Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph2 Ch5: Grimmkin Novices

Seven Climbed out of the crystal caverns, and rode down to Dirtmouth on the elevator. He slumped onto the bench again, and found himself questioning yet again. It seemed like the only thing he knew how to do at this point. Question, and ponder, and think. He knew so little about this world, about these creatures, and about the Grimm Troupe. All he could do at this point was question after all.

"This is going to be a long trip," he said, looking at how far the other flames were on the map.

"Need help getting somewhere?" Elderbug said from the right.

Seven and the Grimmchild nodded.

"Why not take the stag station?" Elderbug said. "They can take you almost anywhere, and they don't charge any geo."

"Oh, ok," Seven replied. He enjoyed having people to answer his questions. It really helped, being in a new environment. It was also nice that there were nice people in this place. He thought back to the Maw, where there were hardly any people who were as nice as Elderbug, aside from the Nomes.

Seven got off the bench, and walked into the stag station building. He rode another short elevator down, and there was nothing but a bell in front of him. He rung the bell, and without hesitation, an enormous bug ran up to the platform.

"Eh?" It said. "I thought this tunnel was blocked off by the infection," it said. "Then again, that sickly air that fills the tunnels has started to fade," it said, pondering on its thoughts.

"Uh, excuse me?" Seven said, trying to get the attention of the stag.

"Oh, hello little one! Are you the one that rung the bell and called me here?" It asked.

"Yes, my name is Seven."

"Hmm, you remind me of another one who used to ride my stations, especially with that little one," the stag said.

"Who, this little guy?" Seven asked, pointed to the Grimmchild.

"Yes! The travelled all over the kingdom for that child, and they seem to have shrunk the last time I saw them."

Seven looked over at the Grimmchild, and saw it had no idea what the stag was talking about. Could there have been a bearer for the Grimmchild before him? If so, could they help?

"If you're helping the child, perhaps you'd like to go to the places that the first one went right?" The stag asked.

"Yes, yes that would be great," Seven replied, snapping himself back to reality.

Seven got on the back of the stag, and the Grimmchild cuddled up underneath him. If there was another bearer, the Grimmchild clearly didn't remember them. It seemed to imprint the position of bearer on him like he was the first. But Seven just became curious and curious as he rode the stag. The ride was bumpy and fast, but Sevens mind distracted him. It felt like all he could do was question.

The stag came to a halt, and Seven got off, moving to the bench. As they moved out into the open of the lush, green caverns they were now in, Seven looked at the Grimmchild. It looked back, and just stared at him, with a look that had so many sentences inside. "What is it? What did I do wrong? Do you need something from me?" Those were the things that could come out of that look.

"I need a name for you, don't I?" He asked the Grimmchild.

The Grimmchild just shrugged with its tentacles it used to fly.

"What about, junior?"

The Grimmchild shook its head.

"Flame? Torch? Child? Partner? Buddy?"

The Grimmchild shook its head for all of them.

"Friend?" Seven asked.

The Grimmchild stopped, and then shrugged. It was okay.

"Ok friend," Seven said.

The two followed the compass to the flame, crawling through thorn bushes, and battling mouths and moss covered bugs. Seven found a way to bait the snapping mouths into revealing themselves, and then defeating them with a few strikes from his nail. He was able to predict the patterns of the mossy bugs, and the Grimmchild managed to lure one to death by flying through one of the mouths, and getting it to eat the bug. It smiled at Seven, wondering if it did well, and Seven smiled back.

They made their way to a bridge over an acid lake, and met another Grimmkin Novice. Ready for the attack this time, Seven jumped at the foe, swiping at it with his nail. The Grimmkin vanished, and swooped down for its next attack. Seven jumped over it, and struck down with his nail, plummeting them down to the ground. The Grimmkin warped behind Seven, and flung three fireballs at him, Seven evaded the attack, and once again struck the Grimmkin. The cycle went on, and on, until the Grimmkin let out a scream, and burst out into flames. The Grimmchild Absorbed the flames, and the two of them went back to the stag station.

After another bumpy ride, Seven and the Grimmchild arrived at their next stop. Now, the nausea of the rides was getting to Seven, since he didn't have his thoughts to occupy him. He sat down at the bench, and shook the dizziness and nausea away. He and the Grimmchild stepped out of the station, and this time, the flame was rather close. Seven approached the flame, and The Grimmkin appeared before them. 

Seven jumped at the Grimmkin, but it simply vanished away, in a burst of flame. Seven kept his guard up, looking for where it could appear next. Suddenly, the Grimmchild shrieked, and Seven turned around, just as The Grimmkin slammed into him. He fell down a series of platforms, and into a room filled with corpses of bugs his size. The Grimmkin followed him in, and Seven delivered a swift strike with his nail. The battle between the two continued, and soon, Seven gave the finishing blow, and the Grimmchild absorbed the final flame.

With the task now done, Seven climbed back up to the stag station, ready to go back to the Grimm Troupe. But as he walked up, he tripped over a barrel. He fell down, and suddenly, he saw something he thought he would never see in this world. A Nome. It scurried away, but then looked back at Seven, as if it was beckoning for him to follow. Sevens curiosity overwhelmed him, and he followed the Nome, running through the tunnels. The Grimmchild followed, not wanting to leave its bearer, and the two followed the Nome, deeper, and deeper into the city, unaware of what would happen next.

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Hello everyone! I now have a few ideas for the story, so I'll keep trying to upload as daily as possible! This chapter was supposed to come out yesterday, but I was busy, so here it is today! Thank you for everyone who has been reading this, and if you're enjoying, don't forget to vote.

Thank you Skulker for some ideas for the story, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!