Chapter Text
The icy winds of Mount Fay were unforgiving as they were blowing into Hornet. Warmth felt like a fleeting memory as she slowly fought her way up treacherous slopes, her strength fading with each inch of ascend so toughly fought for. The small islands of light were few and far between and did little to starve off the near glacial temperatures, but Hornet was determined to push on, the goal of the summit set firmly in her mind. She was absolutely refusing to let herself be conquered by harsh weather conditions of all things. Not after everything she had braved up until this point. So, stubbornly, Hornet pushed on, disregarding her body screaming at her to stop and award herself some rest. She had no time for such banalities after all. She was stronger than that. More resilient. She would reach the top.
The winds picked up, howling around her in frigid intensity, draining her energy much faster than she was able to replenish it. Her steps grew heavier, her movements more sluggish as she progressively began to struggle to keep up with the gruelling pace of the climb. Hornet found herself uncharacteristically tripping over her feet and slipping on ledges, her shaking hands fighting in vain to cling to the last remnants of steadiness. Another step, another slip – this one nearly fatal, barely catching herself on the edge before plummeting into the abyss, towards certain death.
This had been a mistake. A grave misjudgement. Hornet realised that now, as she was lying on the hard, still ice of the exposed platform that nearly caused her demise just mere moments ago and that now rapidly sucked the last remaining drops of warmth from her exhausted and battered frame. She tried to get back up, knowing she had to if she wanted to get out of this alive, but her arms shook under the strain, ultimately giving up under her before she managed to achieve her goal. Hornet sank back down with a quiet grunt, feeling the realisation sink back in, that there was nowhere left to go from here. By now she was shaking violently, her thin coat long soaked and failing to fend off even the smallest amount of cold. Her gaze was becoming unfocused, the snow flurrying around her blurring into a homogenous white mass as her consciousness slowly began to slip away. For one last time Hornet attempted to raise up, to fight the darkness creeping up on her, however her strength failed her once again, leaving her defeated on the ice. In her last seconds of consciousness she berated herself for this being the end she found.
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Warmth. A nostalgic kind of warmth she hadn’t experienced since her early childhood days. Hornet revelled in it, searched to get closer and loose herself in it. She could not remember the last time she experienced such content. Such a feeling of safety. In the life of a warrior there was no place nor time for such luxuries. So maybe in death she was finally granted them. If so, so be it, she decided, letting herself sink even more into the warm cocoon surrounding her.
Through the haze a melody found its way to her. Soft and distant but intimately familiar. Hornet was unable to place it, but it calmed her either way. Her mind was slowly awakening, in search of the melody and the warm, beautiful voice performing it.
It seemed Hornet was mistaken in her belief that this was a form of afterlife. Despite the odds she could hear the faint howling of the mountain storms under the steady stream of music next to her. Or rather, above her. She also registered her head resting on something soft and warm, something unlike anything she would be able to recognise, along with the feeling of something soft and fluffy covering her sore body. After several attempts she finally brought herself to blink her eyes open, immediately squinting them shut again against the light of the fire in front of her. A fire that explained at least some of the warmth she was experiencing, however, not all of it. Opening her eyes again, with more care this time around, she took in her surroundings, her vision still slightly blurred: in front of her was a fire, cheerily crackling away, and a soft brown blanket spread besides it, dotted with the familiar bright red of her cloak, which apparently was laid out to dry next to the fire. It was then that the firelight being reflected in a golden ring caught Hornet’s eye, diverting her attention from her missing cloth, and leading the final spark to recognition: Shakra.
“I see you finally awoke, Child-Wielding-Needle,” the other bug’s voice rang out above her. “I was quite worried for you for a while.” When turning her head to look at Shakra, Hornet finally realised what it was she was lying on. Horrified by resting on the other’s legs she attempted to sit up in a panic, only resulting in nearly fainting again. This whole ordeal was turning out to be nothing less but humiliating. “Careful there, little one,” Shakra softly scolded. “You are lucky to be alive. It will take a while longer to regain your strength, I would assume.” Hornet’s offended frown – she lacked the energy for a more eloquent reaction – only won her an amused chuckle and a brief, barely noticeable pat on the head. “There is no need to look at me like that. I still wonder what got into your head to try and brave Mount Fay with nothing but your cloak. When I found you, you were all but frozen solid.” Shakra shot Hornet a look that was a clear challenge to dare and fight her on this. A challenge that the other knew better than to take her up on, especially in her current state. Especially now that she realised that the only thing covering her was a fluffy blanket. This was truly beyond embarrassing.
Shakra was apparently unfazed by Hornet’s inner turmoil and cheerily continued on. “So rest, little one. You can continue your journey after you have recovered your strength.” With a soft smile that did things to Hornet that she didn’t care to address she added: “And I must admit that I am quite grateful for your company.” Hornet tried her best to hide the unwelcome blush spreading when hearing this admission. It had been a very long time since she last had a reaction like this to another bug and it was deeply unsettling to her. She was painfully aware of her lifespan and stayed away from attachments for this very reason. It was safer to distance oneself than face the inevitable heartbreak. But with Shakra Hornet felt this firm resolve crack for the first time in what was surely decades. It was equally as terrifying as it was exhilarating. She could not let herself indulge in this. She needed to be more careful. She was so tempted to give it a chance. Impossibly torn she opted for a rather uncharacteristic hum in lieu of an answer and decided to at the very least allow herself to indulge in the warmth and casual intimacy between them. Even if just for a while, especially so as she felt exhaustion weighing more and more heavily on her. Maybe more rest would indeed be an acceptable course of action. At least for now. She would just rest her eyes for a moment and then she would be on her way.
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When Hornet woke next it was to the same feeling of warmth but a significant increase in strength and clarity. This time around she found Shakra sitting next to her, deeply focused in the creation of one of her maps. Hornet couldn’t help the fondness spreading within her at the casual familiarity of their situation. She drew the blanket closer to herself before carefully sitting up, letting out a small sigh of relief when she was spared another wave of exhaustion. It appeared that resting indeed worked quite efficiently. Mindful to keep herself covered without drawing attention to herself Hornet leaned over to retrieve her now fully dried cloak.
“You look better,” Shakra commented simply, not looking up from her map. Hornet startled, nearly dropping her cloak while pulling the blanket tighter around herself. “Ah… yes. Your assessment appeared to be quite right. Rest was indeed what I needed,” she said, her voice more quiet than usual. Making sure that the taller bug was still engrossed with her work Hornet swiftly changed into her cloak and picked up her needle before getting up. “I shall continue my journey now,” she said simply, taking a step away from the small camp and immediately missing its warmth. Another look back at Shakra, who looked up from her map to gaze at her intently, nearly made her change her mind. However, with a small shake of her head she banished such thoughts from her mind and continued: “Thank you, Shakra. For saving my life, as for your hospitality. I give you my word that I will repay my debt one day.” The other bug just tilted her head with an unreadable smile. “There is no debt, Child-Wielding-Needle. Be safe on your travels. Until we see each other again.” Unable to find the right words, Hornet only nodded in answer and ran off into the icy storm once again, making sure that her nigh yearning look back was concealed by the flurry of snowflakes surrounding her.