//------------------------------// // Spar and Training // Story: Protective Broodmate // by CitreneSkys //------------------------------// “One hoof, then you place the other dow-“Pharynx was cut off as Thorax slipped again and face planted into the ground. He stifled a giggle as Thorax looked so done with everything. “I’m never gonna get this right!” Thorax hissed under his breath, just loud enough form the discolored changeling to hear. The younger nymph struggled to his hooves, barely balancing on his own. “I don’t get how you failing at this,” Pharynx commented, to which Thorax glared at his older brother. “You try walking on three legs!” Pharynx smirked his fangs showing in a sly grin. In a flash of green flames, Pharynx had modified his body to be missing one of his back legs. He strutted around the cave, even walking along the walls. Thorax frowned. “You know that doesn’t count, right?“ “Yep,” the discolored changeling hummed, returning back to normal. Buzzing his wings, he floated back down to his younger broodmate. Thorax pushed himself up again, this time leaning against the wall. His chitin rubbed against the rough walls, making the younger nymph wince as he got up. His amputated leg instinctively reached back to touch it’s nonexistent hoof to the floor, but Thorax managed to pull it back just in time. “...when does Instructor Halter’s lecture start?” The smaller changeling asked, his ears perking up. Pharynx placed a hoof to his chin, using his inner clock to help him. “I think we have at least fifteen more minutes,” he said after a while. Thorax looked at Pharynx, then at his missing leg. “I guess it’s better to get there early,” Thorax mused, staggeringly walking on now three hooves. Pharynx cast a sympathetic look, before smother all the emotion he felt towards his brother. “Sure,” Pharynx buzzes his wings towards the edge of his cave. In dim, green lighting, he could see the quiet nursery, the only faint hissing of younger larvae could be heard deeper into the cave. The other nymphs are probably asleep like most nymphs should be at this hour. Thorax buzzed beside him, his wings beat as soft as the air around them. He kept himself aloft, hovering a few inches of the ground. Smart, Pharynx approved, watched Thorax as he floated towards the front of the nursery. Pharynx followed, his purple wings about and he zipped toward the black chitin changeling. Thorax wobbled as he placed his hooves on the floor, determined energy radiated off of the younger broodmate, not falling this time. He was still leaning towards the older changeling nymph, but he was holding his own weight again. Pharynx still kept a sporting eye on his broodmate, though, just as a precaution. They both trotted down the tunnel, much slower than most changeling would go. The nursery faded away from behind them, reaching the exit of the tunnel. Peering out, they could see the swarm of drones, flying in all different directions. “Pharynx where is Instructor Halter’s class again?” Pharynx face-hoofed. “Really? You still don’t know?” Thorax simply gave his older brother a sheepish smile. The discolored changeling sighed. “Follow me.” Thorax limped after is the older brother, getting more exhausted the farther he went. He really should have used nap time to actually sleep, instead of failing at basic walking. “Pharynx....why is the class so far?” The changeling nymph gave Thorax an incredulous look. “We haven’t walked that far, Thorax. In fact, we’ve aren’t even halfway there yet.” Thorax groaned, his legs already feeling like they were going to fall off. He held his head low, a forked tongue slithering in and out for some positive emotion to give him energy. The walls along the hive all looked the same to him, the same green rocky substance. The same texture. The same lights that hung from the ceiling. He didn’t know where he was going half the time. Pharynx insisted that the rooms and tunnels are easy to tell apart, but Thorax just didn’t see it. Either way, with Pharynx leading him, he was sure to arrive at the right place. Sure, it may take a while, but that’s the price you pay for getting on your instructor’s nerves. “Pharynx? Do you think Instructor Halter might give me a pass or go easy on me-“ “Ha!” Pharynx laughed, poking at his black chitin. “No.” “Oh,” Thorax winced. Yep, this will be another long, painful day. Just like every other day of his life. “Don’t stress too much,” his older brother nudged him in the ribs. A little too hard, but Thorax but his lip and stayed silent. “Instructor Halter may be hateful, and strict, and hateful-“ “You said hateful twice-“ “...but he isn’t a psychopath! He’d probably pair you with a younger nymph this time or something.” “Hm,” this didn’t reassure the timing changeling’s nerves in the slightest. He’d probably lose to a younger nymph. All the adult drones always said Thorax was too passive. Too weak. To useless. Why would this be any different? Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t realized that Pharynx had turned a tunnel. Still following him, Thorax smacked face-first into a wall. “OW!” Thorax cried out, rubbing his snout with a hoof. Pharynx sighed, shaking his head. “I see you lot are early today,” a gruff, raspy voice said from the corner. Perking his ears, Thorax looked up. His cyan eyes met with one of ocean blue, slanted in a way that made the changeling look like he was squinting. The nymph instinctively shrunk against the hardened gaze of Instructor Halter, fighting the urge to run the opposite direction. “Yeah, Thorax leg is missing so we thought we’d come early,” Pharynx said nonchalantly, waving his hooves in a dismissive manner. The older nymph never seemed to have to same fear as Thorax, and if he did he definitely didn’t show it. The instructor peered over towards the smaller changeling, his eyes squinting. Thorax presses his belly to the hard hive floors, nervously sweating as he was scrutinized by the drone. His heart sank when he heard the snort of disapproval coming from above. “We’ll see how he performs,” Halter muttered. “Though we all know how that will go.” Thorax fearfully awaited what was to come next. “Today, I expect full participation from everyling. No excuses are allowed these hive walls. Anyling with any objection, please step forth.” Thorax knew that was for him. He also knew that everyling else knew that was for him. His ears flatten against his head, his compound eyes rolling onto the floor. “Good,” the instructor huffed. He surveyed the changeling nymphs, his eyes scanning the room. “I’ll be pairing you up to practice against each other. Remember, all bloodshed is allowed. If you get hurt, cry later. Die....walk it off:” Yeah, I’m dead. He watched as Instructor Halter paired of the first two nymphs, both of which looked eager to fight. He turned away from the group he was with, his normal, out-of-place feeling settling back into his stomach. “And Thorax....you’ll be paired with Exo.” The room went quiet at that. So quiet that you could hear a pin cut through the air. “Ok so maybe this guy is a psychopath,” he heard Pharynx whisper under his breath. Thorax slowly turned his eyes to meet the changeling he was paired up with. Exo was a top nymph in sparing class. He had won every fight that he was in, occasionally killing a few of his own broodmates and other nymphs. He had all the muscle mass that Thorax lacked, and a burning passion for fighting that Thorax was born without. Oh yeah, he was dead alright. “Really?” the taller changeling sneered, both in an excited and disappointed manner. “I was hoping for a more competent fighter, but oh well.” “Yes, now everyling get to your positions, I will be surveying all of you.” Every nymph scattered about, finding their own space in the spacious room to spar. Everyling except Thorax, who was pinned to the floor like a squashed fly. His eyes widen with fear as the older changeling nymph approached him. “Grub, we are sparing, remember?” His voice was harsh, Exo buzzed his wings in anticipation. Thorax nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the dark grey changeling. He steadily raised himself onto his three legs, taking a step back. Then he was brutally tackled to the ground, teeth digging into the back of his ear. He let out a frighten screech, throwing off the older nymph. He staggered backward, his eyes darting around the room. He felt the wave of disappointment radiating off of his instructor, and eyes burning into his soul. Exo shook his head, glaring at the smaller changeling. “Coward,” he hissed, springing forward towards him. Being his hooves to his head, Thorax ducked away from the battle-ready changeling. Exo overshot, falling onto the ground behind Thorax. Thorax was no good at fighting, he knew that fact pretty well. Losing was inevitable, but he needed to put up a sliver of a fight to get off his instructor’s back. He needed to hold his own. The poor nymph knew he wouldn’t be able to pull that off. So dodging would have to do. Every time Exo leaped for him, Thorax did his best to stay out of the line of the attack. “Grub, you are supposed to be sparring,” Instructor Halter hissed, his disappointed eyes glared at the nymph. Thorax yelped, definitely not going to do that anything soon. The black changeling tripped over his own missing leg, falling over one to his side. Exo smiles, his fangs visible. Using the chance, he pinned the younger nymph to his back, a hollow hoof placed on Thorax’s neck. “I wonder why you are still alive,” Exo mused. Grabbing the small nymph by the neck, he flung Thorax across the room. Black chitin collided with the hive walls. Thorax felt his world spin, his forehead dripping with a reddish substance. He struggled on to his hooves, whimpering at the pain he felt. “All right, that’s enough!” Thorax looked over to the familiar voice, blood dripping it his eyes. Pharynx has stopped sparring with his own partner, stepping forth towards Exo. On the other side of the room, Instructor Halter hissed. “It’s enough when I say it’s enough!” His older broodmate glared at their instructor, his lip curling back into a snarl. Barring his fangs, he turned back towards the older nymph. Exo may tower over Pharynx, but the discolored changeling had much more ferocity. “You will step away from my brother, now,” his voice was low and dangerous, a dark gleam flashing in his violet eyes. Exo simply grinned. “Aww what? Big brother must step in for you?” His toothy smile was evil, his eye was blue blazing flames. “Come at me, dweeb. I can take it.” Pharynx looked back at the instructor, who seemed to be taking a backseat, more interested to see how this would turn out. Harden violet eyes landed on blue ones, his crimson crest stood up more than usual. Without warning, Pharynx lunged for the assaulter, his wings racking against Exo’s face. The oldest changeling nymph screech, trying time shake off the smaller one. The discolored changeling stayed latched on, like leeches on to the host. Pharynx managed to get the upper-hoof, landing of hoof on the ground and effectively flipping the older nymph around. Digging his teeth, Thorax’s broodmate held the nymph by the neck. Blood stained the chitin as it spilled out of the nymph’s neck. Exo made garbled sounds from his throat, struggling against Pharynx’s death grasp. Thorax watched with horror as Pharynx dug his teeth in deeper. He knew Pharynx was cold, but he didn’t think he’d go this far. Whatever happened next was a blur in Thorax’s mind. He couldn’t quite remember the events that transpired. Silhouettes of grey and black were wrestling each other, though he couldn’t make out much as his lids closed onto themselves. Slowly, Thorax animated his lids, opening his eyes into tiny slits. Everything seemed about the same. Nymphs in class, Instructor Halter was in the back, Pharynx was covered in blood... Wait hold on. “Pharynx?” Thorax called put in a small voice. His older broodmate turned towards the black nymph, his face was still his same deadpanned expression shown. Thorax trailed his eyes towards a being on the ground, squinting at it. His mouth gaped open, realizing what it was. “Thorax,” Pharynx hissed in a whispered voice. “Instructor Halter has given us permission to leave class, c’mon.” Shakily, Thorax found himself following his older broodmate. He heard hushed whispers from other nymphs, fear radiating from them. Even Instructor Halter looked unsettled by the ordeal. “Ok, what happened?” He asked once they were a safe distance away from the cavern. “What do you think?” Pharynx snorted, not answering his questions. Thorax frowned. “You didn’t kill him did you-“ “I didn’t kill Exo,” Pharynx said in an exasperated voice, looking back at Thorax. His ears flattened. “Seriously, though, I would have if it wasn’t you that I was fighting for.” “Then what did you do-“ Face hoofing, the discolored changeling sighed. “We tussled, I got him a pinned position, and bit his neck until he passed out from blood loss. There. Happy?” “I think you know that answer,” Thorax replied drily. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Both changelings stared at each other for a while, before Thorax caved and snorted. “Well, you better get to washing that blood off your chitin, because I’m not helping you this time.” “Don’t forget that spot on your forehead, Thorax,” Pharynx chuckled tapping his hoof to his own forehead, signaling where the blood was. “That might take a while to wash out.” “Don’t forget your everywhere,” the black changeling chimed, eyeing the blood that was dripping from his older brother’s underbelly to his for hooves. “You brought that bloodbath on to yourself.” “Fine,” Pharynx said smugly, speeding passed his younger brother. “Race you to the hot spring!” “Hey!” Thorax scrambled to catch up to his older, four-legged brother. “Pharynx get back here you know this isn’t fair!” The hive tunnels were filled with nymph laughter as the two brothers sprinted to their destination.