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The darkness of the Stone Sanctuary was calming. The soft moss that lined the corridors leading up to No Eyes’ grave reassured anyone who traversed it. Tonight, however, the moss did nothing to soothe Marmu, the small caterpillar clutching a moss ball as she stared at the wall silently.
She remembered the words of the tall bug that had visited her in her dreams a few nights prior. She remembered his wicked smile, his tall pointed horns, and the way his cloak fluttered in the wind. The bright crimson eyes had never left her memory.
“They’re lying to you,” he had told her. “They’re all liars. You’re dead, and they hide that fact from you.”
“You’re the liar!” Marmu had refused to believe it. There was no possible way she was dead. It was simply impossible.
“Am I? Then tell me, child. Why hasn’t the Queen taught you to fly yet?” The red gaze of the bug never left as he had spoken.
“She-she just forgot…”
“But the Queen never forgets a bug, isn’t that right?”
It had ended there. Marmu had woken up in tears, unable to figure out if it was true. A gut feeling told her that it was, but she hadn’t been sure.
Revek had joined her that night. He had promised her that the red bug was lying. He had reassured her that everything would be ok. And Marmu had believed him. Revek had never let her down before.
Everything wasn’t ok. Within days, the other Dream Warriors had met up with a few other bugs. Marmu wasn’t sure who they were. But they had all left despite her protests, leaving only a stranger with her.
Marmu had watched the maggot for a few hours, wary of them. The maggot had watched back before leaving as well. They were never too far off, their soft moans always audible nearby.
Marmu wasn’t sure how long it had been before someone returned. She perked up as she heard soft voices, accompanied by footsteps. Marmu scrambled to her feet, hurrying to greet whoever it was, happiness swelling up inside of her.
Markoth’s cloak was fluttering in an annoyed fashion as he gazed around the barren Greenpath. Xero was behind him, leaning on a longnail. Marmu’s eyes widened as she saw them. Xero was visibly tired and injured. Markoth was visibly pissed off.
“What did I tell you? We shouldn’t have left her here with that maggot,” Xero said in annoyance. “Never trust those creatures. But someone wouldn’t listen.”
Markoth turned to the other. “Don’t lecture me right now, Xero.”
“You deserve it, though.” Xero placed a hand on his hip. “I told you and you didn’t listen. Is it because I died before you did? Is it because you’re the better fighter?”
Marmu’s heart sank as she watched them. Why were they fighting? It wasn’t one of their playful ones. It was serious.”
Markoth sighed, annoyed. “No. It’s not that, Xero. Don’t go there.”
“I’ll do as I please, Markoth.” Xero stood up, the nail he was leaning on floating into the air. “Open your damn eyes. Look around. That blasted maggot did something to Marmu. That’s why it fled as soon as we saw it.”
“Maggots are like that. They flee whenever they see anything, even if that thing is not a threat.”
Xero groaned. “Here we go again. Not listening to me.”
Markoth remained stoic. “I am listening.”
“You’re not. Must I open your eyes for you?”
“You’re welcome to try.”
Marmu couldn’t find it in herself to move. She didn’t like when they fought. She had always hidden in the nearest safe spot until someone told her she could come out. Why move when she could stay here?
The clanging of nail against shield bought her back to reality. Marmu’s eyes widened at the two insects she called her parents. She didn’t know who had attacked first. All she saw was Xero’s nails pressing against Markoth’s shield.
A golden nail spawned next to Markoth, shooting at Xero. The latter pulled back to avoid it, one of his four nails parrying the golden one. Xero himself remained steadfast as he rushed at Markoth again. The shield came between the two again.
Marmu felt tears. No. No, no, no, no, no. She didn’t move, still watching as nails flew, a mix of gold and pale blue. The clanging was soft, but it thundered in Marmu’s ears.
Her heart almost stopped when one of them landed a hit. The nail had caught just right to bypass Markoth’s shield. The blade hit the moth’s arm, leaving a long gash across it. The shock on Xero’s face was nothing compared to the fury on Markoth’s.
The battle resumed. Markoth spawned several nails, all of them aimed at Xero. Several hit their target, but Xero’s cloak and armor protected him from the worst of the damage.
And then one buried itself into his chest.
Marmu froze, eyes wide in horror. She shook her head quickly. This wasn’t real. This was just another nightmare caused by the red bug to make her cry. She refused to believe otherwise. She refused to look at the two bugs in front of her, knowing what she’d see if she did.
She fled. The moss beneath her feet was almost taunting as she scrabbled to escape the situation. The darkness of the Stone Sanctuary seemed to engulf the area.
A sharp prick made Marmu flinch. She noticed the spikes that lined the area and she realized her mistake. She had just ran blindly into the shrine where No Eyes had died. The shrine was surrounded by spikes. There were only two small doorways, one on each side, both past a dark spiky doom.
Holding her tail close, Marmu sniffled softly. She wanted to cry, to sob. She wanted to feel Markoth’s fluff as he held her close. She wanted to hear Xero’s soft voice as he told her stories of the adventures he’d go on. She wanted her dads back.
“...Marmu? Are you down here?”
Marmu looked up at the voice. She could barely see two figures standing at one of the shrine’s entrances. A soft light floated near her and she could see the pale blue glow the nail gave off.
In an instant, they were beside her. Markoth picked her up and held her close, stroking her softly. Xero’s eyes were full of worry in the dim light and she could see the faint gleam of tears on his face.
Marmu looked up at Markoth. He had been crying too, evident from the slight streaks on his face as well. Marmu sniffled and held onto the ring of fluff, burying her head into it as her body was riddled with soft sobs.
“What’s wrong, Marmu?” Xero’s voice was just as soothing as Marmu remembered, albeit filled with worry.
Marmu looked up, tears streaming down her face. “I-I- nightmare.”
“We can discuss that later. We shouldn’t be down here.” Markoth wrapped Marmu in his cloak. It was almost heavenly to the small child, clinging to the moth like a lifeline as he carried her back to the light.
Xero helped bandage up the cut on Marmu’s tail as she told them everything through sobs. She never looked at either of them as she retold what seemed like a real event. When she was done, she waited for one of them to scold her, tell her how’d they never do that.
A sigh. “Marmu, we did fight when we got here. But it wasn’t that bad.”
Marmu looked up at the two. They seemed resolved and guilty. Markoth rubbed an arm as Xero looked away. “Our fight was minor. Only a few harsh words exchanged. No nails were ever drawn.”
“O-oh…” Marmu looked back at the entrance to the Stone Sanctuary. “Ho-how’d you know…?”
Markoth stroked her. “Call it a fatherly instinct. Just know we’d never hurt each other, or you. Alright?”
Marmu nodded, wiping away her tears. Xero smiled softly. “We got you something. Do you want to see what it is?”
Marmu stared at the small pair of crystal wings in front of her. They shimmered in the soft glow of the greenery. The tips were purple, the inner glow matching the green of everything around them. More tears fell from Marmu’s face, though these were tears of happiness.
Maybe things were turning around.
-
“Now, we can’t take any extreme heights with these yet, but they’re a start.”
Marmu nodded as she looked at the small wings on her back. She smiled at them as she tested them, soft sparkles drifting off of them as they gently moved. Markoth smiled as he watched with Xero, an arm wrapped around the latter.
Revek watched her as well. He had ripped off a few pieces of his cloak and attached them to the wings. The small shreds never touched the ground, kept up by the wind.
Marmu rushed over to the two bugs watching. She hugged Markoth tightly, then Xero, giving each an affectionate nuzzle. She looked up, smiling. “Watch me fly, ‘k?”
“We won’t move an inch,” Xero promised, patting her head.
Marmu turned away, taking Revek’s hand as the guardian led her to a higher spot. Everything was ok now, and she had a feeling they would stay that way.