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Recovering from their battle at the very bottom of the world is immensely boring, with only a few moments of entertainment throughout.
On some days Lace is as agile as she was during their battle in the Citadel. Her and Hornet will duel, or explore, or fulfill the silly wishes of the bugs around Pharloom. Those days are rare, though, and on most days she isn’t even capable of getting her own silk.
On bad days, today among them, her body is too weak and her threads too thin to move without the risk of fraying and unraveling. Those days, she’s forcibly confined to Hornet’s admittedly comfortable home while the half-god searches Pharloom for a solution to her ailment. And if she dares to stretch her legs? She’ll have to deal with the pain from straining herself on top of a fit from her ‘savior’ thrown for not following her instructions.
It’s not like Hornet is going to find a permanent solution to this— even just keeping her here requires immense amounts of silk… but she’ll let her have her hope. It’s more entertaining this way, seeing the spider scramble all around the kingdom just for her, and it gives Hornet something to do she supposes.
Outside, she can hear the conversations of the townsfolk of Bellhart. A funny bunch, bugs she’d only vaguely known of prior to now who knew nothing of her. They apparently fell to despair during the fall of Pharloom and then, when the threat had been resolved, they bounced right back into their merry ways.
Even though they do not know her name, even though they rarely see her, the bugs below will sometimes make the climb up to Hornet’s bellhome, will knock on her door and ask friendly questions to her. Does she need any food? Is she doing well today? Does she know when Hornet will return? It’s all quite silly, all of their efforts to comfort her are for not and they don’t even know who she is! They don’t know how she’s contributed to their suffering, too caught up in their friendliness. Despite their foolishness, it is enjoyable. Every question is a few seconds of something to do amongst the endless boredom that her condition brings.
As well as being miserable, today is very quiet. For once she’s grateful for it. Maybe she pushed herself too far yesterday, or Hornet’s stitching was worse than usual, but even just laying here brings a dull and constant pain into her thread. No matter the reason, she suspects that she and Hornet won’t be dueling today… how disappointing.
At least the bed is comfortable, and the room is warm, and she knows Hornet will be back at some point. Wrapped tightly in these warm blankets, the gramophone playing familiar songs… the only way it could be better is if she managed to climb up to the hot tub.
The click of the door opening snaps her to attention, though she stays still for a moment longer. She hears a series of soft thumps by the door, likely the spider’s haul of silk being set down. And then, even quieter than that, she hears Hornet’s sneaky footsteps as she approaches her bed. There is a pause, and Lace carefully opens one eye to peek at what Hornet is doing.
“So you are awake,” Said spider says, before taking a seat next to where Lace lays. The jig up, Lace moves to sit up as well (though the movement aches painfully and she can feel her threads straining from just that little movement). Hornet pulls a spool of silk over with her foot as she pulls a sewing needle from the pocket of her cloak.
“Not even going to greet me, spider? I expected better bedside manners from you, I’ve barely woken up!” Lace teases, but scoots closer to Hornet nonetheless. She examines Hornet’s expression for a moment longer, giving her a small pout at the lack of reaction. And then she closes her eyes and lets the weaver do her work.
Despite her clear desire to get the work over with, she does humor her. “Hello, Lace. I would talk longer, but I’ll not have you unravelling on my watch.” On most days, she would pick at that statement. Ask Hornet why it would matter, why she feels so responsible for her, really get under her skin about that thinly veiled sentimentality but today she hardly has the energy. Hornet seems to notice, and is quick to begin her work.
With the same immense care and intense focus she has when repairing her tools, Hornet stitches her back together string by string. Where silk has grown thin, new strands are wrapped. A fray on her knee that opened up before she fell asleep had spread nearly up to her thigh, slowly closed alongside nearly a dozen other tears she hadn’t even noticed.
She can’t deny that this is one of her favorite parts of the new developments in her life. Being fawned over and having her complete attention, knowing she can tease and pester Hornet as much as she wants and the spider won’t do a thing… It's absolutely delightful! Whether it sits as her favorite because it truly is the most enjoyable activity in Pharloom, or because it’s the best part of her worst days… she can’t say.
The contact she leans into, thoughts wandering as the time flies by. Before she knows it, the repair is over and a small amount of energy is returned to her. Movement doesn’t feel like she’s ripping herself apart, and the ache of unravelling threads is barely noticeable even if the exhaustion still weighs heavy in her limbs.
“Better?” Hornet asks, keeping a hand at Lace’s back to support her until she nods. Carefully she leans back, until she’s laying against the comfortable pillows of Hornet’s bed and the strain of sitting up can ebb away.
For her part the spider sits there, keeping an eye on her for a moment longer as if she might lose form and perish at any moment. Not an uncommon occurrence, for as much as she talks she is equally a fan of keeping her thoughts to herself. What could she be thinking about? What about Lace has her brow furrowed in such intense focus?
Hornet doesn’t say, turning to face the wall as she empties her pockets onto the bed and begins organizing the shards and rosaries and pieces of junk she also gathered while out in the world. One must wonder if she just picks up every little object she finds, or where she finds most of the things she brings back after so long in Pharloom.
As soon as her organization is over, Hornet turns her attention back to Lace. She places a hand on Lace’s forehead, like someone would do to test a real bug’s temperature. “Is there anything more you need? It has been a long day, and I do not intend to get back up once I lay down.” Hornet huffs.
While that admission does bring a sparkle to her eye, she shakes her head. “All is well.” She smiles, and then grins as Hornet nods and begins to make her way to the other side of the tiny bed. Already a number of teasing questions are forming in her mind.
Pockets emptied and blade set close by, Hornet finally lays down. One final, tired sigh leaves her as she fully collapses onto the bed, her taking a nice moment to revel in the relaxation before her eyes snap open and flick to Lace’s location. Hornet’s eyes narrow slightly at the amused expression on her face. “Is something funny?”
She can’t help but giggle at that. The silly, almost cautious look on her face, as if the bedridden bundle of silk is going to do anything. Her expression is also exhausted, weak, tired— something she often does well to hide, now laid bare before a bug who was but weeks ago one of her biggest enemies! And even after all of her errands, running around this dying kingdom… she still asked what she could do for Lace before seeking a moment of respite. Her dedication truly is absurd, encaptivating, comforting to an unfathomable degree.
But she can’t say any of that! Instead she smiles and hums, "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how pleasant a dip in the hot tub would be at this hour.” She hums, before turning onto her back and dramatically laying a hand against her forehead. “The wonders it would do to soothe these aching threads! If only I had the strength to get there!”
From the corner of her vision, she watches as Hornet takes in another deep breath. Despite what she just said, she immediately moves to get back up, a reaction that has Lace bursting into a near-painful laughter. She grabs Hornet’s hand to keep her from leaving the comfort of bed. “I know you love solving the every whim of the bugs of Pharloom, but you truly need to learn to say no once and a while.” Lace taunts. “You had just told me you would not leave bed again, and not a moment later you’re getting to your feet?”
Without more than a moment of delay, Hornet responds. Still her face is solid, almost bored at Lace’s amusement. “Of course. If you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save me in the Cradle, it is the least I can do to tend to you at your lowest.” She explains.
That only brings more laughter, another excuse for her obvious attachment! Her laughter crescendoes as she devolves into a proper fit. “That was merely a rebellion against my mother, silly spider! It was nothing to you. And besides, you repaid the favor by rescuing me from the void, this is hardly getting even!” Lace argues. “You can simply admit you like me, little spider. I already know it.” She teases
She expects more arguing from Hornet, perhaps another reminder that her rescue was merely a means to save Pharloom. Instead though, Hornet sighs again and nods. “I suppose you’re right.” She says, her words immediately bringing an end to Lace’s laughter. “The truth of the matter, as hard as it is for me to admit, is that I do care greatly for your company and wellbeing. If going back on my word and getting up is what you need, I will do it for you.”
Her smirk quickly devolves into a pout, and then into a proper frown. Oh how gross! And awfully mushy of the usually solid spider. She steels herself and tries best to hide her surprise. “There is no need to get soft on me.” She huffs. How embarrassing, she didn’t think she’d give in so easily, nor that she would admit to it so calmly. This is the exact opposite of what she wanted! Hornet, composed and calm while she’s flustered and caught off guard.
“Do you still wish to use the hot tub?” Hornet asks, after a good few moments spent stewing in her too-sweet response.
Lace huffs, crosses her arms and in spite of her failure to get on Hornet’s nerves she can’t deny that having the spider so willing to do as she asks is quite amusing. The hot tub does sound enticing, only now that her laughter has ended is she reminded of just how tired she is, but… for now, she thinks she’d prefer to rest. A small smile pulls at the corners of her mouth as she pulls harder on Hornet’s arm, bringing her back down onto the bed. “No, this is fine for now.”
Boredom might largely characterize her day to day— from having to deal with whiny pilgrims and the weaknesses of her frail body near daily— but there are certainly aspects of it she enjoys. As sleep overtakes them both, she can’t help but be happy that this is the way things turned out.