Pharynx went to many lengths to protect his soft, younger brother.
Thorax still remembered his nymph years. They were lonely, and even life threatening at times. If it wasn’t for Pharynx, he’d probably be dead long ago.
He just wished Pharynx didn’t have to go such extreme lengths to protect him.
“Thorax!” The young nymph jumped at the gruff voice. He looked up, seeing the adult changeling standing above him. His disapproving eyes glared. “Are you paying attention?”
“Uh...” Thorax trailed off, not being sure if he should lie or not. His instructor sighed.
“If you can’t focus, maybe we should pull you aside for one on one...again,” he muttered, clearly getting fed up with him. The changeling nymph stared down at the floor, nodding.
His instructor turned to the rest of the brood, resuming what he’d been trying to teach to the younglings. A few other nymphs started to snicker, which only made Thorax shrink, flattening his ears to the side of his head.
The young changeling did his best to listen to the instructor, fidgeting in place. Thorax didn’t quite understand anything the older changeling said, mostly he heard the word ‘intruder’ or ‘infiltrator’ dozens of time to the point that neither of the said words sounded like actual words anymore.
Thorax mentally sighed, rubbing his forehooves together, anticipating when the lecture would be done. Everything the instructor said had been tuned out at this point, the young changeling was more focused on drawing awkward circles in the ground.
Apparently, he had tuned out the lesson to the point where he didn’t realize that they were all done. A carved hoof tapped his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
Looking up, he saw his older broodmate standing in front of him, looking annoyed.
“Instructor Tegmen said to stay for some extra lesson,” Pharynx said flatly. Thorax sighed, getting onto his hollowed out hooves, trotting over to older changeling. The instructor gave a annoyed glare down at the nymph.
“I hope you were paying attention,” he jeered, his blue tinted wings buzzing with dissatisfaction. Sarcasm laced his tongue. “Your going to need it.”
Thorax winced, drawing awkward air circles on the ground. “R-right....”
His instructor waved a hoof in his older brother’s direction, beckoning him to leave. Pharynx simply nodded, keeping quiet as he left, leaving Thorax alone with the older changeling. Tegmen then looked back at the failing nymph, promptly lighting his horn with acid green magic, closing off the entrance way for the time being.
“What is the first rule when it comes to infiltrating a new society?” Thorax blinked, ranking his brain for an answer.
“Um...‘find an unsuspecting creature?’ I think...”
His instructor sighed, shaking his head. Thorax deflated slightly, clicking his hooves on the floor nervously.
“No. It was ‘learn about the society and gather information.’ We’ve gone over the plenty of times, do I have to shove it down your throat to make you remember?!” The volume of the changeling's voice increased, and Thorax suppresses his urge to shrink against the floor.
He whimpered, knowing just how well this lesson would go.
Thorax winced as he was pushed out of the cavern, limping. His back leg had been horribly twisted, misshapen to the point where he had no hope of it growing back normal. He’d just pray it didn’t mess things up for him.
“And please! Never come back!” Instructor Tegmen screeched, making the nymph flatten his ears against his head. The adult changeling had been fuming with red to the point where it was bleeding off into the walls.
Remembering that he was supposed to be back in his bedcave long before this, he limped and staggered his way towards one of the tunnels. All the tunnels looked exactly the same, so it took some trial and error before he found the right one. He’ll get the layout right eventually.
He ignored the pain In his back leg. Sure, the bite mark was slowly making the pain numb from the venom, but he could handle it. He could ignore it.
But he just couldn’t ignore the looks of passing changelings.
“Ew, his leg is gross,” one of them said.
“I bet he’d get thrown out of the hive. Why do we still keep him around?” another one questioned.
“I’ve never seen Tegmen get this angry,” one of the older drones said while passing by.
It was all humiliating.
Thorax suppressed the urge to cry. He could do that later in his cave. Right now? He needed to get to said cave. The numbing pain in his leg was making him dizzy, but he could deal with that later. Right?
Right?
Pharynx walked along the walls of the tunnel, focusing on his stealth. The nymph had quietly stalked up the smooth walls, adhering to the surface like glue. It was when he had finally been able to climb up onto the ceiling that his stealth mission had truly begun.
His compound eyes locked onto one of the unsuspecting adult drones that checked up on the nymphs daily. This one come by often. She was one of the more friendly drones, and seemed to actually like being around nymphs and larva. Mandible, if he’d remembered correctly.
The stealth classes must’ve been paying off because Mandible had no idea that a youngling was coming for her. Pharynx kept himself flat to the ceiling, keeping his emotion low as to not alert the drone. He was right atop her, ready to pounce on the nursery drone when-
“Uh, Pharynx? What are you doing up there?” Pharynx shot a glare at Thorax, who had just entered the chamber. Great, his brother just blew his cover. Mandible looked up, a sly grin forming on her face.
“Ah, that’s when you went. I knew someone was missing,” she said, climbing onto the walls in an attempt to get discolored changeling nymph down. Usually, changelings would just fly, but Pharynx had noted that Mandible had an oddly mangled wing that made it impossible to fly. Rolling his eyes, Pharynx popped himself of the celling. He buzzed down on to the floor, staring daggers at his young broodmate.
“Did you have to sell me out like that?” he said in a gruff voice. Thorax blue eyes grew wide, just realizing that Pharynx had been practicing something.
“S-sorry...I didn’t know you were-“
“Yeah yeah, whatever shrimp,” Pharynx said sarcastically, giving a sharp poke to Thorax’s chitin. He’d expected the younger nymph to say ‘stop it Pharynx, that hurts’ or something similar in his stupidly squeaky voice.
What he didn’t expect was for Thorax to lose his balance and fall to his side.
And he definitely didn’t anticipate the loud shriek that followed thereafter.
If Pharynx being on the ceiling didn’t catch everylings’ attention, the shrill sound definitely did. Pharynx briefly wondered if he had poke Thorax too hard, but he quickly ruled that out. His pokes were the same as always. Thorax never reacted like this.
“Thorax?” Pharynx lightly tapped his brother's shoulder, trying his best to hide his own anxiety from the otherlings. Mandible had come running towards the nymph, concern in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” The drone asked, crouching down beside the nymph in pain. Thorax bit his lip, trying his best to suppress his tears. The waves of agony leaked off the nymph that it was almost overpowering.
“M-my...leg...” he sniffed, trying to stand, and then failed to do so. Pharynx eyes trailed back to one of Thorax’s legs, which he found to be twisted and mangled. Bruises were forming on the hoof, and two definitive holes were apparent angst the black chitin. Pharynx stiffened when he saw how badly his brother was injured. “In..trustor Tegmen was getting really mad at me a-and...”
Thorax trailed off, seemingly to be lost in his own mind. His older broodmate hissed.
“Instructor Tegmen did this?!” He inquired, throwing his hooves at the wounded leg. Thorax simply nodded, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. The sheer pain the had engulfed Thorax’s emotions were nauseating, and for once Pharynx could not blame him.
Pharynx growled. His, their, instructor had done this to his younger brother. He had even bit the changeling nymph, no doubt knowing his venom could very well kill Thorax! Pharynx knew his brother was a wimp, but this was taking it to far.
The nursery drone eyes widen when told what happened, concern welling up inside her body. The discolored changeling could see the emotion leaking out into the air, mingling with Thorax’s purple agony. The emotions were too strong that some of the otherlings have retreated into their caves, repelled by the strong, icky emotion in the area,
Pharynx, however, stayed by his crying broodmate’s side. His fury was just boiling under the surface, but he kept it hidden, not letting a single drop leak. Mandible stood up, pointing the older brother.
“Take Thorax to Medical Bay, have him see one of the healers. I’ll go deal with Tegmen.”
Pharynx was briefly disappointed that he didn’t get to go rip his instructor apart himself, but complied, supporting his brother’s weight while he tried to stand. Thorax made a groaning noise, his eyes screwed shut. Pharynx sighed, a slight amount of pity was felt in the middle of his heart. Thorax is mostly pressed against Pharynx as the older nymph leads him out of the nesting chamber.
Thorax was quiet for the majority of the time, only making squeaks of pain as his injured leg brushed against the surface of the hive’s tunnels. Pharynx, though he loved-lIKED....liked his brother, couldn’t help but feel embarrassed as he passed other changeling nymphs and drone, clearly judging him for helping his broodmate. He suppressed those feelings, however, his concerns for his brother’s health was much more important at the moment.
Pharynx thought the injuries were minor. Or...at least, that’s what he hoped.
Boy was he wrong.
Thorax had finally succumbed to the exhaustion and pain, fainting. His body crumbled, and Pharynx had to do a double-take to make sure his brother was still alive. His leg looked worse as the venom spreading, making a black hole in the nymph’s leg.
The older nymph hauled his brother onto his carapace, making sure to avoid poking him with the odd spike that jutted out of it. He didn’t have time to deal with the judgmental looks of other changelings, he was getting his brother to the healers, and he was getting him to them now.
It was a race against time. He wasn’t sure how fast the venom was spreading, but he had to assume that Thorax could hold on a little longer. His little brother had stopped leaking any emotive pain, which worried Pharynx more than he’d like to admit.
He let his instincts tell him where Medical Bay was, Pharynx always did have a better time remembering the layout of the hive. His hollows put hooves took him deep into the heart of the hive, descending down further then most nymphs were allowed to go when they weren’t accompanied with a drone. He was lucky that he had a reputation of ‘the good nymph’ or else he’d probably be caught and sent back to the nursery. That or they drones just couldn’t keep up with his lighting fast speed.
He skidded to a halt at the base of the hive. It no longer had any of the green lights that hung from the ceiling. Instead, the walls were lined with a calming cyan flame that made the cavern slightly warmer than the rest of the hive. Casting his violet eyes to his unconscious brother, he bolted for the entrance.
He shoved the vines that covered the entryway of the Medical Bay open, leading the way into very alert and very concerned healers.
“Please help my brother.”
Thorax's head hurt, badly. The pain everywhere, mostly from his back leg, and half his body felt numb. He almost wanted to give up on life.
Almost.
Dispute the stabbing pain in the back of his head, he managed to peel back his eyelids, letting cyan compound eyes assess the room around him. It was dark, only a few flames of blue that hung from the ceiling admitted a dim light. It didn’t take long for his eyes to adjust to the lighting, peering around the room. He sat on a soft mattress of leaves and feathers, cradling his body as to not let the hard ground harm him. A small reservoir of water was in the center of it all, waves of steam coming off from it.
Medical Bay, Thorax recognized. I’m in Medical Bay. How did I get here?
He pushed himself to his hooves, an effort to right himself up, before collapsing onto the soft bedding. He let out a groan, annoyed that he still wasn’t recovered enough to stand.
“Owwie,” Thorax quietly muttered, but it was loud enough for one of the healers to hear him. Chitin clacked against the surface of the hive, alerting Thorax of their presence.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, her voice soothing. Thorax looked up to meet her blue eyes. They were darker than his, and her carapace had an indentation in it. She also had a scarab necklace around her neck, the nettle jewel shined in the blue lighting.
“I’m fine, a little sore,” Thorax remarked, stretching his legs and feeling a satisfying pop of his joints. “How long was I out?”
“Two days.”
Thorax eyebrow shot up, staring at the healer as his jaw dropped.
“Two....days?” Thorax parroted, disbelief clear in his voice. The healer chuckled, given the nymph a soothing smile.
“Don’t worry, we managed to get your instructors to give you some time off to catch up on your learning.”
“That’s...not what I’m worried....about,” Thorax mind trailed to Pharynx. The last thing he remembered was his older broodmate taking him down a tunnel before he inevitably passed out. Is Pharynx okay? Is he worried? Or will he tell him to step up his game in class or shrug it off like it’s no big deal?
As if on cue, the discolored changeling nymph stepped into the cavern, his purpled eyes trailing along the walls before landing them on his now conscious brother. His brother showed no emotions as he turned to the healer next to Thorax.
“..I’ll leave you two to discuss,” she excused herself awkwardly, exiting the room. The nymphs stared at each other.
Thorax, excited to see Pharynx, heaved himself to his hooves once again and managed to take a couple of steps before he fell over.
“Ack! Um...hey Pharynx,” the younger nymph shyly greeted, pulling himself onto his stomach. Pharynx cold, hard gaze was still a cold, hard gaze even as he approached Thorax. For a moment, the young nymph thought Pharynx was mad at him.
Then Pharynx let his eyes soften. A calming blue color swallowed his brother, and Thorax was taken aback. Pharynx never let his emotions overcome him unless it was anger or frustration.
“...I’m glad you’re alive,” Pharynx stated, his relief bleeding into the ground.
“Me too, although my left side is really numb right now.”
“I’m not surprised, considering that they had to amputate your leg,” the older changeling nymph deadpanned, and Thorax had to double-take what he had said.
“They what?” Thorax looked back at his leg. The insured leg was gone, leaving a small little numb that’s was still healing. Cautiously, he moved his hind joint, letting it stretch. “So...how long will it take to grow back?”
“The healer said about a month and a half.”
Well, I better start getting used to it, Thorax thought, frowning. He looked up at his big brother, and his frown turned it a shy smile. Pharynx rolled his eyes.
“How’s the last two days been?” Thorax inquired. “Has anything happen that I should know about?”
Pharynx tapped his chin with a chitinous hoof, thinking. “Instructor Tegmen was given off duty for a week. Shame, really. I hoped he’d get thrown out of the hive or something.”
Thorax poked at Pharynx’s chitin, given him a stern look. Well... as stern as his timid disposition would ever allow him to be. “Don’t say that!”
“Why not?” Pharynx cocked an eyebrow.
The young nymph clicked his hooves together. “It’s not nice.”
“Wow,” the discolored changeling snorted. “You’re too nice for your own good.”
“So I’ve been told,” Thorax retorted, having heard that about him a least every week.
The sat in awkward silence. Really, neither of them know how to communicate well. Thorax splashes the steaming water of the underground spring, before pulling back from the heat.
“..How much work do I have to catch up on?” Thorax asked, filling the gap of empty air. Pharynx chuckled.
“Well, you missed out on a lot of Instructor Halter’s sparring class, a lot of history, mimicry class...Coxa had turned into a Tatzlwurm, but it’s was tiny, oh and there was a lot of invasion classes with Substitute Elytra-“
“I get it,” Thorax interrupted, rubbing his temples with a groan. He tapped the hive floor, making clicking noises. “When do I leave Medical Bay?”
“As soon as you are awake,” Pharynx lifted himself to his feet. “The healers said you were probably going to be fine, so you can leave anytime.”
“Great!” The younger nymph cheered. He got onto his wobbly feet, staggering a few steps. Forgetting that his back leg was missing, he tumbled into the hot spring.
Pharynx laughed when Thorax remerged from the pool, drenched and unhappy.
“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.
Thorax groaned as Pharynx dragged him into their shared cave. “You know, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Pharynx said through bared teeth. The younger changeling’s wing was snagged by fangs, and Thorax winced as his fragile wing was pulled at. “But you can’t expect me to be fine with the transformation performance you did for class. It was pitiful.”
“I already got a verbal bashing from the instructor, I don’t need this too-“
Thorax yelped as Pharynx let go of his wing, his teeth graze on the translucent surface. Pharynx hallowed hoof tapped his black chitinous chest.
“Oh, I’m not just going to bash your performance,” the discolored changeling said. For a moment, Thorax was confused. “I’m going to teach you.”
“What?” Thorax was not sure how to take that. “Why?”
Pharynx let a grim smirk form on his face. Compound violet eyes stared in cyan ones with anticipation. “Well, since our first instructors are doing a horrible job, I thought I’d give you tips instead.”
The shorter changeling held his other brother’s gaze, a hollow laugh escaped his throat.
“Right, and why would you do that?”
“I want you to succeed. Unlike everyling else, I want you to help serve the hive. When we are adult drones, you probably going to be executed first, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like having you around.”
Thorax eyes widen at that notion, jaw gaping. Pharynx rolled his eyes, shutting his younger broodmate's jaw with a hoof. “Don’t look surprised, you knew that was coming. Heck, I rehearsed that line because I knew it was coming. We all know.”
Thorax giggled, his trills filling the cave with playful energy. “I never thought you’d say it.”
“Whatever, we are practicing, remember?”
Instantly, with a snap, Thorax's mood soured. Sighing, he let the frown fall onto his face. “Fine.”
Thorax sweated as he quickly switched back into his normal form. His tongue held out in exhaustion, licking the air for emotions. His hooves and wings were on fire, and the cold bed cave felt hot and sticky.
“How....much....longer....?” Thorax panted our every word, looking up towards Pharynx’s eyes. The older nymph glared disapproving.
“This a worse, Thorax you can barely hold your rock form for more than thirty seconds, and that’s compared to the time you turned into a ladybug for an hour! Seriously, are you doing the lessons backward or what?”
The black changeling rolled his cyan eyes, wiping his forehead with one hoof. “Doing the ladybug was easy.”
“It’s supposed to be easy, but the rock formation is the easiest thing to learn, and you are messing that up? It’s no wonder why you are so bad at keeping a pony form.”
“Hey-“
“We know I’m right, don’t even try.”
Thorax grumbled under his breath, casting a glance to the side. He knew this wasn’t going anywhere. It wasn’t going to be long before Pharynx gives up.
A sudden burst of determined energy took the young nymph by surprise. Looking up, Thorax watched his brother's emotions go from an annoyed, dull orange to bright gold and emerald green. Pharynx stomped his hoof on the ground repeatedly, thinking.
“Well, I guess we are in for a long night because you are going to practice until the first light of dawn.”
“WHAT?!”
Pharynx cocked an eye brown, staring at his brother. “It’s moon high, it’ll only be five hours.”
“THAT'S NOT ANY BETTER.”
Pharynx rolled his bright violet eyes, looking so done with his younger broodmate. “You’ll get at least four hours of sleep, you’ll be fine.”
Thorax let out an exhausted whine but obliged. The next five hours were going to be a painful mess.
“Uh...just try to shape yourself into a changeling shaped stone?”
Thorax wiped the sweat off his forehead, trying (and still failing) at the rock formation for thirty minutes now.
“And this is different...how?”
“Well, for starters, turning into a changeling shaped rock won’t put that much strain on your body, considering that all you have to do change your body into stone. Also, because you are so much more difficult to teach the basics. How many grubbling steps do we have to take?!” Pharynx clawed his face in stress, clearly having thought twice about teaching Thorax.
Thorax hummed, following Pharynx’s instructions. With some concentration, he disappeared in a flash of cyan fire, leaving behind a scary accurate changeling statue in place.
Pharynx nodded slightly. “Now hold that for ten minutes.”
Thorax subconsciously nodded, staying still for the duration of the time. His wings wanted to fidget, he wanted to just break from the training, but he did as his brother said.
He was almost overjoyed when he finished the ten minutes. Pharynx raised his hoof to signal the time was up, and Thorax immediately switched back to his normal form.
“Well, that’s one success out of the two hours we have been training,” Pharynx sighed
“Wait- two hours?!” Thorax yelped, his eyes widening. They have been training for that long?
“Yeah, but apparently Queen Chrysalis took even longer to learn how to do the basics, so I’d say you one-upped the her.”
Thorax gave a shy smile. “Well...I guess...”
“Alright, quit talking. Try transforming into a tall rock, around your height. Don’t, make it looks like a changeling.”
Groaning, Thorax got back to training.
The hours were both tedious, straining, and exercising Thorax’s tear ducts. No, seriously, he wanted to cry.
“I’d say you made a week's worth of work in a few hours,” the discolored changeling commented, some pride emitting from his words.
Well, I guess that’s a payoff.
“Only because you are making me,” Thorax sat off in the corner of the room, letting his exhausted temper leaking into his snarl. It wasn’t loud, but it was noticeable. “I’m probably gonna sleep and forget everything in an hour or two.”
“You better not.”
Stretching his legs, Thorax let out a low groan. “Just tell me what else.”
“Defensive form,” Pharynx deadpanned. Thorax blinked, tilting his head to one side.
“The what form?” He asked, scratching head with a hoof. Pharynx shrugged.
“Defensive form,” his bolder brother reiterated, looking at him expectingly. “‘Big monster form’ if you want to call it that.”
“You mean like when you turn into a giant moth-spider?”
“Yep.”
“Isn’t that only a transformation for only a skilled and determined changeling could use?” Thorax tapped his chin, wanting to turn in for the night. It was early morning by now, maybe around two or three. Every other changeling nymph should be asleep right now.
”I can do it.”
“You have one on one training, that isn’t a discipline, with our instructors all the time. I just managed to pull off the basics.”
Pharynx frowned, his wings sagging along his weirdly shaped carapace.
“I suppose you have a point,” he took a deep breath. “Fine, you can rest. I expect you to do better in class, though.”
“Yes!” Thorax cheered quietly, popping his joints one last time. With a light buzz, he floated himself into his little next. It was made of changeling mucus and lined with a soft sheet of moss and other leaves the older drones in the hive have collected. It was cozy and made Thorax feel safe within the brutal walls of the hive.
Pharynx watched over his brother as he let the exhaustion taken over. Sleep claimed him for the night.
Thorax waited in front of his instructor, fidgeting his wings. Nervous energy was the pooling of the young changeling, he could see the effects take place on every other nymph in the room.
His instructor gazed at the nymph with a hard gaze, their emotion barely surfacing.
“I must say, you improved a lot today,” they finally said. Thorax let out a sigh of relief. “I’m surprised. “
Thorax laughed quietly, and awkwardly. He trailed his eyes to the floor, waiting for a follow up on that sentence.
Instead, his instructor released him, telling the nymph to go sit with the group. Thorax mentally smiled, his anxiety perishing into the abyss.
Bouncing over towards the brood, he sat next to the Pharynx. His brother gave him a proud grin, and Thorax couldn’t help but smile back.
“I passed,” he whispered, his wings buzzing quietly. Pharynx simply nodded, turning his attention to the rest of the class.
Thorax sat there in silence, glad that the instructor was finally off his tail. His energy was pulsing off the walls, finding a newfound strength.
Thorax awoke when the hissing grew louder and louder. He opened his his groggily, veering towards the entrance of the bedcave.
Pharynx was already up, frowning at the commotion down below. His wings seemed to slump along his back. With a yawn, Thorax steadily got out of his nest.
“What’s with all the noise?” he inquired as he approached his older brother.
Pharynx shrugged. “I have no idea, everyling is piled at the bottom of the nursery.”
Curious, the black changeling peered over the ledge. Sure enough, a swarm of changeling nymphs and larvae crowded at the bottom, blocking the exit.
There was an insistent feeling of both craving and bitterness that radiates for the pile, and Thorax felt a little sick. He tilted his head towards his brother.
“Do you wanna....leave now and ask questions later?”
Instead of answering, the discolored changeling prowled along the walls of the nursery hive. He clung to the surface, flattening his body.
“So that’s a ‘yes’,” Thorax muttered quietly, buzzing his wings. Placing a hoof to the wall, he let his grippers adhere to the surface. Slowly, he followed the older nymph, scaling the walls. Looking down, he saw the floor became smaller and smaller, the changelings at the bottom becoming a grey and blue blob.
“Keep your emotions down,” Pharynx hissed, catching Thorax’s attention. “You are going to attract attention.”
“Sorry,” Thorax shook himself, trying hard to shake the anxiety he felt. With his wings clasped against his carapace, he continued after Pharynx.
The discolored nymph looked around, his violet eyes scanning the room, before crawling into the entrance tunnel. Thorax was relieved as the hissing from nymphs and larvae faded, padding after his older brother.
“...I like being upside-down,” the black nymph commented out loud, making eager clicking noises.
Pharynx let out a chuckle. “Of course you do.”
“So where are we going? Since the nursery hive is busy...”
Pharynx stopped, looking down at the cave below him. “Hm...how about to Instructor Hex?”
“Ahaha....he’s really scary....”
“Pede?”
“Hates me.”
“...Elytra?”
“She told me to go drown in the underground spring yesterday...”
“What did you do-“
“I’ll tell you another time!” Thorax promptly shushed his question, smiling awkwardly. Pharynx face hoofed, shaking his head.
“Ok fine, who do you want to go to?”
Thorax tapped his chin. His eyes squinted at the floor, thinking.
“...Can we go to Healer Tymbal? She’s nice...”
Pharynx rolled his eyes, sighing. “Whatever. I heard she was watching a particular brood today...let’s go find her.”
“Yay!” Thorax cheered as he fluttered after Pharynx.
They came across a vast entryway. Well, vast for a nymph, it was probably normal for an adult drone.
Either way, the brothers peeked inside.
It was a fairly spacious room, lined with hanging green lanterns. It was a comforting glow that lit up the walls of the hive, casting its light upon an older drone and quite of few nymphs.
Tymbal laid across her belly, wrestling one of the nymphs to the floor. The nymph squirmed, bitting one of her forelegs with their underdeveloped fangs. She sighed, letting go, only to be attacked by yet another nymph. Shaking them off, she retreated to the other side of the cavern.
Thorax gazed sympathetically towards the drone. As Pharynx made a grand entrance- dropping from the sky and tackling the nearest changeling- Thorax quietly padded towards the tired-looking drone.
“Hi Tymbal,” he greeted, smiling up at her. Tymbal whipped around hissing, only to stop and give a closer look at the changeling in front of her.
“Oh, it’s just you. Why aren’t you in the nursery hive?”
“Everyone is acting weird, so Pharynx and I snuck out. Also, being upside down and sneaking around the hive is fun!”
The healer chuckled, the scarab necklace around her neck rattling. She affectionally stroked Thorax’s head with one chitinous hoof.
“Yes, of course,” she sighed, lowering her head into her front hooves. Tymbal yawned, her lower jaw splitting in half and clicking back together. “I’m sorry Thorax, but I’m exhausted. Go play with your brother, okay?”
The black nymph gave a disappointed chirp, clicking his jaw. He wanted to stay next to the healer, but the energy that was barely spouting off of Tymbal was tired and emotionally strained. Instead, he nodded his head, letting the healer nap.
He looked back at his brother. Pharynx was play fighting with one of the other nymphs, hissing. Over to the left, Thorax winced as he watched the other changelings tear up the dolls that the healers have crafted.
Retreating into the corner of the cave, he sat on his haunches. Pressing is back against the wall, he surveyed the cavern around him.
The walls were marbled with green and blue, swirling into pretty patterns that decorated the surface. Luminescent cocoons filled the very back of the room, containing larvae that would soon complete their metamorphosis. Across the ground, small carved rocks littered the floor. Thorax took notice that one of them looked like a changeling. It was hard to tell, but there were wings and fangs on it! The other one he picked up had the general stature of a dragon, with spikes and a tail.
Lighting his horn, he grasped them both in his cyan magic. Animating the rocks, he moved them back and forth across the floor. He didn’t exactly know what he was doing, but he was finding some entertainment a least.
He quickly stopped when a series of clicking hooves began to approach him. Looking up, Thorax stared straight at a trio of larger nymphs, their eyes burning into the younger changeling’s soul.
“Look what we have here,” one of them sneered. The other started to giggle and laugh as Thorax pressed himself against the wall, ear flattened. “The grub is playing with his dolls, how cute.”
His voice was taunting, and all three of them laughed as they approached Thorax. The little nymph let out a frightened whimper, through his hooves over his head.
“Step away from my brother,” Thorax heard Pharynx hissed. Daring to peak, his eye open into narrow slits, watching what was about to unfold.
Pharynx teeth we gritted, fangs clearly shown. A growl emitted from his throat as he lashed his crimson tail. His wings and frill stood on end, making the changeling look a lot larger than he was, though he was still smaller than the older nymphs.
The trio laughed, clearly not threatened by the younger nymph. “And what are you going to do, hiss us to death?”
Thorax pursed his lips, “Uh...I don’t know how to put his but-“
Pharynx interrupted Thorax’s attempt at reasoning, opting for one thing that he knew the other changeling wouldn’t be able to do.
Green fire arose from the ground, engulfing the discolored changeling with its glow. Left behind was a much larger, and quite frankly terrifying, moth-spider. It was only a second, but Thorax knew what was coming and braced himself.
He let out an banshee screech, rattling the cocoons the hung from the ceiling. Thorax covered his ears, fearing that his eardrums would burst. Pharynx had a way of making other changelings to back off, screech they til they leave or go deaf. Never mind the fact the the screeching instilled fear into anyone that heard them.
It must’ve done the trick because every changeling within the cavern was staring at them. The trio was speechless, Tymbal was startled awake, and if they could, the larvae pupating within their cocoons would also momentarily come out just to be gobsmacked.
The older nymphs began to slowly disband, one even going as far as running out of the cavern. The other two had a look of petrified fear, before running towards the healer on the opposite of the room.
Thorax, however, smiled. “T-thanks, Pharynx.”
The moth-spider let out a huff, reverting into the shape of a changeling. Pharynx’s glared with narrowed violet eyes, and the black nymph lowered his head. Welp, except his fate and live with brute comment.
“Seriously. Is this how it’s always going to be?” Pharynx questioned, his voice with a serious edge. “There is a reason why everyone else is right.”
Thorax didn’t want to look into his brother’s eyes. He could feel the disappointment radiate, and he knew it was well deserved. Clicking hoofsteps began to walk away, leaving Thorax to cower against the wall.
With a final look, Pharynx muttered something, and Thorax had to prick his ears to hear it.
Thorax sighed as he followed Pharynx down the corridor, his hooves aching. He stretched out his back in an arch, feeling the pop of his bones. His wings buzzed tiredly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
“-other than your failure to dodge those sticks I threw, I say that you are quickly catching on.”
Thorax nodded, trudging after his older brother. His lower jaw split in half as he let out a yawn, licking his dry lips.
“You....you just had a three-hour nap not that long ago,” Pharynx cocked an eyebrow. “How are you tired?”
“Hm,” the younger nymph rubbed his eyes, making clicking noises. “Gee, I don’t know. It’s not like someone was throwing knives at me today.”
“One,” Pharynx’s corrected. “It was one knife.”
Thorax returned the gaze, his eye twitched. “You still threw a knife at me!”
“So? It’s not like an actively aimed for your head.”
“Felt like it.”
“Oh shush, it was going to hit the wall no matter if you moved or not.”
“I- was- that isn’t...I...” Thorax tripped over his words, completely flabbergasted. “Ugh, you win this one.”
The older nymph smirked. “I always win.”
“Just you wait!” Thorax poked at Pharynx’s shoulder, though not as hard as Pharynx did to him. “I’ll be right one day and you’ll have to admit defeat!”
Pharynx let out a giggle, rolling his eyes. The black changeling began to lag as he struggled with exhaustion. His ears and crest began to sag.
“I think I’m gonna sleep. No more of today...”
Thorax ignored Pharynx’s disapproving frown as he stretching his wings out. With a satisfying crack of his joints, Thorax climbs the walls of the nursery hive. With much effort, he dragged himself into the shared cave.
The hole in the side of the wall was much quieter than the outside world, only the faint hissing of other nymphs could be heard. The heat stored within the walls lulled the young nymph deeper into his exhaustion. With a quick click of his jaw, he curled into his nest.
Closing his eyes, his tense muscles relaxed as he drifted to sleep.
“Thorax, wake up.”
His ears twitched, peeling back one lid. Cyan eyes met with purple ones, and Thorax frowned.
“What time is it?” He tiredly questioned, pushing himself to his hooves. Pharynx lifted himself up as the younger nymph yawned.
“Well past noon, c’mon,” Pharynx’s urged, stamping a hole-ridden hoof on the floor, “Training with Instructor Halter, remember?”
Thorax whined. “Again? We did that only a few days ago!”
His older broodmate cocked an eyebrow, his frown deepening. “Am I in charge of scheduling? No, I’m not. Blame the Instructors and the Queen, but don’t complain to me.”
Sighing, Thorax clicked his hooves as he followed Pharynx. He shook his head, his energy diminishing. Instructor Halter’s class was going to be torturous and he was going to die.
“You aren’t going to die.”
Thorax made a surprised squeak, looking at his broodmate. “..did I say that out loud?”
Pharynx hummed in ‘yes, now please shut up.’
The younger changeling coughed awkwardly, feeling the flood of heat at his cheeks. His face had turned a deep red-black, hardly noticeable against his already dark chitin.
Pharynx sighed, his eyes focused on his younger broodmate. “This is Instructor Halter’s final class before we move onto training drills. I suggest you focus a little more unless you want to stay in his class for another year.”
Thorax shuttered. “Noted.”
They continued their trek, all while Thorax was busy freaking out.
Cocoon slime, how will I get out of this one...
Surprise, surprise...Pharynx passed with flying colors.
Not that Thorax was even there to witness it, but Pharynx was one of the top-tier fighters within the rabble of nymphs. It would be a complete surprise and a lack of logic if Pharynx had failed.
“So...mind telling me what your test was?” Thorax prodded for details. If he was going to prepare, he needed to know what he was up against.
“Just you sparing against Instructor Halter. Honestly, it was a lot easier than I expected, but I guess he is getting up there in age...”
“Cocoon slime,” Thorax cursed, kicking pebbles against the wall. He watched another nymph get called into the next room. His wings twitched nervously, and Thorax began to vibrate under the pressure. “I’m going to fail, I’m going to fail, I’m going to fail, I’m going fail-“
Pharynx quickly shushed his broodmate with one hoof. “If you’re that nervous, I can come to watch you do the test.”
“Really? You can do that?”
“Eh. As long as I don’t intervene it should be fine.”
Thorax debated whether his trained-to-fight brother would either help him with the test or make him lose all self-confidence. The debate didn’t last long, as he heard the ever-dreaded voice of Instructor Halter ring from the next room.
“Thorax! Get your carapace in here, now!”
Jumping, Thorax got to his hooves. Quickly, he turned to his brother, his eyes wide with terror. “Please come with me.”
This got Pharynx to roll his eyes, though he did smile teasingly. Good, so Pharynx isn’t going to belittle me for being a coward afterwards...I hope.
The black changeling quietly pushed the vines out of the way of the entrance. Stepping into the long corridor was a whole new experience. There no sign of anyone inside, Instructor Halter must’ve gone ahead without them.
As the pair trotted further into the tunnel, Thorax studied the walls around him. Unlike the rest of the hive, the walls didn’t give off any sort of heat. It was cold and barren, aside from the splashes of dull red that splatter the surface as they went further down.
It was...oddly quiet. No indication that anyone had been down here for centuries, not even the sound of draft flowing within the ventilations!
Thorax but his lip, uneasy.
They ended in an open room, much smaller than anything he was used to. The red pigmentations were more prominent here, mostly on the floor and up against the wall.
Standing in the center of the room, Instructor Halter stood tall. His old chitin was dulled, his eyes still narrowed. Thorax fought back a nervous squeak as he padded towards the drone, his head down.
“What are you doin’ here?” He inquired towards Pharynx. The older nymph shrugged, leaning against the green wall.
“Just watching.”
“Hmph,” the instructor titled his head up, his ocean eyes glaring at the pair of brothers. Turning back the smaller nymph, his frown deepened. “Your test is to best me in a spar. You’ll probably fail, but we’ll see.”
Thorax gulped, trembling. Taking in a deep breath, he steadied himself into a crouch.
Halter growled. “Make the first move.”
Oh, Thorax was physically trying to stop his heart from jumping into his throat. With quick hooves, Thorax dashed to his left, trying to put himself behind the older drone.
Halter rolled his eyes, swiveling in place to face Thorax head-on. The old changeling leaped for the nymph, and Thorax yelped. Instinctively, he covered his head with his hooves and ducked.
He heard a loud thud behind him. Twitching, he opened his eyes. His instructor had overshot the distance and crashed into the floor.
It would have been funny if Thorax wasn’t so terrified.
Instead, the nymph disappeared into a flash of cyan flame, scuttling away on six legs. This ladybug wanted to get out of here and get out of here now.
Spoilers!
Not gonna happen.
Halter growled as he shook himself, his eyes pinned on Thorax’s ladybug form. The drone smirked. “Hiding, are we? A true warrior doesn’t run from a battle.”
Again, Halter bunched his muscles and leaped towards the disguised ladybug. The black nymph quickly dropped it, not wanting to be squashed.
It resulted in a tackle and pin, with Thorax held to the ground by the neck. A sickening crack sounded from the back of his carapace. He gasped in terror and pain, trying his best to wriggle out of the situation. The instructor’s eyes narrowed into slits, baring his teeth.
“As I expected,” he hissed, but his face was almost smug. Slowly, he retreated from the position, letting Thorax get up. “You’ve failed.”
Thorax let out a lower whimper, his ear flattened. His wings were bent unnaturally towards the left, and his carapace had a crack in the shape of a spiderweb.
Sharp hoof steps came galloping towards him, and Pharynx had an utmost concerned facial expression that Thorax had ever seen him make. He didn’t even know Pharynx had the muscles to make such a face.
The older nymph inspected his wounds, eyes narrowed specifically at the broken wings. Thorax didn’t mind, he was more worried about the parchment paper that Halter had pulled out of nowhere.
The Instructor seemed to be writing something in charcoal, most likely how much of a failure Thorax had turned out to be. He stretched his wings with a wince, looking at the floor.
“I’m not surprised, you were always an annoying gnat. It’s fantastic to finally get rid of you,” Thorax pricked his ears as he heard Halter sneer. He looked up, confusion plastered on his face.
Then he felt his blood drain when Instructor Halter pulled out a spear. A long, sharp spear that had dried blood splattered on its tip and handle. A rare, toothy smile stretched across his face.
“The rest of us will cherish the moment this spear has plunged in your heart.”
The wind rushed past Thorax’s side as Pharynx dashed in front of him. The older nymph let out a hiss, standing between him, Halter, and the blade.
The adult drone growled from the back of his throat, a displeased look taking hold of his face. He waved the bloody spear around before pointing it at the nymph's forehead. “Step aside, grub. This is to better the hive’s army.”
Pharynx didn’t budge. He stayed him his protective stance, shielding Thorax from the spear. “I will not let harm come towards him,” he hissed in a dangerously low tone.
“You’ve let your brother make you weak,” Halter huffed. “It’s a shame really, you would have became a great solider.”
Thorax gasped, tugging at his older brother’s wing with his incisors. Please don’t do this! He begged at the back of his mind, but Pharynx pushed the pitiful attempt back, eyes locking with their Instructor’s.
The discolored changeling disappeared into a green flame, leaving behind the giant moth-spider. Pharynx buzzed his wings, hurling himself towards the drone with a shriek.
Halter let out a growl as he was thrown off balance, dropping the spear. The moth-spider grabbed the Instructor by the neck and tossed him towards the wall. With another banshee scream, Pharynx pinned the Instructor with two of his six appendages.
Thorax winced when he heard a sickening crunch of chitin and bones, and started to shiver when Halter let out a earsplitting howl. He opened one of his compound eyes into slits, morbidly curious about what was going on.
Pharynx has sunken his teeth into Instructor Halter’s neck, splitting the chitin and bones while doing so. The old drone’s mouth gaped as he gasped for air, then clenched his teeth in rage.
The young nymph watched in horror as Halter encased the spear with his magic. Thorax let out a screech.
“Pharynx watch out!”
It was too late.
Halter had summoned enough energy to plunge the spear right through Pharynx’s neck. The disguised changeling let out a roar, shaking the room around him. With a heavy breath, the disguise tore away, and Pharynx coughed.
The spear stabbed straight through the back of his neck, piercing through his throat. He let out an even louder screech as Halter dragged the blade out, coughing out thick clots of blood.
“Now that that’s over with,” Halter coughed, rubbing his bloody neck, “Thorax you better get over here.”
The nymph was glued to the floor, eyes wide. Biting his lip, he steadily got to his hooves, slowly pacing towards the older drone.
Just outside his realm of reach, Thorax stopped. He ignored the pain of his broken wings, he ignored Halter’s annoyed voice tell him to step closer, he ignored all of it!
Pharynx was still gasping, sputtering out blood and changeling mucus. His tattered wings were scrunched against his carapace, swaying slightly as he tried to stop the bleeding.
“You are one of the most unreliable, useless, and cowardly changelings I have ever met, and you dragged your brother down with you. He could have had been a commander, yet here he is, dying from blood loss...and you’ll be joining-“
He couldn’t take it anymore.
Taking a deep breath, he let out an ear-splitting, glass-shattering, will-blow-up-your-eardrum screech, dissipating into cyan flames. Left behind was a long, serpentine creature with long fangs and bat-like wings. His grey crest had grown into a large head fin, sailing down his back. At the end was a spiked tail, thrashing against the hard floor.
He lunged for the older drone, he curled his snake-like body around his neck. He squeezed his python body tight, causing Halter to gasp. The drone screamed curses as he tried to wrestle Thorax off, to no avail.
He tried to do the same thing with Pharynx and stab the spear into Thorax’s throat, but the serpentine flung himself off momentarily, causing Halter to stab himself in the shoulder.
The drone let out a howl of frustration. His neck was bleeding from the gashes and starting to bruise from the constricting. The spear was incased with green magic as Halter waved it around threateningly.
Thorax was too angry to care.
Springing off of the floor, he racked his Instructor’s face with makeshift wings. His hidden translucent wings winced at the impact, but the nymph-now-serpentine pushed past the pain.
Unhinging his jaw, Thorax bit into Instructor Halter’s shoulder. His fangs dug deep into his flesh, and Thorax felt the venom pumping out.
Finally, Instructor Halter ripped Thorax away with a tug. Thorax, still disguised, hissed as acid changeling magic held him in the air. The old drone panted as blood dripped out of his neck and shoulder, staining the floor with its crimson hue.
“...you are a pain...” Halter commented, wincing as the venom spread. The chitin around it began to blacken, tentacles of dying flesh began to grow from the two bite marks. “You only become competent when you are disobeying authority, huh?”
The serpent hissed, his jaw clicking. His eyes narrowed. With a distorted voice, he muttered loud enough for the other changeling to hear. “...yeah, and do I care?”
His tail was free from the magic, still whipping and lashing. With careful consideration, Thorax manages to land one final blow to the old drone’s forehead. The spikes lodged themself into chitin, and the disguised serpent threw the changeling against the wall.
The magic released him from its grasp, and Thorax fell towards the ground. The young changeling gasped, finally able to regain control his emotions. Reverting about to his normal form, he stretched his broken wings, stopping when he felt them crack.
Shaking his head, he peered across the room. Blood splattered along the walls and floor, weeping into the crevices.
Realizing what he had done, he glanced with panic towards his instructor. Halter laid across the floor, his curled against the wall. He was so quiet and still that Thorax feared he had killed him, but sighed he heard Halter breathe his shaky breaths.
His relief didn’t last long, as a soft thud sounded from just behind him.
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!”
