A Nest Of Bugs

Vocaloid/Genshin: step, spin, stay

Characters: Flower and Barbatos (Venti)

TW: The backrooms, blood

The hallway is just as empty as he is. Every light looks the same, every inch of wallpaper, every square foot of flooring. His bare toes scratch against the carpet as he spins down the long corridor, his wings spread out and his monstrous figure finally feeling graceful. Even his tail seems to be getting along with his other limbs- he hasn't tripped over it, not once.

He turns and turns, his feet only lightly touching the floor before he's up in the air again, a surprising contrast to how heavy he always feels. It's a wonderful thing, to dance like this, to be alone where he can't hurt anyone.

Old, muffled music comes out of some invisible loudspeaker and he follows the beat, reaching the end of the hallway and turning down another one. Every inch of this place seems the same, and it all seems to be for him. And eventually he reaches a small junction in all the corridors, a square room with mirrors on two sides and hallways on the others. A dead end, almost. He can see himself in the mirrors, can watch his form, his steps, every movement. He lifts one leg and spins, arms up to keep balance, and as he catches a glimpse of his face it appears he's smiling.

Until the other figure appears.

Just for half a second in the mirror, it appears, then glitches out into pixels. Paying it no mind, Barbatos keeps on dancing, the music's quality getting more distorted as he steps, turns, goes on tiptoe and back down. It's still one of the prettiest things he's heard.

Then the lights go off.

The lights go off and the music continues, creating an eerie sort of atmosphere. The pink glow of Barbatos' own eyes and the symbols, the dried blood on his body, don't help much- but he can see a shadow where the hallway is supposed to be. So he's not alone any longer. And this place doesn't seem quite safe.

The music slows and he stops dancing, no longer able to see. The lights buzz again and only one comes on, dim but bright enough he can see who's standing in his way.

They're just about his height, standing completely still, black ink splattered all over them. It fills their eyes, leaving nothing but a purple iris, and drips slowly down their cheeks like tears. It unevenly covers their lips and stains around their mouth, it stains their fingertips and drips from a cut on their shoulder. As if their blood has been replaced by some strange chemical, he thinks.

They meet his eyes and he steps backwards, his claws sharp and ready to defend himself. But they don't move. They simply stand and look at him, taking in his form. The tail twitching on the floor, his three sets of wings, the horns and feathery ears, the scales going down to his claws. The way his eyes glow pink along with the markings on his chest, the way his dried blood glows along with it. They look at him and Barbatos is sure they're calling him a monster.

Well.

It wouldn't be the first time.

And really, if this was where he was going to die, it wouldn't matter too much, would it?

So he turns away from them and feels the music inside of him once more, assuming third position, and begins to dance once again. The strange figure stands in the middle of the room and he circles around them, his bare feet lightly squishing against the carpet as he moves. Their eyes follow him around, until he eventually steps closer and reaches for their hand.

The ink touches him and it burns, it stings his scales, but he keeps his hold on them and pulls them into the dance. Without making a sound, they follow his movements, though they are much stiffer and less graceful than he is. The music continues and the light stays dim, and their reflections dance around them in the mirrors.

His claws are sharp, cutting into their skin, but they dance anyway. The ink spills over their hands and drips down to the floor, and it continues to stream from their eyes. Barbatos doesn't have a single idea what they are, what their name is. But as long as the music continues, he dances with them.

He pulls them out of the mirrored room and down one of the hallways, letting go of their bleeding hands, ink covering his claws all the way up to his wrists- and still they follow. Every time he turns, they turn with him, as if they were a shadow. A ghost.

He steps and turns until his feet hurt too much to go on, and then he turns to face the figure behind him. All this time, their feet haven't quite touched the ground.

"Well, have you come to finish me off?" he asks, sinking down to the floor and picking at the carpet with his claws.

Still they don't respond.

"Go on, then." He looks up and gives them an understanding smile, then returns his eyes to focus on the ground.

They stay in the same place.

For what seems like hours, until Barbatos expects them to just disappear. Then, and only then, do they move. Drifting forward, they bend down and drape their body over him, head on his shoulder, inky hands holding his wings. And there, their bodies are stuck together, slowly turning to stone.