Daughter of Hallownest (NSFW) (CANCELLED)

Acquaintance

As Hornet had guessed, the ghost was headed towards  the Mantis Village. She had yet to find out his purpose, but she would follow him and find out. Suddenly, she realized she had been calling him "him" rather than "it." Not thinking much of it, she continued on towards the Mantis Village. 

Briefly passing through the mystical Fog Canyon, Hornet took a few moments to admire the scenes. But enough distractions- she was on her way. As she hiked along the kingdom, she tried to ignore her clothes and get back into that good feeling she had while fighting the ghost, but she couldn't. She'd constantly adjust her shawl, carefully measuring every step to make sure it stayed in the proper position and didn't sway. It was driving her mad. All of a sudden, a crazy thought struck her. Her clothing seemed to be the source of all this frustration. She had contemplated replacing it, ignoring it, fixing it, and more, but what if she simply... got rid of it? Perhaps without wearing any clothes, she could permanently enter her flow zone, recover her fighting skills, and find a better state of mind.

Hornet was all alone. There was nothing to stop her. She did something she had never done before. She took off her shawl, right in the middle of the kingdom, and stood there nude. She squirmed a bit, trying to get the feel of it. She even habitually tried to adjust her cloak, laughing after realizing it wasn't there. It felt pretty good, but as an alone-time sort of thing. She knew she couldn't go out into the kingdom like this. At least not yet- perhaps she would ease into it, but now yet. Another step in the right direction.

Feeling at peace with herself once more, Hornet put on her cloak and trudged on. Only after exiting Fog Canyon and entering the Fungal Wastes did she hear another bug busy with something out in the distance. Thinking it was the ghost, she followed the sound. But as she got closer, it sounded less and less like him. Still, she had come to far to turn back. She traced the sound into a wide room. And sitting on a rock sharpening his nail, as Hornet approached silently, was the masked fellow.

Hornet could not believe what she was about to do, but for the first time, she took that as a good sign, an affirmation of her actions. She allowed herself to adjust her cloak slightly. Even if she didn't mind as much anymore, she knew it was polite to be modest around others. In Hallownest's prime, scantily dressed females were often viewed as whores and looked down upon. After she adjusted it, she made an ever so slight "ahem," which seemed to startle the fellow. He looked up frantically, unsure of what to do for a moment. After recognizing Hornet, he tossed his nail-sharpener aside and seemed to prepare himself for a fight, although he remained sitting.

"What brings you here, explorer?" She asked in an inquisitive voice.

Not sure what to think, he replied, "Exploring, as promised. It seems this kingdom has called me, and now it guides me toward something."

"And what might that be?"

"That I don't yet know, warrior. But perhaps it's tied to my past. This kingdom has felt so familiar since I entered it, and I can hardly remember my time in the beyond."

It felt good to be called a warrior, especially after her self esteem had plummeted so over the past days. In her new, positive outlook on things, she believed every word he spoke. No longer did she assume bad intentions in everyone. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice quavered for a moment.

"I don't know how to say this, but I apologize for the confrontation at the gate. It was wrong of me to judge you an enemy without knowing anything about you."

At this, his nail dropped and his expression changed to one of friendliness.

"No harm done. I see now why you were so eager to protect this land, ancient and forlorn. You believe it deserves peace and slumber after whatever tragedy ruined it, yes?"

Hornet was amazed at his response and how well he read her.

"Yes indeed. It was an ancient plague of which I and few others were fortunate survivors. I hope you can forgive me for my rashness at the gate. I shan't disturb you again, and I hope you find what you seek."

The bug nodded in respectful affirmation. "I'm Quirrel"

"And I'm Hornet, daughter of Hallownest"

As she spoke, a piece of her shawl untucked and fell, revealing a bit of her. Quirrel did not seem to mind. In fact, it seemed to delight him a bit, as he glanced up, then picked up his sharpener and got back to work. Without another word, without even readjusting her shawl, she walked away, unknowing that Quirrel watched her delightful gait from behind.