Chapter Text
It's been a while since Ghost defeated the Radiance. Hallownest is...still dead, but at least the Infected have been put to rest. Although it took a lot of effort, Hornet eventually managed to bring both if her siblings back, but she kinda got kidnapped and taken to another kingdom far, far away so the three pale children spent a short time together. The other bugs that aided in the vessels' repair have taken pity on them, so they decided to take care of them in shifts. Quirrel for seven days, Iselda and Cornifer for five and a half, Elderbug and Sly for four, Cloth for three and Tiso for one and a half.
Today, it was Iselda and Cornifer's turn. Most of the time, Cornifer spent the full five days sleeping, so it was usually up to Iselda to nurse the two vessels.
"Ghost, what did I say about messing with the maps?" she asked, exasperated and tired from having to chase a restless Ghost and an energetic Grimmchild for two days. Thankfully, Hollow was chilling in the corner watching Cornifer sleep like usual, but Ghost was causing a real mess today. Sometimes, Iselda questions whether or not the vessel is clueless about their actions or if they're fully aware of everything they do. Currently, she's thinking they have a special kind of spite reserved just for her.
"Do NOT touch that ink pot! You know fully well that it's Corny's, so don't you DARE-"
CRASH!
A spit of red flame rushed towards the ink pot, and within seconds it tumbled off the shelf and hit the floor of the small, cramped shop. The culprit (Grimmchild) flapped its wings innocently and flew to its Master (Ghost), curling up in a ball on their head and going to sleep. Iselda stood there, shocked at the audacity of the creature, but simply sighed in annoyance and begrudgingly cleaned the mess. How in Hallownest does the princess protector deal with this? She thought, but quickly came to the realisation that Hornet didn't have to endure this torture as she probably hadn't experienced the wrath and determination of her half siblings.
After a few minutes of cleaning (with the help of Hollow, bless them), Iselda cleared out the ink that was spilt on the floor and put the broken glass in the trash. She looked at Ghost, who stared back at her with those soulless, hollow eyes that every vessel shared (according to Hornet). Suddenly, she gained an idea.
"You don't know how to communicate, do you?" she asked, gazing back and forth between the vessel and a scrap piece of paper that Cornifer still hadn't picked up, "If you want, I could teach you how to write, that way you can at least tell others what you want to do." For a few brief moments, Iselda saw the faintest flicker of thought in Ghost's hollow eyes before they finally came to a decision and moved closer to her, which she took as a 'yes'. Ghost looked at Iselda expectantly, looking up at her like some sort of messed up, doll-like child. Feeling a bit uneasy under the vessel's intense gaze, Iselda picked up the scrap piece of paper, a quill and an ink pot and started writing the alphabet.
After some time, Iselda eventually got Ghost to write basic English sentences. Stuff like "Hi", "How are you?" and "I think you're nice". It wasn't easy because, unlike Hollow, Ghost didn't have any fingers, but it worked out. Sure, their handwriting was terrible, but with enough practice they could one day write as great as they can draw maps.
A few days passed, and Iselda had to say goodbye to Ghost and Hollow. It wasn't...sad, she knew they'd come back and spend time with her, but her bonding time with Ghost made her really excited for their next visit.
"Take care of them, Sly."
"I will, don't worry!"
And with that, the two vessels went off, probably to explore every nook and cranny of Hallownest with Sly for two days