He breathed in deeply.
Things were finally becoming a bit more... stable.
He had a home. And a bed. Of sorts.
He was somewhat content.
The world still needed to make more sense, but that could be done later. Understanding weird things was not something he wanted to do at the moment.
He still had yet to find a solution to the sleeping space problem, despite it being a few months since his finding of a home. He didn't know how to make another notch or whether it would open up somewhere else. Thorax was unwilling to tell him and refused excavation, citing something about the age old cubby uniformness. It was a bit frustrating, but it was still better than the floor.
How durable were walls of.. organic regurgitated material anyway?
They seemed rock hard, but he was somewhat sure that most carbon based materials were not very durable compared to rock.
But he wasn't a biologist, so he wouldn't know. For all he knew his fingernails were high up on Mohs hardness scale. Oh. Wait. He didn't have those.
"Pigeon!"
He paused.
"Ocellus. Huh. Not out doing infiltrator stuff?"
Ocellus frowned. Approaching him at an even pace, she sat at the edge of the nursery, looking in at the grubs.
"Infiltrator 'stuff' never lasts long, Pigeon. And besides, just calling it 'stuff' is belittling the entire food source of the hive."
"...that's a good point. So, back from your infiltrator mission, safe and sound?"
"Yes. Not tired at all, so no need to rest back at my cubby."
"I'm still enjoying the one I got. Better than sleeping on the ground."
"Still can't believe that you didn't have a cubby a few months ago. I live on the outskirts of the hive, right next to they sky, yet I still share one with my family."
"I am not allowed to go to the outskirts." Pigeon said. "It's considered 'outside.'"
"Cubbies on the outskirts are outside. You get out of one, and you see the sky." Ocellus looked around. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but I prefer the incredible sky to be what I see when I walk out of the cubby compared to a dark, grey roof."
"I wouldn't know. Not very sure what the sky looks like. Well. I have an idea what it should look like, but I'm still not very sure."
Ocellus stared at him.
He winced. Not being sure of things meant admitting his lack of knowledge. He just wished people didn't look at him like that. He could never tell whether it was just shock or something else entirely. He was 90% what it was supposed to look like, but again, he was in magical insectoid horse land.
"You don't know how the sky looks like?"
"..I have a rough idea? I think I know what it looks like but I'm not sure. It's supposed to be blue, right? I mean in the morning. At night, its black?"
"Do you know the colour of the sky in the summer months?"
"Isn't it still blue?"
"No! It's a rich, incredible, gold!"
"The sky is golden in summer?"
Ocellus shook her head furiously. "If you are ever allowed to go outside, I will show you the sky."
Nothing was said for a while, likely because Pigeon was shocked and still processing, and Ocellus was calming down.
Ocellus was still gazing at the young 'lings in the crèche when Pigeon regained his senses.
"...Thank you?"
She still seemed distracted. But she responded anyway.
"I'll go in the nursery now."
He watched her walk toward the grubs. It was amazing how their faces lit up instantly that the sight of her. They stopped their play fighting and employed a token effort to sit neatly in a line in front of her.
The effort was to fail, but Ocellus decided to step in and organize the troop. She successfully got them to be in a straight line. Now, she faced a greater challenge still: keeping them that way.
She was finished, and it was off to 'bed' for the young ones.
She trotted up to him, paused, then told him "I meant what I said."
"Thank you."
"Thank me when you get to see the sky in summer."
"If I ever do."
"If they don't overwork you, that is. You still watch them after they fall asleep, and I find that ridiculous. No 'ling in our history has ever sleepwalked, unlike ponies."
"My rationale is that they might wake up and decide to explore."
"Could be solved with the doors the other species like to use everywhere. Say what you will, guarding the nursery is simply to rest parent's hearts."
"Parents are satisfied that their children are being guarded by a proclaimed criminal?" The doubt in his tone was infused to the fullest extent.
"They don't need to know who is guarding, just that their children are being guarded."
"That sounds careless."
"You're always being watched."
She turned around. "Now that you are somewhat more trusted, you will likely spend more time guarding the Heth."
"...You think I'll leave the nursery?"
"I think you will be forced to guard both."
"Both?"
You will guard the nursery and the Heth. Locust will probably give you a routine."
He grimaced. More work? Could he handle it? He hoped so. He'd try, anyway. A routine, huh?
Wait.
"You know Locust?"
"Who do you think interrogated me? Besides, she's my cousin."
"Locust is your cousin?"
"Yes."
"Are you close?"
"Define 'close'"
"Good friends?"
"You could say that. We talk every once in a while. She talks about you occasionally."
Eyes widened in disbelief and shock was the expression Pigeon had painted practically everywhere on his body.
"Only good things, I hope?" Pigeon said, letting his head drift towards the nursery as he muttered the formality. He was surprised that Locust even bothered to recount his existence to another living being.
One of the grubs in the nursery had fell on top of another who had immediately subconsciously shook the intruder of and- were they play fighting in their sleep? Was Ocellus sure not a single 'ling had the capability to sleep walk?
"She thinks you're an unintelligent grub who pokes his muzzle into everything as though looking for one last wisp of love." Ocellus said, drawing back his attention. "Which is better than her thoughts on ponies, so she will probably try to protect you. Unless it puts any other 'ling in more danger of course."
"Flattering." He muttered.
She poked him with her leg-holey-thing. "Hey, don't be mopey. If you do become mopey, you will just suffer in misery for the rest of your existence and no one will care."
"Okay. I won't be mopey."
"Good. And besides-"
Whatever Ocellus was to say was interrupted by screams.
A 'ling he hadn't even noticed (was that 'ling hiding on purpose?) started running off somewhere.
The Ground started shaking. The ground wasn't supposed to be shaking. He thought. He hoped that this was a normal every once in a while thing tha- Ocellus looked worried.
Oh no.