At Their Mercy

Chapter 41: My Heart, My Soul

A/N: Wow.

I really can't believe we're here. It's been exactly nine months since this story started. I have found it so hard to let go of this story; it's changed a lot of things for me, as silly as that sounds. I've met some incredible people through my readers and I have a discord server full of talented and friendly people.

This is not the end, of course. This is merely the end of this arc for Erratum and their new-found family. There are MANY things that have not been addressed that I know people want to see.
Just watch for the sequel and all will be well.

So, for the final time:

Enjoy

Update: Enjoy the beautiful picture VCL made of their bonding ceremony. This was drawn before this chapter so the outfits are different but HNG. I. PLEASE ;w;

It was no surprise that everyone needed some time to settle and talk through what had happened. Erratum had felt horrible every time one of them spoke, settled at their altar shamefully as the group took their separate turns. Nightmare's little group had shown up after Nightmare called for them and after one stabbing from Killer (and one healing from Dream), the group of monsters settled a bit away from the rest of them. They all appeared to be appraising the situation with varying levels of confusion and discomfort, though they chose to say nothing about it. They were all keenly aware of Nightmare at the moment, sitting sideways in the Guardian's lap while both of his hands grasped onto one of theirs. While the sight wasn't surprising in the least, it was still surreal to see their once angry and stoic leader nestled up and vulnerable with someone else.

Ink looked slightly confused when the large group looked at him, glancing around a moment. Dream laughed quietly as he leaned over to him a bit more as he sensed his growing discomfort. "This is the part where you talk about your feelings." He informed the newer Guardian, who appeared slightly more nervous now.

"I don't know how to do that." Ink informed him with a glance around the group. "I used to know exactly what I was feeling because I would, well, choose that feeling. It was all pretty straightforward, with no real fluctuations between things unless I physically chose it." He hummed a bit in thought as he said this. "Now I'm feeling all kinds of things and I'm not even sure what they are. They're more soft feeling than happiness, achier than sadness. The subtleties are really damn confusing." He admitted, watching Dream flinch slightly with confusion.

"Ink, Guardians don't swear. Swearing is literally translated to 'words that offend the gods' and... well," He gestured at him a moment, which only seemed to make him indignant for some reason.

"What?? That's not fair! Erratum swore right in the Guardians' faces! Well, their general direction at least since they don't really have a shape..." Ink protested in response to this injustice. He wasn't about to change his entire speech pattern to match Erratum's more formal manners. Dream appeared scandalized, however, as he looked over at Erratum next.

"What?? You what??" Dream seemed mortified at the imagery, but the darker Guardian could only give him a sheepish smile. "Errata!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Erratum waved off, though he could sense even Nightmare was giving them an intrigued look. "It's the only time I've ever used such language, I promise." They assured him, though it didn't seem to soothe him too much. "To be entirely fair, they were pushing to punish Ink, and trust me... punishment in the eyes of a Guardian is way more severe than anything you could imagine." They frowned as they recalled how they encircled the confused creator.