Bone and Blood Volume I

12 - The Nest, 1927

After months of non-stop hunting, Torani had earned a break. It was well past sunset, but he was still in his den. Serana's scent had become a permanent fixture there. For the first time, his hole in the wall felt like home. Between her and Rek, the urge to start a nest had eased.

It still whispered to him though. Once he figured out how to leave with his family, that would silence it for good. Until then, a visit with Rek would help.

Crawling out of his den, he poured onto the landing. Falling onto the bridge completed his wake-up ritual. Funny how that routine had started as an accident.

When his wings initially grew in, they burned and itched if they touched anything. One night, he scraped them against his den's exit tunnel. Scrambling to escape the pain, he threw himself over the landing and into the pit. The bridge caught his fall. Once the adrenalin wore off, he decided he enjoyed the trip down. He did it the next night. And the one after that.

Once, Demeko scolded him for it. Told him the bridge was not designed to shoulder an impact like that. Eventually, it would break. That doubled Torani's commitment to the act. These nights, he only did it out of habit. There was no reason to stop. Demeko's ominous warnings had been empty. The bridge was as sturdy as ever. The workers had not needed to repair it.

At top of the worker's spiral, Torani crossed paths with Kordi. Her expression was smiles and glee. "Good evening, Knight-Prince!"

"Evening, Rising Prince. I'm surprised you're still in."

"Ilen wanted to see me. Why are you still here though? You never leave this late."

"I'm taking a night off."

"From hunting?! Why would you do that?"

"It's different after you ascend. It's not what royals were meant to do."

Kordi frowned. "The royals actually enjoy standing around doing nothing?"

"Just as the workers enjoy building."

"I'll take your word for it." She hopped onto the wall. "See you later!"

He waved as she darted up the wall. A sigh escaped him. That was what he wanted from Rek. Easy, warm nonchalance around royals. Better yet if Rek could be half as cheerful as Kordi when he ascended.

Hunters were quietly respectful to royals. But with one another they were vicious. Bitter, cynical, ruthless. The only time they smiled with each other was one outdid another. Meanwhile, the worst he had seen from Kordi was disappointment that her fully ascended peers were less capable than she was.

Had he been that way as a hunter? Cheery? He doubted it. His sparce memories suggested he was as bad tempered as any other hunter. Except, unlike them, he was allowed to unleash it on the knights. Was that a fundamental difference between Torani and Kordi as individuals? Or was it a result of Vaeilentha changing tactics for raising princes?

As a worker, Kor built things. She avidly hunted now. He expected her to be dedicated knight. And as a prince... Torani decided to leave it there. He hoped his decision to let Rek to act his rank would lead to him being happy. Well adjusted. Those words felt off for some reason. Torani descended the spiral.

The workers were building a new walkway around the pit under their den. It would prevent the grubs from climbing too high ever again. Soon, they would add new cocooning dens just below the rim. The queen wanted it all done before initiation next month.

Rek stood with Ru on the new rim by a ladder frame. They were below the landing for the worker's den, so Torani guessed it would soon connect the two. As he approached, an argument faded in.