When I awoke, the impassive visage of a helmet filled my vision. The helmet's owner then began pulling away suddenly as if startled by the fact that my eyes were now open. From what I could tell, it was a very skinny minotaur. It must have been the crazy voice I had heard, recalling the memories of just before I had blacked out, though they were slightly fuzzy and distant. I wasn't the least bit surprised by how injured I still felt. The combination of the impact from the fall, blood loss, and the subsequent unconsciousness meant my continued survival was a miracle. Instead of dwelling on that any longer, I decided to set my sights on my immediate concern, taking a good look at my guest.
Skinny and tall, not a bit of its body left uncovered. The black and silver helmet covering its head having a smooth and formfitting quality to its design, with no noticeable gap between it and the neck of a black jacket. Silver accents on the joints of the jacket creating an odd design. The same pattern on the pants, gloves, and boots concealing the rest of him. The one noticeable exception was his right arm which seemed to have no regard for the rest of his outfit, being mainly silver with black accents on the joints. Was it supposed to be a mix between regular clothes and full body armor?
Shifting slightly, I tried to find a more comfortable position on the stone floor of the cave. An uncomfortable amount of smaller rocks were pressing into a number of my wounds where I was currently lying. Noticing a bandage wrapped around my forearm during my adjustment invited a cursory look at myself, showing that the minotaur must have wrapped gauze around a significant number of my wounds. My body must have also passively absorbed some strong emotions while I had blacked out, which meant most notably that my vision had stabilized, and everything was spinning less violently now. Casting a quick look around my surroundings allowed me to see that the minotaur must have carried me into the light near the entrance to the cave. It was now plainly evident that it wasn't merely a crazy minotaur, bringing forth many additional questions on top of my previous ones.
"Are you alright?" Breaking the silence before I could have a chance to voice my queries, it spoke a simple question. But I was having trouble coming up with an answer I thought this stranger would find suitable. In my uncertainty, I, unfortunately, drew on the tried and true.
"I nearly died not too long ago...how do you think I am?" I hissed at him.
I did regret the words, understanding that antagonizing the person who just helped me isn't the most incredible idea, but my mood was far too sour at the moment to care what this imbecile thought of me for the short length of time he would be in my presence. "You a vulture here to pick my bones?" Under my accusation, he tensed, a sound starting to escape him, no doubt to protest, but I spoke again first, the words biting. "I can't offer you anything for saving my life, not even my gratitude." I had already somewhat accepted my fate as it was lying before me. I have nothing to go back to anyway. "It was all destroyed. You saw what became of my people. What's left of them is outside." My words seemed to strike him as he backed off a bit more, his posture unsure. How could he manage to be so obvious while hiding under so much clothing?
He muttered something under his breath while placing his helmeted head in his hands. I could hear him taking in a deep breath before looking back up at me to ask a question. "You were the leader of a group of some kind?" The question was sincere, but its ignorance annoyed me.
The words poured out like venom from my lips." I was the Queen of an entire race, the ruler of the Changeling Hive!" As I spoke, I mustered all of my regained strength, trying to stand before him and show my regal splendor. That he so carelessly disregarded that he had not noticed. I managed to accomplish moving into a shaky half stand before falling back down again, hearing a sharp crack as my chitin hit the stone beneath me harder than I would have liked.
Glaring up at him, I continued my tirade, "Just because I am wounded, you've no right to look upon me with such pity. I would destroy that look of yours if I could." I Could feel some blood run down my cheek and onto my mouth, the fall having opened a cut there. I don't know what I'm doing at this point. But the words must have hit a nerve of some kind. My blood was boiling, staring daggers at the being who would dare address the one who should be the Queen of all lands with not a thought to my high status or. Or who am I kidding? Spitting the blood that had collected in my mouth onto the floor, I turned my eyes away from him, laying my head away from the mess I just made. " Leave. I have no further use of you." I said dismissively. Please just save yourself from being a part of this cursed destiny.
I heard a sharp click and a hiss of air. Snapping my eyes back up to the minotaur revealed that he had taken off his helmet, nestling it under his right arm. Letting me finally get a look at the face of the insane individual before me. Now the helmet made sense. He was by far the ugliest minotaur I had ever seen before. Everything was too small, his eyes dull blue pits set onto a face unnaturally flat lacking even a small muzzle. Ears round and small on the sides of his head. A small amount of fur above his mouth split in the middle while his mane was short, messy, and brown. Unruly, no doubt from being under the helmet just worn. Getting another reason to put him under heavy scrutiny, I noticed something I really should have before. Dark green stains marred the arms and chest of the strange clothes he wore. I ruined them when he carried me here.
His eyebrows furrowed, his mouth drawn into a frown, the expression looked pained, and his eyes focused directly into my own. Rather than leave as I had wanted, he strode closer to me once again. Kneeling on the ground in front of me, speaking to me now face to face, his expression dead serious. "You've been through a lot. I won't make light of your feelings. A-and I know my presence and aid are presumptuous, but I want to help you." His tone was soft yet held conviction. It seemed as if he were honest, but his previous crazed conversation provided ample doubts for the intent of his every action.
"What aid would I want from an insane and deformed minotaur. vagabond?" I asked
His expression changing to confusion with a muttered "Insane minotaur?"
"Of course. Did you think I didn't hear you as you traveled into this cave? Talking to yourself, pausing, and answering in another voice. If these are not the actions of the mad, then what are they?" His head turned away from me a moment, his expression shifting again. This time he looked deep in thought, suddenly far away, though only staying that way a moment before turning back to me, determined again.
"Okay. Any questions you have, I'll answer. I take it that's the first and most pressing, so. A visual demonstration or a long explanation?" He wasn't dodging the question, but it could still be an attempt at giving a half-truth. What part of this would require a Visual demonstration? He already had my curiosity peeked, None of his actions had made any sense to me, so I elected for what I hoped would solve some of the mysteries.
"I'm not sure what you can show me to make me think you're not crazy,"
I told him as I weakly gestured with my hoof to continue, "But as you can see, I'm a captive audience, so go ahead and prove me wrong." He nodded when I finished speaking and gave me a concerned look before standing up. He took the time to set his helmet down onto the ground before taking a few deep breaths, closing his eyes, and concentrating. As a few seconds passed, I began to feel relatively confident that I would, in the end, be proven right. I wondered what I would even gain from being right. Would it not just serve as another potent disappointment. That was, of course, before an extremely concerning sound reached my ears.
It was like flesh ripped from a bone, a horrible wet meaty sound. Then something rustling from his back under his clothes then slithering out the neck of his jacket, the cause appeared. A white snake or that's what I could best compare with the strange creature. It had no facial features of any kind, no eyes, mouth, or nose, or whatever snakes had. Sensory pits? The body tapered before expanding into a vaguely head-like shape despite the lack of features. It also lacked scales, so perhaps closer to an enormous worm? Carving out a path, it wound down his arm before stoping. It's head curling into his gloved left hand. His eyes were then snapped open, still filled with concern and finding mine, now wide in terror. I was trying to manage my breathing, the deeper breaths still bringing a stabbing pain as I almost shouted at him. "W-what the buck was that!" My eyes flittered around the area, looking for an escape route. Even if I couldn't stand up, it never hurt to be prepared to run for my life.
His response was quick though he now sounded tired. "Fuck. I should have said not to freak out, huh?"
I shot him a glare. "It's w-way way too late for that now. How did you think whatever you just did wouldn't be horrifying?" I said. "Start explaining. Now Please." He gave me a weak nod before speaking
"Hi...um, I'm Alison, and this is my sister Kelly" A small wave accompanied this and then a gesture to the snake in his other hand, which when referred to did a little wave with its whole body. Everything about this was so unsettling and confusing. Like a fever dream, it's all so maddening. I felt like I should laugh so that I wouldn't break down and start crying. I must have let my expression slip since he gave me another concerned look with those too-small eyes drilling into mine. I hated this feeling of being so out of control. All my life, it had been crushing me, and I felt that freedom for a single selfish, stupid moment before fate once again washed me into a sea of uncertainty and strange unknowns.
The enigma continued. " So trying to put this in the simplest terms I can. I am an explorer tasked with finding distant lands. Making contact with the local people and categorizing my findings." Gesturing again to the snake, he spoke. " A long time ago, my people met hers. Kelly here is a S'line, a species that needs a host to survive. Our peoples' leaders made a truce over a hundred years ago, and they became our most trusted companions. The voice that was mine but distinctly separate was us having a conversation out loud. It helps with the long periods of silence. Mental discussions are great, but sometimes the ol' voice needs a workout, or it feels weird." A period of awkward silence began to form and was not helped in the least by a nervous "Y-ya know?" uttered from Alison while his free hand fiddled with the collar of his outfit. The 'S'line' Kelly rewound up his arm, her featureless head rubbing against his cheek. It was an attempt at comforting him, and while it seemed to work as his expression became a little less nervous, It unnerved me.
It all felt so surreal. "Is this happening? Am I just perhaps having a long horrible nightmare?"
I don't know if I was asking him or perhaps myself. I desperately needed an anchor of some kind to keep my head above the water. Never the less he had no notion of this and gave a response. " Yes, as odd as it probably is to you, it IS the truth."
Well, there goes the fever dream explanation, I mean. I certainly could try and deny the situation I had found myself in much more than this, but no. What good would it do for me? I'd instead dive headfirst into this bizarre situation and attempt to breathe the water, lest I drown.
"Alright. I'll believe you. What happens now?" I asked. My voice was sounding just as tired as I felt at the moment.
I was really in no state to deal with all this. But, what choice do I have, or ever had? I always just kept making do with what I had. Well, buck that! I had never been wrong, had I? All I had wanted was freedom. From my mother in the beginning. Then when I did get that freedom, It came bundled up with so many responsibilities and shackles that the mask my mother wanted for me was all I could wear, or It would all fall apart, a tower of cards built by the royal line. And I blew the whole thing down.
I was Roused from my thoughts by Alison answering my question, pulling me from starting another round of self-justifications. When had it ever really helped me? Letting all those thoughts fester and spin. "I'd say the next step is me asking the name of my new acquaintance. If you don't mind?" He seemed to be trying to give a charming smile of some sort, but all it accomplished was making it abundantly clear that he couldn't read a room to save his life. Though it almost succeeded at being charming by its clumsiness alone.
"My name is Chrysalis, Vasila. Do your best never to forget it." I said, baring my fangs instead of giving him a genuine smile.
"That's a beautiful name." Kelly nods in agreement to his words from where her head rests perched on his shoulder. The action drew attention back to something I still needed to inquire about.
"So, where did Kelly come from exactly with all the crunching and nightmare noises?" I inquired
He seemed far too eager to talk about it when he began his explanation. "Oh, that's rather easy to explain. So Kelly jacks into my nervous system from the base of the neck then down the spine. But if we want, she can detach for a while and move around like this." Kelly continued to nod in agreement with his words before giving his cheek a couple of taps and slithering back into his jacket. "Alright, well, Give me a sec. She wants to reconnect."It sounded disgusting and horrifying to me, but he talked about it like it was the most normal thing in the world. He readied himself like he had done earlier with a couple of deep breaths before the look of concentration. I braced myself for the sound, but it never came.
"Wow, It's always so weird. It's easy to forget how odd it is not to have you around." He gave a short chuckle before quieting, then focusing back on me. "Right rude, oops. I'm not exactly great at this if you would believe it. That's more Kelly's thing, but I'm working on it. She'd rather I prevent making an idiot out of myself during a conversation...without help on her end." So this was all a test? Put forth by the snake. Not encouraging.
"Well, I figure the next step is getting you to a hospital or at the least to a town, yeah?" He smiled softly at me while suggesting an idea that was borderline suicide for me in this case. But he swiftly stopped when my glare informed him of my feelings toward such idiocy.
"Now I understand that knowledge of my people was incredibly obscure until recent events. So I will allow you the benefit of the doubt. And assume the reality of my situation was unknown to you. I mean, you wouldn't purposefully suggest that I go turn myself in to be executed, would you?" Sarcasm dripped from my words, a smile gracing my face for a moment before falling, the moment serving as a reminder that so many previously happy conversations were tainted by sad memories now. I turned away from him. Hastily I tried wiping some of the moisture from my eye. Come on. You have an audience you're supposed to keep a level of presentability. You can't fall apart in front of someone who's still mostly a stranger.
That exact thing was still bothering me. "Why?" It had been a burning question, a simple one it may be.
"Why did I save you?" he asked.
"Yes but, why all of it. Why did you seem so committed instantly? You know next to nothing about me. How could you chose to help me without some assurance I wasn't some ruthless, remorseless killer or any other form of lowlife?" It didn't make sense. Noling was dumb enough to be so idealistic. Everyling had secondary motives, things they wanted. I just needed to find his.
He began with a heavy sigh. " Well, It's because of who I want to be. I want to be the kind of person who reaches out their hand to anyone who needs it. Despite the fact, they might not deserve one. Now I don't always claim to be perfectly kind or always be who I would like. But I want to try, and reaching out my hand to you, whether you take it or not, is a step towards that hope. Suppose everyone is reaching out to one another and lending strength for others to lean on. So many places will be that much better."
He was smiling warmly at me. I suppose Idealistic fools hadn't all died yet then.
If that's the case, then he should get as far from me as he could. I seemed always to crush hopes, the work of the curse. Destruction to what I wish to hold onto and ruin to my sights of happier days. Images of Smiling fanged faces. So very still now.
In direct opposition to how I felt about the matter, Alison leaned back down to where I lay and put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes finding mine again. Concerned might be his default facial expression, I concluded, as it often returned to that. His voice was soft as he spoke. "Are you okay?"
I gave a very sad-sounding chuckle somewhere between a short sharp laugh or a sob barely held back. "No...no, I'm nowhere near okay." How I felt was jumping all over the place. At moments I was almost feeling normal, okay. But then memories would greet me with sorrow, and my body would remind me of the fall that occurred not so long ago, sending my heart plummeting, this time independent of my body still resting on the ground.
He gave a weak smile " I wouldn't expect you to be. You said you lost people, right?" It was all I could do to nod. I couldn't stand being this weak. He looked to be searching for the right words before he spoke again. " I know the pain must seem unbearable right now, and I can tell you're a really strong person." He paused. "You're trying to hold it all back, but it's okay to feel sad when you lose someone. No one's made of stone." I wanted to lash out and push him away. To make him stop talking about it. Shout at him and say he didn't know what I was feeling. But I was too tired to cover the hurt with anger. No power left that I could use to hide from this pain. I hung my head. The tears spilled out, and I couldn't stop them anymore. I cried. I wailed and sobbed for them. My brothers. My sisters. My Friends.