"Go no further, little shadow."

Isola affiliated Knight of Hollow Knight | Dwarf | HOUSING | Not indie friendly

[puppetsheart]

@dreamershatter

🕸 "Ghost." Hornet's wooden spear was hung before them from within the darkness of the alleyway she had been lurking in. So after all that tireless searching it seemed there had been someone from Hallownest present other than herself after all. The Fates certainly had an interest sense of humour for it to be them though.

"If you're here, it seems my troubles are only beginning." She did her best to size her sibling up. The last she had seen them was when they had climbed up from the abyss. "Do you raise your nail. Even here?"

[dreamershatter]

The wood of the spear is met with the forged, pure nail--almost an instinct with their sister. It's so sharp that the slightest pressure would put a dent in the tip of her spear...

...But they don't really want to do that. It wouldn't do her much good in the long run, would it? So their weapon is sheathed away, and without an ounce of fear, they approach. And circle around her, as if conducting an inspection... ... She seems to have passed; they stop in front of her curiously.

[ Raising my nail to meet yours is a form of greeting in and of itself, is it not? ]

Those are clearly its thoughts, but no voice speaks them.

[ That is not a bad thing. It confirms our suspicions; you are you. ]

[dreamershatter]

Well. That was fast. Look at him go down there...

[wovensentinel]

"Speaking of which... Happy birthday to me."

[dreamershatter]

wovensentinel​:

“Speaking of which… Happy birthday to me.”

[ Congratulations on your anniversary of your hatching. Do you often celebrate such a thing? ]

[dreamershatter]

ascarletflame​:

…They like it. Thank goodness. Should he say more? 

“I’m happy you like it. You are… my friend.”

Yep. That’s what friends do. They stab you in the front to complete sketchy rituals of reincarnation, mutually beating the ever-loving nightmare out of each other.

“…By the way, if I may I ask, what all did your mother say about me?”

[ Am I? ]

What a confusing thought. They killed him, didn’t they? Perhaps that friendship was one-sided. A reward for continuing the reign of the Nightmare Heart?

[ The concept of motherhood isn’t foreign to me, but I would not describe the White Lady as such a figure. But that is whom I assume you speak of. ]

The creature had to give it some thought.

[ Not much. She remarked that the spawn of your kind could never rule Hollownest, but that as all I cared to consider. I would have to think back on it to give you a better understanding. At the time, it didn’t seem important. ]

[dreamershatter]

ascarletflame​:

“Ah… well…” It’s impossible to read what Ghost might be thinking, as was meant to be. No thoughts, and all. “Our last meeting was… a little hostile, so I wanted to do something for you to say that I… still care for you…? I wasn’t sure what to do… I thought about what you might like, and this… your family is the first thing that my mind went to… And—it’s not that you have to like me or even care about what happens to me. But I still wanted to make this for you.”

The Troupe Master sounds so un-Grimm-like, with the pauses in speech and uncertainty in tone. If this were back in Hallownest, he might have foregone such a thing. It’s so much easier to remain distant and simply let things sit as they are. But… he didn’t want to do that.

“…Four leaf clovers are rare things. In some cultures, they symbolize luck and good fortune. A friend told me that.”

The little knight looked up from grim and back to the painting, tilting its head again in thought. Were these four-leaf clovers like the delicate flowers that the Grey Mourner gave them?

[ I like this. Thank you. ]

After much consideration, yes. This was a very nice piece of art. Maybe they’ll put it up in Senka’s room, since they’ve taken to staying there more often than their own living space.

[dreamershatter]

thelostvessel​:

They had spent all night in the refrigerator rather than their bedroom, thinking over what they had learned about Grimm; still in utter shock. Now, they had their phone out once more and were sitting on the edge of their bed, rereading his messages– that the two siblings weren’t on friendly terms with each other– but… they still couldn’t yet shake the sense of unease that had settled into their void.

They pulled up their contacts list again. Originally, they had decided they were going to text him back, but… they couldn’t bring themself to. Not just yet.

They had someone else they needed to talk to first.

TO: SIBLING FROM: SENKA

>[did you know?] >[did you know that grimm is related to] >[her] >[the light]

…wait, did they even know their new name yet?

>[its your sibling]

@dreamershatter​

What on earth was that buzzing noise--oh! That strange capsule thing. Phone. Thankfully, it didn’t take them too long to figure out how it all worked.

[Text]: the old light traveled in dreams. [Text]: the red flame travels in nightmares. [Text]: in that very nature they are connected i think

Between all the lore stones in Hollownest, Bretta’s diary, and the Hunter’s Journal, the knight was capable of being surprisingly eloquent. Or, maybe it just quickly picks up on speech patterns.

[Text]: hello sibling [Text]:  {.   .} [Text]: is there a problem?

[the-write-ideas]

Ask my character "How do you feel about ______?" Can be an idea, person(s), place, or thing, and they'll have to answer honestly.

Ⓦ

[dreamershatter]

thelostvessel​:

Ah. They had hoped to avoid the subject of the last time the pair had seen each other for as long as possible, but they supposed there was no getting around it when their sibling had brought it up so directly.

[I know. It hurt a lot. But… thank you.]

They had still been able to feel the pain, both the way the infection had pulsed and burned throughout their empty and broken body, and the way the little Knight’s nail had hacked and slashed away at them as they unwillingly were forced to fight. For the Broken Vessel, the entire experience had been extremely unpleasant– but they still had to offer sincere thanks to their smaller sibling for freeing them, even if it meant they had been clutched by death once more. The possibility of being corrupted and held in the infection’s grasp forever was such a horrific thought, one that they didn’t want to fathom for even a moment.

They watched their sibling climb onto the bed once the blankets were back in position, climbing on themself shortly afterward. They were both small enough that there was plenty of room for the two of them.

[Soft, isn’t it? I don’t know what it is, but I like it.] They patted one of their pillows.

At the thanks, they simply nodded. It’s the least they could have done.

The bed, though. They jumped on it a couple times, and didn’t get much air. It wasn’t bouncy like the mushrooms, or the strange creatures of the Fog Canyon.

[ Some of the bugs in Dirtmouth had one of these. It’s used for sleeping, I think. ]

There was one in their room, too, but it was such a foreign object to the knight that they didn’t think to use it!

Their shell sunk into the bed with a soft whump!

[ ...It’s very soft. Dangerous to sleep on, I think, out there. Too comfortable to escape from quickly. ]

...

[ This location seems safe, though. So it’s okay. ]

[dreamershatter]

ascarletflame​:

@dreamershatter​

After asking around if anyone had seen a little white shelled creature, Grimm finds Ghost at the forge. He carries with him a wrapped square—it was probably unnecessary to wrap it, really, but Ghost never had the opportunity to rip up gift paper before. And that was kind of a fun thing to do, especially when you’re young, so he’d gone ahead and wrapped it.

Grimm leans over, holding it out to them awkwardly. It’s not exactly an apology… (What is he supposed to say? “Sorry I’d still be friends with your dad”?) but he hopes it gets across what he wants to say. That he still cares about them, even if it’s not reciprocated.

“…I made this for you. Here.”

It’s the painting he made when he was with Ismael the other day. The three siblings together, relaxing in a dark, yet soft green background. Hollow sits on the left, painted as Grimm remembers the knight from so long ago: no break in their shell and light gray cloak. Hornet in her burgundy red sits beside them, the colorful cloak standing out from the rest of the painting. And finally Ghost, the smallest of them, holding out a four-leaf clover to show the two.

It was, indeed, fun to make nails like the nailsmith. Two of them were beside ghost on the floor, of metal and stone respectively. They were hammering a third copper nail when the troupe master approached, and they turned their attention to him.

To get a proper look at the painting, the bug hopped from its stool, taking the frame in its tiny hands. Its empty gaze searched every detail of the painting, and only moved to turn its shell to look at other parts of it.

It stared for a good while--a few minutes at most.

Mostly, it didn’t know what it was feeling. This painting made them feel something, but that thing was unknown to them. As foreign as the concept of fear. And so while the little shadow was equal parts amazed and confused, it didn’t quite... know how to covey such a thing.

[ Why did you make this for me? ]

No tone was present in its soundless voice--it never was. Even still, it seemed perfectly innocent. They really, truly didn’t know.

[dreamershatter]

thelostvessel​:

The vessel seemed startled when the voice came out of seemingly nowhere within their head, turning quickly to stare at their sibling in confusion. It… certainly hadn’t been true speaking, but they hadn’t had any idea that making sounds at all was possible for the likes of them.

[…how did you do that?] The words were spoken to the other via sign language, Senka’s head tilted to the side in a mixture of curiosity and utter bewilderment. Could they do that too? They supposed they would have to experiment and find out, or see if their smaller sibling could teach them how they had done it.

Wandering back over to their bed while they thought about it, they scooped their blankets up off the floor and began to carefully try and fit them back to the bed. It was more comfortable like that, after all. Maybe their sibling would enjoy the soft, coziness of it all too.

To that, the vessel’s head also tilted.

[ I don’t know. ]

Maybe the Abyssal Shriek had something to do with it, though try as they might, they could not conjure such a spell at the moment. As for how they communicated, I found that I understood, but not how.

In either case, the knight crawled onto the bed, sitting down on it. It was strangely soft! Softer than the benches and leaves they sleep in.

[ I am glad to see you unharmed. I did what I could to free you. ]

[dreamershatter]

thelostvessel​:

@dreamershatter​

Condo 409. It appeared as if the Broken Vessel lived alone here. There were no signs of any other people at their residency, at the very least; even within the building, nothing seemed to have been disturbed, apart from the blankets the vessel was currently nestled under.

…and yet, they felt like they were being watched. Eventually, they shuffled about, pushing the blankets off themself to the floor. Really, they had no reason to try and sleep right now anyways. The blankets and bed had just been very comfortable for them to lay on, especially compared to memories of laying on the broken shells of their siblings in the Abyss.

Approaching the window, the vessel pulled the curtains back and peered outside into the darkness of the night– and were met with the gaze of one of their smaller siblings staring right back at them. They didn’t seem that surprised; perhaps they had been able to sense the presence of another that was one with void nearby? Regardless, there were no words from the taller vessel, even as they quickly took a moment to open the window to allow their sibling to come inside if they so desired. That was fine, right? No one would mind that. There was no one else here, apart from the two of them.

In truth, the knight only followed this address on a comment someone else made. It was rare for them to be mistaken for anyone else here, so when someone at this strange kingdom’s tram stations said they just saw them not too long ago, well. They were quick to change direction.

Their suspicions were confirmed--from above, the Lost Kin looked down from below, opening their window. It wasn’t too difficult to climb in.

Once in their bedroom, the little creature circled around the other, seeming to check it for injury. Its shell was no longer cracked and pulsing with infection--good.

[ Can you make sounds? ]

It found a strange way to communicate... did its sibling?

[dreamershatter]

wovensentinel​:

“Little Ghost… you’ve made a mess of yourself.” Hornet lifts them gently from the puddle they’ve rooted themself in.

“You need to be cleaned up. Then, perhaps, we can have you enrolled in proper art lessons.”

[Lessons?]

It supposed it could do nothing but watch as its colorful little puddles of paint went further and further away.

[Lessons are for sophisticated bugs. I want to be feral. I don’t need to be clean, I’ll just wait for it to rain.]

[dreamershatter]

Oh, this is fun. There’s paint aaaaaaaall over the sidewalk, and the little knight is currently jumping in them like puddles, leaving little footprints as they run around.

It’s very messy.

But look at the pretty colors! Have you ever seen a more happy vessel of nothingness?

[dreamershatter]

gleamknight​:

“It would seem we have a common enemy, you weird bug person.”  At least, that’s what Zelos was picking up.

[I would not call him an enemy, just as I would not call him a ‘parent.’ But I suppose if that is what he wishes in this odd kingdom, that is his choice to make. Perhaps he harbors regret.]

[I am not a person. I am a bug. I am also the void and the root. The Vessel and King. The Fool, a shadow, a ghost.]

[dreamershatter]

gleamknight​:

“…It was rhetorical.”

[Was it? The Child exists to perpetuate the Nightmare Heart’s own existence. I do not think the affection for the creature birthed outweighs its usefulness to the Nightmare Troupe. At least here, Master Grimm can frolic without need to take energy from fallen kingdoms.]

[dreamershatter]

heclingmuzik​:

“Hol’up, who’s messin’ with Grimm?”

“but also on the note of parents….Hmmm.”

[He can take it, do not worry.]

[dreamershatter]

gleamknight​:

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Parents should be there for their children.  If you bring a child into this world and can’t even do that, what’re you good for?”

[Using your spawn to further your agenda and hide the shame in doing so, is the answer I would give to that.]