Daughter of Hallownest (NSFW) (CANCELLED)

Resolution

Hornet was absolutely speechless. Never before had she seen such incredibly combat performance. Yielding, one Lord pulled a lever on the wall, pulling down the door blocking the next room, which the ghost silently disappeared through. She could not follow him of course, as that would require entering the room herself, and she did not wish to challenge the Lords as well. Thus she resolved to give the ghost some alone time and reschedule her apology.

Hornet did, however, take a few more moments to gaze upon the defeated Mantis Lords. Their already-scanty tribal garments hung looser than ever before after their beating, with everything besides but their most private spots visible. Yet they were quite comfortable together, and had been when the ghost was still in their presence. She decided to give this some thought.

Hornet left the area, retreating back to the bench in the middle of the village where she and the ghost had sat side by side. Although it hadn't felt special in the moment, for some reason she missed it and looked forward to being close to him again. Her mind was overwhelmed again, but in a good way this time. She plopped down on the bench, cloak swaying with a mind of its own. She thought about the ghost's incredible battle, the garb of the Mantis Lord sisters, and where the ghost would be heading next. But these thoughts lessened and faded away as she slept into slumber.

Hornet was awakened by noises to her right. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see the ghost sitting patiently next to her. Not knowing what to do, she sat silently, adjusting her position from a sleeping one to one of sitting on a bench next to a friend. The ghost noticed and stared up at her.

"I... I'm sorry for fighting you back in Greenpath. I can't say I meant you no harm, because I did. But whatever you came to Hallownest for, I won't disturb you. And... I offer my help, if you want it."

The ghost continued to stare, then slowly bowed his head in acceptance. She secretly found it endearing how he had seemingly learned the gesture from the mantises. Finally finding peace in the acceptance of her apology, she stood up. 

"Where to next, little ghost?" she asked. He eagerly hopped off the bench and ran off. She pursued him once more, only no longer in secret. It felt good to sort of... work together with the ghost. She knew the two of them could achieve great things together. If only he could speak and tell her what those things were!

The ghost ran eagerly along on its little feet, not minding the sway of his cloak in the slightest. Hornet was beginning to realize her problems were exclusively her own. Even if there had been a concept of modesty in the kingdom's prime, that had by now been reduced to the only remaining taboo being the few entirely private spots on a bug's body. But as much as she had whittled her insecurity down, it still nagged at her, especially in the presence of other bugs. Running along with the ghost and letting her shawl sway behind her felt great and nerve-wracking at the same time. But it was her only remaining problem, so she was willing to tolerate it for a bit longer.

Hornet was surprised to notice the ghost was heading towards a special exit from the village. She knew of every shortcut and hidden spot from years of wandering, but the ghost seemed to instinctively know its way around the world without any help. Still, in the depths of her knowledge, she knew of several secret places surely only she knew of. And if the ghost needed access to them at any point in their mission, she would be happy to finally share her secrets with another.