Lemm takes his own pause as the Knight starts moving again, and he studies the dilapidated minecart. Have you seen any-

"Knight," he calls, and hurries to catch up. "That... friend of yours. If you want to look for her - I'm not going to hold us rigidly to any schedule, as I've said." I just don't know that you'd like it if you found her. Best to put things like that out of mind.

[focusedvoid]

The Knight mulls this over before finally shaking their head.

They consider leaving it at that. But this is...something they should elaborate on. They take until they're at the start of the mine to articulate what they want to say.

I can't lock everything up. The residents of Dirtmouth who would wander have done so enough. I rescued several and I do not think they'll do so again. Except Zote, maybe. As much as they dislike him, they'd rather he not die, but they realize his absurd wandering isn't something even the Lord of Shades could stop. If I locked all I could, those who still live down here would be trapped and need to take more dangerous routes. If left open alone, the Stagways would still lead to many dangers.

I have no illusions I can keep anyone from doing what they wish if they truly want to try.

They hand over the paper and turn away, to stare though the mouth of the tunnel. Even Lemm, if he truly desired it. They're choosing to trust he won't.

Meanwhile, Myla isn't here. They've checked. They've checked...many times.

They're admittedly tempted. But they're doing something now for another. If they somehow found her now, what could they do? Drag her to Dirtmouth and leave Lemm to hover, or try to get back through the Stagways he dislikes?

They bow acknowledgement to his words, deeper than a nod, but make no move to take a detour.

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Lemm takes the paper and scans it. Standing at their side he peers up at the mine entrance, the two of them just lingering there.

The world is not fair. Bugs really do disappear all the time. Lemm really thought he'd grown cold to that.

"There were reports that mining drew certain types," he says quietly, in the voice of a scholar. "Had a pull, apparently. You'd take the job if it was right for you, only no one ever seemed able to explain why that was."

The note is fanned lightly back into the Knight's reach, because there is still room on the page and a waste of paper is a waste of Geo. But he's read it - carefully.

"S'a drive that takes certain bugs, sweeps them up like bad air, makes 'em think there's nothing else but their work. Mining was bad for it. Every record I've seen in Hallownest as good as said so." Lemm draws out a sigh and, shaking his head, he stoops to pat the Knight's shoulder, peering back over his shoulder up at the dilapidated supports. "Maybe it's the ore. Wasn't anyone's fault, either way."

[focusedvoid]

They take the paper back. It wrinkles in their tight claws.

Lemm is attempting reassurance. He touches their shoulder, and they twitch and tilt their head to bump the side of it against his arm. They don't know why.

They want to move on.

Moving on would be a lie about her. The idea of 'a pull' is not surprising, and it's not so mysterious as all that.

She was a sang while she worked and eventually heard the crystals singing back. There is a statue of the Radiance up top. I believe the crystals glowing were a part of her spread through dreams.

Myla was infected by the end. Stopping to search here will not bring her back. They nearly stop there before considering, through their rising grief, that he didn't need to do this. But I thank you for thinking of it.

[capitalcurator]

There is a cold rush up his arm that has nothing to do with Void. The bump was not rough - it is anything but - but he wasn't expecting a response at all, and the surprise of it snaps his hand away and tight back to the strap of his bag, betraying him.

Lemm nods, short, unceremonious. "Light bounces in a prism. Echoes," he thinks out loud. But this moment is not about the theory. It is about something else.

Still walking at their side, Lemm silently fights off the snapshot memories of things he has seen others do in a situation similar to this. Could pull them to his side by a horn and hold them there by the shoulder as they walk. Could rest a hand on their head, crack some terrible joke. Stop and kneel and put hands on their shoulders and talk. Do any number of things that Relic Seeker Lemm is not suited to and never has been. Is not suited to. Is not allowed.

It is so much harder to take the brakes off when it isn't his last chance to keep them around. But they're grieving, so some things are expected, even if it's barely anything at all.

"No one's fault," he says again, energyless and typical and clinical and... trying, anyway. "Not yours, not hers."

On, then. He hops up and keeps going. They've history to get to.

[focusedvoid]

They notice that, distantly. It was odd of them. They shouldn't try it again.

Someone's fault. At least two someones. But one died cowering alone in a mechanical dream, and the worse one died drowning in the uncountable shadows she despised.

The Knight takes his attempt of comfort as it is, dipping their head one more time before following along. Travel to do.

They're pulled roughly from their emotions discovering a Vengefly hovering around the diverging path at the top, another thing somehow alive. The Knight draws their Nail in a flash, but its screech upon sighting them is weak, and it flies crookedly the opposite direction.

They remember this area. They dart ahead--the ceiling has loose stalactites they should knock out of place before any can crash down on their heads.

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Lemm is quick. It's not Nail-wielding behaviour - he skits quickly to one side, one hand already finding a rock and preparing to duck until the Vengefly clearly heads away. His methods of self-preservation aren't the same as the Knight's, but they're sharper than his tact.

He falls in behind the Knight with a light pah, his pace suddenly quicker than it was and much more purposeful, hugging his bag to his side. As they go on, his eyes track the ceiling overhead far more than they track the ground. The dark shape of the empty Temple looms distantly in the caverns.

It is nothing, he's been to worse places than just the upper Crossroads, but - he will admit to himself - there's something about the sight of the Knight jogging ahead with their Nail out that reassures him, regardless. Not much he can offer in return but talk, a bit quieter than usual because the cavern overhead is prepared to puncture him for it.

"The space here wasn't a show from Hallownest," he reports, mostly just to talk. "Hear how I echo?" - and, alert, he ducks to one side as sharp mineral hits the ground where he was standing. "Something much bigger tunnelled here first. Maybe you already know."

[focusedvoid]

The next they encounter is struck to the side with their Nail, where it digs into the ground at an angle.

Lemm is fine. He's faster than they'd assumed. He's fine.

The Knight jerks their head tersely. No, they hadn't known that. Greenhorn would be more interested, but they'll leave them to after the Egg.

There are many corpses along the way. Shreds of corpses, more like. Violent and Slobbering Husks, burst from the inside out by the Infection's finale. They hadn't given them much attention last they passed through.

At outskirts of the Temple, they fail to rein in their urges to tear through more formerly-infected leaves and slam one of the Pale King's markers down.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm may not be afraid of the dead, but exploded husk is exploded husk, and it's unpleasant enough. He shows little of his disgust on his face - just a slight narrowing of the eyes. He wasn't quite so familiar with how violently the Infection manifested itself towards the end. He'd been wise enough to stay put.

"Any new settlement uses what it has," he continues. "What Hallownest had was the remains of what came before it. Every bit of this kingdom is a reflection of -"

Thunk.

Lemm stops. And looks at them. Hard.

"...Something bothering you," he deadpans.

[focusedvoid]

Headshake, hard. And then stopping, because yes. That's an obvious lie.

They pace forward two steps, three back Lemm's way before pulling out the paper.

I am anxious and you are d angry at myself for it. I am angry at the Pale King and the Radiance always and again now. I apologize for interrupting. The Knight holds up the paper just long enough for him to read their less-than-steady writing.

[capitalcurator]

"N..."

Whatever he was going to say dies so quickly he doesn't even get to no, I. Several things. One, he misread their discomfort as annoyance. Two, his first reaction is an unpleasant prickliness, because there was something there that was going to address him and he's got several likely-misguided ideas about that. Three...

Three is that they are uncomfortable here, as he suspected they might be. Lemm casts a glance at the dark shape of the Temple ahead, and considers calling this off. Doing it another time wouldn't improve matters a jot, though, would it? And it'd give a great deal towards the suspicion that he is, as always, incompatible with a travel partner. Lemm quietly shies away from that idea, selfish though that might be.

(Four: they are telling him about their feelings. It is such a clear explanation. No bad air. Lemm is grateful, because that was not his first instinct.)

"...I was talking to myself. Interrupt all you like." Half-true. He scratches his face sheepishly with one finger and turns back to the Knight. Might as well be honest. "Thought you were annoyed," he admits, and waves acknowledgingly at the paper to let them know they don't have to continue. His eyes flick to the broken marker. "At me, I mean. You - hm. I see."

Lemm fidgets with the bag strap for a moment.

"...Carry on."

[focusedvoid]

They still shake their head. Not so directly as that. Annoyed at their own self at not trusting him, at being so worried, at still having a sliver of wanting to put him somewhere safe. At him slightly for having them care, nonsensically and not something to fault him for.

Recently-unearthed history aside, the Knight knows themselves enough by now to understand this isn't about to change unless he pulls off a particularly devious and cruel kind of backstab. (Such as selling out their sibling, perhaps.)

They're still going to keep from interrupting quite so loudly next time. Or at least aim for less violently.

Greenhorn would be a better listener, if you're still willing to entertain their presence after the Temple. This note's handwriting is significantly cleaner.

[capitalcurator]

Lemm's fidgeting stills at that, though not because he feels any more confident - his hands cling tight to the strap as he tries to win over a sudden flutter of nerves.

"I'd -" love to, really "- be fine with it. I thought I was clear enough." It sounds a tiny bit like irritation at having to repeat himself. It is not.

But what should he say? It's different now that he's been given the task by someone else, and hasn't just... stumbled across a sibling by accident. This is a deliberate responsibility! Given to him on purpose. Lemm shifts in place, then clears his throat decisively.

"Anything I shouldn't-? I mean. You'll have rules, probably."

[focusedvoid]

Good to make certain. He seems tense. They don't think it's quite enough to be worth pointing out.

They stare blankly for a moment. Rules...? They conclude he might still be a little nervous about being face-to-face with Void, uncertain about what to do with it.

Nothing I believe you're not sensible enough for already. 'Do not push them into spikes'.

No, wait a moment. One thing to make very certain of. Just don't lead them near anything bright. They'll get upset and agitated.