Chapter Text
Sighing to himself, Quirrel leaned back against the dock and gazed out over the lake before him. The quiet was one he could get used to.
“Ah, so here’s where you’ve been hiding.” Or, at least, he’d be able to get used to it the next time he came back to the place.
“Hello to you too, Hornet,” he said. At his side, Ghost swiveled their head around to get a better look at their sister. Stifling a laugh at their enthusiastic waving, Quirrel lifted his arm off their shoulders so they could go to greet her. “Come to make sure we’ve actually left the kingdom, have you?” He was rewarded for his not-so-subtle jab by having her needle pointed at his head, the slim blade hanging barely an inch away from his face before it was knocked away by Ghost’s blade.
“I’m not the one who said he was going to be departing from what is technically now my kingdom over a week ago. The sooner they are away from Hallownest, the more comfortable I will be.” Of course, the 'they' she was speaking of had no idea they were causing Hornet any amount of discomfort. Across from them, perched at the edge of the water, was the former Hollow Knight.
Ghost’s sibling was a completely different bug after the infection had been struck from their mind. Quirrel had been wary of them at first, but due to the injuries they’d sustained- both during the fight and during their time carrying the old light’s heart within themselves -they were little more than a corpse, barely clinging to a life given back to them. After several days of being treated in the crossroads hot spring with lifeblood poultices smeared over their various wounds, they were only just beginning to regain their strength.
Now that they were well enough to travel, Quirrel was preparing to finally have their rag-tag group leave Hallownest in Hornet’s more than capable hands. Even now, Cloth was waiting for them in Dirtmouth. There was only one thing he’d wanted to see before departing.
Looking back at the surface of the water, Quirrel felt that tranquility touch him again. Standing, he lifted his nail back up and slung it over his shoulders before moving towards where the Ghost and Hornet had dissolved into meaningless bickering, their weapons clashing lightly as they half-played combat.
“Well, you shouldn’t worry any longer, Hornet. We’ll be going now.” Looking up from their fighting, Ghost parried Hornet’s half-hearted strike without looking before running back to the tall Knight’s side and pulling lightly on their cloak. Though their height was still quite intimidating to him, Quirrel had come to associate them as more of a gentle giant than anything.
Their lopsided gaze lingered on him for a moment, a deep rumble emanating from their chest to form a noise that they’d all come to understand as laughter. Brushing past him, they slipped out of the cavern and began to head up, Hornet following silently- likely to make sure they didn’t accidentally break any more fixtures with their horns.
Glancing to his side, Quirrel caught Ghost watching him expectantly, and a soft laugh rose in his chest as he leaned down to caress the sides of their head. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.” Leaning down, he gingerly pressed his face against the faint dark lines in Ghost’s face, the last remnants of their struggle against the old light standing out against the pale of their mask.
Quirrel didn’t know how long they stayed in that way, be it seconds, minutes, or even hours, but when he finally pulled away, he couldn’t help but delight in how Ghost seemed to lose themselves in his touch. Of course, he wished they could’ve remained there even longer. He never felt more at peace than when he had them in his arms, simply enjoying their presence. But there were other worlds to explore- other kingdoms outside of Hallownest that they’d never seen before.
Even though he remembered so little of his past life in Monomon’s service, Quirrel didn’t want to go looking for the past. Not when there was so much more to be discovered in his future. There were dozens of questions in his mind, all of them about Ghost, and at this point, he knew he could’ve asked them anything. Stay with me? Follow me? Share my life with me? All of them were special and specific in meaning, but there was only one thing he wanted to know at that moment.
“Ready to go, dearest?” Even with their lack of speech, there were only so many ways one could interpret a whole-hearted yes .