//------------------------------// // Aftermath // Story: Protective Broodmate // by CitreneSkys //------------------------------// Thorax laid in a bed of leaves and feathers, curling himself into the soft makeshift nest. He sighed, looking up towards the ceiling. The cyan lanterns that lined the walls of Medical Bay gave off a comforting heat, lulling Thorax to sleep. But the nymph refused to close his eyes. Instead, he looked towards his left, cyan eyes watching the unconscious figure in the dark. Pharynx was still passed out from the blood loss, his breaths ragged and shallow. “You should get some sleep,” Thorax pricked his ears, turning his head. Healer Tymbal was watched the pair of nymphs, sighing. “You won’t get any better if you don’t rest.” The black nymph shook his head vigorously. “As nice as that sounds, I’m not sleeping until Pharynx gets better.” Tymbal's gaze was hard as she laid a woven blanket across Thorax’s back. “It could be days or weeks before he gets better. I’m sure when Pharynx’s wakes up he’d like to see his little brother fully rested and well.” He let out a groan, trying to push the healer away with his hooves. “No...” Thorax yelped as Tymbal brushed against his wings. They were still broken but were starting to heal back into their normal position. The healer drone sighed, her worry pouring off of her like a waterfall. “...okay...fine...I’ll try...” She simply smiled, wrapping her tail around his body. The young nymph sunk into his nest, the dejected feeling casting a shadow over his heart. This was his fault. If he hadn’t dragged Pharynx into the cavern with him, Pharynx wouldn’t have gotten stabbed at all! With a heavy sigh, Thorax felt the comfort of sleep starting to dawn on him. His lids began to close as he yawned. The warmth of the cave...the warm embrace of the healer drone...the soft trills that emitted from drones outside... Quietly, he felt himself be lulled to sleep. “Is he awake?” Thorax pranced around, silently freaking out. It had been four days, and Pharynx still hasn’t shown any signs of recovery. The young nymph began to fear the worse. The healer shook her head. “No, I’m sorry Thorax...I wish I could tell you otherwise.” The black changeling stood in silence, looking at Pharynx’s curled up figure, then back at Tymbal. “Is he getting...worse...?” His heart jumped when the older drone looked away. “His...his wound has shown little signs of improvement...we aren’t sure if he’ll recover anytime soon.” Biting his lip, Thorax began to pace back and forth. His wings had mended themselves by now, but it still aches if he tried to fly with him. He ignored the nagging pain as he buzzed his wings in spurts, his nervous energy flowing off of him. Tymbal sighed, her scarab necklace rattling. Her blue eyes were full of concern, stopping the nymph. “I know you are worried, but I think you need to stop working yourself too hard-“ A low groan could be heard from behind them, and Thorax peeked over. Pharynx has finally started to move, stirring in his bed of feathers. Letting out a relieved chirp, Thorax rushed past the healer. He skidded to a halt as he approached his older broodmate’s nest, crouching down. The discolored nymph let out a wretched cough, hacking up a mouthful of slime. His crest stood up as he slowly opened his eyes, gaze around. “I’ll go get the other healers,” Tymbal called from behind. “They should know that nymph is up.” “Okay...” he replied quietly, still fixated on his brother. Pharynx’s neck was wrapped in multiple layers of cobweb-like changeling goo, keeping his wound from bleeding. Unfortunately, the older nymph seemed to have trouble moving, only able to swivel his head slightly “Ow...my neck..” Pharynx's voice was raspy. He brought of hoof up to his injured throat, rubbing against it. “I’m glad you are awake,” Pharynx snapped his neck around, only to recoiled at the pain. Thorax gazed sympathetically towards him, comforting trills sounding from the back of his throat. “You were out for a while.” “Was I? How long?” “Three days, twenty-two hours.” “What the-“ “You had me worried,” Thorax pressed, the concern etching into his voice. “If I hadn’t found Tymbal in time you would have died!” “‘Tis but a scratch.” “Say that again and I’ll murder you,” Thorax hissed. Pharynx rolled his eyes, stifling a laugh. “I’d like to see you try.” The older nymph stretched out his legs, a satisfying crack sousing from the joints. “So...what happened to Instructor Halter? Please tell me he’s dead. Or at the very least tell me he’s been demoted.” Thorax drew awkward circles into the ground, pursing his lips. “Actually...Instructor Halter is still unconscious right now....” Pharynx’s eyes widen. “Seriously?” He laughed, then coughed up another slime ball. “Beaten by the most passive changeling within the hive, that must be something to be proud of.” He stayed silent. He tried to bury his guilt deep into his heart, know full when how easily his older broodmate can read his emotions. Unfortunately, Pharynx caught on way too quickly. “Okay, why are you so blue?” “Huh? Oh, I just feel really bad...I almost got you killed! If I hadn’t asked you to come with me then you wouldn’t have been stabbed! And I also hurt Instructor Halter badly....some healers said he may not even make it...so I almost got both of you killed-“ A hoof was pressed to his lips as Pharynx shushed him. His older brother leveled his gaze, making sure Thorax was looking into his eyes. “Thorax. It’s. Fine. If I hadn’t gone with you Halter would have stabbed you instead, and I don’t want that to happen. I don’t care if I’m the best at spar or if I become a commander, I’d turn traitor and kill everyone in my way if you so much as disappeared for one day.“ “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Thorax cocked an eyebrow. He thought about it a little more before shaking his head. “Now that I think about it, you’d probably do much worse, so never mind.” Pharynx giggled. “Anyways, Halter....he deserves everything he gets.” The younger nymph sighed. “Pharynx...we shouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone our instructor.” “Only if that instructor sucks and Halter sucks so he deserves it.” Thorax facehoofed, letting out a groan. There was no point in trying to convince Pharynx otherwise. “Hey actually,” Pharynx eyes widen as he remembered something, “could you turn into that serpent thing again? I want to take a closer look.” The room went silent as Thorax thought about it. Reluctantly, he allowed his body to take the shape of a flying serpentine, stretching his makeshift wings. His long body curled around itself, similar to that of a snake. The spiked tail lashed against the ground, making rattling noises. Pharynx wrinkled his nose. “...Why of all color palettes did you choose lime and orange?” Thorax psychically stopped, confused for a moment. His gaze averted, looking down at his body for the first time. Indeed, he was bright lime with tangerine patterned spiraling down his back. His wings were of a shade of violet, clashing horribly with everything else. “Huh...I have no idea.” Pharynx continued to study his brother, taking mental notes about his chosen form. It wasn’t long before the discolored changeling has a content nod, and the serpentine disguise was torn away. Thorax stretched his wings and back, shaking out the aches the disguises gave him. He looked at Pharynx expectantly, waiting for either an approval or disdain. “I guess that could work....” Pharynx muttered, levitating nearby charcoal with his magic. He sketched out the serpentine with scary accuracy, writing notes on the side. “The long body is probably best for constricting, seeing as you have no legs....the wings are kinda small but I doubt it’ll hinder you all that much....those fangs could probably come useful.” He continued to take notes, analyzing the structure of the serpent before he sighed. “I’m going to stop before I have an aneurism.” “Eh...why were you doing that?” “Seeing if your form would be useful in an actual threat against the hive,” he replied simply. “I think everything checks out...you can probably swim in that form, too...even I can’t do that! Do you feel tired or dizzy?” Shaking his head, he smiled. “Hey, your the one stuck in the nest. I should be the one worried!” The older changeling stuck his tongue out, pushing a hoof against Thorax’s snout. “You’re doing a horrible job, then.” The sound of clicking hooves echoed in the hallway, and both nymphs turned to look towards the entrance. One of the healers stepped through the curtain of vines, levitating a small bowl with their green magic. They placed the small bowl next to Pharynx, their voice gruff as they spoke. “Drink it. It’ll help your throat.” Grimacing, the nymph took the bowl into his hooves, bring the tea to their lips. Instantly, he started coughing. “Ack! Hot!” “Suck it up, grub.” “Wow, tanks,” Pharynx’s tongue hung out of his mouth, his buds red and burned. His eyes narrowed as the healer stalked out of the room. He pushed the bowl away, some of the tea spilling over the edge. Thorax rolled his eyes. “Pharynx, if the healer said it helps you should probably-“ “No. I’m not touching it.” “You stubborn-“ Pharynx coughed as he laughed, playfully pushing against Thorax's shoulder. The younger nymph tugged at his ear, chirping as he tried to wrestle the larger changeling onto his back. It had been a few days, and Pharynx had started to make a recovery. His stab wound wasn’t done healing, by all means, but now he could move around and walk without his hurting himself. Thorax was thrilled when his brother could play with him again....considering that Pharynx was the one nymph that didn’t attack him at every corner he took. Or look at him with disdain. Or even tolerated his presence... The point is he was glad Pharynx was getting better. “Thorax you know you’ll never beat me at this right?” The cyan nymph let go of his ear, sticking his forked tongue out. “One day, Pharynx. One day...” Both nymphs grew quiet as clicking hoofsteps echoed just outside Medical Bay. Turning towards the entrance, Thorax watched as Tymbal stepped through the curtain of vines. Along with someone else he wasn’t all too happy to see. Thorax instinctively ducks behind his older broodmate, looking up at the adult drone. His narrowed eyes glared at the pair of brothers, a growl emitting from his throat. Pharynx was the first to speak up. “Instructor Halter,” he curtly greeted, his disdain hidden within his voice as he made eye contact. “Pests,” he returned the snark, looking down at them. The healer drone spoke up before things could take a turn for the worse. “Halter and I are here to discuss your grades and her performance.” The old drone scoffed. “I don’t see why you need to be here. I’ve been doing this for years and I always make the right decisions.” “Ah yes,” she cocked an eyebrow, looking at the elderly changeling. Her wings buzzed with annoyance. “The drone that lost to a pair of nymphs when he tried to kill them. Sounds like someone that would make good decisions, indeed.” Thorax couldn’t help but snort. Tymbal always did have a snarky side to her sweetness. Halter shot daggers towards the healer drone, but at least had the brains to know that attacking her would be....pretty bad. He sighed, turning his attention towards to nymphs. “If it was up to me, you both would have failed and be executed.” Pharynx rolled his bright violet eyes. “Surprise surprise, am I right?” Thorax poked his chitin as hard as he could, his eyes narrowed. Shush, or it'll be worse, he silently whispered in his mind. The colorful changeling rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut. “I’m here because...we don’t exactly trust Halter to treat you fairly,” Tymbal explained. Her scarab necklace rattle against her chest, giving off a soft jiggling sound. “I want to know, what exactly happened during the assessment?” Both nymphs looked at each other, deciding who would be the one to tell it. Thorax sighed as he stood taller, still resting along Pharynx’s carapace. “I was nervous about the test, and Pharynx offered to come with me so I let him. When we got there, I was trying to spar against Instructor Halter...and I lost. He said he was going to stab me for failing, but Pharynx attacked him for trying to kill me. Then....” Thorax shuttered as the memory of the spear stabbing into dark grey chitin, his screams still echoing in his mind. “Then Halter used a spear and stabbed Pharynx in the neck. He still tried to kill me...but I guess I was really angry for what he did to Pharynx and I attacked him back...and I won against him. Then Pharynx fainted and I went to find you....and here we are right now.” Halter growled. “You forget to mention how you both attacked me in your defensive form.” Both brothers rolled their eyes. “Not important, really,” Pharynx commented, his deadpanned expression seemed even less interested then before. The old drone snarled. “...what were to requirements passing the assessment?” Tymbal inquired, levitating a piece of charcoal off the ground. “Their assessment was to beat me in a spar,” Halter’s voice was hollow as if he could see where the conversation was going. The healer drone smirked. She quickly pulled out an assessment sheet, writing on the parchment. “So by that logic they both they both passed your class.” Thorax smiled, looking at his brother. Perhaps he would pass the class! Halter hissed. “They disobey me, their instructor, and attacked me! They don’t deserve to advance to the next level.” “So..what are you going to do? Have them stayed back a year?” Tymbal gave a knowing glare. “I’m sure even larva can tell that would be a horrible idea. You already don’t like them, so why have them stay in class any longer?” “They’ll taint the hive with their presence,” the old changeling arched his back, coughing. “I say we kill them off before they threaten the hive.” “Do you ever think about anything but violence?” Thorax saw the wave of orange irritation that began to swell within the usually collected healer. “They are nymphs. What’s the worse they could do? When the time and circumstances come, we kill them, but right now they are innocent. More so than you.” Halter hissed. “My job is to better the hive providing strong, loyal changeling to the recruit. They aren’t either of those things, so they must die.” Thorax and Pharynx both have off a confused chirp. Tymbal rubbed her temples. “There is a reason the Queen ordered you to retire from your duties,” she muttered. Beside him, Pharynx chuckled. “Hey-“ Tymbal quickly shushed their Instructor with one hoof, casting an ‘I am so done with you’ look towards him. “Congrats you two, you passed your assignment! Now excuse me while I explain to his old grub why he’s an idiot.” Halter was spitting curses as the healer dragged him out the room, and Pharynx and Thorax sat there dumbfounded. The room became quiet once more, only the sound of bubbling water from the nearby spring. “So...I guess that’s it?” Thorax final said, prying himself off of Pharynx’s back. “Guess so.” More silence. ... “So you wanna go back to the nursery hive now?” “Yes, finally! I was waiting for this moment.” Thorax giggles as Pharynx practically hopped out of the bed of leaves, quick hooves leading him to the entrance. Then the younger nymph grinned as he got an idea. “Race you there!” “What-“ Thorax hastily pushed him himself past the vine curtains, leaving his older broodmate in the dust. His brother laughed as he tried to run after him. “Hey, wait up!”